# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=157 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 158 --- ## [Administration adjusts overtime rules](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administration-adjusts-overtime-rules/755106)
**Author:** [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/administration-adjusts-overtime-rules/755106 "2016-05-23T08:56:10Z")
The new income threshold is $47K or so. While I’m never a fan of increasing the cost of labor, this is an area where businesses have just been exploitative, putting people on salary who they expect to be at their beck … --- ## [What is the reason that human beings can be "sheeple"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-that-human-beings-can-be-sheeple/754675)
**Author:** [@GlowingDarkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GlowingDarkness)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-reason-that-human-beings-can-be-sheeple/754675 "2016-05-22T21:38:41Z")
Following something is not bad in all cases. But it seems that a good number of people will follow religions, parenting styles, social norms, life attitudes, gender identities, etc that the majority of people follow wi… --- ## [A Quote about Transgenderism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quote-about-transgenderism/755299)
**Author:** [@TheKingofDanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheKingofDanger)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quote-about-transgenderism/755299 "2016-05-22T13:00:01Z")
Can you guys analyse and refute this: \[followed by a repost of the following: http://forums.philosophyforums.com/threads/a-quote-about-transgenderism-75928.html without an actual link to what may by the original Can Y… --- ## [Was our modern society "destined" from the beginning of humans (homo sapiens)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-our-modern-society-destined-from-the-beginning-of-humans-homo-sapiens/755292)
**Author:** [@GlowingDarkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GlowingDarkness)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2016, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-our-modern-society-destined-from-the-beginning-of-humans-homo-sapiens/755292 "2016-05-22T11:06:58Z")
I don’t mean destined in the sense that there was some sort of universal force influencing/manipulating human events but did our evolving of intelligence guarantee a society like this or was there some luck involved? Th… --- ## [Uri Geller and spoons?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-geller-and-spoons/754892)
**Author:** [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)\ **Replies:** 114\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2016, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-geller-and-spoons/754892 "2016-05-22T06:38:55Z")
I just finished watching An Honest Liar, recommend it, about The Amazing Randi. Of course portions of it focused on his debunking Uri Geller repeatedly but I kept wondering why people asked Geller to bend a spoon to ‘pro… --- ## [What sexual acts between consenting adults should be illegal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sexual-acts-between-consenting-adults-should-be-illegal/754731)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sexual-acts-between-consenting-adults-should-be-illegal/754731 "2016-05-20T16:54:25Z")
In discussions of sexual politics, many people will often express an opinion to the effect of, “If sex is between consenting adults, then it’s nobody else’s business.” This has often been used in defense of LGBT sex, etc… --- ## [Why did most pre-colonial nations of sub-Saharan Africa have no written language?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-most-pre-colonial-nations-of-sub-saharan-africa-have-no-written-language/253407)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2016, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-most-pre-colonial-nations-of-sub-saharan-africa-have-no-written-language/253407 "2016-05-20T11:27:12Z")
Afrocentrists to the contrary, before Africa was colonized by Europeans, most African nations south of the Sahara had no system of writing, the sole exception being Ethiopia, which had and has a homegrown syllabary syste… --- ## [Hastert sentenced to 15 months - fair?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hastert-sentenced-to-15-months-fair/753331)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hastert-sentenced-to-15-months-fair/753331 "2016-05-20T03:47:41Z")
Ex Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months incarceration. As you may know, he was convicted of illegaly moving money to pay hush money to buy the silence of a man he had sexually molested decades … --- ## [The first "\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_" President](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-_________-president/754534)
**Author:** [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-_________-president/754534 "2016-05-19T19:57:52Z")
This might be more of an IMHO, but…it seems that in 2016, we will elect either the first woman President, the first Jewish President, or the first openly egomaniacal boorish crude quasi-Fascist blowhard President. Since… --- ## [Is there a "Deep State" controlling U.S. foreign policy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-deep-state-controlling-u-s-foreign-policy/745859)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-deep-state-controlling-u-s-foreign-policy/745859 "2016-05-19T17:45:02Z")
The term “Deep State” has sometimes been used to mean a shadow government within the Turkish government, but lately some pundits have been applying the term to the U.S., to mean . . . something slightly different dependi… --- ## [Justifying atrocities in the name of saving lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justifying-atrocities-in-the-name-of-saving-lives/754962)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justifying-atrocities-in-the-name-of-saving-lives/754962 "2016-05-19T14:07:40Z")
One of the most commonly arguments cited in defense of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings is that “It saved many lives because far fewer people died in the A-bombings than would have died in Operation Downfall, t… --- ## [Shoulld the UK Exit the European Union? Should English-Speaking Countries Unite?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoulld-the-uk-exit-the-european-union-should-english-speaking-countries-unite/747070)
**Author:** [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)\ **Replies:** 147\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoulld-the-uk-exit-the-european-union-should-english-speaking-countries-unite/747070 "2016-05-19T07:14:56Z")
‘Brexit of Champions’: How Britain May Trigger A Political Earthquake In this wonderful article, Seth Lipsky quotes the American Spectator for the phrase Brexit of Champions (link). On June 23, 2016 Britain votes on Br… --- ## [Why is bigamy illegal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bigamy-illegal/654222)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 90\ **Last updated:** [May 19, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bigamy-illegal/654222 "2016-05-19T03:44:05Z")
As I read summaries of some early cases, i.e. Reynolds v. US and the anti-bigamy law passed by Lincoln, I find that I cannot see the rationale in them, beyond an attempt to limit some Mormon actions. One might see that … --- ## [Does acupuncture really work? If so, how?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-acupuncture-really-work-if-so-how/289704)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-acupuncture-really-work-if-so-how/289704 "2016-05-18T23:32:36Z")
The theory of Chinese acupuncture is based on a purported life-force called “chi” or “qi.” The needles, inserted into certain “channels,” are supposed to adjust the flow of qi through the body. http://en.wikipedia.org/… --- ## [Fake Jews - GOALS: Suggested vs Official typology: Hitler vs Rothschild](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-jews-goals-suggested-vs-official-typology-hitler-vs-rothschild/755113)
**Author:** [@Kyoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyoon)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-jews-goals-suggested-vs-official-typology-hitler-vs-rothschild/755113 "2016-05-18T19:54:04Z")
Fake Jews: GOALS - Suggested vs Official types: Hitler vs Rothschilds Creating fake Jews - Goals: Divert from the fact that “extermination of the Jews” is one of the commandments of the illuminati religion. Divert fro… --- ## [If Utah make polygamy legal.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-utah-make-polygamy-legal/754631)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2016, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-utah-make-polygamy-legal/754631 "2016-05-18T12:58:59Z")
Utah was denied admission as a state until it outlawed polygamy and in fact the Edmunds Act makes polygamy a Federal crime. Given the state of affairs that SSM is now legal in all 50 states and federally, what would hap… --- ## [Any non-Christian religions had non-private origins?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-christian-religions-had-non-private-origins/754973)
**Author:** [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2016, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-non-christian-religions-had-non-private-origins/754973 "2016-05-18T10:38:00Z")
I was wondering what people think about the first part of this - are there any non-Christian religions that have a public origin? I’m not so interested in nit-picking about the later parts of this. https://www.facebook.… --- ## [How can we know if a racist changed and how long is the statute of limitations for a racist past?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-know-if-a-racist-changed-and-how-long-is-the-statute-of-limitations-for-a-racist-past/754714)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-know-if-a-racist-changed-and-how-long-is-the-statute-of-limitations-for-a-racist-past/754714 "2016-05-17T17:06:43Z")
There’s a larger debate to be had, namely the ethics of social media policing, but I don’t want to have that debate. Instead, let’s look at a specific incident where something was uncovered. Eater.com is a popular food … --- ## [Appeals court lifts ban on Sherriff Arpaio's workplace raids](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appeals-court-lifts-ban-on-sherriff-arpaios-workplace-raids/754056)
**Author:** [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2016, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appeals-court-lifts-ban-on-sherriff-arpaios-workplace-raids/754056 "2016-05-17T07:44:23Z")
Yep. While immigration is a federal prerogative, identity theft falls well under state and local jurisdiction. --- ## [When does terrorism become an act of war, instead of a crime?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-terrorism-become-an-act-of-war-instead-of-a-crime/754389)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-terrorism-become-an-act-of-war-instead-of-a-crime/754389 "2016-05-17T03:55:54Z")
I was debating with my friends last night if the 9/11 should have been treated as a crime instead of an act of war. Timothy Mcveigh attacked the federal government, but he was arrested and tried in a civilian court. T… --- ## [Could the US survive the loss of the power grid for 18 months?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-us-survive-the-loss-of-the-power-grid-for-18-months/754566)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 127\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-us-survive-the-loss-of-the-power-grid-for-18-months/754566 "2016-05-17T00:42:19Z")
We had a blackout in my neighborhood yesterday and it got me to thinking about a report in the media that stated that if terrorist simultaneously hit a small number of key substations on a hot summer day, it would knock … --- ## [Distinguishing between an artist's deeds and misdeeds](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-between-an-artists-deeds-and-misdeeds/754851)
**Author:** [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-between-an-artists-deeds-and-misdeeds/754851 "2016-05-16T22:33:51Z")
Thinking of two in particular - Roman Polanksi and Woody Allen - fantastic filmmakers, (the former - one of my alltime faves). I’m at total loggerheads with coming to terms with the unforgivably reprehensible shit they … --- ## [Education for future middle class jobs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/education-for-future-middle-class-jobs/754847)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/education-for-future-middle-class-jobs/754847 "2016-05-16T22:01:35Z")
As discussed in several previous threads there is in progress a relative hollowing out of the middle in America. This thread is specifically NOT addressing the dramatic concentration of wealth by the top 0.1 or even top … --- ## [Climate change: children taking legal action because adults are complacent](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-children-taking-legal-action-because-adults-are-complacent/753657)
**Author:** [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Replies:** 83\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-children-taking-legal-action-because-adults-are-complacent/753657 "2016-05-16T15:18:03Z")
For me, climate change will most likely be of little consequence, playing out past my tenure on this here wetrock. But young people – too young to vote – have been taking action, through the courts. And they have had a m… --- ## [Artificial Intelligence and evolution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-intelligence-and-evolution/754125)
**Author:** [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2016, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/artificial-intelligence-and-evolution/754125 "2016-05-16T08:33:51Z")
There isn’t a single organism in history which can correctly claim “I am the first human.” All we see looking backward are things that become less and less human-like the further back we go, on a kind of spectrum with no… --- ## [Why Aren't There Franchise Law Firms?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-franchise-law-firms/275874)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-there-franchise-law-firms/275874 "2016-05-16T01:01:21Z")
Franchisng has worked very well for a lot of businesses…take McDonalds…it is now a multi-billion $ corporation. You can walk into a Mickyd’s in Beijing, Moscow, Paris, etc., and be assured of getting the same crappy mea… --- ## [if hillary wins and obama pardons her over her baggage ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hillary-wins-and-obama-pardons-her-over-her-baggage/754204)
**Author:** [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-hillary-wins-and-obama-pardons-her-over-her-baggage/754204 "2016-05-16T00:57:05Z")
Someone pointed it out to me that if Hillary wins the election pres Obama might just pardon her for anything that happened while she was sec of state so she dosent get hassled after becoming pres And he dosent look bad … --- ## [Profitability of slavery vs. sharecropping](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profitability-of-slavery-vs-sharecropping/754213)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [May 16, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/profitability-of-slavery-vs-sharecropping/754213 "2016-05-16T00:47:14Z")
After the American Civil War, once it was no longer possible to own chattel slaves the south had to work out a new system of raising cotton. The northern idea that the freed slaves would become hired laborers turned out … --- ## [New Pew Poll Shows Middle Class Disappearing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pew-poll-shows-middle-class-disappearing/754645)
**Author:** [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pew-poll-shows-middle-class-disappearing/754645 "2016-05-15T17:30:28Z")
A new poll by Pew shows thatthe middle class is declining faster and farther than previously thought (it’s kind of like global warning in that respect). A majority of Americans no longer are part of the middle class. Th… --- ## [The fate of Kaliningrad in a Russia vs. Baltic states war](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fate-of-kaliningrad-in-a-russia-vs-baltic-states-war/754732)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [May 15, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fate-of-kaliningrad-in-a-russia-vs-baltic-states-war/754732 "2016-05-15T16:07:37Z")
The tiny \*oblast \*of Kaliningrad seems to be in an inconvenient position for the Russians and NATO alike in the event of a war. I got to thinking about what would happen if Russia decided to conquer the NATO Baltic stat… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=156) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=158)