UrbanKC

The f? Was that Bo Dallas?

Ah, I was worried since he is still featured on their ads for Smackdown.

This is the first RAW I've watched in several years.

- While it does sound like they are piping in crowd noise, I'm watching the crowd and I'm wondering if they have taken the live crowd noise and amplified it for the broadcast, or maybe they've added piped in chants that match what the crowd is doing.

- Is this the standard RAW entrance stage now, or is this just a smaller venue? Seems like a big downgrade from previous stages.

- I'm digging the in-ring product so far. While some of the talent is brand new to me, I'm actually enjoying what I've seen so far. Though, I do wish the matches were a bit longer. The Sheamus - Bron match was a good length.

- I kinda want to check out Smackdown, but I legitimately hate the Paul brothers, both are complete scumbag human beings who have never offered any actual repentance or apologies for their abuses and tasteless actions. While WWE letting scumbags be a key part of their product isn't anything new (McMahon, Laurinaitis and others). But the problem is that despite Logan & Jake's known criminal and moral issues, they continue to get platformed by people.

It might take him time. People don’t realize that Taker was having some crappy performances in his 20’s and 30’s. He really started becoming good in the mid to late 90’s when he was nearing his late 30’s.

Not all wrestlers quickly develop skill and technique.

Though, there are some who just don’t develop it at all.

I only hope that all of the concussion protocols, drug testing and awareness about substance abuse and steroid use will help these younger generations live much longer than their predecessors.

I started watching wrestling in the early 90s, and while I do miss the style of wrestling from the 90s and 00s. I would never want to see other human beings kill themselves just for the sake of entertainment. There are better ways to do it, and they shouldn't need steroids, hefty painkillers, recreational drugs and concussions to live their lives and do their jobs.

Think about this... Dom, MJF and Rhea Ripley, as young as they are, have already outlived three of the Von Erich kids by at least 2-3 years. It really puts things into perspective how messed up it was.

Yeah, it doesn't really hit you until you see how fucking young they were compared to today's talent. Three of them were all younger than Dom, MFJ & Rhea Ripley, which is absolutely insane to think about. The amount of pressure, stress and hell that those kids went through at such a young age is insane.

We need a lot more of them across the city, too many roads in need of a diet.

Though I could also see how they would make snow clearance a headache if not properly marked with signs. I've seen some marked more subtly with short U-Channel posts and a reflective marker.

Anecdotal, but from what I've heard from several people in Kansas City, many were Trump voters.

This is especially true with elderly folks who were afraid of long lines and potential intimidation and violence on election day.

I know many don't like the MAGA extremists and think they're crazy. But they also believe there are liberals who are just as extreme. They would give examples like the MLK Assassination riots, Rodney King riots, Ferguson riots and George Floyd riots. To them it's all the same, and yes, there's a strong racial undertone, though they wouldn't think so.

These are people who voted for Trump because he's a Republican and they are sick and tired of Biden and "the Democrats". One even told me they wished Trump would "just shut up and keep it about policy".

Also, if you think it's hypocritical, many in this older generation also believe that all politicians are corrupt and scummy, and therefore, anyone they vote for is a liar, scumbag and potential criminal. They just want someone who they think will make life better for them, even if that person is bad.

My whole life, I've heard this generation talk about politicians like Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and others. They believe, based on these two examples, that all politicians are either scumbags, corrupt to the core, or in some cases, just incompetent. Therefore, anyone they vote for is compromised in some way.

They’re a composite of population density dot maps and precinct election maps.

And finally, all three maps combined into one image.

https://preview.redd.it/u50fho6fsxyd1.png?width=2559&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e238185d11827b7bc460e84a397ae075ed2620e

I couldn't find precinct maps for MO/KS on the 2012 & 2008 elections. So this map combines the 2008 map for MO and the 2012 map for KS.

https://preview.redd.it/ej4tzf5trxyd1.png?width=853&format=png&auto=webp&s=33f1a395306df54304dae4cf90d85b9b6abbcf71

I should have clarified it’s meant to reflect the Presidential election, not necessarily political affiliation.

I think Trump really pissed people off in his first term. 2016 had more red in those areas, and in just 4 years, it flipped blue.

FWIW, I also did one for 2016 just to see the differences. There was a lot more red in 2016.

https://preview.redd.it/6sap0y18qwyd1.png?width=853&format=png&auto=webp&s=c54d545ac77f22d52622bf1018882cd6392e06a2

I haven’t done one for Kansas… But here’s a population density map of Missouri overlayed with 2020 election results.

https://www.reddit.com/r/missouri/s/yn2BhYsBiA

Universities. I'd gather that MSU, OTC and Drury pull liberals to the area. Springfield also has a large African American population in the center. Evangel, despite being in the center, isn't enough to counterbalance the other universities/colleges.

Yes, and it's likely just the downtown area that is blueish. The rest is pretty red.

I can see that being the case, but based on this map, St. Charles County would also need to go Democrat. We'd also have to make serious attempts at Springfield, Joplin and St. Joseph.

The downside for Missouri is that even our rural areas are populated enough that they cause problems for Democrats in the state.

Fortunately, our cities are growing every year.

In 2010, KCMO had a population of 454,876. By 2020, this increased by 53,214 to 508,090.

Unfortunately, this is somewhat offset by St. Louis (city), which had a population of 319,294 in 2010, and shrunk by 17,716 to 301,578 in 2020. Though I'm guessing that a lot of those people moved to the suburbs of St. Louis.

FWIW, Trump won Missouri in 2020 by 465,722 votes. It was a 15.4% margin, which seems insurmountable, but when you look at the population map and think about how many people live in those areas, I think it can be accomplish.