Our editorial position on a broad range of topics, outlined and updated as events unfold. Occasional guest editorials feature commentary with which we are in general agreement or present reasoned argument worth discussion.
#EndTheUnion is gathering sufficient support to have started trending on Twitter.
'The history of the wealth of the Sutherland family is the history of the ruin and of the expropriation of the Scotch-Gaelic population from its native soil.'
Our doors are being knocked more than ever before .
How much worse does it have to get?
Let's just get it all over with...
'Once loyalty begins, it does not have an end. Otherwise, it would not be loyalty.'
What does 'scurrilous pish' mean?
Is the ball on the slates for another ten years?
Right now, bookmakers are offering (average) odds of 1/3 on Swinney becoming the next SNP leader. Kate Forbes is 11/4.
What have we lost?
Is 'climate change' panic just a scam?
It seems that few of our most prominent political actors have not, at some stage, spent time 'over there'.
How many people have abandoned political activity of any kind (and that includes just keeping abreast of developments) in recent years?
Humza's Glasgow BIS speech has made things worse for him and his party.
The SNP is Murrell's 'victim'?
Time for Humza to leave?
Do you remember what it felt like a decade ago?
Will Humza use his speech on Saturday to defend the HCA?
One way to get out of an embarrassing situation is to do something even more embarrassing as a distraction.
If a week is a long time in politics, what's a decade?
Gender ideology appears to be teetering on the brink...
What a choice...
Almost 1,000 new Scottish members have joined the Free Speech Union the past fortnight, most of them women,
Looks can kill...
We can't ignore obvious problems, for fear of repeating the same mistakes
What is 'hate'?
'As you perceived it, was Humza Yousaf's 'white' speech in the Scottish Parliament 'hateful'?' Yes 84.6%
Was Humza's famous 'white' speech hateful or not?
The truth is staring us all in the face.
A open invitation to supporters of the Hate Crime Act.
Panic and confusion continues to grow over how the Hate Crime Bill will be implemented
'Please Miss! She called me a fuckin C-O-W!'
Why should anyone be worried about something they can't see?
Few are fooled by the claim that impending Hate Crime Bill enforcement is about protecting 'feelz'.
This episode of BBC QT from 1992 guested Michael Heseltine, John Smith, Alan Beith, and the then 38-yr old Alex Salmond.
The pondering of the most basic questions is crucial for anyone involved in 'politics'.
Scottish Labour clearly view this as time for payback. The same score-settling will be happening all across the country.
'Here's how you can be taken more seriously...'
Did we miss some apologies?
Abstention provides a possible focal point for unity.
After 9 months traipsing, base camp for OTS is far lower than we were hoping it might be, but now we know where we stand.
Many people have stated outright that they have lost faith in the democratic system and are no longer participating.
Making 'spoiled' votes count for Scotland.
How dark does it have to get?
'It is not often in life that you get the chance to right what seems a clear historical wrong.' Alex Salmond (2015)
'Capitalism is Dead'
The 2014 'Better Together' campaign was always based on lies.
If Minimum Unit Pricing doesn't work, why persist with it?
Politicians don’t often get the opportunity to act on points of principle which are so clear-cut.
What if the British State organised a big party and no-one turned up?
'Chanticleer' is another word for, er, 'rooster'.
'Someone is lying.'
A video aimed at online 'youth' takes the temperature of the independence debate and concludes that it is 'dorment'. Fair enough?
'The British State, at the behest of the United States, has made us all complicit in one of the most heinous war crimes ever committed.'
Truth and faith - the gap in-between is where too many of our public servants huddle against legitimate inquiry
Half a century apart, different approaches to 'speaking truth to power'.
We are already in the early days of a better nation.
We can't tolerate any more of this pish.
'I had to make that decision.'
They were 'winging it' then and they're winging it now.
OTS speaks to the ALBA party's Equalities Convenor.
There is no logical reason to believe that Operation Branchform will recommend any prosecutions.
Something to contemplate...
If MSPs are obliged to swear an oath of allegiance, to whom should it be pledged?
When will we stop blaming others?
"I do swear that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, His heirs and successors, according to Law, so help me God."
Is it time to end the taking of the oath in the Scottish parliament?
The results of this wee poll are strangely cheering.
Politicians should start telling the electorate what they need to know rather than what they want to hear.
Who, in your opinion, is the biggest throbber in Scottish political culture?
We're appealing for a wee bit of honesty.
That the '45%' are being so roundly ignored should concern everyone, not just potential ‘Yes’ voters
No SNP Westminster leader comes close to emerging from Alex Salmond's shadow.
Has the classic 'only vehicle' metaphor finally run out of steam?
SNP - 'Shaggers - Not Politicians'
It isn’t hard to think of reasons why the Treaty (Articles) of Union is not on permanent display
We can't keep blaming others. If we're 'sovereign' then we have to act accordingly.
Why has virtually no-one heard of sortition?
The system does not work. Radical change is needed and it is not coming from the major parties.
There is no logical case for postponing crunch debates until/unless another referendum is in the offing.
There may be no obvious reason to suppose that Scottish independence is coming over the hill. But it is coming.
The proles are letting their governments know that they object to what is being done in their name to the people of Palestine.
Is it time for independence-supporting parties to unite around the issue of media bias?
No-one knows what lies ahead but we can make educated guesses and act accordingly.
Betrayal is a form of bereavement - Trust has died.
We have all been betrayed at some point in our lives. And we all betray others, sometimes unknowingly.
Can Nicola Sturgeon return?
Abstentionism is not accorded the attention and analysis it deserves.
‘Scots’ as they appear to the online world.
It's not just supporters of Alex Salmond who should be pressing for prosecution of perjurers.
How are Scots viewed by others? How much 'truth' is there in the stereotypes?
Where does the Central Bank Digital Currency threat originate?
When do questions about simple processes become philosophical concerns?
Silence can sometimes have more of an impact than the loudest protests.
Spies and spooks are not all James Bonds and Jason Bournes - they're far more likely to be shopworkers, delivery drivers and security guards.
Humza’s long-awaited plan turns into a lost weekend.
Mainstream Western ‘news’ about what’s happening in Ukraine presents partial coverage, enabling only limited understanding.
Our moderation policy is harsh, perhaps, but we believe it enhances the OTS experience and it *will* be enforced.
Abracadabra! - now you see it, now you don’t.
.png)