CatDog, And The Tyranny Of Big Government

It probably sounds like a failed B-movie to some. So for those of you not acquainted with 1990’s child programming, Nickelodeon was on top. The height of its popularity was so much so that years after they had abandon it, in another quiet victory for the free market, they sectioned off an entire block of time just for the once defunct “90’s Nick”. The show I was viewing was called “Catdog”. When you watched TV shows when you were younger, you were not privy to such things as subtext. Looking back, I’ve found many shows from the 1990s had subplots that apparently were for adults only. There was an intriguing one to this episode entitled “Dog Catcher in the Rye”. The obvious was its title. The specifics of the plot are not in conjunction with the title, but they are however far more interesting. I am unsure of the political affiliations of any of the writers of this show or any of the 90’s Nick programming, but there was something very liberty-minded about this episode. A pundit or political operative might deem it anarchist, libertarian, or true conservative principle, but I call it a critique of big government and to what ends it might reach if left unchecked.

In the episode, the mayor of the city dips into his bathtub of gold and finds it lacking in funds to his liking. He then makes the proclamation “ I guess it’s time to start fleecing the public again.” Clearly, the writer isn’t a supporter of the massive bureaucracy that is the U.S. Government. I could only imagine the episode that would come out currently, if the show were still in circulation. (That’s if it wouldn’t have been deemed racist and banned.) I digress. The mayor sets out to impose a dog license on all dogs of the city to rake in the extra revenue he seeks (Again, this is a cartoon for kids.). As the show progresses, he slowly imposes more licenses and laws that eventually ensnare and imprison the majority of the populous. At one point he grants himself authority for an unlawful search. (think that’s crazy? Have you heard about the “vehicle exemption clause” or the carroll doctrine? Loook it up) Oh, and one dog that protested his law was imprisoned too. Who knew kids cartoons could be so politically minded?

Now, I am sure at this point you’re saying “That couldn’t happen in America”. To our own peril, we tend to say this over and over. Somehow we don’t see the fleece the rich campaign the President has been on and off with for the past five years. The same idea that is being applied in New York City under the Comrade De Blasio. The mandating of driver’s licenses has come and gone. The drug war has a myriad of causalities behind bars. One of the few things I felt our government should do, taking care of our veterans, can’t even be done without allowing 40 of them to perish. Then there has been Stimulus after Stimulus from 2008 on that has been fleecing the public for cronyism. Has anyone seen any improvement in the infrastructure? Oh, but surely we have shovel ready jobs at least? “ The shovel ready jobs weren’t as shovel ready as we thought” our president “laughed” at a press conference. Isn’t that indicative of what the political elite seem to think of you?

The cronyism and tyranny have been an equal opportunity offender. A lot of people remember that George W. Bush signed the P.A.T.R.I.O.T  Act. Yet, most people don’t realize the concept stemmed from the Omnibus Counter-terrorism Act of 1995, that was  drafted by Joe Biden. Most people know we can’t freely smoke pot in this country as a result of those nasty social conservatives. However, everyone forgets President Obama banned Clove cigarettes. Even though, the free market brought it back to us in one form or another, Shh…don’t tell anyone. We allow the government to harass cattle ranchers. Now, ‘progressives’ both big D and big R are going after e-cigarettes. Recently, New York City finally incorporated them into their cigarette ban. Despite, the evidence that it’s just water vapor and it helps smokers quit in droves. If you think that’s insane, they’ve already gone after ‘candy’ cigarettes. So essentially, if I started a fad with selling cardboard cutouts of cigarettes, the government would ban it or tax it to death. In any case, It’s the pattern of unchecked government. It’s kind of like when you have a little kid and you look away for a moment, the next minute he is about to pole vault off the top of the stairs to his death…now imagine if you got distracted for 100 years or so. It’s kind of like that.

Also, as a side commentary regarding Catdog and it’s theme song, what were the creators smoking? Or better yet, whats wrong with us “millennial” TV viewers who excepted the notion of a wolf and bird mating and birthing a half cat, half dog creature?

In any case, the show concludes with the dogs, assisted by Catdog, breaking out of prison and overthrowing the mayor and putting him in prison. Now, I’m not suggesting the violent overthrow of the U.S. government, but what I am suggesting is that we grow a pair. Let’s try using a megaphone rather than an iPhone. Plus, would jail or charges be unreasonable for some of our elected leaders?