# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=686 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 687 --- ## [First Amendment and 'F\*\*k Bush'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-and-f-k-bush/420443)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-amendment-and-f-k-bush/420443 "2007-10-02T17:36:50Z")
I was reading this article on CNN entitled ‘Calls for student editor to resign after ‘F\*\*k Bush’ column’ and thought it might make an interesting debate. As you can see the article isn’t really even about Bush. He was… --- ## [Did This Guy Doom The Titanic?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-guy-doom-the-titanic/419670)
**Author:** [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-guy-doom-the-titanic/419670 "2007-10-02T14:43:06Z")
Keys to locker containing lookout’s binoculars found, up for auction. Is this the man who sank the Titanic by walking off with vital locker key? I’m not sure. While I wasn’t there, of course, IIRC The Night To Remember… --- ## [If Flanders gets independance, will the E.U. recognize it ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-flanders-gets-independance-will-the-e-u-recognize-it/421052)
**Author:** [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-flanders-gets-independance-will-the-e-u-recognize-it/421052 "2007-10-02T13:26:06Z")
If Flanders gets independance, will the E.U. recognize it ? If not, what will happen ? --- ## [Virgin sued for user teen's photo](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-sued-for-user-teens-photo/420222)
**Author:** [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Replies:** 89\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2007, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virgin-sued-for-user-teens-photo/420222 "2007-10-02T06:36:53Z")
Is there are thread on this? I apologize if there is. Link --- ## [On the inherent benefits of diversity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-inherent-benefits-of-diversity/420733)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-inherent-benefits-of-diversity/420733 "2007-10-01T22:26:14Z")
Yesterday someone asked me, "Why is diversity considered inherently good." Well, I figured I’d swat this one out of the park, with the old “input from persons with the widest range of experiences results in the best dec… --- ## [The evil of Saddam and the evil of Bush](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-evil-of-saddam-and-the-evil-of-bush/420718)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-evil-of-saddam-and-the-evil-of-bush/420718 "2007-10-01T21:31:14Z")
Many on this board and elsewhere have said that Saddam Hussein was evil. People who take this position commonly say or imply that he was evil because he killed so many people. If Saddam is evil for this reason, then Ge… --- ## [Anti-intellectualism inhibits learning](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-intellectualism-inhibits-learning/420014)
**Author:** [@coberst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coberst)\ **Replies:** 121\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-intellectualism-inhibits-learning/420014 "2007-10-01T16:12:57Z")
Anti-intellectualism inhibits learning A large percentage (studies suggest over 90%) of the meaning we derive from communication, we derive from the non-verbal cues that the other person gives. How does one communicate… --- ## [A party-centered electoral system is better than a candidate-centered system](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-party-centered-electoral-system-is-better-than-a-candidate-centered-system/420576)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-party-centered-electoral-system-is-better-than-a-candidate-centered-system/420576 "2007-10-01T06:23:51Z")
In this thread, one objection raised to a (partial, limited) change to a proportional-representation electoral system for the Ontario Parliament is that the voters (WRT the small number of added seats) would no longer be… --- ## [Can the American Economy be Fixed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-american-economy-be-fixed/420376)
**Author:** [@Gus\_Handsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Handsome)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-american-economy-be-fixed/420376 "2007-10-01T06:13:36Z")
As a Canadian, I look at America like a good brother, a close neighbour whom I’m quite fond of. When I see their falling dollar continuing to plummet, it worries and saddens me. There are so many good Americans who wor… --- ## [Fertility, Reproduction and the Courts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fertility-reproduction-and-the-courts/420964)
**Author:** [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2007, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fertility-reproduction-and-the-courts/420964 "2007-10-01T00:45:31Z")
First off, this is not an abortion thread - so let’s avoid the issue except as it tangentially appears with regards to the actual point of this thread. Given the questions I’m going to be posing, it’s unreasonable to th… --- ## [Abuse: how do we break the pattern?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-how-do-we-break-the-pattern/420117)
**Author:** [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 30, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-how-do-we-break-the-pattern/420117 "2007-09-30T02:38:00Z")
I have read some heartbreaking threads here on the SDMB about people’s experiences being abuse while growing up. From my own experiences and people I’ve met, I’m aware that people who have been abused sometimes have grea… --- ## [Man arrested in connection with ignoring "bag checker" at Circuit City](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-arrested-in-connection-with-ignoring-bag-checker-at-circuit-city/417863)
**Author:** [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Replies:** 675\ **Last updated:** [September 30, 2007, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-arrested-in-connection-with-ignoring-bag-checker-at-circuit-city/417863 "2007-09-30T00:39:01Z")
I know we’ve debated this before, but I couldn’t remember if anyone ever cited a case in which someone ended up being arrested rather than just bugged at the door or on the sidewalk outside. If Michael Righi is telling … --- ## [Who is "public", libel, and potential censorship on Boards.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-public-libel-and-potential-censorship-on-boards/420824)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-public-libel-and-potential-censorship-on-boards/420824 "2007-09-29T17:55:17Z")
In another thread this occurred. In fact for a period of time the thread had been locked and then disappeared, apparently as a direct consequence of a threatening e-mail received from someone claiming to represent thi… --- ## [Thinking is part of reality](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-is-part-of-reality/420790)
**Author:** [@coberst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coberst)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-is-part-of-reality/420790 "2007-09-29T17:00:07Z")
Thinking is part of reality Our educational system and our culture lie to us. We are taught by our educational system and by our culture that there is thinking and there is reality and that thinking’s job is to discove… --- ## [Get the Truth Out on Autism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-truth-out-on-autism/420515)
**Author:** [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Replies:** 269\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-truth-out-on-autism/420515 "2007-09-29T05:29:14Z")
While learning about facilitated communication, I happened upon a link to this photoessay. You must read the entirety of it to get the full impact. Synopsis for the lazy: We’re shown black-in-white images of a severely… --- ## [Iraq rhetoric is disconnected from the effort made.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-rhetoric-is-disconnected-from-the-effort-made/420838)
**Author:** [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-rhetoric-is-disconnected-from-the-effort-made/420838 "2007-09-28T18:22:53Z")
On Hardball the yesterday the subject was whether or not members of congress would advise their children to participate in the military in the Iraq war. A Republican congressman, Franks (maybe Trent Franks from Arizona)… --- ## [(Adult) Missing Person SOP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-missing-person-sop/420815)
**Author:** [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2007, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adult-missing-person-sop/420815 "2007-09-28T15:41:53Z")
Prompted by this story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap\_on\_re\_us/woman\_found \[quote=\] During the eight days that Tanya Rider lay seriously injured in her crashed SUV, her husband was fighting red tape to get aut… --- ## [Technology makes passive life seducing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-makes-passive-life-seducing/420183)
**Author:** [@coberst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coberst)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-makes-passive-life-seducing/420183 "2007-09-28T12:56:06Z")
Technology makes passive life seducing “The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost, not the acquisition of specialized knowledge.” --Albert Einstein Our (U… --- ## [Taxes on Used Goods - WTF?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-on-used-goods-wtf/420769)
**Author:** [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2007, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-on-used-goods-wtf/420769 "2007-09-28T10:00:06Z")
Revenue Canada just acquired the authority to peruse all premier eBay Canada sellers’ accounts to determine if they have summarily paid taxes on all their sales. This pisses me off. If I’ve bought something with my “af… --- ## [If God Made Me, He Knows I Can't Believe in Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-god-made-me-he-knows-i-cant-believe-in-him/419882)
**Author:** [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Replies:** 354\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-god-made-me-he-knows-i-cant-believe-in-him/419882 "2007-09-28T02:55:01Z")
This has come up for me in some recent discussions with people knocking on my door on weekend mornings. It seems extremely obvious to me that if God exists in a form anything like he’s presented in the Bible, (omnipoten… --- ## [The role of religion in war](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-role-of-religion-in-war/420757)
**Author:** [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-role-of-religion-in-war/420757 "2007-09-28T00:48:57Z")
Were some wars actually caused by differences in religious beliefs or is religion just the excuse given to fight over other resources? A recent example is the war against the Taliban. Are the root differences religious… --- ## [Why is Ahmidinejad doing so many interviews?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ahmidinejad-doing-so-many-interviews/420326)
**Author:** [@steadierfooting](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steadierfooting)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ahmidinejad-doing-so-many-interviews/420326 "2007-09-27T20:01:52Z")
What does the president of Iran have to gain by being interviewed by the US press? Is this the standard SOP for foreign heads of state, it’s just that he is more of a high interest person now? I’m also curious about wh… --- ## [Resolved: Nothing about sexual response is a choice.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-nothing-about-sexual-response-is-a-choice/419871)
**Author:** [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2007, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-nothing-about-sexual-response-is-a-choice/419871 "2007-09-27T08:05:15Z")
I don’t think this is going to generate much debate around here, but it crossed my mind and I just wanted to check in and make sure. I was going to say “homosexuality” isn’t a choice, but it’s more than that. NO sexual… --- ## [If Iraq is now "sovereign," does Order 17 still have any legal force?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-iraq-is-now-sovereign-does-order-17-still-have-any-legal-force/420563)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-iraq-is-now-sovereign-does-order-17-still-have-any-legal-force/420563 "2007-09-26T20:19:26Z")
The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Order 17 grants foreign contractors in Iraq what amounts to extraterritoriality – more-than-diplomatic immunity from criminal or even civil prosecution in the Iraqi courts. This has… --- ## [Hillary Clinton's health care plan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-health-care-plan/420224)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 126\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hillary-clintons-health-care-plan/420224 "2007-09-26T17:08:59Z")
Back in 1993, Hillary Clinton chaired the committee that came out with a health care reform package – not “socialized medicine” by British or even Canadian standards, but a remarkably tepid “managed care” proposal that w… --- ## [Why not give funds raised from traffic tickets to safe drivers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-give-funds-raised-from-traffic-tickets-to-safe-drivers/420082)
**Author:** [@Fireclown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fireclown)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-give-funds-raised-from-traffic-tickets-to-safe-drivers/420082 "2007-09-26T17:02:40Z")
Here’s an idea, since traffic enforcement is ostensibly about safety and not money :rolleyes: instead of giving the traffic fines to the court, why not put them in a interest bearing account that is distributed at the en… --- ## [Maliki: Civil war in Iraq has been averted & Iranian intervention has ceased to exist](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maliki-civil-war-in-iraq-has-been-averted-iranian-intervention-has-ceased-to-exist/420426)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maliki-civil-war-in-iraq-has-been-averted-iranian-intervention-has-ceased-to-exist/420426 "2007-09-26T03:20:26Z")
Story here. And he does not think Iraq will be needing any long-term American military presence like we’ve had in South Korea for decades. Finally, something from Iraq that just might be good news! :slight\_smile: I… --- ## [Blackwater U.S.A. told to leave Iraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-u-s-a-told-to-leave-iraq/419495)
**Author:** [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackwater-u-s-a-told-to-leave-iraq/419495 "2007-09-26T03:12:46Z")
from the BBC I’m not sure if this incident was just the final straw, or if the move is politics on the part of the Iraqi government, but I hope this sticks and they are kicked out. Blackwater has made me very uneasy … --- ## [What might have been: Soviet lunar landing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-have-been-soviet-lunar-landing/420121)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-have-been-soviet-lunar-landing/420121 "2007-09-25T18:04:48Z")
In the 1960s, the Soviet Union had a program to send cosmonauts to the moon. But it’s success was staked to the N-1 booster, which not only never successfully flew but in some expert’s opinion couldn’t work- the first st… --- ## [Pros and cons of patriotism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pros-and-cons-of-patriotism/419039)
**Author:** [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pros-and-cons-of-patriotism/419039 "2007-09-25T14:07:05Z")
I was contemplating posting about patriotism in the Nava pit thread, but decided against it, since… well, I didn’t think it would result in much of a debate. I don’t \*get \* patriotism. Taking pride in the random fact of… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=685) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=687)