According to Neal Pollack, today is Fair and Balanced day on the Internet. As such, the banner to this site has been temporarily changed to make light of the situation.

As far as Al Franken is concerned: I don’t have too much sympathy for him. Yes, I think that being sued for the use of a phrase (“Fair and Balanced”) in the title of his new book is unfounded and ridiculous. However, as a political satirist, he should know that when one hurls rocks, some of them may be returned. It’s no matter: Al will be alright with or without our “Fair and Balanced” help, especially since, thanks to the lawsuit, his book was recently elevated to the #1 position in Amazon.com’s sales rankings. (As of this posting, it has dropped to a respectable #3.)

All that said, I support any work that pokes fun and pulls the collective pants off of FOX News, Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coulter, etc. Especially Ann Coulter. If she acted less serious, we would think her to be funny and amusing instead of shrill and annoying.

Here’s O’Reilly trying to make a point :

The main point here is that trying to hurt a business or a person because you disagree with what they say is simply unacceptable in America.

…unless, of course, you are publishing a book smearing Bill Clinton. Oh, and what about boycotting to make a point? I mean, if I disagree with you Bill, I won’t watch your show, and thus won’t be part of your ever-so-coveted ratings, right. This will hurt you. Oh crap, I’m doing something unacceptable in America.

(Cheap shot alert!) By the way, whoever typed up Bill’s little screed should stop relying on their spellcheckers alone:

There’s no question that many of the attacks launched against FOX personnel are designed to injury and demean. It’s unfortunate, but in this country, if you’re successful or famous, many courts will allow defamation, slander and liable to go unpunished. [emphasis mine]

Bill’s editorial is called “The Talking Points Memo”. Joshua Micah Marshall has a site called Talking Points Memo. Better watch out, Josh, FOX News might sue you someday if you say something bad about them.

Unrelated: I’ve created a new category for the Sprocket called “Cirque de Politique”. I had been putting all posts relating to politics into “Big Thoughts”, but I’ve realized that some things I latch onto, like this post, are really more of a sideshow than anything else, and that “Big Thoughts” should be saved for things that are Really Important.