Fair & Balanced®

"Fair & Balanced" is a registered trademark of Fox News Corporation. Judging by other corporate registered trademarks it surely has no bearing on the quality of the product. The slogan was originally used in conjunction with "Real Journalism", though that slogan has now fallen out of favor.



History:
In 2002, Al Franken used the above slogan in the subtitle for his book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them (A Fair And Balanced Look At The Right). His book focused on the subject of media bias, especially that allegedly present at the FOX News Channel. FOX immediately sued, claiming that it had a trademark on the phrase. FOX News dropped the lawsuit, after Judge Denny Chin refused their request.

In December, 2003, FOX News found itself on the other end of a legal battle concerning the slogan, when Alternet filed a cancellation petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to have FOX's trademark rescinded as "notoriously misdescriptive". Legal proceedings relating to Alternet's petition continued throughout 2004. Alternet included the documentary film Outfoxed as supporting evidence in its case.

The slogan most recently used in its place is "We report, you decide", a slogan which has also been criticized.

"In conclusion God bless our troops and we will never forget September the 11th."
-Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)
(This is how he concludes all of his speeches)

New Letter To Congress!

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) was reading the newspaper while presiding over the Senate yesterday as President pro tempore. Being the keen C-SPAN watcher that I am, I caught him and brought him to justice. I drafted up the following letter and am preparing to send it today. I will of course publish any response I recieve. But as my reply record from legislators is dismal (0-11), I doubt I will ever hear anything. I guess the modern way to legislate is by ignoring the American people. Corporations have more money anyway. I originally tried to email this to Mr. Vitter, but his website was shitty and would not work. Paper will give a better impression anyway. Wish me luck


May 11, 2005
The Honorable David Vitter
516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Vitter,

I am very excited to correspond with a Senator of your reputation and authority. I know that communicating with legislators is one of the best ways to participate in democracy. As a regular viewer of C-SPAN, I saw you lead the senate as President pro tempore yesterday. I must say that I was disheartened and disappointed to see you reading the newspaper during important debates on the floor.

I understand the importance of staying informed in this day and age, but I wish you would save such activities for your office hours. I know that you are very busy; such is the life of a US Senator. But as a Senator, especially as President of the Senate, you have the responsibility to put the American people first. Non-legislative tasks should be put aside while in the halls of the Senate, I'm sure many of your constituents would feel the same way.

I hope that during your next term as President pro tempore you preside with an air of consciousness as you rule over the events on the floor. I hope to never see you reading the newspaper in Senate again. It has been a pleasure to correspond with you; I hope to receive a response shortly.

P.S.: Why don’t I ever see Mr. Dick Cheney preside over the Senate? Am I mistaken, or is he almost never there? Is it a new trend in government for the Vice-President not to visit the Senate often? Please advise.


Sincerely,
Jeffrey B. Friedlander