# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=397 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 398 --- ## [How far away are Americans from the "breaking point"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-away-are-americans-from-the-breaking-point/574948)
**Author:** [@Le\_Jacquelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Jacquelope)\ **Replies:** 108\ **Last updated:** [March 27, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-away-are-americans-from-the-breaking-point/574948 "2011-03-27T13:41:46Z")
Some of the powers that be are seeing the threat that America is on the verge of rising up in protest. Big protests. Revolution-level protests. On a side note, I recently pointed out how clueless the definition of infla… --- ## [Deviant sexual urges and their satisfaction](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deviant-sexual-urges-and-their-satisfaction/575872)
**Author:** [@biddee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biddee)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [March 27, 2011, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deviant-sexual-urges-and-their-satisfaction/575872 "2011-03-27T08:14:59Z")
As an offshoot of this thread I was wondering whether deviant sexual urges can be satisfied by just watching pornography and self pleasuring. In other words, one of the posters mentioned that we currently have the CGI c… --- ## [China's property bubble bursts = Libya x200?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-property-bubble-bursts-libya-x200/575705)
**Author:** [@Sablicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sablicious)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [March 26, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinas-property-bubble-bursts-libya-x200/575705 "2011-03-26T23:43:21Z")
The Forbbiden Cities The myriad empty appartment complexes that litter China’s landscape – all out of reach of the average Chinese slum-dweller who earns somewhere around $6000 p.a. versus the $50,000+ asking price – a… --- ## [Why I love Obama- Op Ed for Huff Post](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-love-obama-op-ed-for-huff-post/576086)
**Author:** [@poet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poet)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [March 26, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-love-obama-op-ed-for-huff-post/576086 "2011-03-26T21:14:56Z")
Op-ed by Christina Patterson for The Independent \[\[shortened excerpt\]\] \*\* The 44th President of the United States, and first black leader of the Western world, who has, arguably, done more for the majority of Americ… --- ## [What if? - Battle of Jutland](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-battle-of-jutland/575715)
**Author:** [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [March 26, 2011, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-battle-of-jutland/575715 "2011-03-26T08:03:19Z")
Let us suppose for the purpose of this thread, that for this battle Jellicoe was in command of the Battle Cruisers and Beatty was in charge of the Grand Fleet. However, it was for this battle only, so we can’t argue tha… --- ## [Convince me that monopolies are a good thing.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-that-monopolies-are-a-good-thing/575654)
**Author:** [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [March 25, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-me-that-monopolies-are-a-good-thing/575654 "2011-03-25T22:52:47Z")
Title says it all. --- ## [The is no god but God.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-is-no-god-but-god/572790)
**Author:** [@Sablicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sablicious)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [March 25, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-is-no-god-but-god/572790 "2011-03-25T22:11:31Z")
lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh (لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله) A phrase I’ve heard oft-repeated by Muslims after tragic occurrances of one kind or another and the contradiction never fails to bemuse me. Am I understanding this r… --- ## [How big a part of the Tea Party movement are Libertarians vs Conservatives?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-a-part-of-the-tea-party-movement-are-libertarians-vs-conservatives/575438)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 25, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-a-part-of-the-tea-party-movement-are-libertarians-vs-conservatives/575438 "2011-03-25T19:30:20Z")
I was reading the Tea Party movement - Wikipedia and contrary to my expectations there’s only some glancing mentions of Libertarian involvement in the Tea Party movement. Is this because the overall number of Libertarian… --- ## [What's the dope on "dowsing" for graves?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-dowsing-for-graves/572380)
**Author:** [@Submerged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Submerged)\ **Replies:** 221\ **Last updated:** [March 25, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-dowsing-for-graves/572380 "2011-03-25T17:49:11Z")
I’ve been following the news and recent conviction of the serial killer, Gary Hilton, in Florida. Evidence indicates that he’s probably killed about half a dozen people. However, there is a small fringe group of “crime… --- ## [Demonstrators killed in Bahrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demonstrators-killed-in-bahrain/571498)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [March 25, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demonstrators-killed-in-bahrain/571498 "2011-03-25T17:36:11Z")
Funnier still, one was killed a funeral service for a dude killed in the protests yesterday! :slight\_smile: The king went on TV and apologized. In Bahrain’s case, the protests apparently are about a controversial elec… --- ## [Will the left wing destroy Obama?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-left-wing-destroy-obama/575730)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [March 25, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-left-wing-destroy-obama/575730 "2011-03-25T16:50:14Z")
I’ve been following the trajectory of some of the more hard left lefties on this board and out in the broader world concerning Obama with a mixture of fascination and incredulity. I remember when the left turned on Clin… --- ## [Pay off the national debt in 8 years.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-off-the-national-debt-in-8-years/575728)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-off-the-national-debt-in-8-years/575728 "2011-03-24T19:43:18Z")
You ran for President on one issue, paying off the national debt. You and your supporters won in such a landslide that you pretty much have a mandate to do whatever you want short of anything unconstitutional. Here aret… --- ## [So...Atlantis found in southern Spain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-atlantis-found-in-southern-spain/574926)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-atlantis-found-in-southern-spain/574926 "2011-03-24T19:36:15Z")
I didn’t see a thread on this (if there is one my apologies), but I was watching National Geographic over the weekend and they had a show about an exploratory team looking in southern Spain on a site they think might hav… --- ## [did Japanese conquest of central China during WW2 make sense?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-japanese-conquest-of-central-china-during-ww2-make-sense/575329)
**Author:** [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-japanese-conquest-of-central-china-during-ww2-make-sense/575329 "2011-03-24T16:17:53Z")
what if they were to have limited themselves to seizing Shanghai and a few other port cities and gotten the Nationalist government to promise neutrality and keep armaments acquisition from the Allies to a minimum? Did t… --- ## [Net neutrality killed in the House...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/net-neutrality-killed-in-the-house/574268)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/net-neutrality-killed-in-the-house/574268 "2011-03-24T13:20:52Z")
Well, a subcommittee, anyway. So will this pave the way for ISPs to selectively censor news and content they don’t want their users to see? Bankrupt or severely disadvantage small businesses by demanding extra payments… --- ## [The United States needs to change its foreign policy in the Middle East. Here's how.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-needs-to-change-its-foreign-policy-in-the-middle-east-heres-how/575486)
**Author:** [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-needs-to-change-its-foreign-policy-in-the-middle-east-heres-how/575486 "2011-03-24T12:53:23Z")
First, a preamble: The ideas herein may not be new. You’ve probably heard them before. I’m simply posting my take in the Middle East situation and seek to garner some discussion. Ever since the United States of Ameri… --- ## [US Civil War: Union Generals=Morons, Confederate Generals=Geniuses?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civil-war-union-generals-morons-confederate-generals-geniuses/280300)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civil-war-union-generals-morons-confederate-generals-geniuses/280300 "2011-03-24T00:38:56Z")
All of the US Civil War histories I have read give a very dim view about the Union generals. Most of them (according to the books) were incompetent, many criminally irresponsible…I’m talking about commanders like meade, … --- ## [Jail Strip Searches, Men, and Women](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jail-strip-searches-men-and-women/567216)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jail-strip-searches-men-and-women/567216 "2011-03-24T00:38:20Z")
I don’t know what charges Charles E. Byrd faced, but whatever they were were enough to put him behind bars as a pre-trial detainee in the Maricopa County jail (a facility that has spawned more than its share of threads h… --- ## [Whom would the UN have supported during the American Civil War?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whom-would-the-un-have-supported-during-the-american-civil-war/575512)
**Author:** [@djinteractive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djinteractive)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whom-would-the-un-have-supported-during-the-american-civil-war/575512 "2011-03-23T14:21:04Z")
I had been thinking of this question for a few days now after the resolution for the No Fly Zone in Libya but hadn’t really asked about it and after Reading Whom would the UN have supported during the American Revolutio… --- ## [Whom would the UN have supported during the American Revolution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whom-would-the-un-have-supported-during-the-american-revolution/575497)
**Author:** [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whom-would-the-un-have-supported-during-the-american-revolution/575497 "2011-03-23T14:16:13Z")
If there had been something similar to the UN (and we might have to make sure England didn’t have veto power in it) which side would they have taken? The colonies had a list of grievances, but would any of them have bee… --- ## [Temporary Insanity? Who cares--they still did it.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-insanity-who-cares-they-still-did-it/36614)
**Author:** [@Crazy\_Boob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Boob)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [March 23, 2011, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/temporary-insanity-who-cares-they-still-did-it/36614 "2011-03-23T10:03:52Z")
How is it possible in our “free will” based justice system to allow leniency to violent criminals just because their actions were psychologically determined? What would happen if it were proven that all behavior is dete… --- ## [Mary and Qualia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-and-qualia/574869)
**Author:** [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-and-qualia/574869 "2011-03-22T21:33:08Z")
I just read about Mary the color scientist and qualia on wikipedia because someone had mentioned it in the consciousness thread. My summary for this thread: The “Mary” argument seems trivially weak "All the informatio… --- ## [Health Care Reform Bill Questions - 1 year later](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-care-reform-bill-questions-1-year-later/575580)
**Author:** [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-care-reform-bill-questions-1-year-later/575580 "2011-03-22T21:07:15Z")
I got into a rather interesting debate about a year ago with a friend of mine as to what would happen as a result of the healthcare reform bill being passed. He didn’t have a lot of faith in it, and made a prediction ab… --- ## [Is the MILF/Cougar thing generational?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-milf-cougar-thing-generational/575380)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-milf-cougar-thing-generational/575380 "2011-03-22T18:39:44Z")
Stacy’s Mom (or Stiffler’s, if you prefer) has got it goin’ on. There have always been Mrs. Robinsons, but it seems like mature women are being appreciated as sex objects today as never before. I perceive two reasons: … --- ## [Lynn Margulis and Natural Selection](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynn-margulis-and-natural-selection/574831)
**Author:** [@Bpelta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bpelta)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [March 22, 2011, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynn-margulis-and-natural-selection/574831 "2011-03-22T09:54:48Z")
\[I hope this is the right board for this question…\] I received a horrid science education, so excuse me if this is a stupid question: My friend recently read an interview with Lynn Margulis in a recent Discovery Magazi… --- ## [Should Child Support Be Extended to Age 30?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-child-support-be-extended-to-age-30/573354)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-child-support-be-extended-to-age-30/573354 "2011-03-21T22:27:21Z")
Given the recent depreesion, many 22-26 year olds are finding it difficult to find jobs. If they are forced to live at home (with the cstodial parent), shold they not received child support payements? The recent decisio… --- ## [Libya: George W. Bush would had done a better job](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-george-w-bush-would-had-done-a-better-job/574684)
**Author:** [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Amazing_Hanna)\ **Replies:** 144\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-george-w-bush-would-had-done-a-better-job/574684 "2011-03-21T18:35:34Z")
I never thought I’d say this, but I really think the previous President would have done a much better job handling the Libyan situation. For almost a month now, Obama has been sitting on his hands, “expressing concern” … --- ## [Molecular Phylogeny of Living Primates](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molecular-phylogeny-of-living-primates/575305)
**Author:** [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/molecular-phylogeny-of-living-primates/575305 "2011-03-21T17:29:22Z")
A fairly understandable, if informationally dense examination of evolution in primates. \[QUOTE= the published abstract\] Comparative genomic analyses of primates offer considerable potential to define and understand the… --- ## [U.N. \<---\> Libya](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-n-libya/575154)
**Author:** [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Replies:** 104\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-n-libya/575154 "2011-03-21T17:26:13Z")
Let me get this straight…the U.N. interfered in a countries civil war? Maybe this is just me (it probably is) but isn’t that a bit…disturbing? --- ## [If a product has a wanted feature that can't be pirated, it'll succeed.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-product-has-a-wanted-feature-that-cant-be-pirated-itll-succeed/574416)
**Author:** [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [March 21, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-product-has-a-wanted-feature-that-cant-be-pirated-itll-succeed/574416 "2011-03-21T15:15:24Z")
There is much to debate about piracy but I’m just curious about this assertion which I’ve made as general as possible to encompass all kinds of piracy: True or false? If a product has a wanted feature that can’t be pira… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=396) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=398)