# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=609 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 610 --- ## [Libraries and Book Challenges](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libraries-and-book-challenges/462039)
**Author:** [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libraries-and-book-challenges/462039 "2008-09-07T18:11:53Z")
To spin this off from the current debate thread about mayor Palin’s actions vis-a-vis her library I’d like to see a bit of a discussion about if, or when, it might be legitimate to challenge a book being in a given libra… --- ## [What political types think when contradicting themselves](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-political-types-think-when-contradicting-themselves/462180)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-political-types-think-when-contradicting-themselves/462180 "2008-09-07T17:26:05Z")
The other day Jon Stewart had several clips of Republican political types talking about how Palin’s gender/family/experience should be off-limits, juxtaposed with clips where the same folks made similar attacks on Hillar… --- ## [So... Have we pretty much figured it all out?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-have-we-pretty-much-figured-it-all-out/462024)
**Author:** [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-have-we-pretty-much-figured-it-all-out/462024 "2008-09-07T16:44:39Z")
WOO! FREE POSTING! WOOO! nakkid thread traverse! Ahem, sorry. Residual giddiness, you understand. Anyway, I was talking with a few of my friends the other day. Typical, college-level geek stuff - life, the universe… --- ## [The RNC Sarah Palin Speech Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931)
**Author:** [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Replies:** 298\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931 "2008-09-07T08:06:50Z")
The speech is shortly to begin. Let’s use this thread to debate/discuss the speech as it’s taking place (for those who can multitask), or after it’s finished. --- ## [Why is this SDMB community blind to reality? \[re Palin/McCain threads\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-sdmb-community-blind-to-reality-re-palin-mccain-threads/461863)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-sdmb-community-blind-to-reality-re-palin-mccain-threads/461863 "2008-09-07T07:57:17Z")
During the 2004 campaign (and even its aftermath) it became popular here to describe adherents of a particular worldview as “reality-based.” Remember that, members of the reality-based community? Do you still have your m… --- ## [Who are you - Galileo or Socrates?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-galileo-or-socrates/462309)
**Author:** [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-galileo-or-socrates/462309 "2008-09-07T05:45:28Z")
Both were brilliant men so far ahead of everyone else they were told to shut up or die. One chose life, one chose death. Don’t turn this into an argument over the details and differences in their situations. Instead, foc… --- ## [Would you have chosen Palin/Biden?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-have-chosen-palin-biden/462288)
**Author:** [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-have-chosen-palin-biden/462288 "2008-09-07T04:24:16Z")
Assume by some miracle you’re the next candidate of your party to be President. The time has come to choose your running mate. Would you pick Biden or Palin? I don’t think there’s much Biden controversy, I just figured I… --- ## [A question on tax cuts for Obama supporters](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-tax-cuts-for-obama-supporters/462262)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-tax-cuts-for-obama-supporters/462262 "2008-09-07T03:08:30Z")
Was just reading a \[quote\] (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080905/pl\_nm/usa\_politics\_dc) from Obama ‘saying he would enact tax cuts that would benefit 95 percent of Americans, end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs … --- ## [Obama's Community Organizing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-community-organizing/462314)
**Author:** [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-community-organizing/462314 "2008-09-07T02:24:08Z")
With the talk of Obama’s Community Organizing, I think it’s fair to look at exactly what Obama accomplished with all his work in Chicago. The first thing I looked for was the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which Obama cla… --- ## [John McCain's Speech......](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122)
**Author:** [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccains-speech/462122 "2008-09-07T01:31:37Z")
One word description — UNINSPIRING. If there was something meaningful in those 60 minutes or so of rambling, monotone yawner, I didn’t hear it. Someday, many years from today, folks are going to look back to tonite and… --- ## [Colin Powell on VP choice and will his Endorsement go ultimately to Obama?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-on-vp-choice-and-will-his-endorsement-go-ultimately-to-obama/462169)
**Author:** [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-on-vp-choice-and-will-his-endorsement-go-ultimately-to-obama/462169 "2008-09-07T01:22:35Z")
I’m not going to link to the mid-August hubub and rumors that Powell is going to endorse Obama. However, once the RNC is over and the final stretch is embarked upon, I wonder what an endorsement by General Powell would d… --- ## [patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/462161)
**Author:** [@Burton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burton)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/462161 "2008-09-06T21:40:39Z")
That’s my take on the Republican Convention. --- ## [Sarah Palin Thread 329: How SHOULD Bristol's pregnancy have been handled?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-thread-329-how-should-bristols-pregnancy-have-been-handled/462315)
**Author:** [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-palin-thread-329-how-should-bristols-pregnancy-have-been-handled/462315 "2008-09-06T19:06:50Z")
I’m getting really irked by the screaming auto da fes about the alleged insensitive and exploitative and partisan handling of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. Since this is an honest-to-Barnhouse question I’ll put it here in… --- ## [McCain Supporters, please answer a question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-please-answer-a-question/462100)
**Author:** [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-supporters-please-answer-a-question/462100 "2008-09-06T18:57:09Z")
True or False: Sarah Palin is the most qualified Republican in the country to be Vice-President. I asked this question in another thread and all I got back was “Oh yeah, well Obama’s not qualified either.” I will conce… --- ## [Democrat politician religiosity- pandering?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-politician-religiosity-pandering/462172)
**Author:** [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-politician-religiosity-pandering/462172 "2008-09-06T15:06:12Z")
There have been some recent criticisms here that the Democratic Party and various politicians have been pandering to the religious crowd. Is it really pandering or is it acknowledging that most Americans, Democrat and Re… --- ## [The scientists who invented the nuclear bomb were worse than Adolf Hitler](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-scientists-who-invented-the-nuclear-bomb-were-worse-than-adolf-hitler/461924)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 135\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-scientists-who-invented-the-nuclear-bomb-were-worse-than-adolf-hitler/461924 "2008-09-06T12:39:52Z")
It is my opinion that Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller, Albert Einstein and all of the other scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project and developed atomic weapons are worse than Adolf Hitler, and if there is a hel… --- ## [Presidential candidates who try to punish the media for asking questions.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-candidates-who-try-to-punish-the-media-for-asking-questions/461923)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 6, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-candidates-who-try-to-punish-the-media-for-asking-questions/461923 "2008-09-06T01:28:21Z")
John McCain canceled on Larry King as punishment for another reporter’s questioning of Palin’s foreign policy expertise. It hasn’t got much play, but is this Presidential behavior? Is it appropriate to try to pressure a… --- ## [McCain vs the NFL](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-vs-the-nfl/462042)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-vs-the-nfl/462042 "2008-09-05T23:43:56Z")
John McCain delivers his acceptance speech tonight, just one week after Barack Obama. Obama had the nation’s attention and there were no other news stories with the possible exception of the path of Hurricane Gustav. T… --- ## [She was only for it before she was against it, but she'll spend the dough anyways](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-was-only-for-it-before-she-was-against-it-but-shell-spend-the-dough-anyways/461966)
**Author:** [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-was-only-for-it-before-she-was-against-it-but-shell-spend-the-dough-anyways/461966 "2008-09-05T23:07:45Z")
Pardon me for trying to move the debate on Palin from her personal life to her actual political record, sparse as it might be. Linky linky According to the sources quoted in the Reuters article, she said she was all fo… --- ## [Did the RNC get the wrong "Walter Reed"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-rnc-get-the-wrong-walter-reed/462186)
**Author:** [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-rnc-get-the-wrong-walter-reed/462186 "2008-09-05T22:29:56Z")
This could be pretty funny. The guys over at Talking Points Memo were curious what the hell that building (“mansion” as they first put it) was behind McCain while he was speaking (I’m in Taiwan, so I still haven’t actua… --- ## [Will technical voting problems hurt Obama on election day?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-technical-voting-problems-hurt-obama-on-election-day/462226)
**Author:** [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-technical-voting-problems-hurt-obama-on-election-day/462226 "2008-09-05T21:15:22Z")
Every time an election rolls around I hear copious news stories about how various polling places in the USA didn’t open on time, or were so hopelessly overcrowded people couldn’t vote. Well, and worse; there’s a fair am… --- ## [Establish your bipartisan cred](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/establish-your-bipartisan-cred/461540)
**Author:** [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/establish-your-bipartisan-cred/461540 "2008-09-05T19:09:59Z")
List the TWO most regrettable mistakes of BOTH major parties since the end of WWII here, and on that basis argue a good lesson for the next administration to take from it. Me: DEMS: 1) allowing Cold War to overshadow G… --- ## [Palin in 2012?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-in-2012/462136)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-in-2012/462136 "2008-09-05T18:43:36Z")
Two assumptions: Obama wins in November and Gov. Palin runs a good vice-presidential campaign (whatever that means) and is as impressive despite the loss as she is now. Will she be the early leader of the Republican Pa… --- ## [New low for McCain: Hires GOP Operative Who Helped Smear Him in South Carolina](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-low-for-mccain-hires-gop-operative-who-helped-smear-him-in-south-carolina/462028)
**Author:** [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-low-for-mccain-hires-gop-operative-who-helped-smear-him-in-south-carolina/462028 "2008-09-05T18:03:45Z")
McCain Hires GOP Operative Who Helped Smear Him in South Carolina in 2000 Among the many lows in McCain’s descent from a “Maverick” to a brown-nose who is ready to compromise his ideals and do anything to get elected: … --- ## [Has McCain's VP Pick Left Him Vulnerable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-mccains-vp-pick-left-him-vulnerable/461981)
**Author:** [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-mccains-vp-pick-left-him-vulnerable/461981 "2008-09-05T15:27:04Z")
I don’t ordinarily do much political posting on the board. Full disclosure : I’m voting for Obama this year, and I voted for him in the primary. I’m also very disturbed by the stream of revelations emerging about Sarah … --- ## [Should Politicians Be Allowed to Quit Office To Seek Another Office](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-be-allowed-to-quit-office-to-seek-another-office/462079)
**Author:** [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeke_N.Destroi)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-be-allowed-to-quit-office-to-seek-another-office/462079 "2008-09-05T15:04:54Z")
Everytime that there is a provincial or federal election in Canada there are some City Councillors, Mayors or MLAs\* (or equivalents) that quit their elected office in advance of their term-end so that they can run for h… --- ## [Peggy Noonan: Is this thang on?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peggy-noonan-is-this-thang-on/461905)
**Author:** [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peggy-noonan-is-this-thang-on/461905 "2008-09-05T08:00:13Z")
Peggy “No New Taxes” Noonan wrote a magnificent WSJ editorial about the power of the Palin addition to the ticket. Apparently, this Thang was on when Noonan said that, well, it’s over. Despite her dishonesty, Noonan … --- ## [McCain offers Obama a cabinet post](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offers-obama-a-cabinet-post/462131)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offers-obama-a-cabinet-post/462131 "2008-09-05T04:53:04Z")
Just to give out a “never gonna happen” hypothetical. In a week or so, McCain says that if elected he will appoint Obama as Sec of HUD (or whatever it’s called now). Net effect: helps McCain (undecideds get the best of… --- ## [How should Palin address her family situation Part Deux](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-palin-address-her-family-situation-part-deux/461768)
**Author:** [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-palin-address-her-family-situation-part-deux/461768 "2008-09-05T03:48:00Z")
In general, I don’t think a candidate’s family situation should be of concern in an election. To me, normally “It’s a private family matter, and won’t affect my performance in office” suffices for any family question. … --- ## [Is Palin evidence of McCain's incompetence as an executive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-palin-evidence-of-mccains-incompetence-as-an-executive/461843)
**Author:** [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [September 5, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-palin-evidence-of-mccains-incompetence-as-an-executive/461843 "2008-09-05T01:25:13Z")
Let’s take the McCain campaign at their word that they carefully vetted Palin and chose deliberately to reveal the news about her daughter’s pregnancy exactly when (and as) they did. Is this the way a competent executiv… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=608) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=610)