Kyle Kulinski

[[File:Secular Talk channel avatar.jpg|thumb|165px|Kyle’s current YouTube profile image.]]
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'''Kyle Edward Kulinski''' {{lived|January 31,1988}} is the host of [[atheist]], [[progressive]], and [[social democratic]] news commentary and talk show '''''Secular Talk''''', which was created in 2008 and formerly affiliated with the [[progressive]] YouTube network [[The Young Turks]] (TYT). As of August 2024, his channel has 1,280,000 subscribers.<ref>[https://socialblade.com/youtube/user/seculartalk ''SocialBlade Stats''] Via SocialBlade, Accessed 26 August 2024.</ref> When he was TYT-affiliated, Kulinski had almost complete autonomy on his show and distinguished his beliefs from other hosts in the network, even having a debate with TYT founder [[Cenk Uygur]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2kGYZ30GxM ''Kyle v Cenk Debate''] Via [[YouTube]],7th of February 2018.</ref> As of 2021, he hosts a podcast with political commentator and ''Breaking Points'' co-host and wife Krystal Ball entitled ''Krystal Kyle & Friends'' .<ref>https://twitter.com/KyleKulinski/status/1493294732377825281</ref>

==Opinions==
===Religion===
Despite the channel's name, he's more focused on [[US Politics]] than [[Religion]] or [[Atheist|Atheism]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/user/SecularTalk/videos ''Secular Talk Videos''] Via [[YouTube]], Accessed 5th of April 2019.</ref> When he does talk about [[Religion]] he's highly critical of [[fundamentalism]], and an outspoken [[New Atheist]]. Kulinski considers himself somewhere between New Atheism and more [[Accommodationism|traditional progressive camps on the subject of religion]]: he argues that geopolitics and foreign policy will force populations to radicalize, but adds that the dogma is responsible for violence and chaos as well; he goes on a case by case basis.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPL8yRffPOU ''Should Atheists Criticize All Religions Equally?''] Via [[YouTube]], 31st of December 2014.</ref> He dislikes some of the tactics used by New Atheists if only for strategic reasons, believing they could turn people against atheism. He most often finds himself disagreeing with [[Christopher Hitchens]], [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]], and [[Sam Harris]], particularly on foreign policy, but most especially on American and [[Israel|Israeli]] foreign policy or military actions. He often notes that Harris is either incredibly naive on foreign policy, or an outright apologist for the Israeli and American states, and has consistently called him out on it.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QAs96ytfhc ''Sam Harris On The Israel/ Palestine Conflict''] Via [[YouTube]],11th of September 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYx537kFUNU ''Sam Harris: It's 'Delusional' To Say U.S. Policy Created ISIS''] Via [[YouTube]], 11th of September 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI8rctp5DR8 ''Sam Harris: I'd Vote For 'Imbecile' Ben Carson Over Noam Chomsky''] Via [[YouTube]], 24th of November 2015. </ref> True to form, he is critical of [[Islam]] while also being highly critical of anti-[[Muslim]] bigotry and those who dismiss it. He pushes back against the "Regressive" label used by certain liberals and atheists towards the progressive left, arguing that the progressives focus more about the effects and consequences of foreign policy and are not "Islamic apologists." However, at the same time he has acknowledged that whilst the term is often misused, genuine regressive leftists do exist.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tOu6hl6vQE& ''Leftist UK Politician Wants To Bring Back Blasphemy Laws''] Via [[YouTube]], 17th of November 2015.</ref>

===Politics===
On foreign policy, he is non-interventionist and is highly critical of Israeli foreign policy whilst also denouncing [[Hamas]].

Considering himself a [[social democrat]]<ref name="leftgasm">[https://youtu.be/GlxN1Btua00?t=1287 Leftgasm w/ Hasan Piker, Destiny & Trihex | Debating TPP & Trade!]</ref> and left libertarian,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76D1_SktnJI&feature=youtu.be&t=116 ''China Shuts Down Media For 'Independent Reporting'''] Via [[Youtube]], 6th of August 2016.</ref> Kulinski spends most of his time debunking [[right-wing]] bullshit (usually from [[Fox News]] and [[Alex Jones]]) and covering the recent radicalization of the [[US]] [[Republican Party]], with whom he disagrees on virtually everything. However, despite previously being a card-carrying Democrat, Kulinski despises the party's leadership and announced that he would not vote in the 2020 presidential election after Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic primary. 

He is a [[Libertarianism#Civil libertarians|civil libertarian]] on social issues, especially regarding drug laws: he thinks all drugs should be decriminalized and [[marijuana]] and [[Psychedelic drug|psychedelics]] should be legalized, taxed, and regulated. He also opposes the [[NSA]]'s domestic surveillance and [[police]] having too much power. However, [[Inverse stopped clock|he supports the death penalty ''in theory'', saying it should be used for the most heinous of crimes where no help is possible]], but opposes it in practice due to the high false-positive rate.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXn1RiQCtY ''Jury Sentences Dylann Roof To Death''] Via [[YouTube]], 12th of January 2017.</ref>

He voted for [[Jill Stein]] in the 2016 presidential election. He lives in New York, which is a solid [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state, though he despises Hillary. Even though he considers Jill Stein and the [[Green Party]] in general as being to the left of him, he supported them as a protest vote. However, he encouraged viewers living in swing states to vote Hillary [[Not_as_bad_as#Sometimes_valid|in order to keep Trump out of the White House]]. 
He was also one of the co-founders of {{wpl|Justice Democrats||,}} until he stepped down.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj_95Ld2g9I ''JUSTICE DEMOCRATS: Taking Back The Broken & Corrupt Democratic Party''] Via [[YouTube]],23 January 2017.</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/KyleKulinski/status/944677530707136512 ''I'm Stepping Down''] Via [[Kyle Kulinski|Secular Talk]] on [[Twitter]], 23rd of December 2017.</ref> Justice Democrats is a coalition of anti-establishment [[Democratic Party|Democrats]] who are [[leftism|left]] leaning and agree with a lot of Kulinski's opinions.

===Free speech and feminism===
He positions himself as a [[Freedom of speech|free speech]] absolutist and exhibits a deep dislike for [[Political correctness|political correctness]], especially [[Trigger warning|trigger warnings, safe spaces]], and [[Microaggression|the concept of microagressions]], all of which he considers authoritarian.<ref name=
JSPC>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbUj4h6Y84I ''Jon Stewart On Political Correctness''] Via [[YouTube]], 10th of May 2016.</ref> Some argue that this displays his misunderstandings of some topics, because safe spaces aren't [[echo chambers]] as he claims; [[trigger warning|trigger warnings]] and [[trigger warning|safe spaces]] are a way for a person to avoid trauma and discuss bad experiences safely. 

However, he's more irate about [[Conservative correctness|right-wing political correctness]] because [[Hypocrisy|no one talks about it]] ([[War on Christmas|despite]] [[Climategate|countless]] [[Teach the controversy|examples]]).<ref name=JSPC/> and the fact right-wingers vocally denounce left-wing political correctness only to further vocally push their own political correctness.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSprKze4-LU ''Colin Kaepernick On Why He Sat During The National Anthem'']Via [[YouTube]], 29th of August 2016,</ref> In particular, he despises the notion that [[Donald Trump]] [[Bullshit|is politically incorrect]], especially since he uses [[Politically incorrect|"politically incorrect"]] as a cover for his [[bigotry]], along with the fact [[Donald Trump#Platform|he likes to file libel suits against people who badmouth him and wants to diminish the First Amendment once in power]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5HSoANaRgA ''Trump: 'I'm All For Free Speech, But...' ''] Via [[YouTube]], 1st of August 2016.</ref> As a result, he refers to Trump as a "Politically Correct Bitch" and a "Right Wing Social Justice Warrior".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aazfd6NqY0 ''Donald Trump Isn't Politically Incorrect, He's the Opposite'']Via [[YouTube]], 8th of June 2016.</ref> He has also described the [[alt-right]] as a "loathsome group of ignorant [[asshole]]s".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuKLJVOCyW0&feature=youtu.be&t=179 ''Twitter Is Suspending Alt-Right Accounts''] Via [[YouTube]], 17th of November 2016.</ref>

Unlike a lot of [[New Atheism|New Atheist]] vloggers, Kulinski considers himself to generally be a [[feminist]] and has called the [[men's rights movement]] "stupid" and "whiny", and maintains this stance despite it pissing off a good chunk of his audience.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFEyT4B7JJE ''Kyle's A Bad, Bad Sexist''] Via [[YouTube]], 3rd of January 2015.</ref> However, he is sharply critical of some aspects of third-wave feminists, though some of the terms he uses to describe them are incorrect and arguably overly general.<ref group=note>For instance, he calls it ''neo-feminism'' despite that being the exact opposite of what he opposes ({{wpl|Neofeminism}} is a movement emerging from third-wave feminism that believes women can be empowered if they want to embrace more traditional gender roles.)</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7x2_K55Xm0 ''When Walmart Banned Feminist Shirts For 'Offending Family Values' in 1995'']Via [[YouTube]],28th of July 2016.</ref> In addition, he deeply dislikes [[social justice warrior]]s. He does prove that one can question more [[radical]] versions of feminism [[Sargon of Akkad|without]] [[Thunderf00t|being]] [[Stefan Molyneux|a]] [[reactionary]] [[Milo Yiannopoulos|asshole]] though.

===Drugs===
Kulinski has admitted to using pharmaceutical drugs such as [[Adderall]], [[Opium|Vicodin]], Percocet, Xanax, and Klonopin, although to what extent is unclear. He has expressed that he is wary of hallucinogens such as [[LSD]], magic mushrooms, and DMT, and as such has never tried them. He also dislikes [[cannabis]] because it gives him paranoia and anxiety most of the time.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZUsIehKzuo''Researchers: Psychedelics Hold Medical Promise'']Via [[YouTube]],28th of August 2014.</ref> He uses the plant drug [[Purported_legal_highs#Kratom|Kratom]] to help him focus for his job, so he was understandably outraged when the DEA wanted to ban it.<ref>[https://youtu.be/wAe0JQbHCHw?t=401 ''DEA Bans Lifesaving, Benign Substance Kratom''] Via [[YouTube]],1st of September 2016.</ref> Kratom mainly exerts its effects via the mu-opioid and to a lesser extent k-opioid receptors, producing dose-dependent effects that range from analgesia and mild stimulation to deep relaxation and euphoria.<ref>https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitragyna_speciosa</ref> He loves Kratom, so much so he started stockpiling it when the ban was announced. {{citation needed}} Kulinski also believes drug dealing should be legalized and that that non-violent drug offenders should be pardoned, receive an apology and paid restitution.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VD7_j8KY3w ''Kyle Breaking Down His Fox News Appearance'']Via [[YouTube]], 2nd of April 2019.</ref>

===Trump and the Russian question===
[[Michael Flynn]], a former [[RT]] guest who often peddles propaganda, was the National Security Advisor under [[Donald Trump]], who got in trouble for his ties to Russia and resigned. Kulinski, on Twitter, argued Flynn was actually a ''preferable'' choice to his replacement because "A lot of people in the admin want to escalate w/ Russia. His hesitance (admittedly for corrupt reasons) was preferable to a pure hawk."<ref>https://twitter.com/KyleKulinski/status/831366460576526337</ref> He acknowledges that Trump stacked his administration with too many people with financial ties with the Russians, and he opposes that just as how he opposed the Clintons' financial ties with the Saudis via Clinton Foundation. Therefore, he doesn't really see Trump as a Siberian Candidate or a Russian stooge, and just another Wall Street style corruption scandal; he sees the Democrats as far too hawkish on Russia who peddle too much anti-Putin hysteria. He thinks the anti-Russia hysteria only makes the Democratic Party look worse.

===GMOs===
Kulinski is in favour of [[GMO]]s. Though he does agree with the scientific consensus that [[genetically modified food]] is safe, he still supports [[Code_word#Just_label_it.2FRight_to_know.2FAnti-GMOs|GMO labeling]].<ref>[https://youtu.be/3eZDxtIhXZQ?t=370 Neil deGrasse Tyson, Are GMOs Safe?] Secular Talk on YouTube, 31 July 2014.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFvjHJoVrk0&t=1h44m11s Taking The 'I Side With' Political Quiz For The 2016 Election]. Secular Talk on YouTube, 4 November 2014.</ref> This is, however, a common anti-GMO sentiment and is still considered against science and consumer choice. However, he's definitely anti-[[Monsanto]]. He's described Monsanto as a "very evil" company and according to Kulinski, Monsanto curries favour with the [[EPA]] and "buy[s] the science that fits [their] economic agenda".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eZDxtIhXZQ&t=9m12s Neil deGrasse Tyson, Are GMOs Safe?] Secular Talk on YouTube, 31 July 2014.</ref> He cited the [[Glyphosate#The_WHO_and_IARC|World Health Organization]] to support the claim that [[glyphosate]] causes cancer. This study has been proven to be extremely flawed as they don't reference their claims and uses the correlation equals causation fallacy. This suggests he reads the headlines of news, instead of the papers which they reference.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3lGc8qODgc Kyle Kulinski: Another Lazy YouTuber]. Myles Power on YouTube, 23 August 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkxS7BHjHVk Is Glyphosate "Probably Carcinogenic to Humans" ?] Myles Power on YouTube, 3 December 2015.</ref><ref>Guyton,K.Z.,et al. [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(15)70134-8/fulltext Carcinogenicity of tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, malathion, diazinon, and glyphosate.] ''The Lancet, Oncology,'' 2015.</ref>

===Prisons and the death penalty===
{{cquote|I think there are fair critiques of the Norwegian system, like...who was the guy; [[Anders Behring Breivik|Anders Breivik]] who killed all these kids? [[Psychopath|And then he was complaining because he's like "I only have a PS2 and you guys need to get me, like,  a newer video game system".]] So you could look at that and go: "Listen man, you guys are being [[Moonbat| too fuckin' liberal]]. Fuck that guy. He had like two rooms that were his cell, and he could walk in a fuckin' courtyard and shit". So I think there are genuine criticisms of that. But at the same time what's fascinating is they have a significantly lower recidivism rate than we do. So here if you go to prison, it's very likely that you will end up back in prison. In those places if you go to prison, especially if it's a lower level crime, they rehabilitate you and you're a functioning member of society.|||Kyle Kulinski on Joe Rogan's podcast.<ref name=jre1085>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq1rX54u69U Joe Rogan Experience #1085 - Kyle Kulinski]. PowerfulJRE on YouTube, 27 February 2018.</ref>}}

Kulinski supports most aspects of the Norwegian style of prisons over the American system.<ref name=jre1085 /> In a discussion with [[Joe Rogan]] he agreed that it's wrong to coddle remorseless criminals such as Anders Behring Breivik, Ed Gein, and Ted Bundy. However he points out that executing criminals sometimes leads to innocents being executed. Joe Rogan asks if it's really better to imprison such people for life instead of just killing them, to which he answers that it would be no different except without the death penalty, there is a lower likelihood that the government will execute an innocent person before the case is concluded or if it's later revealed that there was a wrong conviction. However, he admitted that if convicted domestic terrorist Dylann Roof was executed, he wouldn't care because Roof has admitted he has no remorse.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXn1RiQCtY Jury Sentences Dylann Roof To Death]. Secular Talk on YouTube, 12 January 2017.</ref>

===War and foreign policy===

Kulinski often comes off as non-interventionist but mostly that's just as a reaction to the constant warmongering in DC. He claims he supports military offense but only with international support and cooperation and that he despises the typical unilateral military interventions supported by established politicians in Washington.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6x78SfZ7pY&t=550s What's A Comprehensive Left-Wing Approach To Foreign Policy?] Secular Talk on YouTube, 12 December 2018.</ref>

Kulinski also has a very literal interpretation of the {{wpl|War Powers Clause}} of the [[United States Constitution]]. If a military intervention does not include a declaration of war by [[Congress]], then that war, as far as he is concerned, is illegal, such as in the case of the [[Iraq War]] and the various military interventions done by the [[Obama]] Administration.

===Direct democracy===
Kulinski often praises state ballot initiatives and has come recently in favor of a more direct democratic system.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gqUBiP11FQ It's Time For A More Direct Democratic System In America]. Secular Talk on YouTube, 10 November 2018.</ref> He believes that every federal election, there should be a federal referendum on five important issues (to be decided by a non-partisan group) and voted on by universal suffrage.

Kulinski has come to this conclusion because often times, left-wing policies win in the ballot in the exact same state that Democrats lose elections to Republicans, and losses are always the result of lots of [[Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission|corporate money]] being spent to defeat the ballot initiative. He also acknowledges that the right can also benefit from this federal referendum, but that it would be a price that's worth it to pay to push for progressive policies.

==Occasional sloppiness==
On 27 May 2017, Kulinski released a 10 minute video denouncing the New York Times for a headline that said "Is it wrong to body slam a reporter? These days, opinions vary."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riehUa99gYk New York Times: Is It Wrong To Body Slam A Journalist?] Secular Talk on YouTube, 27 May 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/6dea6d/is_it_wrong_to_body_slam_a_journalist_these_days/?sort=top An archived reddit post showing the original headline] before the title changed.</ref> Kulinski, having not read the article, went on an extended rant, denouncing the Times for a supposed "neutrality bias" that can't bring itself to point out that assaulting a reporter is wrong.

Except here's a catch. If you actually read the article, under its new title "A Journalist was Body Slammed, but some Conservatives want the media to apologize," the article was ''condemning'' that exact neutrality bias. It pointed out that America as a country stooped so low that Americans can't even come together on the fact that body slamming a reporter is wrong. A cursory look at Kulinski's comment section shows that even his fans are calling him out on his sloppiness.<ref>Michael M. Grynbaum, [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/us/journalist-body-slammed-republicans-apology-media.html A Journalist Was Body Slammed, but Some Conservatives Want the News Media to Apologize]. ''The New York Times,'' 25 May 2017.</ref>

==The Conservapedia affair==

[[Conservapedia]] editor [[Conservapedia:Conservative|Conservative]] wrote an article in which he accused Kulinski of being an immigrant and another nasty liberal.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdmMW_5RHKY Fact Checking Conservapedia's 'Secular Talk' Entry]</ref> Kulinski immediately debunked this which resulted in User:Conservative issuing a challenge to Kulinski to debunk their article on atheists.<ref>[http://www.conservapedia.com/Essay:_Debate_challenge_to_new_atheist_Kyle_Kulinski No really]</ref> [[Fun:Pwned|He mocked the site and then tore apart their atheist article]].<ref name=Conservapedia>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39xlPMs3Obk Conservapedia, Stop Embarrassing Yourself]</ref> To the surprise of no one, User:Conservative claimed victory nonetheless.<ref>[http://www.conservapedia.com/Essay:_New_Atheist_Kyle_Kulinski_defeated He doesn't seem to understand what the word "defeated" means]</ref>

==Fallacious, controversial or just plain wrong beliefs==
{{main|Inverse stopped clock}}

He has claimed that former President [[George W. Bush]] and former Vice-President [[Dick Cheney]] had arrest warrants against them due to their actions while in power.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBc_HFxyBsU</ref> This is, sadly, an untrue claim; nobody has even put them on trial ''in absentia'' yet<ref>http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/jul/17/facebook-posts/are-george-w-bush-dick-cheney-unable-visit-europe-/</ref> with the exception of the {{wpl|Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission}},<ref>[http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/international/are-george-w-bush-and-dick-cheney-war-criminals-malaysian-court-says-yes Are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney war criminals? Malaysian court says 'yes']</ref> a Malaysian "court" that has twice convicted Bush but with no actual legal authority or legitimacy.<ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2012/05/bush-and-cheney-on-trial/ Bush and Cheney on Trial]</ref> Reality does not always line up with our expectations, no matter how much we might wish otherwise.

He has also claimed that al-Qaeda only has 100 members left in Afghanistan. This is based on outdated information. In October 2015, the U.S. destroyed two al-Qaeda training camps, killing 160 al-Qaeda members.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/10/30/probably-the-largest-al-qaeda-training-camp-ever-destroyed-in-afghanistan/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.86f879a12ea1</ref><ref>https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/10/us-military-strikes-large-al-qaeda-training-camps-in-southern-afghanistan.php</ref>

A common refrain of his is that the US is "bombing eight different countries". The eight he is referring to are [[Afghanistan]], [[Iraq]], [[Somalia]], [[Yemen]], [[Pakistan]], [[Libya]], [[Syria]], and most recently Niger. Niger is the latest country he added to his list, denouncing the action in multiple segments.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKyTXlwXfeQ</ref> The problem is, Niger's government only ''authorized'' armed US drone flights, and no US strikes have yet taken place. The move was intended to allow the US the ability to kill ISIS and al-Qaeda should the need ever arise in the future.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/politics/pentagon-niger-drones.html</ref>

Recently he has also turned towards protectionism and claims that it's a "left-wing policy" when historically, both in the US<ref group=note>From the end of the Civil War until the Great Depression, when [[Herbert Hoover]]'s free-market fundamentalism led to the rise of the New Deal Consensus</ref> and the UK,<ref group=note>The first Labour Party government was formed after the 1923 election in coalition with the Liberals who ran on free trade while the Tories ran on protectionism</ref> protectionism was a right-wing policy pushed by free-market hyper-capitalist political parties. In fact [[Donald Trump]], rather than an aberration, is a restoration of the alliance between free-market capitalism and protectionism as many of his [[Policies of Donald Trump|policies]] are an extreme form of neoliberalism with nationalistic flavor.

This also reflects a general problem of basing politics overly on individual policies and ideas rather than social context (as Kulinski and TYT-influenced liberals often do), as individual policies referred to as “left-wing” or “right-wing” could achieve different results if the governments that implement them have different political goals. For example, free trade between nations with strong labor unions and low unemployment (e.g. as exists in Nordic social democracies) could be thought of as a somewhat left-wing project, as any economic benefits will likely be funneled to workers due to union density, while free trade between the US and a developing nation is very much based on the neoliberal model.

He also confuses [[Corporatism]], a political and economic philosophy that defines and promotes the role in society of collectives whose members have similar needs and purposes, with corporatocracy, "rule by corporations." For instance, he accuses "corporate Democrats" such as Hillary Clinton of being "corporatists," when the correct word would be "corporacrats."

Another fallacious belief of his that's been appearing recently is his belief that the {{wpl|business cycle}} only happens if there's large scale deregulation of the economy, when in fact the business cycle is a natural consequence of a market economy, regardless of the levels of regulation present. What economic regulations do is minimize the negative impact of recessions has on workers, by increasing labor rights<ref group=note>Such as the right to join a union, collective bargaining and industrial action</ref> and minimizing the capacity of corporations to engage in risky investments.

He also believes that Syrian dictator [[Bashar al-Assad]] doesn't have chemical weapons and that he didn't launch the gas attacks against civilians that have taken place since 2017.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtFND9GlL3I</ref>

He has seemed to question the validity of [[non-binary gender|non-binary genders]] in some of his older videos, but it has yet to be seen whether or not he has changed his opinion on the issue since. It would not be surprising in the case that he has, given that he is an associate of non-binary YouTuber Peter Coffin and gives credit to [[ContraPoints]] for deradicalizing against [[alt-right]] beliefs, bigotry against non-binary people being one of them. Additional examples of Kyle potentially having changed his opinion can be seen in a livestream discussion with [[Vaush]] in which he expressed open-mindedness in talking about and learning more about subjects such as xenogenders.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcwyUWtpPCA</ref>

He also believes in the "[[Jeffrey Epstein|Epstein]] Didn't Kill Himself" [[conspiracy theory]], claiming that Epstein was a secret agent working for [[Mossad]] to collect blackmail on Western elites,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2obGh-FjTcg Kyle REACTS To FBI S*x Trafficking Raid Of Diddy's House], YouTube, 27 March 2024. {{quotebox|In the case of Epstein, I think we all know- I mean I think the evidence points to the fact that he's Mossad, right, Israeli intelligence, and he was collecting blackmail on all sorts of politicians and businesspeople and billionaires, powerful folks.}}</ref> and that [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|the CIA was involved in the assassination of JFK]].

He once claimed that Norwegian mass murderer [[Anders Behring Breivik]] was motivated by a belief in [[Christianity]].<ref name=Conservapedia/> Breivik himself denies this and has expressed scorn for the Christian faith.<ref>[https://www.dagen.no/nyheter/breivik-mener-jesus-er-patetisk/ Breivik mener Jesus er «patetisk» (Breivik thinks Jesus is "pathetic")]</ref>

Generally, Kulinski is good natured and is highly trusting towards people he views as close friends and acquaintances. This is not bad in itself, but fans have often criticized him for being overly-charitable to those who probably don't deserve it, such as [[Joe Rogan]], whom Kulinski sees as a friend.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocrCLQVbJQg</ref> This mindset massively backfired for Kulinski in mid-2021, where his responses to a political/sexual harassment controversy regarding [[Jimmy Dore]] vs Ana Kasparian/[[Cenk Uygur]] caused all three to sever their friendships with him.<ref>https://twitter.com/KyleKulinski/status/1411829436631162880?s=20&t=VfaL3StZFe1PVVSIygaETQ</ref> Kulinski would later state in his conversation with Vaush that given Dore's reactionary tendencies and his incorrect takes on the COVID vaccines, it was probably for the best that he broke things off with him.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcwyUWtpPCA</ref>

In some of his more recent videos, Kulinski has taken to suggesting without evidence that left-wingers who express controversial opinions he disagrees with are actually [[Agent provocateur|agents provocateur]], or "feds". This has included people who left pro-[[Hamas]] graffiti at an Israel/Palestine protest<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEAWQ6o0dDY Pro-Palestine Protests EXPLODE At DNC]</ref> and, bizarrely, an ''Intercept'' journalist who criticised the [[Kamala Harris]] campaign for attacking Donald Trump's criminal record.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejWuI488iP0 Some Lefties FURIOUS Trump Being Called ‘Convicted Felon’]</ref>

When in 2024 the United States and United Kingdom launched a series of missile strikes against Houthi militias in Yemen, Kulinski accused them of starting an illegal war with Yemen.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnb5euaB6Z8 BREAKING: US STARTS ILLEGAL WAR WITH YEMEN]</ref> However, this ignores several important facts. Most importantly, no war was forthcoming.{{Nofact}} Also important is the fact that the strikes were in response to repeated aggression by the Houthis, who for several months leading up to the strikes had been launching unprovoked and illegal<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-biden-retaliation-attacks-0804b93372cd5e874a0dd03513fe36a2 US, British militaries launch massive retaliatory strike against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen], Associated Press</ref> attacks on international shipping in the region, with the strikes being a direct response to multiple attacks on British and American naval vessels that were trying to protect shipping from the Houthis.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-uk-strike-yemen-to-retaliate-houthi-attacks/ U.S. and U.K. striking Houthi targets in Yemen to retaliate for spate of attacks], CBS News</ref> The fact that the Houthis were the aggressors in the situation means that the strikes were likely not illegal as they were in self-defense. Kulinski's phrasing of "war with Yemen" also implies that the attack was against the nation of Yemen, when in reality the Houthis are insurgents fighting against the internationally recognised government of Yemen, which held them solely to blame for the strikes.<ref>[https://english.news.cn/20240112/885ac2e4d52a4f2b9b56a7197ed86b98/c.html Yemeni gov't blames Houthis for "dragging country into confrontation"]</ref>

After the [[2024 US presidential election]], Kulinski agreed with a [[transphobic]] take by comedian and pundit {{wpl|Charlamagne Tha God}} that it's "okay to [[misgender]] {{wpl|Caitlyn Jenner}} because she supports Trump."<ref>[https://ghostarchive.org/archive/xZnnf Secular Talk on X (7:04 PM on November 11, 2024)]</ref>

==In jokes==
===Big Seltzer===
Kulinski has jokingly described himself as a sellout to the "big seltzer corporation". Their political motivations for buying him would as of yet be unknown but it would be widely accepted that his Ted Cruz impersonation would be at the behest of Big Seltzer.<ref>"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8U5wJA4Tgw Secular Talk Sells Out To Big Seltzer]]" 16 November 2016.</ref> In more recent years fans have "accused" him of abandoning Big Seltzer in favor of Big Vape, as he often vapes during his segments.

===No legs===
Due to the fact of the layout of his Secular Talk studio, where most of his videos are shot, it is a common joke in the comment section that Kyle has no legs. In videos posted prior to his appearances at Politicon, he is shown exiting a rental car and his legs are in fact seen as he walks around the car. Fans joke this is simply CGI, of course.

==See also==
* [[The Young Turks]]
*[[Hasan Piker]]; a similarly popular yet controversial leftist streamer.

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/SecularTalk/featured Secular Talk's YouTube channel] 
*[https://twitter.com/kylekulinski Secular Talk's Twitter] 
*[https://www.facebook.com/SecularTalk Secular Talk's Facebook]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulinski, Kyle}}

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Categories: Anti-war activists, Atheists, Criticism of Islam, GMO, Media, Left-wing activists, New York, Living people, Skeptics, YouTube, Political pundits, Social democrats, Secularism, Vatniks, JFK conspiracy theorists