# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=632 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 633 --- ## [Does it make sense to reduce the amount of suffering in the world?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-reduce-the-amount-of-suffering-in-the-world/450297)
**Author:** [@Duhkecco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duhkecco)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-reduce-the-amount-of-suffering-in-the-world/450297 "2008-05-26T07:15:31Z")
Or does it only make sense to reduce individual suffering? Or, is suffering just part of “the way things are”? Or, suffering??? That’s for martyrs. Or, something else? And, if it does make sense to reduce suffering, … --- ## [Virtual child porn - free speech?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virtual-child-porn-free-speech/450370)
**Author:** [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virtual-child-porn-free-speech/450370 "2008-05-26T05:43:34Z")
I am a big advocate of Free Speech. However, I think the line must be drawn someplace, and child pornography is definitely across the line. My argument always has been if it victimizes someone, I mean, it forces someone … --- ## [Fork McCain: The Final Forking](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-mccain-the-final-forking/450599)
**Author:** [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-mccain-the-final-forking/450599 "2008-05-25T22:29:56Z")
It’s about time, isn’t it? Since, you know, the primaries have been over for months now, Hillary’s long ago lost, and we’re already in the general election. It’s long overdue, in fact. So let’s get started with a look… --- ## [Are animals our children and should we make them sapient?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-our-children-and-should-we-make-them-sapient/449341)
**Author:** [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-animals-our-children-and-should-we-make-them-sapient/449341 "2008-05-25T18:29:18Z")
Morally, children and animals are innocents if they are only doing what their instincts and upbringing told them. Whether it is a hippopotamus trampling a pregnant woman to death or an 8yo boy shooting your buddy in a wa… --- ## [How to change the legal drinking age](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-change-the-legal-drinking-age/449968)
**Author:** [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-change-the-legal-drinking-age/449968 "2008-05-25T15:41:47Z")
I’ve been considering ways to change the legal drinking age. My reasons for this are as follows: every source I’ve read, plus personal experience, suggests that drinking is essentially a social skill, which ought usuall… --- ## [Do species disappear naturally or is it all due to man's impact on the planet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-species-disappear-naturally-or-is-it-all-due-to-mans-impact-on-the-planet/437975)
**Author:** [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Replies:** 76\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-species-disappear-naturally-or-is-it-all-due-to-mans-impact-on-the-planet/437975 "2008-05-25T12:08:50Z")
I put this in Great Debates because…I’m debating it with Mr. K. He says that all species in the modern world that disappear do so because of man’s impact. I say that species are an ever-evolving thing with new ones cropp… --- ## [give me a reason to respect the military](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-a-reason-to-respect-the-military/450391)
**Author:** [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Replies:** 133\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-me-a-reason-to-respect-the-military/450391 "2008-05-25T11:40:17Z")
Let me state first of all, there ARE some military people that I can respect. I have met WWII veterans, people who put their lives at risk to fight Hitler. And there’s plenty to admire about them. I’m not a pacifist. So… --- ## [What if the US had stayed out of The Great War?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-us-had-stayed-out-of-the-great-war/449243)
**Author:** [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-us-had-stayed-out-of-the-great-war/449243 "2008-05-25T11:35:31Z")
As the question says - we’ve debated World War 2 to heck and gone on this board :D, but what about the first stab at a world war? Was the American contribution to WWI as important as our intervention in WW2? Or would the… --- ## [Teaching how to think, not what to think - Total BS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teaching-how-to-think-not-what-to-think-total-bs/449307)
**Author:** [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teaching-how-to-think-not-what-to-think-total-bs/449307 "2008-05-25T09:44:14Z")
In reading the Test anxiety: I call B.S. thread, I read this comment by Diogenes the Cynic on the high school curricula: When I read this I could not agree more, but it made me think of an approach to teaching I see us… --- ## [Purple Heart for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purple-heart-for-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/450502)
**Author:** [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purple-heart-for-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/450502 "2008-05-25T06:58:32Z")
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121063207588086509-JCODxaBcdADwD4dtqaLv8KcIMtQ\_20080611.html?mod=tff\_main\_tff\_top Anyone who has doubts about how debilitating PTSD can be, read (or listen to) this heart-wrenchin… --- ## [Atheists: favorite Bible passages, and why.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722)
**Author:** [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-favorite-bible-passages-and-why/449722 "2008-05-24T20:05:30Z")
This is in GD because of the topic, and of course a certain amount of debate is expected and desired. However, as a preface, for those who would be unable to refrain from mentioning how stupid/evil they find the Bible a… --- ## [Missile Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missile-defense/450349)
**Author:** [@Burton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burton)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missile-defense/450349 "2008-05-24T19:01:43Z")
I happened to hear congressman Trent Franks this morning on C-Span talking up the missile defense site Bush wants to build in Poland. He offered the example of our ability to shoot down an Iranian missile headed towards… --- ## [US money discriminates against the blind.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-money-discriminates-against-the-blind/382136)
**Author:** [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-money-discriminates-against-the-blind/382136 "2008-05-24T03:52:37Z")
Link. At what point is accomodating the handicapped a negative-sum game? Should the government be forced to revamp all US currency to accomodate the blind? Personal opinion: Yes. It’s done in most other countries, by v… --- ## [Morality and the Law - Is it even possible to divorce the two?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morality-and-the-law-is-it-even-possible-to-divorce-the-two/450168)
**Author:** [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/morality-and-the-law-is-it-even-possible-to-divorce-the-two/450168 "2008-05-24T03:38:25Z")
Is there any way to create a system of laws that is not an expression of people’s moral choices? All laws are designed to promote certain outcomes, but the only way to choose these outcomes is make a choice about moral … --- ## [Why do Americans have such trouble differentiating UK and Australian/NZ accents?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-have-such-trouble-differentiating-uk-and-australian-nz-accents/450350)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-have-such-trouble-differentiating-uk-and-australian-nz-accents/450350 "2008-05-23T20:31:51Z")
In the current thread on Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a poster makes reference to the “Australian” character in the film; yet there isn’t one- the character (and accent) are English, and obviously so… --- ## [California ballot initiative to ban gay marriage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-ballot-initiative-to-ban-gay-marriage/450355)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-ballot-initiative-to-ban-gay-marriage/450355 "2008-05-23T17:39:33Z")
In response to the recent ruling of the California Supreme Court that anti-gay-marriage laws are unconstitutional under the California state constitution, opponents are planning to get a constitutional amendment on the b… --- ## [Sail-driven Ships: Could they be Revived?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sail-driven-ships-could-they-be-revived/450133)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sail-driven-ships-could-they-be-revived/450133 "2008-05-23T17:19:55Z")
Now that bunker oil (ship’s fuel) has tripled in price, would sail-driven freighters be feasible? I am thinking of ships with perhaps 10 masts (120’ high) with schooner rigged sails-say 60,000 sq. ft. of sail area. Such … --- ## [Who wants the United States to fail in Iraq?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-the-united-states-to-fail-in-iraq/449902)
**Author:** [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-wants-the-united-states-to-fail-in-iraq/449902 "2008-05-23T16:57:06Z")
Apprently, Iran would have significant influence over Iraq while the situation stresses the U.S militarily and financially. Meanwhile it boosts Iran’s oil revenues which makes it all but impossible for the U.S to serious… --- ## [Why the Poor Performance of Oil Refiners](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-poor-performance-of-oil-refiners/450169)
**Author:** [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-poor-performance-of-oil-refiners/450169 "2008-05-23T16:05:27Z")
When quickly perusing several U.S. oil refiners, most seem to be trading near 52 week lows. The few that I looked at were Valero (VLO), Tesoro (TSO), Western Refining (WNR), Delek (DK), and Alon (ALJ). I know that crack … --- ## [McCain rejects Hagee](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-rejects-hagee/450280)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-rejects-hagee/450280 "2008-05-23T15:47:32Z")
Story Guess what, John? All these fundamentalists megachurch preachers are nutjobs. You’re going to have a hard time sucking up to the Religious Right without these people. You’re not going to be a “maverick” with them… --- ## [Rolling back tax cut...realistic assessment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-back-tax-cut-realistic-assessment/449935)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rolling-back-tax-cut-realistic-assessment/449935 "2008-05-23T15:43:04Z")
This is perhaps a GQ question, but since it probably has no precise answer and since it’s politically loaded I figured I’d put it here. I was watching a speech today by Obama where he says he is going to pay for his hea… --- ## [Public employees fired for expressing beliefs―U of Toledo Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-employees-fired-for-expressing-beliefs-u-of-toledo-case/449695)
**Author:** [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-employees-fired-for-expressing-beliefs-u-of-toledo-case/449695 "2008-05-23T11:17:46Z")
Crystal Dixon was recently fired from her job at the public University of Toledo. She was fired for writing a column for Toledo Free Press in which she made some distasteful and ignorant comments about homosexuals. (She … --- ## [Carbon Nanotubes like asbestos? Big delay for nanotubes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carbon-nanotubes-like-asbestos-big-delay-for-nanotubes/450005)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carbon-nanotubes-like-asbestos-big-delay-for-nanotubes/450005 "2008-05-23T05:53:50Z")
This storywhich is very preliminary of course, causes concern in my not-particularly-scientific brain that development and use of carbon nanotubes, especially for everyday objects, will be seriously delayed while this he… --- ## [That means you can marry your dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-means-you-can-marry-your-dog/449512)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 115\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-means-you-can-marry-your-dog/449512 "2008-05-22T23:17:46Z")
Looking for factual answers only, please. California lifted the ban on gay marriage. At another board that is much more conservative than this one, posters have inevitably said that this opens the floodgates that will … --- ## [Are Sexist remarks more socially acceptable than Racial ones?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sexist-remarks-more-socially-acceptable-than-racial-ones/450141)
**Author:** [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sexist-remarks-more-socially-acceptable-than-racial-ones/450141 "2008-05-22T21:02:54Z")
Listening to NPR’s Talk of the Nation today they were discussing this topic: “Do Feminists feel they have a duty to vote for Senator Clinton” Neal Conan of NPR said, \[paraphrase\] …“in one of Clinton’s campaign stops som… --- ## [What if Ted Kennedy had won the Dem presidential nomination in 1980?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-ted-kennedy-had-won-the-dem-presidential-nomination-in-1980/450108)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-ted-kennedy-had-won-the-dem-presidential-nomination-in-1980/450108 "2008-05-22T20:17:37Z")
Ted’s current condition makes me think back. Could a Democrat not associated with the unpopular Carter Administration have beaten Reagan? Was the conservative movement and mood of the time too strong to be thwarted? W… --- ## [Federal court rejects "Don't ask, don't tell" . . . kindasorta . . .](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-court-rejects-dont-ask-dont-tell-kindasorta/450264)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-court-rejects-dont-ask-dont-tell-kindasorta/450264 "2008-05-22T19:35:47Z")
Air Force flight nurse Major Margaret Witt, discharged last year for having a lesbian relationship, may proceed with her lawsuit. So . . . how exactly is the military supposed to meet and prove that standard, in Witt’s… --- ## [Justice Scalia - Inconsistent on the 8th and 14th Amendment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-scalia-inconsistent-on-the-8th-and-14th-amendment/449125)
**Author:** [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/justice-scalia-inconsistent-on-the-8th-and-14th-amendment/449125 "2008-05-22T19:17:13Z")
I have been thinking a lot about Justice Scalia since the 60 Minute interview and the thread on the interview. I started a different thread on his view quetsion begging view of the 14th Amendment. I linked it below, but … --- ## [Left lane ends: Merge right](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-lane-ends-merge-right/450121)
**Author:** [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/left-lane-ends-merge-right/450121 "2008-05-22T17:58:50Z")
I’ve just recently discovered that myself as well as a mass of other people have been approaching the “Construction Ahead: Lanes Merge” traffic problem the wrong way according to DOT experts. Some bridge in the area is … --- ## [China: 5 Million Homeless?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-5-million-homeless/450080)
**Author:** [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [May 22, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-5-million-homeless/450080 "2008-05-22T16:18:41Z")
I saw this on MSNBC and thought have I ever heard of such a colossal tragedy? How does a country, nay, the world address a monumental undertaking such as this? I can’t remember hearing of anything even remotely similar i… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=631) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=633)