Rick Mercer weighs-in on Fox News fiasco

Rick Mercer, a man well schooled in the art of intelligent political satire that's actually, well, funny, weighs-in on the Fox News Fiasco in the Globe this morning:

"They should be ignored," said political satirist Rick Mercer, who hosts his own show on CBC. "If you're going to do satire, three of the most important rules are you have to tell the truth, you can't be a bully and don't be an asshole," he said, adding: "Being a bully is not satire."

Mr. Mercer said the fact that Red Eye airs in the middle of the night is a sign that its creator isn't experiencing "the pinnacle of success."

I was tempted to ignore it from here forward Rick, but that was a quote I had to share.

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Video: Ignatieff on Mercer

Michael Ignatieff (and briefly Bob Rae) was on the Rick Mercer Report last night. Very funny:

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Review: Rick Mercer Report, The Book

Compared to the weighty Brian Mulroney biography I’m still currently slogging through, Rick Mercer Report, The Book is a very slim volume. But don’t let the size fool you though, despite the vastly different lengths the two books are certainly comparable in insight.

I’ve been a fan of Rick Mercer from his This Hour has 22 Minutes days, thru Made in Canada to The Mercer Report. He’s a very funny guy but his it not just empty humour, or humour for humour’s sake. He uses humour to get across a message, to make a point, and it’s usually very effective.

This new book is mainly a compilation of his infamous rants from The Mercer Report on matters political, from Paul Martin thru Stephen Harper, from 2004 thru 2007. In addition to the rants, interspersed is new material, such as stories of his trips to Afghanistan to visit with and entertain the troops and to Africa in support of Spread the Net.

While Conservatives complain Mercer is a Liberal shill, I don’t think that’s at all true. Certainly he has taken a lot of shots at the Cons over the years but, in fairness, he has given them a heckuva lotta ammunition. He’s an equal opportunity comedian though, and takes some rather salient shots at Michael Ignatieff and Stephane Dion, for example.

While it’s a slim book, and a quick and easy ready, as I said that doesn’t mean it’s not weighty. Mercer uses humour very effectively to make rather insightful and prescient points about the state of political discourse in our country today and the jobs our political leaders are doing. While we laugh, we’d also do well to heed some of his advice.

P.S. If you’re on Facebook, join the group One Million Strong for Rick Mercer. Why? Why not?

*A review copy from the publisher helped facilitate this review.

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This Hour has 22 Conservatives MPs in Afghanistan

Rather than drag Mulroney's 30lb book with me to Las Vegas (airline weight restrictions and all) I took Rick Mercer's much slimmer tome. Look for a review in a day or two, but, given the topic of yesterday's post, I was pretty interested to be reminded that Rick Mercer has been to Afghanistan three times.

His last visit last Christmas was at the personal invitation of General Rick Hillier:

On this leg of the trip were three other Newfoundlanders – broadcaster Max Keeping, singer-songwriter Damhnait Doyle and my old colleague Mary Walsh...

So, an entertain the troops visit. A very worthy trip, and one I fully support. But it wasn't just entertainers on the government-approved mission.

...and three members of the Conservative caucus – whip Jay Hill, MP Laurie Hawn and President of the Treasury Board John Baird.

Let me be very clear that I'm a big fan of Rick Mercer, and he is to be commended for going to visit the troops three times, and for his very strong support of our Armed Forces over the years. As a former Air Force Brat myself, I passionately share his sentiments in that area.

My only point is that if the government can allow an entertainer to go over three times, and allow visits by their whip, a backbench MP and the president of the treasury board, it's pretty hard for them to justify continually blocking the defence critic of the official opposition.

For more on the important, totally not a photo-op or publicity stunt work Maxime Bernier and Bev Oda are doing right now in Afghanistan, see Keith, Steve, Apply Liberally, KNB, Impolitical and Dave.

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