Al Franken's Blog, page 30

Boston Globe: David Letterman changed everything

YOU ONLY GET to say goodbye to America once, and millions will be watching Wednesday night to see how David Letterman chooses to do it. I give big odds against “mawkish.”

America will be saying goodbye to its most evolved celebrity, a complicated man who’s had the good graces to respect his audience by embracing certain core, sometimes apparently conflicting, values.

“It’s just a damn TV show,” Letterman has said, expressing discomfort at the praise lavished upon him of late. Yet, we know that he pushed himself and his incredibly talented staff to put on a funny, absurd, intelligently stupid show night after night. When he failed, it really bothered him, and we could tell.

Letterman will tell you he didn’t reinvent the late-night talk show. Yes, when Letterman was lowered into a 900-gallon tank of water wearing a suit attached with 3,400 Alka-Seltzers, he was channeling Steve Allen, the first host of “The Tonight Show.”

But when NBC opened up the time slot after “The Tonight Show,” the network restricted Letterman from using a number of time-honored talk show conventions that Johnny Carson had made his own. He had no choice but to go weird. Dogs did Stupid Pet Tricks; Chris Elliott emerged from under the bleachers; stuff got smashed, either by being dropped from a five-story tower or crushed by steamroller or hydraulic press. And Paul Shaffer and the band composed and played oddly appropriate themes for every ridiculous bit of business.

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Star Tribune: Kline and Franken provide bipartisan leadership on Indian schools

Minnesota’s congressional delegation merits praise for its full-court press last week to improve the nation’s dilapidated and underachieving Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) school system. Answers, however, are still frustratingly elusive about when schools like Minnesota’s Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig High School, now housed in a metal pole barn, will be rebuilt.

In this age of highly charged partisanship, the bipartisan charge to tackle this educational crisis is especially admirable — and needed. About 50,000 children in Minnesota and 22 other states attend class in the BIE system, one of two federal K-12 school systems. But graduation rates lag well behind other students, and the school facilities are often in shockingly poor condition, as a 2014 Star Tribune editorial series detailed.

Minnesota’s Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig, located on the Leech Lake Indian reservation, is one of 64 BIE schools rated in poor condition. Recent leadership turnover at the school underscores the need for a safe, modern facility to attract and retain top teachers and leaders.

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The Ups and Downs of Marriage Equality

Two years ago today, marriage equality had a major “up” in Minnesota. Governor Mark Dayton signed marriage equality into law. Now all couples — gay or straight — can make a lifetime commitment of love and devotion to each other.

Here’s the “down” — in many states, same-sex marriage is still illegal.

Marrying Franni was the best thing that ever happened to me. And we want every committed couple – gay or straight – to have the same joy and dignity that marriage affords. But all too often, that isn’t the case.

Luckily, things are looking up. The Supreme Court is considering four cases right now that could finally make marriage equality the law of the land. We’ll find out later this summer.

The majority of Americans support marriage equality. Our friends in the LGBT community deserve the right to marry who they love. And our government should not stand in the way. In honor of this Minnesota milestone, I’m showing my support for marriage equality online — and I’d like you to join me.

Click here to share the graphic on Facebook or tweet it to your followers on Twitter.

For two years, same-sex couples in Minnesota have been able to marry who they love. I hope that someday soon, same-sex couples from every state will have that same freedom.

Al

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Northlands News Center: Senate hearing in Washington focused on crumbling schools in Indian Country

Crumbling schools in Indian Country took center stage today during a Senate hearing in Washington.

Testifying before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Leech Lake chairwoman Carrie Jones talked about conditions at the school on her reservation and their impact on students.

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The post Northlands News Center: Senate hearing in Washington focused on crumbling schools in Indian Country appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Consumerist: Senators Call For Attorney General Investigation Into Executives Of Corinthian Colleges

Bankrupt for-profit college chain Corinthian Colleges Inc. is already party to a number of state and federal investigations related to the alleged deceptive recruiting practices at its Heald College, WyoTech and Everest University campuses. Now, a group of senators are hoping to add another investigation to the roster.

The seven senators are urging recently confirmed Attorney General Loretta Lynch to open an investigation into whether or not the Department of Justice can hold executives of CCI personally accountable for their actions related to the company’s unfair practices and eventual downfall.

The group –– which includes Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Al Franken of Minnesota –– says in its letter to Lynch that because the Department of Education has limited resources for holding individuals responsible for misconduct related to CCI, that it is critical that the Department of Justice get to the bottom of the issue.

“Corinthian’s collapse over the past year has come at the cost of hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars and at the expense of thousands of students who were enticed to enroll in – and to incur massive debt for – failing school programs,” the letter states. “At the same time that Corinthian’s executives were enriching themselves on federal student loan dollars, with the CEO making an annual salary that exceeded $3 million, allegations of Corinthian’s misbehavior grew increasingly widespread.”

The senators point out that CCI is already subject to a number lawsuits, including civil complaints by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three state attorneys general, as well as investigations by at least 20 more state attorneys generals and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“With this much smoke surrounding Corinthian, it is incumbent on the Justice Department to search carefully for fire,” the letter states.

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The post Consumerist: Senators Call For Attorney General Investigation Into Executives Of Corinthian Colleges appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Star Tribune – Schafer: Franken’s view hurt Comcast’s big deal

The collapse of Comcast’s deal to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion in stock could turn out to be one of the big wins in the career of Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, one he called “gratifying.”

But it’s not like he was quarterback of the winning team. More like the head cheerleader.

Comcast abandoned its transaction last week in the face of opposition by federal antitrust lawyers, who were the real decisionmakers on this deal. They were concerned about what would happen to customers if one company controlled nearly 57 percent of the high-speed Internet market.

And there was Franken, cheering them on.

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The post Star Tribune – Schafer: Franken’s view hurt Comcast’s big deal appeared first on U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Star Tribune: Senators, including Franken, want to close GI Bill loophole for for-profit colleges

A group of 20 U.S. senators, including Minnesota’s Al Franken, sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan last week asking him to assist in closing a loophole that allows for-profit colleges to count GI Bill benefits as nonfederal funding in their revenue breakdowns.

It’s called the 90/10 rule. It’s intended to cap federal funding for for-profit colleges at 90 percent of their revenue. The other 10 percent needs to come from sources other than the federal government. But right now, tuition assistance for service members and the GI Bill are not included in the calculation.

The letter raises concerns that active-duty service members and veterans have been targeted by some for-profit colleges because of the attractiveness of access to their GI Bill funding.

Among the top for-profit recipients of Post-9/11 GI Bill funds, seven of the eight companies are currently under investigation for deceptive and misleading recruiting or other possible violations of state and federal law.

According to a 2013 analysis from the Department of Education obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting, 133 for-profit colleges received more than 90 percent of their revenues from taxpayers when Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs benefits were counted as federal education assistance. Another 292 institutions received more than 85 percent.

U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.

Star Tribune: Sen. Al Franken raises concerns about ‘personalized pricing’ by airlines

Airlines may price seats based on your ZIP code, your travel habits or your marital status — a practice Sen. Al Franken on Tuesday urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to further regulate.

The federal agency last year gave the airlines permission to use “personalized pricing,” which allows the industry to charge one consumer more than another for the same seat on the same flight based on collected personal information.

The rule, supported by the airline industry and business travel groups, prohibits companies from using consumer-provided information to discriminate against consumers based on “race, creed, color, sex, religious or political affiliation, disability or national origin,” according to the federal agency.

But, it is technically legal for airlines to use other types of information to tailor prices — or in Franken’s word, discriminate — based on consumers’ income level, marital status and trip purpose.

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KSTP – 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Investigates: Selling Your Secrets

There’s a push in Washington, D.C., fueled in part by Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, to give consumers access to their own personal information that’s in the hands of data brokers.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS discovered data lists – for sale online – that have police officer home addresses, cancer patients, and Alzheimer’s patients on them. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS purchased a list of more than 3,100 people in the Twin Cities with allergies.

“It’s a little bit scary, because this is something simple with allergies medication, but it could be for a serious medical condition, or something you really want to keep private,” Sheila Seats said. She was one of the people on the broker’s list that included names and home addresses available for purchase.

The Federal Trade Commission defines data brokers as companies that collect consumers’ personal information and resell or share that information with others.

“We’re now in an era where commercial interests are violating your privacy,” Franken said.

Watch the video and read the full article >>

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Time: Senator Al Franken: Politicians Didn’t Stop the Comcast–Time Warner Deal. You Did.

The collapse of Comcast’s plan to buy Time Warner Cable is a big victory for anyone who watches TV or uses the Internet. But it won’t be the last time the interests of consumers clash with the desires of big corporations in the media and technology space. Here are five lessons from this fight I think we should keep in mind going forward.

1. We should believe in the power of grassroots activism.

When this deal was announced, it was seen as a fait accompli; everyone expected it to go through without a hitch. And for more than a year, I was the only senator to oppose the deal.

But we won because ordinary Americans can wield extraordinary power when they raise their voices. It happened when we rallied to save net neutrality, and it happened again here: According to Public Knowledge, nearly 1 million comments and petition signatures were submitted to the Federal Communications Commission asking that this deal be blocked.

Politicians didn’t stop this deal; you did. At a time when cynicism comes easy, and progress comes hard, it’s worth savoring this grassroots victory.

2. We should empower regulators to do their jobs.

This decision illustrates an important reason why we have the FCC (and federal regulatory agencies in general): to protect the American people from being taken advantage of by big corporations.

That said, far too often, those big corporations are able to wield overwhelming influence over the government agencies (and lawmakers) that are supposed to be keeping them in check. Comcast is represented in Washington by more than 100 lobbyists, more than a few of whom have passed through the “revolving door” between the company and its regulators (for example, less than four months after the FCC approved Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2011, one of the FCC commissioners went to work for Comcast). Last year, it and Time Warner Cable combined to spend $32 million trying to influence the federal government.

So while it’s critical that we empower regulators to do their jobs, we also have to demand that they do them well; our activism has to outweigh the big money on the other side.

3. We should still be worried about lack of competition.

Even without this deal, there is far too little competition in the cable and broadband markets. As it stands now, 55% of U.S. households only have one choice for broadband Internet—and for a majority of those homes, it’s Comcast. Not exactly an incentive for the company to provide first-class service, as many Comcast customers can attest.

And if you want another illustration of how powerful Comcast is, consider that, during the debate over this deal, other companies who did business with Comcast told me they were afraid go public with their opposition because they feared retribution.

Innovation—along with all the new jobs and economic growth and cool stuff that we get as a result of innovation—comes from competition. And in important sectors of our economy, there still isn’t nearly enough competition. I plan to keep looking for ways to encourage more.

4. We should remember when corporations break their promises.

Comcast had a hard time convincing me, and regulators, that this deal wouldn’t hurt consumers. Part of the reason why is that we had heard similar promises from Comcast before—and they’d been broken time and time again. (And I don’t just mean promises like, “Your technician will be there between 10 and 2.”)

For example: As a condition of the NBCUniversal deal, Comcast (which already owned the pipes through which programming flowed) had to promise not to give their own newly-acquired business or news networks (like CNBC) favorable locations on the cable dial while relegating competing networks (like Bloomberg TV) to the cheap seats. Guess what: They broke that promise.

They also promised to create a standalone broadband product so that people who only wanted Internet service wouldn’t have to buy an expensive bundle that also included cable TV. Comcast created the product; they just didn’t tell consumers about it. In fact, Comcast told Wall Street investors that, with the Time Warner deal done, they planned to push the bundles even more aggressively.

I’m always skeptical about big deals like this one—but we should all be especially wary when they involve companies that have proven to be so untrustworthy.

5. We should always put consumers first in media and technology policy.

I happened to know a lot about consolidation in media because I used to work in media. But to a lot of people, vertical integration and antitrust law sound like obscure, and almost comically boring, topics. And that’s a shame. Because this is really about consumers, and the services they rely on as part of their daily lives, and how much they have to pay for those services every month.

U.S. Senator Al Franken, Minnesota -- Official Campaign Website.