Anyone seeking to make a compelling argument for the proposition that Scotland’s politicians and lawmakers are simply too farcically incompetent to ever be trusted with running an independent country had a gift-wrapped Godsend delivered to them last week by the idiot student children of Edinburgh.
But we can’t really put the blame on the colourfully-haired, keffiyeh-clad cretin kiddies of the capital for that, because it’s their elders and betters who opened the door.
With Reform now pretty consistently miles in front in polling for the next UK election, logically this is brilliant news for the Scottish independence movement, isn’t it?
So can anyone explain why the SNP is so desperate to stop them?
As recently as this weekend, the Scottish Government claimed that it has “made clear it accepts the Supreme Court ruling [in For Women Scotland] and is taking forward the detailed work necessary”.
But as with so much the Scottish Government says, it’s a barefaced lie.
Police Scotland have nevertheless denied that prisoners in their custody are being excessively pampered, following reports that a man was hustled out of St Leonard’s station in Edinburgh with an electric blanket over his head.
Meanwhile, following the Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case, the force’s HQ at Tulliallan was burgled by a gang of militant transactivists who stole all the toilets. Officers say they have nothing to go on.
One of the very few phrases universally recognised in Scotland but which will draw blank looks anywhere else in the UK is the dry, dark “Well, ye ken noo”. Until recently it had no equivalent that we can bring to mind in the rest of the English-speaking world, although arguably that gap has now been at least partly filled by the acronym “FAFO”.
(We try not to swear on the site, so let’s say it stands for “Fool Around, Find Out”.)
So now the smoke has cleared, the troops have departed the battlefield and the winner is enjoying the spoils, what did we find out on Thursday night, and what didn’t we?
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?
At the weekend, Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman was filmed applauding as a notoriously unhinged transactivist ranted through a megaphone to a small and almost exclusively male crowd of protestors about how he was going to openly break the law by continuing to use women’s public toilets, and addressing JK Rowling with the words “We should all take a shite on you, you heinous creeping old bitch”.
At another protest, Chapman herself asserted that the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on the correct interpretation of the Equality Act 2010 was motivated by not by a solemn consideration of the law or by the arguments of counsel who appeared before it, but by “bigotry, prejudice and hatred”.
Chapman is – incredibly – Deputy Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament, and as such her comments sparked a storm of wholly justified outrage over her flagrant breach not only of Parliamentary rules but also of the law – specifically the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, which requires all MSPs to uphold the independence of the judiciary.
Young Lochinvar on The Fast Track: “HMcH Isn’t that a bit past your bedtime to be posting? Has matron been late on her rounds switching things…” Jul 1, 02:20
Cynicus on The Fast Track: “Tapadh leat, Fheargais.” Jul 1, 00:07
Hatey McHateface on The Fast Track: “So Orwell nearly drowned in an Orwellian whirlpool? An image worthy of Dali himself.” Jul 1, 00:01
Young Lochinvar on The Fast Track: “CC @ 6.22 Well hold on there Bald Eagle, have you been cut and pasting from AI again? That’s AI…” Jun 30, 23:14
sarah on Off-topic: “Good advice for my Peter, TC. He’s quite good at pretending things haven’t happened, after a lifetime of mainly disappointing…” Jun 30, 22:54
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “@Alurker: sorry, that should have been ghost swift moth. She’s bigger than the male, which is white.” Jun 30, 22:19
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “All your points are very good ones, sarah. It’s a pity our ex-manager hadn’t thought of them while planning for…” Jun 30, 22:16
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Fast Track: “Gaelic version again with formatting issue fixed (hopefully) – COIRE A’ BHREACAIN Sgrìobh Seòras Orwell 1984 air Eilean Diùra. Chunnaic…” Jun 30, 22:13
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Yes, noticeably fewer insects and attendant birds here too, although I had a female ghost white moth dozing on my…” Jun 30, 22:08
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Fast Track: “COIRE A’ BHREACAIN Sgri?obh Seo?ras Orwell 1984 air Eilean Diu?ra. Chunnaic mi pi?os mu a dhe?idhinn air an tv o…” Jun 30, 21:50
Mike on The Fast Track: “Listened to the interview of Rev on Scotcast. The thing that jumps out at me is nobody in the police…” Jun 30, 20:41
Hatey McHateface on The Fast Track: “You’re gonna have to accept the truth sooner or later, Mark. The Scottish voters are under the control of MI5.…” Jun 30, 19:49
Hatey McHateface on The Fast Track: “Superb quote, CC! But wait. Is it possible Orwell had been colonised? To be serious for a mo. I always…” Jun 30, 19:35
sam on The Fast Track: “???? Feedback and complaints Anyone can provide a comment or make a complaint about our service or work. We have…” Jun 30, 19:32
Mark Beggan on The Fast Track: “The alternative to that theory is the Special Needs Party are an Organised Crime Organisation and that some of the…” Jun 30, 19:03
Dan on The Fast Track: “@ CC Aye, but that was 1945 and things have moved on in many ways since then with us now…” Jun 30, 18:54
Insider on The Fast Track: “Caveman @ 6.22 Well quoted! Relevant and correct! (unlike poor old Alf’s misquotes)” Jun 30, 18:40
twathater on The Fast Track: “Well done Rev you got a lot of points across, Geissler is just like the rest of the PRESSTITUTES because…” Jun 30, 18:25
Captain Caveman on The Fast Track: “Well, since you’ve added Orwell to your little list of authors endlessly misquoted and misappropriated, I thought you might enjoy…” Jun 30, 18:22
twathater on The Fast Track: “Some of the reasons I believe the SCUM snp thought they were UNTOUCHABLE and above PROSECUTION is because 1/ they…” Jun 30, 18:18
Alf Baird on The Fast Track: ““To get to the bottom of what’s really going on” Aye Hatey, postcolonial theory clearly helps a great deal to…” Jun 30, 17:01
Confused on The Fast Track: “Listened to it, was alright. Scotcast is generally, not the worst thing on the bbc, depends who is on; some…” Jun 30, 16:09
Bob W on The Fast Track: “Same. Requires registration and login.” Jun 30, 15:46
Bob W on The Fast Track: “Same, asks me to login or register.” Jun 30, 15:42
lothianlad on The Fast Track: “Murrell did indeed take one for the team. Whils focussing on the crimes he did comott , others were let…” Jun 30, 15:15
Jas on The Fast Track: “Perhaps the reason certain people in the SNP took to crime was because they figured no-one would take much notice…” Jun 30, 14:07
james on The Fast Track: “DavidT-Its not the crux of the matter. Your assumption that if the SNP spent the money raised soley for another…” Jun 30, 13:37
Hatey McHateface on The Fast Track: “Nothing about the size of the cave, if it has underfloor heating, how many heat pumps, and if the multi-vehicle…” Jun 30, 13:06
Alf Baird on The Fast Track: ““John Swinney … would tell you that he would live in a cave for independence” Aye Fearghas, here we have…” Jun 30, 11:05
David Henry on The Fast Track: “Missing money followed by a list of people all who lied about the missing money while others tried to shut…” Jun 30, 10:48