When it comes to the Comcast merger, Franken was even more vocal. “As you probably know, I hate this merger,” he told the group. Not only will it raise prices on TV subscriptions, it will give the combined entity incredible power to stifle competition from online sources like Netflix.

“I’m hearing that Comcast is already preparing to pull NBC Universal’s programming from Netflix when it’s next up for review,” Franken said. The cable industry is worried about the threat from cheaper options like Netflix; “they aren’t stupid and they want to shut it down.”

Franken even referenced the current controversy over Level 3′s peering arrangements with Comcast (Level 3 just won a major contract from Netflix to deliver its content). Comcast’s move to charge for this interconnection is, in Franken’s view, “a clear warning sign of what we can all expect if this deal goes through.”

As he was giving that speech, the merger did go through yesterday, signed off on by the FCC and the Department of Justice. As for what’s next, Franken just sees a new wave of mega-consolidation in which AT&T tries to buy ABC/Disney while Verizon goes after CBS.

“Now is the time to decide if we want four or five companies owning and delivering all of our information and entertainment,” he said.

I’m with Senator Franken on this. It’s no small matter. Not only are we going to see increased prices from less competition. Not only will good alternatives like Netflix get crushed under the weight of giant conglomerates; we’re also going to see even more stifling control over the media message in this country. It’s bad enough that stations like Fox News already have so much influence over a portion of our population. With mergers like the latest Comcast merger that went through yesterday, we may soon live in a country where ONLY stations like Fox News exist. All bias, all the time. Sort of a reverse of what England has with the BBC. Instead of the government running the networks, the networks will run our government.

Have no illusions. The 1% that have all the money in the U.S. have been working toward this goal for a very long time. Rather than controlling the population with an army, as you would in a dictatorship, they use the media to achieve the same goal in this democracy. They’ve owned radio for quite a while already. Television is the next frontier.

The Catholic Church understood in the days of the Holy Roman Empire that language was power. That’s why it never wanted the Bible translated into other languages. If only the priests knew latin, then only the priests could understand God’s word. And everyone else had to trust their interpretation. Control the message, and you control the population. Same basic principle here.

I fear it may already be too late to stop this.