Fair & Balanced
Reader Chris Puzak alerts us that Matt Groening is now saying "just kidding" about the Fox News/Simpsons lawsuit story.
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The problem is, I don't know who to believe. Mr. Groening certainly sounded credible when he first mentioned the issue. Fox becomes embarassed with the revelation that thier attack dogs are too agressive and don't have a sense of humor a WEEK later the story is retracted.
I smell bullshit somewhere....
In Bart S.'s world, there's no such thing as a practical joke. Sad.
I never liked Groening. Despite the fact she could be a cast-iron bitch, every time I heard a crack against Any Rand on the Simpsons or Futurama I wanted to throw a heavy object through the TV because you just know that hippie hypocrite is condemning libertarians (like me) by association. I don't like being the punchline of anyone's jokes.
Matt Groening is good, but maybe too good. Lucky for him he has the longest running, and most popular syndicated and primetime cartoon.
The original story got me thinking about what is "fair and balanced." I concluded that to get fair and balanced news in general, one might have to listen to NPR on the commute in the car and watch Fox at home on TV. That way, you get the spin from both sides. Just my thoughts.
The Simpsons? How about the South Park episode where the police officer learns to read? He is given Atlas Shrugged as his first "real" book and finishes the show saying "This is the worst piece of crap I have ever read. Just because of this book, I am never reading again" (or something like that) and everyone cheers. [Chickenlover, Episode 203]
I think it's funny being the brunt of jokes. But hey, I'm Norwegian and grew up memorizing Ole and Lena jokes as reading primers in elementary school (MN).
Ryan
PS Ole and Lena got married. On their honeymoon trip they were nearing Minneapolis when Ole put his hand on Lena's knee. Giggling, Lena said, "Ole, you can go a little farther now if ya vant to"... so Ole drove to Duluth.
Correction:
Officer Barbrady in South Park says:
"At first I was happy to be learning how to read. It seemed exciting and magical. But then I read this: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I read every last word of this garbage, and because of this piece of sh**, I'm never reading again." [cheers]
If I had to choose between being a Matt Groening fan and a libertarian, I'd probably have to be an excommunicated-libertarian/Matt Groening fan.