# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=75 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 76 --- ## [What will happen with the solar storms of 2012-2014](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-with-the-solar-storms-of-2012-2014/592332)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 9, 2019, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-with-the-solar-storms-of-2012-2014/592332 "2019-03-09T05:28:51Z")
I have read recently that there could be a lot of solar flare activity in the next few years, and it could massively disrupt electricity & communications. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-06-24/news/27068218\_1\_solar… --- ## [Bullying. \[should parents be held accountable?\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullying-should-parents-be-held-accountable/830712)
**Author:** [@Jamiedarke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamiedarke)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [March 9, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullying-should-parents-be-held-accountable/830712 "2019-03-09T03:27:00Z")
Bullying in school and more especially online is totally vile. Should the parents of kids guilty of bullying have some sort of a charge laid against them by the police? --- ## [What is your position on fracking?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-position-on-fracking/830564)
**Author:** [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [March 8, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-position-on-fracking/830564 "2019-03-08T18:51:22Z")
Just curious about the viewpoints of posters on this board towards fracking: --- ## [Alabama judge grants rights to an aborted fetus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-judge-grants-rights-to-an-aborted-fetus/830681)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 8, 2019, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alabama-judge-grants-rights-to-an-aborted-fetus/830681 "2019-03-08T11:56:34Z")
Madison County Probate Judge Frank Barger granted rights to an aborted fetus. The reason for all this? A teenager got his then girlfriend pregnant, she has what everybody assumed to be a totally legal abortion…and he … --- ## [Was the Confederacy a right-wing institution?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-confederacy-a-right-wing-institution/830540)
**Author:** [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-confederacy-a-right-wing-institution/830540 "2019-03-07T23:30:49Z")
Taken from this thread. Basically, one poster was commenting on how banning meat was something that an extreme left-wing US government may seek to do. The comment is thoroughly silly, I commented on how right-wingers w… --- ## [Does North Korea have an unlimited economic potential?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-north-korea-have-an-unlimited-economic-potential/830294)
**Author:** [@Kamaski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamaski)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-north-korea-have-an-unlimited-economic-potential/830294 "2019-03-07T19:48:56Z")
Trump said it at his meeting with Kim. From what I have read, the mountains in North Korea have a huge amount of natural resources/energy but they haven’t been able to tap into it because they don’t have the technology … --- ## [The Glinda Conspiracy Revisited : Putin / Trump](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-glinda-conspiracy-revisited-putin-trump/825956)
**Author:** [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [March 7, 2019, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-glinda-conspiracy-revisited-putin-trump/825956 "2019-03-07T02:09:00Z")
Years ago, I put forward a theory – similar theories had been proposed by Pepperpot, and also discussed by JohnT – that Glinda the Good used Dorothy as a stalking horse to attain absolute power in Oz (Movie version only)… --- ## [Government taking your guns - really worth it for gun owners to die over?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-taking-your-guns-really-worth-it-for-gun-owners-to-die-over/829788)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 118\ **Last updated:** [March 6, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/government-taking-your-guns-really-worth-it-for-gun-owners-to-die-over/829788 "2019-03-06T18:10:54Z")
Splicing several spin-offs of recent threads together: Say the Democrats issue a national-emergency and try to confiscate all privately owned guns. Plenty of gun owners brag, on social media, that the government agents … --- ## ["Trump’s Plan to Decriminalize Homosexuality Is an Old Racist Tactic"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-s-plan-to-decriminalize-homosexuality-is-an-old-racist-tactic/830277)
**Author:** [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [March 5, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-s-plan-to-decriminalize-homosexuality-is-an-old-racist-tactic/830277 "2019-03-05T19:34:02Z")
From NBC News: The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in pa… --- ## [Will Brexit lead to UK citizens losing their right to health care?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-brexit-lead-to-uk-citizens-losing-their-right-to-health-care/830527)
**Author:** [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-brexit-lead-to-uk-citizens-losing-their-right-to-health-care/830527 "2019-03-04T20:20:23Z")
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)30477-5/fulltext?hss\_channel=tw-27013292 --- ## [Is this cartoon racist (Tennis).](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cartoon-racist-tennis/821230)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 414\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cartoon-racist-tennis/821230 "2019-03-04T17:39:55Z")
An Australian newspaper posted this cartoon referencing Serena Williams breakdown in the US Open women final. It’s been derided as racist. And I can see why, some might say that. But, I don’t think it is, since it refer… --- ## [Why is prostitution illegal?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/827482)
**Author:** [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Replies:** 157\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/827482 "2019-03-04T16:09:36Z")
I have been reading about Storyville, New Orleans and the presence of semi-legal prostitution in this now lost area. It got me wondering about why things are legal or illegal in the first place. Is it just the will of … --- ## [Weirdly mixed feelings about Otto Warmbier (American student sentenced to 15 years in N Korea)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdly-mixed-feelings-about-otto-warmbier-american-student-sentenced-to-15-years-in-n-korea/749206)
**Author:** [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Replies:** 179\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weirdly-mixed-feelings-about-otto-warmbier-american-student-sentenced-to-15-years-in-n-korea/749206 "2019-03-04T15:39:00Z")
He’s the guy who decided to go to North Korea for vacation and then tried to swipe one of their propaganda banners. For which, he’s just been sentenced to 15 years hard labor. www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-sentences-… --- ## [if agnew hadn't been busted or beat the charges could he have been elected over carter ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-agnew-hadnt-been-busted-or-beat-the-charges-could-he-have-been-elected-over-carter/830471)
**Author:** [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2019, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-agnew-hadnt-been-busted-or-beat-the-charges-could-he-have-been-elected-over-carter/830471 "2019-03-04T06:54:58Z")
the Wikipedia article I consulted for another thread says this Levy, Peter B. (Winter 2013). “Spiro Agnew, the Forgotten Americans and the Rise of the New Right”. The Historian is the Levy mentioned Could he of tak… --- ## [How much would a green new deal actually cost?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-a-green-new-deal-actually-cost/829204)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 172\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2019, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-a-green-new-deal-actually-cost/829204 "2019-03-04T06:36:03Z")
I can’t get a straight answer online. Either there are no figures or the figures are all over the place. --- ## [Same statement, but different speaker - ad hominem?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-statement-but-different-speaker-ad-hominem/830301)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-statement-but-different-speaker-ad-hominem/830301 "2019-03-03T00:04:15Z")
It’s often the case that two people can say the exact same thing but be perceived very differently based off of their personal background - i.e., if a white person says something about black people, that would make the a… --- ## [Has Trump and the GOP vindicated Godel?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-trump-and-the-gop-vindicated-godel/830361)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-trump-and-the-gop-vindicated-godel/830361 "2019-03-02T22:42:17Z")
We learned today that Donald Trump “ordered” a security clearance be given to Jared Kushner. This was despite the fact that multiple individuals at the highest levels of US Government security recommending against granti… --- ## [Venezuela: please explain the current clusterfuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-please-explain-the-current-clusterfuck/830226)
**Author:** [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [March 2, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-please-explain-the-current-clusterfuck/830226 "2019-03-02T19:19:03Z")
I am seeing a lot of partisan blathering on both sides (“Maduro was elected democratically and we should let the Venezuelan people decide on their own how their country should be run!” "“The U.S. is propping up Guaido an… --- ## [A question about the Hilary Clinton email business.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-hilary-clinton-email-business/830229)
**Author:** [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Replies:** 105\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-the-hilary-clinton-email-business/830229 "2019-03-01T22:56:36Z")
I understand that what Hilary Clinton did that was undoubtedly wrong was (1) to mix her personal email with her official, sometimes confidential, government email. What I have never understood (though perhaps everyone e… --- ## [Good naked, bad naked, men, women, short shorts, long shorts, and swimwear](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-naked-bad-naked-men-women-short-shorts-long-shorts-and-swimwear/44687)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 1, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-naked-bad-naked-men-women-short-shorts-long-shorts-and-swimwear/44687 "2019-03-01T16:24:22Z")
There was a Seinfeld episode where Jerry feels uncomfortable because his girlfriend spends her time nude when indoors. To give her a dose of her own medicine, so to speak, he decides to try it himself, but then his gi… --- ## [Do Donald Trump and Charles Manson suffer from similar personality disorders?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-donald-trump-and-charles-manson-suffer-from-similar-personality-disorders/815976)
**Author:** [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-donald-trump-and-charles-manson-suffer-from-similar-personality-disorders/815976 "2019-02-28T16:52:54Z")
While Donald Trump and Charles Manson are both charismatic cult leaders, both sociopaths, and both suffer from narcissistic personality disorder, obviously there are huge differences. Trump is a highly intelligent and s… --- ## [National funding of education](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-funding-of-education/830245)
**Author:** [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-funding-of-education/830245 "2019-02-28T16:50:57Z")
Proposition: Public primary school (K-12) is funded by counties, and most of that by property taxes. This causes an imbalance in funding levels for poor areas vs. rich areas, which has a corresponding impact on the quali… --- ## [Should women have to register for Selective Service?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-women-have-to-register-for-selective-service/826361)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 127\ **Last updated:** [February 28, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-women-have-to-register-for-selective-service/826361 "2019-02-28T15:35:35Z")
In the USA, only men can potentially be drafted into the military against their will. How is that fair? Isn’t it blatantly sexist to only force men to fight if the need arises? --- ## [How will healthcare change when, not if, we switch to a European style single payer system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-when-not-if-we-switch-to-a-european-style-single-payer-system/828196)
**Author:** [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Replies:** 171\ **Last updated:** [February 19, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-when-not-if-we-switch-to-a-european-style-single-payer-system/828196 "2019-02-19T15:27:12Z")
I really believe we are moving in the direction of a single payer system and away from private health insurance. I’m thinking within 10 years. When it does, how will things change? Lots of possible discussion points bu… --- ## [Are we living in a fake reality, and if so, what are the consequences?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-living-in-a-fake-reality-and-if-so-what-are-the-consequences/830250)
**Author:** [@Kamaski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamaski)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2019, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-living-in-a-fake-reality-and-if-so-what-are-the-consequences/830250 "2019-02-27T04:03:41Z")
If we are living in a fake reality, or simply living in one “sheet of paper” in the multi-dimensional stack of paper that compromises the real reality, what are the consequences of the public figuring this out? That the… --- ## [Besides door-to-door confiscation, would anything make 2A types "rise up" against tyranny?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-door-to-door-confiscation-would-anything-make-2a-types-rise-up-against-tyranny/829830)
**Author:** [@Apanthro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apanthro)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2019, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-door-to-door-confiscation-would-anything-make-2a-types-rise-up-against-tyranny/829830 "2019-02-27T02:45:44Z")
Hey everyone, long time listener first time caller to SD. If this post contains any hideous gaffes let me know. A friend of mine has recently been sucked into the alt-lite wormhole of YouTube algorithms and Russian trol… --- ## [Gay couple receives citizenship benefit for son that a straight couple would not get](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-couple-receives-citizenship-benefit-for-son-that-a-straight-couple-would-not-get/830165)
**Author:** [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [February 27, 2019, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gay-couple-receives-citizenship-benefit-for-son-that-a-straight-couple-would-not-get/830165 "2019-02-27T01:00:34Z")
I’ll just start this in Great Debates and since it would end up here or in the Pit anyway. A bi-national married gay male couple had twins by a surrogate and won a lawsuit to have both recognized as US citizens from bir… --- ## [Kaepernick files Collusion Grievance against the NFL](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaepernick-files-collusion-grievance-against-the-nfl/799016)
**Author:** [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Replies:** 154\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kaepernick-files-collusion-grievance-against-the-nfl/799016 "2019-02-26T20:03:10Z")
Alleges that the owners are colluding to blackball him for his protests against racially based police brutality. Should be an interesting one to watch, to see how his arguments play out in NLRB world. And it’s not just… --- ## [Addressing racism through the tax code](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-racism-through-the-tax-code/829728)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/addressing-racism-through-the-tax-code/829728 "2019-02-26T18:42:51Z")
An idea inspired by a mediocre movie (Bulworth): Resolved - the US ought to create incentives for people to marry/procreate with partners outside of their personal ethnic background, with the goal that racism will be les… --- ## [A Workable 'Green' Policy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-workable-green-policy/829560)
**Author:** [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [February 26, 2019, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-workable-green-policy/829560 "2019-02-26T11:45:13Z")
I have done my share of laughing at the ‘Green New Deal’, but it’s only fair that if you’re going to laugh at someone’s plan, you should be able to explain how it could be done better. And maybe we can brainstorm som… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=76)