If you’re a fan of lazy, superficial political analysis from the mentally unwell, you might have read this week about John Swinney’s great strategic triumph of having “coaxed” an “endorsement” out of the Daily Record for Thursday’s by-election in Hamilton.
And if so, you might be forgiven for thinking that that analysis looks pretty stupid now.
(Holiday Boy is still jetting his way around the globe, and indeed will be for the next few weeks, so in the absence of cartoons what else can we do but look at comics?)
But what, if anything, do those front pages tell us?
Alert readers will be familiar with this site’s ongoing quest for an explanation as to why controversy-plagued charity LGBT Youth Scotland continues to operate in dozens of Scottish primary and even nursery schools, pushing gender ideology onto children as young as four despite only having a remit to support 13-25-year-olds.
Last month we were, to coin a phrase, stonewalled by Scotland’s charity regulator, the OSCR, but we filed a review request and today we received – a couple of weeks past the deadline – a response.
The entire Scottish media and professional-politician community is currently in a self-righteous froth about a campaign ad being run by Reform for the Hamilton by-election targeting Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Obviously none of the acres of press coverage trusts voters to see the ad and decide for themselves, because that simply isn’t how journalism works nowadays. You’re told that a bad thing happened – whether it be a campaign ad, a comedian’s joke or the supposed terrible abuse sent to a celebrity – and how outraged various pundits or other celebrities are about it, with the clear implication that you should feel the same, but you almost never get shown or told what was actually said.
So to start with, as a basic journalistic principle, here’s the ad itself in its entirety.
Now let’s look at what you’re being ordered to think about it.
The Scottish Tory MSP reacted furiously to a story in The National which said Scotland had been absorbed into England by the 1707 Act Of Union, rather than becoming a “partner” in anything, and had ceased to exist as a state in international law.
Which was a weird response, because that’s been the official stated position of both the UK government and the Conservative Party for at least the last 12 years.
Despite everything, we almost allowed ourselves just the very tiniest little micro-flicker of optimism when we read Tommy Sheppard’s latest in The National.
Because that much is certainly true, and it’s uncommonly candid to have anyone in the SNP admit it. So what’s the answer?
(Kelly’s article is here. Link to Grok’s answer here. The ChatGPT analysis that triggered the article can be read in this tweet thread. A verifiable analysis by Grok of the debate, based on a neutral question, can be read here.)
The legal imprint at the bottom means that that’s official SNP election communication. One assumes it’s intended for leaflets to be put through actual voters’ letterboxes.
Hi! I noticed, with very considerable amusement, your complaint last night that I hadn’t made a “substantive reply” to the [EDIT] EIGHT posts (totalling nearly 11,000 words) of semi-coherent ranting about me that you’ve made on your site in the last eight days.
(I’ll be absolutely honest, I’ve only skimmed the last few.)
We both know the reason that’s so tear-streamingly comical, of course.
In so far as it’s worth talking about Scottish constitutional politics at all these days, it’s worth taking a moment to analyse the bloodless, anodyne nothingness spouted by the First Minister on The Sunday Show at the weekend.
That clip is less than three minutes long, but it’s so soul-crushingly boring and full of content-free drone and waffle that it’s almost impossible to sit all the way through it, so we’re going to translate and summarise it for you.
Warning: despite the quite zingy title this is actually going to be a very dry stats post, readers. It is, on the other hand, based on a man having something disturbingly close to a complete psychotic mental breakdown, so there’s always that for a bit of colour.
Because the paragraph above, and in particular the highlighted part, is without a doubt the most dishonest, diametrically false and wildly extreme lie about Scottish politics that we’ve ever seen anyone tell in the 13.5 years of Wings Over Scotland’s existence.
Red on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “They keep pretending Nickla can write, when she can hardly speak in joined up paragraphs that make sense. The SNP…” May 30, 20:06
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: “For that comment, Spartan 117, we intend to cram you into a barrel of boiling tar. Then we’ll set fire…” May 30, 20:05
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “@sarah: ah, I see my original has been “passed”. I think it was the reference to JB wot done it.…” May 30, 20:01
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: ““She has no breeding” Coming from you, Geri, that comment rates A++.” May 30, 19:56
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: ““She has no breeding” From you, Geri, that comment rates A++.” May 30, 19:56
Hatey McHateface on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Quite right. Fit dae they cants ken aboot being colonised? Here’s a thought. If you ken how tae use “schadenfreude”…” May 30, 19:48
ScotsCanuck on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “In the immortal words of Dick Emery “oh!! … you are awefull, but I like you” (gave my age away…” May 30, 19:41
Hatey McHateface on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Strong, the memories of the rejection slips, in this one.” May 30, 19:37
Hatey McHateface on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Appeal to the masses. Join forces with Ronald Macdonald.” May 30, 19:35
Onlooker on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Not interested in the prurient schadenfreude mockery of anti-Scottish English middle class maggots.” May 30, 19:28
Onlooker on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Crime novels are boring, tedious shit. Seems like most of the writers in Scotland fart them out on a regular…” May 30, 19:26
sarah on Off-topic: “You know how to enjoy yourself, TC! Talking of dying laughing, Peter and myself were crying with laughter the other…” May 30, 19:20
Sean Duffy on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “If ever the proceeds of crime confiscations come into play, then Ernest Hemmingway’s ‘To Have and Have Not’ would be…” May 30, 18:54
Ex President Xiden on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Any truth in the rumour that Nicola once appeared on said Generation Game but had a disastrous final game when…” May 30, 18:53
robertkknight on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: ““How to Destroy a Country in 10 Easy Steps” https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Destroy-Country-Easy-Steps-ebook/dp/B0F715Z9MM” May 30, 18:49
sarah on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Hear, hear. And for the Rev’s next trick, perhaps join with Peter A Bell and Roddy Macdonald in a new…” May 30, 18:39
Ex President Xiden on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “And they would have got away with it if it hadn’t been for that pesky Rev.” May 30, 18:19
agentx on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “HIGNFY is a satirical comedy show and mock every political party. But the show last night was great.” May 30, 17:40
100%Yes on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “From Grand Tour to the sewer. Quite a legacy it’ll take some beating.” May 30, 16:53
Brotyboy on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “If you watched HIGNFY last night and saw the first item, which was about 12 minutes on the Murrell scandal…” May 30, 16:53
agentx on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: ““The former First Minister was scheduled to interview author Kirsty Lockwood next week about her debut novel We Know What…” May 30, 16:52
Muscleguy on Nicola’s Summer Reading List: “Or A Tale Told In Blood And Hard Black Fancy Pen And for an over title of the whole lot…” May 30, 16:38
