# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=461 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 462 --- ## [Where are we on the Laffer Curve?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-we-on-the-laffer-curve/537199)
**Author:** [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Replies:** 112\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-we-on-the-laffer-curve/537199 "2010-04-28T21:08:09Z")
For the U.S., that is. Some people say we must raise taxes in order for the federal government to increase revenue. But will raising taxes automatically increase revenue? Based on where we are on the Laffer Curve, isn’t… --- ## [Is there anything Carter could/should have done to prevent the Iranian Revolution of 1979?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-carter-could-should-have-done-to-prevent-the-iranian-revolution-of-1979/537026)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-carter-could-should-have-done-to-prevent-the-iranian-revolution-of-1979/537026 "2010-04-28T19:10:19Z")
I don’t see how the Shah’s regime could have been preserved, unpopular as it was. But was it inevitable that it would be replaced by an Islamic theocracy/mullahcracy? --- ## [Has Everything In Architecture "Been Done"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-everything-in-architecture-been-done/537222)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-everything-in-architecture-been-done/537222 "2010-04-28T16:22:37Z")
I mean, we have passed through 5000 years of different styles-Egyptian, Chinese, greek, Roman, Colonial, Modern, bauhaus…has everything been done? --- ## [Did the 1798 Irish Rebellion ever have a chance?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-1798-irish-rebellion-ever-have-a-chance/536940)
**Author:** [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-1798-irish-rebellion-ever-have-a-chance/536940 "2010-04-28T04:21:14Z")
Out from many a mud wall cabin eyes were watching through that night; Many a manly heart was throbbing for the blessed warning light. Murmurs passed along the valleys, like the banshee’s lonely croon. And a thousand b… --- ## [Racism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism/537119)
**Author:** [@Pduol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pduol)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [April 28, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racism/537119 "2010-04-28T00:22:56Z")
I got into a discussion with an employee of mine earlier today about racism that I though might make for an interesting discussion here. While we both agree that racism in the US today is less than it has been in the pa… --- ## ["Radical Unschoolers" - Is this irresponsible parenting or simply ahead of the curve?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radical-unschoolers-is-this-irresponsible-parenting-or-simply-ahead-of-the-curve/536674)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 130\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radical-unschoolers-is-this-irresponsible-parenting-or-simply-ahead-of-the-curve/536674 "2010-04-27T23:12:29Z")
Extreme Homeschooling: No Tests, No Books, No Classes, No Curriculums Is this approach ahead of the curve in an information dense society where you can get almost any bit of knowledge you want with minimal effort, or i… --- ## [Unions in government sector - possible to remove?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unions-in-government-sector-possible-to-remove/536864)
**Author:** [@canadiankorean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canadiankorean)\ **Replies:** 114\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unions-in-government-sector-possible-to-remove/536864 "2010-04-27T18:52:55Z")
Up in Canada, the government sector is pretty much run by unions. They go on strike for more money more benefits. It used to be that union workers in the public sectors were paid lower than the private sector but their… --- ## [Taxes are Theft](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-are-theft/536749)
**Author:** [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Replies:** 470\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-are-theft/536749 "2010-04-27T17:21:48Z")
Which is what it all boils down to. If you don’t pay, you go to jail. The government is taking your hard earned property, by force, and giving it to people who didn’t work for it. Spreading it around so that those who… --- ## [Just what example did the "Man On Horseback" set?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-example-did-the-man-on-horseback-set/537235 "2010-04-27T16:56:03Z")
i.e., Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. It was said of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that it was attended by “fifty-five men and one ghost”- the ghost being that of Cromwell. I have heard t… --- ## [Nationalized Power](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nationalized-power/537382)
**Author:** [@CommanderSalamander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CommanderSalamander)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nationalized-power/537382 "2010-04-27T04:10:28Z")
With the new frontier of technology approaching as oil reserves run lower and lower, its clear something will replace fossil fuels as our main source of energy. Biomass obtained from algae being one notable example (htt… --- ## [Are Men and Women Equal in Today's Society? No C-Words Please.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-women-equal-in-todays-society-no-c-words-please/536324)
**Author:** [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Replies:** 131\ **Last updated:** [April 27, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-women-equal-in-todays-society-no-c-words-please/536324 "2010-04-27T02:44:15Z")
First, \[some background.\](some background.) --- ## [Progress](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progress/537286)
**Author:** [@Thesbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thesbit)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progress/537286 "2010-04-26T23:55:09Z")
Thank you for being. Ever since I was small, I have heard the like of “You can’t stop progress” or “That’s progress for you” and sometimes this seemed to apply to situations that were NOT obviously better. So- What is t… --- ## [When in human history should a reasonable person have known slavery was evil?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-human-history-should-a-reasonable-person-have-known-slavery-was-evil/535513)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 142\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-human-history-should-a-reasonable-person-have-known-slavery-was-evil/535513 "2010-04-26T21:31:47Z")
Inspired by this post in this thread, but I thought the possible discussion warranted its own thread, and in GD to boot. To summarize briefly, the discussion was about the Confederacy, and the competing claims that they… --- ## [Terri Schiavo + 5 years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terri-schiavo-5-years/533872)
**Author:** [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Replies:** 334\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terri-schiavo-5-years/533872 "2010-04-26T21:20:05Z")
Terri Schiavo died five years ago next week. She was the poor Florida woman who fell in to diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband gave an order to allow her to die, but her parents objected. Th… --- ## [Once Agains the Pessimists Are Wrong \[Iraq elections\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-agains-the-pessimists-are-wrong-iraq-elections/533987)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 144\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-agains-the-pessimists-are-wrong-iraq-elections/533987 "2010-04-26T20:16:01Z")
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/03/26/iraq.election/index.html?hpt=T2 The secularists have won the Iraqi Parliamentary Elections narrowly and probably should be seated in a few months once all the wrangling is done.… --- ## [Are there a lot more BS email rumors against Obama than there were against W. Bush? And if so, why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-a-lot-more-bs-email-rumors-against-obama-than-there-were-against-w-bush-and-if-so-why/537333)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-a-lot-more-bs-email-rumors-against-obama-than-there-were-against-w-bush-and-if-so-why/537333 "2010-04-26T19:13:44Z")
This guy thinks so: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/feature/2010/04/23/snopes\_rumors\_obama\_bush\_open2010/index.html Of course, there’s no arguing that Salon isn’t biased, what with them billing themselves as an “on… --- ## [Is ""I'm sorry that I offended you" a real apology?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-im-sorry-that-i-offended-you-a-real-apology/536709)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-im-sorry-that-i-offended-you-a-real-apology/536709 "2010-04-26T17:35:01Z")
All things being equal, context aside (if that’s even possible), it seems to me it’s sort of a passive-aggressive non-apology. It means you regret my taking offense, not that you are apologizing for having said somethin… --- ## [The "Urine Test Welfare Recipients" email](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urine-test-welfare-recipients-email/537246)
**Author:** [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-urine-test-welfare-recipients-email/537246 "2010-04-26T14:59:54Z")
Some of you may have gotten this mass email that’s going around: I know, I know… you can be pretty sure the person who originated this owns a copy of Going Rogue by Sarah Palin, honestly believes the average welfare re… --- ## [Educational Philosophies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educational-philosophies/537191)
**Author:** [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/educational-philosophies/537191 "2010-04-26T12:14:58Z")
Is it really best to put our children under as much pressure as possible to make high grades? Is that really ‘education’, or rather a social disease of today’s adults? Yet OTOH, there is the other extreme called “unsch… --- ## [The Trouble With Tea-Baggers And Progressives.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trouble-with-tea-baggers-and-progressives/536984)
**Author:** [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [April 26, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trouble-with-tea-baggers-and-progressives/536984 "2010-04-26T02:27:54Z")
I am a Conservative Anarchist or perhaps an Altruistic Libertarian. I agree with most tea-baggers that we need a small and efficient govt that can organize and administer the national infrastructure and resources as e… --- ## [Would Jesus be a Liberal or a Conservative?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-jesus-be-a-liberal-or-a-conservative/536679)
**Author:** [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Replies:** 126\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-jesus-be-a-liberal-or-a-conservative/536679 "2010-04-25T16:05:03Z")
Would he he be pro universial health care or not? --- ## [Corporal punishment in schools](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporal-punishment-in-schools/536435)
**Author:** [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corporal-punishment-in-schools/536435 "2010-04-25T15:54:05Z")
I’d always thought that this had been banned federally for years. Turns out more than 200,000 kids are punished corporally in schools every year. Now a high school in Temple, Texas is bringing back the paddle. There are … --- ## [The US NG/PROPANE/E85 Vehicle and GSHP Energy Policy and Economic Recovery Plan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-ng-propane-e85-vehicle-and-gshp-energy-policy-and-economic-recovery-plan/535700)
**Author:** [@focusonz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/focusonz)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-ng-propane-e85-vehicle-and-gshp-energy-policy-and-economic-recovery-plan/535700 "2010-04-25T12:43:40Z")
GSHP’s, Todays only Alternative to Cap and Trade The US NG/PROPANE/E85 Vehicle and GSHP Energy Policy and Economic Recovery Plan Stimulate Main Street not Wall Street and not Pennsylvania Ave. for sure. TO: Ground So… --- ## [OMG ~1/10th of Polish leadership wiped out in plane crash](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-1-10th-of-polish-leadership-wiped-out-in-plane-crash/535674)
**Author:** [@nameless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nameless)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-1-10th-of-polish-leadership-wiped-out-in-plane-crash/535674 "2010-04-25T08:42:13Z")
You’ve probably heard by now, but… …were killed this morning in a plane crash. What an unbelievable accident. This is something out of a Tom Clancy novel. As someone on another forum said, it’s maybe the equivalent of… --- ## [Could progressives make (some) alliance with (some) Tea Partiers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-progressives-make-some-alliance-with-some-tea-partiers/537105)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [April 25, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-progressives-make-some-alliance-with-some-tea-partiers/537105 "2010-04-25T05:19:31Z")
From The Nation: Chuck Collins points out that the Tea Party movement is not monolithic. There are many in it – radical Libertarians, white supremacists, partisan Republicans – who are not interested in any dialogue wi… --- ## [What if Iceland were destroyed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-iceland-were-destroyed/536732)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-iceland-were-destroyed/536732 "2010-04-24T17:25:49Z")
What happens to a nation’s assets and debts when that nation is destroyed? Suppose volcanic eruptions kick off big time in Iceland, killing lots of people and rendering the land uninhabitable. Does financial responsibil… --- ## [Michael Meyer's "The Year That Changed The World" and the US Role in the Fall of European Communism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-meyers-the-year-that-changed-the-world-and-the-us-role-in-the-fall-of-european-communism/537200)
**Author:** [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-meyers-the-year-that-changed-the-world-and-the-us-role-in-the-fall-of-european-communism/537200 "2010-04-24T14:04:30Z")
I’m just finishing reading a fascinating book, The Year That Changed The World: The Untold Story Behind The Fall of the Berlin Wall. The book chronicles the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989, looking at Poland, Hunga… --- ## [Situation in South Africa (Malema and Terre'blanche aftermath)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/situation-in-south-africa-malema-and-terreblanche-aftermath/535243)
**Author:** [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/situation-in-south-africa-malema-and-terreblanche-aftermath/535243 "2010-04-24T10:40:02Z")
Okay, I know every couple months we have a thread on South Africa in which non-South Africans fret about the future of the country while locals assure us that things are going pretty well, thanks. So apologies in advanc… --- ## [It is wrong to bring guns to a protest](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-wrong-to-bring-guns-to-a-protest/536751)
**Author:** [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Replies:** 235\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-wrong-to-bring-guns-to-a-protest/536751 "2010-04-24T08:40:12Z")
I’m an advocate of very strong gun control laws, but I believe absolutely in the right to peacefully demonstrate against gun control. In fact, I believe in the right to peacefully demonstrate for whatever cause strikes y… --- ## [9/11 conspiracy theories](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-conspiracy-theories/535817)
**Author:** [@vanotd21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanotd21)\ **Replies:** 369\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-conspiracy-theories/535817 "2010-04-24T07:43:27Z")
I was curious to know, what kind of idiotic explanations are out there that give alternate explanations for 9/11? I’m personally horrified that we have idiots such as Charlie Sheen (funny actor on Two and a Half Men) who… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=460) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=462)