Freedom Of Information: Use It Or Lose It

See, this from Bucko is how to use FOI requests as a means of embarrassing and disquieting our pathologically-lying government.

One of [an idiot MP's] quotes [on minimum alcohol pricing] was taken directly from the home office website:

Alcohol has been so heavily discounted that it is now possible to buy a can of lager for as little as 20p and a two litre bottle of cider for £1.69.

Now I know what alcohol he is referring to and I've no doubt you do too, dear reader, but just to be absolutely certain, I fired off an FOI and asked for a source to prove these figures.

It came back today, and sure enough, four cans of Tesco value lager costs 80p and a two litre bottle of Tesco value cider costs £1.69.

They provided a PDF with screenshots from the Tesco website which can be viewed here.

It's good to have it confirmed that the massive threat they use for their alarmist sound bites is, indeed, the weak piss you would have trouble getting a 5 year old drunk on (that's if they could withstand the gag reflex from the disgustingly yeasty taste).

Quite apart from the fact that the cider mentioned isn't available at that price anymore (making the response reportable in my opinion), even the most thrifty of our population would advocate it more for cooking recipes than for getting bladdered and causing trouble.

To use dishwater like this to hammer the entire population who overwhelmingly shun it - and for which teens would be so shamed that they'd be instantly unfriended by every Facebook connection for being such an embarrassment if they admitted to buying the stuff - is a lie, close as dammit.

Of course, we've known for many a year that all the utter guff spouted at us by the dangerous trolls in Westminster is designed only to feather the nests of their state-funded chums, and to make mentally lightweight MPs look like they have a clue what they're doing.

But FOIs like this document their bare-faced, tawdry and self-serving exclusion of the public from any meaningful debate. In just this one small area, we have ample proof that their oily clique is lying to us with every breath they take.

Extend this to thousands of other policies that they work on in parliament and the civil service on any particular day, and you can estimate that a politician lies to you in some medium or other - on average - probably about once a minute. That's once a minute on every single day that they drag their sorry arses through the parliamentary security system to dedicate their privileged lives to destroying your humble one.

May I remind you that we are forced to pay for this. We have our wages deducted so that politicians can use the cash to lie to us; impose bans and restrictions 'for our own good'; and ignore us as much as they possibly can; all based on fantasy that can sometimes only be uncovered thanks to our beating it out of them with the only stick that we have been left with - the Freedom of Information Act.

It's why the FOIA should be used extensively and at every opportunity, and also why this week's news that Westminster bubble grumbles over the Act have rightly been squashed was a blessed relief. Without it, these hideous career egotistical self-servers have carte blanche to do as they deem fit for you with no right of reply.

I know many of you don't need to be reminded to use the act extensively whenever the opportunity presents itself, as your many regular shares - for which I am always grateful - have produced stunning results at times.

But for others, please, if you're concerned about anything these people do, ask them the question. If you want clarification about what they are saying, request they tell you more. If you're only mildly inquisitive even, order them to reply to you anyway.

It's the only way that they will ever start to think about ceasing the waterfall of outrageous lies they throw your way.