# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=351 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 352 --- ## [Obama Payroll Tax Cut Extension - Fair?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-payroll-tax-cut-extension-fair/604697)
**Author:** [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Replies:** 108\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-payroll-tax-cut-extension-fair/604697 "2011-12-17T21:46:46Z")
This morning on NPR I heard Gene Sperling say that a $1500/year payroll tax cut for 150 million taxpayers should be paid for by a tax increase on the richest 300,000. 150 million divided by 300,000 is a $500 tax increase… --- ## [Communicating with someone from an ancient civilization.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communicating-with-someone-from-an-ancient-civilization/605827)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communicating-with-someone-from-an-ancient-civilization/605827 "2011-12-17T15:56:27Z")
The physics department at your local community college has used their time machine/transporter to pluck someone out of an ancient civilization from exactly 6000 years ago. You don’t know where they came from. From thei… --- ## [The Big Bang](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang/605330)
**Author:** [@Matz0rz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matz0rz)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang/605330 "2011-12-17T13:46:39Z")
First of all, I’d like to introduce my-self, my name is Mat and I just found this awesome website. I was reading your comments about god and the thread about the universe; I thought I might have some fun debating the sub… --- ## [A Congressional Black Caucus is ok but a Congressional White Caucus is not. Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-congressional-black-caucus-is-ok-but-a-congressional-white-caucus-is-not-why/603743)
**Author:** [@strumtesco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strumtesco)\ **Replies:** 107\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-congressional-black-caucus-is-ok-but-a-congressional-white-caucus-is-not-why/603743 "2011-12-17T02:29:40Z")
Congressional Black Caucus…why is this ok but if white people formed one for white’s it would be racist? Yes, I am aware of the days of black and white separation etc…but I thought we were past all of this and I am so c… --- ## [What is the appropriate fix for the US Postal Service?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appropriate-fix-for-the-us-postal-service/605346)
**Author:** [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appropriate-fix-for-the-us-postal-service/605346 "2011-12-17T01:35:52Z")
Maybe this has been debated but my search didn’t seem to turn up anything. The services of the USPS are being cannibalized by the internet. Why have catalogs when you can find merchandise online? The magazine business i… --- ## [Should Britain leave the European Union?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-britain-leave-the-european-union/605708)
**Author:** [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-britain-leave-the-european-union/605708 "2011-12-17T00:24:55Z")
Following Prime Minister David Cameron’s use of the UK veto power on the renegotiation of EU treaty changes, in opposition of every other member state, Britain appears more isolated than it has in its decades of EU membe… --- ## [Jon Corzine is being framed by the media and Congress](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-corzine-is-being-framed-by-the-media-and-congress/605556)
**Author:** [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-corzine-is-being-framed-by-the-media-and-congress/605556 "2011-12-16T23:22:07Z")
Corzine joined MF Global in March 2010. MF had a history of futures trading violations - its main business. And they were awful record keepers. “In 2007, MF and one of its executives paid a combined $77 million to set… --- ## [No more phoning while driving](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-phoning-while-driving/606165)
**Author:** [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-phoning-while-driving/606165 "2011-12-16T20:46:32Z")
Yesterday the NTSB released a recomendation and I heard the story on a number of dif news programs. In every case, an accident caused by some clown who texted 11 times in 11 minutes was referenced. How does that part… --- ## [The Euro appears to be in a death spiral: what are the likely outcomes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-euro-appears-to-be-in-a-death-spiral-what-are-the-likely-outcomes/606237)
**Author:** [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-euro-appears-to-be-in-a-death-spiral-what-are-the-likely-outcomes/606237 "2011-12-16T20:43:49Z")
Italian 10 year bond rates have now breached the 7% rate, with a bond auction today having interest rates on 10 year bonds reach 7.17%. For other Southern European nations 7% was untenable, forcing bail outs, but the ge… --- ## [Laws should be written to be followed, not to 'send messages.'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-should-be-written-to-be-followed-not-to-send-messages/606350)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laws-should-be-written-to-be-followed-not-to-send-messages/606350 "2011-12-16T14:54:23Z")
Sometimes in political debate, we talk about “the message it sends” to undertake a given policy. There seems to be an assumption that the penumbration of political implication around the law is more important than the la… --- ## [Is income inequality bad for a society?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-income-inequality-bad-for-a-society/606170)
**Author:** [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-income-inequality-bad-for-a-society/606170 "2011-12-16T10:40:04Z")
In the new thread trying to give conservatives a chance to lay out their wet dreams (I would link, but I amposting from my phone), Shodan stated he would not address income inequality. I have seen this sentiment display… --- ## [If you get drunk on an airplane, forcing it to be diverted, should you lose your job?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-get-drunk-on-an-airplane-forcing-it-to-be-diverted-should-you-lose-your-job/605208)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 157\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-get-drunk-on-an-airplane-forcing-it-to-be-diverted-should-you-lose-your-job/605208 "2011-12-16T09:10:24Z")
Recently, a couple of Research in Motion executives got drunk and disorderly on an Air Canada flight. As a result, the plane was brought down early at an unplanned destination. Among other things, this caused a number of… --- ## [Do video games make you violent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-video-games-make-you-violent/605751)
**Author:** [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Replies:** 105\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-video-games-make-you-violent/605751 "2011-12-16T02:27:44Z")
So I was shown a Youtube video of someone conducting amusing antics in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which made me laugh. It involved a few dead bodies being catapulted on a drawbridge. My fiance (who has an irrational disli… --- ## [Obama Nobel Prize, regret in awarding it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-nobel-prize-regret-in-awarding-it/605413)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-nobel-prize-regret-in-awarding-it/605413 "2011-12-16T01:23:42Z")
Hello All, Full disclaimer, I am not an Obama supporter. However my lack of support isn’t the reason for the question. We all are aware that Obama was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize based on from what I understand “what he… --- ## [Creationist Role-Reversal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-role-reversal/605524)
**Author:** [@GeddyClaypoolBurton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GeddyClaypoolBurton)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-role-reversal/605524 "2011-12-15T22:40:29Z")
This post is concerning the same preacher I have posted about recently. In his society’s newsletter, he penned, “Science is a false religion, the opiate of the masses”. If you recognize that quote, it’s because the origi… --- ## [So Lucy, 'splain something to me: how could a just God kill David's baby for his father's crimes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-lucy-splain-something-to-me-how-could-a-just-god-kill-davids-baby-for-his-fathers-crimes/604620)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-lucy-splain-something-to-me-how-could-a-just-god-kill-davids-baby-for-his-fathers-crimes/604620 "2011-12-15T20:35:28Z")
Some of y’all may know the story of David and Bathsheba. I’ll summarize for those who didn’t have to sit through Sunday School every week. David was the second king of Israel and a man after God’s own heart. He had many… --- ## [If Israel had been destroyed pre-1967: fate of territory?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-israel-had-been-destroyed-pre-1967-fate-of-territory/606196)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-israel-had-been-destroyed-pre-1967-fate-of-territory/606196 "2011-12-15T18:40:01Z")
Suppose that after a brief existence as a Jewish state, Israel had been overrun by it’s neighbors and ceased to exist. What would have happened to the territory comprising it? Would there have been an independent Palesti… --- ## [Predestination vs. Free Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predestination-vs-free-will/605109)
**Author:** [@Fluoridation\_Plot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluoridation_Plot)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predestination-vs-free-will/605109 "2011-12-15T16:07:16Z")
Cecil’s talk about a “god” and a “first cause” got me thinking. This “first cause,” be it intelligent or merely mechanical, has started a chain reaction, creating of the universe, creating of our solar system, yada yada… --- ## [Time's Person of the Year](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/605296)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/times-person-of-the-year/605296 "2011-12-15T14:41:44Z")
Another year has gone by and soon Time magazine will be picking one individual as the most newsworthy person of the year. Of course, they’ve often copped out and picked a movement or a group or even a planet, but this y… --- ## [Does money buy elections?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-money-buy-elections/605785)
**Author:** [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-money-buy-elections/605785 "2011-12-15T13:47:52Z")
tl;dr: the amount of money spent by the candidates hardly matters at all This is from Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt; Stephen J. Dubner More at Google Books. --- ## [Do Plants Feel Pain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-plants-feel-pain/606136)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-plants-feel-pain/606136 "2011-12-15T02:05:37Z")
All I know is they were talking about it in the 1980’s, when I was still in grade and high school. When you do some act of violence against a plant, even something minor like clipping off a leaf, it reacts strongly. I th… --- ## [Should those sterilized in eugenics programs be compensated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-those-sterilized-in-eugenics-programs-be-compensated/605724)
**Author:** [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-those-sterilized-in-eugenics-programs-be-compensated/605724 "2011-12-14T20:22:38Z")
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/us/redress-weighed-for-forced-sterilizations-in-north-carolina.html?hp Along with 31 other states, North Carolina had a eugenics program and sterilized people deemed “unworthy” of repr… --- ## [People in vegetative states](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-vegetative-states/605154)
**Author:** [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-in-vegetative-states/605154 "2011-12-14T19:15:00Z")
How do you decide whether or not to pull the plug? I realize this is a messy topic, and there are a lot of different scenarios. I’m bringing this topic up now because it now may be possible to revive vegetative patients … --- ## [Bernie Sanders' answer to Citizens United](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-answer-to-citizens-united/605734)
**Author:** [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bernie-sanders-answer-to-citizens-united/605734 "2011-12-14T18:47:56Z")
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has proposed an amendment to the constitution that would effectively overturn Citizen’s United. The full article can be found here: http://sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Saving-Americ… --- ## [Why democracy has semi-sacred status?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-democracy-has-semi-sacred-status/605658)
**Author:** [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-democracy-has-semi-sacred-status/605658 "2011-12-14T14:32:24Z")
It hasn’t proved to be significantly better than other systems, it may in fact proven otherwise. Yet it is not politically correct to say anything about it that isn’t a superlative. I’m not saying that I’m anti-democrat… --- ## [What is it about theories in the human sciences and natural sciences that makes them convincing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-theories-in-the-human-sciences-and-natural-sciences-that-makes-them-convincing/581941)
**Author:** [@IanPal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IanPal)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [December 14, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-theories-in-the-human-sciences-and-natural-sciences-that-makes-them-convincing/581941 "2011-12-14T05:45:49Z")
What is it about theories in the human sciences and natural sciences that makes them convincing? Theories that have been proven wrong but that people found convincing…? --- ## [15-30 years for killing the insane woman who murdered your son?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-30-years-for-killing-the-insane-woman-who-murdered-your-son/605018)
**Author:** [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-30-years-for-killing-the-insane-woman-who-murdered-your-son/605018 "2011-12-13T23:14:41Z")
link Here’s what I think: it’s bullshit. If you just found out that someone murdered your children, killing them in retaliation does not suggest you are a bad or untrustworthy person. There is no point in putting him i… --- ## [About those student loans and the future of higher education](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-student-loans-and-the-future-of-higher-education/605638)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-student-loans-and-the-future-of-higher-education/605638 "2011-12-13T20:49:03Z")
Every newspaper and magazine that I read has recently run an article about a looming student loan bubble. The topic also comes up in many articles on the Occupy Wall Street protests, where many members have student loan… --- ## [How Much Does Personal Morality Play A Role In Politics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-personal-morality-play-a-role-in-politics/605798)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-personal-morality-play-a-role-in-politics/605798 "2011-12-13T19:47:38Z")
How much should the personal morality and lives of politicians play a role in politics? While I’m hardly a fan of Rick Perry, what he said did have a point: --- ## [Was Lincoln Right In Suspending Habeas Corpas?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-lincoln-right-in-suspending-habeas-corpas/605865)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [December 13, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-lincoln-right-in-suspending-habeas-corpas/605865 "2011-12-13T19:00:25Z")
Was Abraham Lincoln right to suspend habeas corpas during the Civil War and put Copperheads like Clement Valladingham in prison? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=350) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=352)