I wonder how many Canadians can remember what Stephen Harper was planning to do to the CBC if he had been re-elected.
Because although it would have been bloody, the CBC clearly doesn't.
For how else can one explain the fact that along with Postmedia, it has been leading the Con media's attempt to bring down the Trudeau government.
And you might be surprised who's leading that charge.
No not the Big Oil hooker Rex Murphy, but "Mr Funny" Rick Mercer.
Who has been trying to blow up the government's attempt to make our tax system fairer for over a month, starting with this rant.
Which was followed by this skit...
And then this Halloween special...
And in case you didn't get Mercer's message, there was also this attack on Morneau AND the Ethics Commissioner.
Or whatever that was.
And all I can say is, thank goodness it's Mercer's last season, and I can hardly wait for the episode where he is apparently covered in peanut butter, and licked clean by 32 golden retrievers.
Because THAT might be funny.
Or at least funnier than Catherine Cullen screaming at Bill Morneau and all but accusing him of being a criminal...
On that late afternoon CBC Con comedy show Power and Politics.
Where you also get to see people like Chris Hall, or David Cochrane, or the Con puppies from the Power Panel, gnawing away at the government, while licking the Alt-right Cons like they weren't racists or lying scum.
I mean I can understand why Mercer, who must have a LOT of money saved up after 15 seasons on the air, wants to hold on to as much as possible as most rich people do.
And I know he wasn't pleased by the way the Liberals raised taxes on the wealthier members of society, almost as soon as they came to power.
Because I saw him complaining about that at Bill Morneau's Chinese Restaurant last November...
What I can't understand is why the CBC is leading the charge on taxes, when it depends on them to exist.
And why it seems so determined to bring down the Liberal government which gave them the money they needed to survive.
And replace it with another Con government which will finish the job Harper started...
Yup, it doesn't make sense to me, and I wonder if some of those CBC Cons will even know what hit them.
But then it's also so typical of the way some of the dotards and the precious snowflakes in this country carry on.
You know, the ones who go around complaining loudly that Trudeau is worse than Harper !!#@!!
And forget that old saying: those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it...
I am so disappointed with Rick Mercer and also 22 Minutes. Is it their choice to do these smear-job pieces or have they received directions from the higher ups at CPC?
ReplyDeleteHi anon...i don't know why the CBC is now just a propaganda arm of the CPC. I believe Mercer is just taking care of his personal business. But as for all the others I can only assume they are taking their orders from the shabby CBC managers and the corporation's Con board. One thing is for sure though, it's time to let the CBC know how most Canadian's feel.
DeleteIt is mind boggling. I have seen more common sense and rationality from ancient Con Craig Oliver at CTV
ReplyDeleteHi anon...I have never seen the CBC stoop so low. They have added nothing but confusion to the debate over tax reform, and their attempt to smear a decent man like Bill Morneau is simply obscene. I have always been a big supporter of public broadcasting, so the Con behaviour of the CBC is very disappointing...
DeleteCTV Craig Oliver is about the only sane political journalist left in Canada... I never watch Rick or 22 mintes or any CBC CTV political shows. Can't handle the bs CPC (corrupt party of Canada) propaganda
DeleteSince I never watch the CBC, CTV, or any other grey lady I cant say. Rex Murphy is an abomination, a Canadian legend asshole, and we keep those people for every just like Sandi Raalodo, who interview Bob Marley and treated him like a child instead of a God.
ReplyDeleteIf Rick Mercer is going after you, pay attention.
Hi Steve.... Anybody who has ever read this blog knows what I think of the Con clown Rex Murphy. But I used to think highly of Rick Mercer so I'm very disappointed. However, judging from the reaction, he has done himself no favours. He is now seen as just another greedy grubber going after a man who is trying to make the rich like him pay their fair share, and give poor Canadians and their children more money to live on. That's what he will be remembered for, and that's one hell of a legacy...
DeleteThese same thoughts crossed my mind yesterday, as well Simon! What is going on with the CBC??????
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen....like you and me a lot of Canadians are also wondering what on earth is going on at the CBC. I will make an effort to find out, but I already can tell you two things that may be responsible. One, CBC management is a privileged out of touch cabal, that naturally gravitates to Cons instead of progressives. And two, the CBC is still governed by a board appointed by the Harperite regime. Both gangs are out of touch with the real Canada, and urgently need to be purged.
DeleteC'mon, Simon. Poking fun at the government has been a comedian's bread and butter since Juvenal ridiculed Roman senators in the first century. I've got no problem with Mercer taking on the Libs in the clips above, I just wish he was funnier. The winds of outrage seem to have gone out of Mercer's sails since Deceivin' Stephen got the bum's rush.
ReplyDeletePoking fun at the government is fine. Running a systematic anti-tax fairness campaign, and helping to confuse the issue because rich man Rick doesn't want to pay more in taxes, is not. If you want to know why he isn't funny anymore, that's a big part of the reason. Pity.
DeleteAssuming Mercer gets paid as a contractor through a private corporation, he'll see his corporate tax drop under Morneau's proposed new tax. Canada already has the lowest small business tax rates in the G7, at around 15%, yet you'd hardly know that from the piss-poor way the Libs have been getting their message out. And now Morneau wants to drop that to 9% to "soften the blow" of partly closing a bunch of loopholes that were never intended to provide the tax relief they're being used for. Mercer stands to gain, not lose.
DeleteHi anon 11:29....I have no problem with Rick Mercer poking fun at the government. But what I object to is him running a systematic campaign to denigrate people who would dare raise his taxes. And in the process spreading confusion about the tax reform plan, which is a good plan not a bad one, which can only help the alt-right Cons. And when you do that, you become more of a propagandist than a comedian, which explains why he isn't funny anymore....
DeleteHi anon 12:06...well said, and you're right, it is a pity. It's sad that Rick should go out like that. And sad that the CBC has fallen so low...
DeleteYes, Simon, it's high time the CBC stopped acting like a public broadcaster and becomes a full-on state broadcaster now that the right party is in power.
ReplyDeleteHI anon...you have it ass backwards. The CBC isn't acting like a public broadcaster, it's acting like state broadcaster for the alt-right regime of Andrew Scheer and his ghastly un-Canadian Cons. You may believe that's only my opinion, but I have been very encouraged to hear many Canadians describe what the Cons are doing as the worst kind of bullying. The Cons and their sad stooges in the NDP may think they can smear Morneau and Trudeau to death, but I think they're in for an unpleasant surprise...
DeleteYou did hear about the results of the 2015 election, did you not, and are aware that the Cons are not in government at the moment, are you not? Or must all dissent cease and the Will of the People be not opposed? You sound an awful lot like a MAGA hat-wearing Trump Chump muttering darkly about the Deep State and the “fake news” MSM.
DeleteSimon, I believe that the government has to move quickly to establish a more fair system of making appointments and replacing the current con-appointees. Since shortly after the election, Rick Mercer has displayed an imbalanced view of the political scene. The lack of fairness during discussions such as the Sunday scrum and P&P have caused me and many people to end their habits of CBC watching.
ReplyDeleteHi Karhleen...I couldn't agree more. During the dark days of the Harper regime, I naively believed that as soon as the Con gang was defeated we could give their appointees on the CBC board the heave ho. It turned out we couldn't until their contracts ran out. Surely by now those contracts must be ready to expire and the government should replace those Cons as soon as possible. As I mentioned above, I have always been a huge supporter of the CBC, so like you and others I couldn't be more disappointed. However, I'm not prepared to give up, I think the CBC is still worth saving, and I'm going to let the Cons who have hijacked it know exactly how I feel. We should all do that....
DeleteSimon,
ReplyDeleteYou're pulling on some threads that are tightly knit into Mr. Blue Sweater himself.
Please don't forget that organizations like the CBC, Canada Post, the CRA, Stats Can, DND and more were loaded up with THOUSANDS of Conservative supporters.
Harper stacked the system to the Conservative party's favour so that it would poison public interest, action and security for decades to come.
Furthermore, 'turd blossoms' like the Phoenix deal, the inescapable 'bargain' with General Dynamics and the genocidal Saudi Arabians and the disastrous plan to purchase F-35 from an American company all spell financial hardship for any government that wants to steer the ship in a better direction.
Finally, the economic distraction plan shifted an excessive amount of debt to municipal levels of government as they only property tax as a means by which to pay their share. This is resulting in a severe cut to social programs across the country as people on local levels try to balance their books.
As a starting point to repairing the situation, the Liberals need to purge many ranks of government in order to rid themselves of all signs of Harper's malevolent scheme to destroy Canadian politics.
Then, they have to work with municipalities to find ways to fund Harper's drunken infrastructure shopping spree. This should be done ASAP in order to help many Canadian municipalities avoid bankruptcy.
Keep up the good work!!
Hi anon...I love how you call it pulling on the threads of Mr Blue Sweater himself. And you're so right. I remember all those apointments Harper made in the last months of his monstrous regime. He did that to reward his ghastly friends, but also so they could burrow like termites into Canadian institutions and thwart the democratic will of the Canadian people. At the time I said that after ten years of that Harperite cult, we needed to do what the Germans did after the war to de-Nazify their society. We didn't of course because progressives are too nice, and now we are paying for it. So now the Liberals need to get serious and do what you suggest. Purge the termite Cons out of the holes where they are hiding, and make sure that those who replace them properly reflect our Canadian values...
DeleteYou guys don't have a Jimmy Kimmel? You need to call Samantha Bee and Mike Meyers back home. Meyers is a die-hard Liberal, and in his memoir simply titled Canada, reflects fondly on Trudeaumania I (and despairingly of the Harper Reich), and expresses hope and admiration for the young scion and Trudeaumania II. He had a cameo on HBO's John Oliver Tonight for the "Canadian Election" skit in 2015, that was adorable and brilliant. Stephen Harper doesn't care about Muslim people! Or any people other than rich white guys who toe the Con line.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V5ckcTSYu8
Scheer, meanwhile, only cares about the religious demons chattering in his own head. And it looks like the majority of your national broadcaster only cares about themselves and their own wallets. Any time the bottom line of the status quo is threatened, those who upset the apple cart are going to pay hell for it. What was it Pierre said? "Ask Jesus Christ about the 'just society' he promised 2,000 years ago"? Well, ask his Christmas baby why he's getting crucified for throwing money lenders out of the temple...
But, I digress. Mercer can take off, eh. Call up Mike Meyers. Give him a show. Sam Bee needs to go help out the old country too.
Hi anon...Once upon a time we had some really great comedians, and our quiet peaceful kingdom looked almost cutting edge. But sadly that now seems a long time ago. All the big stars have moved like our best hockey players to the U.S. And CBC comedy is practically a horror show. Cheap, vulgar, not funny, and all but impossible to watch. I wish we could get people like Samantha Bee to come back and help us, but she's got her hands full attacking the Orange Oaf. So we're just going to have to hope that somewhere in small clubs in Canada a new and vibrant generation of comedians are honing their talents, and will soon emerge to do to Scheer, what Baldwin does to Trump. If not I'll have to get out there and perform my favourite trick (OK my only trick) standing on my head and twirling a soccer ball with my feet...;)
DeleteI am appalled at the slant of the news coverage on the CBC. There was a brief time after the CPC were turfed out of government when there appeared to be a thaw, a rebirth of sorts. But it seems the Board of Directors has cracked down again. The other night they had Andrew Coyne, Paul Wells, and Althia Raj discussing the first two years of the Trudeau government. In what universe could that be called anything but a one-sided panel? I know if you ask a conservative, they'll insist the CBC does nothing but worship the Liberals. So they may be afraid to challenge the things that Scheer and Pollievre say (which are not true) because that will get the conservative viewers even madder than they are generally at everything. But it is completely irresponsible journalism to simply parrot whatever the opposition says. It does not follow that since journalism is meant to keep government accountable, journalists must always join the opposition in attacking the government. They certainly did no attacking of government while the CPC were in power. They attacked opposition critics instead. The CBC desperately needs a new Board of Directors, before they engineer their own destruction as an entity.
ReplyDeleteHi Cailleach....I too had the unfortunate experience of watching the three Con monkeys, Coyne, Wells, and Raj, bloviating about the first two years of the Trudeau government. And like you I had the same reaction: who on earth could even hallucinate that was not a biased panel. The CBC shamed itself during the monstrous years of the Harper regime. Who can forget how Peter Mansbridge used to give Stephen Harper a full body massage, when that swaggering would be dictator allowed him to ask him a few questions, So now they're making up for that by attacking the Trudeau government like a pack of rabid hyenas? It's simply beyond belief. How dumb can they be, I think they believe that they can take decent Canadians for granted, while they concentrate on trying to win over the Cons who would cut their throats if if they could. But if they are doing that they are making a huge mistake. For the day the people who have supported the CBC faithfully for so many years give up on it, the corp will become a corpse...
DeleteWhen Harper was in power, we were worried that he would destroy the CBC by underfunding it and placing cronies in favored positions. The Liberals have done little to reverse the damage caused by Harper- they should have done a clean sweep of political appointees when they first got in, plus adequate funding for the next 4 years so the CBC can run without needing to have a partisan bias, plus stregnthen the content to reflect what is news (unbiased reporting) as separate from opinion, or personal commentary, or entertainment. The Liberals are constantly dropping the ball on the messaging of their policies- they need to parse policies to one line of easily remembered rhetoric. The right wing politicians are masters of this
ReplyDeleteHi Filcher...I remember how worried I was that the filthy Con regime would destroy the CBC, and how many posts I wrote urging Canadians to defend it. But now I wonder why I bothered. However, although I agree with almost everything you say, and believe the CBC needs to be completely overhauled, and among other things focus on news instead of opinion. The sad truth is that the Liberals were apparently unable to fire the members of the Con board, due to legal issues. And we have all paid a heavy price for that. Hopefully those appointments are ready to expire, and the government should take advantage of that to hold some sort of public commission, and give the CBC new and better marching orders...
DeleteMercer, who showed such promise with "Show Me the Button: I'll Push It (or Charles Lynch Must Die)," moved from the East Coast to Toronto and lost his edge, I'm not sure in what order. He abandoned satire to become the modern Wayne Rostad in a modern version of "On the Road Again." The few skits that remain are more reminiscent of Air Farce's loopy approach.
ReplyDeleteBut Simon, I think you're over the top here. The way it looks to me, CBC has been hand-holding Morneau through the crisis, trying to help him recover by telling us how great the economy is. They do employ a bunch of lame commentators, on both the left and right, but in my opinion as village idiots for our entertainment. Mostly the National just tells me "what the new rules mean for YOU."
I see The National has their 4 new commentators spruced up and ready to go! I think it is going to be "PAINFULL"!
ReplyDeleteYou guys are crazy, Morneau is has been royally screwing up, and its not just the CBC reporting it.
ReplyDeleteIts Jagmeet Singh the CBC is after, they are trying to link his name to Sikh terrorism, despute him being all of 5 years old and denouncing terrorism.
And its mostly only the CBC that have that creepy obsession with linking Jagmeet with terrorism.
And they do it on behalf of their Liberal masters.