We realise the long night has passed, and we are still here. Lost souls grasping for meaning in strife. Left unsated.

My love is as a fever, longing still
For that which longer nurseth the disease,
AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS
RECTAL PROLAPSE.

I want to order a PS Vita, but…

1. There are no release bundles with (proprietary) memory cards
2. The 32GB card isn’t being released in Europe until *mumbles*
3. Sony seem to be dicking about with price drops.
4. The pre-order pack is kinda worthless to anyone who owns a pair of earphones.

Gonna wait a month or two, methinks.

I was going to black out this site today, but no fucker ever visits because I never past any content.

It’s almost as if I’ve been protesting for years. I’m the real real hero here.

Quite.

Why don’t we just wait here for a little while… see what happens…

This. I found this.

It makes me nauseously chipper.

How fucking dare they? Emailed the one person I’ve had contact with who could have made the slightest impact against this higher education bullshit. John Leech, MP.

Who I fucking voted for in May.

John,

My name is Tom Bradshaw and I was a constituent of yours in Withington. I voted for you.

I will never, ever vote Liberal Democrat again.

Ever.

The arguments in favour of the tuition fee hike being fairer are bunkum. Let’s do the Maths.

3 x £6,000 Tuition fees
+ 3 x £3,000 Living loan
———-
£30,000

Let’s assume a low lifetime interest rate of 2%. In the first year that comes to £600.

Now, assuming someone earns the national average wage of around £24,000 under the new proposals the amount over the repayment threshold is £3000, 10% of which is £300.

So, the new system punishes students fiscally for nothing more than earning the average. You need to earn £27,000 before you start breaking into capital repayment.

“If you get free school meals you won’t pay for two years” is a straw man. You know and the education secretary know that this won’t help anyone. The kids who get school meals make up a very tiny proportion of the current student population and have done so historically because their problems run deeper than the financial.

Cutting social services budgets probably doesn’t help there, at a guess.

I’m am also very, very angry that according to what I’ve read, eight Liberal Democrat MPS abstained.

Abstained?

That is a gutless, “please don’t punish me, party committee, I’m not as bad as those boys” way of sticking to your principles. Perhaps I should have abstained when I voted for you to keep your marginal seat

I cannot believe the right thing to do here was to agree to this hike. Yes, there is a funding crisis, but it was caused by a bailout of commercial interests. Perhaps, just perhaps, it might be wise to take every penny in profit from bailed out companies until everything is repaid instead of:

a. Restoring class divides in education.
b. Forcing the closure of smaller, local institutions who cannot reasonably charge to the new funding level and will have their budgets slashed anyway.
c. Watching as Britain no longer produces scientists as it’s no longer financially viable to train to do anything other than work in the business sector.
d. Ensuring that in three and a half years, the more ardent lib dem supporters, students and the young, will see you have condemned them to dozens of thousands of pounds of debt that *you did not have to pay* and you will lose your seat.

Frankly, I don’t expect a response. I expect every criticism of this measure to be met with pointing at those idiots now rioting in Westminster and a knowing, condescendingly paternal look learnt from blue blooded, born millionaires. But I’ll make you an offer.

I’m now based in London. I work in Westminster. Any time you’re in London for a vote I can be there in ten minutes so you can tell me why 28 members of the party I voted for decided to bail out private interest by mortgaging the future of my friends’ children, my coworker’s children and any children I have.

Yours in disgust.

Tom Bradshaw

(07891) XXXXXX
XXXXXX@gmail.com

…

John,

I appreciate you will have had hundreds of emails in the past couple of weeks, but I had some dialogue with you around six weeks ago regarding the digital economy bill and I got this address.

Firstly, congratulations on retaining your seat. I voted for you – although there was some oddity where the BBC declared your seat as a labour gain I was very happy to see you retain your seat (And incidentally, very happy to see Jaqui Smith lose hers).

I wish to voice my concern over a Liberal Democrat / Conservative coalition, which seems to be the general thrust of this morning’s discussions.

The young, politically engaged people who have voted lib-dem this time round (With the numbers pulled in the popular vote, you appear to have been a victim of boundaries historically favourable to the other parties) are vehemently opposed to Tory government and *will not* forget this.

I, and my friends (all young urban living professionals, 18-40, counted in the dozens) who have almost unanimously voted lib-dem are becoming bitterly disappointed that Mr. Clegg is not calling loudly and directly for election reform.

Last night’s election was not a positive result. Handing government over to the Torys because they seem to expect it is very, very wrong.

Please; today, push for reform. Don’t let it slip through the cracks.

Yours

Tom Bradshaw

’nuff said.

The new Lurpak slogan is ‘You don’t measure taste with a spirit level’.

True.

You can, however judge beauty with your tongue.

That’s why the current Miss World tastes like bacon, personal tragedy and fear.