Sen. Franken Asks For Our Help In Opposing NBC/Comcast Merger
I'm so glad that Sen. Al Franken is standing up against this merger. This is a bad move for democracy in so many ways, and he's pulling out all the stops to mobilize supporters. He sent out this email yesterday:
You might have seen in the news, on Twitter, or on Facebook recently that I'm opposing the NBC/Comcast merger in its current form. I wanted to write you today to explain why, and to ask for your help.
I have some experience in this industry, and I flat-out don't trust Comcast and NBC to operate in the best interest of consumers in Minnesota and around the country when it comes to this merger. Combining a company who provides programming and one who provides the pipes that carry said programming would almost certainly be a raw deal for consumers and independent content producers alike.
I came to Washington to stand up to the lopsided influence of special interests on behalf of middle class Minnesota families, and opposing this merger is an opportunity to do just that. And as much as I don't trust Comcast and NBC to be honest brokers on this deal, I am trusting you to help me build support for my positions on issues like this one. And as usual, by 'support' I mean 'money.'
Online grassroots donations fuel our operation, and I need your help to keep it going strong -- click here to contribute, please.
I'm not afraid of standing up to these guys -- as I said it's why I ran for the Senate. But I also realize that given the recent Citizens United decision in the U.S. Supreme Court, corporations can now turn around and spend millions running ads telling voters I want to blow up their T.V. -- a patently untrue claim that they've got no research to support, by the way. But I don't need them on my side. I want you on my side.
Fights like this one are more than worth having, they're essential to keeping our democracy representative of people instead of corporate entities. I realize that with a lot of my positions, I'm inviting special interest groups to spend a lot of money to defeat me down the road. As long as I have you standing with me, that's ok by me -- because corporations getting their way isn't some bad medicine consumers need to swallow -- we can stand, fight, and win.
Thanks for your time today, for all you've done, and all you'll do.
- Al
Al Franken is the "dude", the "bomb" and one of the few congress peeps REALLY doing his job for the people. No wonder the right hates his guts. One of the only guys that does not appear to be a corporate toady.
I voted for Obama because Ted Kennedy endorsed him, and I'll accept Al Franken's judgment the same way.
Welcome to the Al Franken Decade!
I believe we are finally starting, say it in unison...
The Al Franken Decade
your name's Lebowski, Lebowski... and your wife is Bunny
Unfortunately:
If the White House backs the interests of the American people over its K Street buddies it will be the first time.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
my kids need to prepare their kids to get the hell out of this country before it falls. I think there will be enough time to prepare before the Krystal Nacht of the 21st century ensues to clean out what's left of opposition to the corporatocracy.
Unless of course my grandkids become part of it. Hopefully I'll be dead by then.
"by 'support' I mean 'money.'"
Is nice but, who has deeper pockets? At least it isn't competition with the finance industry that can use the Fed to create money. Oh wait, it is: GE Financial.
If our democracy will now only work by using money as a proxy for influence, we are indeed doomed.
is that a political contribution is a bribe, and if so, then essentially either bribes are legal or they are not, and, if they are not legal, then no contributions should be legal, based upon your reasoning.
Just donated. He's a hero.
American Gladiators again.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I never saw it to begin with. I won't even get started about comcast.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZjHJgBfy_8
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Is that the story of evet's life?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
is all I got to say.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
http://crooksandliars.com/2006/04/25/snl-funh...
Bill Clinton has been hospitalized. They aren't saying why yet.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Chest pains apparently. I hope he's gonna be alright.
it's a good first step.
the media really needs to be broken up to pre-Reagan levels, though.
How in the hell can GE/NBC be allowed to merge with Comcast?
Who's on the FCC? This can not be legal.
I would think that GE is selling NBC and MSNBC and Universal, etc. I can't imagine Comcast being able to buy GE.
He says he doesn't trust these guys, but then he doesn't say what he thinks the end result will be if the merger goes through. He just states that it won't be in the consumers' best interests.
He needs to go into detail as to exactly why it's not in the average consumer's interest for this thing to happen. So far, I'm not seeing a real compelling case being made here.
He's Al. People like him.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I'm not a Comcast subscriber, and one of the reasons that I'm not is because they did not offer MSNBC in my town of Huntsville, AL, USA.
Well, they have recently added MSNBC. Alas, it's in their standard-definition digital tier and you have to rent a cable box and pay for digital cable in order to receive it (even if you only want expanded basic cable). They still suck in this market.
My current cable provider, Knology, offers MSNBC as part of their expanded basic, no-box-required, cable package.
Isn't this the reason movie studios owning theaters was outlawed in the 50's? "Stacking the deck?"
We need more breakups, not mergers.
I like the sound of that!
Nothing good can come of this attempted merger. Mergers do not increase competition, they eliminate it. There need to be more separations, especially now.
NOBODY 2012
...I am reminded that my own senator is still Dianne Feinstein.
Shit.
Good luck Al , unfortunately there are maybe five of you in all of DC .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
this is one such fight
I am not really in favor of mergers. Look at what happened to the banking industry - though they had to do something before foreign banks took them all over. I am completely against any merger involving AT&T.
However, I don't see what the problem is in this case. Comcast is a cable company. There are a lot of cable channels that are popular. It would not be in the best interests of Comcast to stop offering those channels, and I don't think they'll be pressuring cable channels to show Universal-created shows.
Disney owns ABC. It's basically the same thing. One creates shows, and the other provides space to show some of it. ABC is near the bottom of the ratings. So Comcast would have to be careful not to destroy what they're buying.
Are you saying that Comcast is going to affect news coverage on NBC or MSNBC? I'm not sure that they will touch that. Comcast may air more commercials for NBC shows. I can't see much else happening.
seats this November, this is the perfect issue to jump upon because it's a win-win issue. Nobody likes Comcast, and I can almost guarantee that every customer knows they suck. I also surmise that Comcast has a built-in reputation for being against the consumer and against Net Neutrality.
I am also willing to believe that everyone knows that nothing good can come of the merger, at least as far as the public is concerned. I would argue that we all know that Comcast will only raise rates, restrict competition and restrict content.
I swear this is a perfect example of an issue where the Democrats cannot lose, if they stick to the message. Corporations bad, people good. They should go after Comcast the way Faux Noise lies.
Franken's point is that it is not proper for networks to own studios or vice versa. NBC and Universal are already linked. Having Comcast own both wouldn't be that much different from what we have now. Last I looked, Comcast doesn't own a studio or a network. The issue is Disney-ABC and Universal-NBC. (I forget who owns CBS.) So if people have a problem with Comcast buying NBC-Universal, then they should also have a problem with Disney-ABC. Break them all up. Pretty sure that will never happen. The horse is already out of the barn. The last monopoly that got broken up was AT&T, and they're gradually combining themselves back together. Let's break up AIG and the other financial institutions while we're at it.
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