Santa's Little Helper the show in minor appearances, although there have been some episodes that feature him heavily, including the first episode of "The Simpsons". In that episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (season one, 1989), Homer discovers that he has no money to buy Christmas presents for the family. Desperate for a miracle, he and Bart go to the greyhound racing track on Christmas Eve in hopes of winning some money. Although Homer has inside information on which dog is the most likely to win, he instead bets on a last-minute entry, Santa's Little Helper (here despite being brown), believing the
Politics in The Simpsons to "hundreds of radical right-wing messages inserted into every show by creator Matt Groening". More recently, however, conservative bloggers and commentators have enthusiastically promoted cultural memes from the series, such as Groundskeeper Willie's derisive term for the French, "cheese-eating surrender monkeys". Political topics addressed on "The Simpsons" include homophobia and gay marriage (in the episodes "Homer's Phobia" and "There's Something About Marrying"), immigration and border control (“Much Apu About Nothing,” “Midnight Rx”, “Coming to Homerica”), drug and alcohol abuse ("Brother's Little Helper", "Weekend at Burnsie's", "Smoke on the Daughter", "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment", "Duffless", "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)", and "Days of