# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=171 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 172 --- ## [Defining "White" - The US Census, The Amazigh, The Arabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defining-white-the-us-census-the-amazigh-the-arabs/742734)
**Author:** [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defining-white-the-us-census-the-amazigh-the-arabs/742734 "2016-01-13T08:26:45Z")
Up to this point, the United States Census has asked respondents to fill in their racial/ethnic identity every 10 years. The categories used for 2010 include White, Black, Asia, Pacific Islander, American Indian, “Other … --- ## [Obama Executive Actions on Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-executive-actions-on-guns/742260)
**Author:** [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Replies:** 201\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-executive-actions-on-guns/742260 "2016-01-13T02:57:59Z")
The White House released a fact sheet on the new executive actions here. These are not executive orders, but actions. My understanding is that these are not legally binding in the same way that executive orders would b… --- ## [Migrants to Europe skew heavily male - Canadian solution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/migrants-to-europe-skew-heavily-male-canadian-solution/742639)
**Author:** [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/migrants-to-europe-skew-heavily-male-canadian-solution/742639 "2016-01-12T15:09:32Z")
Interesting and concerning piece in Politico on the social problems & instability associated with gender imbalances in favour of males. A disproportionate number of migrants are young, unmarried, unaccompanied males. Th… --- ## [Fed interest rate hike!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fed-interest-rate-hike/740700)
**Author:** [@jerry\_smissingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerry_smissingfinger)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fed-interest-rate-hike/740700 "2016-01-12T01:56:07Z")
I was discussing with my colleges last week about the rare but impending rate hike that will occur before years end. While we all agreed on the rate hike most of us could not agree on why after 10 years the decision was… --- ## [Why do people attribute mass shootings to spoiled kids?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-attribute-mass-shootings-to-spoiled-kids/742521)
**Author:** [@GlowingDarkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GlowingDarkness)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-attribute-mass-shootings-to-spoiled-kids/742521 "2016-01-11T22:59:08Z")
I am not defending these shooters, Its obvious that they have major problems but It seems that a number of people consistently misunderstand why they commit these acts. If it is indeed overindulgence from their parents … --- ## [How did Microsoft squander their lead (that they apparently had) in smartphones?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-microsoft-squander-their-lead-that-they-apparently-had-in-smartphones/742532)
**Author:** [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-microsoft-squander-their-lead-that-they-apparently-had-in-smartphones/742532 "2016-01-11T22:12:24Z")
I always understood Microsoft’s failure to capture significant smartphone marketshare to be because they were late to the party. The iPhone came out in 2007, Android in 2008, and by the time Microsoft got their act toge… --- ## [What would happen to US interest rates if China had to liquidate a bunch of US bonds?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-us-interest-rates-if-china-had-to-liquidate-a-bunch-of-us-bonds/742829)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-us-interest-rates-if-china-had-to-liquidate-a-bunch-of-us-bonds/742829 "2016-01-11T21:13:01Z")
Apart from the market turmoil caused by China doing such a thing, could China flood the bond market to the point of saturation? If that happened, would it be a fart in the thunderstorm of market chaos that would follow … --- ## [How do people become so confused about the odds?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-become-so-confused-about-the-odds/742180)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-become-so-confused-about-the-odds/742180 "2016-01-11T18:06:50Z")
So after reading a thread recently about acting, and reading non-SDMB content about the music industry and professional sports, it strikes me that an absolutely tiny percentage of people achieve the pinnacle of these pro… --- ## [Could they legally charge cops with abuse of a corpse?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-legally-charge-cops-with-abuse-of-a-corpse/742704)
**Author:** [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-legally-charge-cops-with-abuse-of-a-corpse/742704 "2016-01-11T14:25:35Z")
I’ve a hypothetical: can they legally charge cops with abuse of a corpse? Hypothetical: a cop shoots some unarmed person 15 times and a pathologist determines the second shot was fatal. Could the law enforcement officer… --- ## [What If We Annexed All of Mexico](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-annexed-all-of-mexico/742478)
**Author:** [@bananamber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bananamber)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2016, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-annexed-all-of-mexico/742478 "2016-01-11T08:17:35Z")
Even though it was improbable, hypothetically if we annexed all of Mexico in the Mexican-American war would the US government, at that time, be able to actually control that much more territory? Secondly, if they were st… --- ## [Was the current conflict between the West and militant Islamic extremists inevitable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-current-conflict-between-the-west-and-militant-islamic-extremists-inevitable/739517)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-current-conflict-between-the-west-and-militant-islamic-extremists-inevitable/739517 "2016-01-10T15:43:52Z")
I have read in other speculative alternate history threads that the larger picture is not really driven by specific events. Things like WWII would have still happened without Hitler, WWI without Ferdinand’s assassinatio… --- ## [Why impose limits on passwords?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-impose-limits-on-passwords/742417)
**Author:** [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-impose-limits-on-passwords/742417 "2016-01-08T21:08:34Z")
Last night, I was trying to log into one of my accounts, but I could not manage to remember my password. I clicked on the “forgot password” link, got an email with a link to reset my password, where I attempted to creat… --- ## [Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran - what does it mean?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-severs-ties-with-iran-what-does-it-mean/742105)
**Author:** [@Chetumal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chetumal)\ **Replies:** 133\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-severs-ties-with-iran-what-does-it-mean/742105 "2016-01-08T19:43:32Z")
Is this ok, good, or really bad? I’ve read the news reports but can’t get a take on what this means for the region and/or the rest of the world. Can anyone explain this, using small words? --- ## [Is argument becoming impossible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-argument-becoming-impossible/741843)
**Author:** [@Helpful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helpful)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-argument-becoming-impossible/741843 "2016-01-08T17:47:22Z")
There is a growing trend in public argument that I, along with many other forum posters find aggravating. It irritates me to no end that I cannot have a decent argument without people becoming upset because they do not w… --- ## [Is morality ambiguous?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-morality-ambiguous/742074)
**Author:** [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-morality-ambiguous/742074 "2016-01-08T09:37:37Z")
Case study: What’s wrong with defining a reasonable construct like self-actualization and then acting, starting with the least self-actualized, to increase it for everyone? We will continue doing this until we reach the … --- ## [So whence do Sovereign Citizens come from, exactly ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whence-do-sovereign-citizens-come-from-exactly/742252)
**Author:** [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whence-do-sovereign-citizens-come-from-exactly/742252 "2016-01-08T00:53:59Z")
Not sure if this should be in GD or GQ, but since this thread is inspired by current events, and those always go down the tubes, I figured I might as well drop it here. Anyway, with the latest Bundy things, I’ve been wo… --- ## [Theoretical Justification for Nuclear Non-proliferation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretical-justification-for-nuclear-non-proliferation/742338)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [January 7, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretical-justification-for-nuclear-non-proliferation/742338 "2016-01-07T22:10:45Z")
I can understand why having nuclear weapons become more and more widespread is a Bad Thing for the world as a whole. That’s not the question. And I can also understand why a given country might find it in their interests… --- ## [What would happen to our economy if Christmas ceased to exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-our-economy-if-christmas-ceased-to-exist/740832)
**Author:** [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [January 7, 2016, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-to-our-economy-if-christmas-ceased-to-exist/740832 "2016-01-07T10:52:12Z")
I don’t know if there’s a debate here, I’m just curious. What if people just stopped all the rituals associated with Christmas? Yes, I’m aware that Christmas borrowed a lot of rituals, and I’m aware that you don’t have… --- ## [Let's talk about Political Correctness on American college campuses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-political-correctness-on-american-college-campuses/741251)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 133\ **Last updated:** [January 7, 2016, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-political-correctness-on-american-college-campuses/741251 "2016-01-07T01:46:49Z")
I’m an old fart who would be escorted off any decent college campus but I hear - mostly through Conservative news outlets but not exclusively - that college campuses are no longer a bastion of free thought. As I underst… --- ## [Why not simply close GITMO and simply release the inmates?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-simply-close-gitmo-and-simply-release-the-inmates/741616)
**Author:** [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [January 6, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-simply-close-gitmo-and-simply-release-the-inmates/741616 "2016-01-06T19:09:15Z")
These guys have been out of the loop for fifteen years. Presumably, we’ve already wrung all the intelligence that we can out of them. It seems that there are plenty of terrorists on the outside that are more dangerous. O… --- ## [Common sense reasonable gun laws](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-sense-reasonable-gun-laws/740275)
**Author:** [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Replies:** 364\ **Last updated:** [January 6, 2016, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-sense-reasonable-gun-laws/740275 "2016-01-06T07:00:51Z")
OK a few points of reference: I live in CA I am a gun owner and am not a huge fan of the idea of significant new gun legislation. However, I have little issue with the current state of CA law (the testing provisions t… --- ## [Will we ever get matter-replication technology? What social effects?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-get-matter-replication-technology-what-social-effects/448009)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-get-matter-replication-technology-what-social-effects/448009 "2016-01-05T21:46:32Z")
The kewlest black-box-technology in the Star Trek canon is not the transporter, the phaser, or even the warp drive. It’s the replicator! It makes anything! As presented, this has created a free society without want or… --- ## [Should we just de-brand Christmas as Yule?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-just-de-brand-christmas-as-yule/741281)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-just-de-brand-christmas-as-yule/741281 "2016-01-05T21:40:44Z")
I argued in this thread, as I’ve being doing for years IRL, that Christmas is already a secular holiday that I (an atheist) will pass down to my kids (hopefully atheists, but who knows). I believe that treating Christma… --- ## [President Obama's latest pardons. Are these really the most deserving?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-latest-pardons-are-these-really-the-most-deserving/740813)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obamas-latest-pardons-are-these-really-the-most-deserving/740813 "2016-01-05T16:12:16Z")
The 95 people pardoned. I’m seeing a whole lot of crack/meth dealers on that list. I’m puzzled: surely there are more deserving cases than the scum who deal in these lethal drugs? --- ## [National Net Worth and Post WW2 Presidencies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-net-worth-and-post-ww2-presidencies/741878)
**Author:** [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2016, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-net-worth-and-post-ww2-presidencies/741878 "2016-01-05T15:58:33Z")
I came across an article talking about the total net worth of the United States, coming to the conclusion that the US has a balance sheet $188 trillion. And in this article, the author made the following point which I fo… --- ## [Google Ordered to Remove 'Innocence of Muslims' From YouTube](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-ordered-to-remove-innocence-of-muslims-from-youtube/682420)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-ordered-to-remove-innocence-of-muslims-from-youtube/682420 "2016-01-05T15:30:49Z")
Title of the article (and this thread) sounds like a blatant 1st Amendment violation, but: Is there precedent to this type of copyright complaint? --- ## [Child soldiers in African wars](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-soldiers-in-african-wars/741938)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 5, 2016, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-soldiers-in-african-wars/741938 "2016-01-05T06:55:38Z")
The shooting of Tamir Rice made me think about a distantly related topic: Are or should child soldiers in combat (i.e., African war zones) be treated differently (in terms of shoot or don’t shoot) than adult soldiers? O… --- ## [Is it proper for a grand jury prosecutor to intend exculpation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-proper-for-a-grand-jury-prosecutor-to-intend-exculpation/741630)
**Author:** [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Replies:** 115\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-proper-for-a-grand-jury-prosecutor-to-intend-exculpation/741630 "2016-01-04T22:40:32Z")
(IANAL, so am unable to debate this question. I almost posted in GQ but thought GD more appropriate.) I’ve thought that the purpose of grand juries was to test the strength of evidence against a suspect. In the 1992 c… --- ## [You're the President; you have a great Cabinet; how do you do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-you-have-a-great-cabinet-how-do-you-do/741536)
**Author:** [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [January 4, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-the-president-you-have-a-great-cabinet-how-do-you-do/741536 "2016-01-04T01:10:12Z")
Don’t fight the hypothetical; it’s magic, or something. Anyhow, it’s, like, morning in America scant hours after Election Day, and you’re the new president-elect – and so you have maybe two-and-a-half months to get read… --- ## [What happens when Florida vanishes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024)
**Author:** [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [January 3, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024 "2016-01-03T22:13:49Z")
There’s a decent chance that global warming will eventually leave Florida (and maybe Louisiana and Delaware) entirely underwater. There’s no provision in the U.S. Constitution for a state ceasing to physically exist. H… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=170) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=172)