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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jan 18, 2018 - 12:30pm PT
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For racists, "saner times" were the times they didn't get called out as much for their ugly, ignorant behavior.
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Jan 18, 2018 - 12:45pm PT
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The Duke of Wellington wrote that the volunteer soldiers under his command were <the scum of the earth, enlisted for drink.>
If a general officer expressed an opinion like that today, his or her career would be over.
Are we better off or not when people are afraid to express that sort of opinion? I would say that we are. The Duke of Wellington could say that only because he was an aristocrat who did not have to care what other people thought (publish and be damned, he famously said when someone threatened to publish his letters to his mistress). So far, this country lacks an aristocracy with that kind of immunity. And so we are forced to have some consideration for other people's feelings, for fear of social ostracism, if for no other reason. Thus, a veneer of civility is maintained.
Cast one vote for being politically correct!
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dirtbag
climber
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Jan 18, 2018 - 12:46pm PT
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The tortured excuses offered by some of the president’s apologists on this thread are almost funny, especially given the president’s long history of racist statements and actions.
The real issue isn’t whether Haiti or at least some of the countries in Africa are shitholes. They are. I would never want to live in Somalia or Haiti.
(Many other countries in Africa are actually quite nice).
The real issue is that our president said that he wanted more people from Norway, and fewer from shitlhole countries, namely Haiti and African countries. Gee, what’s the obvious difference between Norwegian people and Haitian and African people?
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Ballo
Trad climber
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Jan 18, 2018 - 12:58pm PT
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I have to wonder if the stylist or photographer in that photo shoot didn't know full well what they were doing/suggesting, and were nothing but gleeful to see their "work" make it into publication.
*shrug*
Keep in mind that when working with child models, the parents are always present and almost undoubtedly dressed their own children. Maybe Swedes aren't known for calling black kids monkeys.
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Ballo
Trad climber
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Jan 18, 2018 - 01:01pm PT
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The real issue is that our president said that he wanted more people from Norway, and fewer from shitlhole countries, namely Haiti and African countries. Gee, what’s the obvious difference between Norwegian people and Haitian and African people?
Per capita GDP?
What seems lost on this thread is how Norwegians keep proving Trump's point when they don't seem all that eager to move to the US. It's almost like they're less shitholey.
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Ballo
Trad climber
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Jan 18, 2018 - 01:28pm PT
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Didn't know he was advised.
I like Amber's take on the same tweet:
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Jan 18, 2018 - 01:35pm PT
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Let's be careful out there.
Wait a minute. Who said that?
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EdwardT
Trad climber
Retired
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Jan 18, 2018 - 02:16pm PT
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Phil Esterhaus
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Jan 18, 2018 - 02:21pm PT
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Glad to see someone still remembers, Edward.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 18, 2018 - 02:23pm PT
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OK, I went to the mall today to check it out...
Look like droids to me.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jan 18, 2018 - 02:40pm PT
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I like Amber's take on the same tweet: I agree with Amber's take on the subject. Mean people do say sucky things. That won't change, but that doesn't mean that person gets a pass, which appears to be what you're advocating.
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Ballo
Trad climber
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Jan 18, 2018 - 04:23pm PT
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socialclimber, oh please, class warfare is so 20th century. Critical theory changed all that; it's all about prejudice + power now.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jan 18, 2018 - 09:44pm PT
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^^^
My god that man is a repugnant human being. Coal companies are worthy of his largess but American citizens suffering without basic infrastructure are not, probably for the sole reason that they didn't vote for him or add to his coffers.
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Jan 19, 2018 - 06:11am PT
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mortgage interest deduction limited (either to $500,000 or $750,000, I can't remember which) on new mortgages but not on existing mortgages. This will affect home prices in places where there are a lot of homes $500,000-$1 million but would not affect prices on more expensive homes, I would imagine, as most of those buyers can pay cash (I don't know how many jumbo mortgages there are but I believe they are few). And would obviously have no effect where home prices are less than $500,000.
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Jan 19, 2018 - 06:14am PT
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There is an argument that eliminating the mortgage interest exemption for houses of a certain price will drive down the prices for those houses, making housing more affordable for purchasers of those homes (although increasing prices below the limit, as the elimination of the deduction will drive more purchasers into the sub-limit category).
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Jan 19, 2018 - 06:16am PT
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so the target of the reform appears to be upper middle class but not rich owners/purchasers of $500,000-$1 million houses, who I believe are mostly clustered in blue states and I would guess are unlikely to be supporters of the president. Is this an accident?
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Jan 19, 2018 - 06:20am PT
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early draft of tax law dropped the limit to $500,000 but final version allows deduction up to $750,000. If you assume down payment of twenty percent, that would be a $900,000 property.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 19, 2018 - 08:16am PT
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French police clash with prison guards in protest over jail conditions
PARIS / Reuters
French riot police clashed on Friday with striking prison guards who accuse the government of doing little to counter spiraling violence and Islamist activism inside the country's overcrowded jails.
The scuffles outside Fleury Merogis prison, one of Europe's largest with 3,800 inmates, coincided with news from a jail in Corsica that two security guards were attacked and injured by inmates. It is the latest in a series of assaults that have overshadowed France's prison system in the past week.
"We're fed up. We're taking a thumping inside and now we're being thumped outside," jail guard Thibault Capelle said after police advancing with shields and using tear gas broke up a picket at the entrance of Fleury Merogis, on the southern outskirts of Paris.
The protests there and at many other prisons began a week ago, after an Islamist militant jailed over the killing of 21 people in Tunisia in 2000 slashed guards on the head and torso with a pair of scissors in northern France.
With pressure mounting, President Emmanuel Macron said last week a plan would be presented in February to tackle the issue. It would go beyond an existing promise to build thousands of new prison cells, he said.
France's prison population has more than doubled since the 1970s, to around 70,000, making it one of the highest in Europe.
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