True Blue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7oPm1zwuos

Thanks Randy, We will give it a try. Apparently we must wait at least 2 weeks because so far Social Security has no record that she is in the country. Ran into the same issue with Healthcare.gov (affordable Care Act aka Obamacare) trying to complete an insurance application to buy unsubsidized (full price) health care for her. Her Alien registration number keeps coming back invalid so I was told try again in 2 to 4 weeks. BTW if you ever wondered what a broken glass enema would feel like, try completing the insurance application for Obamacare. I tried going directly to several nationwide insurance companies to purchase health insurance direct and avoid dealing with Obamacare but Obamacare application through the marketplace is the only way you can get coverage for pre existing conditions.

We found this out after a 6 hour wait at our local social security office today. It sounds like (in theory) a good idea to check the box on your immigration form to get your social security card generated. DON'T DO IT !!! DON"T FOLLOW MY STOOOOPIDITY!!! We found out that If you DON'T check the box on immigration form to get your social security card generated then you can get a number immediately and the SSN card will be sent to you within 2 weeks from Baltimore MD If you DO CHECK THE BOX on your immigration form then you have to wait a month, there is a likelihood (based on reports on both this and other immigration forums) that it won't arrive and you will have to go to Social Security office to get a number anyway and you have just wasted over a month of time and still must wait another 2 weeks to get your card mailed from Baltimore MD According to the Soc Security official I spoke to today, they have no way of talking to USCIS. George W Bush had this as a goal, but in practice it is not happening - - - --------------------------------------------- sign me as, Truly Stooooopid Blue in the Face

Yes, we saw that and it was the source of confusion. Had both Passport and Alien number so which one did they want. Ended up writing in both.

Welcome to my rant. I have to vent. Stepdaughter finally approved to immigrate and flew to U.S. Point of Entry. No problems getting the visa stamped and as part of her move closed her bank account in China and brought with her a modest amount of cash (just enough to require her to fill out a FinCen 105 form https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/fin105_cmir.pdf which is required for 10 thousand US dollars or more). She hands the officer her FinCen 105. At this point she is taken to a room for almost 2 hours and all her luggage is opened while the Federal Border rent-a-cops go looking into her suitcases very thoroughly even going through her packed under pants looking for any unreported money (which of course she reported it all as required so they didn't find anything). They questioned her on some costume jewelry and her grandmother's wedding band and some Chinese herb medicine during which time they lost/misplaced her form FinCen 105 and subsequently accused her of not filing a form FinCen 105. Fortunately, I had her make a copy. Bottom line is she was detained an extra two hours, questioned pretty aggressively and while they slowly went through her two bags in a large room with windows, counting her money which everyone saw so she was afraid someone might rob her later. Then she just missed her connecting flight which we had thought 4 1/2 hours was plenty of time. So it ended up costing us a night in a nearby hotel and she also had the hassle to reschedule. Bottom Line: After waiting to legally immigrate to the USA for a decade, it made a very poor first impression on this new Immigrant. Our thinking is also that had she not done the right thing and followed the law and reported the money, she would not have been stopped and subjected to the 2 hour interrogation and search. She easily would have made her connecting flight. So follow the law, do the right thing, be a good citizen and comply and get punished. That's a great lesson for your kids to learn. Thousands come across the border illegally carrying drugs and illegal monies. Then they get welfare, Medicaid, Food Stamps and other government aid and (in my state) they even get to pay "in state" college tuitionMy stepdaughter applies legally, waits over a decade, follows the rules and is treated like a criminal. If she wants to go to college in my state, she pays triple cost out of state tuition as she hasn't been here long enough to meet instate residency.Welcome to the USA! Where the people who are honest are "punished" for following the regulations and the dishonest are not. -------------- On a related topic, in preparation for her move, a month before she left China, I sent her a sample FinCen 105 form. I had a very simple question on one of the lines on Form FinCen 105 (line 2 - do they want passport #, or Alien #, or both) so I contacted U.S..Dept of Treasury (it's a U.S. Treasury form), who said yes its their form but they really don't control it so referred me toU.S. Dept of Homeland Security, who said why are you asking us, it's a US Treasury form, moron? and referred me back toU.S. Dept of Treasury, who then referred me toU.S. Dept of State, who said "not us", referred me toU.S. Customs and Border patrol (which is part of the U.S. Dept of Homeland Securityand no one could ever give me an answer. During the 3 weeks I was shuffled from agency to agency, I finally found the answer on my own by going to the library. Kudos to U.S. Dept of State and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for returning my calls within 2 days even if they did not have an answer. Shame on U.S. Dept of Treasury and U.S. Dept of Homeland Security (main agency website) as I had to call, provide information, call again and provide information. Don't these Departments keep a call database? Apparently not..... It kind of makes you wonder what happens to the info if anyone calls them to report something that looks suspicious, doesn't it?End of Rant: You may return to your normal programming. =============================================== Next week its off to the Social Security Dept as (I just read in another recent thread here), Dan advised "Do not assume checking the box on the visa application will generate the SSN card" (foolish us, that's exactly what we assumed). So it's off to the local SSA office to apply for a card in person. Hopefully that will be an uneventful trip and I will have nothing further to rant/vent about.

The opt out from F1 to F2B was apparently approved (we were never notified other than that the interview is now scheduled). Hopefully it is uneventful and unmarried adult child can come before mid September. Thanks to all, especially Randy, for your help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=96&v=n4AgZST_TG8

As part of Trump's negotiations, the NBA will expand to a Far East conference in 2021 with teams in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai & Pyongyang, NK. Also KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and McDonalds are opening in North Korea. In return, Trump gets to trademark "Little Rocket Man Cherry Bombs" and get them into fireworks stands before July 4th. (At least that's what I heard third hand from Ivanka's neighbor's hair stylist's third cousin's brother in law ...........so it must be true).

Maybe they get a $500 a week salary to act and the rest is unreported "tips".....

More speculation that Chrysler and Dodge are on shakey ground http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/09/autos/fiat-chrysler-dodge/index.html

I'm always looking at alternatives so i was intrigued about your note about the italkBB streamer and that got my attention. I just did a search and looked around a bit and I found this review stream on Yelp. Please read the reviews as there seem to be a lot of red flags written here about the company. I saw some similar red flags before we bough tv pad and decided to go ahead anyway. It worked for awhile but we were constantly having days when we had no service and we're having to upload patches to the software weekly. The company was very hard to contact even during Taiwan business hours and getting service was painful. Then the company went out of business. Not saying the same thing will happen with italkBB but there sure seem to be a lot of red flags within the reviews posted here that you should proceed with extreme caution. If you do decide to go through with it please post more about your experiences and if good then we might give it a try as well. You never know about reviews especially With Chinese businesses as many Chinese businesses seem to post bad reviews about their competitors to help their own businesses. But in restaurants at least I generally find Yelp to be pretty good. Please have a look at this thread (not sure if the link will post if not search Yelp r view and italkBb) before you charge anything on your credit card. https://www.yelp.com/biz/italkbb-mclean-2?start=60 Thank you.

My wife bought a device from Taiwan called tv pad. It worked for about 18 months until the owner was sued and shut down. She now streams things from the Internet using her iPad and Chinese content sites. Can't get a lot of channels like Many of the CCTV but she can get enough. I think sites that are open for streaming in China can also be streamed to USA. There is a site where Chinese expats discuss US things (I forgot the name but someone reading will likely remember and post here) and it might have tips. Bottom line is we don't have cable tv and wife is able to find a lot of stuff by going to Baidu and searching for content streaming sites. There are also separate devices like tv pad that come and go but I don't know of any that are very good. Perhaps others here can recommend one. Finally, if you elect to pay for cable tv some providers have a very limited Chinese language package for add on. We are cord cutters since cable kept raising our rates and I figured out I could buy a couple indoor antennas, triple my internet speed, cut the cable and save $32,000 over the next 20 years. After reading that 37 of the top 40 shows are on broadcast TV and Not wanting to "pay for the equivalent an extra new car" we gladly cut the cable and really haven't missed anything. I get 28 stations using my indoor antenna (7HD) with some addional ones non HD stream available on the Internet if I would want them.

How Trump and Kim should settle

You're a big boy and you can go where you want, BUT........... my advice is slow down a minute and think this decision through. New marriages are an adjustment period. As a newlywed, why would you leave your lovely wife (who left her family, friends, country and possibly career/job to be with you) alone for such a large period of time? She is still adjusting to life here in the USA and likely could use your help and support here more than a few more dollars. Why not find a job here in the USA where you both could be together? "Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More" work as Clint Eastwood movie titles. Not so well in real life, IMHO. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/sport/other/china-announces-crackdown-on-entertainment-industry-tax-evasion/vi-AAygrud

An update - https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/more-americans-screened-over-mystery-health-issues-in-china/ar-AAylfOn?ocid=spartandhp

Well China was involved in the war as were many UN nations such as Britan, France, Austrailia, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium, Holland and others who had troops there so getting everyone on board with a basic peace treaty would be a good thing if it is possible to keep the agreement short and sweet and limited to ending the Korean War. It won't be feasible to address everyone's laundry list of regional issues but basic things that would be involved in ending a war such as return of soldier remains on both sides should be included in my opinion.

Rodman to the rescue ! He's best buds with Kim Jung Un, he's best buds with Trump and his is the voice of reason at the negotiating table... ; ) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/05/dennis-rodman-north-korea-summit/675696002/

Here is an important video of President Trump talking about China.

For a very small car, at 25 mpg city and 33 mpg highway Fiat 500 can't come close to the much larger Camry, Accord and Sonata which all get 3-4 mpg better, have better safety records and all of which cost slightly less with similar options. Ditto for Corolla, Accord and Elantra at a more substantial (10 to 15%) savings. So unless I can't fit a full sized car in my garage, or I get a discount on Fiat because my Italian cousin has mob connections, the reason to buy one over another car eludes me. It's better than a Smart Car but a Smart Car has 16,000 price tag going for it (and not much else IMO)

God bless the US Government! In the words of President Ronald Reagan (which are still true today)

I believe Fiat failed to market Chrysler properly.... and Fiat has also failed to market Fiat's properly...There are not many Fiats on the road here in Florida because at $24,000 for a small Fiat, the price is the same as it is for a Camry, Accord, Mazda 6, Sonata, Altima, Malibu, Fusion, or any other full size family sedan. Not sure that Fiat could compete at $20,000 with smaller sedans like Corolla, Civic, Mazda 3, Elantra, Sentra, Cruze, Focus or any other mid size sedan either. Priced at $17,000 though a Fiat would likely sell pretty well...but at $24,000 most of my friends who looked at them felt that they are way overpriced for what you get -------------- Here's how to market a Chrysler...even if it is "made up".....

The documentary says there were just 4 (FOUR) Chinese persons in America as counted in the 1840 U.S. Census. I wonder what there lives were like? How they got here? What they did? Where they lived? Now that would be a really interesting story......

Who else remembers the Ricardo Montalban commercials for Chrysler with "rich Corinthian Leather"? also check out my posting in Mick and Thomas' music thread in Twisted Candle for a rock video of some classic Chrysler Muscle cars

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/could-chrysler-be-killed-this-friday/ar-AAy2mSb?ocid=spartanntp My Dad owned a Chrysler Imperial with a 440 cubic inch engine (that I once drove over 120 mph). I have never owned one.