This would be a valid reason/breakdown for the increases except that the insurance companies have consistently had massive increases/rate rates increases for the past 8+ years. Prior to ACA even being mentioned and I had seen rate increases nearly double for no reason other then to fuel profits and add complexity to an industry that shouldn't have been allowed to sprawl out of control to the point that it has gotten to. Also I had received a notice of B.S. increases less then a month after ACA was signed saying that the prescriptions are going to cost more as a result of the ACA starting immediately. Although I don't doubt that some cost increases may occur especially during transitions to digital records, etc. I think a large amount of these expected increases are exaggerated or inflated by the industry itself to further complain about a lot / reform of any kind being put upon them. Also as another stated I applaud you as well for keeping it civil and calling it the ACA.

How exactly are they rail roading consumers. Sprint data/voice plans are still unlimited, only the wifi hotspot feature is affected. So unless you are using your phone as your sole/main internet connection then what is the problem. I do agree that Sprint shouldn't have done this but ATT and Verizon have both done much worse in terms of bait and switching what there plans cover. Additionally Sprint is still a much better option in terms of data pricing overall. The only thing I'm actually annoyed at is them removing the Sprint Premier feature, but even that isn't the end of the world. Maybe people should stop bitching about things they know very little about and maybe actually read what Sprint is actually doing instead of over reacting.I'm not sayinng that people shouldn't be upset but over providers have and continue to prove to be much worse in recent years.

One problem with your comment is that a patent is not to protect the inventor. The purpose of copyright/patents is to "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts" "by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.". This does not mean it is to protect the inventor, etc. but to promote further progress by granting a very limited monopoly in order for others in the same field, etc to develop and further the progression of discoveries. Copyright, patents, trademarks, etc has been twisted and corrupted to an extreme so that it benefits the corporations or copyright trolls, etc. for the sake of making money. Bastardizing the system for the benefit of they few is wrong and diretly goes against what copyright was intend for. I do agree that it should be done away with, at least to a large degree. Instead of completely scraping it, it should have minimum term periods that can't be extyend except for very ultra limited circumstances (does not apply to music, movies, etc). Also non commercial should be legalized and consumer/non-commercial rights should be a major part of the process (for example: no costs to fight / counter act against claims of supposed violations.). Freedom of information should be paramount as to promote progress of inventions, discoveries, etc. Very limited monopoly with a major point of consumer rights/protections. I think that this would be a much better starting point to go off from instead of scraping everything.

It doesn't matter if it is a laptop or a desktop since both can handle those speeds now. Additionally it doesn't matter if you won't use anywhere near that for a singfle system since most houses have multiple devices. Between laptops/desktops, gaming consoles, cellphones/smartphones, tablets, TV's etc. all of which take in variable amounts of data and consume your available bandwidth pretty quickly. Also in a multiple person house, family, etc. who knows how many devices could be connected by through wired and wifi connections. I for one do more then one thing at a time, whether it be playing multiplayer while downloading programs/distros/movies/etc and making sure that more computers are sync across the workgroup. Granted I have a 50MB FIOS connection but still even I see a drain especially when I have family over, etc. The whole article and the author is completely misguided at best and just plain stupid and manipulative at worst. The article/author confuses wired/wireless and gives half witted and just plain stupid examples. Even the testing that was done was dumb and very short sighted given that those that would want the higher/highest speeds more then likely have higher end hardware regardless of whether it's a laptop or desktop. This whole article seems to be a mishmash of incomplete ideas and testing that is being to used to try to convince others that since Jaspers ISP can't provide the service much less provide it at a reasonable cost then why should anyone else need it. The whole thing is stupid, short sighted and isn't news at all. Just a dumb way to try to stifle new services and progress in general.

Your whole comment comes down to computers don't relate/work well in your physics class so why give it to students and let them have it for other reasons. If there were applications specifically designed for equations, and I'm sure there are, or if you had access to a proper slate/hand writting recognition on a laptop then it would be very useful and probably much easier in the long run. Maybe you should look beyond your narrow needs/experience and realize that for quite a few subjects, especially lectures and other intensive note taking courses (especially biology, etc) that a computer is a huge advantage that can help quite a bit in the long run. Stop blaming the tools also since who cares what they do with the computer as long as it helps them in the subject overall. Also no one ever said that a computer would increase grades, what was said is that it would make the experience, school work, etc a lot easier and lessen the stress of school work while adding new experiences, learning new things and being able to generally explore the world/information in general.

I have no idea where you get your cars from or what make/model you purchase but with that aside new car purchases with the extended warranty are worth it in most cases. Regardless of how knowledgeable you are about cars/trucks, etc., there are still instances that a warranty is a must have. for example replacing or repair of a transmission (it can be done and I have done it but it is easier a maybe quicker in most instances to have someone else do it), electrical issues, repair of rear axle, bodywork, and engine repair are all reasons to have a warranty. Yes some people can do the diagnostics and repair but even then certain issues require special tools or need a lift to repair the issue in a timely manner. Also for most people it can save thousands of dollars depending on several factors the least of which are locations where you drive, number of miles per year you drive since increased wear and tear can be a big issue in a few years. Additionally the warranty requires the owners to get proper maintenance (either they do oil/filter changes, transmission fluid, coolant, and checks for tire wear, etc. In almost all instances, unless you are a mechanic and do this for a living or have more then one car you can use during the repair and/or have plenty of free time to properly do repairs in addition to normal maintenance then a warranrty/extended warranty is a good idea. This is especially true considering the low price of most extended warranties. Extended warranties don't just extend the standard bumper to bumper, at least in all that I have seen, they usually include a minimum of 3-10+ years of warranty coverage and some cover accidents that cover the difference between what your insurance pays and what they would pay (he manufacturer). Obviously extended warranties aren't for everyone especially those that only have a car for under 5 years since the standard warranty will cover most issues and any recalls. Extended warranties come in many kinds but in general the ones that are worth it are those that have little to no deductible, covers wear and tear (not just failing parts), and roadside service/breakdown coverage, etc. It can and is definitely worth it depending on what you get and for how long you are keeping the vehicle as well as how many miles you generally put on it. Saying that you would never buy an extended warranty or saying that some issues can readily be repaired by yourself is just being ignorant. Each person has different requirements and extended warranties vary wildly depending on where you buy, from which car manufacturer you buy from, and most importantly who is actually providing the extended warranty. As far as other extended warranties, most are rip offs and will never be needed or it's cheaper/better to just buy the same product again. In some specific cases it may be worth it but in general they aren't. Every person needs something different but aside from car extended warranties (from a reputable company) most others are just crap. It's just ignorant to group everyone in the same boat and then say that everybody should do what you do.

Actually red light cameras, speeding cameras,etc. have been shown over and over again to do little to nothing in reducing either accidents or deaths (this goes for both the USA and at least parts of Europe). The owners/operators of these devices make large amounts of money of the contracts with state/local areas. Additionally it has been show that quite a few of these cameras/devices are either improperly calibrated, people abuse it, or they are just stupid and don't know how to use the equipment. Also it has been shown that people will continue to speed regardless of the fine(s). Speeding isn't the problem, proper driving technique or the lack thereof is what is the major issue. People need to learn to observe their surroundings and be able to control the vehicle regardless of the situation . I think your confused about where the money is going or I should say to whom it is going to. The device and camera makers get a hefty percentage even though the products don't work or are ineffective. There are much better ways to make the road safer. First you actually enforce the law, aside from speeding, things like high speed tailgating or swerving in and out of traffic, cutting people off, improper lane changes, signaling, etc. Proper instruction and enforcement of these basic things are what needs to be done not more stupid and ineffective ways.

You do realize that more and more people seem either unable or are to inept to spend the extra half a second to fully articulate the point that they are trying to communicate. It appears more and more especially with twitter and texting.

It's obvious from your post that you have a grudge against XBox/Microsoft. That aside I personally have never had any issues with either the original Xbox or the 360. In fact I still have the same one I bought (never had a rrod, noise or disc scratching). I play quite a bit of games and numerous hours a month playing said games. One thing that makes a difference is if you take care of your equipment and/or discs. I will say that yes the 360 did/does have some issues in term of quality control but not all can be contributed to just the quality of the hardware. People don't take care of the gear they own much less the discs, etc. So get over your bias for the Xbox 360/Microsoft and look at the bigger picture. People by the games on the 360 because of the online element which when compared to the PS3 is years beyond what Sony produces. I have all three current gen consoles but I prefer the 360 because of the games and easy of use with the online elements. I know of very few people that have the money to buy multiple 360's instead of just having it repaired free of charge by Microsoft. If people are that stupid then why shouldn't count towards the number of consoles sold. I'm sure you don't have any issue with the PS3 being bought more the once for more HD space or slimmer design, or even including packages deals with the PS Move, etc. Lastly the sales of the consoles are only one small part of the venue stream that each company gets. The PS3/Sony lost considerable amount of money on each and every PS3 up until the past year or so. So technically Nintendo and Microsoft are quite a bit ahead in terms of overall profit regardless of how many each has sold simply but considering how much it costs each company to make the console compared to how much they sell it for. So please get a clue and stop being so one sided and biased against the Xbox 360/Microsoft and look at the bigger picture.

If saying something and/or cursing at the cops was illegal then I would have been arrested at minimum 40 times in 3 years. It's more likely that all the charges are B.S. except for resisting arrest which would be thrown out since he didn't break the law and was in fact recording the cops doing something illegal.

It's not that US citizens don't have what it takes it's that the companies don't want to pay for any quality US citizens (which includes benefits, vacation/sick time, etc.) when they can pay someone in another country a percentage of what the average salary would be for a qualified person in the USA. Go check some job boards and see what they are trying to pay for a position that would normally get double that. Then see how long that position has been available. Quite a few companies seem to want to hire someone that is willing to do a 40-60 hr/week job that requires expert level knowledge (doesn't matter if it's a system/network admin, or a programmer, database dev, etc.) and then pay they no more then $50-60,000 /year and then screw them further by saying that benefits are no include and no more then 3-5 days of vacation/sick a year. The companies are trying to game people that are desperate for work since the economy has had problems, which is getting slowly better, and they take advantage of the need people have to pay for their kids or the mortgage, etc. A basic tech job in some parts of the country have gone from a average py rate of $40,000 /year with benefits (medical, dental, etc.) to an average of $30-33,000 /year without benefits, etc. Unless you have considerable certifications, a particular skill set that is in big demand, or you have extensive education then you are pretty much screwed (obviously depending on where you live in the USA). But what are you expected to do? You have to pay for food, bills, etc... so you take a crappy massively underpaying job that will burn you out quickly or you don't work and thus don't eat, etc....

The way you came off originally (or at least the way it appeared) was that because government was connected then it couldn't succeed. I agree that advanced R&D needs to be where the money goes especially for long term stability as well as reducing costs later. I also agree with the proper oversight by NASA and the government as a whole big projects can be made successful. The post I responded to seem to come more from condemning Government related projects. I do agree with what you stated in your response though. Who knows if it was just the way I read it or whatever. It's all good.

I know it's all the rage to rag on the Government for a certain part of the country but you do realize that the Government does do a lot for the people. I agree that there are problems a lot of which is due to B.S. political games. To defund NASA just because it is supported by the Government is stupid. Maybe a cross between Government and private enterprise would be better but it still comes with the requirement for oversight to prevent mistakes, over spending, etc. To allow true scientists, inventors, and people that are naturally inquisitive among others is what needs to be done and funding needs to be provide regardless of who it comes from. I do agree trying to a\c the tents in the desert is stupid and but maybe if we had people that are motivated to think instead of just going along with stupid moves then we would have provided temp structures that are easily movable/collapsible as well as insulated.