# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=678 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 679 --- ## [Anti-Mormon phone calls-too clever by half?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-mormon-phone-calls-too-clever-by-half/426768)
**Author:** [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [November 19, 2007, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-mormon-phone-calls-too-clever-by-half/426768 "2007-11-19T01:11:42Z")
I came up with an interesting theory regarding the anti-Mormon calls being made about Mitt Romney in New Hampshire. These are push-polls allegedly made against Mitt Romney designed to expose him as a Mormon. However, w… --- ## [Idiocracy: Is it plausible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-is-it-plausible/423947)
**Author:** [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiocracy-is-it-plausible/423947 "2007-11-18T22:17:23Z")
I rented the relatively unheard-of Mike Judge/Luke Wilson film Idiocracy the other night, and rather enjoyed it. The edited highlights of the plot are that, 500 years into the future, everyone has become stupid because … --- ## [Colleges refusing to admit Kansans, Doverites, etc...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colleges-refusing-to-admit-kansans-doverites-etc/426745)
**Author:** [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colleges-refusing-to-admit-kansans-doverites-etc/426745 "2007-11-18T20:55:01Z")
I heard this idea getting kicked around somewhere, can’t remember where, but what if all of the, say, Ivy League schools, or all the really good tech schools like MIT, made it a condition for admission that you have a de… --- ## [Question for Atheists; What is your moral system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-what-is-your-moral-system/425769)
**Author:** [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Replies:** 102\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists-what-is-your-moral-system/425769 "2007-11-18T20:12:47Z")
Lots of “ask the Christians” threads about, so I thought I might start one i’ve been thinking of for a while. There’s a good many threads even normally about religious people explaining how they believe the world works m… --- ## [Why does nobody ask about the origins of heterosexuality?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nobody-ask-about-the-origins-of-heterosexuality/426637)
**Author:** [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-nobody-ask-about-the-origins-of-heterosexuality/426637 "2007-11-18T20:09:57Z")
Just wondering, after reading the same ridiculous, arrogant and patronizing debates on the “cause” or “origins” of homosexuality over and over and over. --- ## [Hilary Clinton And The Planted Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hilary-clinton-and-the-planted-question/426472)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hilary-clinton-and-the-planted-question/426472 "2007-11-18T15:38:59Z")
Now, I have no heartburn with this practice. It happens. But any honest observer of this message board should be willing to admit the following: if this had been a Bush event, or even a GOP event in general, there woul… --- ## [Is homosexuality psychological or biological?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-homosexuality-psychological-or-biological/426513)
**Author:** [@apwbd155](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apwbd155)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2007, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-homosexuality-psychological-or-biological/426513 "2007-11-18T09:11:11Z")
I’m an 18 year old homosexual boy. I have always been caught in the moral dilemma as to whether my homosexuality is psychological. Admittedly, I have never gelled in with people and have remained quite reserved. I hav… --- ## [Could The US navy have Covered This Up?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-us-navy-have-covered-this-up/426840)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-us-navy-have-covered-this-up/426840 "2007-11-17T22:49:26Z")
The nuclear attack submarine (USS Scorpion) sank in the easter south Atlantic Ocean, in 1969. According to the US Navy investigation, the submarine sank due to an accident-it could have been a hot torpedo, or failure of … --- ## [What's the big deal with Social Security?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-social-security/426050)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-social-security/426050 "2007-11-17T21:21:17Z")
I’ve just been reading Fred Thompson’s plan for Social Security here and I’m wondering what the big deal is? America doesn’t have a welfare state like we do in Britain, does it? Clue me in. Or is this simply a last gasp … --- ## [It's not an immigration issue!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-an-immigration-issue/425807)
**Author:** [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-an-immigration-issue/425807 "2007-11-17T07:45:06Z")
Not sure if this is really a ‘debate’ or just something I’d like to share and see what others think and if similar things are happening in their own local ballots - feel free to move. I was happy to vote this week, despi… --- ## [What would happen if the laws of physics suddenly stopped working?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-the-laws-of-physics-suddenly-stopped-working/426816)
**Author:** [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-the-laws-of-physics-suddenly-stopped-working/426816 "2007-11-17T07:33:16Z")
While talking with my mother tonight, I brought up the recent news about the Exceptionally Simple Theory Of Everything. Now, keep in mind that, while my mother’s a reasonably intelligent lady, she is a fundamentalist Ch… --- ## [Is There A Moral Responsibility To Keep A Breed Existing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-moral-responsibility-to-keep-a-breed-existing/426580)
**Author:** [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-moral-responsibility-to-keep-a-breed-existing/426580 "2007-11-17T06:54:51Z")
The usual pit bull debates made me wonder this but I don’t want to derail this into a discussion about how wonderful/evil pit bulls are so let’s leave them out. Given that domesticated animal breeds are a direct result … --- ## [Question for Christians: How do we know God loves us?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-christians-how-do-we-know-god-loves-us/425261)
**Author:** [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Replies:** 271\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-christians-how-do-we-know-god-loves-us/425261 "2007-11-17T04:30:09Z")
I’ve just read an excellent essay by Antony Flew called “Theology & Falsification”. Check it out here if you haven’t already read it. It’s very short & straightforward, and it poses what I think is a very interesting q… --- ## [Does the US care if Belgium and France, etc. are in Afghanistan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-care-if-belgium-and-france-etc-are-in-afghanistan/426720)
**Author:** [@Malachi\_Throne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malachi_Throne)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-us-care-if-belgium-and-france-etc-are-in-afghanistan/426720 "2007-11-17T03:49:47Z")
I think it should, yet their contributions are never mentioned. And they are reassessing with an eye to pull out. Shouldn’t we be actively seeking European help there? Aren’t they the main countries who suffer when in… --- ## [Evolution and God](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-and-god/426355)
**Author:** [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evolution-and-god/426355 "2007-11-17T02:15:02Z")
I was just watching a PBS show on evolution and intelligent design, and it showed several people on the creationist/intelligent design side of things saying stuff like “I cannot accept that we evolved from monkeys. God … --- ## [People who hate (or even just dislike) children](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-or-even-just-dislike-children/426029)
**Author:** [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Replies:** 203\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-or-even-just-dislike-children/426029 "2007-11-17T00:30:27Z")
There are a subset of folks, amply represented on the Straight Dope, who don’t tolerate children. To them, a perfect world would be child free. They don’t get why anyone would want to have kids. Restaurants are ruined… --- ## [The postcard tactic--acceptable or invasion of privacy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-postcard-tactic-acceptable-or-invasion-of-privacy/426565)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [November 16, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-postcard-tactic-acceptable-or-invasion-of-privacy/426565 "2007-11-16T21:03:50Z")
Note: I haven’t lived in the area this happened in for years, so I don’t know if the people are still doing this. I was reminded by a thread in IMHO about domestic violence. There was a section of Columbus, Ohio that … --- ## [Anyone heard of Ronald Weinland?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-heard-of-ronald-weinland/426493)
**Author:** [@Kraig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kraig)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [November 16, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-heard-of-ronald-weinland/426493 "2007-11-16T16:08:33Z")
www.the-end.com. This is his website. You may download both his books or receive them free. Claims to be God’s Final Witness. My mother is a true believer in him. She told me he claims total nuclear destruction on all … --- ## [States' Rights in the USA - why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/states-rights-in-the-usa-why/426234)
**Author:** [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [November 16, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/states-rights-in-the-usa-why/426234 "2007-11-16T14:50:53Z")
This query is prompted, most recently, by the news that Right to Life is endorsing Fred Thompson (AP link), despite Thompson’s lack of support for banning abortion at the federal level (FoxNews link). Thompson has said … --- ## [Questions about Autism and eliminating Dairy, Wheat and Gluten from diet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-autism-and-eliminating-dairy-wheat-and-gluten-from-diet/424634)
**Author:** [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [November 16, 2007, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-autism-and-eliminating-dairy-wheat-and-gluten-from-diet/424634 "2007-11-16T05:58:08Z")
I watched a segment on 60 minutes or Nightline (or one of those programs) and Jenny McCarthy stated that her son Evan’s autism was reversed simply by eliminating the three things in my subject line from his diet. Now, h… --- ## [Solving AGW will make things worse...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solving-agw-will-make-things-worse/425971)
**Author:** [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 16, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solving-agw-will-make-things-worse/425971 "2007-11-16T04:41:41Z")
It occurs to me that every potentially catastrophic issue we solve, including global warming, will increase the dominion of the human species over the earth. Absent a coordinated and successful concomitant initiative to… --- ## [If god is omnipotent, is he also not omnipotent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-god-is-omnipotent-is-he-also-not-omnipotent/426105)
**Author:** [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-god-is-omnipotent-is-he-also-not-omnipotent/426105 "2007-11-15T20:01:54Z")
This thought hit me a few minutes ago. It seems like a fun little mental puzzle to work out. The standard explanation for how god is illogical is that he’s omnipotent, and can therefore do even the illogical. You just… --- ## [Is this woman out of touch with reality or am I?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-woman-out-of-touch-with-reality-or-am-i/426218)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2007, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-woman-out-of-touch-with-reality-or-am-i/426218 "2007-11-15T15:53:06Z")
I was just reading this article The New Victorians by Lizzy Rather. She’s describing what she apparently feels in a bizarre lifestyle - one in which men and women in their twenties are looking to get married and have chi… --- ## [Will a Female POTUS fuel the fire of Islamic Extremists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-female-potus-fuel-the-fire-of-islamic-extremists/426378)
**Author:** [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-female-potus-fuel-the-fire-of-islamic-extremists/426378 "2007-11-15T15:17:45Z")
The Islamic Extremist view of the role of females in their society differ greatly from the role women actually play in the religion of islam. Now we are not talking about practitioners of the islamic faith, we are talkin… --- ## [Standards of Wealth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standards-of-wealth/424999)
**Author:** [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2007, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standards-of-wealth/424999 "2007-11-15T12:15:21Z")
I think that in many parts of the world, people (in general) are a lot wealthier today than in the past. If wealth is measured by the value of the goods and services that people have access to. How much would Cornelius… --- ## [The Abrahamic Curse & The Peace Process](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abrahamic-curse-the-peace-process/426447)
**Author:** [@JackRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackRyan)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-abrahamic-curse-the-peace-process/426447 "2007-11-15T04:20:09Z")
In the news today, no one can escape hearing about the negotiations for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That these peace discussions are going on is nothing new, but for the last fifteen years, those dis… --- ## [Y'all come in. I'll make you religious (unless you wish otherwise of course)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yall-come-in-ill-make-you-religious-unless-you-wish-otherwise-of-course/426214)
**Author:** [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yall-come-in-ill-make-you-religious-unless-you-wish-otherwise-of-course/426214 "2007-11-14T20:52:06Z")
They got this word “God”. They got a lot of ideas about what God is like, but with extremewly rare exceptions at the core of it all God is The Good. The rest is all “that which is ascribed TO The Good”, and they are no… --- ## [Giuliani wins in 08](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giuliani-wins-in-08/424302)
**Author:** [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Replies:** 132\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giuliani-wins-in-08/424302 "2007-11-14T18:11:48Z")
Hillary will get the Democrat nomination, which will ensure that they spend another 4 years looking at the white house from outside the fence. If you think she actually has a chance to be elected, you’re fooling yoursel… --- ## [Go ahead, tell me again how we're NOT going to war with Iran](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-ahead-tell-me-again-how-were-not-going-to-war-with-iran/424026)
**Author:** [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Replies:** 309\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-ahead-tell-me-again-how-were-not-going-to-war-with-iran/424026 "2007-11-14T08:15:34Z")
US slaps broad new sanctions on Iran See Condi’s video here \[Quote=Associated Press\] WASHINGTON - The Bush administration imposed sweeping new sanctions against Iran Thursday — the harshest in nearly three decades — c… --- ## [Turkey invading Iraq + Pakistani instability + US bombing Iran = ME meltdown?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-invading-iraq-pakistani-instability-us-bombing-iran-me-meltdown/424637)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2007, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-invading-iraq-pakistani-instability-us-bombing-iran-me-meltdown/424637 "2007-11-14T07:28:58Z")
So I’m looking at the news today, and its just one of those days where I feel like we are at the top of the Middle-East roller coaster looking down again. In the news: Turkey calls action against Kurdish rebels in Iraq… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=677) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=679)