# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=512 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 513 --- ## [A nuclear world war III in the early 1980s: Who would have won?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nuclear-world-war-iii-in-the-early-1980s-who-would-have-won/507849)
**Author:** [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-nuclear-world-war-iii-in-the-early-1980s-who-would-have-won/507849 "2009-09-10T13:24:56Z")
If the Cold War had turned hot, Soviet tanks had poured through the Fulda Gap and nuclear missiles were launched which side would most likely have won? It would likely have been a Pyrrhic victory for the winning side. W… --- ## [How long until healthy food becomes as widely accessible as fast-food?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-healthy-food-becomes-as-widely-accessible-as-fast-food/508824)
**Author:** [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2009, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-until-healthy-food-becomes-as-widely-accessible-as-fast-food/508824 "2009-09-10T09:22:14Z")
Let me just start by saying I’m not a dietician or any type of health expert. I don’t even know that much about what’s in food. I am however healthy and in shape, and can pick out what’s good and what’s crap. In my o… --- ## [Supreme court, the big story of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-the-big-story-of-the-day/509427)
**Author:** [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-the-big-story-of-the-day/509427 "2009-09-10T05:18:05Z")
http://www.americablog.com/2009/09/supreme-court-hearing-case-today-to.html Obama’s speech on health care is a big story, but the Supreme Court is hearing a case today that may have a huge impact on the future of Americ… --- ## [When has government intervention harmed a service or economic sector?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-government-intervention-harmed-a-service-or-economic-sector/508844)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-government-intervention-harmed-a-service-or-economic-sector/508844 "2009-09-09T22:51:40Z")
Well, it’s a question of fact, but it seems like a GD topic anyway. When has government entered a sector & made it less effective? When has government entered a sector & made it less efficient? When has government ent… --- ## [Voting with your Vagina](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-with-your-vagina/508626)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 125\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voting-with-your-vagina/508626 "2009-09-09T17:59:34Z")
The Quiverfull movement appears to be one that emphasizes having many many children. The Wikipedia article gives several reasons for this: But this debate is more about the idea that the movement principally seeks to … --- ## [Does the end justify the means? An old classic.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-end-justify-the-means-an-old-classic/509227)
**Author:** [@Blut\_Aus\_Nord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blut_Aus_Nord)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-end-justify-the-means-an-old-classic/509227 "2009-09-09T16:47:04Z")
A pretty simple question like this can turn into mayhem once morality or nobility come into question. And what do you think of Kant’s categorical imperative? Is this a clear solution to the issue? Although I don’t agree… --- ## [Health-care reform money: where's it coming from and going to?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-care-reform-money-wheres-it-coming-from-and-going-to/509436)
**Author:** [@happywaffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happywaffle)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-care-reform-money-wheres-it-coming-from-and-going-to/509436 "2009-09-09T16:45:52Z")
I’m confused by this trillion-dollar number that keeps getting thrown around to describe the cost of the health-care reform bills. Specifically, I don’t know what the flow of the money is. Assuming it’s a trillion dolla… --- ## [More Supreme Court vacancies ahead?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-supreme-court-vacancies-ahead/508642)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-supreme-court-vacancies-ahead/508642 "2009-09-09T15:53:24Z")
Story I see this as a clear indication that Stevens will retire very soon. He knows that Obama can get his replacement through the Senate without any Republican support. However, who knows what the balance will be after… --- ## [Should infanticide be legalised?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-infanticide-be-legalised/508545)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 140\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-infanticide-be-legalised/508545 "2009-09-09T13:51:53Z")
As somewhat of a counterpoint to the anti-abortion threads, I’m wondering if infanticide should be fully legalised. Until relatively recently, infanticide was the normal method of abortion (q.v. Greek tragedies etc) and … --- ## [Would the US accept a smallish European country as the 51st State?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-us-accept-a-smallish-european-country-as-the-51st-state/509157)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-us-accept-a-smallish-european-country-as-the-51st-state/509157 "2009-09-09T12:35:20Z")
Let’s say, hypothetically, a smallish European country- let’s say Iceland, purely as an example\*- finds itself in a situation where US Statehood would be seen as a desirable thing, and after a properly organised referend… --- ## [US CDC initiative to promote routine circumcision for all baby boys raises it's head](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cdc-initiative-to-promote-routine-circumcision-for-all-baby-boys-raises-its-head/507442)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 237\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-cdc-initiative-to-promote-routine-circumcision-for-all-baby-boys-raises-its-head/507442 "2009-09-09T05:47:16Z")
Public health officials are considering promoting routine circumcision for all baby boys born in the United States to reduce the spread of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Benefits seem relatively minor for US childr… --- ## [What if WW2 had been about extermination?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-ww2-had-been-about-extermination/509209)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-ww2-had-been-about-extermination/509209 "2009-09-09T03:30:52Z")
This is a seriously nasty scenario, so skip to the next thread if you’re squeamish. . . . . . . . . . . What if Nazi Germany had exterminated occupied countries in Western Europe? Suppose behind the front line… --- ## [In the face of extinction... an alternative](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-face-of-extinction-an-alternative/508897)
**Author:** [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-face-of-extinction-an-alternative/508897 "2009-09-08T21:38:57Z")
"Gentlemen, as you know women worldwide have simultaneously developed a global and practically absolute aversion to childbearing. As all right-thinking men will agree, even when oblivion is facing us we may not abrogate … --- ## [Am I hateful if I ask...\[a bunch of questions from Glenn Beck?\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hateful-if-i-ask-a-bunch-of-questions-from-glenn-beck/507582)
**Author:** [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-hateful-if-i-ask-a-bunch-of-questions-from-glenn-beck/507582 "2009-09-08T20:43:29Z")
Am I hateful if I ask: - Our unfunded liability for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is close to $100 trillion. Is there any way to pay for these programs without bankrupting America? - We are in so much debt, w… --- ## [Will science and technology save us from the upcoming resource crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-science-and-technology-save-us-from-the-upcoming-resource-crunch/508947)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-science-and-technology-save-us-from-the-upcoming-resource-crunch/508947 "2009-09-08T19:53:07Z")
The world is fast running out of resources. Oil, fish, agricultural products, various metals, fresh water, etc. Soooo, do you think technology will allow us to switch to alternatives or extract more from the earth, or w… --- ## [Can a man who has done bad become good?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-man-who-has-done-bad-become-good/508152)
**Author:** [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-man-who-has-done-bad-become-good/508152 "2009-09-08T19:14:25Z")
I thought about posting this months ago. In light of Senator Kennedy’s death, I post it now. Originally I started this in IMHO, but I guess it is better suited for GD. I didn’t originally start it here as I’m not goin… --- ## [The New FCC "Diversity Czar" - An Enemy of Free Speech](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-fcc-diversity-czar-an-enemy-of-free-speech/508606)
**Author:** [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Replies:** 136\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-fcc-diversity-czar-an-enemy-of-free-speech/508606 "2009-09-08T19:09:15Z")
So I was listening to the radio today, and heard some guy going on about the new ‘Diversity Czar’ for the FCC - a man by the name of Mark Lloyd. Apparently, he’s some enemy of free speech who wants to crush right-wing r… --- ## [So are there any pieces of evidence regarding a 9/11 conspiracy which cannot be explained?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-there-any-pieces-of-evidence-regarding-a-9-11-conspiracy-which-cannot-be-explained/508677)
**Author:** [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-there-any-pieces-of-evidence-regarding-a-9-11-conspiracy-which-cannot-be-explained/508677 "2009-09-08T17:42:18Z")
I do not believe 9/11 was an inside job, my friend does. While trying to explain to him how all the evidence he believed in was not factual I decided to go to one of these conspiracy websites to see what their arguments … --- ## [The Dixie Chicks, revisited](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dixie-chicks-revisited/508963)
**Author:** [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dixie-chicks-revisited/508963 "2009-09-08T16:44:42Z")
On March 10, 2003, during a show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks said: This set off one of the bigger shitfits of recent memory among the right. They were boycotted by stations … --- ## ["Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones Resigns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-jobs-czar-van-jones-resigns/509100)
**Author:** [@CyclopticXander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyclopticXander)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-jobs-czar-van-jones-resigns/509100 "2009-09-08T14:13:57Z")
Ultimately I can’t get too riled up about this, because really some of those controversial statements were really stupid. Score one for the conservatives I guess. C-Span was just airing an event from a few months ago … --- ## [Is it time to stop supporting Karzai?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-stop-supporting-karzai/509179)
**Author:** [@the\_first\_supraliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_first_supraliminal)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-stop-supporting-karzai/509179 "2009-09-08T13:05:24Z")
Why are we (including the UN) still standing with that guy, despite his corruption, millions of our money flowing to the Taliban, and now an election where some precints gave him ten times the number of votes as they had… --- ## [Liberals, are you ready to abandon the public option?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-are-you-ready-to-abandon-the-public-option/508938)
**Author:** [@CyclopticXander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyclopticXander)\ **Replies:** 88\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-are-you-ready-to-abandon-the-public-option/508938 "2009-09-08T10:46:26Z")
I guess I’ll put this in GQ since I’m not looking for yet another health care debate so much as an understanding of how an ideological base adjusts when their party’s president comes up short of a stated goal. I could ju… --- ## [What is the point of creating an artificial human?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-creating-an-artificial-human/508913)
**Author:** [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [September 8, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-creating-an-artificial-human/508913 "2009-09-08T03:12:22Z")
Not sure if this belongs in Cafe Society since it references film and movies, but I want to leave the discussion open to a real world hypothetical discussion. A common trope in science fiction is that in the future, the… --- ## [What is Obama's Healthcare Plan in layman's?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931)
**Author:** [@TheScogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheScogg)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-obamas-healthcare-plan-in-laymans/508931 "2009-09-07T16:04:48Z")
Mods : Please feel free to move this thread. It started out as a question, but I can easily see the focus shifting to a “Great Debate”. I am a self proclaimed layman. I’m not a drooling, mouth breathing moron. But, b… --- ## [Will health care costs ever go down](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-health-care-costs-ever-go-down/508837)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-health-care-costs-ever-go-down/508837 "2009-09-07T13:56:10Z")
Health care costs grow at about 6-10% a year in OECD nations. However the human body is limited in the number of things that can go wrong with it. I do not have the chart onhand, but I remember once seeing a chart that d… --- ## [Swiss Style Health Care in the U.S.: A Compromise?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-style-health-care-in-the-u-s-a-compromise/508974)
**Author:** [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swiss-style-health-care-in-the-u-s-a-compromise/508974 "2009-09-07T13:50:04Z")
Somewhat inspired by this thread about abandoning the pubic option. I recently saw a video in which Senator Al Franken addressed a crowd of people outdoors regarding health care reform. In it, he touches on the idea that… --- ## [I waterboard!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-waterboard/430894)
**Author:** [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Replies:** 511\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2009, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-waterboard/430894 "2009-09-07T08:52:10Z")
So much talk of waterboarding, so much controversy. But what is it really? How bad? I wanted to write the definitive thread on waterboarding, settle the issue. Torture, or not? To determine the answer, I knew I had … --- ## [Comparing polls about pols: Poles apart?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-polls-about-pols-poles-apart/508640)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-polls-about-pols-poles-apart/508640 "2009-09-07T06:43:32Z")
Democrats See Their Congressmen Holding Similar Views to Democratic Voters Republican Voters Say GOP Reps in Congress Still Out of Touch I found these poll results really interesting (and further along in both articl… --- ## [Are people who haven't seen certain Major Films/TV shows "missing out"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-who-havent-seen-certain-major-films-tv-shows-missing-out/508952)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2009, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-who-havent-seen-certain-major-films-tv-shows-missing-out/508952 "2009-09-06T11:50:55Z")
I have a friend who basically grew up in the middle of nowhere and due to a complicated set of circumstances hasn’t been exposed to a staggering number of Movies That Everyone Is Expected To Have Seen. He’d never seen a… --- ## [Competition may not help that much in health care](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competition-may-not-help-that-much-in-health-care/509032)
**Author:** [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competition-may-not-help-that-much-in-health-care/509032 "2009-09-06T06:04:06Z")
Sorry, submitted too soon, needs some work; see post 2. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=511) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=513)