Nick's Crusade » The Media

Why Does Cardigan Welsh Corgi #11 Have Human Eyes? (eyedog, eyedog, eyedog)

nickdupree — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:08:30 +0000

On the National Dog Show, which airs on NBC every year after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, during the presentation of the dogs in the Herding group, we saw this dog, a corgi. And unlike any of the other corgis in the show, this corgi had human eyes that totally creeped us out.

Ever since seeing that, the word “eyedog” is a part of our household parlance.

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Financial Advice From Scrooge McDuck (1967)

nickdupree — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:16:43 +0000

My friend Dan will love this.

In Scrooge McDuck’s first **named** appearance in a cartoon (his first actual appearance was in Spirit of ‘43) he teaches Huey, Dewey and Louie about the economy, from the origins of the types of the currency to taxes to inflation, budgeting and investing.

It’s good stuff. Great primer on finance for all ages.

Available in HD.

(I notice in 1967, Scrooge’s budgeting pie didn’t include health care… hmmmm.)

Nick

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Donald Duck As A Nazi. Really.

nickdupree — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:16:31 +0000

The media was once controlled by the government. During WWII, the Walt Disney Co. was under U.S. government contract for 32 short propaganda films at $4,500 each, which would save the studio after they spent four times their budget on Fantasia, which had pushed them close to bankruptcy. The films did their best to boost support for the war effort, increase military recruitment and morale, and counter Nazi propaganda.

Donald Duck starred in at least eight of these government-sponsored shorts and his popularity boomed. The most bizarre film was Der Fuehrer’s Face, based around the popular Spike Jones parody song “Der Fuehrer’s Face,” which reached #3 on the charts. In this film, Donald Duck is a

Screenshot from Der Fuehrer's Face (1943)

Nazi. Yeah, you didn’t misread me; in this short, Donald Duck wears a Nazi uniform, does the “Heil Hitler” salute dozens of times, and helps build shells for the German Army. The point of the film is to show that “Nutzi Land” (Nazi Germany) is no Aryan paradise; it’s a totalitarian nightmare characterized by forced worship and dronish obedience to authority (hence Donald must give the “Heil” salute every time he sees a picture of the Führer (Adolf Hitler), harsh wartime rationing meaning little food, and grueling 48-hour work days on an assembly line no one can keep up with (think of Lucy and Ethel failing at packaging candy on a faster and faster conveyor belt). It’s also an actual nightmare that Donald wakes up from at the end. I totally get the purpose of this cartoon, and Disney gets the message across with some classic animation, but it’s still unsettling to see a Nazi Donald Duck heiling Hitler so much. It’s definitely jarring, especially completely outside the context of 1943 media.

Disclaimer: in the opening sequence, Japanese emperor Hirohito is playing a Sousaphone, and is depicted in an exaggeratedly ethnic and buffoonish way, typical of wartime cartoons, and today may be offensive.

Here is Der Fuehrer’s Face in high definition, which went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Short and was later named #22 on the 50 Greatest Cartoons of All-Time list.

More videos of Donald Duck’s WWII shorts:

Donald Gets Drafted – (May 1, 1942).
The Vanishing Private – (September 25, 1942).
Sky Trooper – (November 8, 1942).
Der Fuehrer’s Face – (January 1, 1943).
Fall Out Fall In – (April 23, 1943).
The Old Army Game – (November 5, 1943).
Home Defense – (November 26, 1943).
Commando Duck (racism warning) – (June 2, 1944).

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News Media Decides Life of Fly More Important Than Slain Latinos

nickdupree — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:32:18 +0000

So, the Minuteman Movement has gone completely insane, and they are now crossing over into murder and theft to meet their political goals of a Southwest free of Hispanics.

ter·ror·ism

n. The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

“terrorism.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 24 Jun. 2009. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/terrorism>.

On May 30, members of Minutemen American Defense (MAD), an extremist group with links to the neo-Nazi group Aryan Nations, the hate group FAIR and the broader Minuteman Project, broke into the Flores’ family home to rob them. Jason Eugene “Gunny” Bush, also wanted for the random murder of a Latino man in Wenatchee, Wash. 12 years ago, was the primary shooter, and, along with Albert Robert Gaxiola and MAD executive director Shawna Forde, they posed as law enforcement and busted into the Flores’ home.

Raul and Brisenia Flores

They shot and killed the father, Raul Flores, and his 9 year-old daughter Brisenia, shooting the little girl multiple times. The mother returned fire, and wounded Bush in the leg after being wounded herself. Police said the murders were premeditated as part of Shawna Forde’s plot to steal money and drugs from those she suspected of working with Mexican drug cartels, and use the proceeds to fund MAD. “They did not plan to leave any survivors. The plan was to kill everyone. To kill a 9-year-old because she might be a potential witness is one of the most despicable acts I’ve heard of,” Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik told the Arizona Daily Star.

But you wouldn’t know that there are racist militias targeting Hispanics in this country if you’re just watching typical news media. They didn’t cover it. I only found out about it by reading this post on Nezua’s The Unapologetic Mexican blog, and, later, the SPLC’s Hatewatch blog.

If only little Brisenia were a fly…

Because last week the media was abuzz about the death of a house fly at the president’s hand, and PETA’s objections to this “execution.”

Here’s a round up of the coverage of this, from our dying dinosaur news media, locked permanently in “silly season“:

Associated Content: PETA Obama Fly-Swatting Story Creates Buzz

Politico: PETA miffed at President Obama’s fly “execution”

Yep, this scrap of inanity was covered by the AP, MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times, Politico and more. It was so excessive and absurd, it became perfect fodder for Stewart and Colbert.

Where are our priorities? When racist vigilantes (reminiscent of the KKK) start killing children of the race they hate, I can’t find out from the MSM (MainStream Media)?? To get real news these days, you have to turn to the blogs that link to credible local papers that are actually providing coverage.

That means the MSM will soon go the way of that White House fly.

*squish*

Nick

Related Bloggery

From my friend Spinny: Why I hate PETA

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