# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=228 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 229 --- ## [Old Drugs in New America (Opium Wars 2.0)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-drugs-in-new-america-opium-wars-2-0/691043)
**Author:** [@independentDemocrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/independentDemocrat)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-drugs-in-new-america-opium-wars-2-0/691043 "2014-06-19T03:29:18Z")
Do you like Drugs n dope? Well, we’re America and we got plenty! Merica! Everyone in America is on some sort of pill nowadays but, in the case of opiate addiction it is now hitting epidemic levels. People trust their do… --- ## [Ayn Rand for Dummies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayn-rand-for-dummies/516078)
**Author:** [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Replies:** 585\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayn-rand-for-dummies/516078 "2014-06-18T22:20:14Z")
Anyone feel like breaking down Ayn Rand’s philosophy for me? I would really like to figure her out, but most of her stuff tends to sail over my head, and I need someone to really break her down as if they are talking to… --- ## [Disbelief in Evolution is not an indicator of scientific literacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disbelief-in-evolution-is-not-an-indicator-of-scientific-literacy/690428)
**Author:** [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disbelief-in-evolution-is-not-an-indicator-of-scientific-literacy/690428 "2014-06-18T21:59:45Z")
A new study from the Yale Cultural Cognition Project found an interesting result. Linkto the article. The money shot: What I find interesting, and should cause a shortage of a particular argument on the Dope, is tha… --- ## [Will the death of American social conservatism produce a completely new party system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-death-of-american-social-conservatism-produce-a-completely-new-party-system/688632)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 126\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-death-of-american-social-conservatism-produce-a-completely-new-party-system/688632 "2014-06-18T16:44:08Z")
I am not posting this in Elections because the changes in question are on a generational time-scale and affect no imminent election. Michael Lind writes in Salon: I think he’s right in forecasting the end of social co… --- ## [The "Argentina Get Pwned in Court" Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argentina-get-pwned-in-court-thread/691037)
**Author:** [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argentina-get-pwned-in-court-thread/691037 "2014-06-18T15:13:06Z")
A rather interesting develop in international banking, and international relations in general, occurred recently. The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Argentina, which allows the earlier court’s ruling to st… --- ## [How come conservatives are against abortion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-conservatives-are-against-abortion/688063)
**Author:** [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Replies:** 885\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-conservatives-are-against-abortion/688063 "2014-06-18T13:56:17Z")
While in reality, conservatives value freedom and it’s the liberals that want to put restrictions on everything. --- ## [How would contemporary Europe be if the deutsch nationalists had prevailed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-contemporary-europe-be-if-the-deutsch-nationalists-had-prevailed/690938)
**Author:** [@mr\_wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_wolf)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-contemporary-europe-be-if-the-deutsch-nationalists-had-prevailed/690938 "2014-06-18T11:21:53Z")
Lets say that the ones who first took a look at the insides of the nucleus ate a lot of sausages and that the initial two ‘experiments’ took place on an offset of tens of lat/long degrees. Also keeping in mind that the d… --- ## [Vergara v. California: unions aren't happy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vergara-v-california-unions-arent-happy/690497)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vergara-v-california-unions-arent-happy/690497 "2014-06-18T04:43:26Z")
Unhappy with the poor public education they were receiving, nine California public school students joined forces to sue the state of California. They claimed that certain laws on the books in California were unconstituti… --- ## [Speak to me of anarchy: Specifically Revolutionary Catalonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speak-to-me-of-anarchy-specifically-revolutionary-catalonia/689357)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speak-to-me-of-anarchy-specifically-revolutionary-catalonia/689357 "2014-06-18T01:05:33Z")
I have several self-professed anarchist friends. They run from punk rockers who dig nihilism but don’t put much thought into it to educated folks who study philosophy and political theory and they advocate anarchism and… --- ## [Age of Consent ruminations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-of-consent-ruminations/690202)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/age-of-consent-ruminations/690202 "2014-06-17T23:00:18Z")
A current IMHO thread discusses a recent concert in which the lead singer stopped in the middle of his song to berate part of his audience. There was evidently a teenaged girl “crowd surfing,” which involves getting pick… --- ## [So, What was the point to the US invading Iraq?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-point-to-the-us-invading-iraq/690698)
**Author:** [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Replies:** 101\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-point-to-the-us-invading-iraq/690698 "2014-06-17T22:57:42Z")
I see that Baghdad is now about to fall into the hands of the Islamists and I want to ask the question … What was the point to the US invading Iraq and setting itself up as an authority for so long? I must admit that I… --- ## [Flexibility and common sense with flight rules?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flexibility-and-common-sense-with-flight-rules/690840)
**Author:** [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flexibility-and-common-sense-with-flight-rules/690840 "2014-06-17T21:45:54Z")
Subject to discuss. Jet Blue was on on hold on a taxiway for 30 minutes which exceeded a 3 year old’s bladder. Article. The rules of operating aircraft are there for a reason. They exist to protect customers and crew… --- ## [Homeowners Association Tries Levying Fine For Flying the Betsy Ross Flag](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeowners-association-tries-levying-fine-for-flying-the-betsy-ross-flag/690871)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeowners-association-tries-levying-fine-for-flying-the-betsy-ross-flag/690871 "2014-06-17T21:42:39Z")
From the CBS affiliate in Denver: I think he’s right. The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 specifically says it uses the definition found at 4 USC § 3: And by the expansive definition of interstate co… --- ## [Why are progressive/left-leaning policies more popular in the wealthier of US states?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-progressive-left-leaning-policies-more-popular-in-the-wealthier-of-us-states/690756)
**Author:** [@guesswhoiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guesswhoiam)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-progressive-left-leaning-policies-more-popular-in-the-wealthier-of-us-states/690756 "2014-06-17T20:15:10Z")
At a glance, policies such as high/progressive taxation, social benefits, regulation of large corporation, economic equality, etc. appear to benefit the less wealthy more than the wealthy. But in the US, the blue states … --- ## [Could the Native Americans have been treated better?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-native-americans-have-been-treated-better/690894)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-native-americans-have-been-treated-better/690894 "2014-06-17T16:57:06Z")
I dont think anyone has not had sympathies for how the American Indians were treated in the 19th century. Having their land taken, treaties broken, massacres, children taken away, and their very way of life wiped out in … --- ## [Is there a reason why Iraq has to be kept intact?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reason-why-iraq-has-to-be-kept-intact/690885)
**Author:** [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reason-why-iraq-has-to-be-kept-intact/690885 "2014-06-16T22:49:16Z")
Iraq was the result of a shotgun wedding arranged by the British and French of some ethnically and religiously different former provinces of the old Ottoman Empire. It’s history has been one of almost constant repressio… --- ## [Liberals, Progressives, or Democrats, can we get over 'The Democrat Party?'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 316\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186 "2014-06-16T17:00:01Z")
It’s not offensive. Really. Even if Ann Coulter spits it out like Rush Limbaugh’s jism, It’s just a word that some benighted souls use because they, like me, cannot see how it can be offensive, and a few use to get ou… --- ## [Is Bergdahl being swiftboated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840)
**Author:** [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Replies:** 856\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840 "2014-06-16T14:04:17Z")
A sudden rush to smear his name. Unnamed accusers. Conflicting accounts. Non-disclosure agreements. It all sounds depressingly familiar, like the right-wing smear machine is once again going into high gear. --- ## [So, how do we improve mental healthcare in the United States?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-do-we-improve-mental-healthcare-in-the-united-states/689769)
**Author:** [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-do-we-improve-mental-healthcare-in-the-united-states/689769 "2014-06-16T13:13:05Z")
In a thread about yet another mass shooting by a mentally ill person, I talked about the poor standard of mental healthcare in the US. Someone else in the thread asked me what I thought could be done about it, and wheth… --- ## [Is it time for universal open borders between first world countries?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-universal-open-borders-between-first-world-countries/690666)
**Author:** [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-universal-open-borders-between-first-world-countries/690666 "2014-06-16T10:43:27Z")
\[QUOTE=Universal Declaration of Human Rights\] (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to … --- ## [Bhopal responsibility.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bhopal-responsibility/690833)
**Author:** [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bhopal-responsibility/690833 "2014-06-16T02:07:50Z")
Hello good people, thirty years on from the release of contamination into the City surrounding the Union Carbide, now Dow, pesticides site in Bhopal, Northern India, my question is whether UC or Dow Chemicals have ever … --- ## [NAZI = nosy busybodies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-nosy-busybodies/690728)
**Author:** [@MostlyUseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyUseless)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-nosy-busybodies/690728 "2014-06-15T23:48:01Z")
I would assert that the only difference between the NAZI ideology and communism and what we sometimes have seen across the globe is one of degrees. Those who think that they know better how others should live are NAZIs.… --- ## [About the illusion of free will](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-illusion-of-free-will/689217)
**Author:** [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Replies:** 558\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-illusion-of-free-will/689217 "2014-06-14T19:53:36Z")
When people speak of the illusion of free will, with the combined forces of neurobiology, circumstance, genetics, upbringing, etc, which of the two are they saying: 1- i have a box of corn flakes, raisin bran and cheeri… --- ## [How would you have rebuilt Iraq?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-have-rebuilt-iraq/690565)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-have-rebuilt-iraq/690565 "2014-06-14T16:19:45Z")
Let’s say that you were made the interim governor of Iraq after the invasion and your job is now to build a nominally liberal democracy (at least as liberal as, say, Turkey). What decisions would you make? You are not … --- ## [Russia's Annexation of Crimea - Why do we care?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-annexation-of-crimea-why-do-we-care/683935)
**Author:** [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Replies:** 161\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russias-annexation-of-crimea-why-do-we-care/683935 "2014-06-14T14:37:47Z")
I get the whole spread of democracy, the cold war nostalgia, etc. But at the risk of reading like some anti-democractic flower child, I just do not get why we care SO much. I know it is in our countries DNA (see Vietnam… --- ## [Are there sectors where the US patent system still works?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-sectors-where-the-us-patent-system-still-works/690755)
**Author:** [@guesswhoiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guesswhoiam)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-sectors-where-the-us-patent-system-still-works/690755 "2014-06-14T12:51:17Z")
A lot of people (especially in the IT sector) often complains that the patent system is broken. It is exploited by patent trolls, lawyers in big companies, etc. to benefit in a way that is not intended by the patent syst… --- ## [Hands ... off ... the ... cheese.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hands-off-the-cheese/690491)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2014, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hands-off-the-cheese/690491 "2014-06-13T09:21:03Z")
It seems that our federal government likes banning cheeses. First it required that Brie be aged 60 days, which “effectively outlawed true Brie” from the United States. Then came restrictions on Mimolette requiring no m… --- ## [India and rape. What the hell is going on over there?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/india-and-rape-what-the-hell-is-going-on-over-there/689501)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/india-and-rape-what-the-hell-is-going-on-over-there/689501 "2014-06-13T02:05:03Z")
Hello Everyone, I was reading an article on a Indian news site (the Country of India) and when I finished the article I looked at the linked articles. Out of the eight links six were about rapes or gang rapes. Clicking … --- ## [Why do conservatives want to deny women free birth control?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-want-to-deny-women-free-birth-control/680266)
**Author:** [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Replies:** 166\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-want-to-deny-women-free-birth-control/680266 "2014-06-12T23:45:34Z")
Now, on the face of it, “free birth control” (to women who have jobs who can afford to pay the premiums on an Obamacare health insurance plan) sounds like yet another government “giveaway”. Also, the birth control is be… --- ## [Are companies lying about STEM jobs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-lying-about-stem-jobs/688858)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 100\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2014, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-companies-lying-about-stem-jobs/688858 "2014-06-12T06:37:23Z")
Their was this recent article about STEM jobs saying we are telling young people we have this great shortage of them and to fill them we must import many immigrants while this man did some research saying their is NO sho… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=227) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=229)