First, they went after Al Franken for trademark infringement. Now comes word that the geniuses at Fox News threatened to sue "The Simpsons" over a parody of the right-wing news channel. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening told NPR that Fox News tried to get him to cut out the segment, before ultimately backing down. Rupert Murdoch owns both Fox News and Fox Broadcasting, which airs "The Simpsons," and apparently even he wasn't crazy enough to sue himself.

The parody included a political debate hosted by Fox News, described by the moderator as "your voice for evil." Fox News's main beef was with the mock "news crawl" featured at the bottom of the screen during the debate, which Fox argued might confuse viewers. The crawl featured the following headlines:

"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. ... Dan Quayle: Awesome."

Read other highlights from "The Simpsons" episode "Krusty For Congress."
• More: Politics & 'The Simpsons', Fox News Follies