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.
Don Paterson is a celebrated Scottish poet, writer and musician. The essay below comes from a new anthology of Scottish writers called Irish Pages: Scotland, and is reproduced with his permission.
Remember The Vow? Most of us have tried to forget it. This was Westminster’s Hail Mary as polling day approached in the 2014 referendum; a vote that Yessers – people tend to forget this part too – initially had no real expectation of winning, until an inspirationally positive campaign saw the polls draw neck-and-neck.
Then lo! There it was, splashed across the Daily Record: a fancy-font promise from Westminster party leaders that if Scotland voted to stay within the UK, we would enjoy new devolved powers. There was some other waffle about defence and opportunities and having an equal share in the UK’s prosperity. But the message was clear enough. We would be listened to.
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.
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““…the extremely expensive and slow delivery, problems overseen by Scottish politicians elected by the Scottish people.” Sneaky, weasel words blaming…” Dec 18, 11:57
James Cheyne on The Idiot Rodeo: “The date the Scottish parliament closed by sine Die in Scotland and was closed by the Queen of England, and…” Dec 18, 11:49
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““… mebbe the Rev an aw Scots fowk wad help crowdfund a judicial review o oor fraudulent and unlawfu furrin…” Dec 18, 11:32
Alf Baird on The Idiot Rodeo: ““I am absolutely certain if Edinburgh didn’t have it’s tram, you’d be highlighting the lack of tram as evidence for…” Dec 18, 11:31
Aidan on The Idiot Rodeo: “The main problem with the trams and the A9 dualling is the extremely expensive and slow delivery, problems overseen by…” Dec 18, 10:54
Alf Baird on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Sovereign Scots who imposed the trams on Edinburgh” Salmond’s minority nationalist administration at the time voted against the trams funding,…” Dec 18, 10:17
DaveL on The Idiot Rodeo: “1 I’m referring to the two of you as stated earlier, as a moron you lost track. 2 ‘take’ is…” Dec 18, 09:42
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Sae twa questions an we’re done…” Answers: 1: Look in the mirror. 2: Maist likely up the arse in the…” Dec 18, 09:41
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Both of you will still be unionist morons…” I suspect that DaveL is correct and that his statement above could…” Dec 18, 09:28
Aidan on The Idiot Rodeo: “Dan doesn’t like the tram, well there is a surprise that nobody could have anticipated! But hey if they hadn’t…” Dec 18, 09:28
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “You’ll hae missed yer bus noo, Dave. Ah’m obviously tempted tae keep you in all day, glued tae yer device,…” Dec 18, 09:21
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““You must be Rev Stu…Pleased and honoured to make your acquaintance at long last.” Sycophantic soukin sucks… it makes me…” Dec 18, 09:19
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: “René Descartes was a Frenchman…so he wid hiv maist likely said: “Mauvais chien! Range-le!,” said Descartes. I am never done…” Dec 18, 09:15
DaveL on The Idiot Rodeo: “You can repeat all you like, you’re still morons and you can still fuck off. (See fit ah did there…” Dec 18, 09:04
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Whoops! My bad. Thon Descartes boy would obviously have said “Bad dug! Pit it awa!” Apologies for any confusion arising…” Dec 18, 08:54
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Oh, what bitterness cleaves to envy’s sting!” Guid mornyng fowks… a houp aw ye indigenous Scots and fellow Picts oot…” Dec 18, 08:54
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “You must be Rev Stu. Pleased and honoured to make your acquaintance at long last. (See fit Ah did there,…” Dec 18, 08:46
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “What you really saying there then, Dan? The trams were forced on us by the colonialists in Westminster? Every single…” Dec 18, 08:39
DaveL on The Idiot Rodeo: “Fuck off. It’s a fact I just said that and it’s a logical thing to say because you’re still fucking…” Dec 18, 08:37
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Socks oan yer feet, Northy, richt this meenit. And mind fit thon Descartes boy said: “Hatey’s still reading your posts,…” Dec 18, 08:15
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Facts are neither logical nor illogical, Dave. They simply are. Educate yourself, dude.” Dec 18, 08:00
Hatey McHateface on The Idiot Rodeo: “Wow, Fearghas, our ancestors certainly knew a thing or two about standing on their own two feet, both individually and…” Dec 18, 07:56
Mark Beggan on The Idiot Rodeo: “So another day of the Lefty colonial rant in bed with their death cult chums. Bankrolled to shout in the…” Dec 18, 07:01
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: “I made a typo. “It’s comedy is most darkly lit…”: should read: “Its comedy is most darkly lit…” Although, I…” Dec 17, 23:29
Northcode on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Oh, what bitterness cleaves to envy’s sting!” – Dante Alighieri The Union is a monstrous joke, and very far from…” Dec 17, 22:34
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Idiot Rodeo: “Excerpt from Paul Henderson Scott’s book entitled: ANDREW FLETCHER AND THE TREATY OF UNION « A whole succession of events…” Dec 17, 22:26
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Idiot Rodeo: “Maybe relevant to draw attention to the book: ‘SCOTLAND’S RUINE’ : LOCKHART OF CARNWATH’S MEMOIRS OF THE UNION (Edited by…” Dec 17, 22:18
DaveL on The Idiot Rodeo: “Both of you will still be unionist morons, so no change there then. That’s not an assumption either, that’s a…” Dec 17, 21:48
Lorncal on The Idiot Rodeo: “Every law that passes in the Westminster parliament must be passed by a majority of Scottish MPs to become Scottish…” Dec 17, 21:13
Alf Baird on The Idiot Rodeo: ““Aidan bigging up Auld Reekie and the trams!” Aye, anither ‘new Scot’ that disna ken hee haw aboot Auld Reekie…” Dec 17, 20:48
