# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=64 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 65 --- ## [National ID card?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-id-card/840399)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-id-card/840399 "2019-09-19T18:19:21Z")
In this Information Age, it would be a simple thing for the government to issue everyone in America – at federal expense – a national ID card, keyed to your SSN, and corresponding to a database in DC that would include a… --- ## [The Civil War was not about states' rights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-civil-war-was-not-about-states-rights/840085)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 200\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-civil-war-was-not-about-states-rights/840085 "2019-09-18T18:15:49Z")
It could not have been. Southern states started announcing their secession immediately after Lincoln was elected – before he had actually done anything to threaten their internal autonomy – before he had even taken offi… --- ## [Is Mercy and Compassion 'Advanced'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mercy-and-compassion-advanced/840355)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2019, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mercy-and-compassion-advanced/840355 "2019-09-18T11:04:15Z")
I know it is in the science fiction genre. One typical story is some savage earthling meets up with an advanced alien race that tells him that. It certainly is a staple in the Star Trek series. They have had several st… --- ## [Is separation of powers really all that important?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-separation-of-powers-really-all-that-important/840397)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-separation-of-powers-really-all-that-important/840397 "2019-09-18T05:07:00Z")
Publius insisted on it, calling the combining of legislative and executive power in one entity “the very definition of tyranny.” (I forget which Federalist Paper that’s from, but it was taught as a basic principle in Am… --- ## [Genetically modified food is safe to eat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetically-modified-food-is-safe-to-eat/839953)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetically-modified-food-is-safe-to-eat/839953 "2019-09-18T04:11:12Z")
Were it not, the FDA, which really does know what it’s doing most of the time, would not have allowed it on the market. --- ## [Was the Electoral College intended to be an independent deliberative body?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-electoral-college-intended-to-be-an-independent-deliberative-body/840092)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2019, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-electoral-college-intended-to-be-an-independent-deliberative-body/840092 "2019-09-18T03:51:42Z")
The impression I get from Federalist 68 is that the idea was the electors would gather without prior commitments to any candidate, but, rather, discuss among themselves who should be president, the way Congress discusses… --- ## [Should the Bahamas be deemed uninhabitable for humans and be quarantined?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-bahamas-be-deemed-uninhabitable-for-humans-and-be-quarantined/840271)
**Author:** [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-bahamas-be-deemed-uninhabitable-for-humans-and-be-quarantined/840271 "2019-09-18T03:33:10Z")
It seems like to me that the Bahamas is pretty much uninhabitable for long-term residency. No one knows how long it would take to repair everything, and even if it does, I don’t think there’s enough money to actually do … --- ## [How will history see the climate change denialists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-history-see-the-climate-change-denialists/823259)
**Author:** [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Replies:** 227\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-history-see-the-climate-change-denialists/823259 "2019-09-16T20:50:49Z")
The fact that climate change is a serious threat to humanity has been clear since, at the absolute latest, the early 2000s. But given the context of the latest IPCC report, we’re out of time to avert disaster. We need to… --- ## [California Schools not allowed to ban students, your opinion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-schools-not-allowed-to-ban-students-your-opinion/840011)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 202\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-schools-not-allowed-to-ban-students-your-opinion/840011 "2019-09-16T17:11:28Z")
THIS BILL just passed says schools in California grades k-8 are no longer allowed to suspend students for “willful defiance”. The idea behind it was that too many students of color were being suspended and they want scho… --- ## [Alternate history proposition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-history-proposition/840246)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2019, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-history-proposition/840246 "2019-09-16T06:40:57Z")
In 1707, instead of abolishing/merging the kingdoms of England and Scotland, they decide to create a new state, the Empire of the British Isles, with its own Imperial Parliament and Government – the Parliament seating no… --- ## [Immigration would not be a hot-button issue . . .](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immigration-would-not-be-a-hot-button-issue/840285)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/immigration-would-not-be-a-hot-button-issue/840285 "2019-09-16T04:52:48Z")
. . . if the immigration pressure were coming from Canada instead of Mexico. And not because Canadians speak English. --- ## [How does the president have the authority to impose tariffs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-president-have-the-authority-to-impose-tariffs/840282)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2019, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-president-have-the-authority-to-impose-tariffs/840282 "2019-09-16T04:50:48Z")
Isn’t tax policy Congressional business? --- ## [The "Deep State" is real, but is not what Trump says it is](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-deep-state-is-real-but-is-not-what-trump-says-it-is/839961)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-deep-state-is-real-but-is-not-what-trump-says-it-is/839961 "2019-09-16T02:47:36Z")
As explained by Mike Lofgren: In Lofgren’s analysis, the purpose of the Deep State is to maintain the “Washington consensus” – hawkish neoconservatism in foreign policy, economic-libertarian neoliberalism in domestic p… --- ## [A factual Brexit question: Irish border](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-factual-brexit-question-irish-border/840175)
**Author:** [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-factual-brexit-question-irish-border/840175 "2019-09-15T17:22:16Z")
I’m sorry if this is actually very easy to Google, without bothering you. Given that the question of the Northern Ireland/Ireland border has proved the biggest ‘technicality’ obstructing the fulfilment of Brexit, had no… --- ## [Terrorist Threats and the First Amendment.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorist-threats-and-the-first-amendment/840203)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorist-threats-and-the-first-amendment/840203 "2019-09-14T23:07:54Z")
I don’t know about the rest of you. But where I live, every so often someone is accused of making a terrorist threat. Typically they face up to 20 years in prison, although I think the judge has wide discretion. The thi… --- ## [What jobs have been eliminated due to automation.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-been-eliminated-due-to-automation/838588)
**Author:** [@Mcmechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mcmechanic)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-jobs-have-been-eliminated-due-to-automation/838588 "2019-09-13T22:59:06Z")
From the recent threads on automation, I’m wanting to compile a list of jobs that have been eliminated due to automation. Why? No reason, just think it’ll be fun. Now I’m talking about completely eliminated where it no l… --- ## [Open borders vs criminal deportations only.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-borders-vs-criminal-deportations-only/840144)
**Author:** [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-borders-vs-criminal-deportations-only/840144 "2019-09-13T20:08:21Z")
For a long time I’ve been wondering what the difference between having open borders, and leaving immigrants alone if the only law they break is crossing illegally (asylum seekers are allowed by law to stay until their as… --- ## [Founding Fathers influencing today's politics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-influencing-todays-politics/839345)
**Author:** [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Replies:** 362\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/founding-fathers-influencing-todays-politics/839345 "2019-09-13T18:27:53Z")
Hello Everyone, This is of course politely fantasy and I wasn’t sure which category to put this in, so GD it is. Let say that we have somehow perfected time travel and for kicks went back to the founding of our Nation… --- ## [The inherent problem with 2nd Amendment debates \[tactics\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inherent-problem-with-2nd-amendment-debates-tactics/839983)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inherent-problem-with-2nd-amendment-debates-tactics/839983 "2019-09-12T17:32:57Z")
There have been an uncountable number of 2nd Amendment debates through the years(7.2 septillion on this board alone) about the meanings of “militia”, “arms”, “well regulated” etc., but in my personal opinion these debate… --- ## [There should be an age limit on the Presidency.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-should-be-an-age-limit-on-the-presidency/839698)
**Author:** [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-should-be-an-age-limit-on-the-presidency/839698 "2019-09-12T02:37:59Z")
This shouldn’t be controversial, but it seems as though it is. If you’re of an age where people have cause to worry you might have senile dementia, or that you might get it during your term, you shouldn’t be allowed to … --- ## [RE Ireland -- please correct me if I'm wrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-ireland-please-correct-me-if-im-wrong/839918)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-ireland-please-correct-me-if-im-wrong/839918 "2019-09-12T02:27:27Z")
The Catholics and the Protestants do not fight over which version of Christianity God prefers. They fight because the Catholics are descended from the original Celtic Irish, and the Protestants are descended from Englis… --- ## [Mandating Safe Sex At Gay Bathhouses?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandating-safe-sex-at-gay-bathhouses/839900)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [September 12, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandating-safe-sex-at-gay-bathhouses/839900 "2019-09-12T00:03:22Z")
I don’t have a cite. But shortly after the age of AIDS, they reportedly started closing down the gay bathhouses. (I remember in New York they closed down Plato’s Retreat, a hetero sex club to avoid the charge of discri… --- ## [Do conservatives genuinely not understand the liberal position on wealth? (Fox News oped)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-conservatives-genuinely-not-understand-the-liberal-position-on-wealth-fox-news-oped/839337)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 240\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-conservatives-genuinely-not-understand-the-liberal-position-on-wealth-fox-news-oped/839337 "2019-09-11T23:11:01Z")
I’ll start by posting a link to the opinion article that inspired this thread. Basically, this is an editorial by Carol Roth as a contribution to Fox News critcizing the Obamas for bidding 15 million dollars for a hom… --- ## [Thoughts on the Second Amendment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-second-amendment/839920)
**Author:** [@kirkrapine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirkrapine)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-second-amendment/839920 "2019-09-11T17:02:23Z")
“A well-regulated \[which in 18th-Century parlance meant, “well armed”\] militia being necessary to the security of a free state . . .” But, it isn’t. The militia, in the 18th-Century sense (a non-professional volunteer … --- ## [Lack of trust in women is still a huge problem (a very sad rape story)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lack-of-trust-in-women-is-still-a-huge-problem-a-very-sad-rape-story/740691)
**Author:** [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lack-of-trust-in-women-is-still-a-huge-problem-a-very-sad-rape-story/740691 "2019-09-11T13:23:42Z")
Here is the link to the story. It is quite long – here is how I would sum it up: A teenage girl who had a rough and troubled early life was assaulted in her home. She reports it to the police. In their interviews with … --- ## [Which jobs will be last to be automated/outsourced?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-jobs-will-be-last-to-be-automated-outsourced/838422)
**Author:** [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-jobs-will-be-last-to-be-automated-outsourced/838422 "2019-09-11T02:33:39Z")
This might be an IMHO threat, but I spend more time in GD. The thread on banning automation got me thinking about which jobs would be last to be automated and/or outsourced to cheaper labor markets. Here are my contrib… --- ## [The myth of good guys & bad guys](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-good-guys-bad-guys/839946)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-good-guys-bad-guys/839946 "2019-09-10T21:02:37Z")
Resolved: The world is not a binary division of good guys and bad guys, but rather a spectrum of people with myriad life histories and motivations. A thread which has become infamous around here lately is Positive Gun N… --- ## [Do you feel laws are based on morality?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-laws-are-based-on-morality/839824)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-feel-laws-are-based-on-morality/839824 "2019-09-10T17:41:37Z")
In the now-locked thread Are you pro-choice because you are smart? we got into a discussion of the connection between law and morality. My position can be summed up by what I posted in the other thread: I believe the la… --- ## [Why isn't the filibuster "nuclear option" just standard procedure now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-filibuster-nuclear-option-just-standard-procedure-now/839952)
**Author:** [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2019, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-filibuster-nuclear-option-just-standard-procedure-now/839952 "2019-09-10T12:10:01Z")
I’m looking for information here, not making an argument, but I figured this thread best go here. The filibuster was originally just a loophole that ultimately became standard procedure. It went from being used rarely … --- ## [Where does "Forced Labor" end and "Slavery" begin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-forced-labor-end-and-slavery-begin/839695)
**Author:** [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 9, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-forced-labor-end-and-slavery-begin/839695 "2019-09-09T16:29:47Z")
Got into a semantics argument with somebody recently who claimed slavery was only slavery if you were “purchased” or otherwise treated as a long-term commodity, it didn’t count if it was a “temporary” thing despite it fu… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=63) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=65)