# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=246 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 247 --- ## [Current Trends - War on Drugs - Minimum Mandatory Sentencing - Prisons and More Prisons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-trends-war-on-drugs-minimum-mandatory-sentencing-prisons-and-more-prisons/679169)
**Author:** [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-trends-war-on-drugs-minimum-mandatory-sentencing-prisons-and-more-prisons/679169 "2014-01-20T21:41:35Z")
I recently started a thread in the MPSIMS forum about a Florida Movie Theater Shooting that Left One Man Dead in an Altercation Over Texting. Some of the posts in that thread discussed what would happen if the shooter… --- ## [So, do Satanic cults exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-satanic-cults-exist/313438)
**Author:** [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Replies:** 231\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-do-satanic-cults-exist/313438 "2014-01-20T03:35:16Z")
This is total friend-of-a-friend territory, but I know someone who was in an intensive group therapy for a few months, and someone in the group claimed to have grown up in a Satanic cult, complete with animal and human s… --- ## [Could Nazi Germany have sustained itself for more than 100 years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-nazi-germany-have-sustained-itself-for-more-than-100-years/679215)
**Author:** [@IMfez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IMfez)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-nazi-germany-have-sustained-itself-for-more-than-100-years/679215 "2014-01-20T02:27:10Z")
Given what we know about the ability of the totalitarian state to endure, would a German empire that took over the world have been able to sustain itself for, say, more than 100 years? --- ## [What role does money play in the climate-change debate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-does-money-play-in-the-climate-change-debate/678893)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-does-money-play-in-the-climate-change-debate/678893 "2014-01-19T20:41:35Z")
Spinoff from this ongoing GD thread, but see also this recent Pit thread. What it comes down to is that each side in the debate seems to believe – or, at least, to say – that the other side’s climatologists are the mone… --- ## [Should U.S. states have the right to secede?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-u-s-states-have-the-right-to-secede/678901)
**Author:** [@Los\_Anconfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Los_Anconfused)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-u-s-states-have-the-right-to-secede/678901 "2014-01-19T17:41:34Z")
There is debate whether members of the Constitutional Convention intended for states joining the United States to maintain the right to secede. For the purposes of this thread, this debate has two questions: First, was… --- ## [A Quantum Experiment I can't predict the outcome](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quantum-experiment-i-cant-predict-the-outcome/679160)
**Author:** [@guilherme\_amorim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guilherme_amorim)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quantum-experiment-i-cant-predict-the-outcome/679160 "2014-01-19T02:40:22Z")
Hello people, prepare for the long post Just a bit of context: I’m a software developer and during last year a lot news about quantum computing showed up and I spent a lot researching it on my own out of curiosity, So … --- ## [Pharmacists, and fulfilling prescriptions against that go against their moral beliefs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacists-and-fulfilling-prescriptions-against-that-go-against-their-moral-beliefs/672210)
**Author:** [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Replies:** 101\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacists-and-fulfilling-prescriptions-against-that-go-against-their-moral-beliefs/672210 "2014-01-18T22:54:51Z")
In the question of filling out prescriptions for birth control and so-called “abortion pills”, I have been firmly on the side that says that pharmacists should be required to fill any valid prescription regardless of the… --- ## ["Republicans," what's your take on John Kerry and Swiftboating?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-whats-your-take-on-john-kerry-and-swiftboating/676411)
**Author:** [@Dostoyevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dostoyevsky)\ **Replies:** 404\ **Last updated:** [January 17, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-whats-your-take-on-john-kerry-and-swiftboating/676411 "2014-01-17T19:29:01Z")
This week, This Week, ran a segment on John Kerry’s life, and it made me curious about the 2004 controversy about his war legacy (a/k/a swiftboating.) I know that Democrats believe that swiftboating Kerry was unfair, un… --- ## [Bani-Israel, Judaism & Jews](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bani-israel-judaism-jews/678967)
**Author:** [@Abisafyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abisafyan)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bani-israel-judaism-jews/678967 "2014-01-16T23:29:09Z")
Bani-Israel, Judaism & Jews Originally, before abandoning Islam, Jews were called as Bani Israel, for they were descendants of the Magnificent Prophet, Yaqub's (viz Jacob) fourth son; Judea or Judæa/Judah/Yahuda (in G… --- ## [Are there "cutoff points" for various forms of intolerance?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-cutoff-points-for-various-forms-of-intolerance/677795)
**Author:** [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-cutoff-points-for-various-forms-of-intolerance/677795 "2014-01-16T21:11:34Z")
Recently, I was reading a collection of George Orwell’s essays. In one of them (in which he was writing about Salvador Dali) he groups homosexuality with necrophilia and calls it a ‘vice’. Now, Orwell was a socially prog… --- ## [What will happen if Iceland refuse to bail out their banks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-iceland-refuse-to-bail-out-their-banks/531116)
**Author:** [@carm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carm)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-iceland-refuse-to-bail-out-their-banks/531116 "2014-01-16T20:24:51Z")
The president of Iceland has refused to sign a bill bailing out Icesave, an Icelandic bank that owes $5bn to the UK and Netherlands, instead putting it to a referendum. The referendum takes place this Saturday. What … --- ## [Can state officials arrest violators of federal crimes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-state-officials-arrest-violators-of-federal-crimes/538095)
**Author:** [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-state-officials-arrest-violators-of-federal-crimes/538095 "2014-01-16T13:49:58Z")
One of the challenges and common arguments against the new Arizona immigration law is that it is supposed to be a federal and not a state issue. Does this apply in other areas of federal law? If the Arizona police find… --- ## [NYT report on Benghazi should be a wakeup call to liberals too](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-report-on-benghazi-should-be-a-wakeup-call-to-liberals-too/678141)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 141\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2014, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-report-on-benghazi-should-be-a-wakeup-call-to-liberals-too/678141 "2014-01-16T07:44:58Z")
Many are understandably gloating over the way this report rebuts many of the feverish paranoiac claims from the right. But that is only because it is now clear that much of the violence really did stem from rioting in re… --- ## [Why are stock prices high right now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-stock-prices-high-right-now/678887)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-stock-prices-high-right-now/678887 "2014-01-15T23:09:02Z")
Since 2008, stocks have been on the rise. I am not an economist, but I would expect that the perceived value of a company is based on the demand for whatever product or service the company provides, ignoring bubbles. W… --- ## [SSM: Now Utah. How long for all?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssm-now-utah-how-long-for-all/676915)
**Author:** [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssm-now-utah-how-long-for-all/676915 "2014-01-15T17:44:23Z")
Color me surprised at the judge’s decision disallowing the state’s ban on Same Sex Marriage. Now, I realize this is by judicial fiat and not an action of the legislature but it’s Utah. Speaking as a political animal, U… --- ## [Ani DiFranco, a plantation and outrage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493)
**Author:** [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ani-difranco-a-plantation-and-outrage/678493 "2014-01-15T16:30:06Z")
So Ani DiFranco, or more correctly her management, set up a writing retreat for writers and artists. It was to be called “Righteous Retreat” and held at the Nottoway Plantation. Apparently, if you are Ani DiFranco, this… --- ## [The \[definitive\] Mac vs. PC thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-definitive-mac-vs-pc-thread/566141)
**Author:** [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-definitive-mac-vs-pc-thread/566141 "2014-01-15T12:46:25Z")
(This is my attempt to create a Great Debate thread that answers all the questions, issues, problems, points of contention, and does so in one post) There’s a couple of behaviors at work here. Being on several different… --- ## [Was The "Lone Survivor"Tragedy a Command Screwup?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-lone-survivor-tragedy-a-command-screwup/678768)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-lone-survivor-tragedy-a-command-screwup/678768 "2014-01-14T20:57:54Z")
I read the book, and plan to see the movie. Anyway, it seems (to me) that the whole thing was a disaster comparable to “Blackhawk Down”. The Seals were dropped into enemy territory without: -adequate backup-no plan B … --- ## [Could a future President simply cancel the ACA or other laws?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-future-president-simply-cancel-the-aca-or-other-laws/678471)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-future-president-simply-cancel-the-aca-or-other-laws/678471 "2014-01-14T16:50:48Z")
Some of you may recall a little law known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that went into effect a short while ago. One of the odd aspects of the law is that President Obama has made many changes to it,… --- ## [Obamacare will burn things to the ground](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare-will-burn-things-to-the-ground/676007)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamacare-will-burn-things-to-the-ground/676007 "2014-01-14T02:11:39Z")
Or so say the headlines that have been making the rounds in the right-wing media the last few days, and are now blowing up my Facebook feed. “‘A Public Safety Disaster’: ObamaCare Could Force THOUSANDS of Volunteer Fire… --- ## [The Unraveling - How Obama’s Syria policy fell apart](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unraveling-how-obama-s-syria-policy-fell-apart/677867)
**Author:** [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Replies:** 137\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-unraveling-how-obama-s-syria-policy-fell-apart/677867 "2014-01-14T01:13:10Z")
I just read a pretty extensive analysis here: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/how-obamas-syria-policy-fell-apart-101704.html#.UsfTdLTWvx8 It really opens your eyes at the enormous incompetence of Obama a… --- ## [Religious accommodation or ‘accessory to sexism’?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-accommodation-or-accessory-to-sexism/678378)
**Author:** [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Replies:** 94\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-accommodation-or-accessory-to-sexism/678378 "2014-01-13T19:27:47Z")
In a nutshell: A male student at York University in Ontario did not want to do a group assignment with females. He approached his prof and asked for a religious accommodation. The prof was not comfortable with this, a… --- ## [an Innocent Hug or Sexual Harassment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-innocent-hug-or-sexual-harassment/676593)
**Author:** [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-innocent-hug-or-sexual-harassment/676593 "2014-01-13T13:02:25Z")
This story is up on CNN headlined "An Innocent Hug or Sexual Harassment? The event in question was caught on video. CNN link here: The boy and his family say they are huggers, and it was an innocent hug. He said he h… --- ## [Was Hitler a good man?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-man/675967)
**Author:** [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Replies:** 137\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-man/675967 "2014-01-12T04:10:44Z")
Tila Tequila thinks so. My first thought was, of course not. But that’s just popular prejudice. Thinking about it further, if he thought what he was doing would make the world a better place, wouldn’t that justify it? Af… --- ## [Please explain the ACA to me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-aca-to-me/677883)
**Author:** [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-aca-to-me/677883 "2014-01-11T20:34:23Z")
Triggered by this articletrending on Twitter/Facebook in the last day or so: My questions: Both parents are working. Why wouldn’t they have coverage from one of their employers? In a related Snopesarticle, we lea… --- ## [The "Great Deception"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-deception/613511)
**Author:** [@axolotyl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/axolotyl)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-deception/613511 "2014-01-11T14:50:01Z")
It is written that a great deception will deceive "even the elect". What is that great deception? Is it a subtle, consistent lie as in "tell a lie often enough, and people will eventually believe it"? Did Himmler say t… --- ## [Why are Jews still hated so much around the world outside of the U.S.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-jews-still-hated-so-much-around-the-world-outside-of-the-u-s/635131)
**Author:** [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Replies:** 505\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-jews-still-hated-so-much-around-the-world-outside-of-the-u-s/635131 "2014-01-11T12:46:37Z")
This is something I have never understood. There are only about 14 million Jews in the world out of a population of about 7 billion (or less than 0.2% of the world population) yet they seem to be the focus of a dispropor… --- ## [Multivitamins](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/676574)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 135\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/676574 "2014-01-11T00:53:49Z")
So the Annals of Internal Medicine has made a lot of recent headlines with an editorial arguing that multivitamins are a waste of money. From CNN: However, there is also a counterargument presented: The argument agai… --- ## ['Real' Ghosts As Proof of an Afterlife...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-ghosts-as-proof-of-an-afterlife/676637)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-ghosts-as-proof-of-an-afterlife/676637 "2014-01-10T22:31:29Z")
As I’ve said many times before, I believe in God. But I don’t personally believe in an afterlife. But that is not to say sometimes I don’t wonder… One thing that often makes me think about the matter, is so-called “real… --- ## [Should Girls in Afghanistan Schools be more newsworthy as an ISAF success story?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-girls-in-afghanistan-schools-be-more-newsworthy-as-an-isaf-success-story/677070)
**Author:** [@NotfooledbyW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotfooledbyW)\ **Replies:** 285\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-girls-in-afghanistan-schools-be-more-newsworthy-as-an-isaf-success-story/677070 "2014-01-10T15:17:27Z")
According to this report the growth of primary school enrollment in Afghanistan has risen from 1 million in 2001 to 10.5 million in 2013 with over 40 percent of those enrollment numbers being girls. Has anyone heard thi… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=245) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=247)