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There are certain cultural icons whose presence in and influence on the world is so powerful and pervasive, it transforms them into signposts marking the march of history – the world before and after Elvis, the Beatles, JFK and now ... SpongeBob. Nickelodeon, the birthplace of SpongeBob SquarePants, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the hit animated series with a 50-hour marathon that starts Friday and includes 11 new episodes. Amid all the celebratory hubbub, it can seem strange to remember just how strange SpongeBob and his Bikini Bottom posse seemed when they first appeared way back in 1999.

Tomorrow, Nickelodeon is beginning its celebration of the 10th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants -- that absorbent, yellow fellow who lives in a pineapple under the sea -- with "The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash Weekend." As part of that celebration the network has proclaimed tomorrow, July 17th, the first Global Day of Happiness. And it seems that Durham Mayor Bill Bell is on board. He even signed a proclamation urging Durham residents to make special note of this observance. The proclamation reads that a day in honor of happiness is 'most appropriate due to the current affairs within our nation.' It says...

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhuanet) -- SpongeBob SquarePants, the fictional character of Nickolodeon's animated television series, is 10 years old. Designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillengurg, SpongeBob first hit television screens in May 1999. The character, a naive and goofy sea sponge who lives in the fictitious underwater town of Bikini Bottom, has been a favorite for both adults and children alike. Voiced by actor and comedian Tom Kenny, the character has also courted controversy and been seen by some as promoting homosexuality. In the cartoon series SpongeBob is often seen holding hands with his friend Patrick, something which...

A new advertising campaign from Burger King that marries SpongeBob and women with square buts hasn’t been well received in all quarters. The ad campaign sees The Burger King “King” singing “I love square butts” surrounded by women shaking their square butts in an effort to promote a Burger King Kids Meal that comes with a SpongeBob SquarePants toy. Lyrics include the line “I wanna git wit’cha, cause you’re makin’ me richer.”

Giant clams two feet long might have helped feed prehistoric humans as they first migrated out of Africa, new research reveals. < > Fossil evidence that the researchers uncovered suggests the stocks of these giant clams began crashing some 125,000 years ago, during the last interval between glacial periods. During that time, scientists think modern humans first emerged out of Africa, Richter said. < >

Spoof on Sponge Bob living in China: YouTube Link

Lead Concerns Cited For Chinese-Produced Toys WASHINGTON -- More children's items made in China have been recalled because they contain high levels of lead. The largest recall affects about 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants address books and journals, manufactured in China and imported by Martin Designs. They have been recalled because paint on the metal spiral bindings can contain high levels of lead. The books feature the SpongeBob SquarePants character on the front cover and a black metal spiral binding. The UPC numbers (80773007505 for the address book and 80773002260, 80773075501 and 80773007551 for the journal) are printed on the back covers....

PRINCETON, NJ - May 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – American Gallup Poll results, released this morning, indicate that tolerance of homosexuality within the United States has reached a record high. According to the Poll, since 1977 public support of legalization of “homosexual relations between consenting adults” has risen from 43% to a record-breaking 59%. According to Gallup, the general trend is an increased support for homosexuality. Notably, the observed increase in acceptance of homosexuality has occurred concurrent with a nationwide promotion of homosexuality in the American public elementary school system. LifeSiteNews.com covered a video-clip entitled “It’s Elementary” that shows a Gay...

SpongeBob on Brit Hume's Target List The steady creep to the top for Brit Hume's nightly Special Report on Fox--not just the No.1 Washington-originated cable show but also the fourth in all basic cable at 6 p.m.--has the host eyeing the next victim. "We've been having a series of meetings here about how we can beat Nickelodeon," he says. "We just hope that they don't put SpongeBob SquarePants up against us." Fun aside, Hume's hourlong mix of news and debate now reaches 1.5 million nightly while dominating the key 25-to-54 age demographic. And it happened in a very un-Fox-like way:...

Food Police Indict SpongeBob Thursday, January 19, 2006 By Steven Milloy Who would ever think that loveable cartoon characters, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, threaten public health? Well the “food police” apparently do, and this week they announced a lawsuit against Viacom and Kellogg to stop the companies from marketing snack and fun foods to kids.

CHICAGO, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- You're sitting on the metro, heading home from work, bored and exhausted. You used to have to wait until you arrived at home to watch some entertaining TV, but not anymore. Telecom carriers are now introducing content, like hot TV shows, including "CSI" and "The Late Show With David Letterman," and "Entertainment Tonight," as well as famous comic strips, that you can view from your mobile phone, wherever you please, experts tell United Press International's Wireless World. At the intersection of the mobile phone and the television lies tremendous programming," said Cyriac Roeding, vice president...

SpongeBob And His Ilk Urged To Help Fight Childhood Obesity The marketing weight of SpongeBob SquarePants and other "spokescharacters" should be used to encourage children to eat a healthy, nutritious diet instead of sugary, greasy junk food, a new report by an Institute of Medicine committee said yesterday. If there isn't a shift to promoting healthier foods in the next two years, Congress should consider mandating changes in both broadcast and cable television, said Dr. J. Michael McGinnis, committee chairman and a senior scholar at the institute, which advises the government about health concerns. It's hard to curb children from...

NEW YORK - Bill Clinton is teaming with SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer in a campaign to nudge kids to eat healthy foods and to get up off the couch and move, the former president and Nickelodeon television executives announced Thursday. “The idea that health decisions you make as kids could stop you from living your dream is heartbreaking to us,” said Clinton, who will appear in public service announcements and in a town hall forum devoted to childhood obesity. Clinton, who underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery in September 2004 and a follow-up procedure in March, was joined by...

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...

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 the past three months at Cub Foods TCF banks in...

Should the public school system be used to encourage sexual attitudes in children, especially attitudes to which their parents might object? SpongeBob SquarePants is gay! Or is he? And why is there so little information on a matter everyone is discussing? The scandal surrounding the sexual orientation of the cartoon character SpongeBob looks like a media creation. The snickers directed at the ultra-conservative James Dobson of Focus on the Family -- the man 'credited' with questioning how square SpongeBob's pants actually are -- seem intended to obscure the issue and vilify the man. The issue is: should the public school...

The media has made quite a bit of sport of Focus on the Family's Dr. James Dobson in the past few weeks, savaging him for supposedly saying that SpongeBob SquarePants, the popular children's cartoon character, is gay. We at Focus on the Family have spent the past several days trying to set the record straight on this distortion of the facts—and over the weekend, finally, The New York Times affirmed what we've known to be true all along. In a correction published on Saturday, the Times noted that Dr. Dobson, in a speech in Washington, D.C., during inauguration week, "did...

By now you may have heard about the controversy surrounding a new music video aimed at kids. I haven't seen it yet, but since it apparently involves children's characters SpongeBob SquarePants, Bob the Builder, and others getting down to that that classic disco tune "We Are Family," I think I'd prefer to stay uninformed. And other people are vocally backing up my decision, if for entirely different and, if I may be so bold, pretty odd reasons. Some groups, including Focus on the Family, are criticizing the new video, not for being an insufferable assault on the senses (which would...

If somebody hijacked a bunch of cute cartoon characters and put them in a video that urged little kids to try drugs and alcohol, and if this video were to be shown at school, parents would be banging down the Board of Education's doors--right? And if the perpetrators of this outrage got found on, but acted swiftly to clean up their website, but not fast enough to keep the information from going public--that wouldn't put all those angry parents back to sleep, would it? Listen up, parents. That controversial Sponge Bob video you've heard about, and maybe decided to...

Buster the talking rabbit has brought his video camera to film an Orthodox Jewish family in New York, a Muslim family in Chicago and Pentecostal Christians in North Carolina. But it was the character's interactions with two lesbian families in Vermont that brought the ire of George Bush's new appointment for education secretary, along with a PBS decision to pull the "Sugartime" episode of the "Postcards From Buster" children's television show from nationwide distribution. San Francisco public television station KQED received the episode directly from the producers at WGBH in Boston, and it will premiere at 4:30 p. m. Wednesday...

James Dobson has a problem with SpongeBob SquarePants. At least that's what the media would have you believe. Since last week, 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. Several major newspapers have even implied that Dobson believes SpongeBob is gay. Well I know Dobson and my 2-year-old son knows SpongeBob, and nothing could be further from the truth. I was in the audience at the pre-inaugural dinner during which Dobson allegedly made his anti-SpongeBob remarks. Contrary to the media spin, Dobson...

Dobson on Scarborough re

If you had told me a month ago that I’d be devoting my February letter to SpongeBob SquarePants, I’d have said you were crazy. Nevertheless, by now you probably know that I have been linked to that famous talking sponge by hundreds of media outlets, from the New York Times to "MSNBC" to "Saturday Night Live." In truth, this tale has very little to do with SpongeBob himself, and everything to do with the media’s ability to obscure the facts and to direct lies and scorn toward those of us who care about defending children. The video, which millions of...

STONY POINT — About a half-dozen James A. Farley Middle School students sported SpongeBob SquarePants pajamas or pants yesterday in support of the cartoon character's right to be himself. SpongeBob Support Day was the idea of seventh-grade class president Jordan Uffer, who wanted to protest opinions expressed about the character's link to homosexuality. "He's a cartoon," the 12-year-old Uffer, attired in SpongeBob pajamas, said. "I felt there was no reason for them to say that he was homosexual, and there isn't a real difference between gay people and not-gay people. We're all human beings." The SpongeBob issue made the news...

Dr. Dobson Takes on Media over 'SpongeBob' Controversy by Gary Schneeberger, editor Focus on the Family founder did not criticize a cartoon character, as has been widely reported, but was warning parents that the group behind a "diversity" video may put material in teachers' hands that could prompt them to teach kids that homosexuality is equivalent to heterosexuality. Dr. James Dobson set the record straight today about the onslaught of media reports mocking him for comments he is alleged to have made about the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. "I've been in the public eye for thirty-something years and I have...

The mainstream media is twisting the truth about the controversy over a tolerance video to be distributed to elementary school children that features a who's who of cartoon characters, including SpongeBob and Barney the dinosaur, claims a pro-family advocacy group. The content of the video itself -- tolerance and diversity -- and whether or not SpongeBob is "gay" are not the issues, insists Stephen Bennett of the American Family Association. "No, Sponge Bob or none of the other cartoon characters featured in the video are 'gay,'" said Bennett. "The video itself does not promote homosexuality, but no doubt will open...

The United Church of Christ (UCC) stooped to a new low by poting this picture on their homepage - with a woman grabbing SpongeBob by the crotch!

PRESS RELEASE January 24, 2005 American Family Association P.O. Drawer 2440 Tupelo, MS 38803 URL: www.afa.net Contact: Kathryn Hooks (khooks@afa.net) 662-844-5036 x227 AFA threatened with lawsuit for warning parents about video Tupelo, MS – American Family Association (AFA) has been threatened with a lawsuit because it warned parents of elementary school children of a video that leads them to a web site that promotes the acceptance of homosexuality. We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) has threatened the lawsuit because of an article appearing in the AFA Journal regarding the video, scheduled to be shown simultaneously on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and...

To interested parties. Early Monday morning FR member BykrBayb and I were able to recreate the deleted portions of the WeAreFamilyFoundation.org website by pulling files form Google's cache and cross referencing deleted pdf files with files of the same exact name on Tolerance.org. (Thread here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1327041/posts) We discovered deleted portions of the site which contained resources for teachers to go along with the video. From my brief reading these resources seem to be heavy with gay-agenda material. This is the site which is behind the new "tolerance and diversity" video which uses over 100 well know childrens characters to push...

"Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" That's what Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, wanted to know this week. If they could have heard him, millions of kids would have shouted "Yes!" in glorious unison. None, however, could have guessed why he took the time to inquire. Dobson believes that the creators of "We Are Family," a music video intended to "promote tolerance and diversity to America's children," have enlisted the famous absorbent yellow square and cast him smack dab in the middle of a "pro-homosexual video." SpongeBob appeared alongside - and this is important - other...