[CSPS] RE: Unbelievable.....

[Larry Oliver]

  Conservatives Pick Soft Target: A Cartoon Sponge
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

Published: January 20, 2005



Paramount Pictures



   From today's NY Times:

ASHINGTON, 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 with his animated 
sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The 
Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."

Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a 
"pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television 
colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of 
the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to 
promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of 
"sexual identity."

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