# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=704 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 705 --- ## [Would a VP preside over his own impeachment trial?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-vp-preside-over-his-own-impeachment-trial/409444)
**Author:** [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [June 26, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-vp-preside-over-his-own-impeachment-trial/409444 "2007-06-26T18:38:12Z")
Question via Instapundit, via Digg. It would seem the Constitution doesn’t provide another option, unless “being impeached” counts as “exercising the office of President of the United States,” which I can’t imagine it … --- ## [What are your main beefs w/ Atheism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-main-beefs-w-atheism/408777)
**Author:** [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Replies:** 143\ **Last updated:** [June 26, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-main-beefs-w-atheism/408777 "2007-06-26T15:54:51Z")
Atheism or anti-christianity, that is. This is, of course, a response to the “main beefs w/ Christianity” thread. My main beef is a lack of understanding of where we christians are coming from. They assign us beliefs … --- ## [Photos of Coffins in the Cargo Plane](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-of-coffins-in-the-cargo-plane/409038)
**Author:** [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [June 26, 2007, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photos-of-coffins-in-the-cargo-plane/409038 "2007-06-26T04:47:09Z")
From the Whence the patriotic firefighter fetish? thread, since tomndebb requested us to take it to a new thread. So: should photos of the flag-draped coffins of those who have died overseas in the line of duty be allow… --- ## [PTSD, repression, and "whistling past the graveyard"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ptsd-repression-and-whistling-past-the-graveyard/409387)
**Author:** [@coberst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coberst)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ptsd-repression-and-whistling-past-the-graveyard/409387 "2007-06-25T20:32:37Z")
PTSD, repression, and “whistling past the graveyard” I suspect that PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) might well become one of the most important concerns for America that results from this war in Iraq. What I have… --- ## [Ok, all joking aside, they're not REALLY going to run Hillary, are they?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-all-joking-aside-theyre-not-really-going-to-run-hillary-are-they/409140)
**Author:** [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Replies:** 176\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-all-joking-aside-theyre-not-really-going-to-run-hillary-are-they/409140 "2007-06-25T20:08:48Z")
I’m not a Democrat; I’m an actual liberal/radical that scores left of both Christ and Gandhi on Political Affiliation Tests. I just want to put that out there so that nobody thinks this is some anti-Dem rant by a Red Sta… --- ## [WH opposes move to declassify Senate report on Iraq's WMDs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wh-opposes-move-to-declassify-senate-report-on-iraqs-wmds/409336)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wh-opposes-move-to-declassify-senate-report-on-iraqs-wmds/409336 "2007-06-25T18:27:24Z")
Story here. :rolleyes: Anyone care to defend that position on actual public-policy grounds? --- ## [Do more insurance companies cover Viagra over Birth Control Pills?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-insurance-companies-cover-viagra-over-birth-control-pills/408610)
**Author:** [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-more-insurance-companies-cover-viagra-over-birth-control-pills/408610 "2007-06-25T16:02:45Z")
Every now and then I’ll hear someone grumble about how their insurance doesn’t cover birth control pills, but do cover Viagra, and how unfair is that? However, casual searches I’ve done indicated the opposite- insurance … --- ## [Global warming -- what's the worst-case scenario?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-whats-the-worst-case-scenario/408935)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [June 25, 2007, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-whats-the-worst-case-scenario/408935 "2007-06-25T11:40:32Z")
I know it wouldn’t be anything like Waterworld. Earth’s continents have never been entirely submerged since Pangaea. But what’s the very worst that could happen? How much land could we lose to the rising sea levels? … --- ## [Should the US Army Employ mercenary Soldiers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-army-employ-mercenary-soldiers/408485)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-army-employ-mercenary-soldiers/408485 "2007-06-24T22:13:12Z")
Maybe the way to fight unpopular wars is to hire soldiers from other armies. take the British-for years they hired nepalese soldiers 9the “Ghurkas”) who proved to be efficient, capable soldiers. or the french-with their … --- ## [FEMA ordered to release addresses of recipients of mysterious payments](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fema-ordered-to-release-addresses-of-recipients-of-mysterious-payments/409182)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fema-ordered-to-release-addresses-of-recipients-of-mysterious-payments/409182 "2007-06-24T17:22:09Z")
Story here. The payments were ostensibly for disaster relief following Hurricane Frances – but they went to 1.3 million residents of Miami-Dade County, which was hardly affected at all by that hurricane (it hit 100 mile… --- ## [Why are we not like God?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-not-like-god/409018)
**Author:** [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-not-like-god/409018 "2007-06-24T01:49:50Z")
Are there many people here who believe in a personal god: “a being with a personality, including the capacity to reason and feel love”? After reading the Is God a Person thread I’m beginning to wonder. For those who do… --- ## [A plane full of US soldiers crashes on an island...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plane-full-of-us-soldiers-crashes-on-an-island/408177)
**Author:** [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plane-full-of-us-soldiers-crashes-on-an-island/408177 "2007-06-23T21:20:16Z")
…and everyone survives. This debate is an attempt to uncover the nature of people already given a culture and assigned, objective ‘prestige’ levels (like rank). Give your responses the the following questions based on w… --- ## [Do wars suck more now than they did in the past?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-wars-suck-more-now-than-they-did-in-the-past/408986)
**Author:** [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-wars-suck-more-now-than-they-did-in-the-past/408986 "2007-06-23T19:27:59Z")
The other day I had a conversation with a friend of mine about whether wars suck more now or if they sucked more in the past. “In the past” is of course a rather broad category of wars and we ranged between the Napoleoni… --- ## [Did Gonzalez really say this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gonzalez-really-say-this/408694)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 172\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gonzalez-really-say-this/408694 "2007-06-23T19:22:02Z")
I just read a supposed quote by Attorney General Gonzales in which he supposedly said, “The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or every citizen is granted or secured the right to Habeas Corpus… --- ## [Truth vs NOT](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-vs-not/408443)
**Author:** [@egrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/egrow)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truth-vs-not/408443 "2007-06-23T19:03:29Z")
:smack: Mark 7:6-13 “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they wo… --- ## [Cheney not in executive branch](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-not-in-executive-branch/408914)
**Author:** [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheney-not-in-executive-branch/408914 "2007-06-23T18:22:40Z")
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1371 I can not wait for the defenders of Cheney to work around this one. Apparently Cheney has claimed the VP is not part of the executive branch of government. Therefore he is no… --- ## [Is Mitt Romney Electable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mitt-romney-electable/408498)
**Author:** [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mitt-romney-electable/408498 "2007-06-23T16:22:30Z")
CNN and a few other polls are showing Mitt Romney making some sizeable inroads in early voting primary states (NH and Iowa specifically), and are branding him as having some pretty strong momentum. My question, and the … --- ## [Why no outrage about electoral college?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-outrage-about-electoral-college/408675)
**Author:** [@morgantire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/morgantire)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-outrage-about-electoral-college/408675 "2007-06-23T15:45:12Z")
It’s widely known that Al Gore won the 2000 popular vote but lost the electoral college vote. This is the 4th time that’s happened in America’s history. But what struck me after 2000 was a remarkable LACK of calls to abo… --- ## [Hate speech — the search for a definition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-the-search-for-a-definition/408894)
**Author:** [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-the-search-for-a-definition/408894 "2007-06-23T15:26:42Z")
First, what this thread is NOT about: It’s not about whether a particular word is hate speech. I’m not interest in (yet another) discussion about how “nigger” is but “white trash” isn’t without any more context than tha… --- ## [Online Gold Farming (in China)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-gold-farming-in-china/408560)
**Author:** [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Replies:** 167\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-gold-farming-in-china/408560 "2007-06-23T14:36:01Z")
From this New York Times article : That’s only a small portion of the article (which runs 7 pages). I don’t really know how to feel about this. On the one hand, the wages they’re making (3-4 RMB an hour) compare to th… --- ## [Whence the patriotic firefighter fetish?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-patriotic-firefighter-fetish/408993)
**Author:** [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-patriotic-firefighter-fetish/408993 "2007-06-23T13:35:51Z")
I’ve been seeing online news articles like this one about the Charleston firefighter tragedy. It strikes me as a bit “off” that the caskets of these firefighters, public servants presumably on the payroll of a South Ca… --- ## [The \*REALLY\* crazy conspiracy theory: WTC buildings downed by controlled demolition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-really-crazy-conspiracy-theory-wtc-buildings-downed-by-controlled-demolition/405991)
**Author:** [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Replies:** 301\ **Last updated:** [June 23, 2007, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-really-crazy-conspiracy-theory-wtc-buildings-downed-by-controlled-demolition/405991 "2007-06-23T07:00:20Z")
Has anybody here heard the little theory presented by Steven Jones, a professor of Physics at BYU, that the World Trade Center buildings collapsed, not because the planes hit them, but instead because the buildings were … --- ## [The Decade, 1998 to 2007 - No Global Warming](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decade-1998-to-2007-no-global-warming/407359)
**Author:** [@ClimateGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ClimateGuy)\ **Replies:** 130\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decade-1998-to-2007-no-global-warming/407359 "2007-06-22T23:23:48Z")
The National Climatic Data Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville, has posted the May 2007 global temperature anomaly. Based on the 5 months of 2007 and the 5 month tracking pattern for the decade, we can project th… --- ## [Is God a person?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-a-person/408959)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-god-a-person/408959 "2007-06-22T19:32:36Z")
In numerous threads and debates about God, the starting premise of many questions is the idea that there exists a person, the same as you and I are persons, who just happens to occupy a unique position: this person is th… --- ## [Hamas vs Fatah: Who Will "Win"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamas-vs-fatah-who-will-win/408034)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamas-vs-fatah-who-will-win/408034 "2007-06-22T17:43:25Z")
So the palestinians are at it (once again). they seem to be having quite a dust-up. Who will win? and if HAMAS is the winner, will Israel declare war on it? Looka bad! :eek: --- ## [Anthropogenic v. nonanthropogenic global warming - what does it matter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropogenic-v-nonanthropogenic-global-warming-what-does-it-matter/408625)
**Author:** [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropogenic-v-nonanthropogenic-global-warming-what-does-it-matter/408625 "2007-06-22T17:32:51Z")
As the evidence has gotten more clear that the global climate is, in fact, warming, I have heard the arguments made by certain blogs and think tanks (and several of my more conservative friends) shift from “there’s no ev… --- ## [A three state solution in Palestine?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-three-state-solution-in-palestine/408518)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-three-state-solution-in-palestine/408518 "2007-06-22T17:32:01Z")
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-06-18-voa51.cfm What do you think about the idea of having three states now. Israel, Palestine and Gaza? Do you think this is now workable? It’s pretty amazing the natural stratifi… --- ## [Congestion pricing idea (NYC)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congestion-pricing-idea-nyc/408684)
**Author:** [@dart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dart)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congestion-pricing-idea-nyc/408684 "2007-06-22T17:20:24Z")
So, people seem to be mad about having to pay extra tolls to come into the city to work because the trains to way out in the boroughs are shitty so they have to drive in and they shouldn’t have to shoulder another tax fo… --- ## [Congress' approval rating at 14%?!?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-approval-rating-at-14/408931)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congress-approval-rating-at-14/408931 "2007-06-22T17:14:20Z")
At least according to USA Today and Gallup, it is. For the short amount of time it’s been in power, and the fairly small amount it’s actually managed to DO, this is pretty surprising. Why is this? Is it because of the… --- ## [Is Islam mentioned in the Bible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-islam-mentioned-in-the-bible/408731)
**Author:** [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [June 22, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-islam-mentioned-in-the-bible/408731 "2007-06-22T16:17:56Z")
There’s as much enthusiasm for Biblical prophecy as ever these days. But while “Gog and Magog” are typically identified as Russia, which is thus anticipated as a major player in the upcoming “End Times”, Islam can’t hel… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=703) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=705)