# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=519 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 520 --- ## [Eliminate the "Natural Born" provision for President](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eliminate-the-natural-born-provision-for-president/505885)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eliminate-the-natural-born-provision-for-president/505885 "2009-08-12T00:42:38Z")
It’s antiquated, and unneccesary. The location of someones birth seems to me utterly irrelevant to how “American” somebody is or how fit they are for leadership. Especially if they moved to the United States when they we… --- ## [Question about Republican legislation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-republican-legislation/506014)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-republican-legislation/506014 "2009-08-11T19:36:11Z")
In, say, the last ten years, have Republicans proposed and passed any legislation that didn’t benefit corporations? --- ## [Creation ex nihilo vs. Gradualism: Is the former necessary to western religion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creation-ex-nihilo-vs-gradualism-is-the-former-necessary-to-western-religion/504659)
**Author:** [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creation-ex-nihilo-vs-gradualism-is-the-former-necessary-to-western-religion/504659 "2009-08-11T18:00:21Z")
Hi all, back for a short visit here again. I’ve just reread my favourite book, Bertrand Russell’s “A History of Western Philosophy”. It’s a masterpiece of clarity and brilliance which I recommend to theists and atheists… --- ## [Could the U.S. have befriended Cuba right after the Revolution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-u-s-have-befriended-cuba-right-after-the-revolution/504929)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-u-s-have-befriended-cuba-right-after-the-revolution/504929 "2009-08-11T16:58:54Z")
Spinoff from this thread, which is about whether JFK could have befriended Cuba, and averted its Soviet alliance, after the Bay of Pigs invasion failed. The Communist Party (then known as the Popular Socialist Party) wa… --- ## [Will Erik Prince be charged with War Crimes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-erik-prince-be-charged-with-war-crimes/505359)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-erik-prince-be-charged-with-war-crimes/505359 "2009-08-11T15:58:18Z")
Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder --- ## [Children speaking with the dead (ed. title per OP req.)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-speaking-with-the-dead-ed-title-per-op-req/504952)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 110\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-speaking-with-the-dead-ed-title-per-op-req/504952 "2009-08-11T15:26:59Z")
I didn’t want to hijack this thread, describing apparent communication between children and dead people. I thought about posting in GQ, but I think the answers will mostly be opinions. I thought about posting it in IMH… --- ## [Did this (meta)study on organic foods miss the point?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-meta-study-on-organic-foods-miss-the-point/505315)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2009, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-meta-study-on-organic-foods-miss-the-point/505315 "2009-08-11T09:32:16Z")
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32205139/ns/health-diet\_and\_nutrition/ The only person I know who buys organic food does so because she doesn’t want pesticides, not because she thinks it has more nutrients. Even before I … --- ## [When does the Laffer Curve kick in, if at all?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-laffer-curve-kick-in-if-at-all/504588)
**Author:** [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-the-laffer-curve-kick-in-if-at-all/504588 "2009-08-11T00:50:02Z")
Rather than hijack this thread, I’m opening a seperate discussion on the Laffer curve here. The Laffer Curve is the idea, typically associated with supply side economics, that at some point your tax rate becomes high en… --- ## [Personal beliefs based on an appeal to authority . . . in science?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-beliefs-based-on-an-appeal-to-authority-in-science/504639)
**Author:** [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Replies:** 194\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-beliefs-based-on-an-appeal-to-authority-in-science/504639 "2009-08-10T23:26:28Z")
I have very little doubt that Einstein’s theories of relativity are accurate descriptions of the way the world works. I am confident that if I were to go up in a space ship and approach the speed of light, and then retur… --- ## [If Sarah Palin decided to run as an independent, how much damage could she do to the GOP?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-sarah-palin-decided-to-run-as-an-independent-how-much-damage-could-she-do-to-the-gop/505898)
**Author:** [@BKReporter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BKReporter)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-sarah-palin-decided-to-run-as-an-independent-how-much-damage-could-she-do-to-the-gop/505898 "2009-08-10T22:44:58Z")
She’s popular with the base, but everything I’ve read indicates she doesn’t get much love from those in the upper ranks of the Republican Party. So, purely hypothetically, if she decided to break ranks with the GOP and … --- ## [Family Managed Health Care](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-managed-health-care/505778)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-managed-health-care/505778 "2009-08-10T21:30:22Z")
Someone I know, whom I think is a Libertarian (and a libertine, to boot! :p) sent me a link to the Family Managed Health Care plan. I’ve just started reading it, but I thought I’d throw it out there for comment and deba… --- ## [Homeopathy related death](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeopathy-related-death/505796)
**Author:** [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeopathy-related-death/505796 "2009-08-10T20:44:55Z")
Bricker started a thread in 2007 about a New South Wales couple whose adherence to homeopathy caused them to avoid conventional medicine resulting in the death of their child. Here is the thread. It was resurrected as a… --- ## [Is it ethical to keep a cat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-keep-a-cat/505727)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ethical-to-keep-a-cat/505727 "2009-08-10T20:03:18Z")
It seems to me that the natural inclination of a cat is to explore and to be wild and free. Whereas dogs, even in the wild, live in packs and take shelter in caves (which makes them ideally suited to being kept in houses… --- ## [Why doesn't the government fully subsidize adoptions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-government-fully-subsidize-adoptions/505585)
**Author:** [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Replies:** 83\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-the-government-fully-subsidize-adoptions/505585 "2009-08-10T18:37:55Z")
This may or may not be a debate but I’ve been trying to figure out why adoptions are so expensive? I know there is alot of legal hurdling and hassling to get it done but the whole process seems to be set-up to prevent a… --- ## [How are European nations 'less free' than the U.S.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-european-nations-less-free-than-the-u-s/501945)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 212\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-european-nations-less-free-than-the-u-s/501945 "2009-08-10T17:35:05Z")
For the purposes of this thread, guns are ‘off the table’. Please leave guns out of it. I often hear at Conservative-leaning message boards and from Conservatives in real life that American ‘freedoms’ are under attac… --- ## [If the Supreme Court was compromised; effect on rulings?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-supreme-court-was-compromised-effect-on-rulings/505739)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-supreme-court-was-compromised-effect-on-rulings/505739 "2009-08-10T17:10:36Z")
Here’s an idea for a conspiracy-thriller novel: secret documents are discovered that show that back in the 1930s, President Roosevelt had FBI director J. Edgar Hoover compile blackmail files on the Supreme Court justices… --- ## [Mel Martinez (R-FL) resigns. Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-martinez-r-fl-resigns-why/505655)
**Author:** [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-martinez-r-fl-resigns-why/505655 "2009-08-10T14:37:26Z")
Courtesy of CNN. He says he wants to return to his family, but that’s almost always a lie. Is it because of the Sotomayor vote? Something else? Whom will Crist appoint to replace him? --- ## [Psychologists reject "gay therapy". Two newpapers report it differently.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychologists-reject-gay-therapy-two-newpapers-report-it-differently/505562)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/psychologists-reject-gay-therapy-two-newpapers-report-it-differently/505562 "2009-08-10T13:50:24Z")
Not exactly sure how to direct this debate as there are a number of points at issue. I guess I will toss out how two well known and generally well regarded papers reported the same news. I’ll leave it to Dopers to deci… --- ## [US healthcare reform debate question.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-healthcare-reform-debate-question/505792)
**Author:** [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-healthcare-reform-debate-question/505792 "2009-08-10T02:03:36Z")
There are so many threads on health-care reform that this question has probably been asked and answered, so if it has, please forgive my redundancy, but whenever this point gets raised I haven’t seen anybody address it. … --- ## [Presidential Pardon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-pardon/505753)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-pardon/505753 "2009-08-09T20:19:32Z")
Should US Presidents and other heads of states have the power to pardon criminals. Personally I am opposed to presidential pardons as most pardons are political and it would imply that a head of state would have greater… --- ## [Twoofers Punk'd!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twoofers-punkd/505584)
**Author:** [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twoofers-punkd/505584 "2009-08-08T16:49:01Z")
I didn’t know where to put this, but it speaks for itself. Discuss. --- ## [Should Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme be freed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lynette-squeaky-fromme-be-freed/505502)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lynette-squeaky-fromme-be-freed/505502 "2009-08-08T16:25:08Z")
The story For those unfamiliar with Miss Fromme, she is a former Charles Manson follower, serving time for attempting to assassinate then-President Ford. She had her sentence extended following a break out attempt in … --- ## [Homeopathic cures fail; kid dies; parents murderers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeopathic-cures-fail-kid-dies-parents-murderers/427532)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeopathic-cures-fail-kid-dies-parents-murderers/427532 "2009-08-08T12:41:51Z")
From James Randi’s weekly column we find a discussion of a New South Wales tragedy. A nine month old girl died of sepsis. Her parents had sought to cure their daughter by using homeopathic remedies. The coroner says tha… --- ## [Why wasn’t Chechnya allowed to secede?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wasn-t-chechnya-allowed-to-secede/505479)
**Author:** [@first\_time\_caller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/first_time_caller)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 8, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-wasn-t-chechnya-allowed-to-secede/505479 "2009-08-08T09:49:00Z")
I was reading about the 1st Chechnya War and am confused as why Russia went through all the trouble of keeping that region within the Federation. Other parts of the Caucasus, like Georgia, were allowed to secede from the… --- ## [Easy Solution To Gangs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-solution-to-gangs/505017)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 104\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-solution-to-gangs/505017 "2009-08-07T23:59:44Z")
I’ve been wondering, to solve the problem of gangs, wouldn’t it be easy if being a member of a certain gang was illegal and made a felony? Then there’d be no need for looking at every trivial thing in order to bring a mo… --- ## [Gerald Ford: Threat or Menace?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-threat-or-menace/505516)
**Author:** [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gerald-ford-threat-or-menace/505516 "2009-08-07T21:45:22Z")
The recent thread on the scheduled release of one of his attempted assassins reminded me of something I wanted to ask. As a non-American, I don’t know much about some of your Presidents. One in particular, Gerald Ford, I… --- ## [Problems are now issues](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-are-now-issues/505559)
**Author:** [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-are-now-issues/505559 "2009-08-07T21:22:25Z")
Why all of a sudden (well, let’s say the last year or so) are people afraid to use the word “problems”, substituting the therapy-speak euphemism “issues” when it’s clear from context that they mean indeed problems. prob… --- ## [what does it mean to be "spiritual?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-to-be-spiritual/504592)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 204\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-mean-to-be-spiritual/504592 "2009-08-07T20:43:29Z")
Every now and then I will hear somebody say “I’m not religious, but I am spiritual.” Can somebody make the distinction more clear? If I understand correctly, to be “religious” implies a certain set of beliefs, adheranc… --- ## [Is it time to do away with the "5 senses" paradigm?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-do-away-with-the-5-senses-paradigm/505348)
**Author:** [@Maia\_s\_Well](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maia_s_Well)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-do-away-with-the-5-senses-paradigm/505348 "2009-08-07T19:28:28Z")
This is not about anything paranormal or supernatural, please. I’m not talking about a “sixth sense” in some ooga booga way. I’m talking about senses like this. Way back in grade school, I remember asking a teacher wh… --- ## [So, this is what it's come to (Sotomayor confirmation)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-its-come-to-sotomayor-confirmation/504490)
**Author:** [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Replies:** 144\ **Last updated:** [August 7, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-what-its-come-to-sotomayor-confirmation/504490 "2009-08-07T16:45:07Z")
MSNBC story on the fact almost all Judiciary Committee Republicans will vote not to confirm. To summarize: the Republican senators of the panel (with the notable exception of Lindsey Graham, which, damn it, may force m… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=518) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=520)