Missing a sitter

Lucky white heather? Lucky white heather? Get yer lucky white heather here! 


Covid-19 is on the rise with an evil intention to wreak havoc, yet there are David Ike-listening lizard people haunting city squares trying to convince the general populace that a virulent contagious disease, for some, which tries to scoop out your lungs lobe by lobe and feed them tae the seagulls, is nothing more than like the common flu. There is no accounting for sense. 

In America two auld men have just finished standing behind podiums shouting insults at each other. One representing the rise of vile white supremacy and fascism, his face covered in more makeup than a troupe of clowns, indeed it’s the colour almost of a Charlie Cairoli, the other, represents the return to the norm of capitalist haves and have nots, the lesser by a fair bit of two evils, his visage more tucks and tightens than an 80’s soap star. Both trying to portray youthful vigour. Save us, an Aaron Sorkin screenplay this wasn’t. 

In England a blundering mop-topped Beetlejuice-does-Winston Churchill caricature stumbles about the place, between taking refuge in fridges, grinning, the complete antithesis of a leader during a time of national and global crisis. Shutting pubs early so the street parties can get going, avoiding hard, or any, questions, threatening Covid dissenters wae the polis and the army, whilst at the same time failing to acknowledge that the country he governs has failed to take his direction on their continuing health seriously since his puppet master who wrote the rules went walkabout during a lockdown with no consequences. 

Meanwhile as the posh idiot distracts attentions the real powers, the insidious rightwing, now the mainstream of the Tory party, goes about its business, hurtling headlong into a Rue Britannic nightmare no deal separatist Brexit,(which combined with the emerging economic blight of the impacts of Covid-19 will create a Perfect Storm of austerity, unemployment and poverty) making plans to turn Kent into a 21st century version of a ‘Passport to Pimlico’, and disgracefully, for us many advocates of a self governing Scotland,  bringing forth funding legislation which undermines on many levels the devolution settlement of the last 20 years. They are openly stealing our powers with little difficulty, and with the backing of their Scots based lackeys, like Scotland’s answer to VAR with the plug out, the linesman Doogie Ross.

Also, it seems, the propaganda levels spewing forth of a British/English nationalist nature may be about reach heights we’ve never experienced before. You thought it was bad in 2014? You thought the continued steady stream of bias,misinformation and lies ever since then against anything or anyone which or who remotely favours the perfectly normal idea that Scotland should govern itself is unacceptable? Wait until Andrew Neil commences his role of head of the proposed new rightwing UK equivalent of Fox News, GB News. You’ve seen nothing yet. 

It gets worse, the continuously ossifying right-wing Tories are thought to be nominating the former editor of the Daily Hate Mail Paul Dacre for the role of CEO of regulator Ofcom and the former editor of the Telegraph and Thatcher biographer, Lord Moore, for the chairman of the BBC. This, dear friends, is the equivalent in right wing nationalist terms of the early days of a London version of the Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda for the 21st century. The UK is on a very slippery slope.

So, with all of this going on, what are we in Scotland doing, following several polls consistently reflecting that for perhaps the very first time a majority of our people have faith in our leaders, have hope, and have a belief that Scotland can have a much better future by taking control of our own government, our own resources, our own assets, utilising our own ingenuity, skills and innovation. A near tipping point. 

What are we doing? We are fighting amongst ourselves. 

“….the Brazil defence is in disarray and Bremner misses a sitter!” Again.


 

Six years later

We’re six years on from the outcome of the greatest exercise in political engagement ever seen in Scotland. In contrast to the false accusations put about by those on the naysayer side with vested interests, accusations of hate, violence and division the only demonstrations of such behaviour during the period of the referendum came only via the right-wing British Nationalists of George Square the day after the result.

A lot has happened in the subsequent six years. 

We had the initial stunned moments, did we hear right? Did he just say that, following David Cameron’s English Votes for English Laws announcement immediately after it became clear that the Union had survived to stumble on for a few more years , the Vow, numerous, to many to count, broken promises, diluted Commissions, and countless examples of disrespect, and disregard, shown to your chosen representatives at Westminster, so much so that many of us advocates of an independent Scotland wish they would just come home and set up a provisional government extension or second chamber at Holyrood until the date when the word provisional can be legitimately dropped. 

We’ve seen the steady rise and rise of dangerous right-wing English nationalism fuelled initially by Farage and his immigrant baiting Brexit Party (the 21st century’s National Front), initially out on the wing of the Tories but now almost unbelievably and incredibly consolidated as the main driving force and centre of the No Deal Brexit seeking government of the fuggnucket clown shoe current Prime Minister. 

In the midst of a deadly pandemic, handled in a dangerous negligent and corrupt manner by the mainly amateur toffs in Johnson’s government, we await the chaos and the tsunami-like economic, social and cultural disaster that is to unfold in around three months time as a Brexit for real happens. 

Yet again we find Scots law, ancient and modern, and the devolution settlement of the last twenty odd years under severe threat from a power steal, and legislation at Westminster paving the way to override Holyrood’s devolved powers at any time they like on a whim, chlorinated chicken anyone? How about a slice of Great British Haggis or Old Salty Union Jack Malt Whisky (comes in red, white and blue labels).

We’ve seen all of this and more.

In a time now where it is clear that the tipping point is well and truly approaching, poll after poll consistently showing clear blue water between Yes and the now consigned to the ludicrous argument ‘once in a lifetime’ remains of 2014’s unionist support it all still comes down to some clear choices for you, the people of Scotland sometime again soon.

Are you, in the shambles of a dying ex imperial power’s shambolic incompetent second decade of the 21st century, happy to continue to allow most of the important decisions which affect you and your family to be made mainly by politicians that the vast majority of the people of Scotland never vote for, in a parliament, one of which’s chambers is full of 800 odd unelected over-privileged friends of power, there by patronage, but paid for and kept in the manner they are accustomed to by your tax contributions, based in the capital city of another country? 

Are you content to see all of the revenue produced and collected through your income tax, business taxes and the tax generated from Scotland’s abundant natural resources, assets, world class food and drink sector and financial services continuing to go directly south to benefit the UK Treasury and London, with a significant percentage of this money being spent on priorities not in Scotland, which have no benefit for the people of Scotland?

Are you also content to continue to see only a fraction of this tax money, less than you contribute, coming back north of the border in the form of a grant (granted your own money) with limits and stipulations set from London on how it is spent on your services, and debts created by decisions  made by a government in another country, supposedly on your behalf,  being allocated as Scotlands debt? 

Or, are you now, like the consistent polling is showing, one of the many who have you now had enough, sickened, you’ve reached a point where you want a say in the future of Scotland, a say in how the money generated by the resources of Scotland, and by you, is spent to best benefit your community, your country?

Do you want to have a say in the choice of all of the future governments of Scotland? Governments who will have broadly the same aspirations for you and your children as you have, and know that they better have, as they are accountable, accountable to you if they fail you?

Do you want a say in the shaping of the values, aims, social and health agendas of all future governments of Scotland? Do you want the National Health Service to continue to be free at the point of care in Scotland and in future have appropriate investment available to it to make it a world class health service that you can be proud of, with no one left behind? 

Do you want your children to continue to have the opportunity of a free university education and cutting edge technical training in Scotland?

Do you want to ensure that sufficient investment is available to allow your children to grow up having received the best education, access to skills and opportunities that they possibly can, to let them be able to make positive choices about their futures in Scotland, to have options, options perhaps which you haven’t had yourself?

The question of self-government for Scotland is not about party politics, it’s not about nationalism in Scotland, although partly, for some, it is about nationalism in England.

No, what more and more Scots are committed to is clearly not nationalism. It is the thirst for a fair society, social justice and the opportunity for our children to have a better life, to have governments elected by you, and accountable to you.

On this the 6th anniversary of the first canvassing of your thoughts about how you wish to see your country governed in the future please bear these points in mind for the coming campaign. 

• Independence is normal, being governed by another country is not. 

Really?

6 years ago around this time droves of Keir Stauner’s sold out socialist cronies were dangerously overflowing on to rail platforms mob handedly, jumping on network services north tae meander like Z-list celebra-jungle dancing on ice, kangaroo ball eating saviours of the Union, haunting the cities and larger toons of Scotland, whilst their northern sales rep Jim Murphy egged himself on an hourly basis in shopping precincts like a poultry-fetishing corner boy, all trying tae convince the bemused natives that independence would be much better if it wisnae independence at aw, but they would actually ensure that Scotland would become a leader not a leaver within two short years. 

Remind me, how did all of that Broonism, Daily Record Vow bollox turn out again? 

The BBC, a potentially lethal disgrace

I find the decision by the British Broadcasting Corporation to stop showing the daily live Scottish  Government Covid-19 advice updates to be utterly deplorable. 

Basically it comes down to this, the risk of your granny developing a horrible contagious virus and dying in pain and discomfort as she slowly suffocates whilst retching up the contents of her lungs in an all consuming cough, or your dad developing the same virus which leaves him unconscious for a fortnight, then attacks his heart muscles, leaving him incapacitated for the rest of what now will be a shortened life, has no significance, has no bearing, and does not in any way concern the UK Government, who see the mortality rate of the current pandemic as purely academic. It is herd thinning. 

What does concern the British Government is the risk to their continued grip on power that is associated with the First Minister of Scotland being visible in a daily broadcast to the people of Scotland, being genuine, showing humanity and demonstrating strong effective leadership during a time of unprecedented crisis, in stark comparison to the clown show response to the Corona virus they themselves are providing from London. 

No, no, the middle aged men in suits in Whitehall say, we can’t have that woman riling up the North British natives, by taking responsibility and showing leadership. No, we can’t have that, they might realise they are better off without us hanging around their necks. Switch her off. Do it now.

With the polls consistently now showing that the people of Scotland are ready, having considered carefully over time, to address the constitutional question once more, this time with a maturity that Project Fear will struggle to deflect,  I do not believe that complaints made by the likes of Scottish branch office New/ Old/New again/ Near defunct Labour nonentities Screaming Lord Foulkes and Jackie Baillie that the First Ministers health updates are somehow political had anything to do with this decision. 

The BBC is not an impartial organisation. The BBC demonstrates a clear and undoubted bias where it comes to threats, perceived or actual, to the continuation of the deeply entrenched power of the disUnited Kingdom. The BBC is the British State’s media and propaganda tool. 

London must continue to have the power to make the important decisions for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at all costs. Equally England must continue to have control over the assets and resources of the rest of the UK at all costs. 

The BBC’s job is to convince you that to think anything other than that is somehow warped and wrong. In reality it is in fact Union, the process of being governed and having our assets and resources controlled by another country which is clearly wrong. Independence is rightful, lawful and the norm in most other countries of the world. 

The BBC has done a great job over many years to build and maintain this fantasy false veneer that the Union is fair and equitable, but the surface has cracked, the veil has now well and truly dropped away, and the truth has been revealed. 

Senior appointees at the BBC still arrive in their jobs via government influence and patronage, parts of the BBCs funding still comes from the government of the day. Until fairly recently the BBC World Service was funded directly by the Foreign Office until they changed the funding process to make it look like they are funded now by a grant process, again from the government. 

Of course the BBC are biased. Many of us could spend hours listing literally dozens of proven demonstrable instances of such bias. However ignoring the dire health consequences of a pandemic on the people of Scotland in order to further a political strategy to limit positive exposure of the government of Scotland’s continuing fight against a deadly virus is a step too far. 

Censorship which may directly result in  the death of innocents is truly wicked. Independence cannot happen quickly enough. 

Hello Hello, you are a silly boy

The demonstrably sleekit Dougie Ross, known in fitbaw circles as VAR with the batteries removed, Ruth Davidsons assistant water boy, and some sort of vague pretendy place-saving leader of the ‘Scotch’ Tories, is fair making the erse of a polis Clydesdale of himself this week.

No’ content with being found out for a bit of blatant liar liar, ermine-cloak-of-the -future on fire over what his views on cutting Scotland’s and his paymaster country’s, food quality standards are, (yumm yumm, chlorinated chicken, nice with a bit of gravy and useful on a Jeyes cloth)he’s against it, and how he voted in the Commons on the same subject, he’s for it, and then throwing, disingenuously, the comments of the policy director for the National Farmers Union in front of him (much to the man himself’s anger) to try and distract, divert and misdirect attention away from the fact that he’s a wee dishonest scrote, he’s at it again.

You’d think wae that level of spotlighting and the subsequent red neck he’d be hiding out for a bit, mibbees under the bed, or somewhere remote where nobody else goes, like up the Scottish Referees Social Club or inside his idol, Boris’s, abandoned walk-in fridge left in a lay by somewhere close tae Applecross, but naw, he’s up there front and centre and at the dugwhistling.

Interviewed on last night’s state broadcaster effort ‘The Nine’ we find the Doogster, when asked his views on what the question the fine folk of Scotland should be asked, should there be a second independence referendum, uttering in reply that quaint auld familiar phrase, (as quaint as the Klan at a lynching) to those of us brought up in certain areas of our country used to the sound of exceptionalist drums of a Saturday morning in the summer months that he’s a ‘staunch defender’ of Scotlands integral place in the United Kingdom.

Cue the members of the baying mob of George Square on 19th September 2014 and their loyal brothers and sisters of red, white, blue and orange, raising their loaflike heads from their supper time stringy roasted cheese, and nodding in confirmation of their continued self-proclaimed superiority, like Scotlands version of the army of fascist rednecks in America, who purr and preen themselves, and more importantly, dangerously, feel empowered and permitted to do whatever they feel like doing to those they feel are inferior to them every time Donald Trump opens his gub.

Oh, and as for the referendum ‘once in a generation’ trope, nobody is fooled anymore by that, no matter how many times a unionist talking heid churns it out.

Thanks for that Dougie. Roll on independence.