From the assault on women’s reproductive rights and climate change denial to endless war and the New Jim Crow, it’s hard not to be disillusioned. The situation is demoralizing as it is destructive.

But recently there are signs of intelligent life.

Take last week’s mayoral election in Chicago. By all accounts, incumbent Rahm Emanuel was a shoe-in. After all, “Mayor 1%” raised nearly $16 million, more than four times his challengers combined. Nonetheless, a coalition of working and middle class voters thumbed its collective nose at Emanuel, and his politics of privatization, to force a runoff vote in April.

In a few weeks, Chicago may join New York as a major American city with an avowed progressive in City Hall.

Last week also saw a historic ruling by the Federal Communications Commission: one that ensures an open Internet and, equally important, defends the rights of local communities to build municipal broadband networks.

The cable and telecommunication industry will, no doubt, challenge the FCC’s regulations in the courts. Nevertheless, the FCC’s support for net neutrality is a major victory for progressive politics.

Closer to home, pupils across Indiana are opting out of ISTEP: a standardized test that stresses out students and teachers alike; distorts school curricula; and reduces education to a dubious exercise in work force development.

Growing resistance to standardized testing is a welcome sight to this educator’s tired eyes.

Who knows? Despite long odds and a stacked deck, the United States may be on the cusp of progressive renewal. Call this what you will: wishful thinking or political naiveté. Either way, it is refreshing to see signs of intelligent life.

Sources

Goodman, Amy. (25 February 2015).  “Could a Former Activist Unseat Mayor 1%? Rahm Emanuel Faces Chicago Runoff Despite Vast Outspending.” Democracy Now!  

Morello, Rachel. (25 February 2015). “What Happens if Kids Opt Out of ISTEP?” Indiana Public Media.

Ruiz, Rebecca & Lohr, Steven. (26 February 2015). “FCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules, Classifying Broadband Internet Service as a Utility.” The New York Times.

Vara, Vauhini. (28 February 2015). “Why the FCC’s Municipal-Broadband Ruling Matters, Too.” The New Yorker.

A timely story on the issue of net neutrality – the principle that Internet traffic should move equally without regard to content, destination or source – started off promising enough; Lourdes Garcia-Navarro opened the piece with an important observation: “The FCC is a small agency with a big impact on our daily lives.”

But correspondent Brian Naylor’s story went downhill from there. A five-point checklist reveals more spin than substance in this report.

1. Downplay the Revolving Door. Check.

Naylor briefly mentions FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was a former cable TV lobbyist. But Naylor fails to acknowledge the corrosive influence the revolving door between industry and government regulators has on public policy.

2. Trivialize activists. Check.

A brief exchange between Wheeler and an unidentified activist gives the impression that supporters of net neutrality are just a bunch of wingnuts.

3. Stack the Deck. Check.

Throughout the story, Wheeler gets plenty of airtime. As do other proponents of new rules that would create Internet fast lanes. Net neutrality advocates, on the other hand, are labeled “critics” of Wheeler’s plan and denied comment.

4. False equivalence. Check.

Nicol Turner-Lee, another lobbyist, asserts that Wheeler has “listened to us the same as he listened to the protesters that were sitting on his lawn.” Denigrating activists this way, Turner-Lee inadvertently reveals the glaring disparity between the access to policy makers lobbyists enjoy, and that of ordinary citizens.

5. Bury the Lead. Check.

Naylor fails to note that during the public comment period, the FCC received a record-breaking 4 million comments from individuals, groups, and business owners who overwhelmingly support net neutrality.

When NPR confuses public relations with public interest journalism in this fashion, the forecast is clear: expect more Beltway balderdash for the New Year.

Sources:

Ammori, Marvin. (6 June, 2014). “John Oliver’s Net Neutrality Segment Speaks the Truth.” Slate.com.

Copps, Michael. (6 January, 2015). “The Biggest FCC Vote Ever.” Common Cause.

Karr, Timothy. (10 November, 2014). “President Obama Call for Title II for the Best Way to Protect Real Net Neutrality.” Free Press.

Naylor, Brian. (1 January, 2015). “Net Neutrality Debate Forces FCC Chairman into Spotlight.” All Things Considered.

Wyatt, Edward. (14 November, 2014). “Obama Asks FCC to Adopt Tough Net Neutrality Rules.” New York Times.