Truth With Ruth 415
Posted on
February 05, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson a couple of hours ago:
Just a few teeny tiny issues with that one.
A very long time in politics 116
Posted on
February 05, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Five minutes and 51 seconds, to be precise, is how long David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, spent frantically quacking out meaningless noise on this morning’s Sunday Politics Scotland in order to avoid answering a simple Yes/No question until the interview ran out of airtime.
We could quibble with presenter Gordon Brewer making the assertion that a Section 30 order would in fact be necessary for a second referendum (something which has never been established in law or conceded by the Scottish Government, with strong and genuine legal opinion on both sides of the argument), and with him letting Mundell get away with the blatant falsehood that an overwhelming majority of Scots don’t want another referendum – in fact, 50% want one within the next two years.
But sometimes you have to let some smaller things slide to avoid distraction and stay focused on your main point, and in our view this was one of those occasions.
Truth With Torrance 126
Posted on
February 05, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
An exchange from Twitter this morning:
Should we check out that link and find out whether the then-FM really DID “claim that the Scottish NHS would be privatised if Scots voted No”, readers? Let’s do!
What fake news looks like 332
Posted on
February 03, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The most overused political insult du jour is for people to accuse each other of dealing in “fake news” and “alternative facts”. Normally, of course, they’re referring to dodgy memes on social media or the latest mad yelping from Donald Trump or his minions.
But in Scotland, our fake news is in the real newspapers.
Pretty much every day of every week of every year.
Bringing it on 374
Posted on
February 02, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
These are the comments of UK defence secretary Michael Fallon in a short interview with today’s Herald. We don’t know about you, folks, but to us it feels like Christmas.
We think our favourite line is “There are other voices in Scotland now, not least Ruth Davidson’s”, but there are a lot to choose from.
In the dead of the night 335
Posted on
February 01, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
This is Conservative MP Dominic Raab, a member of the Brexit Select Committee, speaking on the BBC News Channel’s “Hard Talk” programme at 00.45 this morning. Perhaps imagining that nobody would be watching at such an ungodly hour, it seems he felt able to be unusually candid.
We left the last bit on in order to demonstrate that he was still talking about Scotland as well as Ireland. (He went on to recite the usual boilerplate about all leaving together as the UK etc etc, you can watch the whole show for yourself on iPlayer.)
But let’s just get that key early exchange down in writing for the record.
The funeral pyre 172
Posted on
January 31, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Readers familiar with our standing advice to newspaper customers that the headline is nearly always a lie might like to consider today’s Press & Journal.
The word “pyre” comes from the Greek word “pyra”, meaning “fire”. Surprisingly, it’s NOT the same root as “Pyrrhic”, as in “Pyrrhic victory”, meaning one that’s achieved by metaphorically burning your own city down. (Which in fact is named after the Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus.)
But why the etymology lesson?
Not you, Scotland 149
Posted on
January 31, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Contenders ready 464
Posted on
January 30, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
The Sunday Herald ran an extraordinary article on page 2 yesterday, and by the time we’d finished being startled by what nonsense it was, it set us wondering about why.
Time catches up with us all 342
Posted on
January 29, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Call the experts 850
Posted on
January 26, 2017 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
Because when you really want people with their finger on the pulse of Scottish politics to analyse the implications of the Supreme Court decision on Brexit, where else would you go but to Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff, to hear from um, former rugby league star and haircut pioneer Martin Offiah?
