There are a lot of them about just now, so be aware and don’t be intimidated by them!

Giving an opinion is one thing, but telling people they are worthless because they are not following a certain path, can only come from an over-inflated ego.

Words are important, as I have said many times, but we also speak with our bodies, maybe even more so than with our tongues. One of the things you learn on a Counselling course is reading body language.

…and sometimes it’s not the person who is speaking that needs watching, but those around them😂

Believe me, you can always spot an aggressive person by how they stand. Remember the Power stance?

Politicians are not normally ‘cool and casual’, although Burnham is going out of his way to try and be so!

Egos only grow if we feed them, and we do that by flattery and giving them places of responsibity. Those who seek power, should never be given it…but they are! And that is why so many things go wrong, even within the independence movement.

Give me the ‘sma folk’ any day!

Yes, we need leaders but we need those who possess humility and are intent on lifting others.

People at the top of any organisation should be there to lead not rule! Neither should any organisation be so tied up with silly rules that it restricts individuality. Too many rules can and do restrict the smooth running of any subgroup. There is such a thing as overkill!

The more layers, the more potential for egos and less room for the ‘sma folk’!

Our ruling party have forgotten how democracy works and Westminster have over the years streamlined its own unique type of democracy, but then most countries do! As we will do when we gain our independence, but what it cannot be is ‘copy and paste’!

If we truly believe that, ‘we the people are sovereign’,then the type of democracy we build, must reflect that.

…and those who are working towards that, in my opinion, should be practising it within their own organisations now.

Direct democracy, peoples democracy, popular democracy, call it what you like, the most important element are the people!

With Direct Democracy, the job of a politician will change, and that is what they fear. The gravy train will disappear and their bosses will be the people! People chosen for their expertise, not party-driven. A system whereby anybody not up to the job will be ‘recalled’ not moved sideways and promoted!!

We need courage to make all this happen, not egos!

Courage, conviction and

authenticity!

The most powerful triad there is!

The government’s answer to all who would dare protest, is proscription!

Modern Legal Meaning

• Defined as the official banning of an organization believed to be involved in, prepare for, or promote terrorism.

We have now arrived at the place where, if violence takes place at any event, proscription is called for. There is a difference between an act of violence and an act of terrorism, and we have different laws and actions to deal with them both.We create a dangerous precedent by trying to lump both under one heading.

The violence I witnessed in Glasgow last Saturday was not terrorism it was thuggery, and dealt with appropriately by the police.

Sometimes, when looking at how to deal with a problem, we start at the wrong end of the stick! Instead of asking what we can do with these people maybe we should be asking ‘why is this happening’?

Don’t get me wrong, violence is never the answer and in many ways just perpetuates the problem, but when people feel disenfranchised within their own communities… you’re going to get it!

If you think Councils represent the feelings of their voters, think again!

But they are very good at point scoring, especially Party point scoring!

Councillors only voice their own feelings and beliefs and that is demonstrated in Glasgow very clearly by the number of Orange walks they have, which is even more than they have in Belfast!!

Sometimes I think they ask for trouble!

For the few of us, who feel we are in a constant battle fighting for what is right and fair, we must choose our battles wisely. In a democracy, we shouldn’t have to, but we are where we are.

When a Party goes rogue, whether at the national or Local level, we need to deal with it when the opportunity arises. Next year’s Council elections are the place to start. We start at the bottom and work upwards, because it is Councils who deliver government policies.

…and there should be at least one Common Good Defender on every council in Scotland!

I am a great believer in the ‘ripple effect’!

One small pebble, no matter how small, thrown {metaphorically} at a problem can cause a chain reaction.

Are you the person who could throw that pebble?

What is getting under your skin at the moment?

You can’t do everything, but you can do something!

You may say this is very undemocratic, and it is, yet it happens all the time here in Scotland, albeit on a smaller scale.

For years, the government of the day has favoured councils that have voted for it and align with them.

We have to stop being so hypocritical, put our own house in order and admit that the kind of democracy we have is not is not functioning as real democracy. It is open to corruption and misuse of power.

Change does not come easily, nothing good ever does. But without change, Scotland will die a slow death, stripped of its resources and dignity.

Is that what we really want?

Perfection is not what we seek, but authenticity is essential. If we cannot be true to ourselves, who can we be true to? We must keep our dignity even when dealing with Westminster. If they want to keep playing dirty, let them, the world is watching.

Very often, it is not what we do that is deemed offensive, but what we say and how we say it. Truth is truth, and if people find it offensive, that is their problem, but we don’t have to dress it up and antagonise people. When we do that, we demean ourselves.

We are better than that.

When we look at politicians at the moment, all we see is egos on the march! Not policies…just egos.

We change the world by our examples, not our opinions. Voting for something that is not working all of the time is not leading by example, but furthering our opinions…that’s our egos at play!

Change must first come from within us, and if Independence is still the dream, then a change of direction should not be so hard...but is it still the dream? I do wonder at times. When people start to come out of their own ‘small corners’, I might start believing in them again. We must use the mistakes of the past as a springboard, not a defensive wall.

£700,000… and you are paying for it!

Grotesqueness is the quality of being bizarre, distorted, or absurdly unnatural.

I think everyone of those words fits this situation, do they not?

Dabbling with nature, will one day backfire on this generation’s fantasies. “Queer milk” is not natural milk, it is made of chemicals. Medically and psychologically, there will be repercussions somewhere down the line.

Babies are not human guinea pigs to be used to feed someone’s fetish.

What have we become that we think it’s okay for our government to use our taxes in this way, as we sit back and say nothing, not even to our local MSPs?

…and we think we are intelligent enough to run a country?!? Something has to change and soon!!

This whole Woke culture has taken on a mind of its own. Many may mumble in the background about how bad things are, but won’t put their heads above the parapet, afraid of the flak. Who can blame them when our politicians support the bazzar rather than the norm?

Today’s SNP is more about Trans than plans. I do wish their members would take back control of their party and focus on their mandate for independence. Today our FM complained because the PM is not including them in the Care plans… What happened to your Care plans?

Which shelf are they on John?

I admit, at my age, I have a vested interest in this issue, but the fact is they have seen this train coming down the track for the last 25+ years and run away from it. And by ‘they’ I mean both governments.

The transition from LA to Private was beginning when I retired. The legal standards of Care within LA Care Homes were higher than the Private ones, and it was noticeable.

Keep an eye on this, because whilst Burnham is talking about Care in England, he is going to tax us all to pay for it!!

And now this…

Let’s have more Care and less Queer! More money should be put into the why’s not the wants!

I say it, as I see it, one day there will be a knock on the door😂

What is a word salad?

According to Google, it means a random mix up of words that have no clear or logical meaning, and are often attributed to people who have neurological difficulties.

Politicians on the other hand use this method when they don’t want to answer hard questions. They say a lot, but their words have no actual meaning. This can be very confusing, but then it’s meant to be.

It’s not that they can’t answer the question, but rather, they don’t want you to know the answer! So much for democracy. They actually go on courses to learn how to do this, paid for by our taxes!!

The ‘pen’ erected in Holyrood to keep the press at bay was to protect the newbies from the press until they learned how to handle them and produce ‘word salads’!

Brand new, shiny MSPs, still wet behind the ears were likely to tell the truth and that could not be allowed.

But then it’s been a long time since Holyrood was the parliament of the People. The ‘entitled’ hijacked it and have, at times, locked us out.

What does that say about Scottish democracy?… It is even more surprising just how many folks are okay with that.

Usually, at this time of year, the political scene is very quiet, but not this year. Call it ‘ego’ or call it what you like, there are certain politicians who just love to hog the limelight. They don’t realise the honeymoon is over, and the press are merciless.

But in the background the ‘sma folk’ keep chipping away, determined to counter every lie. These are the real heroes of our country, not dead billionaires who lied through their teeth.

The grassroots people, irrespective of colour or creed. These are the real people of Scotland, and these are the people who, one day, will take it back.

We say it as it is, no holds barred, and we won’t wheest for anyone!

And on that subject of not holding back, there was an interesting news article on Monday night saying the ‘UKGovernment’ [just quoting!!] were going to step in and support the Coalsnaughton residents. I did wonder why them and not the Scot Gov. Then I got a message saying the Council had refused permission to build on that site and the Scot Gov over-ruled them! So did Swinney get his pals down south to save his skin?

He gets his rewards.

One day we will get ours!!

On the LK programme on Sunday, our new PM said, when asked about a GE, that we have a Parliamentary Democracy. It is important that people understand what that means as it is often shortened to Democracy and the two are not the same!

Note to words above, ‘ a democractic FORM of Government’.

This particular form means we vote for a party which best??? represents our views. And once we put our X in the box, we have no more say for 5 years! We have handed our power to people who, at the drop of a hat, can change their priorities. Note I said, ‘their priorities’… not necessarily ours.

Now, I accept the world is changing and that the government of the day must adapt to those changes, but I am not talking about world events here, I am talking about domestic events. The ones that don’t change immediately when one becomes PM.

The rise and fall of Starmer did not happen overnight, or even in weeks, it was well planned over the months, giving Andy Cap plenty of time to survey the fiscal landscape. And by the way, the changes within Scottish Labour were also moving along in tandem! It was no accident that Monica Lennon was rolled out a few weeks back onto a political programme, and one person who reads the room as no other, noticed it. That person was Colette Walker [ISP]. Nothing gets past her.😂

Take a look at this party, it does things differently.

https://www.isp.scot/

For Labour, the impression of swapping one policy for another may look and sound good, but those opportunities are rare and minor.

What they fail to understand is, people are not looking for freebies…only fairness.

Scotland could have a different kind of democracy, one that works for the people and holds politicians to account. Direct Democracy does that. But we have to get there first, and from what I saw and experienced in Glasgow yesterday, we have a long way to go!

If Glasgow is meant to give the impression of a modern Scotland, then Scotland is in deep trouble.

I will, however, praise the Police, having seen firsthand what they have to deal with.

Direct Democracy is about people, not politicians, and that is their fear. Fewer of them, for a start, and no gravy train!

Over the next 24 months, things could change in Scotland; a civil court case could very well upset the apple cart! 🙏🙏

We have a strange kind of democracy in this country, and for this post, ‘country’ means Britain!

It may look ‘democratic’, but it feels ‘class-driven’.

Once elected, many MPs feel and act as if they are above everyone else. And the culture within Westminster feeds into that delusion. Personal aims change, the plan…to end up a Lord or Lady in the upper House! [Why not, nearly £400 quid for an afternoon kip!!]

As they travel onwards on that journey, the meaning of democracy seems to dissipate. Promises made at the beginning are quietly forgotten, replaced by Party loyalty. It is, after all, their bosses who, one day may reward their faithfulness with a nudge up the class ladder!

And we, yes we, have a bad habit of helping them on that journey.

How?

We keep re-electing them in spite of their failures!

Only in politics does one get promoted for failure, and only in British politics do we have a system where the perceived elite can crush the voices of the people who disagree with the establishment.

We have no recourse apart from a GE. And the U-turns on having one when the ruling party changes leader are astounding! Everything changes when you are in power!!

What little Democracy we do have flies out of the window.

This will only change when people start voting for parties that offer Direct Democracy.

So don’t blame the politicians for wanting to stay on the gravy train, the problem is US!

We are the only ones who can change the system, especially here in Scotland, but once again our end-of-year school report shows failure. In May we voted for of the same.

Could someone explain to me why we did this?

We are like the wee hamster, afraid to come off the wheel. We know the wheel, and it’s safer to stick with what we know, even if that means we are going nowhere fast!

Our FM is eager to talk to the new PM about further powers! Another one happy to stay on the wheel, albeit a bigger one, but it’s still a wheel going nowhere.

Devolution is not Democracy!

It might have been an attempt to look like it, but Westminster holds all the important levers. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens without their say-so.

…and the new messiah isn’t going to change anything. He knows the value of Scotlands assets, and he’s about to use them.

We made a mistake in May, let’s learn from it!

Only 5 days in, and we are already saying, ‘if only’!

Big ideas are only ideas if they are workable, as our new PM is finding out the hard way. Being at the top does not mean you can wave a magic wand, because those who have gone before you have already sown the seed. Only ‘time’ and a lot of it can reverse the damage.

The majority of policies mentioned so far stop at the border, apart from pinching Sarwar, but then, that’s no great loss. They are welcome to him.

Baillie says this will be good for Scotland; I agree…but not in the same way she does!!

He has made it clear that the Constitution is not up for discussion, so where now, John, as you bow before the King & Queen again today? And in case you have forgotten, John, bowing signifies submission, just as singing the English National Anthem shows adoration!!

Our destiny is not fixed; we have the power to rewrite what Westminster would have it be. The pens are in our hands, and the paper is blank. What is happening at the UN is our lifeline but without our backing, the work being done will be futile.

The political will to move in parallel must begin now, we are already a little late to the party, but we can catch up.

The ‘if only’ just needs to change to ‘I will’!

Stop overthinking everything, there are people out there doing what is required, all we have to do is support them.

I don’t have the brains to work out things like currency, so I’m not going to have a nervous breakdown trying to; instead, I will let the professionals do it. In the tendency of overthinking , we, forget our perimeters of control!

I know my perimeters…do you?

Our new PM is just learning his!! He is learning that he is not God, after all!

Just because Scotland has to work to a budget, does not mean Scotland as a country is broke!

That budget is set by Westminster and has no bearing on Scottish assets.

We are one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet we are the only ones in the world who cannot touch our own assets.

Think about that for a moment!

All of our resources are stolen by Westminster, and we only get a small fraction back through the budget.

Even our Common Good Funds end up in England!

When are we going to wake up?

When does enough become enough?

Are we really all that stupid?

Are we ready to jump for UDI the minute we get the required ruling from the UN, are enough of us even taking those routes serious enough?

Wait and see won’t cut it, we either believe it’s going to happen or we hang up our boots now!

I will believe the words ‘we believe ’ when I see people getting together and planning, not just talking.

The FM got a ‘No’ again, so what’s he going to do about it

…ponder?

But thinking of things from a purely English stance for a moment, if you want to save money, why not get rid of the biggest financial burden…that would be Scotland, according to what our friends south of the border are told…except it’s not!

The myth that Scotland is subsidised has long run out of steam, but don’t tell the natives down south, some truths are just too hard to bear! They do, after all, need someone to blame.

It’s a bit strange, is it not, that England sees all Scottish assets as theirs, yet blames us for their financial woes! Talk about screwed-up thinking.

Today, a lot of people are complaining that Rayner is not handing back her £17k severance money, yet they forget that this is the system we signed up for, again! This is how the government works and always has done.

One name sums up Labour today, and that is Sarwar!

Everything in government, on both sides of the border, will continue to work as it does until the day comes when we change it.

Until we change, nothing will change!

We need to start thinking differently.

I can think of a few who will be rubbing their hands with glee, seeing those headlines.

His gift is not freedom, just a bigger cage!

Another PM who knows the truth, and that truth is, they can’t afford to let us go! But soon they will have no choice, if, and it’s a big ‘if’…we, the people, dare to take the necessary steps forward.

Are our feet pointing in the right direction?

Are we prepared to push the cage door open, or is it a case of ‘you in your small corner, and I in mine’?

They say there is strength in numbers, but that’s only true if those numbers are prepared to get to their feet and act. We can’t afford to be ‘couch potatoes’!

We cannot reap a harvest without sowing the seed. A conversation needs to happen, people need to know there is a road and it is open!

And those who do know need to prepare. We need two plans, one to get over the line and another to build the foundations, because we cannot do ‘rinse and repeat’!

Any semblance of a Westminster-type democracy will bring disaster.

In Scotland, we the people are sovereign, and we must take that responsibity seriously, not hand it to others.

There are several examples of Direct Democracy to look at, and the best thing is, we can create our own unique type. The central point being, everything reverts to the people…that is us!

Power is best served in the hands of those who don’t want it!

It is humility that makes the greatest leaders, not egos.

The biggest lesson we need to learn in Scotland is, we don’t need to like the people we work with, but we must work with them! That is the starting point.

We need to be resilient, not picky!