That's my point--because they cut themselves off from the rest of the country electrically, it doesn't matter what their status is: when that underfunded and unsupported network fails, people will die. It happens every time.

And, would disaster relief be much different? Maybe the asking as a sovereign nation would take longer and have to be approved by Congress (?), but I've never heard of a state or nation every paying back US aid. If this has happened, please educate me. Seriously.

Northeast USA, 41 years old at the time (50 now), previous car to current one was a manual Honda Civic because it was what we could afford. My husband took me to a parking lot to show me the basics on a Saturday (he'd learned to drive on a stick shift), then off I went to work that Monday.

NGL. first month I cried a lot because I stalled out often, especially between first and second gear. After a while, though, I grew to love the control--especially in winter conditions--and that I could now drive any car. Eventually, the transmission burnt out, and we got a hybrid C-Max, which is nice, fuel-efficient, but I would drive another manual again if given the opportunity.

I'm rewatching it right now and enjoying it. The characters are well-written, the principals were cast well, a lot of recognizable "B" and "C" actors make cameos, I honestly think some of the CGI still works (fight me).

I was soooo skeptical when they advertised this Buffy episode first-run (yes, I'm old), but it was so well done and moving! I'm hoping SNW can also pull it off.