# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=672 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 673 --- ## [On the predictive properties of the Iowa & NH primaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-predictive-properties-of-the-iowa-nh-primaries/430751)
**Author:** [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-predictive-properties-of-the-iowa-nh-primaries/430751 "2007-12-21T19:42:47Z")
I don’t know that this is really GD stuff, but this is the political forum, and people say things about how likely the winner of Iowa or NH is to win a party’s Presidential nomination. It seemed simple enough to look at… --- ## [Is S5 the appropriate logic tool for examining existential supremacy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-s5-the-appropriate-logic-tool-for-examining-existential-supremacy/430050)
**Author:** [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Replies:** 138\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-s5-the-appropriate-logic-tool-for-examining-existential-supremacy/430050 "2007-12-21T17:26:28Z")
The title doesn’t really express exactly what I want to cover, but you get only so many characters. I do want to discuss S5 and whether it’s the appropriate logic tool as posed, but I also want to discuss how to describe… --- ## [FCC votes 3-2 to relax cross-ownership rules -- but Congress may override](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcc-votes-3-2-to-relax-cross-ownership-rules-but-congress-may-override/430515)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2007, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fcc-votes-3-2-to-relax-cross-ownership-rules-but-congress-may-override/430515 "2007-12-21T06:14:33Z")
Followup on this thread from October. After touring the nation to hear citizens’ input at town meetings where the opinions expressed were overwhelmingly against the proposal to relax the rules preventing the same compan… --- ## [Why are Cats and Dogs Sacred in the USA?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-and-dogs-sacred-in-the-usa/430192)
**Author:** [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [December 21, 2007, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-and-dogs-sacred-in-the-usa/430192 "2007-12-21T04:55:51Z")
Based on a reaction to this this thread I wonder, why have we elevated certain animals above others? Beef is standard in most grocery stores although practioners of the Hindu faith avoid eating beef, many holding the co… --- ## [No marriages, hetero- or homo-, just civil unions.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-marriages-hetero-or-homo-just-civil-unions/430172)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-marriages-hetero-or-homo-just-civil-unions/430172 "2007-12-20T14:40:26Z")
Heard this idea expressed in a debate about same sex marriage: Because marriage is so often regarded as sacred, it ought not be administered by the state. Governments should be able to perform civil unions, which carry … --- ## [SDMB Atheists..point me in the direction of the most convincing arguments for Atheism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-atheists-point-me-in-the-direction-of-the-most-convincing-arguments-for-atheism/429403)
**Author:** [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Replies:** 284\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2007, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-atheists-point-me-in-the-direction-of-the-most-convincing-arguments-for-atheism/429403 "2007-12-20T07:36:56Z")
m. This is not a debate, just a request for information I have put it here because I long ago gave up trying to second-guess the logic applied by the Mods/Admins in deciding where a thread belongs. I am asking for th… --- ## [How do young-earth believers explain the size of human population?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-young-earth-believers-explain-the-size-of-human-population/430254)
**Author:** [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2007, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-young-earth-believers-explain-the-size-of-human-population/430254 "2007-12-20T06:56:05Z")
Just curious. If there are people that beleive the earth is only 6000 years old and that humans have been around for 4000 years how do they explain the size of human population? If humans ‘began’ four thousand years ag… --- ## [Is Fox News Racist and/or Intolerant?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-racist-and-or-intolerant/430284)
**Author:** [@Crackhead06](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crackhead06)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-racist-and-or-intolerant/430284 "2007-12-20T03:56:40Z")
Hi…So the question here is \*\*is Fox News racist and/or just plain intolerant? :confused: \*\*. The more I watch Fox News, the more outraged I get. I think Fox can have its intelligent people, but there’s many who are just… --- ## [Serious question - where do we draw the line with acceptance of mental weirdness?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-where-do-we-draw-the-line-with-acceptance-of-mental-weirdness/430235)
**Author:** [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2007, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-where-do-we-draw-the-line-with-acceptance-of-mental-weirdness/430235 "2007-12-20T01:27:33Z")
I find the whole transgenered thing to be fascinating, because in my book the whole “transgendered” identification - being wholly convinced that one is a different sex that one’s physical body, which is what determines o… --- ## [Salvation by works or by grace in Christianity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvation-by-works-or-by-grace-in-christianity/430402)
**Author:** [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2007, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salvation-by-works-or-by-grace-in-christianity/430402 "2007-12-20T00:42:16Z")
1) How did this whole ‘salvation simply by accepting Jesus as your savior’ get started? Was it mostly due to Paul? If yes, why the emphasis on what Paul thinks vs what Jesus himself said? Didn’t Jesus tell a rich … --- ## [New Ice Age...what would we do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ice-age-what-would-we-do/430279)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [December 20, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-ice-age-what-would-we-do/430279 "2007-12-20T00:02:22Z")
I was watching a show on National Geographic today that was talking about the formation of the Earth and how the climate has changed during that period. One of the things that struck me was one of the folks interviewed … --- ## [Why do the Democrats rely on seniority for Senate committee chairmanships?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-democrats-rely-on-seniority-for-senate-committee-chairmanships/430458)
**Author:** [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-democrats-rely-on-seniority-for-senate-committee-chairmanships/430458 "2007-12-19T20:07:22Z")
News today in the Politico is that some Democrats are considering ousting Byrd as Appropriations Committee Chairman because he is too old for the job. His mobility and hearing problems make it very hard for him to condu… --- ## [Gun grabbing in California?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-grabbing-in-california/429563)
**Author:** [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-grabbing-in-california/429563 "2007-12-19T19:36:03Z")
I was going to put this in IMHO, but changed my mind due to content. What do you think of this article? About time, or slippery slope. I, a gun owner, think it’s a good thing, as long as the authorities don’t abuse it… --- ## [Is "reverse white flight" happening to our cities, and is it A Bad Thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reverse-white-flight-happening-to-our-cities-and-is-it-a-bad-thing/429564)
**Author:** [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Replies:** 103\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2007, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reverse-white-flight-happening-to-our-cities-and-is-it-a-bad-thing/429564 "2007-12-19T11:14:14Z")
We all know white flight - after WWII, increasingly wealthy whites fled urban areas (and the minorities and immigrants that they had to live with) in favor of suburbs and exurbs. Now, the reverse seems to be happening - … --- ## [is there still a drug war?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153)
**Author:** [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153 "2007-12-19T02:46:38Z")
I’m watching A Scanner Darkly as I post this, and it feels really dated… I mean, I know the book was written in the 60s, but I think 10 years ago it would have felt creepily prescient, but now it feels like a historic ve… --- ## [Conversions to/from Christianity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-to-from-christianity/430444)
**Author:** [@9thFloor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/9thFloor)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 19, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-to-from-christianity/430444 "2007-12-19T01:22:18Z")
Does anyone know of any information as to which is greater nowadays? The number of people in the western world that convert \*\*away \*\*from fundamentalist, church-going Christianity as adults vs. the number of people who … --- ## [Newsweek says Chavez referrendum rigged](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-says-chavez-referrendum-rigged/429600)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-says-chavez-referrendum-rigged/429600 "2007-12-18T22:24:15Z")
He was only stopped by the army. Link. What does this mean for Chavez and Venezuela? On the one hand, I’m grateful he didn’t get away with it; on the other, I’m worried about a military dictatorship. --- ## [Is Baseball Corrupt?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-baseball-corrupt/430120)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-baseball-corrupt/430120 "2007-12-18T21:20:07Z")
The recent disclosures about steroid use in baseball made me wonder-has this been going on for a long time? take 1919-the “black” sox scandel (Chicago players paid to throw games). plus, performance-enhancing drugs have … --- ## [Check in with Election '08!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-with-election-08/429804)
**Author:** [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/check-in-with-election-08/429804 "2007-12-18T16:29:34Z")
So there’s lots of threads covering various political topics at the moment, but I’d like to have a place for people to give their general consensus and ideas regarding the current race on both sides. So I’ll give my view… --- ## [Should AIDS patients be segregated as Huckabee suggested](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-aids-patients-be-segregated-as-huckabee-suggested/429875)
**Author:** [@dastex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dastex)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-aids-patients-be-segregated-as-huckabee-suggested/429875 "2007-12-18T16:25:39Z")
Back in the 90’s Mike Huckabee said that patients with AIDS should be isolated and effectively quarantined. He explains that back then he was not sure of the mode of transmission and things have changed now, but he feels… --- ## [Homosexuality can be turned on and off in Fruit flies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homosexuality-can-be-turned-on-and-off-in-fruit-flies/429548)
**Author:** [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Replies:** 103\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homosexuality-can-be-turned-on-and-off-in-fruit-flies/429548 "2007-12-18T15:46:36Z")
Neat. Link Turns out that in fruit flies at least, it is linked to perception of scents and some other factors. Another nail in the coffin of the old homosexuality is a learned behaviour argument. :cool: --- ## [Theory of love/](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theory-of-love/430329)
**Author:** [@coberst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coberst)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theory-of-love/430329 "2007-12-18T09:29:01Z")
Theory of love/ Occasionally when reading I run across a phrase or sentence or paragraph, which really rings a bell for me. The bell may be recognition of the compatibility of the point to my own conclusions or perhaps … --- ## [Quantum music theory?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-music-theory/430228)
**Author:** [@petew83](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petew83)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quantum-music-theory/430228 "2007-12-18T06:42:44Z")
this website has a theory of music that seems to have quantum uncertainty in it. They say (if i understand correctly) that a chord can exist in multiple potentialities at once. The main idea is that the fundamental cho… --- ## [What does 67% recidivism for murder mean? Does it argue for death penalty?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-67-recidivism-for-murder-mean-does-it-argue-for-death-penalty/427479)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [December 18, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-67-recidivism-for-murder-mean-does-it-argue-for-death-penalty/427479 "2007-12-18T02:02:18Z")
An argument in favor of the death penalty is that murderers may kill again if they remain alive. Most almanacs and other references I check say the recidivism rate for murder is around 65 or 70 percent. I am not sure ex… --- ## [Employee Dispute Resolution Program for Rape?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employee-dispute-resolution-program-for-rape/429890)
**Author:** [@Burton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burton)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/employee-dispute-resolution-program-for-rape/429890 "2007-12-17T22:47:03Z")
KBR actually has the stones to try and get Jamie Leigh Jone’s suit against them dismissed on the basis that employees sign contracts in which they agree to resolve disputes and claims against the company through an arbit… --- ## [What Are Your Challenges In Being An Atheist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-challenges-in-being-an-atheist/427002)
**Author:** [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Replies:** 311\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-challenges-in-being-an-atheist/427002 "2007-12-17T19:48:09Z")
I find that in daily life, there are a lot of ways in which being an atheist is not easy. My biggest pain in the ass is at work. I work with a lot of religious people, including a disproportionate number of Jehova’s Wi… --- ## [NJ state legislators preparing to vote on death penalty](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-state-legislators-preparing-to-vote-on-death-penalty/429083)
**Author:** [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nj-state-legislators-preparing-to-vote-on-death-penalty/429083 "2007-12-17T19:33:24Z")
New Jersey state legislators are set to vote on the status of the death penalty in NJ. The article states that, if this legislation passes, NJ would be the first state to abolish the death penalty since the 1976 reinsta… --- ## [Why don't Mormons catch as much crap as Scientologists for their crazy beliefs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mormons-catch-as-much-crap-as-scientologists-for-their-crazy-beliefs/429932)
**Author:** [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Replies:** 165\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mormons-catch-as-much-crap-as-scientologists-for-their-crazy-beliefs/429932 "2007-12-17T17:54:01Z")
I was doing a little research on Mormonism lately after they came to my door and dropped off one of those books, and those people believe some craaaaaaaaaaaazay stuff! A good deal of it is Zardoz-level stuff like the Sci… --- ## [What would it take to change a theist's mind?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-change-a-theists-mind/428118)
**Author:** [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Replies:** 120\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-it-take-to-change-a-theists-mind/428118 "2007-12-17T17:53:38Z")
In response to this thread, about what it would take to change an atheist’s mind about god. I’m always rather amused by the people who have undergone some major tragedy and then show up on the news thanking God that they… --- ## [You racist bigots! (A thread about word meanings)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-racist-bigots-a-thread-about-word-meanings/429916)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [December 17, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-racist-bigots-a-thread-about-word-meanings/429916 "2007-12-17T15:58:19Z")
In a recently locked MPSIMS discussion regarding sphincters, Liberal said: And WhyNot replied: I think both their definitions are overly specific. To me, “bigotry” is simple prejudice. “Racism” is a philosophy in wh… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=671) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=673)