# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=73 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 74 --- ## [Trans Folks In The Military- I Need Help Countering Arguments- And Fast](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trans-folks-in-the-military-i-need-help-countering-arguments-and-fast/832402)
**Author:** [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2019, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trans-folks-in-the-military-i-need-help-countering-arguments-and-fast/832402 "2019-04-19T06:00:54Z")
To sum up- I support transgender people in the military. My friend does not. I already got him to concede that there is a biological basis for being trans. He countered with ‘The military won’t let you in with bad teeth.… --- ## [Alls well that ends well?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alls-well-that-ends-well/832691)
**Author:** [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alls-well-that-ends-well/832691 "2019-04-19T02:40:00Z")
Based on this thread which unfortunately choose a poor example that was too emotionally charged and too close to reality, but is based on a question that I’ve been meaning to put before the teaming masses. To what exten… --- ## [Green New Deal: any other proposal approaching this urgency?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-new-deal-any-other-proposal-approaching-this-urgency/832515)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-new-deal-any-other-proposal-approaching-this-urgency/832515 "2019-04-18T19:55:50Z")
Although I am not a fan of AOC, her much-ridiculed Green New Deal seems to be the only seriously put-out-there proposal that approaches anything near the drastic level of action needed to combat climate change. There are… --- ## [Hate Speech Laws and Social Media. The beginning of the end?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws-and-social-media-the-beginning-of-the-end/832083)
**Author:** [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hate-speech-laws-and-social-media-the-beginning-of-the-end/832083 "2019-04-17T23:58:01Z")
Some guidelines on this topic please. I searched already, and there are several GD threads regarding hate speech, but none specifically as to how to they affect, or apply to the major Social Media platforms such as Y… --- ## [Why has the deficit increased so much under Trump](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-deficit-increased-so-much-under-trump/832563)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-deficit-increased-so-much-under-trump/832563 "2019-04-17T23:26:54Z")
This isn’t meant to be a political post, and I’m assuming it has a straightforward factual answer. On the surface, the answer seems easy. The tax cuts decreased revenue. But if you look at federal tax revenues, they di… --- ## [AIDS as a government creation - the power of disinformation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-as-a-government-creation-the-power-of-disinformation/832550)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-as-a-government-creation-the-power-of-disinformation/832550 "2019-04-16T21:32:58Z")
The KGB-engineered rumour that the US government created the AIDS virus - Operation Infektion - was very successful. Not only did it undermine the US and benefit the Soviets, but it remains today a dramatic, and frighten… --- ## [Why the racist anger toward minority groups](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-racist-anger-toward-minority-groups/832457)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-racist-anger-toward-minority-groups/832457 "2019-04-15T18:38:24Z")
So I was watching “Reconstruction” on PBS the other night, and was pretty shocked at the level of violence described toward newly freed blacks of the era both from private citizens and from actual governments of the day.… --- ## [Question about the constitutionality of the ACA (Obamacare) and individual mandate and it's repeal.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-constitutionality-of-the-aca-obamacare-and-individual-mandate-and-its-repeal/831600)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-constitutionality-of-the-aca-obamacare-and-individual-mandate-and-its-repeal/831600 "2019-04-13T22:40:29Z")
From how I understand it the ACA was a passed law which was constitutional. Then a law that was passed which repealed one part of the ACA. Without that part the ACA would be unconstitutional. So there is a move for th… --- ## [Bones don't lie](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bones-dont-lie/832459)
**Author:** [@tangatawhenua16](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tangatawhenua16)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bones-dont-lie/832459 "2019-04-12T21:40:02Z")
Here’s an update on the dig. The first paragraph is the key for those who have previously jumped to presumptuous conclusions… \[removed link\] --- ## [Upbringing: Nature VS Nurture](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upbringing-nature-vs-nurture/831166)
**Author:** [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upbringing-nature-vs-nurture/831166 "2019-04-12T20:54:51Z")
This debate isn’t about which is more important. I would like this debate to be about why we haven’t figured it out yet, at least statistically. Adoptions are common, and even if the child is of a different race from t… --- ## [Why do so many of the people who identify as White have a hard time seeing the racism around them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-of-the-people-who-identify-as-white-have-a-hard-time-seeing-the-racism-around-them/831716)
**Author:** [@Darkon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkon)\ **Replies:** 335\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-of-the-people-who-identify-as-white-have-a-hard-time-seeing-the-racism-around-them/831716 "2019-04-12T20:32:58Z")
It seems to me that brazen racism has resurged since Trump was elected, but racism itself, whether blatant or otherwise, has been ubiquitous since the United States was founded. So, what is it that keeps Whites, Caucasia… --- ## [Mass Arrests, Civil Forfeitures (Biker War)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-arrests-civil-forfeitures-biker-war/720423)
**Author:** [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [April 12, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mass-arrests-civil-forfeitures-biker-war/720423 "2019-04-12T05:15:35Z")
While the battle at Waco was obviously a horrific incident, I’m somewhat uncomfortable with the police response. Which was, apparently, to arrest every biker on the scene and sort it out later. All these people have bond… --- ## [What advantages would blue America have in a civil war?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-would-blue-america-have-in-a-civil-war/830384)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 245\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-advantages-would-blue-america-have-in-a-civil-war/830384 "2019-04-11T15:03:16Z")
There are a number of online fantasies on the Internet that go like this: If Blue America and Red America go to war, the blues are mostly urban while the reds are rural, and the rural areas is where the farmland is, and… --- ## [Dismissing people as crazy and not educating them or trying to inform them is a problem.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dismissing-people-as-crazy-and-not-educating-them-or-trying-to-inform-them-is-a-problem/832116)
**Author:** [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [April 11, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dismissing-people-as-crazy-and-not-educating-them-or-trying-to-inform-them-is-a-problem/832116 "2019-04-11T02:39:16Z")
Most people don’t really care to inform someone or tell someone they’re wrong. Most of the time they themselves are not informed enough on a topic to give these assertions with credible evidence and reasoning. For both o… --- ## ["God of the Gaps" fallacies are BS (sometimes)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-of-the-gaps-fallacies-are-bs-sometimes/831511)
**Author:** [@scarface54345](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scarface54345)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2019, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/god-of-the-gaps-fallacies-are-bs-sometimes/831511 "2019-04-10T13:00:37Z")
I understand that it may be lazy to assume that God did it. However, even if we don’t know the science behind it, we would still know how to get on the right path to finding out the science behind it. If God wasn’t behin… --- ## [Freedom's Just Another Word for Getting Away with Something](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedoms-just-another-word-for-getting-away-with-something/832078)
**Author:** [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2019, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedoms-just-another-word-for-getting-away-with-something/832078 "2019-04-09T12:24:37Z")
I am very interested in the new uses of DNA identification. I am a big fan. Seems to me little evil has come of it and much good. Facial recognition is well on its way too. In ten years police cars might be scanning face… --- ## [Why Would Anyone Smoke?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-anyone-smoke/831802)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 108\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-anyone-smoke/831802 "2019-04-09T01:40:12Z")
Why on earth would anyone smoke now? Benefits: None. Dangers: Innumerable. I know in the past, it was kind of chic to smoke, maybe a little sexy too. Hollywood actors would often be shown smoking in movies and whatnot.… --- ## [Wearing dark vs light clothes in heat, which is truly better?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-dark-vs-light-clothes-in-heat-which-is-truly-better/832128)
**Author:** [@davedaprato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davedaprato)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-dark-vs-light-clothes-in-heat-which-is-truly-better/832128 "2019-04-08T15:40:13Z")
I have recently come to contemplate the age old idea that wearing white clothing in strong sunlight and heat is better at reflecting the suns rays, and ultimately keeping you cooler, than wearing black clothes in the sam… --- ## [Does the NRA do anything good? (not sarcastic)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-nra-do-anything-good-not-sarcastic/831996)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-nra-do-anything-good-not-sarcastic/831996 "2019-04-07T20:25:19Z")
Non-sarcastic question: Is there anything good that the NRA does? (What is “good” is, of course, wildly subjective, but in general anything said about the NRA is usually negative.) Supports of the 2nd Amendment would… --- ## [Rights of Miscreant Thief Supersede Public Protection - The Elimination of Cash Bail](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-of-miscreant-thief-supersede-public-protection-the-elimination-of-cash-bail/831937)
**Author:** [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rights-of-miscreant-thief-supersede-public-protection-the-elimination-of-cash-bail/831937 "2019-04-06T23:07:35Z")
Kalief Browder’s Suicide Inspired a Push to End Cash Bail. Now Lawmakers Have a Deal. New York’s crime problem is less severe than decades ago; no question about it. The New York legislature seems on a suicide course t… --- ## [I am a NIMBY, and there is no housing crisis in CA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-nimby-and-there-is-no-housing-crisis-in-ca/829483)
**Author:** [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Replies:** 211\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-nimby-and-there-is-no-housing-crisis-in-ca/829483 "2019-04-04T17:52:21Z")
Background information from the wiki. \[ul\] \[li\]Currently and for several years running, CA ranks the highest among states for poverty. Less than 1/3 of Californians could afford a median price home\[/li\]\[li\]From 2012 t… --- ## [Is America too big for popular revolution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-too-big-for-popular-revolution/831897)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 4, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-america-too-big-for-popular-revolution/831897 "2019-04-04T12:37:28Z")
I’ve seen popular revolt in this country discussed on both sides, from Trump voters reacting to an impeachment attempt to the 98% driven to desperation by starvation and wage oppression. And I can’t help thinking that I … --- ## [Would you be in favor of a basic knowledge test for presidential candidates?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-in-favor-of-a-basic-knowledge-test-for-presidential-candidates/831763)
**Author:** [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-in-favor-of-a-basic-knowledge-test-for-presidential-candidates/831763 "2019-04-03T21:51:43Z")
Whenever I see Trump display his ignorance, particularly regarding how foreign trade and trade deficits work, I can’t help but imagine how a knowledge test about economics, civics, policy issues, international affairs, w… --- ## [Mexico Border Closing : Regardless of the mess it would create, what can the President order?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887)
**Author:** [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [April 3, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-border-closing-regardless-of-the-mess-it-would-create-what-can-the-president-order/831887 "2019-04-03T14:46:08Z")
Can he order that troops deploy to the border in sufficient numbers to prevent any border crossings? Since posse comitatus limits the deployment of Federal troops within the USA…could he order the troops the invade mexi… --- ## [Those of you who are sick of us transgender people, what do you actually want us to do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-of-you-who-are-sick-of-us-transgender-people-what-do-you-actually-want-us-to-do/831428)
**Author:** [@Ronald\_Raygun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_Raygun)\ **Replies:** 212\ **Last updated:** [April 2, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-of-you-who-are-sick-of-us-transgender-people-what-do-you-actually-want-us-to-do/831428 "2019-04-02T01:24:15Z")
I find that most discussions about trans people, particularly when they don’t actually include trans people, quickly turn into hardline stances about the nature of gender and trans-ness. I know I’ll inevitably see some o… --- ## [What's a better university system: the USA or Canada?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-better-university-system-the-usa-or-canada/831565)
**Author:** [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [March 31, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-better-university-system-the-usa-or-canada/831565 "2019-03-31T16:32:54Z")
This is an idle debate that could go in many directions, so let’s see if i can explain what I mean. The United States has a great many truly elite universities, as discussed in the other thread on that subject. Harvard… --- ## [Climate Change Alarms - 1933 Style](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-alarms-1933-style/831433)
**Author:** [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [March 31, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/climate-change-alarms-1933-style/831433 "2019-03-31T15:02:46Z")
America in Longest Warm Spell Since 1776; Temperature Line Records a 25-Year Rise The more things change, the more things stay the same. Seems as if the New York Times ran articles which, with a little help from a word-… --- ## [How dangerous do one's surroundings have to be for everyday concealed-carry to be worth it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-do-ones-surroundings-have-to-be-for-everyday-concealed-carry-to-be-worth-it/831643)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [March 31, 2019, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-do-ones-surroundings-have-to-be-for-everyday-concealed-carry-to-be-worth-it/831643 "2019-03-31T12:58:29Z")
Not a debate/political thread, but rather, more of a math and statistics question: I know there are concealed-carry gun folks who treat their handguns almost like smartphones or wallets; they carry them around in clothi… --- ## [Right to Open carry?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-open-carry/818535)
**Author:** [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Replies:** 482\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-open-carry/818535 "2018-08-14T15:04:02Z")
I really think this is next. While I know this will make for a few more idiots\* doing something stupid, the 2nd does say “keep and bear arms”. And I think certain types of violent crime will go down. In CA, you can’t… --- ## [Potty training and lazy parents](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potty-training-and-lazy-parents/216217)
**Author:** [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Replies:** 86\ **Last updated:** [March 29, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potty-training-and-lazy-parents/216217 "2019-03-29T19:14:49Z")
On thanksgiving Day my brother told me a story of how a few weeks ago a neighbor came over and asked him and his wife to babysit for a few hours while the neighbor went to a funeral. The kid (a boy) turns 4 in April. Wh… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=72) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=74)