# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=139 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 140 --- ## [What is a "living wage?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-living-wage/775239)
**Author:** [@HumbleThinker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumbleThinker)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-living-wage/775239 "2016-12-22T20:43:03Z")
I hear a lot that some people believe their wage is not livable. I understand that this trivially means that they do not have enough money to pay for rent, food, child support, etc. But given that the cost of all of the… --- ## [Escaping the Boom and Bust Economy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escaping-the-boom-and-bust-economy/775369)
**Author:** [@HumbleThinker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumbleThinker)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/escaping-the-boom-and-bust-economy/775369 "2016-12-22T19:59:14Z")
To me at least, the boom and bust cyclical economy seems like more trouble than it’s worth. Yes it can create a huge amount of wealth for some, but it also creates many financial difficulties for previously financially s… --- ## [Good Things Accomplished By Republicans](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208)
**Author:** [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-things-accomplished-by-republicans/775208 "2016-12-22T19:49:19Z")
Title explains thread. Lincoln does not count. Nixon and China too easy. No sarcasm please. Well, okay, just keep it minimal. Let’s hear it. --- ## [Are voter ID policies (and their supporters) racist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-voter-id-policies-and-their-supporters-racist/772039)
**Author:** [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Replies:** 407\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-voter-id-policies-and-their-supporters-racist/772039 "2016-12-22T18:18:54Z")
This is a continuation of a discussion about voter ID laws, and whether the supporters of them are racist (determined to be a hijack over in A plea to Trump supporters). I think it’s an interesting discussion, so I want… --- ## [Is Jeff Sessions a racist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeff-sessions-a-racist/773948)
**Author:** [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Replies:** 239\ **Last updated:** [December 22, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeff-sessions-a-racist/773948 "2016-12-22T04:37:33Z")
I felt like this discussion was going to derail the Trump Cabinet thread, so I started a new topic on it. I hope that’s OK. The Left seems to believe that Trump is filling his Cabinet with racists. Most of the focus see… --- ## [Why evolution by 'random chance' can't exist without the supernatural](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-evolution-by-random-chance-cant-exist-without-the-supernatural/774727)
**Author:** [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\ **Replies:** 113\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-evolution-by-random-chance-cant-exist-without-the-supernatural/774727 "2016-12-21T21:00:33Z")
The notion of evolution by “random chance” actually refutes atheistic materialism, and I’ll easily explain why: If nothing but the physical universe exists, and therefore in essence the universe is one giant machine, t… --- ## [So did the madman theory work for Nixon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-the-madman-theory-work-for-nixon/775299)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-the-madman-theory-work-for-nixon/775299 "2016-12-21T17:22:14Z")
Apparently Nixon is the President that Trump most admires and he has spoken to his aides about adopting Nixon’s madman theory. Let your enemies think that you’re a crazy son of a bitch and capable of anything. Nixon used… --- ## [Pearl Harbor attack - was it Japan's wisest course of action?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearl-harbor-attack-was-it-japans-wisest-course-of-action/774187)
**Author:** [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Replies:** 141\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearl-harbor-attack-was-it-japans-wisest-course-of-action/774187 "2016-12-21T00:30:28Z")
The attack killed ~2400 servicemen and damaged or sank all eight of our battleships anchored at Pearl Harbor. It shocked America. Legend has it that Japanese Admiral Yamamoto said “I fear all we have done is to awaken … --- ## [Would a Russian invastion of the Baltics spark WW3?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-russian-invastion-of-the-baltics-spark-ww3/774747)
**Author:** [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-russian-invastion-of-the-baltics-spark-ww3/774747 "2016-12-20T22:30:27Z")
If Putin decided to “liberate” the Russian inhabitants of the Baltic states by forcibly annexing them to Russia, would it force NATO to go to war against nuclear-armed Russia since the Baltic states are part of NATO now? … --- ## [Should we encourage nuclear proliferation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-encourage-nuclear-proliferation/774948)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-encourage-nuclear-proliferation/774948 "2016-12-20T20:34:08Z")
No, not weapons but reactors. All those power plants spewing pollutants and CO2. Nuclear energy is cleaner and safer. We use nuclear reactors in submarines and aircraft carriers, so why not civilian vessels? --- ## [Are there better ways for the government to create jobs than military contracts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-better-ways-for-the-government-to-create-jobs-than-military-contracts/775037)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-better-ways-for-the-government-to-create-jobs-than-military-contracts/775037 "2016-12-20T13:31:27Z")
I just saw a news story about how many jobs the F-35 program has created. The F-35 has been a ridiculous boondoggle since day one. FDR put people to work building things like the Hoover Dam. Why can’t we do that today… --- ## [Destruction of, say, NYC, by nuclear missiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destruction-of-say-nyc-by-nuclear-missiles/774618)
**Author:** [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destruction-of-say-nyc-by-nuclear-missiles/774618 "2016-12-20T02:25:37Z")
This would be a world disaster, wouldn’t it? Every nation except maybe North Korea knows this, correct? It will never happen, even under the very very worst of circumstances short of NK getting serious intercontinental… --- ## [The United States and the Scandinavian Utopia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-and-the-scandinavian-utopia/774067)
**Author:** [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-and-the-scandinavian-utopia/774067 "2016-12-19T20:50:32Z")
Conservatives argue that it’s not viable to implement the type of Scandinavian Utopia of welfare capitalism and social democracy in the United States due to population size and diversity. Is this a valid statement? --- ## [Did the FBI go too far in ensnaring pedophiles?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-fbi-go-too-far-in-ensnaring-pedophiles/774691)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-fbi-go-too-far-in-ensnaring-pedophiles/774691 "2016-12-19T20:41:05Z")
Last year the FBI took over a child porn website on the dark web and exploited a weakness in the Tor browser to track the people who were downloading the porn. But in this year’s trial Judge Robert Bryan criticized the a… --- ## [Should alcohol rehab disqualify someone from owning a gun?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-alcohol-rehab-disqualify-someone-from-owning-a-gun/775006)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-alcohol-rehab-disqualify-someone-from-owning-a-gun/775006 "2016-12-19T19:54:10Z")
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.sunjournal.com/news/oxford-hills/0001/11/30/police-say-minister-shot-daughter-hebron-murder-suicide/2042832&ved=0ahUKEwjl-ce2u\_zQAhVj0YMKHVP2AtgQqQIIGigBMAA&… --- ## [Drug Legalization: Beyond Marijuana?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drug-legalization-beyond-marijuana/775020)
**Author:** [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drug-legalization-beyond-marijuana/775020 "2016-12-18T20:11:17Z")
So, recreational marijuana did very well in this year’s elections; there are now eight states (including California) where marijuana is fully legal, and a bunch of others where medical marijuana is legal and/or recreati… --- ## [China Controls Taiwan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-controls-taiwan/774654)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 101\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2016, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-controls-taiwan/774654 "2016-12-18T07:07:35Z")
On the CBS Morning Show this morning, they ran a story on how Trump really pissed off the leadership of Red China by talking directly to the leadership of Taiwan without going through proper channels (i.e., going to thos… --- ## [Legal marijuana and Wickard vs Filburn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-marijuana-and-wickard-vs-filburn/774232)
**Author:** [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-marijuana-and-wickard-vs-filburn/774232 "2016-12-17T03:05:25Z")
\[Note: I don’t use mj, but I’m fascinated by its legalization process. Don’t know why, it’s just something I got interested in.\] Jeff Sessions will soon be our next Attorney General, and since he’s on the record as bein… --- ## [Why evolution empirically proves creation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-evolution-empirically-proves-creation/774898)
**Author:** [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-evolution-empirically-proves-creation/774898 "2016-12-17T02:09:11Z")
I’d say despite the ‘creation vs evolution’ debates, in reality evolution proves creation, not just logically, but empirically. So if anything evolution should be the atheists’ nightmare, not Ray Comfort’s banana. Here’s… --- ## [Presidential libel/slander](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-libel-slander/774631)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-libel-slander/774631 "2016-12-17T00:45:00Z")
Is there any recourse(and should there be) to Trump’s badmouthing of businesses and/or people through tweets? First, there was his tweeting about Boeing’s AF1 contract, which lowered their stock prices, then recently he… --- ## [What happens if a condemned prisoner kills someone on the way to execution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-condemned-prisoner-kills-someone-on-the-way-to-execution/774001)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-a-condemned-prisoner-kills-someone-on-the-way-to-execution/774001 "2016-12-16T22:23:40Z")
I recently saw The Green Mile again (great film, BTW) and it got me thinking about capital punishment in the US. What would happen if a condemned prisoner, on their way to execution, somehow managed to get a gun or a ba… --- ## [Is society’s attitude towards crime irrational?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-society-s-attitude-towards-crime-irrational/772730)
**Author:** [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-society-s-attitude-towards-crime-irrational/772730 "2016-12-16T16:33:34Z")
It seems that criminology is one of these topics when discussed is the breeding pot for logical fallacies. I may not be the most rational person but when it comes to discussions I find it’s better to read up on the issue… --- ## [Trump calls Pakistan, Taiwan and other world leaders to chat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-calls-pakistan-taiwan-and-other-world-leaders-to-chat/773693)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 123\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-calls-pakistan-taiwan-and-other-world-leaders-to-chat/773693 "2016-12-16T05:06:03Z")
Question: is this a good thing or a bad thing? Pro: Diplomacy is a stuffy business full of useless protocol, and better world relations would ensue if leaders could just meet on common ground and talk informally without… --- ## [The Sum of All Fears in real life (the book, not the movie)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sum-of-all-fears-in-real-life-the-book-not-the-movie/774664)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sum-of-all-fears-in-real-life-the-book-not-the-movie/774664 "2016-12-16T04:21:38Z")
To add to a couple of nuke-related threads started by others in Great Debates, I wanted to discuss how \*The Sum of All Fears \*might play out in real life (the book, not the movie, because the movie goes into all sorts of… --- ## [Things that are right or wrong without a logical explanation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-right-or-wrong-without-a-logical-explanation/774635)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-right-or-wrong-without-a-logical-explanation/774635 "2016-12-16T02:30:49Z")
Almost everything that is right or wrong can be rationalized by putting forth a practical or logical support for it - “Murder is wrong because it creates a society in which people are fearful and paranoid for their own s… --- ## [Is 'post-truth' an attempt to excuse laziness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-post-truth-an-attempt-to-excuse-laziness/774425)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-post-truth-an-attempt-to-excuse-laziness/774425 "2016-12-16T01:07:22Z")
Fake news is in the news at the moment, primarily IMHO because the candidate for POTUS that the press didn’t like won. But fake news has been around forever - call it gossip, propaganda, rumour, whatever - and we’ve had … --- ## [What would be the actual effects of abolishing the minimum wage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-actual-effects-of-abolishing-the-minimum-wage/774234)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 136\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-actual-effects-of-abolishing-the-minimum-wage/774234 "2016-12-15T17:55:49Z")
Inspired by recent discussion in government. I mean, there is a point under which wages cannot go for fear of the workers deciding en masse that it’s not worth their time to make that little. But what is that point? Can… --- ## [What's happening to Venezuela?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-to-venezuela/757883)
**Author:** [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-happening-to-venezuela/757883 "2016-12-15T16:51:31Z")
Ten years ago it was at the forefront of the Chavista ‘Bolivarian’ Revolution, however, since he’s died, I’ve heard of how Caracas is the most violent city in South America, there’s endless shortages and endemic corrupti… --- ## [Let's talk about the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Protests](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dakota-access-pipeline-and-the-protests/772907)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 186\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-dakota-access-pipeline-and-the-protests/772907 "2016-12-15T13:09:50Z")
There is a lot of debate about the Dakota Access Pipeline. It has reached from social media to the office of the President. My Facebook feed is filled with stories about peaceful Native American protesters being attacke… --- ## [How likely is war between Major Powers in the next few years?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-war-between-major-powers-in-the-next-few-years/774539)
**Author:** [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-war-between-major-powers-in-the-next-few-years/774539 "2016-12-15T02:52:01Z")
I have always rubbished claims that wars were imminent between NATO and Russia, or a conflagration flaring up in the South China Sea, but my faith in war being an impossibility is beginning to be pierced by doubts, there… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=138) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=140)