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First they came for the Teletubbies and I did nothing, because I hate mewling horribles who live in Orwellian romper rooms. But then they came for SpongeBob SquarePants. Now it's time to march. That's the reaction a lot of people--not all of them cartoon fans--seem to have had when The New York Times on Thursday reported that James Dobson had criticized Nickelodeon's cheerful yellow sponge for appearing in a video promoting tolerance. The problem, apparently, is that the kind of tolerance being promoted would extend to (among others) people who are gay. People who read the Times account weren't very...

I don't know if this poll is even worth freeping but it indicates news journalism gone mad! This is even more distasteful than their poll yesterday asking if the Inauguration was a great day, a good day or a bad day. Thanks Freepers for blowing that poll off their website! KOMU.com E-Poll Is SpongeBob SquarePants saying it's OK to be gay? Yes.: 20% No.: 8% Spongebob is a sponge!: 72% Total Votes: 79

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 - On the heels of electoral victories barring same-sex marriage, some influential conservative Christian groups are turning their attention to a new target: the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. "Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results. SpongeBob needed no introduction. In addition to his popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands...

''Spongebob'' Creator Defends Diversity Video Some Christian conservatives are angry about Spongebob Squarepants. The cartoon character joins peers such as Barney and Clifford ("The Big Red Dog") in a new video about tolerance. Spongebob (left) appears in what the founder of the Christian conservative group "Focus on the Family" calls a "pro-homosexual video" aimed at school kids. James Dobson says the cartoon sponge is potentially brainwashing kids by promoting tolerance for all sexual identities. The video's creator says the remake of the Sister Sledge tune "We are Family" is meant to encourage racial harmony. Spongebob and other popular characters promote...

SpongeBob in crosshairs The New York Times WASHINGTON — On the heels of electoral victories to bar same-sex marriage, some influential conservative Christian groups are turning their attention to a new target: the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said that SpongeBob's creators have enlisted SpongeBob in a “pro-homosexual video,” in which he appeared with other children's television characters. The makers of the video, Dobson said, plan to mail it to thousands of elementary schools this spring to promote a “tolerance pledge” that includes tolerance for differences of “sexual identity.”

In a new video to be distributed to 61,000 schools across the nation, homosexual activists are using popular children's TV characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Barney the dinosaur to surreptitiously indoctrinate young children into their lifestyle, a pro-family activist group charges. Based on the 1970s hit song "We Are Family," the video will be distributed to public and private elementary schools nationwide March 11, along with lesson plans for teachers, points out the American Family Association. The distribution, sponsored by FedEx, will coincide with the video's broadcast March 11 on Nickelodeon, PBS, and the Disney Channel in celebration of...

In a new video to be distributed to 61,000 schools across the nation, homosexual activists are using popular children's TV characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Barney the dinosaur to surreptitiously indoctrinate young children into their lifestyle, a pro-family activist group charges. SpongeBob Squarepants is one of the popular children's TV characters appearing in a new 'tolerance' video. Based on the 1970s hit song "We Are Family," the video will be distributed to public and private elementary schools nationwide March 11, along with lesson plans for teachers, points out the American Family Association. The distribution, sponsored by FedEx, will coincide...

Police are looking for a blow-up figure of SpongeBob SquarePants swiped from a Minnesota Burger King. They've found a ransom note which starts off: "We have SpongeBob." It then demands, "Give us ten Crabby Patties, fries and milkshakes." The ransom note is signed by SpongeBob's nemesis, Plankton. A postscript reads: "Patrick is next," referring to SpongeBob's cartoon friend. At a southeast Utah Burger King, vandals made off with a six-by-ten-foot balloon of Spongebob. Employees are handing out "Missing" fliers with a full description of the popular cartoon figure -- featured in a new movie. Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press....

SpongeBob back on his perch Burger King worker foils would-be thieves; inflatable dolls being stolen across U.S. Stabbed repeatedly and deflated, SpongeBob SquarePants’ body had been thrown off a local restaurant's roof and dragged toward Junction Creek. The inflatable doll — 2.7 metres tall and 2.7 metres wide — used to sit on top of the Notre Dame Avenue Burger King. Now, the doll appears to be the first confirmed Canadian casualty in a series of SpongeBob kidnappings across North America. So far, more than 50 SpongeBob kidnappings have been reported in the United States. The dolls were propped up...

Carlos Associated PressAn inflatable SpongeBob SquarePants figure is shown on the roof of a Burger King in Miami. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Dozens of 9-foot-tall SpongeBob Squarepants balloons have been stolen from the roofs of Burger Kings from Florida to Utah since the release of the famous cartoon character's hit movie, authorities said. The balloons started appearing at fast-food restaurants in a promotional tie-in with his movie Nov. 11. A Burger King near Palatka, south of Jacksonville, is among the latest to report the theft of the $500 balloon. "We don't have any theories. SpongeBob SquarePants is kind of a...

On Nov. 18 the Little Falls Police Department responded to a call that a large SpongeBob was missing from the top of the Burger King Restaurant. In place of SpongeBob was a ransom note stating in part, “We have SpongeBob. Give us 10 crabby patties, fries and milk shakes,” signed Plankton. The note also warned “Patrick is next.” According to members of the Little Falls Police Department, “Plankton always wants the recipe for crabby patties and he is unable to attain it. Patrick is SpongeBob’s sidekick.” The investigation continues. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Burger King’s SpongeBob is...

Look out kids. SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and Clifford the Big Red Dog are joining forces to rerecord the disco tune We Are Family to promote diversity and tolerance in classrooms. A video starring the three children's characters plus nearly 100 others, including Dora the Explorer and Arthur, will be distributed to 61,000 public and private elementary schools nationwide, along with lesson plans for teachers. It will air simultaneously on Nickelodeon, the Public Broadcasting Service and the Disney Channel in March. ... The We Are Family Foundation was founded by singer-songwriter Nile Rodgers, who wrote the song recorded in 1979 by...

MADISON, WIS. -- For the third straight year, Madison's Halloween-weekend street party ended violently and with police in riot gear.

<p>Don't flip out, no spoilers. Just got back from Paramount Studios' first media screening of Team America: World Police, the new film by "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. It's a nihilistic sendup of bloated, Bruckheimer-style action epics -- cast entirely with marionettes.</p>

<p>Jan. 8 - Joe Trippi was on my mobile phone. I had called him for some poll numbers and he sounded, understandably, hassled. Not frantic, but stressed. He should be.</p> <p>As Howard Dean’s campaign manager, Trippi has masterfully guided his man to the brink of the Democratic nomination. But Trippi has been around a long time, and he knows that in any campaign, especially a presidential nomination race, things can change faster than you can shout “Hart Upsets Mondale.” If you’re the front-runner at this point in a campaign, time seems to slow down to an agonizing crawl. Election Day can’t come soon enough for you. Trippi knows that leads can crumble, an unexpected rival can rise up suddenly and that voters do what they want, not what pundits expect.</p>

Valentine's cards include black SpongeBob; printing error blamed BY JIM SCHAEFER Knight Ridder Newspapers DETROIT - (KRT) - American Greetings Corp. calls it a regrettable printing error.Somehow, boxes of SpongeBob SquarePants Valentine's Day cards are popping up in Detroit Wal-Mart stores - but the popular cartoon character found inside isn't his traditional yellow color.He's black. And with his trademark big teeth and wide eyes, this SpongeBob seems similar to offensive images of African-Americans portrayed in minstrel shows decades ago.American Greetings officials said Thursday they were surprised and puzzled when the Detroit Free Press made them aware of a complaint about...

Wednesday, 9 October, 2002, 15:44 GMT 16:44 UK Camp cartoon star 'is not gay' SpongeBob SquarePants: A hit with adults and children The creator of one of the most popular new cartoon characters for years, SpongeBob SquarePants, has rejected claims that his cheerful creation is gay. SpongeBob has become an icon among homosexuals in the United States as well as a huge hit with children, according to the Wall Street Journal. Who is SpongeBob? A yellow sea sponge whose home is a giant pineapple Lives in Bikini Bottom on the bed of the Pacific Ocean Best friend is pink starfish...

On May 1, President Bush addressed the nation to announce victory for Iraq, but while his speech brought solid ratings for Fox New Channel, it may also have sounded a death knell for the station's run of cable dominance. For the weekend ending Sunday, May 4, TNT was the most watched cable channel in primetime, averaging 2.52 million viewers per night. HBO was second with 2.19 million viewers. Nickelodeon averaged 2.04 million for third. After dropping to second last week, FNC fell two more spots to fourth, with 2.02 million viewers. Rounding out the Top Five was the Cartoon Network,...

<p>He lives in a pineapple under the sea, in a town called Bikini Bottom. His best friend is an exuberant pink starfish named Patrick. His name is SpongeBob SquarePants, the absorbent yellow star of the most highly rated kids show on TV.</p>

<p>A tapestry of Pablo Picasso's powerful anti-war tableau "Guernica" has hung outside the U.N. Security Council since 1985, and it would be difficult to imagine a more fitting example of site-specific art.</p> <p>The original 1937 painting depicts the terrorized and dying civilians at Guernica, a small Basque village in northern Spain that Generalissimo Francisco Franco's Nationalist regime, battling the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War, allowed the German air force to use for target practice. About 1,600 civilians were killed or wounded in three hours of bombardment.</p>