# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=325 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 326 --- ## [Stand Your Ground hypotheticals](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-your-ground-hypotheticals/622857)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 129\ **Last updated:** [June 8, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-your-ground-hypotheticals/622857 "2012-06-08T01:04:31Z")
Is there a law in Florida specifically preventing me from standing in the middle of a highway? If not, would “Stand Your Ground” permit me to fire a weapon on oncoming traffic, as they would cause me grievous bodily har… --- ## [Will Twitter SAVE newspapers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-twitter-save-newspapers/624329)
**Author:** [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-twitter-save-newspapers/624329 "2012-06-07T19:01:37Z")
Inspired by this thread. At 4:12 PM (I assume EST) on June 5, 2012, tazeen tweeted: Sometime after that, Declan Walsh or Eric Schmitt or someone else at The New York Times saw that tweet and used it to end the leading… --- ## [Obama's energy policies..](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-energy-policies/623419)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-energy-policies/623419 "2012-06-07T18:13:35Z")
FTR: I’m an Obama supporter and I plan to vote for him this election cycle. That said, I’m really not liking his energy policies. I just don’t understand what the hell he is thinking. I know there is very little he can… --- ## [What If New Brunswick Decided to Join The USA?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-new-brunswick-decided-to-join-the-usa/621783)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 170\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-new-brunswick-decided-to-join-the-usa/621783 "2012-06-07T03:53:12Z")
Suppose there is a plebiscite in NB, and the populace decide that they are getting a raw deal from Ottawa. So they vote, and decide that they want to join the Union. They send a guy to Washington, to plead their case. … --- ## [Repeal the Eleventh Amendment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-eleventh-amendment/620608)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repeal-the-eleventh-amendment/620608 "2012-06-07T03:38:54Z")
Has the time come to repeal the Eleventh Amendment to the US Constitution? In case you don’t know, this deals with the sometimes horribly unfair doctrine of sovereign immunity. I know prosecutors enjoy something similia… --- ## [Another Example of Atheists Destroying Christian's Rights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555)
**Author:** [@GEEPERS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GEEPERS)\ **Replies:** 768\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555 "2012-06-07T02:24:03Z")
Next month, teen atheist, Jessica Ahlquist, will be honored at Humanist Association conference and receive an award for her efforts to tear down that banner at her school. Despite the fact that the banner had been in th… --- ## [Gift Economies, Capitalism And The Internet Economy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gift-economies-capitalism-and-the-internet-economy/624042)
**Author:** [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gift-economies-capitalism-and-the-internet-economy/624042 "2012-06-06T04:12:43Z")
I’m beginning to see a trend towards business types harvesting the efforts of people who do things for free as gifts for one another, getting rich thereby, or trying to. Cases in point: The Huffington Post, Yelp, Patch, … --- ## [Climate change’s observable impacts on humans](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-s-observable-impacts-on-humans/621579)
**Author:** [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-s-observable-impacts-on-humans/621579 "2012-06-06T02:46:25Z")
This thread asks questions that are based on a rudimentary understanding of climate science. Questioning or denying the basics of climate science should be done in another thread. If possible, I would like to ask the mod… --- ## [Capital Punishment supporters, would you support public executions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-punishment-supporters-would-you-support-public-executions/623858)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [June 6, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capital-punishment-supporters-would-you-support-public-executions/623858 "2012-06-06T01:52:42Z")
Lets clear the air first. This is not about the rightness or wrongness of the death penalty. This is about the circumstances of carrying it out. Until the early part of the twentieth century, it was common world over, it… --- ## [American Politics: The Tail is Wagging The Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-politics-the-tail-is-wagging-the-dog/624007)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-politics-the-tail-is-wagging-the-dog/624007 "2012-06-05T23:35:29Z")
A post from Ezra Klein on the Washington Post’s online political blog is a little out of date - it is from November when Republican presidential candidates not named Romney were still in the hunt for the nomination - but… --- ## [Kucinich Is Right on Iran](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kucinich-is-right-on-iran/622921)
**Author:** [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Replies:** 112\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kucinich-is-right-on-iran/622921 "2012-06-05T23:21:13Z")
Not sure if this is a debate topic - maybe everyone here agrees with Kucinich. I think he is pretty much on the money. Invading Iraq and Afghanistan has been a disaster and so would invading Iran. The US should be more f… --- ## [Male vs. Female Sex Drives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-vs-female-sex-drives/491578)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 166\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-vs-female-sex-drives/491578 "2012-06-05T18:20:38Z")
I’m not sure if this is a Great Debate - it seems like a Great Thought and I’m not even sure of that. I’ve never seen the following thesis put forth in writings on or discussions of the issue, but that might just mean th… --- ## [John McCain is President... Obama lost... How different does America look right now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-is-president-obama-lost-how-different-does-america-look-right-now/623527)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-is-president-obama-lost-how-different-does-america-look-right-now/623527 "2012-06-05T18:02:30Z")
Today is May 30, 2012. Not quite 3 1/2 years ago, McCain/Palin won the election instead of Obama. For the purpose of this hypothetical, the election itself was close but decisive - no controversial issues like 2000 whi… --- ## [The Bell Curve](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bell-curve/624159)
**Author:** [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bell-curve/624159 "2012-06-05T16:00:10Z")
Should Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein have been prevented from publishing The Bell Curve? Should there be sanctions against those who express agreement with the book? What about similar books like IQ and the Weal… --- ## [Physical descriptions in a post racial world](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-descriptions-in-a-post-racial-world/623757)
**Author:** [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/physical-descriptions-in-a-post-racial-world/623757 "2012-06-05T15:04:55Z")
(Placed in GD due to the subject matter; mods kindly move if appropriate) So there has been a good amount of discussion and evidence presented that the term “race” has no biological validity in regards to humans. Our sp… --- ## [The Georgia Guidestones](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-georgia-guidestones/16971)
**Author:** [@Krispy\_Original](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krispy_Original)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [June 5, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-georgia-guidestones/16971 "2012-06-05T13:50:01Z")
I was out cruising the net as usual and ran across some information about something called “The Georgia Guidestones”. The Georgia Guidestones can be found on one of the highest hilltops in Elberton County, Georgia and i… --- ## [Rehab and Political Orientation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rehab-and-political-orientation/624076)
**Author:** [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rehab-and-political-orientation/624076 "2012-06-04T21:03:07Z")
I read this quote from Robert Downey, Jr. on Wikipedia (which sources the New York Times): “I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but yo… --- ## [Free speech is made in a forest with nobody around to hear it... Is it really speech?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-speech-is-made-in-a-forest-with-nobody-around-to-hear-it-is-it-really-speech/623310)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-speech-is-made-in-a-forest-with-nobody-around-to-hear-it-is-it-really-speech/623310 "2012-06-04T20:21:54Z")
We are all aware of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling which held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions. … --- ## [Justin Combs, future UCLA Bruin, son of P Diddy.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justin-combs-future-ucla-bruin-son-of-p-diddy/623927)
**Author:** [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justin-combs-future-ucla-bruin-son-of-p-diddy/623927 "2012-06-04T18:32:15Z")
Justin Combs, son of Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs whose net worth is estimated at $550 million, is a blue chip football prospect who graduated with a 3.75 GPA. He has been offered an athletic scholarship valued at $54,000 per ye… --- ## [The Republican Worldview: A Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-worldview-a-question/623820)
**Author:** [@supery00n](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supery00n)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-worldview-a-question/623820 "2012-06-04T11:11:53Z")
This is a quote from Voices of Reason: http://www.voicesofreason.info/permalink/2011\_09\_04\_grand\_illusions\_at\_the\_heart\_of\_the\_gop%92s\_worldview.php I feel like this article, with which I do not necessarily wholehearte… --- ## [What would it take to cause the collapse of the US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-cause-the-collapse-of-the-us/622751)
**Author:** [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-cause-the-collapse-of-the-us/622751 "2012-06-04T03:56:08Z")
There are plenty of stories that take place in a “Post United States” North America; where for some reason the government and nation has collapsed. The reasons range from war to nuclear holocaust to . . . all kinds of s… --- ## [New York Senate bill seeks to end anonymous internet posting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-senate-bill-seeks-to-end-anonymous-internet-posting/622986)
**Author:** [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-senate-bill-seeks-to-end-anonymous-internet-posting/622986 "2012-06-04T03:31:19Z")
New York Senate bill seeks to end anonymous internet posting More Government in the home… --- ## [Tex Watson and his Attorney Fees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tex-watson-and-his-attorney-fees/623550)
**Author:** [@David42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David42)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tex-watson-and-his-attorney-fees/623550 "2012-06-04T03:17:54Z")
http://news.yahoo.com/judge-orders-manson-family-tapes-turned-over-police-015715451.html Tex Watson is apparently selling his privileged conversations with his attorney in order to pay attorney fees I might understand … --- ## [Should SCOTUS Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg step down?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-scotus-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-step-down/623336)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-scotus-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-step-down/623336 "2012-06-04T03:02:12Z")
Ruth Ginsburg is 79-years-old and has a medical history that includes at least two cancers. Although her earlier colon cancer diagnosis was in 2000 which probably indicates that she is cured of that disorder, her pancrea… --- ## [California Proposition 29](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-proposition-29/623928)
**Author:** [@scismgenie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scismgenie)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-proposition-29/623928 "2012-06-03T21:22:03Z")
Proposition 29 establishes a tax that ONLY applies to smokers, to pay for Cancer research. Does the tax violate the provisions of the 14th Amendment regarding class, as it discriminates against a CLASS of citizens… --- ## [British law vs. British rights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-law-vs-british-rights/623828)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-law-vs-british-rights/623828 "2012-06-03T19:03:36Z")
Didn’t want to hijack the thread about ex post facto laws, but it raised a point I wanted to discuss. In England/Britain there seem to be two conflicting principles at work: on the one hand, in theory Parliment can pass … --- ## [A flat tax is a non-starter, stop suggesting it](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-flat-tax-is-a-non-starter-stop-suggesting-it/622834)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-flat-tax-is-a-non-starter-stop-suggesting-it/622834 "2012-06-03T02:22:24Z")
Over in one of those libertarian threads, an example was given of the sorts of things real-life libertarians like to talk about - a flat tax. I agree with this, as it’s something I hear a lot in real-life conversations,… --- ## [Does the external world exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-external-world-exist/622803)
**Author:** [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-external-world-exist/622803 "2012-06-02T16:50:58Z")
From previous GD thread. To the question in the thread title, my answer is “no”. How did I arrive at this answer? Easy. I took The Hampster King’s philosophical position, i.e. “I live my life as though the external wo… --- ## [Resolved: Kevin Williamson is Being Dense on Civil Rights History](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-kevin-williamson-is-being-dense-on-civil-rights-history/623143)
**Author:** [@Bpelta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bpelta)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-kevin-williamson-is-being-dense-on-civil-rights-history/623143 "2012-06-02T16:25:53Z")
The other day in the National Review, Kevin Williamson attempted a refutation of the supposedly “popular but indefensible belief that the two major U.S. political parties somehow ‘switched places’ vis-à-vis protecting th… --- ## [Is writing off a charitable contribution morally superior to making no contribution at all?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-writing-off-a-charitable-contribution-morally-superior-to-making-no-contribution-at-all/623636)
**Author:** [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-writing-off-a-charitable-contribution-morally-superior-to-making-no-contribution-at-all/623636 "2012-06-02T13:57:32Z")
So let’s say I donate $100 to a kitten shelter, and then go and write a $100 charitable contribution off on my taxes. Is it fair to describe me as “generous,” “giving,” or “good” because of it? It seems like most people … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=324) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=326)