# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=504 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 505 --- ## [Should health care workers be required to get H1N1 shots?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-health-care-workers-be-required-to-get-h1n1-shots/513074)
**Author:** [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-health-care-workers-be-required-to-get-h1n1-shots/513074 "2009-10-09T16:26:23Z")
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33210502/ns/health-health\_care/ Apparently many health care workers have been protesting against being forced to get the H1N1 flu shot. In the above opinion article the author argues that it… --- ## [GQ and GD - The US gives up the Pacific after Pearl Harbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-and-gd-the-us-gives-up-the-pacific-after-pearl-harbor/513177)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-and-gd-the-us-gives-up-the-pacific-after-pearl-harbor/513177 "2009-10-09T16:03:22Z")
First, a factual question: About how much money was spent on just the Pacific front in WWII? The debate question is: If Pearl Harbor had convinced the US to back down and let Japan take over the Pacific and duke it out … --- ## [Is it time to revive colonialism and The White Man's Burden?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-revive-colonialism-and-the-white-mans-burden/509288)
**Author:** [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-revive-colonialism-and-the-white-mans-burden/509288 "2009-10-09T14:54:03Z")
It wasn’t that long ago that a country like England or Italy would go into Sudan or Somalia or Afghanistan and run things under either colonial or “international mandate” protectorate status. The theory was that they wou… --- ## [The Death of Conservatism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-conservatism/509508)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 106\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-death-of-conservatism/509508 "2009-10-09T13:29:14Z")
Has the conservative movement exhausted itself, and marginalized itself by letting radicals take over? That’s the argument Sam Tanenhaus (famous as the biographer of Whitaker Chambers) makes in his new book, and in this… --- ## [Obama wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-2009-nobel-peace-prize/513176)
**Author:** [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-2009-nobel-peace-prize/513176 "2009-10-09T13:23:37Z")
duplicate thread. Sorry folks. --- ## [The Conservative Bible, or I'm Square Athwart Poe's Law Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-conservative-bible-or-im-square-athwart-poes-law-here/512742)
**Author:** [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-conservative-bible-or-im-square-athwart-poes-law-here/512742 "2009-10-09T04:39:15Z")
I’m seriously puzzled this time. This can’t actually be serious, can it? Apparently, there is a movement (albeit perhaps a small one) to create a Conservative Bible. \[quote\] As of 2009, there is no fully conservative … --- ## [Anyone care to offer a defense of this? (Franken amendment)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-care-to-offer-a-defense-of-this-franken-amendment/513018)
**Author:** [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-care-to-offer-a-defense-of-this-franken-amendment/513018 "2009-10-09T00:47:24Z")
30 Senators, all Republicans, voted against an amendment offered by Senator Al Franken that that would punish contractors if they “restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination… --- ## [Should police officers pay for their own GUNS?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-pay-for-their-own-guns/512699)
**Author:** [@JesmanVA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesmanVA)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-pay-for-their-own-guns/512699 "2009-10-08T23:10:47Z")
Isn’t police weaponry usually publicly-funded? Very interesting debate in Wisconsin: http://www.eeekonomy.com/discussion/Should-Officers-Pay-for-the-Bang-with-their-Bucks-/70 --- ## [Is there a difference between racism & nativism? And which is more important in Obama-hate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-difference-between-racism-nativism-and-which-is-more-important-in-obama-hate/512473)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-difference-between-racism-nativism-and-which-is-more-important-in-obama-hate/512473 "2009-10-08T23:01:37Z")
From an interesting Democratic Strategist blog-article: However, whether the author so intends or not, this also raises the obvious question of whether racism or nativism is worse. “Wrenching social and cultural chang… --- ## [General Joe Johnston, CSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-joe-johnston-csa/510388)
**Author:** [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-joe-johnston-csa/510388 "2009-10-08T22:50:36Z")
Hero of the Confederacy defending the railroad connections of the South against superior forces as described by Margaret Mitchell, or wimp running away from Sherman as described by Wikipedia? --- ## [\*sigh\* No, Manuel Zelaya is not an "anti-American socialist"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-no-manuel-zelaya-is-not-an-anti-american-socialist/512681)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-no-manuel-zelaya-is-not-an-anti-american-socialist/512681 "2009-10-08T21:42:17Z")
I can’t believe I need to point that out, but that silly meme keeps popping up from conservaDopers – even usually rational ones like Sam Stone – in threads such as this one on the ongoing Honduras constitutional crisis. … --- ## [What religion has the least appealing afterlife?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-religion-has-the-least-appealing-afterlife/511711)
**Author:** [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-religion-has-the-least-appealing-afterlife/511711 "2009-10-08T16:53:35Z")
Inspired, obviously, by this thread about which religion has the best afterlife. Many people mentioned that they’d find the Christian concept of heaven pretty boring. But that’s nothing compared to the shadowy world of … --- ## [The Specter of Socialism’s Slow Collapse.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-specter-of-socialism-s-slow-collapse/512074)
**Author:** [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-specter-of-socialism-s-slow-collapse/512074 "2009-10-08T15:40:48Z")
So says The New York Times, writing on how the Socialist and left wing governments in Europe are being trounced by Conservatives. There is now a right-leaning government in Germany, France and Italy. Portugal’s Sociali… --- ## [The mindset of Creationists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mindset-of-creationists/508613)
**Author:** [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Replies:** 232\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mindset-of-creationists/508613 "2009-10-08T14:38:21Z")
First, I’m normally a lurker in GD, so if even if I don’t respond to this thread, I’ll still be reading it. I’ve been reading certain threads, like this one, where people who don’t believe in evolution have schools and … --- ## [If not us, who?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-us-who/512573)
**Author:** [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2009, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-us-who/512573 "2009-10-08T08:22:28Z")
Posit an evolutionary history without primates. Would another order of animals have evolved a sapiens-like intelligence? Which one? I realize that the opposable thumb is given a lot of credit for our development, but do… --- ## [Are health and safety fears out of control...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-health-and-safety-fears-out-of-control/512649)
**Author:** [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-health-and-safety-fears-out-of-control/512649 "2009-10-07T23:59:23Z")
…or is it all just media hype? I’m asking this in light of this report, stating fears that school children are being denied the opportunity to experiment in science classes, over fears of burns, acid spills, and other d… --- ## [Does anybody ever change their worldview at a very late age?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-ever-change-their-worldview-at-a-very-late-age/510253)
**Author:** [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-ever-change-their-worldview-at-a-very-late-age/510253 "2009-10-07T22:38:34Z")
I just went to the kitchen and overheard my dad on the phone saying things like “Glenn Beck found out he was a communist” and “probably the devil doing that” and tried to quickly turn my brain off before I exploded. Lat… --- ## [Double standard regarding nukes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-standard-regarding-nukes/512586)
**Author:** [@SweetLucy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetLucy)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-standard-regarding-nukes/512586 "2009-10-07T21:41:00Z")
I’m by no means a fan of Iran’s government, but I tend to believe their bark’s worse than their bite. Their leaders are fools, but not idiots. But something I’ve wondered for much of my life is…why is it supposedly OK fo… --- ## [I know we're better than this...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-were-better-than-this/512511)
**Author:** [@lurking\_guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurking_guest)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-were-better-than-this/512511 "2009-10-07T19:52:25Z")
Most folks (in every demographic) are NOT stupid. They work at their jobs (whatever they are) and try to pay bills, keep their families together and keep atop of the “News”… …and yet… Seem to find themselves rooting f… --- ## [Banning (Bad) Pleasures](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-bad-pleasures/511247)
**Author:** [@A.Selene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Selene)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-bad-pleasures/511247 "2009-10-07T19:42:27Z")
It’s time for Prohibition Round 2. In recent years, legislation across the US has either heavily taxed or banned “unhealthy” consumption. The heavy taxes on cigarettes are perhaps the most well known and visible of suc… --- ## [Are the Darwin Awards Offensive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-darwin-awards-offensive/511650)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-darwin-awards-offensive/511650 "2009-10-07T16:52:07Z")
Are the Darwin Awards offensive as it makes fun of people who died or it is not as it is treating idiots as they deserve to be? --- ## [Blackwater/Xe front "American Police Force" to run big jail (& be the police?) in small Montana town](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-xe-front-american-police-force-to-run-big-jail-be-the-police-in-small-montana-town/512302)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-xe-front-american-police-force-to-run-big-jail-be-the-police-in-small-montana-town/512302 "2009-10-07T16:27:02Z")
This appeared in Raw Story recently: What I actually find most disturbing about this story is its beginning: An economically depressed town’s government counting on incarceration as a growth industry! Is this what Ame… --- ## [giving away syringes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-away-syringes/512505)
**Author:** [@Maia\_s\_Well](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maia_s_Well)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-away-syringes/512505 "2009-10-07T13:01:58Z")
Perhaps this could be simply answered in GQ, but I thought I’d stick it here so anyone who wanted to offer thoughts on the ethics involved. My question is whether it is legal to give away syringes. I take a daily injec… --- ## [Pedophiliacs: Should we feel sympathy for them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophiliacs-should-we-feel-sympathy-for-them/510462)
**Author:** [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Replies:** 193\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedophiliacs-should-we-feel-sympathy-for-them/510462 "2009-10-07T10:37:25Z")
So in this thread over here we appear to be debating pedophiliac hypotheticals, God help us, and the question came up about ‘feeling sorry’ for those with such tendencies. I admit, if my understanding of pedophilia is c… --- ## [What if the Soviets had been allowed to occupy Afghanistan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-soviets-had-been-allowed-to-occupy-afghanistan/512763)
**Author:** [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-soviets-had-been-allowed-to-occupy-afghanistan/512763 "2009-10-07T10:04:39Z")
If the US had not armed the mujahideen and stayed completely out of Afghanistan during the 80’s, what would the world be like today? Would there still be a war against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan today? Wou… --- ## [Do we need the restrictions on suicide?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-the-restrictions-on-suicide/512721)
**Author:** [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-the-restrictions-on-suicide/512721 "2009-10-07T08:21:12Z")
My mother asked me this. She’s 87 today, been living in an elder care home since my father died some 7 years ago. Even if she moved to a place where it’s legal, she’s not sick enough to get assisted suicide. Just can’t w… --- ## [I don't like this kind of thing! \[Baby Snatch Victim Loses Kids to State Custody\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-this-kind-of-thing-baby-snatch-victim-loses-kids-to-state-custody/512533)
**Author:** [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-this-kind-of-thing-baby-snatch-victim-loses-kids-to-state-custody/512533 "2009-10-07T06:51:23Z")
Article here. In short, a woman is attacked with a knife and her newborn baby is stolen. The baby is found a week later and the mother is allowed to see it, but authorities keep the baby and take the woman’s other thre… --- ## [Reaction to Chicago's failed Olympics bid](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-chicagos-failed-olympics-bid/512372)
**Author:** [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Replies:** 96\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-chicagos-failed-olympics-bid/512372 "2009-10-07T05:07:26Z")
This Times article seems to take a remarkably grim view of the effects of this on Obama. Is this a mainstream view? Was there really that much riding on this bid? Should Obama have kept a bit more distance? --- ## [Should countries be spending vast sums of money for sporting events?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-countries-be-spending-vast-sums-of-money-for-sporting-events/512726)
**Author:** [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-countries-be-spending-vast-sums-of-money-for-sporting-events/512726 "2009-10-07T01:26:43Z")
We just saw the bid for the olympics, and some of us breathed a sigh of relief when Chicago didn’t get the nod. Now here is a tale of a country that did get an event: Laos Stumbles on Path to Sporting Glory Pouring mon… --- ## [What if Napoleon had had a zombie army?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-napoleon-had-had-a-zombie-army/512516)
**Author:** [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [October 7, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-napoleon-had-had-a-zombie-army/512516 "2009-10-07T01:03:38Z")
This came up at dinner tonight. Imagine if the French had learned how to make zombies when they suppressed Toussaint L’ouverture’s revolution in Haiti. As a result, France becomes the only European power capable of fie… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=503) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=505)