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 post something here on Change.org 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.

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I sent an email to my list today, and I thought I’d post a note here as well. As you might have heard, 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 the broadcast industry, and I simply don’t trust Comcast and NBC when it comes to the merger they are asking the Senate to approve. I am convinced that without significant changes to protect consumers, merging a company who provides programming and one who provides the pipes that carry said programming would be a raw deal for Minnesotans and independent content producers alike.

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Op-Edit by Sen. Al Franken — The American Dream, and its promise of prosperity, has long been predicated on the simple idea that opportunity is a right, and not a privilege, and that every individual should be afforded a level playing field on which to set out into the world.

To fulfill this promise to our children, we must close the school achievement gap that is leaving so many of our children behind.

Yet reversing decades of educational inequality is no easy task. There are exemplary schools scattered across the country that are proving every day that while they cannot solve all of their students’ problems, they can push them to increasingly higher levels of achievement under the most trying of circumstances.

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How, in 2009, can a large U.S. corporation maintain a culture of tolerance for assault and abuse within its own ranks? How can a company that purports to support our men and women in uniform and our defense missions overseas deny an American citizen her day in court?

In an era in which government has delegated significant responsibility and taxpayer dollars to private contractors in supporting our military, Congress has even greater responsibility to monitor how these contractors do business.

No corporation — no matter how powerful, how well-connected, how seemingly impenetrable — should be permitted to rob its workers of their rights.

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In 1917, progressives in America began a quest to create a system to provide health insurance to all Americans. Today, almost a century later, we are poised to take a giant step toward realizing that goal. Viewed through the lens of history, this is truly an amazing accomplishment.

To earn my vote, health insurance reform must improve access to affordable health care for Minnesota families – and this bill clears that bar with room to spare. This bill does not fix all the problems with our health care system, and I will not stop working to improve the quality and lower the costs of health care for all Americans. But progressives can be proud of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and take a large measure of credit for important provisions it will codify as the law of the land.

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In January, I met a wounded vet with severe post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, at an Inaugural event in Washington. Luis Montalvan had been an Army intelligence officer in 2003, when he was gravely wounded in Anbar Province. When I met Luis, he was walking with a cane and accompanied by his service dog, a beautiful golden retriever named Tuesday. Luis told me that without Tuesday he couldn’t have made it to the event.

Tuesday can anticipate Luis’s panic attacks by changes in his breathing or perspiration and then avert them by nuzzling Luis and calming him down. Tuesday reminds his master to take his medications. He can wake Luis from debilitating dreams. After hearing about all that Tuesday does for Luis, not the least of which is elevating his sense of well-being, I made it my business to learn everything I could about service dogs and veterans.

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