# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=282 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 283 --- ## [The Expactation of Monogomy is Unjustifiable](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expactation-of-monogomy-is-unjustifiable/655294)
**Author:** [@Naxxius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naxxius)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expactation-of-monogomy-is-unjustifiable/655294 "2013-04-15T17:37:11Z")
Dear Teaming Millions, My mother and I have an ongoing debate regarding the morality of having affairs and the expectation of monogomy especially in males. I draw on the Teaming Millions hoping to quantify the variables… --- ## [Is it ethical to use brain scans to predict future criminal acts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-use-brain-scans-to-predict-future-criminal-acts/654993)
**Author:** [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-use-brain-scans-to-predict-future-criminal-acts/654993 "2013-04-15T11:43:33Z")
This NPR story really has me in a quandary: On some level I am tempted to say that even if it were 100% accurate, we should not use it. But I might feel differently if my family were terrorised by someone who could h… --- ## [Cocaine Mummies & Challenging Conventional Scientific Wisdom](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cocaine-mummies-challenging-conventional-scientific-wisdom/642300)
**Author:** [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2013, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cocaine-mummies-challenging-conventional-scientific-wisdom/642300 "2013-04-15T05:47:28Z")
obligatory column link… Once again, the arrogance of scientists play out in their ignoring of evidence that could revolutionize their discipline. In this case, it seems they haven’t found any ways to really refute the… --- ## [FOX as a Source?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-as-a-source/651998)
**Author:** [@Bpelta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bpelta)\ **Replies:** 104\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-as-a-source/651998 "2013-04-15T01:46:25Z")
A professor of journalism at West Liberty University recently banned her students from using FOX News as a source because it’s “biased;” she wrote that it “makes her cringe” and she’d “almost rather you print off an arti… --- ## [Should there be a maximum sentence for non-violent crimes? If so, what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-a-maximum-sentence-for-non-violent-crimes-if-so-what/654652)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-a-maximum-sentence-for-non-violent-crimes-if-so-what/654652 "2013-04-15T01:02:16Z")
I browse Slashdot on occasion, and I find a common theme amongst certain posters when a story on certain (most often non-violent) crimes come up: that the very idea of serving beyond a particular amount of time for those… --- ## [Why has Every US Treasurer since 1949 been a woman? Hasn't anyone complained?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-every-us-treasurer-since-1949-been-a-woman-hasnt-anyone-complained/654696)
**Author:** [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-every-us-treasurer-since-1949-been-a-woman-hasnt-anyone-complained/654696 "2013-04-14T21:12:47Z")
See subjects. Cite. --- ## [Ten Years Ago, Most Dopers Were Against The War. I'm Proud of Us.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-years-ago-most-dopers-were-against-the-war-im-proud-of-us/653409)
**Author:** [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Replies:** 162\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-years-ago-most-dopers-were-against-the-war-im-proud-of-us/653409 "2013-04-14T18:10:15Z")
Not that there weren’t still a lot of voices around here who were passionately pro-war; there were. I remember the debates well. But still, most Dopers who expressed an opinion were against the war, and mostly rather p… --- ## [Anti choice](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-choice/655648)
**Author:** [@Renee\_RL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee_RL)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 14, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-choice/655648 "2013-04-14T03:01:40Z")
Why does the right oppose government intrusion but wants to be in people’s bedrooms, and want to deny women their reproductive freedom? --- ## [Should smoking in the same vehicle as children be outlawed and subject to citations?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-smoking-in-the-same-vehicle-as-children-be-outlawed-and-subject-to-citations/654298)
**Author:** [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-smoking-in-the-same-vehicle-as-children-be-outlawed-and-subject-to-citations/654298 "2013-04-12T15:26:12Z")
Inspired by this thread. Fact: children of parents who smoke in the same vehicle as them have no better choice than to breathe that second-hand smoke. Fact: lungs of children who are exposed to second-hand smoke regula… --- ## [How to deal with a nuclear North Korea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deal-with-a-nuclear-north-korea/654815)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deal-with-a-nuclear-north-korea/654815 "2013-04-12T07:44:38Z")
Yes, there have been a number of threads here recently regarding North Korea, its threats, and its posturing. Some of them have even touched on the question of how the US and the rest of the world should deal with a nucl… --- ## [Fallon Fox - Male to Female Transgender MMA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallon-fox-male-to-female-transgender-mma/655374)
**Author:** [@Rooster\_Cogburn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rooster_Cogburn)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallon-fox-male-to-female-transgender-mma/655374 "2013-04-12T05:11:50Z")
I have just finished reading the excellent thread on transgendered issues and information etc. that is further down the page. I felt that this might deserve its own thread (mostly as didn’t want to hijack the other threa… --- ## [Do unpaid internships violate the minimum wage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-unpaid-internships-violate-the-minimum-wage/655460)
**Author:** [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-unpaid-internships-violate-the-minimum-wage/655460 "2013-04-12T01:28:02Z")
I used to think of internships as a good thing … a way to get some work experience while still in school, and whether you got paid a tiny bit or nothing at all didn’t really matter much. However, there seem to be an incr… --- ## [Is the progressive outrage over chained CPI warranted?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-progressive-outrage-over-chained-cpi-warranted/655280)
**Author:** [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-progressive-outrage-over-chained-cpi-warranted/655280 "2013-04-11T19:13:39Z")
Obama is releasing a budget proposal Wednesday that alters the inflation formula used to calculate COLAs as part of a compromise that would reduce the deficit. The left is calling him a traitor to the New Deal. Poutrag… --- ## [Margaret Thatcher's Legacy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/margaret-thatchers-legacy/655142)
**Author:** [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Replies:** 146\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/margaret-thatchers-legacy/655142 "2013-04-11T16:03:25Z")
Given her passing this morning from a stroke, what is your thoughts about her legacy? Brit/UK dopers comments especially wanted. --- ## [Did anyone else survive the sequester?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-survive-the-sequester/654769)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 196\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-survive-the-sequester/654769 "2013-04-11T13:22:52Z")
Just over a month ago, the United States was gripped by the prospect of an approaching federal budget cut called the “sequester”. This constituted a very small trim of the federal budget during the current fiscal year, … --- ## [Why is China moving troops to the Korean border?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-china-moving-troops-to-the-korean-border/654855)
**Author:** [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-china-moving-troops-to-the-korean-border/654855 "2013-04-10T13:59:47Z")
Risky business: China continues military buildup near North Korean border as tanks, armor deploy - Washington Times? I think the best post I’ve seen regarding North Korea has been this one, well phrased by Martin Hyde … --- ## ["This study proves that sugar is toxic."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-study-proves-that-sugar-is-toxic/654604)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-study-proves-that-sugar-is-toxic/654604 "2013-04-11T03:09:04Z")
Quite a quote, eh? It comes from this op-ed discussing a study that apparently links sugar to diabetes independently of weight gain (though as the correction at the bottom says, it stops short of saying directly that su… --- ## [Robert E Lee joins the Union?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-e-lee-joins-the-union/654807)
**Author:** [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-e-lee-joins-the-union/654807 "2013-04-10T23:50:05Z")
Back in April of 1861, Robert E. Lee was apparently offered command of the defense of Washington D.C. as a major general; he of course refused, resigned, and joined up with the Virginia state forces that same week. So .… --- ## [Social Security and the Deficit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-and-the-deficit/652068)
**Author:** [@Alien\_Blancmange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alien_Blancmange)\ **Replies:** 191\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-security-and-the-deficit/652068 "2013-04-09T16:59:35Z")
What’s the relationship between social security and the deficit? Every time somebody on the radio talks about controlling the budget deficit, he starts muttering about entitlements like medicare, medicaid, and social se… --- ## [What kind of God would you believe in and follow](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-god-would-you-believe-in-and-follow/653643)
**Author:** [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Replies:** 361\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-god-would-you-believe-in-and-follow/653643 "2013-04-09T12:47:21Z")
There has been many posts about God here. Most of them have been rejected outright. So now just describe the kind of God you could believe in. Create your own God as you would have Him/She/It to be. The major religions o… --- ## [Confronting the ''Culture of the Poor'' Ideology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-the-culture-of-the-poor-ideology/654578)
**Author:** [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Replies:** 151\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confronting-the-culture-of-the-poor-ideology/654578 "2013-04-07T20:26:17Z")
Ok, full disclosure: I am a social worker, I work in an urban neighborhood with very high poverty and the highest murder rate in Philadelphia. Most of our kids are migrants from Puerto Rico. I was raised in the conservat… --- ## [Trans issues, or the politics of transsexuality](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trans-issues-or-the-politics-of-transsexuality/653859)
**Author:** [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Replies:** 102\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2013, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trans-issues-or-the-politics-of-transsexuality/653859 "2013-04-07T07:52:08Z")
I’m a good liberal (I think), and I have no problem supporting “gay issues” (also known as civil rights), in general. And I think I support “trans issues” too, whatever they may be. But the problem is that I don’t real… --- ## [Social media will save democracy (or kill it)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-will-save-democracy-or-kill-it/654534)
**Author:** [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/social-media-will-save-democracy-or-kill-it/654534 "2013-04-06T23:24:19Z")
The recent shift in public opinion about same sex marriage has been attributed to many things, a younger electorate, TV shows about gay people, improvements in the economy, and Satan. But I think social media is a drivin… --- ## [President Obama returns 5% of his salary. Good idea or not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-returns-5-of-his-salary-good-idea-or-not/654928)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-returns-5-of-his-salary-good-idea-or-not/654928 "2013-04-06T01:23:37Z")
Fairly unbiased report here. Was this a good idea or a silly publicity stunt? I have to go with “silly”. The President’s salary is $400k plus he lives in a pretty nice house rent free. His travel is paid for wherever… --- ## [Conservatives are now supporting same sex marriage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-are-now-supporting-same-sex-marriage/653556)
**Author:** [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatives-are-now-supporting-same-sex-marriage/653556 "2013-04-05T23:36:51Z")
Refreshing if true: But how much of the Republican party do these people represent? --- ## [Is the slippery slope argument just another reductio ab absurdum?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-slippery-slope-argument-just-another-reductio-ab-absurdum/654618)
**Author:** [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-slippery-slope-argument-just-another-reductio-ab-absurdum/654618 "2013-04-05T20:55:14Z")
Lately, I’ve been exposed to all sorts of argument-ending slippery slope arguments: if you let gays marry, then why not cats and dogs? If you ban private ownership of bazookas, then they’re coming in the black helicopter… --- ## [Why are scientists so sure that dark matter exists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-scientists-so-sure-that-dark-matter-exists/654772)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-scientists-so-sure-that-dark-matter-exists/654772 "2013-04-05T18:14:59Z")
The Scientific Method indicates that when observational evidence contradicts the theory, the theory is considered disproven and chucked. That’s not the case with dark matter: galaxies aren’t behaving as classic theories … --- ## [Predict how the Supreme Court will Decide the Same Sex Marriage Cases](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-how-the-supreme-court-will-decide-the-same-sex-marriage-cases/653936)
**Author:** [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Replies:** 546\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-how-the-supreme-court-will-decide-the-same-sex-marriage-cases/653936 "2013-04-05T16:37:38Z")
This week the United States Supreme Court is hearing two cases on the issue of Same Sex Marriage (SSM): Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge to California’s Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that reestablished the ban o… --- ## [Will it soon be "not unusual" for straight people to take advantage of SSM?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-soon-be-not-unusual-for-straight-people-to-take-advantage-of-ssm/654113)
**Author:** [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-it-soon-be-not-unusual-for-straight-people-to-take-advantage-of-ssm/654113 "2013-04-05T13:26:01Z")
I was wondering the other day if, especially among women, we might soon see a lot of otherwise older, straight people take advantage of SSM. I can see this happening where people don’t really want to commit to the oppos… --- ## [Wind Turbine vs. Protected Eagles -- Who to root for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-turbine-vs-protected-eagles-who-to-root-for/654427)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [April 5, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wind-turbine-vs-protected-eagles-who-to-root-for/654427 "2013-04-05T04:10:25Z")
The LA Times reports: There is actually a federal permit for this: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/MidwestBird/EaglePermits/baeatakepermit.html Apparently getting such a permit is expensive – in that the permit requires “… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=281) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=283)