At a time of unprecedented political chaos and uncertainty, just about the only thing you can still count on is that for any given situation, senior Labour figures will issue proclamations both firmly in favour of it and stoutly opposed to it, usually the same day.
So the stories below, which are respectively from today’s Scotsman and today’s Times, won’t come as much of a shock to anyone.
But against the odds, we think we’ve made some sense of it.
The front page lead of today’s Scottish Daily Mail:
As alert readers of this site will know, the Mail has a particular fondness for presenting statistics bereft of any context so that people have no idea how big or small they really are. So is 1,600 passengers a week receiving compensation for delays a lot or a little? Let’s find out.
All political discourse is plagued with genuine imbeciles, of course. But what’s far more depressing is when educated and normally perceptive people merely act like imbeciles for money, such as the case of Alex Massie in the Sunday Times today.
Because for the last two years, commentators who ought to know better have insisted in presenting Scotland’s choice as between Brexit or Brexit plus independence, and solemnly concluding that the uncertainties and risks of the latter being piled on top of those of the former prove that independence is no solution.
And we don’t care to have our intelligence insulted in that way.
We’re so far beyond mere “scraping the barrel” now.
Unhappy with polls based on asking the simple and clear question “Should Scotland be an independent country?”, and which have been stubbornly refusing to show any movement against independence, our dear old pals at Scotland In Union recently commissioned one of their own seeking to muddy the waters.
Their brainwave was to try to confuse respondents by tangling up the usual indyref responses (firmly and consistently set in people’s minds over the last seven years as “Yes” and “No”) with the responses associated with the EU referendum (“Remain” and “Leave”), in the hope that Scots – who of course are heavily in favour of Remain – would be fooled and/or brainwashed into saying something different.
And it very very slightly worked, right up to the point where it fell apart.
robertkknight on Blue In The Face: “Not that it’s going to happen in my lifetime, but if Indyref2 was ever to be held, only those entitled…” Jul 15, 00:34
Northcode on Blue In The Face: “This is a long one… scroll on by if you can’t be bothered ;earning something interesting and informative. I feel…” Jul 15, 00:16
Young Lochinvar on The Unstoppable Lie Machine: “SHM I served then, but not in the Falklands, indeed I remember seeing the remnants of the Argentinian debris of…” Jul 15, 00:03
StrangerHereMyself on The Unstoppable Lie Machine: “Cheering on the Argentinians and not the exploits of the Scots Guards at Tumbledown? This self-identification lark is good, eh?…” Jul 14, 22:23
Young Lochinvar on Step One: “Pastor Fagat Wow! And you suggest I am thick? Phew you’ve got a nerve. Read again your own summaries against…” Jul 14, 22:21
robertkknight on Blue In The Face: “Sorry… Should say “got” not “hot”. Either way, it’s not in the interests of the British State to see the…” Jul 14, 22:00
Andy Ellis on Step One: “@ Young Lochinbore Not even close, no cigar…soz. Any variations are minor. The principle remains: all of them used broad,…” Jul 14, 21:29
Innocent bystander on Blue In The Face: “Within the second paragraph of PS response they apologise that reference was made that they had been advised HOW to…” Jul 14, 20:50
robertkknight on Blue In The Face: ““Would be sweet karma if Nicola bust the SNP by self-obsessed accident.” I’d say by design rather than by accident.…” Jul 14, 20:19
Dan on Blue In The Face: “Aye, indeed it is a rather self-induced wretched state of affairs, but I’m not sad, more frustrated and somewhat angry…” Jul 14, 19:41
Young Lochinvar on Step One: “Pastor Fagat 2nd attempt to post this reply, fingers crossed this time. I am using your numbered list, see below…” Jul 14, 19:39
sarah on Blue In The Face: “Urgent and Important: Scotland’s independent legal status has just been directly denied by the UK government in the Court of…” Jul 14, 19:35
Chris on Blue In The Face: “Apologies Stuart,, I was a bit impatient, sorry.” Jul 14, 19:18
James on The Interests Of The Many: “Aye, just like you, petal. Why don’t you three get a ‘family room’ somewhere for a night?” Jul 14, 19:00
James on Blue In The Face: “Light bulb moment, Inglis?” Jul 14, 18:56
Wally Jumblatt on Blue In The Face: “I don’t know the details of the SNP’s Articles of Association or whatever, but I suspect that they are now…” Jul 14, 18:44
MP on Blue In The Face: “Worth the follow-up Q’s, but I think that they are saying (1) they knew that the money had been spent…” Jul 14, 18:44
agentx on Blue In The Face: “Those Bloody English!” Jul 14, 18:40
Alf Baird on Blue In The Face: “Aye Robert, for a people who are out of the game, “all roads lead to Rome”. The native seldom looks…” Jul 14, 18:32
Eric on Blue In The Face: “There seems to be more buck passing here. It states these “matters were … reported to the COPFS for guidance”.…” Jul 14, 18:25
barelybare on Blue In The Face: “I agree, Houston leaves us hanging by ending the story with report to COPFS. One could conclude he is saying…” Jul 14, 17:54
Captain Caveman on The Unstoppable Lie Machine: “Heh, well maybe – but not if we’re talking about the Court of Public Opinion? That’s really quite the cliff…” Jul 14, 17:17
Young Lochinvar on Step One: “AI Dun Well you would wouldn’t you! Remember; A is B, black is white and up is down in your…” Jul 14, 16:46
robertkknight on Blue In The Face: “It is becoming clearer by the day that Police Scotland and/or the COPFS have been told this far, (Murrell trial/conviction),…” Jul 14, 16:35
Andy Ellis on Step One: “@Young Lochinbore I see you have comprehension difficulties on top of you other issues. The point of the list is…” Jul 14, 16:33
Young Lochinvar on The Unstoppable Lie Machine: “Pastor Fagat & 1.51 The classroom creep.. “Please Miss! Please Miss! Please Miss!; Alf used the “C” word!!!!”” Jul 14, 16:30
Aidan on Step One: ““Some English person took the piss out of Scots and therefore we better deny all English people living in Scotland…” Jul 14, 16:28
Young Lochinvar on The Unstoppable Lie Machine: “Confused Now now, that’s enough of that! Poor AI Dun will have swooned requiring a touch of the vapours after…” Jul 14, 16:25
Thistle's Bristles on Hey Lord Don’t Ask Me Questions: “‘His lawyer says he is “Overwhelmed by feelings of embarrassment & shame” ‘ Who is? That is, does the ‘he’…” Jul 14, 16:22
