# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=514 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 515 --- ## [Why Doesn't the Fed Govt Negotiate Lower Drug Prices?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-fed-govt-negotiate-lower-drug-prices/507507)
**Author:** [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-fed-govt-negotiate-lower-drug-prices/507507 "2009-09-02T05:03:48Z")
This post (from a Pit thread, but from Malthus and therefore more than simply mindless abuse) got me thinking about an issue that perhaps the SDMB can clear up. One of the advantages (I am told) of the Canadian system i… --- ## [Is this an elaborate whoosh? Is geometry a force?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-elaborate-whoosh-is-geometry-a-force/507708)
**Author:** [@rwjefferson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rwjefferson)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-an-elaborate-whoosh-is-geometry-a-force/507708 "2009-09-02T04:49:05Z")
movingfinger: You are the first to show even attempt understanding. Honest questions deserve honest answers. you say inverse; I say in verse you say an elaborate whoosh; I say continued propagation by dogma. The Smi… --- ## [Israel shocked at Swedish tabloid's freedom of speech](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-shocked-at-swedish-tabloids-freedom-of-speech/507198)
**Author:** [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Replies:** 423\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/israel-shocked-at-swedish-tabloids-freedom-of-speech/507198 "2009-09-02T04:46:46Z")
Okay, I suppose the manly thing to do would be to pit this, but I lack the rhetorical skills and real outrage to give that a good punch. Maybe IMHO is better? Mods feel free to move it to anywhere you feel more appropria… --- ## [DUI manslaughter: does the passenger bear responsibility?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-manslaughter-does-the-passenger-bear-responsibility/507799)
**Author:** [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-manslaughter-does-the-passenger-bear-responsibility/507799 "2009-09-02T04:39:10Z")
This question is inspired by the Ted Kennedy/Chappaquidick incident, but that appears to be under discussion elsewhere and I don’t want to talk about it here. Let me present a hypothetical scenario: your significant oth… --- ## [30 billion out of medicare ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-billion-out-of-medicare/508346)
**Author:** [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/30-billion-out-of-medicare/508346 "2009-09-02T03:23:00Z")
I have to take what Orin Hatch says on CNN seriously. So what is he on about with the Democrats proposing to take thirty billion dollars out of medicare to fund the general health care plan ? --- ## [The CO2 concentration graph: Guesses solicited for its future shape and consequences](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-co2-concentration-graph-guesses-solicited-for-its-future-shape-and-consequences/506391)
**Author:** [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Replies:** 140\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-co2-concentration-graph-guesses-solicited-for-its-future-shape-and-consequences/506391 "2009-09-02T03:21:44Z")
Here is one of my first posts on the SDMB when I joined in 2002. \[ul\]Seven years later, the graph of carbon dioxide concentration has continued its upward trend, such that it is now higher than at any point in the last m… --- ## [Try to predict the ripple effect of RFK as president in 1968](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-predict-the-ripple-effect-of-rfk-as-president-in-1968/508267)
**Author:** [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-to-predict-the-ripple-effect-of-rfk-as-president-in-1968/508267 "2009-09-02T01:24:03Z")
Out of vietnam sooner? Obviously no watergate. If he was a 2 term president, possibility of reagan in '76? Any changes that could have been made in the late 60’s to avoid the economic problems of the late 70’s? Also, if … --- ## [Joe Scarborough convinced single-payer healthcare is the best option](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-scarborough-convinced-single-payer-healthcare-is-the-best-option/507637)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-scarborough-convinced-single-payer-healthcare-is-the-best-option/507637 "2009-09-01T22:37:33Z")
Convinced by logical argument, yet! And on live TV! “It sounds like you’re saying you think there is no need for us to have private insurance in healthcare,” Joe asked at one point. Weiner replied: “I’ve asked you th… --- ## [Did Chappaquiddick actually make Ted Kennedy more influential?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chappaquiddick-actually-make-ted-kennedy-more-influential/507927)
**Author:** [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chappaquiddick-actually-make-ted-kennedy-more-influential/507927 "2009-09-01T21:40:57Z")
OK, here me out before jumping down my throat - The “Chappaquiddick Incident” was damaging for all involved, and the death of Mary Jo Kopechne was a horrible tragedy. I do not believe, nor am I arguing, that Kennedy in… --- ## [Would a "gun republic" be possible? How would it work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-gun-republic-be-possible-how-would-it-work/508308)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-gun-republic-be-possible-how-would-it-work/508308 "2009-09-01T20:12:52Z")
A USA founded upon the most libertarian interpretation of the Second Amendment: that the personal possession of weapons is held to be indispensible to a free republic; the state is to keep only the bare minimum standing … --- ## [Ted Kennedy's 1980 running mate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedys-1980-running-mate/508108)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedys-1980-running-mate/508108 "2009-09-01T18:11:11Z")
They almost surely would’ve lost in the fall to Reagan-Bush, just as Carter-Mondale did, but I wonder. In his what-if thriller Shall We Tell the President?, author Jeffrey Archer has Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) as Teddy’s run… --- ## [What would politicians/media/people say about Rush Limbaugh if he died?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-politicians-media-people-say-about-rush-limbaugh-if-he-died/507925)
**Author:** [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-politicians-media-people-say-about-rush-limbaugh-if-he-died/507925 "2009-09-01T13:57:34Z")
Thinking about the Ted Kennedy eulogy that Obama is going to give and the nonstop media clips highlighting positive qualities about Ted Kennedy got me thinking about the eulogies that other prominent people in politics w… --- ## [Pro-Choicers: What makes a person?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choicers-what-makes-a-person/508034)
**Author:** [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Replies:** 112\ **Last updated:** [September 1, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choicers-what-makes-a-person/508034 "2009-09-01T12:49:14Z")
This statement comes up pretty frequently in abortion debates from the Pro-Choice side of things, and I’m curious just how exactly \*do \*you define a ‘person’? Is that definition exclusive to just fetuses, or does it app… --- ## [What's the scriptural support for literalism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scriptural-support-for-literalism/508058)
**Author:** [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-scriptural-support-for-literalism/508058 "2009-08-31T21:12:05Z")
Is there anything in the Bible in support of a literal interpretation of the Bible? Anything explicitly against it (not just pointing out inconsistencies and all that)? If there isn’t, what’s the argument of literalists… --- ## [Do physicians have an unusually high sense of financial entitlement?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-physicians-have-an-unusually-high-sense-of-financial-entitlement/507631)
**Author:** [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-physicians-have-an-unusually-high-sense-of-financial-entitlement/507631 "2009-08-31T19:56:37Z")
So I was reading this article on CNN about this doc who is “fed-up” by not reaping the benefits of the “savings” he generates for the insurance companies and Medicare. Some tidbits for you. and Now, I don’t know how… --- ## [Where do sexual taboos come from](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-sexual-taboos-come-from/506980)
**Author:** [@truthpizza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthpizza)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-sexual-taboos-come-from/506980 "2009-08-31T19:04:04Z")
Growing up in the 50’s it occurred to me that while most aspects of morality had to do with treating other people well, there were a whole lot of rules about sexuality that didn’t seem to serve any real purpose. I didn’… --- ## [Challenge to Economic Conservatives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-economic-conservatives/507963)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 114\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-to-economic-conservatives/507963 "2009-08-31T18:07:20Z")
I hear a lot about how laissez faire capitalism is so wonderful, and that a rising tide lifts all boats. I merely ask for one thing: Name a country that has less taxes, less regulation, and less of a social safety net t… --- ## [EVs: the likely field emerges.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evs-the-likely-field-emerges/507396)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evs-the-likely-field-emerges/507396 "2009-08-31T17:47:31Z")
We have had several threads before which have debated the possible success or failure of Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs), Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs) and pure Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). Concerns over cost and… --- ## [Torture Memo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torture-memo/507792)
**Author:** [@Burton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burton)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/torture-memo/507792 "2009-08-31T13:22:39Z")
Have you read this: http://www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/082409/olcremand/2004olc97.pdf I’m still trying to picture a walling collar. I expect it has hand grips so the torturer can better grasp the subject and bash … --- ## [Why would/do legislators listen to lobbyists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-do-legislators-listen-to-lobbyists/507536)
**Author:** [@Transistor\_Rhythm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Transistor_Rhythm)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [August 31, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-do-legislators-listen-to-lobbyists/507536 "2009-08-31T10:16:03Z")
Though it’s widely acknowledged that lobbyists have an unfair and quasi-illegal influence on government and policy, I’ve never really understood why anyone would…well, be influenced by them. Is it as simple as tons of br… --- ## [The Outing of Oliver Sipple](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-outing-of-oliver-sipple/508018)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-outing-of-oliver-sipple/508018 "2009-08-30T00:27:27Z")
Sounds like a Lifetime movie title, no? Oliver Sipple was a former Marine who saved the life of then-President Gerald R. Ford. Just three weeks after Ford was targeted by Manson follower Lynnete “Squeaky” Fromme, the Pr… --- ## [Why I oppose Sotomayor's Nomination](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-oppose-sotomayors-nomination/504440)
**Author:** [@Subterfuge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterfuge)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-oppose-sotomayors-nomination/504440 "2009-08-29T19:58:53Z")
During the recent Senate confirmation hearings, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) asked Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, whether citizens have a right to self-defense. Justice Sotomayor told the Senate Judiciary Committee,… --- ## [When did the Gadsden Flag become a symbol of the hard Right / extremism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-gadsden-flag-become-a-symbol-of-the-hard-right-extremism/507538)
**Author:** [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-gadsden-flag-become-a-symbol-of-the-hard-right-extremism/507538 "2009-08-29T19:47:37Z")
I bought a Gadsden flag tshirt a few years ago. We learned about it in elementary school and I always thought it was just a cool-looking flag with a simple, honorable message: don’t mess with me and I won’t mess with you… --- ## [What AlGore giveth, Obama taketh away (bill gives Exec Br authority over private networks)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-algore-giveth-obama-taketh-away-bill-gives-exec-br-authority-over-private-networks/508059)
**Author:** [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-algore-giveth-obama-taketh-away-bill-gives-exec-br-authority-over-private-networks/508059 "2009-08-29T11:31:24Z")
Today’s Drudge Report screams (in big, red, capital letters) Bill Would Give Obama ‘Emergency’ Control of Internet! The linked article goes to a Cnet page discussing an in-the-works Senate bill that would grant the Exec… --- ## [Who would be the ideal person to succeed Ted Kennedy in the Senate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-ideal-person-to-succeed-ted-kennedy-in-the-senate/507766)
**Author:** [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-the-ideal-person-to-succeed-ted-kennedy-in-the-senate/507766 "2009-08-29T06:00:59Z")
I’d like to see Barney Frank make a run for the seat, as he’s one of the few Democrats who’s had the balls to call the town hellers out on their bullshit, and he seems like the type of guy who can get things done. But I … --- ## [The Arctic Convoys- WW 2](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arctic-convoys-ww-2/507497)
**Author:** [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arctic-convoys-ww-2/507497 "2009-08-29T05:40:58Z")
Hopefully the right forum. I have been pondering about the usefulness of the Arctic Convoys to the Soviet Union and what they actually did achieve. Obviously they delivered some munitions and equipment, but at a frightf… --- ## [Schools should teach children Critical Thinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-should-teach-children-critical-thinking/507812)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schools-should-teach-children-critical-thinking/507812 "2009-08-29T05:04:27Z")
Our educational system is too focused on teaching children what they should know, and virtually no time is spent on teaching them how to think. Along with Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, we should teach children how t… --- ## [Of delusional believers and naive positivist scientism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-delusional-believers-and-naive-positivist-scientism/507529)
**Author:** [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Replies:** 113\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-delusional-believers-and-naive-positivist-scientism/507529 "2009-08-29T03:25:51Z")
While the two topics for this OP appear in unrelated threads I thought they were pretty much the opposites of one another – pending further definition from mswas on the latter. Since we were asked by the OP in the first… --- ## [Will Healthcare raise insurance costs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-healthcare-raise-insurance-costs/507069)
**Author:** [@djinteractive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djinteractive)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 29, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-healthcare-raise-insurance-costs/507069 "2009-08-29T00:23:24Z")
There are many aspects of this that I have not seen anyone ask. I currently don’t pay for my Healthcare as it is provided by my employer. Whether or not my employer would choose to drop healthcare is irrelevant. In t… --- ## [Is it time to switch state industry regulations to federal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-switch-state-industry-regulations-to-federal/507800)
**Author:** [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-switch-state-industry-regulations-to-federal/507800 "2009-08-28T21:49:15Z")
Here’s the problem: Many industries that have traditionally been regulated by states, insurance, banks, restaurant and local food production, power companies, corporations in general. That was great in the 1800s when the… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=513) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=515)