# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=382 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 383 --- ## [I'm trying to understand Republicans, but I just can't](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-trying-to-understand-republicans-but-i-just-cant/585079)
**Author:** [@MattProle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MattProle)\ **Replies:** 186\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-trying-to-understand-republicans-but-i-just-cant/585079 "2011-06-19T03:02:16Z")
Fox is playing quite a bit in my home, thanks to my Christian mom, and it really irks me to see that people actually take this station seriously. It seems like such an obvious slant; the bias in and of itself would almos… --- ## [Is Weiner finished?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-weiner-finished/584783)
**Author:** [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Replies:** 351\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-weiner-finished/584783 "2011-06-18T13:49:54Z")
(I was going to post in this thread, but it seems to have outlived its usefulness and degenerated into a DtC-centric mess). In that thread, I said I wasn’t among those predicting that Anthony Weiner would end up resigni… --- ## [Diesel autos are a illusion of increased efficiency](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diesel-autos-are-a-illusion-of-increased-efficiency/584429)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diesel-autos-are-a-illusion-of-increased-efficiency/584429 "2011-06-18T03:44:19Z")
Many toute that diesel should be a choice motor fuel over gas as it is more efficient and a viable alternative to hybrids and other higher efficiency auto. I very much doubt this when all things are considered. To get a… --- ## [Do the Saudis Control Fox? Implications?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-saudis-control-fox-implications/585534)
**Author:** [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-saudis-control-fox-implications/585534 "2011-06-18T03:27:32Z")
From here: and here: Yes I know these are articles about Peak Oil. This is not a Peak Oil thread. The debate is: Do influential Saudis control Fox News? If so, what does that mean? Me? My opinion is probably wrong … --- ## [What would the economy be like if McCain had been elected president?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-economy-be-like-if-mccain-had-been-elected-president/585842)
**Author:** [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-economy-be-like-if-mccain-had-been-elected-president/585842 "2011-06-17T23:15:28Z")
On conservative message boards I see a lot of griping about “Obamanomics” and how unemployment and the deficit has skyrocketed during his administration. But would McCain have been able to do much more to fix the econom… --- ## [Obama's New Boner: The Falkland Islands](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-new-boner-the-falkland-islands/585066)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-new-boner-the-falkland-islands/585066 "2011-06-17T21:40:36Z")
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/10/obama-administration-backs-argentina-over-uk-on-falkland-dispute/?test=latestnews Incidentally by “boner” I mean a mistake. At any rate, is there any reason to support Argenti… --- ## [Libertarian Mythology](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libertarian-mythology/583327)
**Author:** [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Replies:** 224\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libertarian-mythology/583327 "2011-06-17T19:49:27Z")
Picking up from the end of this thread. \[Quote=Sam Stone\] A better example would be the PC industry, which has developed with almost no government direction at all. Today we have iPads, and portable phones more powerfu… --- ## [What would have happened if Bush's SS privatization had passed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-happened-if-bushs-ss-privatization-had-passed/584966)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-happened-if-bushs-ss-privatization-had-passed/584966 "2011-06-17T14:19:03Z")
see title. --- ## [Ripple: P2P banking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ripple-p2p-banking/585563)
**Author:** [@Jenga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenga)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ripple-p2p-banking/585563 "2011-06-17T12:13:54Z")
We’ve been having a discussion in this thread about Bitcoins. I went off on a tangent and discussed a separate concept known as Ripple. At Sunspace and DocCathode’s request, I agreed to take the topic to a new thread her… --- ## [Weiner is gone, but how about Vitter](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weiner-is-gone-but-how-about-vitter/585785)
**Author:** [@JimH52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimH52)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 17, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weiner-is-gone-but-how-about-vitter/585785 "2011-06-17T03:50:02Z")
Is this a double standard? The Republican Yells and screamed for Vitter to quit, but last year that actually re-elected someone who broke the law, someone who actually DID have sex. Can you say HYPOCRITES? --- ## [Without Manzikert would the Roman Empire have survived to the modern era?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-manzikert-would-the-roman-empire-have-survived-to-the-modern-era/585450)
**Author:** [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-manzikert-would-the-roman-empire-have-survived-to-the-modern-era/585450 "2011-06-16T22:03:24Z")
Suppose things had gone differently in 1071. Alp Arslan makes some crucial blunder and Romanus wins the day. The Seljuks are stopped and the Anatolian heartland of the Empire remains in Christian hands. It’s unlikely … --- ## [American Civilization=Roman Empire?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-civilization-roman-empire/584726)
**Author:** [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Replies:** 135\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-civilization-roman-empire/584726 "2011-06-16T18:58:29Z")
I recently heard on Fox News that a second Great Depression is one we would never recover from. The panel also said that the problems we had were akin to the Romans in many ways. Obesity became a growing problem with the… --- ## [Reconsidering our view of medieval Catholic Europe](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconsidering-our-view-of-medieval-catholic-europe/583959)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 118\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconsidering-our-view-of-medieval-catholic-europe/583959 "2011-06-16T18:04:54Z")
Many posters on this board and elsewhere appear to hold a certain impression about Catholic Europe in the middle ages. They assume that it was a time of ignorance and stagnation, with no progress in technology, learning… --- ## [A murderous ABC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-murderous-abc/584574)
**Author:** [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-murderous-abc/584574 "2011-06-16T17:21:24Z")
A holds a gun on B and tells C, “If you don’t do what I say, I will shoot B. You will then be a murderer.” C refuses to comply, and A shoots B. Is C in any way morally responsible for the murder of B? --- ## [Who Was Right in the French Revolution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-right-in-the-french-revolution/585378)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-right-in-the-french-revolution/585378 "2011-06-16T16:33:19Z")
Who do you think in the long run was correct in their views during the French Revolution? Did the radicalism of the Jacobins discredit for decades (classical) liberalism and democracy throughout Europe? --- ## [A ransomous ABCDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-ransomous-abcde/584831)
**Author:** [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-ransomous-abcde/584831 "2011-06-16T02:52:35Z")
C tells A, “If you shoot B, I’ll have D kidnap E.” Implied is that if A shoots C, then E dies. Is A in any way morally responsible for the kidnapping of E? Would A in any way be morally responsible for the death of E? --- ## [Worshiping Satan: A question for true believers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worshiping-satan-a-question-for-true-believers/584480)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 185\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worshiping-satan-a-question-for-true-believers/584480 "2011-06-15T16:16:09Z")
Just saw the flick Drive Angry. Like almost all Nicholas Cage movies it had no artistic or socially redeeming qualities whatsoever, a weak plot, and was a hellovalot of fun. Fast cars, hot chicks, and lots & lots of guns… --- ## [has the Zapruder film done more harm than good](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-zapruder-film-done-more-harm-than-good/584236)
**Author:** [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-zapruder-film-done-more-harm-than-good/584236 "2011-06-15T13:16:11Z")
is there a more oft-cited “proof” of conspiracy than back and to the left --- ## [Is modern Islamic antisemitism different than historical Islamic anti-semitism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-modern-islamic-antisemitism-different-than-historical-islamic-anti-semitism/585026)
**Author:** [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-modern-islamic-antisemitism-different-than-historical-islamic-anti-semitism/585026 "2011-06-15T13:04:09Z")
I don’t mean to pick on Citizen Pained because he is not the only one guilty of taking this position but part of the discussion in Israel threads always touches on Islamic anti-semitism. As if the only reason these Arab… --- ## [OBL, Why did he target America and Americans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-why-did-he-target-america-and-americans/582057)
**Author:** [@EverLearner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EverLearner)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2011, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obl-why-did-he-target-america-and-americans/582057 "2011-06-15T08:07:57Z")
Any reason? --- ## [Herman Cain and Juan Williams (and beyond)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-and-juan-williams-and-beyond/585477)
**Author:** [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herman-cain-and-juan-williams-and-beyond/585477 "2011-06-15T00:11:46Z")
Inspired by dbx820 in the Elections thread on Bachmann, where there was some discussion of the Republican debate last night and Herman Cain, including I missed the debate… how’d he do this? Is that it? What’s go… --- ## [Why hasnt china expanded?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-china-expanded/584996)
**Author:** [@FarmerChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChuck)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-china-expanded/584996 "2011-06-14T17:02:58Z")
We keep hearing how big and powerful they are… why dont they just make a huge red army and start taking over africa? i mean whos gonna stop them? America wont… nato is a joke… why do they wait? Or do they really have a … --- ## [Anyone care to vote what happens next? \[Israel and Palestine\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-care-to-vote-what-happens-next-israel-and-palestine/584285)
**Author:** [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-care-to-vote-what-happens-next-israel-and-palestine/584285 "2011-06-14T16:19:35Z")
Palestinian protest groups organize broader marches on Israeli borders for Sunday - More will die as hundreds storm Israel’s borders. Hopefully no bombs will be strapped to chests. 500 Palestinians set for mass ‘fly-in’… --- ## [Persuade me that deafness & hearing impairment are not best thought of as disabilities.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-that-deafness-hearing-impairment-are-not-best-thought-of-as-disabilities/583370)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 334\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-that-deafness-hearing-impairment-are-not-best-thought-of-as-disabilities/583370 "2011-06-14T13:58:29Z")
Elsewhere on the Dope, someone I am not trying to start a fight with writes: \[QUOTE=which part of “I’m not picking a fight with this Doper” was opaque to you?\] Deafness is not an undesirable trait to the millions in t… --- ## [Midway, The naval Campaign in the Pacific and a Catch All](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midway-the-naval-campaign-in-the-pacific-and-a-catch-all/584385)
**Author:** [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2011, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/midway-the-naval-campaign-in-the-pacific-and-a-catch-all/584385 "2011-06-14T12:04:39Z")
We have had this thread running in Cafe Society and it is clearly not the correct forum. There have been quite a few participants and a "robust " discussion has of course had plenty of thread drift. I’m just restarting … --- ## [Area 51: No ETs, but the truth is even weirder?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51-no-ets-but-the-truth-is-even-weirder/584946)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-51-no-ets-but-the-truth-is-even-weirder/584946 "2011-06-14T01:30:09Z")
Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen recently published Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base. Based in large part on interviews with retired Area 51 personnel. She claims astonishing … --- ## [Is deficit spending sustainable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-deficit-spending-sustainable/582248)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-deficit-spending-sustainable/582248 "2011-06-13T19:12:18Z")
In the discussions about the debt ceiling, a lot of dopers assume bad things will happen if the ceiling is not raised. Some support the Keynesian economics that the government needs to spend its way out of recessions su… --- ## [Hiking on the Iraq/Iran border. Really?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-on-the-iraq-iran-border-really/584972)
**Author:** [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Replies:** 106\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiking-on-the-iraq-iran-border-really/584972 "2011-06-13T17:52:26Z")
Of all the places in the world to go hiking, why would anyone choose “Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish area along the border with Iran” as described in the link below? Two Americans are being held in Iran for entering the cou… --- ## [are you really think that Confucius and his Analects is right?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-really-think-that-confucius-and-his-analects-is-right/585006)
**Author:** [@uoadgx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uoadgx2)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-really-think-that-confucius-and-his-analects-is-right/585006 "2011-06-13T14:02:50Z")
you can see ,my english is real shit. i am a real chinese . when BETWEEN the 2008 olympics game.our chinese news will say something like 5000 years history so great ,Confucius and his Analects. but it is really dark … --- ## [Does mandatory public school in the U.S. actually work, even at a basic level?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mandatory-public-school-in-the-u-s-actually-work-even-at-a-basic-level/584712)
**Author:** [@AthanasiusKircher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AthanasiusKircher)\ **Replies:** 116\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mandatory-public-school-in-the-u-s-actually-work-even-at-a-basic-level/584712 "2011-06-13T03:11:53Z")
A lot of threads complain about various aspects of public schooling, but what about the underlying question – is mandatory public schooling actually useful in any way? A related question is also whether our current tren… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=381) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=383)