Zzzzzzzzz. Stay asleep.

I don't think I should try and discuss issues with the common people anymore.

I just got off the phone with my sister, who, after marrying her doctor husband in the US, promptly quit her job and is doing...well, a whole lot of nothing, by all appearances, although I could be wrong.

First topic of the day: Obamacare. Now, I can understand why my sister would be supportive of Obamacare - after all, her husband has a couple of pre-existing medical conditions, and getting insurance would be pretty hard for him. So instead of doing away with the lawsuit-happy nature of medical malpractice, instead of easing the artificial restrictions on the number of doctors, instead of changing the system to be more free...

"Those corporations are so rich, they can afford to pay a little more."

Because it's for the sick, you see, just like it's for the children. For the people who keep on shovelling the diet of Cain into their bodies and wondering why they're all getting miserable and ill. Fuck the people having their hours cut, fuck the people losing their jobs to keep the number of employees under thirty-nine, fuck the people who are going to probably have to cover their own medical expenses.

So long as people get their healthcare.

At this point, I realised that I wouldn't be getting through to her on this topic, and went into nod-and-smile mode. Regardless of how people are complaining their jobs and job hours have been slashed, despite the misery caused by Obamacare's implementation...it's for the sick.



As Cappy Cap says, it's called capital flight, and it's a feature, not a bug of socialism.

And of course, it all goes back to the atomisation of people, the lack of a social safety net created by other people instead of the state.

I fully realise there is no way your healthcare system can be fixed at this point, and maybe Obamacare is a good thing in that it will cause this sick little system to collapse all the sooner.

Mm-mm-mm.

Second topic: drone policy. I point out that Obama can't give a straight answer on whether the federal government is allowed to kill US citizens on US soil with drones.

"If you're not a terrorist, you shouldn't have much to worry about."

Really? Who gets to define what a terrorist is, given the horribly nebulous definition? And even if one is a terrorist of the highest order, what gives a government the right to execute without a trial? How can one not see how this can so easily be abused?

Third topic: US economy. I point out that major retailers like Wal-Mart have reported their worst Q1 sales in several years.

Her answers? "I don't shop at Wal-Mart anyways."

"I go out and see plenty of people still buying stuff."

"Unemployment's going down."

I point out that the unemployment figures are being fudged, to which she says "yes, I know, but they're still going down."

All those people buying stuff...one has to wonder. Cash, credit, or EBT? Oh, those Mark Dice videos were hilarious.

Of course there will always be good pockets, especially if you remain in SWPL-land, which my sister is. But the overall picture...has someone looked at Detroit lately?

Final topic: Confiscation of bank accounts in Cyprus. I point out that this doesn't just set a precedent, it also means other EU states in trouble might experience a bank run. Furthermore, to think it couldn't come to the US is quite wishful thinking.

"Cyprus was a failed state anyways."

"Sure, we might get bank runs, but we'll get out of the resulting recession. It'll be like 2008 all over again. It'll be confined to Europe."

I...if the potential collapse of the Euro doesn't worry anyone, I don't know what will. Add to that the thoroughly undemocratic nature of this robbery with the Eurocrats imposing their will on their so-called member countries, and we're seeing a slide into tyranny.

Of course, I am not an orator and I will fully admit to not having the mental quickness (I'm still working on it) to pull things out of my brain-attic and instead prefer the lumber-room of my library and the internet. 'Tis the way of the engineer, and the reason why Perry's Chemical Engineer's Handbook is the most-thumbed book on my bookcase. So most of it devolved into a nod-and-smile, which might have given my sister the impression that I was agreeing with her, but oh well. Time will see who was right.

And her final words to me?

"You need to filter what news you read."

Sounds mighty familiar. Oh, I do filter the news I read. With what filter, you might ask?

I should have heeded the wisdom of my elders. I shouldn't have bothered to try convincing even my family members. Not that I'm the most persuasive man in the world, but still, some people are beyond saving.