# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=361 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 362 --- ## [No CLASS Obama!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-class-obama/599769)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 145\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-class-obama/599769 "2011-10-20T12:39:03Z")
So now the administration has announced the proposed long term care package in the health care law is cancelled. Apparently it’s unworkable. My fifth grade son accurately identified the problem with the program when it… --- ## [Was TARP a good idea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-tarp-a-good-idea/600015)
**Author:** [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-tarp-a-good-idea/600015 "2011-10-20T02:32:43Z")
Has the money been paid back? Who received the money? Was it a safe precedent to establish? --- ## [Obams Sends Ground Troops to Africa](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obams-sends-ground-troops-to-africa/599681)
**Author:** [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obams-sends-ground-troops-to-africa/599681 "2011-10-20T01:45:08Z")
From this locked thread in GQ: Update from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/world/africa/africa-obama-troops/index.html?hpt=hp\_t2 Now let’s address the authority: Article II, Section 2., US Constitution I ask f… --- ## [Taxes from the Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-from-the-rich/599547)
**Author:** [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Replies:** 115\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-from-the-rich/599547 "2011-10-19T22:49:18Z")
One of the basic tenets of the Occupy (insert name here) movement is that the rich are making too much money and aren’t paying enough taxes. I’m curious, how much revenue would be created if The Rich (your definition) … --- ## [Should the media cover gay teenage suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-media-cover-gay-teenage-suicide/600067)
**Author:** [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-media-cover-gay-teenage-suicide/600067 "2011-10-19T21:03:34Z")
Ever since the suicide of the college student who was filmed having sex in his dorm room the media has been covering more and more suicides of gay teenagers. Some commentators have even been trying to make political poin… --- ## [Health Care costs, Wellness, and the Nanny State](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-care-costs-wellness-and-the-nanny-state/599860)
**Author:** [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-care-costs-wellness-and-the-nanny-state/599860 "2011-10-19T19:39:32Z")
Today’s Washington Post had an article on the successes the Cleveland Clinic has had reducing health care costs for its employees. They’ve taken wellness incentives to a whole new level - to the point where smoking has g… --- ## [Economics-drug legalization a good policy?\[edited title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economics-drug-legalization-a-good-policy-edited-title/599789)
**Author:** [@Grinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grinner)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economics-drug-legalization-a-good-policy-edited-title/599789 "2011-10-19T18:38:54Z")
Is the legalization of drugs a good economic policy? please respond with well founded arguments involving economic theory and empirical evidence. --- ## [Eliminate Pensions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eliminate-pensions/600034)
**Author:** [@bluejhavoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluejhavoc)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [October 19, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eliminate-pensions/600034 "2011-10-19T03:28:16Z")
I just don’t get it. Why, besides greed, doesn’t the government do away with the pension system and go to a 401k plan? The pension system is flawed and is driving the country and the states broke. Why don’t these idiots … --- ## [What if the printing press had been invented in antiquity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-printing-press-had-been-invented-in-antiquity/599633)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-printing-press-had-been-invented-in-antiquity/599633 "2011-10-18T23:31:01Z")
Say, around the Sixth Century B.C. (the age of the first definitely known Greek philosopher, Thales of Miletus), when alphabetic Greek was just getting going as a literary language. Suppose you go back in a time machine… --- ## [How can some people go to jail for 2+ years for being on To Catch A Predator?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-some-people-go-to-jail-for-2-years-for-being-on-to-catch-a-predator/598862)
**Author:** [@ModernPrimate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ModernPrimate)\ **Replies:** 538\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-some-people-go-to-jail-for-2-years-for-being-on-to-catch-a-predator/598862 "2011-10-18T21:43:40Z")
It’s not on so much this side of the Atlantic, but I’m really taken aback by some of the sentencing. The decoys beg the other chatter over and over to come, and they engage in extremely explicit material themselves. The… --- ## [Catholic Bishop Charged With Failure to Report Child Porn](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-bishop-charged-with-failure-to-report-child-porn/599692)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catholic-bishop-charged-with-failure-to-report-child-porn/599692 "2011-10-18T20:38:06Z")
Story here. I support this prosecution, and I only would add that I don’t understand why Monsignor Murphy was not also indicted. Of course, if Bishop Finn was kept in the dark, then he should not be found guilty, but … --- ## [Can someone explain to me the shootings in the US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-to-me-the-shootings-in-the-us/599505)
**Author:** [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Replies:** 119\ **Last updated:** [October 18, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-to-me-the-shootings-in-the-us/599505 "2011-10-18T15:56:17Z")
Every so often, one hears of some regular civilian johnnie in the US losing it, and shooting a few(or more) innocent people. I’ve only ever heard of this happening in the United States (although I can recall one incident… --- ## [How would this epiphany affect life on Earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-epiphany-affect-life-on-earth/599273)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-this-epiphany-affect-life-on-earth/599273 "2011-10-17T23:38:37Z")
Tomorrow, when everyone wakes, they will realize one thing: \*There is no “God”. None. None, what-so-ever. \*There is no life after this. When you die, you simply cease to exist…FOREVER! If there were a universal knowle… --- ## [A Libertarian Constitution not open to ANY interpretation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-libertarian-constitution-not-open-to-any-interpretation/599746)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-libertarian-constitution-not-open-to-any-interpretation/599746 "2011-10-17T23:37:35Z")
In another thread I asked what the role of the Supreme Court in a Libertarian Society would be, and got this response.Is it actually possible to draft a Libertarian Constitution that is so clear and unambiguous that the … --- ## [The Paradox of Religion; Choosing Your Beliefs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-paradox-of-religion-choosing-your-beliefs/597881)
**Author:** [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Replies:** 107\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-paradox-of-religion-choosing-your-beliefs/597881 "2011-10-17T19:22:51Z")
Alright, now I’m sure this has probably been mentioned here and there before in all the religious threads that have been brought up, but I wanted to get a fresh opinion on what I (and probably many other people) see as t… --- ## [Did Iran Almost/Actually Commit An Act of War Against The USA?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-iran-almost-actually-commit-an-act-of-war-against-the-usa/599341)
**Author:** [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Replies:** 112\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-iran-almost-actually-commit-an-act-of-war-against-the-usa/599341 "2011-10-17T17:22:00Z")
(Bolding mine.) http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/11/official-fbi-dea-disrupt-terror-plot-in-u-s-involving-iran/?hpt=hp\_t1 Not sure if this is a true debate. Then again, no telling where the points/counter-points may… --- ## [Is this Israeli soldier pointing his rifle at a little kid?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-israeli-soldier-pointing-his-rifle-at-a-little-kid/598056)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-israeli-soldier-pointing-his-rifle-at-a-little-kid/598056 "2011-10-17T15:00:03Z")
Someone linked to this photo on Facebook. I commented on it saying that it did not appear to me that the soldier was pointing his weapon at the child, but that the child happened to be standing in such a way as to sugges… --- ## [BINARY LOGIC v QUANTUM THEORY?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/binary-logic-v-quantum-theory/599575)
**Author:** [@john93940](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john93940)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2011, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/binary-logic-v-quantum-theory/599575 "2011-10-17T09:36:30Z")
BINARY LOGIC v QUANTUM THEORY? Does QUANTUM THEORY (QM) contend that a physical thing (there are no non-physical things) can exist in more places than one place at the same time? I’m trying to defend binary logic where… --- ## [Is \[Religious\] self-Deceit is a form of intelligence?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-religious-self-deceit-is-a-form-of-intelligence/596618)
**Author:** [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Replies:** 103\ **Last updated:** [October 17, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-religious-self-deceit-is-a-form-of-intelligence/596618 "2011-10-17T01:31:31Z")
This may be borderline trolling so I apologise in advance for any offence that I might cause. I have been trying to reconcile how stupid the idea of an almighty god is with how many (otherwise?) intelligent people who b… --- ## [Economics-Recovery act of 1981\[Edited title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economics-recovery-act-of-1981-edited-title/599790)
**Author:** [@Grinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grinner)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economics-recovery-act-of-1981-edited-title/599790 "2011-10-16T17:45:00Z")
In the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, what is the significance of indexed individual income tax parameters? --- ## [Will I see drastic effects of climate change in my lifetime?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-see-drastic-effects-of-climate-change-in-my-lifetime/599610)
**Author:** [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2011, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-see-drastic-effects-of-climate-change-in-my-lifetime/599610 "2011-10-16T10:19:11Z")
I’m 30 years old and I already live in an area that’s a little too hot. Should I be planning to retire in Maine? Curious about what the current consensus is on this. --- ## [Atheists, Explain Yourselves.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-explain-yourselves/582260)
**Author:** [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-explain-yourselves/582260 "2011-10-16T02:21:11Z")
The title might seem provocative, but the subject isn’t. Basically, I’m a Christian who has had many friends who were either atheist, agnostic, or at least subscribed to a different brand (paganism) than mine. I kind of … --- ## [How about this for a protest: Moving your money from a Bank to a Credit Union](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-about-this-for-a-protest-moving-your-money-from-a-bank-to-a-credit-union/599735)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-about-this-for-a-protest-moving-your-money-from-a-bank-to-a-credit-union/599735 "2011-10-16T01:06:49Z")
Excellent idea! As much as I may support people demonstrating in the streets, I think large numbers of people moving their money away from banks and into Credit Unions will send an even stronger message. --- ## [if Canada allegedly discriminates against non-French speakers, did upper IQ cohort try learn it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-canada-allegedly-discriminates-against-non-french-speakers-did-upper-iq-cohort-try-learn-it/598965)
**Author:** [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Replies:** 98\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-canada-allegedly-discriminates-against-non-french-speakers-did-upper-iq-cohort-try-learn-it/598965 "2011-10-15T23:50:16Z")
I am referring to this article Beware Bilingualism! The Catastrophic Canadian Case | Articles | VDARE.com that claims that it’s a lot easier to get government jobs, political appointments and some other public service jo… --- ## [Is it more ethical to eat larger animals?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-more-ethical-to-eat-larger-animals/598439)
**Author:** [@nonentity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonentity)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-more-ethical-to-eat-larger-animals/598439 "2011-10-15T21:11:54Z")
One bowhead whale can feed an entire Inuit community for a year. One cow can feed 500+ people with 8oz steaks. One chicken can feed only 4 to 6 people. One shrimp feeds less than 1 person. In each example you are kil… --- ## [Are there any thoughts (with no action) that are morally/ethically wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-thoughts-with-no-action-that-are-morally-ethically-wrong/599104)
**Author:** [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-thoughts-with-no-action-that-are-morally-ethically-wrong/599104 "2011-10-15T20:08:30Z")
Examples: Hoping your boss would die because he makes you work hard- Hoping a wealthy relative would hurry up and die so you can inherit- Hoping an athlete opposing your favorite team would be injured- Imagining/fant… --- ## [Now this is what a good protest looks like!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-what-a-good-protest-looks-like/599690)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-this-is-what-a-good-protest-looks-like/599690 "2011-10-15T16:35:24Z")
I’ve been among the people who criticize Occupy Wall Street for poor tactics, although I think their goals are overall good. By way of contrast, I want to put forth the local We Do campaign: This campaign is very new,… --- ## [How are conspiracies possible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-conspiracies-possible/598870)
**Author:** [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-conspiracies-possible/598870 "2011-10-15T13:43:51Z")
There have been a lot of threads on the John F. Kennedy assassination lately and so, once again, I took the time to watch the JFK film in its entirety. This quote by Mr. X, in the scene where he meets with Jim Garrison … --- ## [Who killed JFK?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-killed-jfk/598495)
**Author:** [@FixMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FixMyIgnorance)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-killed-jfk/598495 "2011-10-15T01:40:14Z")
I’ve always wondered if this was one of those questions where the simple answer was the right one (Lee Harvey Oswald) and the conspiracy theories were just unfalsifiable nonsense and extrapolation. What does the evidenc… --- ## [Should Scientology be destroyed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-scientology-be-destroyed/599263)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 106\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-scientology-be-destroyed/599263 "2011-10-14T23:54:14Z")
The more I read about Scientology, the more I am amazed that something like it exists. Should a concerted effort be made to dismantle the organization and interfere with its activities to the point where it ceases to exi… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=360) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=362)