The Traditional Class-Warfare Valentine

The First Mate and I exchanged Valentine’s Day gifts over the last couple of days, and I have to say I got the better deal in the trade. I sent her a dozen roses, which surprised her because they came on the 13th (doh!), and she gave me the second volume of Pinky and the Brain, Vol. 2. Originally a part of the Animaniacs show, Steven Spielberg’s production company spun off P&TB into its own weird and wonderful show for four seasons. Even if its clever anthem gives me song poison for a week every time I hear it, I loved watching Brain’s Rube Goldberg-like attempts to take over the world get tripped up by his own ego. It also has some terrifically snarky pop-culture references that kept both of us laughing last night as we watched three of the episodes.
Speaking of cartoons, Bookworm has found an honest-to-goodness New Deal satire. Normally Richard Disney excavates these old cartoons, but Bookworm has found a 1932 Betty Boop entry that will remind everyone that the class-warfare rhetoric of the Democrats didn’t start with John Edwards or Barack Obama:

Note the parody of the Republicans in 1932, with “Mr. Nobody”. Who will see you’re fed? Mr. Nobody! Who will see you’re sheltered? Mr. Nobody! The scare tactics haven’t changed, either. Guess who gets elected? Why, the candidate who promises a kiss on every lip!