Scotland’s Referendum – Sunday Bloody Sunday aka Harry Plotter and the Lying Toads

Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

 

What a day? so much to comment on – don’t know where to start??

Andrew Marr?  Is he totally brain dead.  He interviews John Reid as if he was his PR dummy.  Not a single searching question – not a one.  OK, Ok, I swore I would never watch BBC again – but I do need to be aware what the opposition are up to.  What a disgrace that we must refer to state sponsored media as the opposition – but who would doubt that?  Damn few an’ they’re o’ deid… Burns

Marr allows Reid to rant on about the Union without as much as a reference to Trident, destruction of our industries and infrastructure, squandering our oil revenue gift, absence of political representation, Project Fear?  Marr is a Glasgow man – although I use the term loosely.  As an interviewer he is a wimp – just about any school kid could have done a better job.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, we had a video link with Tony Blair talking about Iraq and the resurgence of ISIS.

Suddenly, Marr delivers the biggest piece of stupidity imaginable.  He says to Tony ‘do you think that WE made a mistake going into Iraq.  WE, he actually said WE when he was talking to the man that, everyone in the whole world knows, lied to take us into IRAQ.

‘Marr, …. the term was YOU not WE you stupid, stupid man!’

Blair, of course ducked the issue and explained that the real problem was that they underestimated the situation in Iraq – and Marr said … nothing?

Marr then allowed Blair to give an uninterrupted account of how it was actually OK to go into Iraq in 2003 and we must intervene now in both Syria and Iraq.  According to Blair, all this trouble would have happened anyway; regardless of deposing Saddam Hussein.

The little detail that Marr missed, that any schoolkid could have challenged Blair on, is simply this.  There were NO terrorists in IRAQ.  Then YOU went in.  Now you have a country AWASH with terrorists.  But here’s the thing.  Iraq posed NO threat to the UK at that time.  Not so now with terrorism – they absolutely pose a major threat to the UK that impinges on almost every aspect of our lives.  Explain, Tony, please?  A top interviewer, Marr, didn’t think to ask!

As a protest, I did not stick around to hear Marr’s favourite BLOODY band at the end of the programme?  now that’s a serious repercussion!

Cut to the Big Questions with Nicky Campbell.  Sometimes this can be great TV depending on the experts on show.  The question was ‘should we tolerate intolerance’.  Let me give you my take on the whole programme in a sentence.  If we do not tolerate intolerance then every minority group, every crank, every nutter and every fanatic will demand their right to poison the minds of the vast majority of people of this country who are legally curtailed from even complaining about it.  However, there was an OK debate and some sensible stuff offered – or put it another way, few politicians in sight.  So move on to the Sunday Politics.

While we were all reeling at the insipidness of Marr, it was cut to a video link interview  between Blair Jenkins and Jackie Baillie.  Blair has this great quality of putting across his point effectively without losing his calm.  He positioned and talked up the YES campaign in a manner that no clear thinking person could deny.  He made the point that eminent observers all agree that YES Scotland are mounting a far more credible campaign than Better Together and an average of 3 polls had YES just a whisker away with 47%.  Is it any wonder that no criticism or dirt is leveled against him from Better Together, Westminster or even the Gutter Press – aka, the Press.

Follow that Jackie Baillie.  If you enjoy a big lie then Jackie’s the girl for you.  Joseph Goebbels (in)famously said ‘the bigger the lie the more believable it becomes’.  By that standard Baillie makes Abraham Lincoln sound like an inveterate liar.  When questioned about the Better Together’s insulting behaviour in announcing fictitious figures like the £1400 per head better off that Scots would be;  Better Together then indulged in a stupid exercise imagining what Scots could spend their new found wealth on – for example, hot dogs. ‘  Yes, you guessed it – she actually denied this? then went on her own rant about Scots ‘breaking away’.  Indulging in negative language where she substitutes ‘separation’ and ‘isolation’ for ‘self determination’.

‘Jackie, don’t judge others by your own standards.  Maybe you can wolf your way through £1400 worth of hot dogs?’   If I had the window open I would have heard a whole nation gasp in disbelief, as she denied that too!  She then hinted at Westminster rather than Better Together for the negativity of the campaign and rounded off her meal with a total denial of Project Fear?  it’s the way I tell them?

 

 

Sunday Politics now cuts to Scotland and Gordon Brewer talking to Gordon Wilson, ex SNP leader.  Now an elder statesman, but still very active in the YES campaign.  Gordon sees his role to include encouraging Alex Salmond to up his game.  This was very far from criticism of Alex Salmond but it was certainly constructive.  I have always said that although I am not SNP nor do I agree with all SNP policies, I have the greatest respect for the achievements of SNP and Alex Salmond. However, I found myself much more in agreement with Gordon Wilson on policies.  Fortunately, Free Scotland will be a broad church.

You can read more of Gordon Wilson’s opinions on http://www.optionsforscotland.com/category/gordon-wilson/ I took away one very important observation made by Gordon.  He wanted to see a much broader VISION for Scotland from the other leaders.  He wanted a Vision for Scotland across the whole of Scotland.  For me, this strikes an important accord.

He explained, with the benefit of his lifetime in politics, how Scotland was a far wealthier nation that the rUK.  However, however, however ….. with independence, England would lose the Scottish Trade figures (and of course the oil) and the Financial Establishments would be forced to have a long hard look at rUK?  Wonder why they are so keen to hang on to ‘broke’ Scotland?

Gordon stressed that he was praying for a substantial YES vote.  He was very sceptical of Westminster and felt that with a marginal victory they would do all in their power to force a re-run – and you can bet that would be an extremely dirty, no-holds barred affair.  I hadn’t contemplated that scenario – so, we must aim even higher.

Finally, to end for now on a high note.  I see the headline in the Sun, Silly, Billy Mili  Basically, according to the Sun, voters would be twice as likely to vote for Blair as leader of Labour than Ed Miliband.  Ed is only given a 1 point lead over Gordon Brown!  If that is not damning then what is?

So here’s the thing.  This is looking very, very like Ed Miliband and New Labour are unelectable in 2015.  That certainly means a Conservative Government for the UK under Margaret Thatcher David Cameron.  But then the Mail on 24 May 2014 also had Ed pegged as  unelectable.  And if you still have doubts about Labour’s electability read the Guardian,10 June 2014  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/10/labour-britain-selfishness-market-inequality?CMP=fb_gu

This is hugely significant.  The prospect of another 5 years of Conservative Government will almost certainly drive a very significant number of rank and file Labour voters in Scotland to vote YES.  This would be the breakthrough that Gordon Wilson talks of.  However, more importantly for Labour and for Scotland, we would be ‘game on’ for a real electoral contest for the first Free Scotland Government.  Although, my preference would be, as I have said before, an all party, proper, coalition for a minimum of 2 terms with the removal of the ‘whip’ system; to enable us to go forward as one, at least initially.

For the conspiracy theorists amongst you, if you like the point above about the Sun, then read my take on Rupert Murdoch

PS That’s me off now to my Twitter life.  I’ve a score to settle with J K Rowlings of Harry Plotter fame.  She’s may know a lot about fiction but she knows ‘diddly squit’ about reality.  Did it escape her gaze there was a very lively and sometimes heated referendum debate going on in Scotland.  Did she miss the reference to Project Fear and all the lies from Better Together.  So, as if in a chapter from one of her myths, she PUBLICLY donates £1 million pound to Better Together and doesn’t anticipate an angry backlash! – what a very, very stupid person.

Word to the wise, Jo.  You are very big into myths and you have made a fortune out of myths. Well, you are now steeped in the greatest myth this country has ever seen, BETTER TOGETHER.  So, can we look forward to Harry Plotter and the Lying Toads of Westmonster?