# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=255 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 256 --- ## [Why is the "Jesus Myth" theory universally disregarded?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-jesus-myth-theory-universally-disregarded/623392)
**Author:** [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Replies:** 206\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-jesus-myth-theory-universally-disregarded/623392 "2013-10-23T00:39:32Z")
(Mods, I’m definitely asking this as a question and not a debate-starter, but I can easily seeing it moving that direction, so feel free to move if needed). So, I was reading Cecil’s take on whether Jesus was a myth ins… --- ## [The debt ceiling is idiotic. What would be better?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-debt-ceiling-is-idiotic-what-would-be-better/671403)
**Author:** [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-debt-ceiling-is-idiotic-what-would-be-better/671403 "2013-10-22T20:40:35Z")
A debt ceiling that’s a fixed number, which has to periodically be raised by Congress, is idiotic. It encourages brinkmanship. (That may have been the intent, but I stand by my claim that it’s idiotic.) If we accept t… --- ## [Japan's National Debt](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japans-national-debt/671744)
**Author:** [@SHARKBITEATTACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SHARKBITEATTACK)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japans-national-debt/671744 "2013-10-22T12:50:00Z")
So I was researching our national debt with respect to the GDP and I was surprised to see there are many other countries whose governments are wreckless spenders as well. The most notable one was Japan with a national de… --- ## [Can police officers invoke Stand Your Ground laws?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-police-officers-invoke-stand-your-ground-laws/671372)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-police-officers-invoke-stand-your-ground-laws/671372 "2013-10-21T22:45:22Z")
Last month I started an MPSIMS thread about an officer shooting an unarmed man in North Carolina. Officer Randall Kerrick was quickly charged with manslaughter in Jonathon Ferrell’s death. Details of the case (as much … --- ## [Why do people seem to randomly hate on government works?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-seem-to-randomly-hate-on-government-works/671726)
**Author:** [@Donna\_Lange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donna_Lange)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-seem-to-randomly-hate-on-government-works/671726 "2013-10-21T15:07:21Z")
I’ll preface this with a shocking statement, I’m sure: I like taxes. Especially for public works! Having public buildings, parks, roads and civil projects that I can use and aren’t owned by one guy or group is a great … --- ## [How could the civil war have been avoided?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-the-civil-war-have-been-avoided/667484)
**Author:** [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Replies:** 287\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-the-civil-war-have-been-avoided/667484 "2013-10-21T14:05:39Z")
As I understand it, the problem is this. The actual “fair market value” for all the slaves owned by the major stakeholders in the South was a sum of money greater than the value of all the land and buildings in the enti… --- ## [For the US presidents, when was the earliest they could have plausibly been predicted?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-us-presidents-when-was-the-earliest-they-could-have-plausibly-been-predicted/667088)
**Author:** [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-the-us-presidents-when-was-the-earliest-they-could-have-plausibly-been-predicted/667088 "2013-10-21T06:42:36Z")
I’m wondering for the presidents, at what point in time it was possible to make a case that that person had a decent shot of one day being president? It seems like for the recent string of presidents, it was pretty soon … --- ## [Trying to understand the basics of health insurance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-understand-the-basics-of-health-insurance/671330)
**Author:** [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-understand-the-basics-of-health-insurance/671330 "2013-10-21T01:29:03Z")
IANASG (I am not a Smart Guy), but I’m trying to wrap my head around the pros and cons of Obamacare, and I’d like to get resolved the basic concept of health insurance. So here is how my simple mind views how health ins… --- ## [Being gay a mental illness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-a-mental-illness/670873)
**Author:** [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-a-mental-illness/670873 "2013-10-20T20:49:02Z")
I did a couple of searches to see if this question has been asked recently, and I did not find anything. I am not really asking if this is true, however. I do not believe it to be, personally. I am in the “born that way”… --- ## [How can Democrats justify keeping DC closed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-democrats-justify-keeping-dc-closed/670796)
**Author:** [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-democrats-justify-keeping-dc-closed/670796 "2013-10-20T19:46:01Z")
Alright, so everyone knows that D.C. collects its own tax revenue, but without a CR it can’t spend money it has already collected. D.C. has been operating on a rainy day fund, which is supposed to be there for times of c… --- ## [What prevents bureaucracies from damaging their host?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-bureaucracies-from-damaging-their-host/671714)
**Author:** [@knel3030](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knel3030)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-prevents-bureaucracies-from-damaging-their-host/671714 "2013-10-20T18:28:12Z")
Some critiques of a bureacratic system present it as a binary good or bad. Bureacratic functions are necessary for a complex social system, but often parts or whole departments go bad, as in they go rampant following th… --- ## [New evidence against an historical Jesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-evidence-against-an-historical-jesus/670832)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-evidence-against-an-historical-jesus/670832 "2013-10-20T12:51:50Z")
This press release was making the rounds in my Facebook feed: Interestingly enough, it was this column where Cecil took on the task of straightening the dope on whether Jesus actually lived, was my introduction to The … --- ## [At what point does the power to speak to the masses demand the responsibility of not lying?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-does-the-power-to-speak-to-the-masses-demand-the-responsibility-of-not-lying/671533)
**Author:** [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2013, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-does-the-power-to-speak-to-the-masses-demand-the-responsibility-of-not-lying/671533 "2013-10-20T10:44:54Z")
I feel that protecting freedom of speech has gone too far in the event of mass media. I feel that there are controls necessary to ensure at least a bare minimum of honesty from figures and networks on the air. While indi… --- ## [Are these Eminem lyrics homophobic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-eminem-lyrics-homophobic/671601)
**Author:** [@Dostoyevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dostoyevsky)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2013, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-eminem-lyrics-homophobic/671601 "2013-10-20T06:32:24Z")
I came across this article today from The Daily Beast. It complains that Eminem is bashing gay people in general, with these lyrics: For his part, Eminem denies that he uses homophobic sounding slurs as references to … --- ## [Why are Libertarians more Manly?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-libertarians-more-manly/671604)
**Author:** [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Replies:** 104\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-libertarians-more-manly/671604 "2013-10-20T00:48:40Z")
University of Virginia’s Jonathan Haidt has shown that libertarians are the most masculine among conservatives and liberals and that liberals care more about a “generic other” than even members of their own families. … --- ## [WWII - France "anti-semitic to the core."?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-france-anti-semitic-to-the-core/671277)
**Author:** [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wwii-france-anti-semitic-to-the-core/671277 "2013-10-19T19:07:23Z")
I saw an Oliver Stone-narrated history of the US, on Showtime, and it focuses on WWII and the years after. One of the things he stated in the show was that France decided to cooperate with their German conquerers becau… --- ## [Are European nations violating women's rights?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-european-nations-violating-womens-rights/671416)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-european-nations-violating-womens-rights/671416 "2013-10-19T16:20:13Z")
When abortion is mentioned in the USA, it’s often asserted that women have a right to abortion when and where they want it, and that any restriction is a violation of their rights. In most European countries, there are … --- ## [Does a rational reason exist for distinguishing between "religion" and "cults"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-rational-reason-exist-for-distinguishing-between-religion-and-cults/671605)
**Author:** [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-rational-reason-exist-for-distinguishing-between-religion-and-cults/671605 "2013-10-19T14:35:05Z")
Thread title is inspired by an article I came across in the Daily Telegraph: “Scientology’s fraud conviction upheld in France” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10384877/Scientologys-fraud-convict… --- ## [Why do people seem so "meh" about the US Government shutdown?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-seem-so-meh-about-the-us-government-shutdown/670421)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 232\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-seem-so-meh-about-the-us-government-shutdown/670421 "2013-10-19T02:22:56Z")
I have to say as a non-American I’m astounded the political situation there could get to the point where the government has literally shut down because it doesn’t have any money. That’s the sort of thing I imagine happe… --- ## [Liberal Mind vs. Conservative Mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-mind-vs-conservative-mind/670974)
**Author:** [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-mind-vs-conservative-mind/670974 "2013-10-19T02:07:27Z")
TLDR: Define the Liberal mind as concisely as possible. Define the Conservative mind as concisely as possible. Please try to ignore stance, and define it in the sense of going through life. In other words, try not to b… --- ## [S&P says 'I told you so' about US credit rating](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-p-says-i-told-you-so-about-us-credit-rating/670060)
**Author:** [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Replies:** 101\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/s-p-says-i-told-you-so-about-us-credit-rating/670060 "2013-10-18T21:10:38Z")
Well, they weren’t quite that crass, but it was certainly the sentiment. They said in a recent report that while the likely govt shutdown will probably not result in a further downgrade, a default on the debt would be a … --- ## [confederate memorial day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confederate-memorial-day/669998)
**Author:** [@sycophantOfC.S.Peirce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sycophantOfC.S.Peirce)\ **Replies:** 149\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confederate-memorial-day/669998 "2013-10-18T00:54:13Z")
I happen to agree there was “a failure of reconstruction” and that Jefferson Davis and the generals of the confederacy should have been tried for treason and crimes against humanity. But this post is about my view that t… --- ## [Belgian transman killed by euthanasia after a botched sex change operation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgian-transman-killed-by-euthanasia-after-a-botched-sex-change-operation/670164)
**Author:** [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgian-transman-killed-by-euthanasia-after-a-botched-sex-change-operation/670164 "2013-10-18T00:46:56Z")
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/10346616/Belgian-killed-by-euthanasia-after-a-botched-sex-change-operation.html Surgically creating a penis is a lot more difficult than surgically creating a va… --- ## [why does the us have such a good credit rating](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-us-have-such-a-good-credit-rating/671409)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-us-have-such-a-good-credit-rating/671409 "2013-10-17T19:50:57Z")
we have 2 AAA and one AA+. but does anyone expect us to pay off our debts anytime soon rather than just let inflation eat at them? if people or organizations tried to take their money out we don’t have the funds to pay t… --- ## [what do the Republicans have to negotiate with?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-republicans-have-to-negotiate-with/670768)
**Author:** [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Replies:** 557\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-republicans-have-to-negotiate-with/670768 "2013-10-17T18:42:08Z")
Do they only want concessions to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling, or are the actually willing to consider revenue increases or increased education funding or something. If the former, it’s not really a ne… --- ## [Why did the people not overthrow Stalin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-people-not-overthrow-stalin/671370)
**Author:** [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-people-not-overthrow-stalin/671370 "2013-10-17T13:39:48Z")
A friend and I were discussing a book we are reading “Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin”, by Timothy Snyder. You really would think they’d run out of people to kill during the famines, gulags, and purges. It w… --- ## [Permanent effects of defaulting?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/permanent-effects-of-defaulting/671365)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2013, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/permanent-effects-of-defaulting/671365 "2013-10-17T06:34:13Z")
OK, I’ll admit that there are many posters here who say we just don’t know what’ll happen when (and I think I’m safe in saying “when” at this point) the U.S. defaults, but I started this thread now because we’ll certainl… --- ## [Can/Should Obama Raise the Debt Ceiling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-should-obama-raise-the-debt-ceiling/671395)
**Author:** [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-should-obama-raise-the-debt-ceiling/671395 "2013-10-16T20:25:05Z")
Say the Senate passes something today, but then the House defeats it and we actually start heading into default. As we are now down to the wire, can and should Obama then immediately point to he 14th Amendment- the sect… --- ## [If we go into default, is it ethical to force us to pay taxes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-we-go-into-default-is-it-ethical-to-force-us-to-pay-taxes/671369)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-we-go-into-default-is-it-ethical-to-force-us-to-pay-taxes/671369 "2013-10-16T14:34:01Z")
I mean, I know we’ll still have to, I’m just asking if it’s ethical to make us do so? --- ## [Is this 'justice'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-justice/670877)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 229\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-justice/670877 "2013-10-16T01:10:28Z")
Details here and here. In brief, four teenagers broke into a home (that they thought was unoccupied) and were confronted by the homeowner, Rodney Scott. Fearing for his safety, Scott “grabbed” his pistol and confronted … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=254) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=256)