# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=45 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 46 --- ## [Starting over, the NEW new form of government thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-over-the-new-new-form-of-government-thread/922154)
**Author:** [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Replies:** 148\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-over-the-new-new-form-of-government-thread/922154 "2020-10-16T08:05:13Z")
The now closed thread in P&E had an interesting premise but was started by someone not really interested in good discussion. So let’s use this one to invent the best kind of representative government we can. In looking … --- ## [Low-income housing projects in the 'burbs? Why not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-income-housing-projects-in-the-burbs-why-not/920799)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/low-income-housing-projects-in-the-burbs-why-not/920799 "2020-10-14T18:13:44Z")
Suppose you’re a suburbanite living in a nice, clean, safe neighborhood – not necessarily an all-white neighborhood, but all your nonwhite neighbors have been assimilated to a middle-class American culture with white roo… --- ## [Does the Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution itself protect individuals from State infringement of unenumerated rights?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-ninth-amendment-to-the-united-states-constitution-itself-protect-individuals-from-state-infringement-of-unenumerated-rights/922125)
**Author:** [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2020, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-ninth-amendment-to-the-united-states-constitution-itself-protect-individuals-from-state-infringement-of-unenumerated-rights/922125 "2020-10-14T12:28:36Z")
Does the Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution itself protect individuals from State infringement of unenumerated rights? I don’t think it does. The Tenth Amendment ensures that the federal government is lim… --- ## ["Trump’s Covid Treatments Were Tested in Cells Derived From Fetal Tissue"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-s-covid-treatments-were-tested-in-cells-derived-from-fetal-tissue/922531)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 13, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-s-covid-treatments-were-tested-in-cells-derived-from-fetal-tissue/922531 "2020-10-13T18:13:17Z")
OH NOES!! Do trump’s pro-life evangelical supporters realize this??? …Yet the treatment for Covid-19 received by Mr. Trump — a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies he described as a “cure” in a celebratory video posted… --- ## [Christine Brennan, hyperbolic reporting, and Agendas are bad for football](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christine-brennan-hyperbolic-reporting-and-agendas-are-bad-for-football/920833)
**Author:** [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christine-brennan-hyperbolic-reporting-and-agendas-are-bad-for-football/920833 "2020-10-12T03:36:32Z")
Some background: Christine Brennan is a sports columnist for USA Today, a commentator on ABC News, CNN, PBS NewsHour and NPR, and a best-selling author. Wikipedia She calls out the Big 10 for reversing course to actual… --- ## [The psychological traits that shape your political beliefs | TED talk](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychological-traits-that-shape-your-political-beliefs-ted-talk/922566)
**Author:** [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [October 11, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-psychological-traits-that-shape-your-political-beliefs-ted-talk/922566 "2020-10-11T17:31:37Z")
I watched this last evening. My wife watched it this morning. We both agreed that it was preaching to the choir. I’ve long consumed a great deal of news from as many points on the political spectrum as I can, and – wh… --- ## [Resolved, antibiotics are effective against viruses](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-antibiotics-are-effective-against-viruses/922068)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-antibiotics-are-effective-against-viruses/922068 "2020-10-09T14:17:29Z")
Link here: What is Regeneron’s antibody cocktail? Here’s what we know about Trump’s treatment | WKBN.com Do I need to link that COVID-19 is a virus, the very thing we have been told not to take antibiotics for? Many … --- ## [Racism and "Wuhan virus" - only because Wuhan is a fairly well known large city?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-and-wuhan-virus-only-because-wuhan-is-a-fairly-well-known-large-city/849807)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 318\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2020, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism-and-wuhan-virus-only-because-wuhan-is-a-fairly-well-known-large-city/849807 "2020-09-19T04:31:20Z")
There has been criticism that the term “Wuhan virus” is racist, or stigmatizing, because it gives social stigma to people from Wuhan, which is a large and prominent city. At the same time, however, terms such as Ebola v… --- ## [Should US high schools drop sports?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037)
**Author:** [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Replies:** 286\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2020, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-us-high-schools-drop-sports/921037 "2020-10-06T10:40:04Z")
Straight up, what are your thoughts on this issue? Do HS sports take up to many resources? Do the sports people (teachers as coaches, student athletes) dominate the school too much? Would High schools be better off if… --- ## [It has always been this: Conservatives believe they have the right to kill everyone else](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-has-always-been-this-conservatives-believe-they-have-the-right-to-kill-everyone-else/921749)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-has-always-been-this-conservatives-believe-they-have-the-right-to-kill-everyone-else/921749 "2020-10-05T21:46:47Z")
Slate: ”Own the Libs” Is Gradually Morphing Into “Kill the Libs” Public rhetoric is making this explicit. But really this is what they’ve always wanted. That’s what fun tights are about. That’s what castle doctrine and … --- ## [Is Pro-Life Inconsistent with Euthanasia?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pro-life-inconsistent-with-euthanasia/920979)
**Author:** [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-pro-life-inconsistent-with-euthanasia/920979 "2020-10-05T00:03:39Z")
Is it a contradiction for one person to take a Pro-Life position in the abortion debate while also supporting some kind of euthanasea? I suspect that it is not always a contradiction, but I am more interested in seeing … --- ## [So what was the North fighting for?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-north-fighting-for/917800)
**Author:** [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Replies:** 149\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-was-the-north-fighting-for/917800 "2020-10-04T04:08:24Z")
We have had several threads here about the motives behind the confederates and most of us agree that the confederacy was fighting to keep slavery and their way of life. But I’d like to ask you all, what was the Union fi… --- ## [ICE puts up political billboards in Pennsylvania](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-puts-up-political-billboards-in-pennsylvania/922127)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 3, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-puts-up-political-billboards-in-pennsylvania/922127 "2020-10-03T19:07:09Z")
Ice has paid for six billboards featuring six billboards featuring immigrants that were released by police for insufficient evidence but were not turned over to ICE: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ice-put-up-billboar… --- ## [How much have the past 20 years weakened democracy in America?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-have-the-past-20-years-weakened-democracy-in-america/922003)
**Author:** [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 3, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-have-the-past-20-years-weakened-democracy-in-america/922003 "2020-10-03T17:57:40Z")
I would like you to indulge me while I make a fairly boring case to you, the facts of which you are most likely familiar with. I will try to remain strictly factual. Two or three of the past five presidential terms ar… --- ## [Asian electorate drifts to the right](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-electorate-drifts-to-the-right/921340)
**Author:** [@damuriajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/damuriajashi)\ **Replies:** 153\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-electorate-drifts-to-the-right/921340 "2020-10-02T00:47:54Z")
So there seems to be some movement towards the right by the asian electorate. I think this is in part based on the anti-meritocracy elements of liberal orthodoxy discussed here but that’s just a guess. Is meritocracy o… --- ## [The Right to Choose; a given or a taken?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-right-to-choose-a-given-or-a-taken/921261)
**Author:** [@rboyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rboyce)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-right-to-choose-a-given-or-a-taken/921261 "2020-10-01T18:54:34Z")
The Right to Choose; a given or a taken? Personally, I believe a woman should have a right to choose whether she wants to take the embryo in her womb to birth or not. Hypothetically, if I were a woman who was joining w… --- ## [Is the Fermi Paradox becoming more acute?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fermi-paradox-becoming-more-acute/759574)
**Author:** [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Replies:** 409\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fermi-paradox-becoming-more-acute/759574 "2020-10-01T17:33:36Z")
Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer and Director at the Center for SETI Research said in 1914: “”One in five stars has at least one planet where life might spring up. That’s a fantastically large percentage. That means in ou… --- ## [So what's going on in the Caucasus?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-going-on-in-the-caucasus/921925)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-whats-going-on-in-the-caucasus/921925 "2020-10-01T15:29:57Z")
The cold war between Armenia and Azerbaijan appears to be heating back up. Background: The dispute is over the region between their two countries. Its population is mostly ethnically Armenian but it was legally part of… --- ## [Where On Earth Is All This Money (Billionaires)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-on-earth-is-all-this-money-billionaires/921865)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-on-earth-is-all-this-money-billionaires/921865 "2020-10-01T01:56:25Z")
The superrich have ridiculous amounts of money. And there clearly is little money to go around on the ground level. Just what I know. 5% of the population own or control 95% of the wealth in the USA. Also, interesting s… --- ## [Future of the American left?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-of-the-american-left/921441)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 30, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-of-the-american-left/921441 "2020-09-30T14:52:56Z")
It’s feeling its oats now like at no time since the Vietnam War ended. Bernie won’t be POTUS, but he has put together a mass-based left-progressive movement such as America has not seen for decades. The Congressional P… --- ## [Ranked choice voting for president](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranked-choice-voting-for-president/747465)
**Author:** [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranked-choice-voting-for-president/747465 "2020-09-29T20:23:59Z")
In my town, we elect our mayor with ranked-choice voting. We don’t bother with caucuses or primaries. I think it is a good thing. It alllows the election results to more closely match what the people want. It prevent… --- ## [Should Embezzlement From Employees Also Be a Crime?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-embezzlement-from-employees-also-be-a-crime/913534)
**Author:** [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-embezzlement-from-employees-also-be-a-crime/913534 "2020-09-29T18:26:04Z")
In the US (AFAIK it’s similar in other countries, but I’m primarily talking about US law) an employee using their position within a company to take money from the company to themselves is considered is considered a crimi… --- ## [Is there really a "Pink Tax"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230)
**Author:** [@urbanredneck2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urbanredneck2)\ **Replies:** 324\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-a-pink-tax/921230 "2020-09-28T20:14:52Z")
The so called “Pink Tax” is that women pay a higher amount for the same consumer products and services that men do. For example, a womens deodorant will cost more than a mens or womens hair shampoo costs more. Also every… --- ## [These words should be inscribed over the entrance to every locker room in the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-words-should-be-inscribed-over-the-entrance-to-every-locker-room-in-the-world/921654)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-words-should-be-inscribed-over-the-entrance-to-every-locker-room-in-the-world/921654 "2020-09-28T19:52:23Z")
“Nothing more important than a bet ever depends on the outcome of a game.” That would put the whole thing in its proper perspective, while properly draining life out of the whole national-prestige thing that comes with … --- ## [Space Force in action?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force-in-action/921198)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/space-force-in-action/921198 "2020-09-28T02:07:04Z")
Now that we have one, it raises the possibility that other powers will establish space forces to keep up – and, eventually, equip them with ships and weapons suitable for space combat. How would that go, if it came to… --- ## [What does it mean to be a “liberal/conservative” judge?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-liberal-conservative-judge/921249)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-liberal-conservative-judge/921249 "2020-09-27T19:13:51Z")
And is there any tendency to use those terms more broadly than is warranted IRL? Because to take the current example, a lot of folks seem to think that a new “conservative justice” and a “conservative-leaning court” wil… --- ## [Does the United States even need to be a military power any more?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474 "2020-09-27T15:41:04Z")
It seems to me that we have long since passed the point where no foreign country really needs American military protection any more – not even SK or Taiwan, let alone any country in Europe. They can, now, take care of t… --- ## [The New World Order: This is it, actually](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-world-order-this-is-it-actually/921468)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2020, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-world-order-this-is-it-actually/921468 "2020-09-27T09:56:18Z")
All GHWB meant by the phrase was, the international order to emerge after the Cold War. And emerge it has. What we have now is an enlarged system of Westphalian Sovereignty – Westphalian sovereignty - Wikipedia. When … --- ## [Technological unemployment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technological-unemployment/921556)
**Author:** [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2020, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technological-unemployment/921556 "2020-09-26T12:16:49Z")
This is The Big One, the most important economic problem the world will face this century. Apparently we have passed the point where technological progress creates more jobs than it destroys. Every year the machines ge… --- ## [Expand the court](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expand-the-court/921020)
**Author:** [@damuriajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/damuriajashi)\ **Replies:** 229\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expand-the-court/921020 "2020-09-26T02:00:42Z")
Expand the court to 27 justices. Give the republicans 9 nominations and give the democrats 9 nominations. With 27 justices no single nomination hereafter will be such a big deal. It would also allow for more diversity… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=46)