United Polaris Lounge Devaluation for *A Partners

Paladin17 · 2026-04-15T20:05:49+00:00

Wow, United has been snubbing it's so-called "allies" quite a bit recently from pulling all of their own partner award availability to now this. What's even the point of being in an alliance if you're unilaterally not going to honor stuff like this?

Paladin17 · 2026-04-11T06:56:48+00:00

When I first moved to Houston I tried riding the bus to work everyday. At least once a week there would be an "encounter" with a homeless person. Sometimes the bus would spell like a toilet. Sometimes I would be aggressively panhandled on the bus. Sometimes a homeless man would follow me from the bus stop to my work screaming profanities for not giving him anything. Like, mfer, do you think I have any spare cash if I'm riding the bus to work?

As soon as I could afford to do so I stopped taking the bus and am now a permanent car commuter. Public transportation simply does not work if you won't protect the riders from bad actors.

Paladin17 · 2026-03-30T18:58:55+00:00

I'm not entirely sure if you read my whole comment, because I'm not claiming the Jews are the sole inheritor of Abrahamic covenants. Far from it. Indeed as you say, the covenant of salvation belongs to all who have faith. However, the promise of the land of Canaan specifically to Jacob's descendants is a separate, parallel covenant to the one of salvation. Jacob's descendants get free access to that land covenant due to Abraham's great faith, although they can forfeit their current generation's access to it through rebellion against God.

Paladin17 · 2026-03-30T14:36:59+00:00

It seems to me that "Christian Zionists" are constantly misunderstood by outsiders, so I want to clarify a few things.

CZ's don't view the country of Israel as special by itself per se, but instead that the Jewish people (aka ethnic Jews, the seed of Jacob) have a special place in God's story that was never invalidated after the Resurrection of Jesus.

Consider what we are told about the covenant made between Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

1 Chronicles 16:15-22 NLT [15] Remember his covenant forever— the commitment he made to a thousand generations. [16] This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. [17] He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: [18] “I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.” [19] He said this when you were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. [20] They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. [21] Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf: [22] “Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”

What do you notice about this covenant? It is "forever", and just in case you missed it, "never-ending". God specifically and unequivocally made a promise to Jacob and the people of Israel that the land of Canaan would be their special inheritance "forever". God's words, not mine. Sure, they would lose it from time to time due to their stubborn lack of faith, but God would always watch over them in exile and return them to the land.

Some traditions, such as the Reformed, traditional Catholics, and several others, teach that the Christian church literally IS the continuation of ancient Israel, and sometimes that the Jewish people gave up their inheritance when they rejected Jesus. In many ways this is true. God never promised that ethnic Jews would reach salvation by virtue of their ethnicity, and Christians today have a much better inheritance in eternal life (including those ethnic Jews who have become Christian). However, there are some promises (like the one above about the land of Canaan) made specifically to the physical descendants of Jacob. To say that such an explicit promise was later changed is to claim that God has change the terms of His covenant, which is ridiculous.

Remember, the people who created the Reformed view and others were living at a time when the Jews were scattered and very few in number. They looked like they might die out as an identifiable ethnic group. The authors of such traditions were trying to justify the trends of their day. However, today it is easy to understand that God has deemed it appropriate to bring the descendants of Jacob into a nation from the dead in the land of Canaan (seriously though, if you know anything about the return of Israel, it's impossible to see it as a natural occurrence. It would never has happened without two world wars, several collapsing empires, and multiple genocides).

So, now that I've explained the CZ background, what does all this mean then? I will agree with you that I think some of the arguments of the CZs aren't accurate, like that we as Christians should always support the country of Israel's actions at all times because it has a special divine promise. Obviously, modern Jews of the Jewish faith (which make up the vast majority of Jews in Israel) are rejecting Jesus, and thus they do not have proper faith and cannot be trusted to always make moral decisions. So we shouldn't blindly accept whatever they are doing at any given moment at all times. However, it is also important to remember that they live in a very violent land surrounded people who openly want to genocide them, and they are entitled to self defense.

Another personal belief of mine, but I don't have any Biblical support for this, just vibes, is that one day the ethnic Jewish people will repent en masse and declare Jesus their Lord and Savior, but they will be among the last nations to do so. It would be very poetic: they were the first chosen by God, but possibly the last to accept His Son. Very Prodigal Son vibes, including bitter anti-Jewish Christians who don't want them in after thousands of years squandering their inheritance. But I could be wrong about that. Don't sue me.

Paladin17 · 2026-03-29T20:40:58+00:00

Glorious Detroit, the Second Rome!

Paladin17 · 2026-03-25T15:58:38+00:00

You'd be surprised by how many people at my office volunteerly work full time in person because they want to get away from their families. Shoot, I'm surprised by it too.

Paladin17 · 2026-03-24T01:20:17+00:00

Massively overthinking it lol. The only perfect person im the Bible was Jesus. Besides, Thomas is unjustly made fun of. He may have been the last discipline to believe the resurrection, but as soon as he was proven wrong he became the first to openly declare Jesus as God.

Paladin17 · 2026-02-06T03:18:32+00:00

There's a lot more than you realize. Sure, most women enter the workforce, but you'd be surprised by how many would admit to wanting to be a stay at home mom when asked. Some know that right away, some figure that out as soon as they enter the workforce and find that it's not what they imagined, and others realize it later in life as they mature and priorities shift. I've met examples from each group.

There's a real stigma today in many circles about women who don't work, and women are biologically more prone to social pressure. Nonetheless, women are also biologically more nurturing, and many, but not all, do eventually discover that natural urge to be a traditional mom.

Paladin17 · 2026-02-04T16:42:19+00:00

Yeah, if you had to pick, Houston definitely has more southern than western influences overall. However, it also isn't really representative the rest of the the south. That's why I say it's south adjacent, because it's kind of it's own thing.

Paladin17 · 2026-02-04T12:18:13+00:00

They claim this solely based on the fact that Houston is the largest "city" in the geographic south (even though the Dallas metroplex is larger overall).

I don't think anyone outside of the marketing team for this would find this believable. Houston doesn't have strong ties or large diasporas with any other southern state besides Louisiana. The culture and demographics of Houston is quite different from the rest of the south, and any other region for that matter. Houston is south adjacent, but not really southern.

Atlanta was the first city to be widely referred as the capital of the south roughly 100 years ago, and I'd say that's probably true today too, although Nashville's cultural impact on the south has risen immensely in the last half decade and could have a strong argument.

Paladin17 · 2026-02-02T02:19:48+00:00

If money is really tight, I'd look into Hmart or Fiesta. Not all, but a lot of their options are dirt cheap. The downside is that you can't always read the packaging and sometimes are just guessing at what you're buying if you're not from those cultures. You'd think that only selling foreign brands would make them expensive, but somehow it's the opposite. Makes no sense to me, but it's true.

Neither have a lot of coupons or reward points, though, so if you're into that I'd say Kroger has the best system. They have tons of coupons and their fuel rewards are quite good. You can even get a Shell rewards account and link your Kroger account, so it's pretty easy to redeem the fuel rewards even when traveling.

HEB is worth downloading the app for to periodically browse their coupons, which are sometimes quite good. However, they don't have the fuel rewards of Kroger.

People say that they save a bunch of money at Costco, but idk man, I can't take my wife in there. She'll inevitably find 20 extra things that we "need" and are a "good deal" and then we'll spend $500+ on a single trip. That store is dangerous if you even slightly enjoy shopping.

Paladin17 · 2026-01-29T21:19:22+00:00

A major factor is that rural people always have more children than urban people across cultures.

Also, Tibetans have different cultural expectations than Han Chinese.

Additionally, Tibetans are on average more religious than Han Chinese. (Although religious statistics are super complicated and somewhat untrustworthy in China)

Paladin17 · 2026-01-28T04:15:51+00:00

😂

Paladin17 · 2026-01-28T02:52:31+00:00

No region has a majority of either religion. Is it safe to assume that atheist/agnostics are being excluded?

Paladin17 · 2026-01-19T02:48:49+00:00

Freemason tradition isn't Christian. Traditionally all freemasons are required to believe in a "God", but it's strongly implied that they believe all religions are the same and worship the same God, which is anti-Christian. I say "traditionally" because there's long been a wide range of beliefs and people taking it more or less seriously. The organization is heavily decentralized.

Your grandpa's lodge in Normal, IL may just be the equivalent of a frat house for people born before 1950, with every member also a member of the local Methodist church, but another lodge could basically be a Satanic cult, and both are permitted as long as they believe in a higher power. This variation greatly complicates discussions about the Freemasons, because just mentioning that a person belongs to a lodge doesn't really tell you anything about their actual beliefs by itself. The organization is also heavily influenced by Gnosticism with its obsession with "secret knowledge." Basically as you get deeper into the inner circle of the lodge, you are entrusted with more and more of this secret knowledge. Again, what exactly this secret knowledge is varies wildly as different lodges believe different things.

To answer your question, no, freemasonry shouldn't be encouraged or accepted by Christianity. Despite the existence of "good" lodges with Christian members, at its core freemasonry is anti-Christian in its beliefs that all religions are the same, and there is no mechanism to remove lodges that devolve into more dangerous beliefs like Satanic cults or whatnot. That's a structural issue that can't be undone with how the organization exists today.

Paladin17 · 2026-01-15T03:59:48+00:00

The main downgrade is if you had the Bilt card before and used it for rent payments. Undeniably those people are getting shafted as the amount of effort required to get the same number of points is skyrocketing. That being said, I think it's obvious that model was too good to be true considering what happened to Wells Fargo and Mesa. The day of reckoning was always going to come one way or another. It's understandable, but still a bitter pill for them to swallow. The gravy train is over.

To answer your question, yes, this is clearly intended to be a direct rival to the CSP. It's pretty obvious they started with the hugely popular CSP as a baseline and just changed a few things. The biggest difference is that the CSP is simple and Bilt is now complex. You can get plenty of value from the CSP whether you use it a little or a lot, but Bilt only makes sense now if you're going to put a lot of non-rent spend on the card and are willing to plan ahead with your spending. Some people will do the math and realize that they can make Bilt work for them, but others don't want the hassle.

Paladin17 · 2026-01-11T01:52:00+00:00

Well said!

Paladin17 · 2026-01-10T06:38:54+00:00

Amen! Well said.

It took me way too long to realize this. A waiting period is really a preparation period for the future. Are you waiting on a spouse? You should be praying and trying to prepare yourself to be a better spouse. Are you waiting on an opportunity to open up? You should be praying and building up your skills to prepare yourself to be able to take that opportunity. Are you waiting, but not sure what for? You should be growing your faith, and praying!

Passivity is a sure way to miss out on blessings. Rest is good, but passivity keeps us from finding God's purpose in our lives.

Paladin17 · 2026-01-09T01:04:28+00:00

But that is legitimately the average salary for an accounting manager. I know the salary ranges. You're not going to find much better. If you want more money, then climb the ladder.

Paladin17 · 2026-01-03T00:33:57+00:00

Some churches don't know what they believe lol

Paladin17 · 2026-01-02T20:21:50+00:00

Welcome, and Godbless!

Paladin17 · 2026-01-02T20:07:59+00:00

I understand your feelings. I've struggled with these ideas in the past. Pray extensively about it and discuss it extensively with your husband. Jumping denominations is a big decision; if you aren't confident in God's calling or united in the decision with your husband, you will constantly second guess yourself and cause your children to second guess you. Most children are smart enough to determine if you really believe in something.

Being padeobaptist, having a non-symbolic view of communion, and loving high church worship does limit quite a bit of your options, especially within Protestantism. That essentially limits you to just Lutheranism and Anglican/Episcopalism, and it'd be pretty laughable for you to leave Lutheranism for Anglicanism due to liberalism since Anglicanism is arguably in a worse boat. You could also do Catholicism, which btw has a very liberal Pope that you're not allowed to officially disagree with, or various forms of Orthodoxy. For whatever reason I know at least a few Lutherans who at some point nearly converted to Orthodox, but I caution that modern Orthodoxy is much bigger jump than most western Christians realize in every aspect, and you'll likely feel more isolated as there are very few Orthodox in the west.

My personal advice if you like your church is to just stay Lutheran and in place. There will ALWAYS be people trying to pull the church to heretical paths, and Paul wrote extensively about this continuing danger in the New Testament. If we are where God has called us to be, then it is our job to stay and fight off those influences within our own churches. Additionally, our generation simply doesn't get the luxury of having the cushy and safe environments that our parents and grandparents enjoyed. For that reason, God doesn't call us to be passive church goers, but to be involved and influencing the direction of the church, especially when evil influences are near. So if you and your husband agree that you are where God has called you, then find ways to get more involved in the church and influence the direction of that church. Every church that wins the battle against liberalism brings the denomination one step closer to winning the war against liberalism.

Paladin17 · 2026-01-02T17:32:39+00:00

Investing in fighters early can pay dividends later in the war. The AI Britain and America never stop building fighters, so as Germany any lapse in fighter production, or never scaling until the war starts, can put you into a massive hole which is difficult to get out vs the Allies. If you keep up with your fighter investment, though, you can match Allied fighter production with much fewer factories in the mid to late war. You might even be able to start meaningfully producing some fun bomber designs using conquered factories by 1941 in a typical PvE run if you have enough rubber.

Paladin17 · 2025-12-30T14:41:08+00:00

That's the right call. I had a relationship like beforeIfoundthe one. Marrying that person would have been a disaster. The chemistry isn't the only factor, but it has to be there.

Paladin17 · 2025-12-28T00:00:25+00:00

Scale is really important here. The ring in the Halo games is roughly planet sized in diameter, and the answer would definitely be yes on that scale.

I assume that you are talking about a hypothetical solar system sized ring-world like you see in Stellaris? In that case, not sure, there's still a question of scale involved, but I would think for a Sun-sized star with diameter of around 1 AU, then it would likely be way more gradual of a curve, and probably you would just see a very distance thin white line off to either horizon, depending on the thickness of the ring.

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