# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=509 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 510 --- ## [What's so horrible about sex?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-horrible-about-sex/510254)
**Author:** [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-horrible-about-sex/510254 "2009-09-21T14:37:01Z")
Mike Duvall ® resigned after bragging about some sexual encounters, not the first or last to be having an affair I’m sure. Bill Clinton was of course the most famous one in recent history, but although I can’t remember m… --- ## [What are some legitimate questions conservatives should be asking about health reform?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-legitimate-questions-conservatives-should-be-asking-about-health-reform/507060)
**Author:** [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-legitimate-questions-conservatives-should-be-asking-about-health-reform/507060 "2009-09-21T11:40:20Z")
“Why do you support Nazi policies” is not a legitimate question. But intelligent conservatives do make some good points about Obama’s health plan (like how we’re going to pay for it) that are unfortunately getting drowne… --- ## [Should incompetent aircraft mechanics face criminal charges of negligence?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-incompetent-aircraft-mechanics-face-criminal-charges-of-negligence/510676)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-incompetent-aircraft-mechanics-face-criminal-charges-of-negligence/510676 "2009-09-21T06:54:15Z")
I was reading Cockpit Confessions of an Airline Pilot by Stephen Keshner and I read a passage which bothered me very much: This is fucked up. If that maintenance supervisor’s negligence did indeed contribute to the pla… --- ## [Does anyone really think the Canadian health system is "beyond repair"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-really-think-the-canadian-health-system-is-beyond-repair/510219)
**Author:** [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-really-think-the-canadian-health-system-is-beyond-repair/510219 "2009-09-21T05:06:28Z")
I see comments about things like they don’t have enough government MRIs and so private MRI services have started in a couple of places. Seems to me that if an opposition candidate ran on the platform of more MRIs, then … --- ## [Should DC get a voice in Congress?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-dc-get-a-voice-in-congress/510083)
**Author:** [@Aw\_Hamburgers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aw_Hamburgers)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [September 21, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-dc-get-a-voice-in-congress/510083 "2009-09-21T03:51:36Z")
Long time lurker, first time debater :slight\_smile: I am a native Californian and I had visited Washington DC before and noticed the plates were stamped with the slogan “Taxation Without Representation.” As a tourist, … --- ## [Someone Explain 'Green Jobs', Please.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-explain-green-jobs-please/509241)
**Author:** [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-explain-green-jobs-please/509241 "2009-09-20T19:58:36Z")
So I heard Eleanor Clift bloviating about how “Green Jobs” were going to save the American economy. And of course, Obama appointed a “Green Jobs” czar, and will presumably appoint another now that this one crashed and b… --- ## [Why do right-wingers keep talking about the "Cloward-Piven Strategy"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-right-wingers-keep-talking-about-the-cloward-piven-strategy/510519)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-right-wingers-keep-talking-about-the-cloward-piven-strategy/510519 "2009-09-20T19:23:47Z")
Not here, but on some other boards I keep seeing it brought up, and somehow attributed to Obama or the Dems. Cloward-Piven Strategy: Which might have seemed clever to radicals in 1966, but it has never been tried in r… --- ## [Baucus Health Care Bill - No Bipartisanship](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baucus-health-care-bill-no-bipartisanship/510353)
**Author:** [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baucus-health-care-bill-no-bipartisanship/510353 "2009-09-20T19:22:07Z")
Max Baucus released his version of the reform bill for universal health care today. Among they many lovely qualities of this watered down, compromise-laden bill: \[ul\] \[li\]No public option\[/li\]\[li\]Mandate with high fine… --- ## [What's the cure for runaway executive compensation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293)
**Author:** [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Replies:** 99\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293 "2009-09-20T13:28:35Z")
The theory is that the boards of directors will do what’s best for the company, which presumably means paying exactly the right amount for what a person is worth. (Ha) Actually, it’s the reverse. Since they themselves a… --- ## [How would you create a society that imbues people with a sense of innate worth \[ed title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-create-a-society-that-imbues-people-with-a-sense-of-innate-worth-ed-title/510776)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-create-a-society-that-imbues-people-with-a-sense-of-innate-worth-ed-title/510776 "2009-09-20T12:25:03Z")
In this thread Trend: Men happier, women not so much. Reckon why? The discussion about happiness and age seems to keep coming back in many people’s minds to the concept that people have a low sense of self worth. As a… --- ## [How much respect should any President/politician get?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-respect-should-any-president-politician-get/510522)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-respect-should-any-president-politician-get/510522 "2009-09-20T06:27:53Z")
The whole Joe Wilson thing has brought on this question in a few circles I’ve read, especially amongst libertarians (and, in this case, their commenters), who have little respect for politicians in general to begin with. … --- ## [Would it make sense for municipalities to ban the sale of tobacco?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-make-sense-for-municipalities-to-ban-the-sale-of-tobacco/510583)
**Author:** [@the\_first\_supraliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_first_supraliminal)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-make-sense-for-municipalities-to-ban-the-sale-of-tobacco/510583 "2009-09-19T23:58:21Z")
I have a feeling it would backfire. Something more subtle and less absolute, like a local tax, could discourage smoking. But outright bans give smugglers a guaranteed income. --- ## [What is the best measurement for which countries are better off than which others?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-measurement-for-which-countries-are-better-off-than-which-others/508090)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-measurement-for-which-countries-are-better-off-than-which-others/508090 "2009-09-19T22:47:12Z")
Inspired by this thread. Let us assume for purposes of this discussion that “better off” is not based on anything indefinable, cultural or spiritual, but is based on the truism, “It is better to be rich and healthy than… --- ## [True Christianity Is Never Practiced](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-christianity-is-never-practiced/510527)
**Author:** [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-christianity-is-never-practiced/510527 "2009-09-19T16:43:42Z")
Hello, all. Not sure if this is just a question, but since it’s religious… Over many debates of recent times on a few sites, and in this forum, we’ve discussed a lot of major religious topics. One I really can’t find is… --- ## [Why the need for the 20th amendment?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-need-for-the-20th-amendment/510645)
**Author:** [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-need-for-the-20th-amendment/510645 "2009-09-19T06:25:37Z")
Why was there a need for the 20th amendment (or the 15th for that matter) giving women the right to vote? Shouldn’t the Courts have ruled that the 14th amendment prohibited any type of unequal treatment with regard to v… --- ## [Since 1970, has anyone in the USA really DIED because they couldn't afford health care?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-1970-has-anyone-in-the-usa-really-died-because-they-couldnt-afford-health-care/508810)
**Author:** [@shallora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shallora)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-1970-has-anyone-in-the-usa-really-died-because-they-couldnt-afford-health-care/508810 "2009-09-19T02:00:53Z")
Since 1970, has anyone in the USA really died because they couldn’t afford health care? I’m looking for citations and references here, folks, not anecdotal heresay. And one more thing: Dying because nobody’s developed … --- ## [China needs women!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-needs-women/352919)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2009, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-needs-women/352919 "2009-09-18T22:10:40Z")
The PRC government’s “one child” policy, combined with a cultural assumption that everybody needs a son, had led to a gender imbalance, a severe shortage of women. There are now about 120 boys for every 100 girls. http… --- ## [If ACORN is so evil, why did it take 38 years to notice?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-acorn-is-so-evil-why-did-it-take-38-years-to-notice/510515)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-acorn-is-so-evil-why-did-it-take-38-years-to-notice/510515 "2009-09-18T18:20:25Z")
I had never heard of ACORN until possibly August 2008, when right wingers started calling it all kinds of names and questioning then-Sen. Obama’s ties to the organization. Seeing as how ACORN was founded in 1970, has h… --- ## [Expert for Texas Commission concludes no evidence of arson in executed inmate's case](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expert-for-texas-commission-concludes-no-evidence-of-arson-in-executed-inmates-case/508663)
**Author:** [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expert-for-texas-commission-concludes-no-evidence-of-arson-in-executed-inmates-case/508663 "2009-09-18T16:03:52Z")
This came up in the current death penalty thread, but deserves a thread of its own. A man named Earnest Willis was convicted of the capital murder of two women by arson and spent 17 years in prison, but was exonerated w… --- ## [How to make political decisions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-political-decisions/509349)
**Author:** [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-make-political-decisions/509349 "2009-09-18T15:23:30Z")
I’m the local vice Chairman of a political party here (in Sweden) and hold some elected positions municipally. The other day I was discussing with the Chairman, in the abstract, the process of making decisions on the man… --- ## [Which nations act as models for American conservative ideals?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-nations-act-as-models-for-american-conservative-ideals/509855)
**Author:** [@nameless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nameless)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-nations-act-as-models-for-american-conservative-ideals/509855 "2009-09-18T07:58:52Z")
So, in the grand health care debate, we progressives often point to countries such as Canada, the U.K., Switzerland, or Sweden to point out various roles for government involvement in the industry. But this is true more … --- ## [Why have doctors been given a pass in the healthcare debate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-doctors-been-given-a-pass-in-the-healthcare-debate/510248)
**Author:** [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-have-doctors-been-given-a-pass-in-the-healthcare-debate/510248 "2009-09-17T21:58:52Z")
Most of the coverage of this issue seems to (deservedly) talk about how badly the public is being fleeced by lawers, Pharma, and big insurance companies, but the doctors get a pass. Why is that the case considering doct… --- ## [The Dieppe Raid - What the Hell Were They Thinking?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dieppe-raid-what-the-hell-were-they-thinking/510108)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dieppe-raid-what-the-hell-were-they-thinking/510108 "2009-09-17T16:30:34Z")
On August 19, 1942, Allied forces, many of them Canadian, attacked the French port of Dieppe with the intent to take it to show it could be done and, later, give it back to the Germans, having demonstrated a couple yea… --- ## [What effect will robotics have on medicine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-robotics-have-on-medicine/510111)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-effect-will-robotics-have-on-medicine/510111 "2009-09-17T16:29:35Z")
With all the health care debates going on, what is everyone’s predictions for what will happen in medicine in the next 20+ years due to robotics? Right now the Da Vinci robotic system can reduce complications and speed … --- ## [Should teachers be paid according to how their students test?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-teachers-be-paid-according-to-how-their-students-test/509718)
**Author:** [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-teachers-be-paid-according-to-how-their-students-test/509718 "2009-09-17T15:58:52Z")
The unions say no, that doing so would just make teachers flee poorer schools, where they are needed most. The feds say they want test results as criteria in order to get federal dough. What to do? 12,000 Teacher Repo… --- ## [Paul Hogan says that "People, Not Places" are the key to Australian Tourism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-hogan-says-that-people-not-places-are-the-key-to-australian-tourism/508594)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2009, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-hogan-says-that-people-not-places-are-the-key-to-australian-tourism/508594 "2009-09-17T10:00:31Z")
Interesting piece from the ABC (The Australian one) today, about how Australian Actor Paul “Crocodile Dundee” Hogan believes that Australia needs to focus its tourism advertising on Australian people and the Australian l… --- ## [What was really the deal with Bobby Fischer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-really-the-deal-with-bobby-fischer/509461)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2009, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-really-the-deal-with-bobby-fischer/509461 "2009-09-17T09:37:33Z")
I’ve always wondered about Bobby Fischer’s motivations for his bizarre anti-Semitic rants. Towards the end of his life he sort of became world famous for preaching hatred - real, vicious, Nazi-like hatred, not a slur her… --- ## [9/11 Challenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-challenge/503912)
**Author:** [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-challenge/503912 "2009-09-17T03:45:09Z")
Most people know by now that there is a small minority of people who think 9/11 was what they call an inside job. This self-labeled 9/11 “Truth” movement has spent the last few years invading Ground Zero, downtown artwal… --- ## [Would it be a good idea to build a massive border fence?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-a-good-idea-to-build-a-massive-border-fence/509767)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-a-good-idea-to-build-a-massive-border-fence/509767 "2009-09-16T21:38:53Z")
The U.S-Mexican Border is 1,969 miles. What if we set up a double barbed wire fence and a 100 yard “No man’s land” buffer zone rigged with land mines? Even given a generous budget of a million per mile of fence, it would… --- ## [Definitions please! Intelligence; free will; consciousness.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-please-intelligence-free-will-consciousness/509916)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-please-intelligence-free-will-consciousness/509916 "2009-09-16T17:46:36Z")
In the tradition of Great Debates these longstanding subjects are featured yet again in several threads. I am struck in several of them, such as in this one, how difficult these conversations are … how can even discuss t… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=508) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=510)