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Spankytoes

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Everything posted by Spankytoes

  1. But you are failing to look at the other side of the coin. People's lives are being ruined because of a thought posted to a social media platform 10 years ago at a time where people weren't actively looking to get offended. (Or a yearbook photo 40 years ago) What passes for comedy today is pretty much devoid of the opportunity to laugh at and celebrate our differences through laughter. Racism, or at the least, accusations of racism, are more prominent now than even 20 years ago. There is a lot of good with social change, but there is a lot of bad aspects as well. I believe that you agree with this, but it is the #1 reason Trump is in the WH right now and will most likely account for why he wins again next year. A lot of people, myself included, are pretty damn sick of being told how we should feel like we are mindless idiots devoid of rationale thought. (For the record, Trump is a POS) I can't let you get away with that cop out though. First, Tucker Carlson isn't a "leader", he is a newscaster/entertainer. Second, the media shifts the narrative in this country based on their agenda. Can you imagine the outcry of "reputable" mainstream news sources treating Michelle Obama the same way they treat Melania? Does the media have a responsibility to whitewash our societal problems despite the fact that they are a business in it to make money? CNN, Fox, MSNBC...take your pick. I guarantee that each one has a sensationalized headline based on their reader/viewer demos. These days you don't even need to be credible, you just need a social media account and a pack of gullible readers. Up until 1964, you had to be white to use a white restroom. Then it became law and it became illegal to deny black folks that right. That had nothing to do with social policy, which was resented at the time, and everything to do with changing the metric of what is acceptable.
  2. Then there would not be a change in the behavior. I was going to do what I wanted regardless of the influences around me because I made a choice. (Well, lots of choices, if we're being technical) My parents and leaders wanted me to get good grades and become a doctor too. I think we would agree that this is a positive thing. It had zero bearing on my future plans because "I don't want...your life".
  3. I edited my response while you were posting, so I touched on this a bit. How do we make people self-censor their protected free speech? But who decides what is, and is not, hate speech? Without going too CR on you, there are a lot of people that consider church hate speech masquerading as peace and love. The message that gays are not your equal certainly doesn't belong on the highlight reel. Then you have the more extremists that can justify segregation based on the Bible. While laughable in theory, it's certainly reflected in the manner in which congregations are formed. (Obviously, there are exceptions) But, the First Amendment protects religious freedom. So parsing how that freedom is expressed is completely arbitrary. Especially since the argument can be made that Christians themselves can't even agree how to interpret the same book, spawning 100 different denominations. On a moral level, I agree with you.In practice, it's pretty hard to police unless you ratify the meaning of Freedom of Speech.
  4. I respectfully disagree with that assessment. I don’t think a potential mass shooter is held up from committing terrorism because of the legal consequence, especially because they have no intention of getting caught. I also don’t think they would say “Wait, what would Trump do in this situation?” I don’t think it would make much difference on a local level either. My parents warned me about pre-marital sex from both a religious and social construct. I didn’t heed their warnings, which didn’t even enter my thought process during the moment. Liberties are beautiful when respectfully followed and a thorn in our side when they are abused. For some, it's like yelling at a child born with no legs about why he can't run. If what you are saying is true, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Affirmative Action should have solved that pesky race issue with black people. America is LESS racist than before. (In theory, and depending on who you ask) When you outlaw what causes the problem through government, changes occur.
  5. Of course we can't. You can't limit free speech to only speech you agree with the same way you can't limit the amount of guns a citizen can own. This is why the conversation always devolves to "we'll just wait for the next one" for every mass shooting. You can't change a culture or way of thinking without taking care of the root issue(s) behind it. This is true whether we're talking about terrorism, race relations, freedom of/from religion or any issue du jour. In every scenario, you have to have an arbitrator of good taste and policies to set limits. If you're going to do that, you are essentially creating a "religion-free" Sharia Law, which wouldn't go over too well. People don't really care about changing the world if it means limiting their personal liberties because we are selfish.
  6. Tell me the difference between this argument and "Guns aren't the problem, people are the problem". There's only one: Which Amendment your side of the aisle clings to.
  7. "It's Evil" is not a profound take on the situation. I'm not sure how you can look at something like this without peering into your worldview prism, especially when considering the question of "why?" The evil manifested somewhere.
  8. The problem is that it’s an endless loop. Demonizing an entire class of people based on the actions of a minority solves nothing. But ignoring that said minority exists, and claiming anyone that associates the act with the class is bigoted, also solves nothing. Pick your poison: Muslims and terrorism, blacks and drugs/crime, Mexicans and illegal immigration, Whites and oppression, etc. Not every Muslim is a terrorist, regardless if they are sympathetic to the plight or not. We all agree that terrorists are bad. We also agree that an innocent Muslim should not be victim to hatred acts perpetrated by those fueled by fear. Where’s the balance and how do we solve it?
  9. Speaking of Paris... Wife made me book a trip as punishment for the guys trip to Oktoberfest/Amsterdam/Brussels. Going for 5 nights over Labor Day weekend. However, I imposed the condition that we go out to Omaha Beach, which has been on my list of places to see. Our house to JFK: $6.50 on LIRR/AirTrain, JFK-CDG in J Class: $11.20 (Probably do the Flagship Lounge instead on Centurion as it's post-security), Uber from CDG - Intercontinental Le Grand: $45.00; 3 nights at the Intercontinental Le Grand: 210,000 IHG points, 2 day Car rental (Full Size)- 1,800 Hertz points; Rental Car Fuel: $50.00, 2 nights at the Ibis Bayeux Port en Bessin: 22,352 Citi TY points; CDG-JFK in Coach: $220.00 (Airfare sale), Uber to house: $35.00 Total Cost: $367.70 or $183.85 per person for Airfare, transport, lodging and Car Rental/fuel + cost of food. (Breakfast included for 3 days)
  10. Rome is a great example of that occurring. Last time I went in 2017 with my son and parents, we stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Cavalieri, which is an excellent hotel. But, it was necessary to take the provided shuttle each day to get into Central Rome because the hotel was built into the hills to provide a great view. My only other option was the Hilton Garden Inn, which is the mid-level brand, which was closer to Central Rome but enough of a walk to the subway and sites that it didn't make a lick of sense to consider it beyond the expanded dining options. On the flip side, Hilton in London is fantastic. If you want to stay by Paddington for easy LHR access, you can. Mayfair for luxury, it's there. Kensington for a Central location, there's 3 choices in comfort. (The Doubletree is my favorite) What I like most about IHG is the low redemption values. If I want a Holiday Inn in Munich, it's 35,000 points regardless if I book it in January or during Oktoberfest. Hilton will spike points on you from 50,000 per night to 70,000 per night during Oktoberfest and only marginally offers 1,000 point savings from time to time. However, Hilton allows you to get your 5th night for free on a points redemption. So if I want to go to Jamaica, I can get a room at the Jewel Dunn All Inclusive for 5 nights for the "cost" of 4 and my resort fee waived due to my Diamond status. Neither are really great for Cash + Points value, albeit, IHG holds the edge.
  11. I wouldn't call fake black Canada Goose jackets "nines".
  12. Fette Sau is ok. Hill Country is like an expensive Dickey's. Dallas BBQ is funny in that BBQ in Dallas generally sucks anyway. I haven't ventured anywhere else that I can recall. But, I usually make it to Texas once a month, so I don't go searching for toothless hookers.
  13. Spankytoes

    London

    In Kensington & Chelsea? I don't know...Nando's near Gloucester Rd. tube? Not a whole lot of great places near you. I always recommend Evans & Peele for drinks, though I hear the food is edible.
  14. No. It's akin to asking what kind of automobile is best: A car, a truck or an SUV? It depends on your personal needs. I've raked in points from, and have had top tier Elite status from, Radisson, Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton and IHG at various stages depending on where I was going and what I needed to accomplish in terms of comfort. Holding 200,000 IHG points and Spire Elite status doesn't do you much good if you need 3 nights in Reykjavik since IHG doesn't have any properties there. Both Radisson and IHG have shit perks for their top tier Elites, so even if you stay at the Intercontinental or Radisson Blu, you won't get lounge access or breakfast like you would with Hilton or Marriott. But, IHG and Radisson points are extremely easy to obtain due to promos and you are almost assured to find one of their brands in 90% of the places you want to go. If you need 3 nights at a Holiday Inn or Park Inn in Berlin, and don't plan on eating breakfast at the hotel anyway, you can earn a free night in 1-2 stays rather easily. Hyatt is the nicest chain, IMO, as even their "budget" properties tend to be either upscale or roomier. But, their presence sucks globally. If you were going to Paris, the Park Hyatt Vendome is an outstanding hotel with an excellent breakfast included for Elites. It's not so great for Rome where Hyatt doesn't have any properties. Personally, I'm a Hilton guy first as I've found them to be the most consistent value with good Elite benefits. (Breakfast for 2, consistent upgrades, Resort Fees waived, Executive Lounge access, etc.) But that changes due to my travel habits. If I need 2 rooms, I book the 2X points rate on my Hilton Aspire. If I need 3+ rooms, I book an IHG hotel at the bonus points rate on my IHG card. Why? Because Hilton caps you on 2 rooms for earning points while IHG allows up to 8 rooms. If I absolutely needed the stay to maintain Elite status, I would book 2 rooms normally and a 3rd room at the same hotel through Rocketmiles to get some airline miles on AA or BA. So you have to take your travel habits into consideration as well. If you don't travel for business often, but have a need to book multiple rooms, IHG is a better choice. If you travel to more remote places, Radisson may be the better choice if the hotel qualifies for a MegaPoints promo, which gives you 10,000 points per night per room in addition to your normal earnings. There's no "one size fits all" answer.
  15. Sounds like it was 40 acres serving - Love
  16. Depends on whether or not you are traveling somewhere. I regularly fly LGA-DAL for around 6500 points each way, which is a $129 ticket. That would mean your points are worth about $90. If you are paying $41 to obtain them, you’re only getting $50 or so worth of value on a one-way. In other words, no, it’s not worth it. You can get all kinds of codes from Retailmenot, but you have to individually search the car companies. Flyertalk also has a rental code section.
  17. Try https://www.carrentals.com/ or https://www.southwest.com/html/specialoffers/car-offers.html?clk=GSUBNAV-OFFERS-CARS
  18. I'm not following your logic. How are you able to offset the fee enough to justify the cost? I stay at Hilton properties 50+ nights per year and I wouldn't touch the Aspire card with a 10 foot pole considering the annual fee. If I'm paying $450.00, I want actual benefits instead of a couple more points on the base rate.
  19. It only took them a decade to bring the icky to you. Talk about foresight!
  20. It was nothing like The Doors besides the fact that it was a movie about a rock group. The Doors was an artsy fartsy caricature of what moviegoers wanted Jim Morrison to be made at a time when fact checking was more difficult. Bohemian Rhapsody was a formula story that took loose facts and good music and intertwined them to avoid tarnishing Queen’s legacy. As was mentioned above, the personal and professional conflicts were completely eliminated from the story. (Why they quit touring America, the band breakup, Deacon retiring from music after Mercury's death, etc.) Both had impressive performances by their leads and are therefore memorable. Neither one is "good", albeit, The Doors is better due to Oliver Stone's visuals.
  21. This. Unless you fly Delta, and you're a daisy if you do, it's not worth the price. I think I've only been in one Pre-check line longer than 8 people in the past 3 years that I've had it...and my home airports are LGA and JFK.
  22. Spankytoes

    London

    Let me know how it is. I've stayed at the Hilton Park Lane, The Dorchester and The May Fair. All decent, but I'd like to try something else next time and am hopping aboard the Marriott points train.
  23. That’s what we did I only use the service for “fun cars”. (Boxter And i8, thus far) With the fees, insurance and delivery hassle, it’s not worth it for your everyday rental. Yes, you can probably get a 3-series for the cost of that Malibu at Hertz. But I’m going to earn points on that rental, maintain status, have roadside assistance and my AMEX insurance is going to cover the damages if I get in a wreck. Plus I have peace of mind that I didn’t screw up another dude’s car just to save a few bucks on a 6 year old Beamer.
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