Hank Kingsley

Coming in hot. Politically, I believe abortion should be legal with no restrictions. Simple as that. Personally, I think it would be ideal if abortion numbers decrease significantly. It has nothing to do with religion for me. It's because abortion, I assume, is a terrible thing for a person to go through, and I don't want other people to suffer physically or mentally. I do think Buttigeg was eloquent in his defense of late term abortions with a perspective that needs to be considered more often. A lot of people have already bought a crib or picked out a name. It can be devastating for a family to make that decision, but is THEIR decision. They have to live with it, not us. So how do we get abortion numbers down? I think sex education is important. Why are we pretending we can shield kids from this stuff when modern technology literally guides us to porn? It's just openly posted on Twitter at this point. If you were to type in "Mark Kelly" in the search button , there's a decent chance that if you scroll down you'll see a video of some dude name Mark fucking a girl named Kelly in the ass. It's ridiculous. I think contraception and pregnancy tests should be incredibly cheap, if not free. Happy to hear more detailed suggestions. We need to make it very easy and inexpensive for women to go to the doctor in a timely fashion. Streamline and speed up the adoption process. Properly incentivize people that will carry to term. I know there are many other things that can help, these are just some initial offerings and I'm no expert. For those that are anti-abortion due to religious beliefs, I just think that sex is literally a part of our existence and that religion is a social construct. I respect your personal beliefs and for you to live your lives in accordance, as long as you're not harming others. It's impossible to determine the circumstances and lived experience of others, let them safely make their own decision.

I sense this is probably not gonna work out, but wanted to try to start a discussion thread about our overall politics, culture, issues, and the upcoming Trump term in good faith. If others are open to it, let's avoid the hysterics, name calling, and overly judgmental rhetoric to discuss issues and news as liberals/conservatives/none of the above, Trump or anti-Trump supporters. Maybe something good will come out of it, even if it's just in this community. I am not a Democrat. I tend to vote very heavy towards Democrats in this landscape. I hate the two party system. I have a set of personal values, and that dictates my positions, not party lines. I admit that the result of this election saddens me, but it's a relief that it was a clear and indisputable decision. The people have spoken. I think that opens the door to clear minds and introspection. I think we can all agree that we live in troubling times as a society and the future is very hazy. Can't depend on government and politicians to figure it out. It's on us. No trolling. If you have a strong position, present it. We can argue. Let's be patient with each other and not run off posters. I will genuinely listen and process and be thoughtful with replies. Join me.

If this team stays healthy they will be a problem. Amen & Tari are demons off the bench. Fun team to watch.

Candidate for DNC CHAIR.

And then when you consider young men into Tech and AI, this fucking idiot is considered a God to them.

He has helped amplify and legitimize anti-intellectualism, the "dark web", and far right ideology. Just asking questions is a cop out.

I'm not talking about crime. More about it being a better environment for a kid's mental health and overall upbringing.

There was no danger from my experience in the Houston suburbs in the 80s/90s.

I get what you're saying, and the overprotection is not good. But the traps of modern technology weren't around back then. It's much more difficult now.

My son is in first grade, and I'm focused on doing my best to prepare him for a healthy and happy life as a young man and adult. I've been put off a little bit my some of my friends with older kids and how many have them in sports/club teams year round and the super busy schedules and traveling they do all the time. I'm older (48) and as a kid I played a bunch of sports but had enough "down time" to enjoy hanging out with friends and doing other things. But I now see the side benefits of a heavy schedule with sports. Constantly being with other kids outdoors all the time and keeping busy. Down time these days is not nearly as healthy as it was when I was a kid. Video games, phones, YouTube algorithms, etc. can turn them into zombies or anti-social behavior. And sports club teams/busy schedules keep you from falling into that trap. Being able to just go outside in the neighborhood and fucking around til sun down isn't happening in very many places these days. The reality is parenting is a MUCH harder job now than it was 30 years ago and we have to be way more intentional. My parents are awesome and I love them, but there was no heavy lifting. They could just trust the overall environment we lived in back then. That world doesn't exist anymore.

I'm talking about him running for DNC chair.

Quinn had good feet and pocket feel. But watch Michigan's defense. They gave him the same look the entire game and didn't disguise anything. He was comfortable and picked them apart. Now everyone knows that he struggles with disguises and the confusion causes his fundamentals to break down. He'll never have it as easy as he did on that day in Ann Arbor.

If growing older has taught me anything, it's that women are fucking amazing. He's only 7 but I'm passing that fact down to my son right now.

I'm not really talking about his as Presidential nominee in this thread. Just being a very influential voice for the strategy and future of the Democratic Party. You and others that have mentioned it are most likely correct that it's too risky for him to be a Presidential candidate, but if there is one gay man that can overcome that "issue" for voters, it's Pete.

Well when I was going out all the time in my 20s, social media didn't exist. Texting/FaceTiming didn't exist. I couldn't see hot single ladies on my phone. I couldn't go online and play video games with friends all night (thank god). You wanna hang with friends and talk to girls? You had to go out somewhere. There was nothing else to do BUT be social. They are losing human connection, which we all desperately need to function well.

Are they participating in this rite of passage the way we used to in our 20s? I don't know. I doubt it though. There are too many distractions/deterrents to being social now.

For us olds, imagine only having dating apps as a realistic possibility to date someone (post HS/college) and the understandable frustration that would come with that. And all the Instagram bullshit that poisons all of their minds. It won't happen, but there needs to be an intentional decision by society to turn back the clock and force social activities back into people's lives again. The phones are killing us.

To genuinely try to answer, without being in that age group anymore and not knowing exactly how their lives our being led in the modern world: - Economic/job anxiety: Career/financial expectations have risen over the years but met with a tightened job market which is causing a lot of anxiety - I'd guess relationships with women have deteriorated rapidly. In the 80s/90s/00s, being around similarly aged women was common place. Connections were common. Now in the modern world of social media and an increase in public disconnection, those relationships are dwindling. And anger is setting in. - These younger generations have been coddled and helicopter parented, which diminishes personal accountability.

I'm telling y'all, watch that Buttigieg video when you have time. There is not a better mind in the Democratic Party, he is a generational political figure and needs to be most influential member of the party now. What he said in this interview 7.5 years ago resonates even more today.

Buttigieg ran for DNC chair in 2017. Since he'll be out of a government job soon, I'd love to see him run again if he's up for it. This is an interview he did after running in 2017, and I think he understands the bigger picture more than anyone else high up in the party. I highly recommend watching.

Right wing media and algorithms. It's an issue the left and Democrats face as well, but not as extreme IMO.

Try to look further back and bigger picture instead of what happened in this election cycle. I'll wait.

And whew, echo chambers are a real problem these days. I don't know how we solve that crisis.

Try to use your brain for a bit. Imagine what policies and rhetoric would look like if Dem Presidential candidates actually tried to get votes from SEC states and rural areas. And if Republican candidates tried to curry favor in West Coast states and big cities. Politics is deeply warped now and the reason is the Electoral College. If we had a popular vote we wouldn't have these extreme differences.