BSR

Whenever someone does something you don't like, you make nasty assumptions about them: men who buy flashy cars have small penises, people who are armed are "very afraid." Maybe try to understand those who are different from you instead of just making nasty assumptions about them. Diversity and tolerance are a two-way street. An armed citizenry is the foundation of the American dream. Unfortunately, I can't delve further into this point because of the forum's ban on politics.

It's hard to discuss your point when you're so vague about who exactly has been historically denied and continues to be denied, and why. If you're referring to blacks (my guess, but please correct me if I'm wrong), remember that millions of blacks immigrate to the US, many at great sacrifice, in pursuit of the American dream. If the US were the racist horror that some like to portray, African and West Indian immigrants would have stopped coming decades ago. I agree that far too many black children face near insurmountable obstacles to success but disagree with conventional wisdom (racism, white privilege, etc.). Rather, black kids are all too often raised by single mothers and absent fathers, a combination proven to have devastating consequences for children of all races & ethnicities. Far too many children are trapped in failed government schools. Even if they manage to graduate high school, the "education" they received leaves them grade levels behind where they need to be for university. Combine single motherhood with horrible schools, kids end up in a hole almost impossible to climb out of.

Reminds me of a story told by Clarence Thomas (not political, just giving names to show it was an actual conversation) ... When Antonin Scalia asked Thomas if he wanted to go to the opera, Thomas declined. Scalia asked, "Why not? You don't like opera?" Thomas responded, "I like opera. But I don't like people who like opera."

I wrote a post recommending The Patients of Dr. García in another thread. I'm glad that others are discovering the series because it's well worth watching. I've been a big Javier Rey fan for years. Any role he plays, he completely transforms into the character. Honestly, in the other series/movies where I've seen Tamar Novas, he mostly stands around and looks pretty. But he really rose to the occasion in Dr. García. I was glad to see him hold his own against an actor of Javier Rey's caliber. Like I said in the Netflix thread, you might need some patience to get through the first 4 episodes because they're more of a history lesson. But when the storyline kicks into gear in Ep 5, it's a heckuva good story.

Now that an Illinois appellate court denied Smollett's appeal, he will have to serve his 150-day sentence. Smollett's false police report caused the Chicago PD to waste a vast amount of money and resources that should have been dedicated to dealing with real crimes. In my opinion, Smollett deserves a lot more than 150 days.

Can you prove this "fact"? I doubt it, but feel free to prove me wrong. I point this out only because you have a habit of presenting your opinions/assumptions as "fact" when they're not.

Yeah, never thought of opera as particularly harmful to the environment. When climate activists brainstorm and strategize on how to help their cause, it amazes me that stunts like this is what they come up with.

Yes, but you apparently missed the point I was making, Spark Plug.

The purchase blasted her name and photo all over the Internet for the zillionth time. Kim didn't pay six figures for a bag, she paid six figures for some (more) attention. Without hype, the Kardashians are nothing.

Driving a $300,000 car in the poorest part of town, well before guilt set in, you would be carjacked and probably beaten to a pulp.

Blessed with almost ideal geography and an abundance of natural resources, Argentina was indeed one of the wealthiest nations in the world pre-1930. Today, more than 40% of Argentines live in poverty. Would I invest in Argentina? Eek! No way!! But I still dream of visiting Buenos Aires one day for a long stay, like at least 3 months. That porteño accent just melts me.

I hope we will always be able to share personal observations on this forum. Some are interesting, some amusing, and yes, occasionally some are questionable. But I like hearing anecdotes, like gay bars back in the day serving holiday meals. Questioning personal observations is fair game, of course. But there's a nice way to do it, and a nasty way. Right, @Marc in Calif?

Martina cited a WaPo/Kaiser Family Foundation poll that found that 69% of men who identify as trans women have not undergone hormone therapy and 84% have not had surgery. They can identify as women all they want, but physically, they're just like any other man. Martina herself got wrapped up in a battle of the sexes kerfuffle when Vitas Gerulaitis at the 1984 US Open said he would bet his house that the #100 ranked man could beat the then supremely dominant Navratilova (she went 86-1 the previous year). When Martina responded that she thought she'd have a chance, oh boy. Chris Evert basically said fat chance (not those exact words), and John McEnroe said that the #1,000 ranked man could probably beat Martina. It sounds like Martina has since changed her tune. As of the last ATP ranking, 372 men have a single ATP ranking point, and they're ranked between #1670 and #2042. My guess is more than half of those guys could beat #1 Iga Swiatek (hey, just my opinion). The 4-time world champ US Women's soccer team lost 5-2 to an under-15 boys soccer club. There's a reason for separate men's and women's divisions in sports.

My aunt suffers from terrible motion sickness (even a 5-minute car ride can make her green to the gills) yet is able to go on cruises without a hitch. She does what @Vegas_Millennial advises, lower deck midship cabin, plus she sticks to bigger, newer ships because they usually have better stabilizers. She does take medication (some European prescription she gets in the Philippines) that works like a charm, but I'm guessing something quite similar is available in the US.

If you're going to be nasty, at least be honest about it and take responsibility.

Like I said, either you're a car guy, or you're not. It's quite obvious you're not. I'm a big believer in letting people enjoy their hard-earned money. If you can't enjoy your money, why bother working? Just because a guy spends his money in a way I wouldn't, I'm not going make nasty assumptions about the guy. Live and let live.

As a wise old investment advisor once told me, "the reason old money has money is that they don't spend it." Or at least they refuse to spend it on something like a $400K Rolls Royce, yet they don't bat an eyelash about sending their kids to $50K/year private schools. I just googled the profile of the typical Rolls Royce owner: median net worth $30 million, salary $1-2 million/year, median age 43 (I would have guessed much older). Wow, if that's "aspirational" rich, how much $$ do the "real" rich have??

Honestly, I don't know how many people moved to Florida for political reasons. I'm guessing finances were a much more significant factor. High state & local taxes used to be fully deductible but are now capped at a $10K max. Residents of high-tax states got crushed, including a fair number of forum members.

Insurance costs have skyrocketed in Florida. If you live in a single-family home, not only are you dealing with staggering increases in premiums but also (for many) mandatory costs like roof replacement. For condo owners, their individual homeowners premiums have increased as well as the building's policy, which means much higher HOAs. Homeowners also face increases in property tax due to inflating home values. Huge increases in insurance and property taxes on top of too-high median home prices mean that many homeowners will be forced to sell, which leads to ... uh oh

Forget the gambling, alcohol, and escorts, come to Las Vegas for the foie gras! Plenty of posh restaurants offer it (usually seared, as an appetizer), and a couple of gourmet food stores sell whole foie gras. Even in California, where foie gras is banned from restaurants and retail stores, you can order it online and have it shipped to your CA address. Just ask the online seller if they send it in discreet packaging, LOL.

Even though @unicorn and I disagreed constantly, he was one of the forum members from the opposite end of the political spectrum I rather enjoyed debating. He was supersmart and knew how to make an argument. Granted, he was aggressive at times (lots of us got pretty heated in the old Politics subforum) but if you called him on it, he would calm down. At least that was my experience. Even now that the old Politics subforum is defunct, I will miss his participation around here.

The NYT has knowingly and intentionally published so many whopper lies yet somehow maintains a pristine reputation because the so-called newspaper pushes the narratives that certain people want to hear. If you like reading the NYT for other reasons -- the arts, fashion, NYC social scene -- it covers those areas like no other publication. But if you're looking for a legitimate news source, best look elsewhere.

Either you're a car guy, or you're not. If you're a car guy, you either buy the supercar of your dreams, or you dream about the supercar of your dreams. If you're not a car guy, you think such purchases are troubling signs of mental illness.

Thanks for the news about Pete's wife. I didn't know she was battling cancer. In that long 2 years before the 2002 US Open, tough times when his ranking dropped and he didn't win a single tournament, his wife's support never wavered. I remember him saying that was the one silver lining in all his struggles, at least he knew he married the right one. Now it's his turn to support her. I pray she beats the cancer and gets back to 100%.

I'm the opposite -- I watched every single episode of Friends, some episodes several times via reruns. I can't say that I was personally that affected by his death, just sad that such a talented person died far too young. He was so committed to helping others with addiction. Hopefully Perry's foundation continues his good work. I'm weird about comedies. As much as I love to laugh, I almost never like American comedy series. Friends was 1 of only 2 sitcoms I've ever liked (Mary Tyler Moore was the other one). So thank you Chandler Bing/Matthew Perry for all the belly-laughs. R.I.P.