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Memo to Fox: Hire Al Franken (Coulter mentioned)
BusinessWeek Onlin ^ | Thu Sep 4, 8:29 AM ET | By Ciro Scotti

Posted on 09/04/2003 11:12:34 AM PDT by Forgiven_Sinner

Is that boo-hooing I hear coming from Fox News, just across 48th Street from BusinessWeek headquarters in New York? Well, maybe I'm hearing things. But it sure is heart-warming to imagine Fox's supersized boss Roger Ailes and his fair-and-balanced band blubbering from the slap in the face a federal judge delivered to them recently.

Fox had sued left-wing comedian and political satirist Al Franken for using the words "fair and balanced" in the title of his new book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. The network that has wrapped itself, mummy-like, in the flag tried to deny Franken his constitutional right to free speech and self-expression by contending that the words "fair and balanced" implied an endorsement of the book by Fox. It is, of course, the self-described "fair and balanced" network, at least by its own definition.

On Aug. 22, U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan dismissed the suit, in essence telling Fox, owned by Aussie emigre Rupert Murdoch, to get a life and a sense of humor.

CRY-BABY. Now Fox, and especially its blustery everyman host Bill O'Reilly, are the laughingstock of Media City. Laughing hardest is Franken, a hilarious and sometimes abrasive ex-writer and performer on Saturday Night Live (news - Y! TV) whose previous books include Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations. With a little help from his enemies at Fox, Lies and the Lying Liars is now the #2 best-selling book on Amazon.com, as of Sept. 3, and has also just grabbed the top spot on The New York Times Best-Seller List.

Bullies always whimper when they get the bejeezus beat out of them, especially by a nerdy-looking guy with glasses [Franken's comedic persona], and especially when such a big crowd is watching the fisticuffs. But Fox isn't just a bully, it's a sorry sport. In deciding not to further pursue its complaint against Franken, the network said in a statement on Aug. 25: "It's time to return Al Franken to the obscurity he is normally accustomed to." Ooo! Ouch!

If the warrior network wants to show that it's man enough to take a licking in a fair fight and get on with being so balanced, it ought to hire Franken, not belittle him. Right now, the most liberal among all the conservative voices on Fox is Alan Colmes of Hannity & Colmes. Colmes is the weak sister to Sean Hannity, the overheated patriot who has never pulled on a pair of combat boots.

KILLER BARBIE. Why not a political shouting show that pits Franken against one of Fox's conservative firebrands? O'Reilly, who reportedly badgered Fox to sue Franken, wouldn't do it. His own show is too successful and in umpteen news reports about the suit, clips on rival CNN showed O'Reilly squaring off against Franken during a panel discussion at a book-industry convention -- and completely losing it. Fox, which suggested in its suit that Franken was "unstable," might want to look at those clips of O'Reilly brought to a boil.

Here's my choice: Ann Coulter, the cable talk show uber-guest and blond-haired darling of the right. Franken would have a much tougher time goading this unflappable siren of conservatism. The Joe McCarthy-loving Barbie-look-alike has a book of her own out now, Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, just like Franken. It's No. 47 on Amazon.com's best-seller list. A true-believing liberal vs. a true-believing goddess of whitebread would be a ratings-grabber for Fox. But perhaps it's far too risky for Ailes, O'Reilly, and the network's other cheesy-patriotism peddlers. What they don't want is to strike a balance by giving a forum to a lefty with a bruisingly funny left hook.


TOPICS: Editorial; Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alfranken; anncoulter; anticoulter; barfalert; communists; conservativebashing; coulterbashing; dnctalkingpoints; doofus; fox; foxbashing; foxnews; looser; mccarthywasright; murdochbashing; propaganda; ratslie; smarmyliberal; talkshow; traitors; treason; tvshow
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
If this author is going to talk about someone losing it, he should probably try watching Al Franken on tv sometime:

Al Franken Flips Out on CNN (link to transcript inside)

"I am the co-host of this show. I am the co-host of this show. I am the co-host of this show. Let me say one thing. I am the co-host of this show. I get to say this. Now, Dick Cheney ..."

21 posted on 09/04/2003 12:45:37 PM PDT by weegee
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
doofus noun : (slang) An incompetent, foolish, or stupid person.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

22 posted on 09/04/2003 12:52:31 PM PDT by weegee
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To: bolobaby
For comparison sake, Mrs. Bill Clinton's book Revisionist History currently has Amazon.com Sales Rank: 92.

Seems that Queen Hillary has slipped much farther than Ms. Coulter.

Never trust a rat to paint an honest picture of any situation.

23 posted on 09/04/2003 12:59:42 PM PDT by weegee
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To: weegee
Do we have total sale estimates of Treason vs. Livid History?
24 posted on 09/04/2003 1:04:50 PM PDT by bolobaby
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
Why not a political shouting show that pits Franken against one of Fox's conservative firebrands?

Because Fox doesn't want their ratings to look like CNN's, perhaps?

25 posted on 09/04/2003 1:09:36 PM PDT by kevkrom (This tag line for rent)
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To: kevkrom
Why not give Alan Keyes a gig on CNN? Why does the right always have to give an inch? Especially in the big media game?

The libs ask Rush Limbaugh to give "equal time" but as he declares, he is equal time.

What was the last conservative program you heard on NPR or Pacifica?

26 posted on 09/04/2003 1:15:23 PM PDT by weegee
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
Right now, the most liberal among all the conservative voices on Fox is Alan Colmes of Hannity & Colmes.

Huh? This sentence leaves you with the impression that Colmes is the only liberal at FNC.

The following flaming liberals are on the payroll of Fox News (and make regular appearances): Alan Colmes, Greta Van Sustern, Susan Estrich, Ellis Henican, Eleanor Clift, Geraldo Rivera, David Corn, Geraldine Ferraro, Mara Liasson, Juan Williams, Ellen Ratner, Gregg Hymowitz...

These are just a FEW of them that I can name off the top of my head.

27 posted on 09/04/2003 2:45:01 PM PDT by nutmeg (Is the DemocRATic party extinct yet?)
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To: StarFan; Dutchy; Gracey; Alamo-Girl; RottiBiz; bamabaseballmom; FoxGirl; Mr. Bob; xflisa; lainde; ..
FoxFan ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my FoxFan list. *Warning: This can be a high-volume ping list at times.

28 posted on 09/04/2003 2:46:07 PM PDT by nutmeg (Is the DemocRATic party extinct yet?)
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To: ko_kyi
>> If I wrote a book called "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night and Al Franken still sucks" I suspect that NBC would want me to change the title as well.

You need to change the part after 'and' to: 'Al Franken is a steaming turd.'
29 posted on 09/04/2003 2:49:13 PM PDT by Keith in Iowa (Tag line produced using 100% post-consumer recycled ethernet packets,)
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
You can't put AL Franken on TV because he goes insane. He can't stand anyone disagreeing with him and he gets loud and asinine.
30 posted on 09/04/2003 2:50:29 PM PDT by lawgirl (Looking how to fill that God-shaped hole - U2- Mofo)
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To: alisasny; Black Agnes; BobFromNJ; Brad's Gramma; BUNNY2003; Cacique; Clemenza; Coleus; DKNY; ...
ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

31 posted on 09/04/2003 2:51:57 PM PDT by nutmeg (Is the DemocRATic party extinct yet?)
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
How come you are a satirist if you rip on the right, but, if you rip on the left, you are full of hate and deserve to be burned in effigy?
32 posted on 09/04/2003 4:41:31 PM PDT by DTwistedSisterS
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
Al Franken is a weenie. At the Hilton, he harasses Alan Colmes and then later is seen nursing a nose bleed in the hallway.

When Alan Colmes kicks ypur ass, you win "Pussy of the Year" hands down.

33 posted on 09/04/2003 7:24:14 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul
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To: nutmeg
These are just a FEW of them that I can name off the top of my head.

How many liberals can you fit on the pin of a head?

Or was that angels on the head of a pin?

34 posted on 09/04/2003 7:26:01 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul
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To: Forgiven_Sinner
bump
35 posted on 09/04/2003 7:27:19 PM PDT by foreverfree
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To: nutmeg
Thanks for the heads up!
36 posted on 09/04/2003 8:53:53 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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