# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=300 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 301 --- ## [Mormons getting their own planet come Judgement Day? Can someone elaborate on this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-getting-their-own-planet-come-judgement-day-can-someone-elaborate-on-this/635816)
**Author:** [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Replies:** 231\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-getting-their-own-planet-come-judgement-day-can-someone-elaborate-on-this/635816 "2012-12-04T16:16:25Z")
The logistics of such an arrangement are somewhat mystifying to me. Do ALL faithful Mormons get their own planet? Or is it only the men? If women get their own planets too, do Mormons also get interplanetary travel so t… --- ## [DoJ sues Sheriff Arpaio for civil-rights abuses; anyone care to take Arpaio's side here?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-sues-sheriff-arpaio-for-civil-rights-abuses-anyone-care-to-take-arpaios-side-here/621726)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 279\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-sues-sheriff-arpaio-for-civil-rights-abuses-anyone-care-to-take-arpaios-side-here/621726 "2012-12-04T14:55:46Z")
I initially addressed this topic in a Pit thread, with Arpaio the Pittee, as seems fitting – at least among Dopers, for the most part – but, prowling about the Intertubes, one finds that public opinion is not quite so on… --- ## [1 Samuel 28, did it really happen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-samuel-28-did-it-really-happen/642774)
**Author:** [@Bertal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bertal)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-samuel-28-did-it-really-happen/642774 "2012-12-04T14:13:53Z")
Of course I can count on those who are sure that everything described in the Bible really happened. Thank you in advance for your support. But I ask those who doubt. You can’t deny that there is a lot of history in the … --- ## [Handgun ban...how would you do it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-ban-how-would-you-do-it/642316)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 183\ **Last updated:** [December 4, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-ban-how-would-you-do-it/642316 "2012-12-04T02:42:47Z")
As a sort of spin off to this thread, I thought I’d ask the same questions here without hijacking that other thread. I’ve always been curious about the practical aspects of how the anti-gun folks think this would play o… --- ## [Godless communism making it harder to be an atheist, godly extremism making it easier?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godless-communism-making-it-harder-to-be-an-atheist-godly-extremism-making-it-easier/642629)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/godless-communism-making-it-harder-to-be-an-atheist-godly-extremism-making-it-easier/642629 "2012-12-03T19:45:19Z")
“In God We Trust”; everyone knows the motto of the United States, proudly proclaiming its deist credentials. Although the phrase itself was in use far longer, it was officially adopted in 1956. A few years before in 1952… --- ## [Homosexuality and the Old Testament](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homosexuality-and-the-old-testament/635023)
**Author:** [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homosexuality-and-the-old-testament/635023 "2012-12-03T03:43:20Z")
Okay so many people today will invoke the Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy to justify anti-gay attitudes. What I’m really curious about is this: did gays back in the Old Testament get mistreated the way they sometime… --- ## [English as a Scandinavian language?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-a-scandinavian-language/640868)
**Author:** [@yelimS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yelimS)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [December 3, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-a-scandinavian-language/640868 "2012-12-03T01:18:04Z")
I’ve no idea why I couldn’t find their paper online (only this), but linguistics professors Jan Terje Faarlund (Oslo) and Joseph Emonds (Palacky) claims it is. According to them, Middle English represents too much of a b… --- ## [No Fossil Fuels - What would happen? End of OR Better Earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-fossil-fuels-what-would-happen-end-of-or-better-earth/642375)
**Author:** [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-fossil-fuels-what-would-happen-end-of-or-better-earth/642375 "2012-12-02T21:53:57Z")
So what would happen to our planet in the long term if the World’s fossil fuels supply completely and 100% dried up tomorrow? No I do not think this will happen, I do not believe in the peak oil theory. I realize that … --- ## [Catholic Church and Friends Big Funders of Anti Marriage Equality Campaigns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-and-friends-big-funders-of-anti-marriage-equality-campaigns/641230)
**Author:** [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-church-and-friends-big-funders-of-anti-marriage-equality-campaigns/641230 "2012-12-02T17:33:34Z")
The Roman Catholic Church contributed $2 million to oppose marriage equality initiatives in the last election, and with related organizations like the Knights of Columbus, were responsible for about 2/3 of the funding op… --- ## [Well that was fast: speed of light broken at CERN](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-fast-speed-of-light-broken-at-cern/642446)
**Author:** [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-that-was-fast-speed-of-light-broken-at-cern/642446 "2012-12-01T19:33:41Z")
Speed of light ‘broken’ at CERN, scientists claim There’s a video clip in the article wherein Professor Antonio Ereditato explains that they sent neutrinos from CERN to Gran Sasso, Italy - a distance of about 730 Km - … --- ## [Medicinal Marijuana and the 7 Year Old](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-marijuana-and-the-7-year-old/642595)
**Author:** [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [December 1, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-marijuana-and-the-7-year-old/642595 "2012-12-01T19:22:43Z")
Story here. A brief background from the story: This story has been all over the news for the last few day and it seems that opinions are all over the map. I’m not a parent, but if my child had some truly horrific and… --- ## [Why hasn't South America played a bigger role in the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-south-america-played-a-bigger-role-in-the-world/642347)
**Author:** [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-south-america-played-a-bigger-role-in-the-world/642347 "2012-11-30T21:35:03Z")
Now, I will by no means call myself a South American history scholar. Hell, I barely know what’s going on down there most of the time anyway. But I think that reveals the larger problem. Until very, very recently, South … --- ## [Who really wrote the bible? -Debate-](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-wrote-the-bible-debate/642476)
**Author:** [@James52637](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James52637)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-really-wrote-the-bible-debate/642476 "2012-11-30T19:45:47Z")
I’ve seen multiple theories and arguments as to who really wrote the bible. This thread is more for the people who already realize it’s not true, because I don’t really think “Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, etc., etc., etc.”… --- ## [How will this Internet age affect future historians?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-internet-age-affect-future-historians/642318)
**Author:** [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-this-internet-age-affect-future-historians/642318 "2012-11-30T16:31:43Z")
Historians today have a lot of written records to go by. Documents hundreds of years old can still be legible today. But as time progresses, hard drives being mechanical devices subject to failure, will all the informati… --- ## [Why have immigration laws?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-immigration-laws/638162)
**Author:** [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2012, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-immigration-laws/638162 "2012-11-30T10:03:54Z")
Current immigration policy strikes me as incoherent. We limit the number of people allowed to come into the country, yet we recoil at the idea of mass deportation. Heck, when Mitt Romney suggested that people “self-depor… --- ## [Operation Pillar of Cloud -- Gaza Under Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operation-pillar-of-cloud-gaza-under-siege/641137)
**Author:** [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Replies:** 709\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2012, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/operation-pillar-of-cloud-gaza-under-siege/641137 "2012-11-30T09:05:43Z")
Seems as if Israel’s ruling party has decided that with elections coming-up up in two months, now was a good time as any to show their backers how tough they can be with the 1.6 million people they keep locked-up in an a… --- ## [Askthepizzaguy V Bricker- The Great Pizza Debate](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/askthepizzaguy-v-bricker-the-great-pizza-debate/641573)
**Author:** [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Replies:** 154\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/askthepizzaguy-v-bricker-the-great-pizza-debate/641573 "2012-11-29T23:41:22Z")
From this thread: I issued this challenge: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15715907&postcount=157 \*\*Request: No other posters besides myself and Bricker, to provide accommodation for his assertion… --- ## [Is Obamacare causing layoffs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-obamacare-causing-layoffs/641685)
**Author:** [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Replies:** 140\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-obamacare-causing-layoffs/641685 "2012-11-29T21:29:31Z")
The conservativeblogs are ablaze with claims that Obamacare is causing layoffs and increasing - even doubling - the cost of health insurance premiums. Dozens of layoffs here, hundreds there, thousands over yonder. The ma… --- ## [Cost of the 401(k) deduction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-the-401-k-deduction/642475)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-the-401-k-deduction/642475 "2012-11-29T19:56:16Z")
This is probably a GQ, but just in case… I’ve seen cost estimates of the 401(k) deduction, something like $67 billion/year. Maybe it’s more, maybe less, I don’t know. My question is, does that cost only include the ta… --- ## [When did science become an opinion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-science-become-an-opinion/629466)
**Author:** [@wiredbadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wiredbadger)\ **Replies:** 116\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-science-become-an-opinion/629466 "2012-11-29T17:47:54Z")
The other day my friend calls me up and starts reading to me a book on anthropology. (my university education). the guy’s name i never heard of before, but i instantly recognized a emotional directive as he declares bono… --- ## [Should/Does Wikipedia have an actual contingency plan in case everything hits the fan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-does-wikipedia-have-an-actual-contingency-plan-in-case-everything-hits-the-fan/642378)
**Author:** [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-does-wikipedia-have-an-actual-contingency-plan-in-case-everything-hits-the-fan/642378 "2012-11-29T17:08:32Z")
I know that there is this joke page about an emergency wikipedia plan: Wikipedia:Terminal Event Management Policy - Wikipedia But…should it be a joke? Is there any plan in place to hide some rocks in caves or something … --- ## [Twin Towers Destruction - Could it have been predicted?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-towers-destruction-could-it-have-been-predicted/640957)
**Author:** [@supery00n](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supery00n)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twin-towers-destruction-could-it-have-been-predicted/640957 "2012-11-29T14:24:46Z")
I was wondering if collision simulation software was accurate enough to predict that airplanes flying into the Twin Towers with their energy release upon impact and then the combustion of the jet fuel would lead to their… --- ## [Wealth Tax](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wealth-tax/639423)
**Author:** [@Strike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strike)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wealth-tax/639423 "2012-11-29T02:39:54Z")
I’ve read about wealth tax and an idea struck me based on it. Why not tax wealth for all federal tax revenue (other than excise taxes)? However instead of simply taxing based on a certain percentage of wealth, tax based … --- ## [Bruce Bartlett on Epistemic Closure](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-bartlett-on-epistemic-closure/642263)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-bartlett-on-epistemic-closure/642263 "2012-11-28T20:21:04Z")
Article here: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/revenge-of-the-reality-based-community/ Bruce Bartlett first describes his conservative bona fides, then rips apart the modern Republican party, starting wi… --- ## [What are the minimum prerequisites for a universe that allows for self-awareness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-minimum-prerequisites-for-a-universe-that-allows-for-self-awareness/642181)
**Author:** [@MDKSquared](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MDKSquared)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-minimum-prerequisites-for-a-universe-that-allows-for-self-awareness/642181 "2012-11-28T17:48:50Z")
This is basically a discussion about the Anthropic Principle. We are self-aware, sentient beings because we live in a universe where the fine constants are what they are. Galaxies were able to form, stars were able to u… --- ## [Who has a right to a "homeland"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-a-right-to-a-homeland/641186)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-a-right-to-a-homeland/641186 "2012-11-28T16:54:53Z")
Being an American mutt of mixed Euro ethnicity, I don’t really understand (or sympathize with) ethnic or tribal identification. I don’t feel that I and my kin are somehow entitled to a specific piece of this planet for … --- ## [How different would the world be if Henry A. Wallace became president?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-world-be-if-henry-a-wallace-became-president/642157)
**Author:** [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-world-be-if-henry-a-wallace-became-president/642157 "2012-11-28T05:28:49Z")
Inspired by this thread and the Oliver Stone docs on Showtime, I wanna ask how different the world would be if Henry A. Wallace was FDR’s VP for the 4th term instead of Harry Truman? Wallace was painted by Oliver Stone … --- ## [The social structure question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-structure-question/642000)
**Author:** [@Muffins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffins)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-structure-question/642000 "2012-11-27T23:04:11Z")
Communism, neo-capitalism, anarchism, libertarianism there are countless options, but is there a winning formula? What do we have at the moment? Are there auxiliary motives to the growth and decline of a system? Is ther… --- ## [Brexit - the UK exits the EU, what will happen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-the-uk-exits-the-eu-what-will-happen/642286)
**Author:** [@Uther\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uther_Penguin)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-the-uk-exits-the-eu-what-will-happen/642286 "2012-11-27T22:57:25Z")
“Brexit” is a neologism for the case that the UK decides to leave the EU. According to the Treaty of Lisbon (Article 50), “\[a\]ny Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitution… --- ## [Chicago's gun death tally vs. Chicago's gun laws](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicagos-gun-death-tally-vs-chicagos-gun-laws/642041)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 146\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicagos-gun-death-tally-vs-chicagos-gun-laws/642041 "2012-11-27T22:28:31Z")
Dallas Jones asked this question elsewhere. What are some possible answers? How and why is the gun death tally so high in Chicago if the laws are so restrictive? Please try to focus in on just this city and just this… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=299) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=301)