# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=339 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 340 --- ## [Libertarianism and Moralism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libertarianism-and-moralism/614010)
**Author:** [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Replies:** 153\ **Last updated:** [February 29, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libertarianism-and-moralism/614010 "2012-02-29T01:19:16Z")
In this clip from a recent episode of The Last Word, Ron Paul is heard to say “I think the problem of immorality creates the problem of wanting to use the \[birth control\] pills.” Lawrence O’Donnell takes RP to town for t… --- ## [Why do same-sex marriage laws require religious exemptions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-same-sex-marriage-laws-require-religious-exemptions/613881)
**Author:** [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-same-sex-marriage-laws-require-religious-exemptions/613881 "2012-02-28T05:36:27Z")
This November, Maine will once again put forward a same-sex marriage referendum, this time on the pro-SSM side. The text: Right now, in every state, it is absolutely legal for a Jew to marry a Catholic. There are, how… --- ## [You are Nixon, January 1969: Fastest/Best way to withdraw from Vietnam?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-nixon-january-1969-fastest-best-way-to-withdraw-from-vietnam/614168)
**Author:** [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-nixon-january-1969-fastest-best-way-to-withdraw-from-vietnam/614168 "2012-02-27T17:52:55Z")
Ok i hate to start a related thread shortly after my POW one, but this is sufficiently different of a question. I remember reading about how the Vietnam war went down (i.e. when US packed the bags). The party line is so… --- ## [And now: Yemen and the "Pink Revolution"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-yemen-and-the-pink-revolution/571245)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-yemen-and-the-pink-revolution/571245 "2012-02-27T17:48:21Z")
A government that already had three insurgencies to deal with (al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula; Shi’ite secessionists in the northwest; South Yemen secessionists in the southeast) now has protesters marching in the cap… --- ## [Alabama’s unemployment rate continues to plummet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-s-unemployment-rate-continues-to-plummet/610786)
**Author:** [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-s-unemployment-rate-continues-to-plummet/610786 "2012-02-27T04:34:24Z")
This shows just how easy it could be to partially reduce US unemployment. :slight\_smile: --- ## [Will we ever encounter a multisexed sentient species?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-encounter-a-multisexed-sentient-species/613908)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-encounter-a-multisexed-sentient-species/613908 "2012-02-27T04:02:15Z")
It’s a staple, or at least an idea occasionally played with, in SF that an alien race might have more than two sexes. But, assuming there are ETs, and assuming most of them are Starfish Aliens, I think they still would … --- ## [If I can't trust a 20 year old to buy alcohol...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-cant-trust-a-20-year-old-to-buy-alcohol/611698)
**Author:** [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-cant-trust-a-20-year-old-to-buy-alcohol/611698 "2012-02-27T03:59:50Z")
If I can’t trust a 20 year old to buy alcohol, what can I trust him/her to do? I realize debating a legal drinking age is old and tired, but I’ve run into what I think is a strange new twist. Last December my non-profi… --- ## [The Curious Case of the Cougar and the Commissioner](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-curious-case-of-the-cougar-and-the-commissioner/613975)
**Author:** [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-curious-case-of-the-cougar-and-the-commissioner/613975 "2012-02-27T02:28:14Z")
Story Here: I am not a hunter, and I’m not even much of a fan of the 2nd amendment (respect that it exists, but wouldn’t mind if it didn’t), and I would never trophy hunt a mountain lion. But I don’t see that this guy… --- ## [The Roman Catholic Church on Viagra?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-roman-catholic-church-on-viagra/612702)
**Author:** [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-roman-catholic-church-on-viagra/612702 "2012-02-26T17:44:39Z")
If the RCC is against Birth Control because it is considered unnatural. does it have the same policy on Viagra etc.? surely that is unnatural; maybe God doesn’t want a man to be able to perform? --- ## [The New Testament, War and Magic.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-testament-war-and-magic/612913)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-testament-war-and-magic/612913 "2012-02-26T15:19:18Z")
This is something I have wondered for a while now. First, does the New Testament endorse magick (modern practitioners spell it with a k to distinguish it from sleight of hand)? Consider the Magi. They came bearing gifts … --- ## [Texas gives Obama the middle finger](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852)
**Author:** [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852 "2012-02-26T09:27:06Z")
Figuratively speaking, of course. Texas said they were going to bar Planned Parenthood and other affiliates of abortion providers from participating in Medicaid. Obama said no, or the administration would take away Tex… --- ## [Could the Keystone pipeline become a terrorist target?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-keystone-pipeline-become-a-terrorist-target/612887)
**Author:** [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-keystone-pipeline-become-a-terrorist-target/612887 "2012-02-26T05:02:19Z")
Assuming it is ever built, would the Keystone oil pipeline become an instant terrorist target? Seems like it would have to cross plenty of rivers and streams. Would a leak into a large river cause major environmental p… --- ## [Government-sanctioned rape?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-sanctioned-rape/613927)
**Author:** [@FixMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FixMyIgnorance)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-sanctioned-rape/613927 "2012-02-25T12:41:31Z")
DAVE ALBO’S WIFE REJECTS SEX WITH HIM What are your thoughts on the underlying subject? --- ## [Who is the USA's Best Ally?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-usas-best-ally/612492)
**Author:** [@voidray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voidray)\ **Replies:** 159\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-usas-best-ally/612492 "2012-02-25T08:00:42Z")
In my humble opinion, it is Israel especially while considered the Jewish population in the US. They have general control over the media and the government. --- ## [Who is David James, Baron James of Blackheath](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-david-james-baron-james-of-blackheath/613813)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-david-james-baron-james-of-blackheath/613813 "2012-02-25T00:31:17Z")
My SO just sent me a video of a speech he made in the House of Lords alleging some 15 trillion dollar conspiracy. I couldn’t find anything about this on BBC or The Guardian’s websites. Who is Lord James and is he for r… --- ## [Should states be fighting Obamacare on religious grounds?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-states-be-fighting-obamacare-on-religious-grounds/613875)
**Author:** [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-states-be-fighting-obamacare-on-religious-grounds/613875 "2012-02-24T21:05:59Z")
I’m just spit-balling here, but at 1st blush I don’t necessarily want my state (Ohio) joining a federal lawsuit challenging birth control coverage in Obamacare because it may offend religions, including mine (Roman Catho… --- ## [Would Obama have been elected without Osama Bin Ladan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-without-osama-bin-ladan/613697)
**Author:** [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-without-osama-bin-ladan/613697 "2012-02-24T17:55:41Z")
This is my theory… Before 9/11, Osama bin Laden was far from a household name. In fact, it sounded as alien to our ears as any name I can think of. But after 9/11, the name Osama bin Laden was repeated constantly dail… --- ## [The USA now has homeless (tented) communities outside 55 cities?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usa-now-has-homeless-tented-communities-outside-55-cities/612701)
**Author:** [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-usa-now-has-homeless-tented-communities-outside-55-cities/612701 "2012-02-24T15:07:23Z")
If you can watch past 2mins 40 secs you’re stronger than me: I don’t understand how a population can become so cowered as to not revolt against the obscenity of poverty and inequality in society. Based on the above,… --- ## [Trading economic efficiency for compassion.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-economic-efficiency-for-compassion/613112)
**Author:** [@Parthol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parthol)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-economic-efficiency-for-compassion/613112 "2012-02-24T06:15:54Z")
The “Living Wage” thread has made me ponder the question, of to what extent a prosperous society (such as the modern U.S.) benefits, as a whole, from trading economic efficiency for compassion for the least fortunate. B… --- ## [Is It Possible, Within the Parameters of the Constitution... \[apportioning votes to parties\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-within-the-parameters-of-the-constitution-apportioning-votes-to-parties/613521)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-within-the-parameters-of-the-constitution-apportioning-votes-to-parties/613521 "2012-02-24T04:56:05Z")
Disclaimer the First: I’m sorry for the vague thread title; I couldn’t think of a way to truncate my question into a sentence that would fit in the thread title. Disclaimer the Second: I’m actually looking for a factual… --- ## [Convince me to support American independence](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-support-american-independence/612441)
**Author:** [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-to-support-american-independence/612441 "2012-02-24T04:19:28Z")
I’ve long thought that, had I been alive in the American colonies during the 1770s, I would have been unlikely to support independence from Britain. The colonies had a great deal of self-rule, taxation was (despite the r… --- ## [Interesting hard data on UK Christian Belief](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-hard-data-on-uk-christian-belief/612916)
**Author:** [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Replies:** 113\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-hard-data-on-uk-christian-belief/612916 "2012-02-24T04:12:23Z")
In a week when religious freedom and privilege have been hot topics, we have just had a fascinating insight into the beliefs and motivations of UK Christians. A little background. We had a census taken last year and th… --- ## [Turning your life over to God?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turning-your-life-over-to-god/613307)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turning-your-life-over-to-god/613307 "2012-02-24T01:55:10Z")
I was in a store the other day and the radio played the Carrie Underwood song “Jesus Take The Wheel”. And I wondered if, in addition to being bad music, it was also bad theology. The song, in case you haven’t heard it, … --- ## [Should We "Believe" Dictators](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-believe-dictators/613733)
**Author:** [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [February 24, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-believe-dictators/613733 "2012-02-24T00:33:06Z")
From last night’s GOP debate: \[QUOTE=Newt Gingrich\] The fact is this is a dictator, Ahmadinejad, who has said he doesn’t believe the Holocaust existed. This is a dictator who said he wants to eliminate Israel from the … --- ## [Is the personal cost of this jury service too high?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-personal-cost-of-this-jury-service-too-high/612470)
**Author:** [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-personal-cost-of-this-jury-service-too-high/612470 "2012-02-23T23:52:11Z")
Last fall, I got a summons for jury service in a criminal death penalty case, along with a 40+ page (!) jury questionaire. Shockingly, they disclosed not only the defendant’s name and the circumstances of the crime, but… --- ## [The Mongolian Empire adopts an authoritarian central government. How far do they go?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mongolian-empire-adopts-an-authoritarian-central-government-how-far-do-they-go/613692)
**Author:** [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mongolian-empire-adopts-an-authoritarian-central-government-how-far-do-they-go/613692 "2012-02-23T23:23:11Z")
Under Genghis Khan, Mongolia conquered a huge empire in a very short time. At the empire’s height, all of Asia except for Khmer, India, and the furthest reaches of Northern Russia belonged to the Khanate. And India was p… --- ## [Agnostics--could you more precisely state your position?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agnostics-could-you-more-precisely-state-your-position/613573)
**Author:** [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Replies:** 194\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/agnostics-could-you-more-precisely-state-your-position/613573 "2012-02-23T21:47:35Z")
In my experience, it’s hard to tell just what somebody who is “agnostic” is uncertain about. Do they mean that they think there’s a 50% chance that there’s a Christian God who hates homosexuals? Do they think there’s a… --- ## [Boys get to go on a movie field trip, girls don't](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boys-get-to-go-on-a-movie-field-trip-girls-dont/612865)
**Author:** [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boys-get-to-go-on-a-movie-field-trip-girls-dont/612865 "2012-02-23T19:04:49Z")
February is Black History Month, and there’s a movie that is about the black fighter pilots of WWII. And the Dallas Independent School District had some money to spend for low-income students. So it’s field trip time t… --- ## [Is This Rape?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-rape/613218)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 254\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-rape/613218 "2012-02-23T18:48:51Z")
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/02/17/427778/virginia-poised-to-enact-state-sponsored-rape-law-forcing-women-to-be-vaginally-probed-before-abortions/ As a pro-lifer while I support having at the least requiring wo… --- ## [Creationist Attempts to Prove the Existence of God / Denial of Evolution \[merged threads\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-attempts-to-prove-the-existence-of-god-denial-of-evolution-merged-threads/611889)
**Author:** [@GeddyClaypoolBurton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GeddyClaypoolBurton)\ **Replies:** 326\ **Last updated:** [February 23, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-attempts-to-prove-the-existence-of-god-denial-of-evolution-merged-threads/611889 "2012-02-23T16:41:03Z")
I found the following two “proofs” for God on a hristian apologetics site www.gotquestions.org. Please tell me how you would respond to them. There are many extra-biblical evidences that point to a worldwide catastrop… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=338) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=340)