# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=617 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 618 --- ## [Cosmic Relief, about 'natural monogamy'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosmic-relief-about-natural-monogamy/458022)
**Author:** [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cosmic-relief-about-natural-monogamy/458022 "2008-07-30T18:08:32Z")
This is the interpretation I have heard of the evolutionary advantage of females requiring more time to go from arousal to satisfaction than the male. After the alpha male has had the opportunity to mate, he is quiescen… --- ## [Why shouldn't I become a Democrat? (Currently Green) (US politics)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-i-become-a-democrat-currently-green-us-politics/457874)
**Author:** [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-i-become-a-democrat-currently-green-us-politics/457874 "2008-07-30T17:57:14Z")
As many of you know, I am a member of the Green Party. As none of you know (until now), I am now, also, an employee of the Democratic National Committee. Why? Well, I like the bastards. I’ve never been one to say “screw … --- ## [High energy prices: coincidence?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-energy-prices-coincidence/457754)
**Author:** [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2008, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-energy-prices-coincidence/457754 "2008-07-30T11:16:33Z")
In 1996, the energy markets in California were partially deregulated (badly, some say; the system could be gamed by various means to artificially limit supply or create imaginary demand). In 2000, the prices went sky-hi… --- ## [Obama's Western Wall prayer published by Israeli newspaper. Invasion of privacy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-western-wall-prayer-published-by-israeli-newspaper-invasion-of-privacy/457821)
**Author:** [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-western-wall-prayer-published-by-israeli-newspaper-invasion-of-privacy/457821 "2008-07-30T04:19:49Z")
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/obamas-prayer-e.html Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall who escorted Obama on the visit has condemned the paper for publishing the prayer, basically s… --- ## [McCain, the Surge, the Awakening and CBS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-the-surge-the-awakening-and-cbs/457466)
**Author:** [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-the-surge-the-awakening-and-cbs/457466 "2008-07-30T02:35:49Z")
Offered as topic of discussion and debate: What the Fuck Is Going On? I refer you to this site: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/22/mccain-anbar-history/ Now, this is a decidedly lefty site, anti-cooty protocols as nee… --- ## [Are there many Major Historical Events that are not open to Revisionism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-major-historical-events-that-are-not-open-to-revisionism/457473)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-many-major-historical-events-that-are-not-open-to-revisionism/457473 "2008-07-29T23:40:10Z")
I was watching an interesting documentary on The \[del\]Hitler\[/del\]History Channel that my Dad had taped for me about the Battle of Isandhlwana, which basically re-visited the question as to how 22,000 Zulus (armed with s… --- ## [CSA vs farmers' market](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csa-vs-farmers-market/457815)
**Author:** [@Procrastinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrastinator)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csa-vs-farmers-market/457815 "2008-07-29T22:12:21Z")
For those who do not know the definitions: CSA = Community Supported Agriculture. You buy a share in a farm, or pay a monthly fee, and receive a weekly basket of whatever is ripe in the farm that week. check Community… --- ## [Ape Man or Man Ape? What Makes a Man?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ape-man-or-man-ape-what-makes-a-man/457827)
**Author:** [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ape-man-or-man-ape-what-makes-a-man/457827 "2008-07-29T19:09:17Z")
(re the Ape as Pet thread in General Questions) So you’ve made arrangements to have your brain frozen at body death. Cryogenics. Sure, it’s a pseudo scientific fraud now, but imagine the technology’s been perfected. Y… --- ## [Why blame religion for Alan Turing's prosecution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blame-religion-for-alan-turings-prosecution/457223)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-blame-religion-for-alan-turings-prosecution/457223 "2008-07-29T18:06:48Z")
Alan Turing was a British scientist who committed suicide in 1954 after being convicted of homosexual acts. In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins lists this in his chapter on bad things that results from religion. As us… --- ## [Does McCain actually intend to serve a full term?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mccain-actually-intend-to-serve-a-full-term/457656)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mccain-actually-intend-to-serve-a-full-term/457656 "2008-07-29T12:21:01Z")
Let alone a second. Of course he says he will, but I wonder. He’s old. And what better for the Republicans than for McCain to step down after 2-3 years ‘for medical reasons’ and leave a new, sitting VP-now-POTUS to conte… --- ## [U.S. Dept. of Ag report: Climate change is damaging America . . . now](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dept-of-ag-report-climate-change-is-damaging-america-now/450906)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 319\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-dept-of-ag-report-climate-change-is-damaging-america-now/450906 "2008-07-28T23:03:53Z")
Not just in some hypothetical distant future, but now. Story here. Issues for debate: How much longer is denial on this issue going to persist?! What, if anything, can we (collectively) do about the problem, at … --- ## [Why was Communism so scary?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-communism-so-scary/457400)
**Author:** [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Replies:** 135\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-communism-so-scary/457400 "2008-07-28T21:41:23Z")
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were watching a movie (or something) that was set during the Cold War. One of the characters was stridently, almost violently anti-Communist, which my boyfriend and I found a bit baffl… --- ## [Greatest contribution to the spread of media??](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-contribution-to-the-spread-of-media/457846)
**Author:** [@mikefondosu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikefondosu)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-contribution-to-the-spread-of-media/457846 "2008-07-28T21:22:44Z")
Which advancement in media had the greatest impact on people? It can be from any time period; i.e. invention of paper, internet, alphabet, facebook, myspace, this forum…ANYTHING!! --- ## [When is a dose not a dose?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-dose-not-a-dose/457167)
**Author:** [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-dose-not-a-dose/457167 "2008-07-28T19:17:34Z")
I think it’s safe to say from the gate that this one belongs in GD, for it will surely end up there. Reading this thread left me with some vaguely disturbing philosophical questions. I want to point out that I have the… --- ## [Okay, so you just ventilated Mugabe. Now what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-you-just-ventilated-mugabe-now-what/457126)
**Author:** [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Replies:** 124\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-you-just-ventilated-mugabe-now-what/457126 "2008-07-28T17:12:30Z")
While reading about the toilet that Mugabe has flushed his country down, I couldn’t help but fantasize about doing something really terrible to him. However, I realize that, in the words of P.J. O’Rourke, it’s one thing… --- ## [Obama's Berlin Speech and Humor](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-berlin-speech-and-humor/457646)
**Author:** [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [July 26, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-berlin-speech-and-humor/457646 "2008-07-26T22:11:05Z")
Obama’s Berlin speech was very good and inspiring, but I really wanted him to end his serious and moving speech by saying “And, following in the steps of John FitzGerald Kennedy, I want to end by stating that I am a jell… --- ## [Proposal: US District](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-us-district/457743)
**Author:** [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [July 26, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposal-us-district/457743 "2008-07-26T15:59:47Z")
Some areas or places within the United States are too small to be admitted as States, or are under special jurisdiction, such as the District of Columbia (Washington DC). It occurs to me that we could use a smaller, ful… --- ## [My Idea for Drug Laws.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-drug-laws/457581)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [July 26, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-idea-for-drug-laws/457581 "2008-07-26T13:29:02Z")
I think I have a unique perspective for looking at drug laws because to-date, I have never taken an illegal drug. I was offered marijuana in high school, but they caught me off guard, so I declined. Oh, yes, and I have b… --- ## [Obama's Creepy 'Call to Service'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-creepy-call-to-service/457284)
**Author:** [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Replies:** 219\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-creepy-call-to-service/457284 "2008-07-25T17:11:53Z")
Here’s one of the things that bothers me most about Obama: He seems to think that not only is public service a good thing ( a statement few would disagree with), but he’s taking that general principle and being really e… --- ## [What if you had omniscience for five minutes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-had-omniscience-for-five-minutes/454549)
**Author:** [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-had-omniscience-for-five-minutes/454549 "2008-07-25T16:44:51Z")
Say you were given divine power to be able to see though time, though minds, and the world, and everything that may be, was, or will be. You could know who will win every World Series to the end of time, you could know t… --- ## [The paradox of faith](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-paradox-of-faith/456690)
**Author:** [@viccums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/viccums)\ **Replies:** 198\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-paradox-of-faith/456690 "2008-07-25T16:35:22Z")
It has become fashionable for people, especially politicians, to describe themselves as “people of faith” by which they mean faith in God. But none of them notice how problematic the whole concept of faith is. Faith is t… --- ## [Mathews: Republicans want a leader, Democrats want a meeting](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mathews-republicans-want-a-leader-democrats-want-a-meeting/457736)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mathews-republicans-want-a-leader-democrats-want-a-meeting/457736 "2008-07-25T16:14:11Z")
Wow, can a superficial blowhard like Chris Mathews actually offer a moment of insight? I heard him being interviewed on “Fair Game with Faith Salie” and he said something to the effect of “Republicans want a leader but … --- ## [So, Now that Maliki's Endorsed Obama's Iraq Timetable...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-that-malikis-endorsed-obamas-iraq-timetable/457095)
**Author:** [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-now-that-malikis-endorsed-obamas-iraq-timetable/457095 "2008-07-25T16:11:41Z")
What’s McCain going to do? From Spiegel Online: Iraq Leader Maliki Supports Obama’s Withdrawal Plans AP picks up the story: Iraqi PM says US should leave as soon as possible With this story, Bush’s recent ‘aspiration… --- ## [Does John Kanzius have a cancer cure?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-john-kanzius-have-a-cancer-cure/457200)
**Author:** [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-john-kanzius-have-a-cancer-cure/457200 "2008-07-25T07:09:00Z")
60 Minutes tonight had a story about John Kanzius, who claims to have invented a cure for all cancers. Basically, by injecting nanoparticles with metallic characteristics into cancerous areas, he bombards living tissue … --- ## [Which was the greater achievement-Apollo 11 or Apollo 13?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-greater-achievement-apollo-11-or-apollo-13/457225)
**Author:** [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-greater-achievement-apollo-11-or-apollo-13/457225 "2008-07-25T04:55:06Z")
Today was the 39th anniversary of the first moon landing, an inarguably tremendous achievement. What it took to make that happen is almost incomprehensible. But… I’m inclined to go with Apollo 13. Not that it was easy … --- ## [Gay marriage vs civil partnership - does the name really matter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-vs-civil-partnership-does-the-name-really-matter/456673)
**Author:** [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Replies:** 94\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-marriage-vs-civil-partnership-does-the-name-really-matter/456673 "2008-07-25T02:13:45Z")
So I’m listening to the radio on my way to work this morning and the show I listen to is doing a bit where one of their team has gone to another city to give out t-shirts and meet the fans. Whilst there he’s asked to say… --- ## [Where can I get a Zimbabwean 100 billion dollar bill?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-a-zimbabwean-100-billion-dollar-bill/457654)
**Author:** [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-get-a-zimbabwean-100-billion-dollar-bill/457654 "2008-07-25T00:44:58Z")
Today they issued a 100 billion dollar bill. If I’ve done my math right that’s worth around 30,000 USD. Suppose I was interested in investing in this new ZWD note. Where could I get one? obligatory image --- ## [How will Obama's visit to Palestine play?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-obamas-visit-to-palestine-play/456495)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [July 25, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-obamas-visit-to-palestine-play/456495 "2008-07-25T00:18:28Z")
Link. This is one time when I think that political posturing may actually serve beneficial results. Actually accomplishing something before Bush leaves is a far fetched fantasy despite Olmert’s hopeful statement. But i… --- ## [County in MD bans fortune telling for profit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-in-md-bans-fortune-telling-for-profit/457653)
**Author:** [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/county-in-md-bans-fortune-telling-for-profit/457653 "2008-07-24T23:51:11Z")
Looks like the law has been on the books since the early 50’s, I just heard about it because somebody is (of course) suing to overturn the ban on free speech grounds. If we can legislate scam laws against fortune telli… --- ## [Ahmedinejad Like Kruschev?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmedinejad-like-kruschev/457255)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmedinejad-like-kruschev/457255 "2008-07-24T22:10:44Z")
Back in the early 1960’s, when the USA and Russia were planning how to destroy eachother, Premier Kruschev mad a speech, in which his words were (erroneously) translated as “We will bury you”. Analysts took this to mean… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=616) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=618)