I thought this was a pretty good video explaining exactly how the minimum wage ruins everything:
The market is a wild animal. If you try to restrain it, you get bit.
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(11 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)From 1955, the Warner Bros. cartoon “Heir Conditioned”.
Elmer Fudd lectures on the basics of sound investments.
Send to Kindle (5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)From 1962, the Department of Defense’s short film “Red Nightmare“.
[High Praise! to American Digest]
[YouTube direct link] (Viewer #3,057)
“Jack Webb (Dragnet) plays a Rod Serling-like role as he introduces us to Jerry Donovan – an average guy who shrugs off his inconvenient, civic responsibilities. Jerry “wakes up” in a communist-controlled town, where he’s the only American left. This film was produced for the Defense Department by studio mogul Jack L.Warner and stars many Warner Brothers stock actors – including Jack Kelly (Maverick), Robert Conrad (Wild Wild West) and Andrew Duggan.”
For my part, although I thought the acting was passable, the storyline of the script just left me baffled. Apparently the moral of the story is that if you don’t attend PTA meetings, you’ll be shot in the head by communists.
Nevertheless, worth a watch. Just don’t expect Twilight-Zone-level plot-coherence.
One thing that did occur to me, though… during the “nightmare” sequence, Jerry’s oldest daughter mutates into Sandra Fluke.
A younger, hotter Sandra Fluke, to be sure, but still just as willing to mouth the socially-acceptable “party line” of her peer-group while vociferously rejecting the morals and values of her parents (or at least her father).
As for the younger kids, it’s basically the 60′s version of having your kids come home and unplugging your computer because they were told at school that you’re “killing polar bears by using electricity.”
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[YouTube direct link] (Viewer #162,972)
Send to Kindle (3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)[High Praise! to Shout First, Ask Questions Later]
[YouTube direct link] (Viewer #42,119)
When a hippie goes to hell, this is his Groundhog Day for eternity.
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(13 votes, average: 4.92 out of 5)From circa 1977, economist Milton Friedman eats a snot-nosed young liberal for breakfast in “Milton Friedman Puts A Young Michael Moore In His Place” [via Fox Nation]:
Now… is that REALLY Michael Moore, or is the guy who uploaded the video just using “Michael Moore” as a generic epithet meaning ANY snot-nosed young liberal?
I don’t know, Google is decidedly unhelpful, and it really doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you get to watch a scrumptiously epic intellectual beat-down.
UPDATE: I Own the World makes a convincing case that it’s not actually Michael Moore.
Send to Kindle (14 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)From 1979, economist Milton Friedman goes knuckles to nuts against Phil Donahue with “Greed”:
Two things struck me while watching this:
1) Liberal talking points haven’t changed.
2) There was once a time in this nation when liberal talk show hosts allowed conservative guests to finish making their points.
Take some notes, Chris Matthews.
Send to Kindle (19 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)[Hat tip: Hot Air]
From 2009, The Tax Foundation explains the Cap & Trade bill with a sprightly little ditty, “Going Green With Cap and Trade”:
Lyrics below if you want to sing along:
We’re gonna…
Cap and trade
all carbon emissions
gonna cap and trade
that will be our mission
We’re gonna cap and trade
see what I mean
the government is
going green today…
We cap and trade.
See cap and trade
charges folks for releasing carbon
like companies that use
vehicles that park and
utilities and factories
who pass the cost
to people who will pay
for cap and trade
It sounds like cap and trade
is a tax we pay then
No sir, cap and trade
is just a regulation
See tax is when there’s
money spent
this is just a fee to the government
Okay?
It’s cap and trade.
So with cap and trade
won’t things be more expensive?
Well just…everything
but don’t be so apprehensive
Just clothes and food
and heating bills
and anything that needs
to be shipped will
be raised
with cap and trade.
But how is cap and trade
not a tax there, sonny
when we all have to pay
the government our money
You don’t seem to understand my friend
we’re going green, doesn’t that make sense?
they’ll pay
for cap and trade.
Sounds like cap and trade
is some sort of weird humor
because these fees will just be
passed on to the consumer
Yes, but check this chart
you’ll see for sure
the biggest burden will be
on the poor who’ll pay
for cap and trade
See who cares if cost of most goods go higher?
And household income levels all go down?
and if estimated environmental impact is not really calculable,,,
Oh, what a scene, I’m really keen
the government is going green
We’re going green
with cap and trade!
Send to Kindle (8 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)From 1975, the Schoolhouse Rock episode, “No More Kings”:
From 1976, the Schoolhouse Rock episode “Fireworks”:
Happy Independence Day!
Send to Kindle (8 votes, average: 4.88 out of 5)From 1996, the Schoolhouse Rock episode, “Tyrannosaurus Debt“:
Remember back when the debt was only $5 trillion? This video makes me really miss those days.
It also offers a brief history of our national debt, and speaks of the debt in disparaging tones while calling it names – a combination which some Monster-Americans may find offensive.
Send to Kindle (5 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5)In 1961, Ronald Reagan recorded a spoken-word LP (that’s a 12-inch grooved vinyl disc, for you folks born after 1990 – we used to play them on our gramophones) with a brilliant diatribe against Medicare called “Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine“:
There’s no actual video to this video, so you’ll have to find another way to amuse yourself for 10 minutes while you listen. I recommend spending the time taking notes so you can throw Reagan’s arguments in the faces of any moron that thinks that socialized medicine is a good idea.
My favorite part is how he talks about Medicare being just an early first step toward introducing a national program of socialized medicine.
Oh, how people scoffed back then.
Oh, how they shouldn’t have.
More information on this recording here. Scroll down about 40%, or text search [CTRL+F] the word “Klatch”.
Send to Kindle (12 votes, average: 4.92 out of 5)From 1956, a Looney Tunes piece that ends up slipping in a plug for capitalism, “Yankee Dood It“:
After a good five minutes of goofy cartoon antics, the Shoemaker eventually pops the question:
“But I want to stay in business. How can I do it?” Whereupon the helpful elf gives him an earful of free-market know-how.
Were this cartoon made today, I fear the answer would be “give a few hundred thousand dollars to Barack Obama in the form of ‘campaign donations’ that don’t trigger the reporting requirement, don’t give your executives bonuses that are ‘too big’, and for heaven’s sake, DON’T GO TO VEGAS!”
Send to Kindle (10 votes, average: 4.90 out of 5)From 2009, a video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity titled “Five Key Reasons to Reject Class-Warfare Tax Policy” (hat tip: Wintery Knight Blog)
Although this piece is very informative, I noticed that it lacks the entertainment quality of the classic propaganda from the 40′s & 50′s. No offense, but if they’re going to make these videos, they should hire a trained actor with a deep, rich, authoritative voice.
You know… like Barack Obama.
Interestingly, at the end of this video, they plug the novel “Atlas Shrugged”, which more and more people are talking about, but nobody really wants to read once they find out that it’s 1200 pages long. That’s a BIG time investment.
If you’re wondering whether it’s worth it, try reading one of the “good parts” – Francisco’s “Money Speech”. If you enjoy reading this, chances are you’ll enjoy the rest of the novel, too.
Here’s a 250-word excerpt, courtesy of Capitalism Magazine. The whole 2500 word speech can be found there.
—
“So you think that money is the root of all evil?” said Francisco d’Anconia. “Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?
“When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor–your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?”
…Read the whole thing at Capitalism Magazine
Send to Kindle (14 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)From 1975, proof that at one time, not all hippies completely hated America. This funky little number was paid for by the government and animated by Vincent Collins, who is still alive and well and living in San Francisco and going by “Vince” these days. Most internet sources refer to it as 200, but at 2:46, it’s clearly titled “BI CENTENNIAL”
The music is chipper & upbeat, the images are all positive and patriotic. My only complaint is the stupid peace sign on the flag.
It was weird to watch, because I kept waiting for Mount Rushmore to morph into a 3-headed Hitler who sends his eagle-morphing-into-a-vulture flying into the ghetto to devour screaming, helpless minorities or something.
Never happened.
It’s all good. Right down to the cornucopia spewing out cars, hamburgers, TV’s, hot dogs & baseballs.
Bookmark this one for July 4th.
Send to Kindle (4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)From 1945, one of a very-little-known series produced for the Navy featuring Mr. Hook, “Tokyo Woes”:
Lessons to take from this:
Part of fighting a war is mocking, belittling, and dehumanizing your enemy. Then you kill him. Assuming, of course, your goal is victory.
Someone who spreads enemy propaganda to Americans during a time of war is not a friend, even if they mix in peppy dance music with their lies.
Purchasing government debt (i.e. War Bonds) is ok if the money will be spent on killing people who threaten to destroy our nation.
Cash, fancy clothes and a spiffy new car are GOOD things to have, and not something to be cursed as the vices of a greedy, materialistic society.
Oh, and pretty girls have curves.
Send to Kindle (8 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)From 1943, one of a series of instructional cartoons made for the Army featuring Private SNAFU, “Spies”:
This one isn’t so much about praising the virtues of capitalism as it is a cautionary tale about having loose lips when your country’s at war. And while watching it, I couldn’t help thinking about Obama.
That One had no problem releasing memos on our interrogation techniques, and the left supported him, as they pooh-poohed it all as being “harmless” and chattering about “the American public has a right to know”.
Problem is, these folks forget all too easily that “the American public” aren’t the only ones paying attention. And maybe one piece of information won’t kill our troops en masse, but bits and pieces get added up. Why make our enemy’s job easier?
And for folks like you & me, well… if you’re in a public waiting room and there’s a swarthy-looking man in his 20′s or 30′s of Middle-Eastern descent sitting nearby, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to restrict your topic of conversation with your companions to the weather for a while.
Send to Kindle (6 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)From 1948, another educational short from Coronet, “Capitalism“:
While addressing the question “what is Capitalism?, these kids never reach today’s “obvious” conclusion that it’s a system for cheating the poor, exploiting indigenous peoples, and oppressing minorities.
Which, if you read some of the reviews at the first link, is this production’s major flaw.
But the question isn’t “who is unhappy under Capitalism?”, it’s “what IS Capitalism?”. This film is a good example of using a simple, concrete situation to give meaning to more abstract terms. It’s how learning is done properly – leftist pap like “there are no rights or wrongs, just arguments for and against” notwithstanding.
Sure, these happy, healthy, well-groomed children argue over Captalism like they’re arguing over “what is Christmas?”.
“It’s presents!”
“It’s a tree!”
“It’s cookies!”
“It’s family!”
“It’s pretty colored lights!”
“It’s a month of Christmas specials on TV every night!”
But they should discuss it like that, because under Capitalism, EVERY day is Christmas.
Just ask anyone who’s come to America from a place that didn’t have it.
Send to Kindle (12 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)From 2009, Fox Nation comes out of the closet and lets everyone know exactly what they stand for, with “Statement of Purpose”:
It blows my mind that this video had to me made. There is nothing in here but the safest, most uncontroversial catch-phrases and buzz-words, like :
Constitution; Declaration of Independence; Emancipation Proclamation; community; American Dream Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; honor; responsibility; great adventure; our way of life; creativity; ingenuity; work ethic; civility; mutual respect; unity; tolerance; open debate; civil discourse; freedom of thought, expression, and worship; values
This should be a yawner. A no-brainer. Completely and utterly unremarkable.
But it’s not that kind of world.
To paraphrase Nathan Jessep, “Fox News uses these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. The rest of the news media uses them as a punch line.”
Ideally, ANY news organization – hell, any organization period – should be able to say EXACTLY what Fox Nation said without a second thought, a sense of embarrassment, or the need to use a tone of sneering irony.
But it’s not that kind of world.
We live in the kind of world where an unabashedly American statement like this makes Fox Nation look like some sort of ultra-triple-mythical beast from an alternate universe where the laws of physics and mathematics don’t apply. Fox Nation is a vamwericorn (half vampire, half werewolf, half unicorn), and it’s existence is grotesque and incomprehensible to the liberal media elite and their sycophantic toadies in government and academia.
To hell with them.
I want to live in a Fox Nation kind of world.
Send to Kindle (30 votes, average: 4.97 out of 5)I don’t know much about this one except that it was done by a student (probably college) for some class, somewhere around 2008. I offer “Communism is Your Friend, Jimmy!”:
It vaguely parodies the style of the 50′s Coronet Films, however, it doesn’t parody their message. The production values and acting are low-budget, film-school-awful, yet I found the dialogue reminiscent of something that I imagine a very young Frank J. might have attempted after one too many martinis persuaded him that it was a really cool idea.
If nothing else, I found it amusing, and I especially liked the line, “Well, Jimmy, after a long hard day of working for the good of the people, I’m very tired. Now the last thing I want to do when I come home is think for myself. If we had a totalitarian, communist government, I wouldn’t have to!”
Lower your expectations a bit & give it a shot. I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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(15 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)In 1955, this was considered an almost laughably elementary lesson in civics. Today, it’s considered “a comically serious anti-communism diatribe masquerading as an educational film“. I give you “Responsibilities of American Citizenship”:
[Internet Archive direct link]
Notice how they talk about how America produces disproportionate wealth for it’s population instead of the lefty talking point of using a disproportionate share of “the world’s resources”.
Also notice how the movie visually demonstrates that a fundamental belief in God is the ultimate foundation of our nation’s greatness. If you show this to a liberal, wear a raincoat in case his head explodes.
Funny thing is, as an atheist, you’d think I’d be offended by that part, but I’d have to be an amazing sort of fool to ignore the historical fact that the vast majority of people who founded this country (and the ones who continue to keep it functioning to this very day) believed in God. Regardless of my personal choices, that’s a tough one to chalk up to mere coincidence.
There’s no denying that a belief in God provides the high-octane spiritual fuel needed to keep good Americans running smooth day after hard-working day.
Freedom ain’t for sissies.
Send to Kindle (14 votes, average: 4.64 out of 5)
