# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=331 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 332 --- ## [Some Questions About Libertarianism and the Free State Movement](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-libertarianism-and-the-free-state-movement/619975)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-questions-about-libertarianism-and-the-free-state-movement/619975 "2012-04-28T14:54:00Z")
Thanks to Tune-in Radio I’ve recently gotten into some libertarian/Free State talk radio thanks to lrn.fm. I’ve got a few questions about Libertarianism in general and the Free State Movement in particular. Does this … --- ## [Do we need to help weak people?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-to-help-weak-people/620184)
**Author:** [@Otkakonmiskilic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otkakonmiskilic)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-to-help-weak-people/620184 "2012-04-27T23:01:55Z")
Why don’t we exploit them when we know it is easy to exploit them? At the first place, this nature works in that way. By that, I mean strong ones step on weak ones. But our morality and what we have been taught to do in… --- ## [Why are so-called "violent" video-games demonized too much?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910)
**Author:** [@Otkakonmiskilic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otkakonmiskilic)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-so-called-violent-video-games-demonized-too-much/619910 "2012-04-27T22:29:18Z")
I have playing these things since I was 5 or 6, for hours in a day, at least 3-4. But I don’t even want to handle a gun, or keep it in my home. And, in the media I often see people (especially experts) accuse these games… --- ## [Top Ten Scientific Proofs of Creation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-scientific-proofs-of-creation/619231)
**Author:** [@supermegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supermegaman)\ **Replies:** 495\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-scientific-proofs-of-creation/619231 "2012-04-27T20:39:00Z")
this looked fascinating! http://www.christiansentry.com/top-ten-scientific-proofs-of-creation/ here’s the first three. --- ## [Is the Contraception mandate a violation of religious freedom?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570)
**Author:** [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Replies:** 284\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-contraception-mandate-a-violation-of-religious-freedom/611570 "2012-04-27T19:01:36Z")
Entered into a discussion on another site {can I like to the article?} about the Obama admin’s decision to not grant religious exemptions to employers concerning insurance coverage fpr contraceptives. Some have been say… --- ## [Time's 100 Most Influential in the World](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-100-most-influential-in-the-world/619501)
**Author:** [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-100-most-influential-in-the-world/619501 "2012-04-27T18:15:18Z")
I skimmed it looking at the pictures and looking for the criteria…didn’t find it. One face in particular was conspicuous by its absense…for me anyway. What criteria would you use ? --- ## [Motion of sattelite around the Earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-of-sattelite-around-the-earth/620131)
**Author:** [@Rutika\_Kulkarni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rutika_Kulkarni)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motion-of-sattelite-around-the-earth/620131 "2012-04-27T14:19:10Z")
How does the Satellites are made to move exactly in circular orbit around the earth? how many forces are used? what is their value? --- ## [Bush killed Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-killed-kennedy/120521)
**Author:** [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-killed-kennedy/120521 "2012-04-27T12:40:18Z")
I’m not a big conspiracy freak but this was a new one to me. Check it out! I think most will agree the Bush “Dynasty” has some ethically questionable behavior in it’s past. I never thought it was quite this bad but her… --- ## [Is there anything that cannot be criticized, or cannot be treated with scepticism ...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-cannot-be-criticized-or-cannot-be-treated-with-scepticism/619964)
**Author:** [@Otkakonmiskilic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otkakonmiskilic)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-cannot-be-criticized-or-cannot-be-treated-with-scepticism/619964 "2012-04-27T08:19:34Z")
Is there anything that cannot be criticized, cannot be treated with scepticism, or/and cannot be doubted by? --- ## [Avoiding a hijack: a response to one version of biblical inerrancy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-a-hijack-a-response-to-one-version-of-biblical-inerrancy/619872)
**Author:** [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/avoiding-a-hijack-a-response-to-one-version-of-biblical-inerrancy/619872 "2012-04-26T23:32:13Z")
This thread is in response to the following post in the Present evidence for the existence of your deity thread, in order to avoid a further hijack of that thread. I will probably not spend a lot of time making any gran… --- ## [How to reconcile American pride and drug tests](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reconcile-american-pride-and-drug-tests/619685)
**Author:** [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-reconcile-american-pride-and-drug-tests/619685 "2012-04-26T22:08:35Z")
If you’re American working class, you know what I’m talking about. America touts itself as the home of the free, yet allows the privacy of her citizens to regularly be violated in a degrading fashion. So how’s that work… --- ## ["Public good" workers shouldn't be unionized](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-good-workers-shouldnt-be-unionized/619121)
**Author:** [@CheeseDonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeseDonkey)\ **Replies:** 168\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-good-workers-shouldnt-be-unionized/619121 "2012-04-26T18:57:35Z")
I once heard an interesting opinion that I would like to get your thoughts on. An individual once told me something to the effect of individuals in an organization that exists to protect or support the public good, like… --- ## [Would America have been better off never learning about Watergate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-america-have-been-better-off-never-learning-about-watergate/619609)
**Author:** [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-america-have-been-better-off-never-learning-about-watergate/619609 "2012-04-26T18:25:12Z")
I am not an historian or political scientist, but I’ve heard the sentiment often expressed that the Watergate scandal did a lot of damage to American’s faith in government that stretches even to today. Of course there ha… --- ## [Does does religious conversion affect family members?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-does-religious-conversion-affect-family-members/618812)
**Author:** [@Searching\_for\_Answers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Searching_for_Answers)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-does-religious-conversion-affect-family-members/618812 "2012-04-25T23:07:10Z")
Has anyone had a family member that has converted to a different religion? Or maybe a family member that changed to his or her spouse’s religion? There’s plenty of information about religious converts, but I’m intereste… --- ## [Arizona Voter ID law upheld by Ninth Cir](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-voter-id-law-upheld-by-ninth-cir/619302)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 222\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arizona-voter-id-law-upheld-by-ninth-cir/619302 "2012-04-25T21:54:30Z")
Comes now the federal judge team of Chief Judge Kozinski, Judge Ikuta, and Judge Berzon, and they say that Arizona’s requirement that voters present ID before voting is valid: Gonzalez v. Arizona. And (obviously) emph… --- ## [Conservative London Mayor quashes anti-gay bus ads](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-london-mayor-quashes-anti-gay-bus-ads/619039)
**Author:** [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-london-mayor-quashes-anti-gay-bus-ads/619039 "2012-04-25T21:18:20Z")
Anyone pondering the difference between UK and US conservatives might want to consider this story: Now bear in mind that Boris is a member of the Conservative (large C) Party AND is currently running for re-election. … --- ## [Is the 2nd Amendment an anachronism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-2nd-amendment-an-anachronism/618976)
**Author:** [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Replies:** 422\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-2nd-amendment-an-anachronism/618976 "2012-04-25T20:09:19Z")
The 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution, that is. I think so. The idea that the citizens need to be able to take on the federal government by force is not only laughable, it seems rather a quaint idea whose time has … --- ## [Spelling Reform.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-reform/619130)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-reform/619130 "2012-04-25T17:53:06Z")
Tha simp’l fakt ov tha matter iz, inglish pronunsiashun iz a relik ov tha past. Bayst on tha fifteenth sentury rather than twenty-furst, inglish pronunsiashun confuzez nyu lernerz. Jermanz and italyanz hav a literal spel… --- ## ['Liberal Media Bias' (in US).](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-media-bias-in-us/617788)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 215\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-media-bias-in-us/617788 "2012-04-25T12:28:07Z")
I was wondering if there really is liberal media bias in the dominant US medias. I know that is what the, well, to be blunt, conservatives say. Has any definitive study been done on the matter? I know I starting thinkin… --- ## [Nazi Lobbyist in Washington](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-lobbyist-in-washington/618815)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 115\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nazi-lobbyist-in-washington/618815 "2012-04-24T19:00:51Z")
We live in a strange country. Our fathers and grandfathers fought these filthy b\*stards on the beaches of Normandy, The Battle of Bulge and right into the Fuehrer’s Kehlsteinhaus. We liberated the camps where this verm… --- ## [Question about the Trayvon Martin Case?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-trayvon-martin-case/618504)
**Author:** [@Modevo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Modevo)\ **Replies:** 442\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-trayvon-martin-case/618504 "2012-04-24T16:53:47Z")
If this had been a racially motivated crime against a white man, would it have received as much media attention? I’m mixed race by the way, so don’t take this as “Oh, this white guy is trying to be a smart aleck” like ma… --- ## [Absentee ballots](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absentee-ballots/619407)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absentee-ballots/619407 "2012-04-24T16:41:44Z")
This is a general question, I suppose, but I think a debate may break out. I’ve never voted by absentee ballot. How is the voter properly identified when voting absentee? Do you send in your various forms of ID that’s… --- ## [How fast could humans advance technologically if knowledge weren't a limiting factor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-could-humans-advance-technologically-if-knowledge-werent-a-limiting-factor/619568)
**Author:** [@bobbarker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobbarker)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2012, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-could-humans-advance-technologically-if-knowledge-werent-a-limiting-factor/619568 "2012-04-24T05:41:53Z")
This question has definitely been asked on the Straight Dope boards before, but never really answered to my full satisfaction, though each time the responses did arouse my interest. Every time, the OP has proposed some i… --- ## [In the next 50 years, what's the best case scenario for Cuba?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-next-50-years-whats-the-best-case-scenario-for-cuba/619308)
**Author:** [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-next-50-years-whats-the-best-case-scenario-for-cuba/619308 "2012-04-24T00:49:34Z")
– preferably from the perspective of Cubans, not the best case scenario from the perspective of U.S. interests. --- ## [We really need a new progressive movement in America](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-really-need-a-new-progressive-movement-in-america/618444)
**Author:** [@Eric\_the\_Green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric_the_Green)\ **Replies:** 322\ **Last updated:** [April 22, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-really-need-a-new-progressive-movement-in-america/618444 "2012-04-22T21:12:03Z")
A movement that will reject the free market as the utopian solution to our economic problems, and instead advocate a mixed economy. A movement that advocates, as Mario Cuomo said, no more government than we need, but al… --- ## [Cremation , Embalming, and even simple Burial are Unethical](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-embalming-and-even-simple-burial-are-unethical/617891)
**Author:** [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [April 22, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cremation-embalming-and-even-simple-burial-are-unethical/617891 "2012-04-22T10:58:57Z")
Inspired by this thread So we humans are on top of the food chain. I have no problems with eating other species. I don’t see anything unethical about that. But it occurs to me that if I accept nature and evolution to v… --- ## [Global Warming Deniers--So what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-deniers-so-what/619301)
**Author:** [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [April 22, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-deniers-so-what/619301 "2012-04-22T02:36:22Z")
Alright, here’s my problem. I don’t understand global warming deniers. I get some of their arguments against global warming being man-made, but so what? Pumping chemicals into the atmosphere is either going to turn the e… --- ## [Someone threatens to commit suicide. You egg them on. Can you be sued if the person commits suicide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-threatens-to-commit-suicide-you-egg-them-on-can-you-be-sued-if-the-person-commits-suicide/618569)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [April 21, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-threatens-to-commit-suicide-you-egg-them-on-can-you-be-sued-if-the-person-commits-suicide/618569 "2012-04-21T20:02:03Z")
Over on Reddit there is a post detailing a story of a guy who posted on Reddit that he wanted to kill himself. Apparently some Redditors egged him on (not all did) and the man jumped from a hotel window killing himself … --- ## [Proposed constitutional amendment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposed-constitutional-amendment/618626)
**Author:** [@Bemused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bemused)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [April 21, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposed-constitutional-amendment/618626 "2012-04-21T18:30:37Z")
The rights enumerated, implied, or otherwise found to exist in this Constitution shall be construed as applying only to human persons. These rights specifically shall not be construed to apply to any non-living human co… --- ## [Why do the Russians hate the British so much?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-russians-hate-the-british-so-much/571908)
**Author:** [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [April 21, 2012, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-russians-hate-the-british-so-much/571908 "2012-04-21T10:19:41Z")
In contrast with France and Germany, Russia seems intent on isolating the UK for its ire, now I’m just wondering why is this the case? Is it because we’re not dependent on them for natural gas? Because we harbour Russian… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=330) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=332)