# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=180 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 181 --- ## [Is the Donald right to get riled up about our balance of trade with China and Mexico?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-donald-right-to-get-riled-up-about-our-balance-of-trade-with-china-and-mexico/733154)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-donald-right-to-get-riled-up-about-our-balance-of-trade-with-china-and-mexico/733154 "2015-10-23T21:22:35Z")
Given that just about everything else he says is a lot of bullshit, I am inclined to write this off as more of the same. That said, I would like to understand the concerns of a trade deficit. I know part of the deficit… --- ## [WW2 starts out with nuclear weapons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-starts-out-with-nuclear-weapons/735221)
**Author:** [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ww2-starts-out-with-nuclear-weapons/735221 "2015-10-23T15:03:34Z")
What if nuclear weapons were already established technology by 1939, and all the major antagonists were nuclear armed? Forget M.A.D., war breaks out, what happens next ? --- ## [ISIS, who be they, where do their funds come from?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-who-be-they-where-do-their-funds-come-from/735496)
**Author:** [@tooldtocare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tooldtocare)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-who-be-they-where-do-their-funds-come-from/735496 "2015-10-23T01:24:57Z")
UN Report Reveals How Israel is Coordinating with ISIS Militants Inside Syria 21WIRE reported back in December 2014 and again in January 2015, how the \*\*State of Israel has consistently provided both material, medical r… --- ## [Himmler's Posen speech - what was his thinking?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/himmlers-posen-speech-what-was-his-thinking/734208)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/himmlers-posen-speech-what-was-his-thinking/734208 "2015-10-23T01:08:47Z")
In the first week of October 1943, Heinrich Himmler gave two speeches in the Polish city of Posen in which he acknowledged explicitly “the extermination of the Jewish people”. What I find most remarkable about them is no… --- ## [Optimal ticket on all levels is WHITE](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-ticket-on-all-levels-is-white/735439)
**Author:** [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optimal-ticket-on-all-levels-is-white/735439 "2015-10-22T16:56:30Z")
Message from Stoneburgs EGO WHITE TICKET FOR AMERICA!!! optimal ticket at GREEN and ORANGE level is actually WHITE, believe it or not. THIS IS THE STRAIGHT DOPE; AS CALLED FOR. 0 = YAY!!! 2 = RED 3 = BLUE time GRE… --- ## [Trans HS students - access to locker rooms](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trans-hs-students-access-to-locker-rooms/734540)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 277\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trans-hs-students-access-to-locker-rooms/734540 "2015-10-22T00:21:00Z")
Read this article in the paper this a.m. I had never really thought about this issue before, and thought I’d post a thread, hoping you could help me think through it. Apparently this HS student identifies as a female, … --- ## [Isn’t the USA socialist in character with a capitalist personality?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-usa-socialist-in-character-with-a-capitalist-personality/734725)
**Author:** [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isn-t-the-usa-socialist-in-character-with-a-capitalist-personality/734725 "2015-10-20T23:12:20Z")
Medicare and now the ACA, public school education, police/military/Homeland/NSA/etc, huge farming subsidies: so, health, education, food, personal and national safety – isn’t the basic framework of the nation socialist i… --- ## [What media is the mainstream media? Are they really liberal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-media-is-the-mainstream-media-are-they-really-liberal/734165)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-media-is-the-mainstream-media-are-they-really-liberal/734165 "2015-10-20T22:12:49Z")
It seems to me that a lot of conservatives in the USA have the belief that the mainstream media is biased against Republicans and conservatives or biased for Democrats and liberals. Which media it is exactly that is cons… --- ## [What could be done with a 10% tax increase on the very wealthy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-be-done-with-a-10-tax-increase-on-the-very-wealthy/734716)
**Author:** [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-be-done-with-a-10-tax-increase-on-the-very-wealthy/734716 "2015-10-20T20:18:51Z")
CEO Jamie Dimon seems to be ok with paying higher taxes. From the interview: “If you said to me, ‘Would you pay 10% more?’ I would have no problem with that,” he said." So, I’d like to talk about what a 10% hike wou… --- ## [Is Obama right to delay US withdrawal from Afghanistan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-obama-right-to-delay-us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/735001)
**Author:** [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-obama-right-to-delay-us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/735001 "2015-10-20T15:26:50Z")
Last week the Obama administration announced plans to prolong US military involvement in Afghanistan, citing the fragile security situation. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/16/us-afghanistan-usa-idUSKCN0S910M2015… --- ## [Whistleblower releases documents on America's drone campaign](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-releases-documents-on-americas-drone-campaign/734731)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-releases-documents-on-americas-drone-campaign/734731 "2015-10-20T10:45:20Z")
Strange as it may seem, there was a time when a lot of people cared about the American government’s drone warfare in the Middle East. Not so long ago, round about 2010-13, the military and the CIA were using drones to k… --- ## [Richard Dawkins says American religion holds back science](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-dawkins-says-american-religion-holds-back-science/733595)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 215\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-dawkins-says-american-religion-holds-back-science/733595 "2015-10-19T21:02:12Z")
This was a piece by Richard Dawkins: "Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, said it was a wonder "that America is the leading scientific nation despite having this incub… --- ## [What strategy motivates prescription insurance companies to limit how many pills you can get?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strategy-motivates-prescription-insurance-companies-to-limit-how-many-pills-you-can-get/734646)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-strategy-motivates-prescription-insurance-companies-to-limit-how-many-pills-you-can-get/734646 "2015-10-19T15:27:00Z")
My prescription insurance company also has their own in-house pharmacy. If I have my local druggist fill a scrip, he isn’t allowed to give me all the pills my doctor prescribed, he only gives me a third of them. This is … --- ## [Specifically, The Deleterious Effects of Illegal Immigrants on the US](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/specifically-the-deleterious-effects-of-illegal-immigrants-on-the-us/734151)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/specifically-the-deleterious-effects-of-illegal-immigrants-on-the-us/734151 "2015-10-19T13:00:02Z")
What exactly are they? Aside from Trump’s rampant raping fantasy, what is the greatest harm done by having a large number of illegal aliens in the country? Stealing jobs? Sucking up welfare money? Spreading disease? What… --- ## [What if Ayad Allawi became Iraq's Prime Minister in 2010?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-ayad-allawi-became-iraqs-prime-minister-in-2010/734244)
**Author:** [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-ayad-allawi-became-iraqs-prime-minister-in-2010/734244 "2015-10-18T11:59:54Z")
What if Ayad Allawi, rather than Nouri Al-Maliki, became Iraq’s Prime Minsiter in 2010? (For what it’s worth, a good way to make this occur might be to make Iraqiyya’s “victory” in 2010 more impressive than it was in rea… --- ## [Do Americans feel anything about big American brands like 711 or Columbia Picture owned by Japan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-feel-anything-about-big-american-brands-like-711-or-columbia-picture-owned-by-japan/734914)
**Author:** [@northporlarbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/northporlarbear)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-feel-anything-about-big-american-brands-like-711-or-columbia-picture-owned-by-japan/734914 "2015-10-18T03:27:53Z")
Do Americans feel anything about big American brands like 711 or Columbia Picture owned by Japan? I was just watching Zombieland on cable TV. Columbia Picture has a historical value in USA. It goes way back. The same fo… --- ## [Food desert map - fairly absurd](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-desert-map-fairly-absurd/734074)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-desert-map-fairly-absurd/734074 "2015-10-17T20:20:15Z")
So I was looking at a Houston Chronicle article about maps that described Houston, and there was one describing food deserts. I looked at the one near my house, and it’s absurd, at least by the standards and geography… --- ## [How many human races are there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-human-races-are-there/732359)
**Author:** [@Cracked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cracked)\ **Replies:** 229\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2015, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-human-races-are-there/732359 "2015-10-17T08:09:17Z")
Racism has been in the forefront of the media lately. Which leads the general populace to see the different between those of different color and ethnic backgrounds. Those differences are judged on a public scale used to … --- ## [Should African Americans resist arrest or cooperate fully with police?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-african-americans-resist-arrest-or-cooperate-fully-with-police/734760)
**Author:** [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2015, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-african-americans-resist-arrest-or-cooperate-fully-with-police/734760 "2015-10-17T04:45:00Z")
Should African Americans resist arrest or cooperate fully with police? According to this article, a young African American, Jason Goolsby age 18, was outside a bank waiting for the ATM and a white woman felt threatened… --- ## [Reparations Revisited](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reparations-revisited/681969)
**Author:** [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Replies:** 234\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reparations-revisited/681969 "2015-10-16T19:55:05Z")
Overall, blacks have been quite patient in waiting for the United States to get its act together. The U.S failed to reintegrate blacks into society during Reconstruction and it failed to thwart state-legislated Jim Cro… --- ## [Compatible medical donor and moral obligation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compatible-medical-donor-and-moral-obligation/733771)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compatible-medical-donor-and-moral-obligation/733771 "2015-10-16T12:40:03Z")
Suppose that someone in the world will die without a medical donation, and you are the only person, out of 7 billion people in the world, who is compatible. For hypothetical’s sake, let’s say it’s a fictional disease th… --- ## [Why On Earth Is Richard Wershe Still In Prison?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-is-richard-wershe-still-in-prison/729892)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 4, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-is-richard-wershe-still-in-prison/729892 "2015-09-04T19:02:28Z")
I literally racked my brain, trying to figure out where this one should go. I think GD is the right place. But if I am wrong, please tell me. I would like to know the reason (BTW, it seemed too intense for MPSIMS and IMH… --- ## [Are double standards ever necessary/justified?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-double-standards-ever-necessary-justified/734497)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-double-standards-ever-necessary-justified/734497 "2015-10-15T21:05:26Z")
Writing out a list of “acceptable” double standards in society might miss the forest for the trees, but are there any double standards in society, the workplace, relationships or the world which you think are necessary, … --- ## [P.G. Wodehouse, Nazi sympathizer/collaborationist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-g-wodehouse-nazi-sympathizer-collaborationist/334726)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2015, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-g-wodehouse-nazi-sympathizer-collaborationist/334726 "2015-10-15T10:28:36Z")
Wodehouse was living in France when the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled through, and was captured and interned for over a year. In 1941, he made several apolitical, humorous broadcasts over German radio, and was released not lon… --- ## [How School Shootings Catch On](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-school-shootings-catch-on/734647)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-school-shootings-catch-on/734647 "2015-10-14T21:21:55Z")
Thread title is the tagline of an article in the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell that’s currently making the rounds. The final paragraph summarizes the argument put forth, but it requires further explanation: The argum… --- ## [CA SB 707 - Prohibits CCW Firearms on School Grounds](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-sb-707-prohibits-ccw-firearms-on-school-grounds/734480)
**Author:** [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-sb-707-prohibits-ccw-firearms-on-school-grounds/734480 "2015-10-14T21:01:22Z")
Two days ago Governor Brown signed SB 707. SB 707 prohibits people who have been issued a license for a concealed weapon (CCW) from carrying on school grounds in CA. Previously a person with a CCW could carry on school… --- ## [Is the univers God's bathwater ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-univers-gods-bathwater/734524)
**Author:** [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-univers-gods-bathwater/734524 "2015-10-14T20:03:52Z")
The ‘Big Bang’ was the tap being turned on. Our Universe is a larger version of a long soak. Is the universe spinning ? http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/46688 Are we the scum on god’s bath, spiraling down th… --- ## [How close to Nazism is US , really ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-to-nazism-is-us-really/734483)
**Author:** [@Alkash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alkash)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-to-nazism-is-us-really/734483 "2015-10-14T18:35:07Z")
Inspired by How close to fascism is Russia, really ? thread, where, as \*\*Ravenman \*\* correctly pointed out there were only 18 anti-Semitic incidents in Russia in one year, while the same number in the US was a stunning… --- ## [Is Shaun King (Daily Kos writer & Black Lives Matter activist) really white?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271)
**Author:** [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Replies:** 716\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shaun-king-daily-kos-writer-black-lives-matter-activist-really-white/728271 "2015-10-13T21:25:44Z")
Is this another case like Rachel Dolezal? He has claimed to be bi-racial (white mother and black father), but from the link (albeit Breitbart) there are accusations that his father is actually white. If his claims ar… --- ## [Why did Tunisia transition peacefully in the wake of the Arab Spring?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-tunisia-transition-peacefully-in-the-wake-of-the-arab-spring/734070)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-tunisia-transition-peacefully-in-the-wake-of-the-arab-spring/734070 "2015-10-13T20:19:40Z")
In contrast to the bloodshed experienced by Egypt, Libya and Syria, Tunisia has undergone a fairly peaceful transition since the Arab Spring. Why is this? If I had to guess, I would say that it’s because Tunisia was mo… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=179) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=181)