Only for you, dear members of our Dolans.com family, would I spend last night listening to such a boring speech as The State of The Union!

Please don't take this as an anti-Obama statement.

They usually are boring no matter the President, no matter the political party.

The State of The Union has become nothing more than a laundry wish list that includes not only the President's hopes and dreams but also those hopes and dreams from every head of his cabinet posts.

Throw in a list of the President's legislative achievements and there you have it--one impossibly long exercise in verbal diarrhea made worse by constant interruptions from the peanut gallery. (Oops, I mean Congress.)

Last night's speech was chock-a-block full of hopes and dreams but lacking in presidential achievements.

It's a little tough to extol the virtues of Obamacare, the killing of the Keystone XL pipeline and a slew of new regulations like Dodd-Frank when there is so much opposition to those achievements.

For more than 20 years on radio and television, we have been warning our viewers and listeners that, before buying any mutual fund, be sure to track a mutual fund's performance for AT LEAST the past five years (see, How to Pick the Best Mutual Fund).

We are not accusing the mutual fund business of deceptive sales practices, but we do want to alert you to a recent development. 

The average stock mutual fund lost 0.5% over the past five years so don't expect full page ads touting their five year records!

Now that a new year has begun, they WILL tout their performance for the past THREE YEARS (2009, 2010 and 2011) when the average mutual fund gained 51%.

All well and good... BUT don't be swayed by less than a FIVE year record.

The funds are VERY pleased to now NOT have to include a bad year for funds (2008) in their "last THREE years" reports.

Verizon Wireless announced a new $2 charge for bill payers making payment on line or by phone on Thursday and cancelled the fee the very next day when 100,000 customers complained.

Bank of America's idea of charging a $5 a month fee on debit card users went "bye-bye" after 300,000 customers cried "foul."

Likewise JP Morgan, Chase and Wells Fargo dropped their intention to charge similar fees regionally after their customers made it known what they could do with the fee!

Netflix killed its plan to split their DVD-by-mail service from the rest of their business when customers howled, although they hung in with higher fees.

Hewlett Packard retreated like a scalded cat after announcing its plan to exit the PC business because, You guessed it, the public was furious. 

A number of cancelled television shows somehow remain on the networks' schedules after a hue and cry by viewers.

Or, as with the case of

This year is expected to be the best for domestic new car sales since 2006, the year before the recession began.  U.S. vehicle sales are expected to top $13 million, up from just $9 million in 2009.

Sales are so brisk, in fact, that dealers are having a hard time keeping some models on the floor.  And it’s not just high end cars that are seeing an increase in sales.  Demand seems to concentrated at both ends of the price spectrum.

So which are the best selling cars selling out just days after hitting the lot?

24/7 Wall St compiled the following list of cars so hot they are out of stock:

10. Hyundai Elantra (Price: $16,445)

9. Audi Q5 (Price: $35,600)

8. Kia Soul (Price: $13,900)

7. Toyota Highlander Hybrid (Price: $38,140)

6. Hyundai Accent (Price: $14,195)

5. Mercedes M-Class (Price: $48,990)

4. Subaru Outback (Price: $23,295)

3. BMW X3 (Price: $36,850)

While there are many reason to get excited about the holidays, Daria's baking makes this my absolute FAVORITE time of year!

Last year Daria shared my favorite Christmas Cookie recipe, and this year I've convinced her to share her famous Christmas Cranberry Cheesecake Recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2lbs. cream cheese, at room temp.
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest 
• 2 tablespoons of Cointreau or Triple Sec
• 5 eggs

Directions:

• In a small saucepan, cover cranberries with water...simmer until soft and plump - about 4 minutes.
• Let it cool.
• In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter. 
• Press mixture over bottom and 2 inches up sides of a 10 inch diameter springform pan.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven until crust is golden...about 12 minutes

There's a new holiday tradition underway that can save you money if you shop online.

December 16th is the fourth annual Free Shipping Day. If you still have a few last minute gifts to shop for, it's a great way to finish up your holiday shopping online and save money doing it.

Free Shipping Day has been a huge success and this year Free Shipping Day is back and bigger than ever. There are more than 1,500 retailers participating so far this year! You'll find tons of the popular stores in the mix, such as Macy's, Toys R Us, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Discovery Channel Store, Nike and more! You can find the full list at www.FreeShippingDay.com.

One note...be sure to read the details of the offer. Not everything is free to ship. Most sites exclude furniture shipping in the Free

Dear Santa,

Since my letter to you last year went unanswered (it must have gotten lost in the Christmas rush) I'm writing you a little earlier this year.

Considering what a good girl I've been, I'm hoping that this year you will grant me just a few of my Christmas wishes. (Not to belabor the point but I had so hoped for at least ONE or two of my requests be answered the last time around).

Still, I continue to believe in you and your magical powers.

So here is my list for this year.

• I do hope that you can bring me a little tax reform that would cut back on the bookkeeping and hours and weeks spent calculating to pay my fair share.

I'm afraid that the tax code complexity has made me pay more than my fair share while others with high-priced accountants have paid less.