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OTOH, the latest AppleTV update was a disaster, and, without prior warning, getting it to work afterward required plugging it in directly to the PC hosting iTunes, and then re-entering all of your network credentials, iTune account credentials, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
Again, it's a product I would recommend overall - AS LONG AS YOU ARE SOMEWHAT TECH-SAVVY. When it works, it's fantastic, but has frequent "quirks" that require jumping through hoops to fix, and worse, figuring out (on your own) what it is you need to do. That's annoying, but OK for us, and my son is getting one, but my parents would have thrown it against the wall long ago.
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Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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Too bad we can't get a diesel in the LX. That said, my wife is averaging a little over 14 mpg around town on all her short trips, which is pretty good for that truck. About the only time I get to drive it is to the gas station to fill it up and it really is a joy to drive.
Good post on Apple.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
I would get the 400s, but I am not waiting any more years. The Audi has been and still is a very good car, but I have kept it so long that I have forgotten the fun of getting a new car.....Tony
It's a Porsche - everything is an overpriced option....
The GL is a classy beast and the updated model is much more premium looking than the first one, IMO.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
If national polls are to be believed, those House Republicans are doing exactly what America wants. A majority of Americans oppose a government shutdown. And a majority oppose Obamacare.
Who, then, is preventing the government from being funded?
Harry Reid and Barack Obama. Neither will accept any continuing resolution that does not contain Obamacare
http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/the-beltway-lies-of-the-obamacare-war/#XXqsiktim8QL0z- w2.99
It would be nice if some day it was about the good of the country more than the good of each congressman's particular party.
While I'm sure Obamacare has a lot of problems, anything is worth a try given how screwed up things are right now.
This bill was passed by both houses of Congress. It is law. And the Republicans are holding up FUNDING OF THE GOVERNMENT because they don't like the law.
If you don't like the law, then get the votes and change it. Don't shut down the government. Despicable.
All of this from the campaigner who was going to give a bipartisan government and the most transparent government ever. Instead we get a bill passed improperly written in the Senate rather than the House and we get untruths about all facets of ObamaCare.
And thanks to the AARP and the drug industry for their parts in passing the bill that "we have to pass it so we can find out what's in it." Do we really call these overpaid leaders our government? Term limits are needed: 12 years and out.
Interestingly, the futures were up according to the early morning radio I heard. Maybe the concept of slowing spending increases is a positive for the economy. What a concept.
I analyze these things as they're reported on the mainstream media alphabet networks by switching the parties. If the Senate were Republican and obstinately refusing to negotiate along with the President (Pres. Bush, e.g.) against a Democrat House, how would the media be reporting this lack of movement? How would they have reported the lack of a Constitutionally-mandated budget from the Senate for 5 years? We know how they negatively reported the 3 previous terms of a Republican president.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The big liberal newspapers are already done, and the alphabet networks won't be far behind. Hopefully something more fair and balanced will replace our dying main street news sources.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
A few government hacks take the day off without pay...no big deal.
Mess with the "full faith and credit" of the US Government? That will be a big deal...
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I heard our fearless leader preaching at us on the radio on my trip home from the dentist a few minutes ago. As if printing extra money to make our currency worth less and increasing our debt by trillions hasn't already affected the "full faith and credit" of the US government already.
There's a self-righteousness in the whole idea of spend, spend, spend and then raise the debt ceiling all without passing a budget from the Senate as per the Constitution that bothers me. And for fearless leader to say that it won't affect anything to raise the limit--it won't spend another dime and then says it's CONGRESS who is responsible for all this spending and his hands are clean. It's like the high school teacher preaching about good behavior and character when people know he's playing hanky panky with some of the young ladies on his sports team he coaches. Ssssssh.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Nobody's arguing that healthcare reform was due. The problem is that most of the time when our bureaucratic inefficient incompetent federal government controls things, they become a nightmare. The GOP, on their part, has screwed up by not outlining an alternative plan.
This bill was passed by both houses of Congress. It is law. And the Republicans are holding up FUNDING OF THE GOVERNMENT because they don't like the law.
Not just the GOP, but most Americans don't like the law. And, none of these members of Congress actually read the law.
If you don't like the law, then get the votes and change it. Don't shut down the government. Despicable.
The Democrats hold the majority, so changing it is next to impossible. Either Reid will say any fiscally responsible bills passed by the GOP are "dead on arrival" for a Senate vote, or the President will veto them. The GOP's attempts to reverse the law have therefore been by tying it to spending cuts directly or indirectly in hopes of lowering our obscene out-of-control debt.
What's really "despicable" is that the Obamacare touted by the Democrats doesn't affect them since Congress has excluded themselves from it applying to them, and they keep their "Cadillac" health plans. Now that's hypocracy.
That all being said, neither the GOP or Dems. ALONE are responsible for this mess, it's BOTH.
"Regular" Americans are the pawns.
I agree that Obamacare will have problems. But I see some good and some bad. Laws can be changed, so let it play out and then tune it from there. Our existing health care is *also* slowly self-destructing. I'm the sort of person that when plan A isn't working, try plan B, even if it's not nearly perfect. Because then you can modify B to plan C. But doing nothing is no solution at all.
Interesting that the market is actually up today. Perhaps we're all excited that the government is partially gone for a day?
Tesla stock tumbles after Model S catches fire
http://news.yahoo.com/tesla-stock-tumbles-model-catches-fire-210456370--finance.- html
If the legend is sexier than the truth - report the legend.
Fire is sexier than some wonk crunching numbers.
The Democrats hold the majority, so changing it is next to impossible. Either Reid will say any fiscally responsible bills passed by the GOP are "dead on arrival" for a Senate vote, or the President will veto them. The GOP's attempts to reverse the law have therefore been by tying it to spending cuts directly or indirectly in hopes of lowering our obscene out-of-control debt."
In the words of the liberal woman from California with more facelifts than I can count on my fingers - the great Nancy Pelosi - who probably has never read anything - "we need to pass the health care law to see what's in it". That still boggles my mind. To say that in public has to be the dumbest comment from any member of Congress in history. Can you imagine what the MSM would have said in the newspapers if a republican had said that about the bill especially if it was republican created. The NY Times would have had that on the front page with damming comments for a week and then shifted it to op ed for months. Instead they barely reported it because it came from the Dems.
NYC is in great shape right now thanks to having two of the most competent mayors in its history. Wait to Bill de Blasio is done once he gets elected and runs his term. The place is going to look like a wrecking ball hit it. It'll be like going to the movies and seeing a triple feature of The Godfather, Gone wit the Wind and then closing it out with the Keystone Cops.
The markets haven't crashed because of it, either.
NYC will probably be fine so long as dirty offshore money keeps piling in, and should-be-hanged FIRE criminals are still based there. Just watch out for biker gangs full of cops.
NYT reporter: Obama admin “most closed, control-freak administration I’ve ever covered”
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/10/05/nyt-reporter-obama-admin-most-closed-contr- ol-freak-administration-ive-ever-covered/
It's a law. It's done. The rest of the developed world does it, those who directly compete with the US and win do it. Time to move forward and modify it if it is unworkable - but it's not going to vanish.
Did anyone with functioning brain cells believe there would be transparency? I hope not. In a lobbyist-controlled system, the idea is insane.
But the markets haven't crashed, maybe our financial leaders know full well that it doesn't really matter who is elected.
There are LAWS that have been changed. Social security has been changed. Segregation LAWS have been changed. Laws have been changed to allow Right to Work. Tax rate laws have been changed. Laws on what stock trading companies could do allowed to go into various other kinds of business, and then fail or receive taxpayer money--another law change in the bailouts.
It makes a nice mantra for the low information voter to hear that "It's the LAW," but laws are passed by Congress and LAWS are changeable.
I just heard a call on a radio show about finances from a husband saying his wife urged him to change jobs despite the good benefits at his current job. She believed that if a new job didn't offer health insurance, the ObamaCare would be FREE, so they'd save money. She believed the impression they tried to present about the UCA: free. Nobody pays for it, nobody. Not taxpayer, not buyer. Free. Low information voter. LMAO
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I think you missed my point. Of course Congress can change the law. The problem is that there aren't enough votes to change this law in Congress, so the ultra right side of the Republican party have planned in advance to scuttle the entire budgeting process to try and defeat this law through unorthodox means.
In fact, I've read that even if it came up for a vote in the House, the funding would still pass. Yet Boehner won't even let that vote take place. That is planned torpedoing of the Federal Government because they're not happy that the *normal rules* aren't letting them get their way. And it is going to hurt the entire country. I guess it's a good strategy to keep the ultra-right wing happy. Just don't go looking for moderate votes because a lot of those voters are going to be P.O.'d.
Of course they're trying to blame it on Obama. Yet the budgetary and funding process, per the Constitution, is entirely the job of Congress. And they have failed to execute.
If he can change it on a whim, congress can certainly make legitimate changes. It is part of their job description.
There are some good things about the law, the problem is that once it is up and running it is truly going to break the bank. SS was very low cost and affordable at first and look at it now. Obamacare is costing a fortune already. What will the costs be in a few years?
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
There is another part of Congress called the Senate.
And presidents have the responsibility to be leaders, not stone statues. They, in the past, have negotiated with Congress, both houses, to get what they want. Intransigence for the sake of politics is not what the President should be about.
He has made 14 changes to Obamacare. The House even negotiated with themselves to present a bill that only delays individual implementation for a year rather than not funding the UCA at all right now.
Also, in the past separate bills have been passed to fund various parts of government. That was fine to fund the soldiers this time, but separate bills is not good enough to fund the other necessary parts of government. Intransigence over in the Senate?
Of course the media is the 3rd house and they are "compliant" to the liberal side to use Obama's term for them in the past.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I am happy to be out of the market. Just not sure where to invest right now.
If pro is the opposite of con, what's the opposite of progress?
Of course, changing the gifts given to a few would probably crash the markets, poor babies wouldn't get to have it as great as any time since Gatsby.
You bring up some good points. I don't particularly like huge government programs and pretty much agree with much of what you say. Yet we accept primary education funded by the government. And already, about half of health care is funded by the government (Medicare, etc). I suspect the big health companies are worried about the impacts on their profits, which does relate to the stock market and investing. However we can't really predict the mix of outcomes that this law will have. All I know is that the old system is a mess and an embarrassment and is *also* causing huge financial drains. So nothing to find appealing there.
I feel that doing something with some positives is better because at least there are changes being made. Certainly tweaks and changes can continue to occur. Yet if our old system is so good, why aren't ANY of the other countries trying to copy it?
I was on a vacation in the Caribbean a few years ago and there was a German couple on a tour with us. We managed to talk a bit. They were taking two weeks on this trip, while we were taking only one (they have legally mandated six weeks/year vacation). And of course they can't go bankrupt due to HC costs. And their life expectancy is better than ours. I was actually kind of embarrassed for the US as compared to their society.
There was an article on another site that suggested that due to the ACA there might be a boost in the economy in the area of startups (which affects stock market and investing
But we'll never know if the diehards try to kill this law. And in the meantime the US is a big embarrassment due to our dysfunctional government.
I think that kind of feeling is very easy to refute with the facts. The facts are employers are putting millions of people on part time to avoid paying for their ACA premiums. The cost to employers over most of the USA is much higher with ACA than many of their old employer paid plans. Even government workers are being put on part time to avoid ACA. Why would most of the jobs created over the last 3 years be part time if NOT for the fear of paying $thousands more per year in HC benefits. This might have worked in a booming economy. Tacking another $1.8 trillion onto the budget to fund ACA, at this time, seems crazy to me. Not a chance this would help improve the job creation. When a person wanting something made can get online, send a plan via email to a manufacturer in Hong Kong and have a sample back in 24 hours and production going in less than a week. Why would they consider setting up a factory in our current economy?
One or both threw in that they might stop social security checks (not likely) so as to "scare" the social security set. I guess it's better than admitting to running our wheelchairs off the cliff with us older folk in them with all the reductions in my Medicare to help pay for UCA.
Also the economy already has shown continuing weakness, so I suppose blaming the opposite party for market drops would help reduce the blame on the controlling party for 5 years for this slow sortof a recovery.
Time to sell?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
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I'm in the same position with a 401k contribution for my son from what he earned in the summer job.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,