The Simpsons Bush/Cheney sticker on Fox News Truck tweaks Ailes

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/259720p-222382c.html

If you want to make Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes go ballistic - and I wouldn't advise it - just suggest that his broadcast journalists are shills for President Bush and the Republicans.

Ailes, who in a past life was a media strategist for Richard Nixon and George Bush the elder, has transformed his formerly brass-knuckled, partisan persona into that of a "fair and balanced" cable-news czar.

So he couldn't have been happy Sunday night when another member of the Fox television family - "The Simpsons" - featured a Fox News satellite truck sporting a huge Bush-Cheney bumper sticker while the rock group Queen's classic "We Are the Champions" blared over the soundtrack.

Ailes didn't return my phone call yesterday.

But my pal Tom Shales, the esteemed television critic of The Washington Post, E-mailed that the wicked sendup was "pretty ballsy since 'The Simpsons' plays on the Fox network, but it also shows how firm is the image of Fox News as Bush whores."

[goddess40]

1. everyone at my house thought it was funny

because it was right on the money

Even my 11 year old got it

[CatWoman]

8. I laughed so hard

I scared the cats!!! :D

[shoelace414]

2. I thought Simpsons got in trouble

before showing a fox news ticker saying things like "All Democrats eat babies"

[Killarney]

15. I remember that episode. I nearly pissed myself laughing.

the Fox ticker also said something bad about Hillary.... maybe worshipping Satan or something. It was pretty blatant.

I always wondered if they got in trouble for that or not.

[Killarney]

17. here it is

this says Foxnews considered suing but didn't
http://slashdot.org/articles/03/10/31/1453248.shtml?tid=129&tid=133&tid=186&tid=188

Matt Groening said in an NPR interview this week that the Fox News Channel considered legal action against the show for its parody of the station's news ticker. Broadcast, of course, by Fox Entertainment, the episode that raised the ire of the "Fair and Balanced" Fox News crew was Krusty For Congress, which mocked the perceived rightward-leanings of the channel with pseudo-news items such as "Do Democrats cause cancer?" and "Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple" scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

[shadowknows69]

26. yeah they're gonna sue their (don't have a) Cash Cow (man)

[Taxloss]

33. I remember that.

It also had "Pointless statistics up 27%" and "Rupert Murdoch 'Great Dancer'".

Brilliant.

There was another episode where the Simpsons had been brainwashed. At the end of the episode, when they recovered, it had them sitting in front of the TV discussing what had occurred.

Homer: "I'm glad we no longer have our minds controlled by an all-powerful malign force."

Voice from TV: "You are watching FOX!"

All: "We ... are ... watching ... FOX."

Genius.

[slutticus]

28. and "democrats cause cancer"...

..I was ROTF!

[Kurovski]

29. Here's the ticker list:

... Pointless news crawls up 37 percent ... Do Democrats cause cancer? Find out at FOXNEWS.COM ... Rupert Murdoch: Terrific Dancer ... Dow down 5000 points ... Study: 92 percent of Democrats are gay ... JFK Posthumously joins Republican Party ... Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple ...

Ticker during ending credits:
... Ashcroft declares breast of chicken sandwich "Obscene" ... Hillary Clinton Embarrasses self, nation ... Bible says Jesus favored capital-gains cut ... Only dorks watch CNN ... Jimmy Carter: Old, wrinkly, useless ... Brad Pitt + Albert Einstein = Dick Cheney ...

There was also something about watching "Hannity and Idiot" , but it was not on this list.

[rinsd]

34. Nahhhhh ...

Fox News blustered a bit but backed off.

"Welcome to fox News, your voice for evil"

That clip absolutely slays me and the recent one made me sip out my beer.

[Kingshakabobo]

3. Once again, the truth has to come from comedians and cartoons.

So sad.:cry:

[InvisibleBallots]

10. sorry I think the Fundies are right

When Jon Stewart has more credibility than the "real" news anchors, surely it's a sign of the End Times!

[bryant69]

4. Yeah I thought it was pretty funny too

I thought the Musical Cue was the funniest part. Triumphalism over at Fox has reached epic proportions.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Simpsons is propping that network up. They can't risk getting rid of them

*lol*

-------------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[KurtNYC]

6. You can't take the Bart out of Matt Groening

Gotta "stick it to the man" once in a while.

[IHeart1993]

7. Props to The Simpsons...

For questioning authority!!!
:yourock:

[BlueEyedSon]

11. Don't you mean "Questioning Absurdidty"...?

[newyawker99]

12. Hi IHeart1993!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[CatBoreal]

9. Anybody have a ..

..screen cap for this poor, cable-less northerner???

Please??

[Flagg]

18. There you go

[RamboLiberal]

19. Flagg - Thank You - I saved this one!

eom

[CatBoreal]

22. MWAH! MWAH!

Je vous aime! Merci beaucoup!

[Kolesar]

13. That's gotta be the longest running cartoon show in history

I think that was the second or third show from Fox, after Tracy Ullman and maybe Married with Children.

[shoelace414]

14. they came from Tracy Ullman

[durablend]

20. 16th season currently...

Series started with a Christmas special back in December 1989.

I think only Cops and America's Most Wanted have run longer (on FOX) and are still in production.

[ProfessorGAC]

16. 'Scuse Me?

It is public information that Ailes, when he got that job, wrote a memo to Murdoch outlining his plan to be a conservative mouthpiece shop, but to deflect that status with "fair & balanced". That's been out there for at least 5 years.

Ailes knew exactly what he was doing, did it, and couldn't care less if someone calls him on it. He's accomplished EXACTLY what he set out to do. He's laughing all the way to the bank, and so is Murdoch.
The Professor

[Butterflies]

21. That one surprised me

I love that the Simpsons writers stick it to FOX that way. FOX's bias is common knowledge now.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

23. The thing is

the creative people involved won't be intimidated even if Ailes marched into their offices. If Fox wants to censor the program,Matt and his team would likely walk. And I'm willing to bet any number of other outlets (which is really all a network is)would pick it up in a heartbeat!

[eissa]

24. That was great!

It irks me that such a great show is on Fox, forcing me to watch that horrible channel. But their many attacks on the right have made it worth it - the Simpson's rock! :headbang:

[wicket]

25. I almost died laughing at that!

The icing on the cake was Queen's "We are the Champions" playing heheheheehe :D

[Comicstripper]

27. The Simpsons still sucks, though...

Sorry. Absolutely sucks untold amounts of ass. Everytime I watch it, I wish that these last four-six seasons could be sawed off and forgotten entirely. But since that won't happen, the series in my mind is tainted.

[Pepperbelly]

30. You are dead wrong.

The Simpsons IS the best thing on television.

[Comicstripper]

31. NO WAY

the newer simpsons are god-awful. I was a huge fan from the beginning until a few years ago. I had entire episodes memorized. The show is absolutely pathetic now. It literally makes me nauteous.

Here are some better shows on TV:
Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Office
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

To name a few. (The first three, by the way, are vastly under-rated. The last one: slightly over-rated. Mainstream media loves it.)

[Pepperbelly]

32. The Daily Show is good ...

but the Simpsons DESTROYS all competition.

"I can blow it right in his monkey face and all he can do is GROOOOVE on it."

Now THAT'S comedy.

[Comicstripper]

35. Sorta

And what episode was that?
Yes. It was several seasons ago, when Homer was a hippy (I think.)
The new episodes? Have you seen them? I am close to decrying the new episodes as the worst show on television.

[Kurovski]

36. Medical Marijuana episode

He talks about blowing smoke in Doombya's face

[peekaloo]

37. "stupid monkey face" to be exact.

:smoke:

[Pepperbelly]

38. No, it was last season ...

the hippie episode was a while back but this one was when Homer got a script for medial marijuana.

He and Otto became friends.

Worst on television?

Come on, now. You are getting a little hysterical. The Simpsons rocks and those other shows you mentioned, except for the Daily Show, are not in the same league.

[Comicstripper]

40. No

I once loved the Simpsons. Seriously. Every episode now is
-choking with mediocre gags
-completely devoid of any intelligent plot
-heartless
-unfunny

remember the older episodes, which were funny AND made you think? they even had real moral messages. now, they are watered-down, unfunny, and HOPELESSY trite and stupid. they don't even tell jokes anymore.

Ex)
Homer: "Look who's got tickets to the Duff Festival!"
Kids: "Yay!"
Marge: "Mmmmmmm....I don't trust festivals. They're so...festive."

I hate the show now. Hurts to say it, but I do.

[Pepperbelly]

41. i feel for you then ...

I still love it and good for me, I say. iill get to enjoy it, secure in the knowledge that the Simpsons NEVER jumped the shark.

[Comicstripper]

43. Oh, the shark is GONE

Simpsons jumped the shark before Maude Flanders died.

[Zhade]

44. I only WISH it still were!

I've worked for three FOX affiliates and in broadcasting for 10 years. I've seen every episode of the first, oh, 12 seasons at least a dozen times due to running the eps for years.

There's a reason I HAVEN'T seen the newer seasons so much. I could if I wanted to; every day I could watch half a dozen episodes. If it's from Season 13 or beyond (and even after 10 they started going south), forget it, not worth it.

I say this is an ardent fan who can play level 5 in the trivia games and has probably forgotten more trivia than most fans remember (watching it for two hours a day for years will do that to you).

[Doctor_J]

39. "Ailes has transformed his persona

from partisan to 'fair and balanced news czar'"

This is a gag, right?

[President Jesus]

42. Matt Groening's political donations

Go Matt!
http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Matt_Groening.php