The New York Times reports that conservative groups now have a new target in their crusade to propogate their Christian ideology and to dominate the world -- SpongeBob SquarePants. As the article describes,

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.”

Oh . . . my . . . God. <sigh> Didn’t I hear this sort of crap a few years ago when Jerry Falwell was getting on the Teletubbies’ case because one of the characters was dressed in purple and had a purple triangle on top of its head? What’s next, ripping on Elmo because he doesn’t wear any clothes and likes to dance a lot?

Fascism: are we there yet?