Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire to waste money on getting his son Bart's tattoo removed. He decides to keep their financial troubles a secret and gets a job as a shopping mall Santa Claus, but later discovers that the job does not pay enough. Desperate for a miracle, Homer and Bart go to the dog-racing track on Christmas Eve in hopes of earning some money but end up adopting an abandoned greyhound, Santa's Little Helper. The episode was written by Mimi Pond, and it was directed by David Silverman. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1990, and has
Politics in The Simpsons adjective "gay", criticized Nelson Muntz's line "the Grand Pumpkin is super gay" in "Treehouse of Horror XIX" (season 20, 2008). A spokesperson for the GLSEN said "many people say gay without even realizing what they're saying is bad, we're trying to educate people that this is a term that is hurtful to young people when used in a negative way." Several similar jokes have been made throughout the series without controversy. Politics in The Simpsons Politics is a common theme in the animated television series "The Simpsons", and this phenomenon has had some crossover with real American politics. U.S. conservatives