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FORT LAUDERDALE -- It's unlikely that SpongeBob SquarePants, Kermit the Frog and Barney will find a home in Broward County schools. Superintendent Frank Till said Thursday he sees no need for a diversity video that includes the children's characters, even after the Anti-Defamation League and gay and lesbian groups complained. "We already have lessons about diversity in our curriculum," Till said after a School Board meeting. "I don't see where (the video) fits with what we've already got."

Skip the Krabby Patty, SpongeBob SquarePants is going veggie. Pictures of the happy-go-lucky sponge will appear on packages of carrots, spinach and citrus starting next month, under licensing deals with produce companies. Dora the Explorer and other Nickelodeon characters also will debut on fruit and vegetable packages, according to the network. SpongeBob already helps pitch a cart full of foods ranging from cereal to ice cream, but Nickelodeon executives say the foray into the wholesome fruit and vegetable market complements network programming attempts to coax kids to eat healthier. "If we can use our popular characters and help kids eat...

If the Democratic chieftains in Washington really want a window into why heartland residents are tuning out our party, they should stop huddling with loopy linguists from Berkeley like George Lakoff and just start reading Frank Rich's commentaries in the New York Times. There they will find a perfect distillation of the arrogance and narrow-mindedness that typifies the cultural thinking of our elites--and turns off red-state voters. In the view of Mr. Rich and his acolytes, freedom in our culture has been "under attack" ever since 9/11. Indeed, Mr. Rich has argued that this attack is being led by "new...

An ex-convict suspected of being the "SpongeBob Squarepants" bank robber was arrested Friday on suspicion of a string of armed holdups in the Twin Cities metro area. FBI agents had been investigating whether the same 45-year-old South St. Paul man may have committed as many as eight armed robberies of TCF Bank branches. For some of the robberies, the FBI has said, the man used a bag depicting SpongeBob, a popular cartoon character who is always getting into trouble. But there was nothing funny about the alleged crimes of this man, who was sentenced in 1988 by a Ramsey County...

JUST call him "SpongeBob PornPants." David Hillenbrand, who has worked on such family-friendly fare as "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" and "You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's Sleepover Party," has cast porn strumpet Jasmin St. Claire as the star of his "National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2: Semester at Sea." St. Claire is best known for setting a "gang bang" world record by having sex with 300 men on camera in one day. Hillenbrand, who wrote lyrics for the "SpongeBob" movie and was music producer for the 1995 Olsen Twins straight-to-video caper, is co-directing "Dorm Daze 2" with his brother, Scott. St....

NEW YORK (AP) - A children's music video that conservatives charge is part of an effort to encourage acceptance of homosexuality is being distributed to more than 60,000 schools nationwide, producers said Thursday. The video features about 100 children's TV characters including SpongeBob SquarePants, Miss Piggy and Oscar the Grouch singing the 1979 disco hit "We Are Family." It will be accompanied by a teaching guide that promotes tolerance of diversity. "The opportunity to bring that message to children around the entire country is truly exciting," said Caryl Stern, senior associate national director of the Anti-Defamation League. "We know at...

SpongeBob receives 'unequivocal welcome' from United Church of Christ By J. Bennett Guess United Church News Jan.24, 2005 CLEVELAND -- Joining the animated fray, the United Church of Christ today (Jan. 24) said that Jesus' message of extravagant welcome extends to all, including SpongeBob Squarepants - the cartoon character that has come under fire for allegedly holding hands with a starfish. "Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said, only partly in jest. "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." For that matter, Thomas explained, the...

Coming soon to an elementary school near you: A "We Are Family" music video intended to "demonstrate the importance of togetherness embodied in the word 'family.'" The producers and distributors of the video -- including the We Are Family Foundation and the Anti-Defamation League -- are inviting reporters to cover its debut at the Jean Parker Elementary School in San Francisco on Thursday, March 10. The video brings together more than 100 cartoon characters (Arthur, Barney, Big Bird, etc.), and it also features cameo appearances by Bill Cosby, Diana Ross and Whoopi Goldberg -- the latter widely criticized by Republicans...

Heterophobia hit another low with recent attacks on James Dobson. Locally, anyone who might share his understanding of moral absolutes was skillfully demonized as endangering national security and being party to biblically motivated genocide, witch-burning, kidnapping, rape, slavery and murder. Apparently that kind of character assassination coupled with disgraceful, if not libelous, falsification of the facts represents liberalism's treasured standard for intellectual debate, forward-looking dialogue, openness to other worldviews and compassionate agape (unconditional) love. What was Dobson's crime? He had the fortitude to express grave concern about a video and accompanying lesson plans scheduled for distribution to 61,000 public and...

March 1, 2005O'Reilly Continues to Spin SpongeBob StoryCable host again misreports Dr. Dobson's concernsFox News Channel talk-show host Bill O'Reilly used his "talking points" feature on Monday night (Feb. 28) to once again misreport the SpongeBob SquarePants issue, criticizing conservative "culture warriors" for allegedly saying that the popular children's cartoon character is gay."SpongeBob is a sponge. He's not cruising the bars in West Hollywood," O'Reilly said. "Culture warriors on both sides have got to get a grip. There's danger in fanatical policy. But paranoia makes a danger harder to illuminate. You won't be taken seriously if you cry wolf too...

A growing chill is in the air over Hollywood Saturday night after ABC executives forced Robin Williams to drop a comic song from the Oscars show! Williams, the presenter of the Academy Award for best animated feature, decided last week that his one minute on stage would be a prime time to lampoon a conservative critic James C. Dobson, whose group Focus on the Family last month criticized the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants for appearing in a video about tolerance that the group called "pro-homosexual."

ABC EXECS FORCE ROBIN WILLAMS TO CUT OSCAR SKIT Sat Feb 26 2005 19:21:18 ET A growing chill is in the air over Hollywood Saturday night after ABC executives forced Robin Williams to drop a comic song from the Oscars show! Williams, the presenter of the Academy Award for best animated feature, decided last week that his one minute on stage would be a prime time to lampoon a conservative critic James C. Dobson, whose group Focus on the Family last month criticized the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants for appearing in a video about tolerance that the group called "pro-homosexual."...

The SpongeBob SquarePants robber has struck again, this time hitting a bank at a Cub Foods store in Northfield, Minn., police said Saturday. The robber showed a gun after handing over a bag with the cartoon character on it. The robbery happened at 6:40 p.m. Friday at 2423 Hwy. 3 S., Northfield police said. Police said the man, who fled, is considered armed and dangerous, and a reward has been offered. It's believed to be the seventh time that the robber has hit using the SpongeBob bag. "We're assuming it's the same guy," said Northfield Police Chief Gary Smith. "He...

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is in response to a column by Knight Ridder columnist Celia Rivenbark that ran here a week ago. Dr. James Dobson has a problem with SpongeBob SquarePants. At least that's what the media would have you believe. In recent days, the Focus on the Family chairman has been crucified by the press for supposedly disparaging the beloved cartoon character in a speech he gave in Washington last month. Several major newspapers have even implied that Dobson believes SpongeBob is gay. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was in the audience at the preinaugural dinner during...

Photo: Giant SpongeBob rescued from house fire Chesapeake firefighters, from left, Robert Stewart, Maury Brickhouse, Matt Bunting and David Elliott display an inflatable version of the cartoon character SpongeBob that was found in a burning South Norfolk home. CHESAPEAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT By CINDY CLAYTON, The Virginian-Pilot © February 12, 2005 | Last updated 11:40 PM Feb. 11 CHESAPEAKE — The fire wasn’t set to cover up the sponge-napping.And firefighters figure the giant, yellow square with the goofy smile likely was deflated before they pulled him from the burning South Norfolk home Friday. What remains a mystery is why someone set...

Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, was recently quoted in the press claiming that children's cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants was part of the "homosexual agenda." The proof? SpongeBob appears in a new video for schools produced by the We Are Family Foundation, and the Foundation's website includes the Declaration of Tolerance, a pledge from Tolerance.org. The Declaration states in part, "I pledge to have respect for people whose abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or other characteristics are different from my own." The "sexual identity" part alarmed Dr. Dobson. It's the "beliefs" part that's hard for me....

Crazed right-wing moralists, take note: Before SpongeBob, there was Snagglepuss ... and Huckleberry Hound ... and even Popeye. Recent events in the world of animated children's shows have caused people to question whether the cartoon industry is promoting a homosexual agenda. Allegations have been directed at SpongeBob SquarePants for participating in a pro-gay video, and at Buster the Bunny for his fraternization with a lesbian couple and their children. While some have dismissed these allegations as the rantings of ultraconservative Christians, gay cartoon characters do in fact exist, and some of them are even politically active. I recently asked some...

This is very real: http://www.kelloggs.com/promotions/spongebobsquarepants/limitededitions.html I think somebody at keebler has a very very very dark sense of humor.

SpongeBob bandit strikes sixth metro-area bank Published February 4, 2005 An armed robber with a proclivity for the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants struck his sixth bank Wednesday, working at what authorities call a "dramatic" pace and showing dangerous aggression. The suspect robbed the Hastings TCF Bank branch at Cub Foods, 1729 Marquette Blvd., about 7:10 p.m. He displayed a long-barreled handgun, demanded money and threatened to kill the teller, according to the FBI. He stashed an undisclosed amount of money in a SpongeBob gift bag and fled on foot. Authorities believe he is responsible for a string of robberies in...