# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=824 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 825 --- ## [BBC list of 10 worst Britons](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-list-of-10-worst-britons/337314)
**Author:** [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Replies:** 59\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-list-of-10-worst-britons/337314 "2005-12-30T18:42:45Z")
Not sure if this is the right forum, or, indeed, if it will provoke any worthwhile discussions, but, still, I found it interesting. Here is the list - one candidate per century. 20th: Moseley. (Unobjectionable, althou… --- ## [The US De-Militarizes -- What Would Happen in Europe/the World?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-de-militarizes-what-would-happen-in-europe-the-world/335881)
**Author:** [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [December 30, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-us-de-militarizes-what-would-happen-in-europe-the-world/335881 "2005-12-30T03:29:09Z")
It’s often asserted that the US pays for the defense of Europe, by maintaining a larger, more active military than anything the European countries can – or will – muster up. This inevitably provokes people to ask what i… --- ## [So my roommate and I are arguing about the draft...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-my-roommate-and-i-are-arguing-about-the-draft/336255)
**Author:** [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-my-roommate-and-i-are-arguing-about-the-draft/336255 "2005-12-29T23:45:37Z")
My roommate and I have had the same running argument these last few days every time we watch C-SPAN. He says: It’s only a matter of time before this administration re-introduces the draft, pre-Vietnam era standards, to … --- ## [the Olduvai theory](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-olduvai-theory/337337)
**Author:** [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-olduvai-theory/337337 "2005-12-29T21:53:57Z")
Humblest apologies if this is just flogging a zombie, but I got zero results on a search, so here we are. There’s this theory (discussed here and here) that suggests basically that there will be a “Post-Industrial Stone… --- ## [Okay, so what is the argument FOR parental consent?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517)
**Author:** [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Replies:** 357\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-so-what-is-the-argument-for-parental-consent/335517 "2005-12-29T17:16:14Z")
Parental consent for a minor to undergo an abortion is one of the issues deeply dividing our country. I understand the argument against it – a chief one being that a teenage girl could get beaten up by her father when s… --- ## [Is it possible for the US government to be sanctioned/punished for its acts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-for-the-us-government-to-be-sanctioned-punished-for-its-acts/336985)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-for-the-us-government-to-be-sanctioned-punished-for-its-acts/336985 "2005-12-29T05:25:58Z")
I know its hard to have a discussion like this because pro and anti americanism always hijacks the thread, but if other countries wanted to punish the US government for some of our acts would they be able to? For example… --- ## [Do wellness and health programs save money or cost money](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-wellness-and-health-programs-save-money-or-cost-money/337289)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-wellness-and-health-programs-save-money-or-cost-money/337289 "2005-12-29T03:58:18Z")
Assume you have two people, one engages in a variety of wellness promotion activities, and the other engages in unhealthy behavior. Person A may do things like eat a healthy diet high in omega 3 fatty acids, fruits, veg… --- ## [How come Bush isn't a hero?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-bush-isnt-a-hero/337157)
**Author:** [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-bush-isnt-a-hero/337157 "2005-12-29T02:28:24Z")
Disclaimer–I despise Bush, hold him in contempt, never considered voting for him, would vote for almost anybody in preference to him, think he’s completely unqualified for the presidency and represents the worst in Ameri… --- ## [nixon vs. bush impeachment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-vs-bush-impeachment/336464)
**Author:** [@frostyhawaiian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frostyhawaiian)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [December 29, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nixon-vs-bush-impeachment/336464 "2005-12-29T02:19:38Z")
If I’m not mistaken nixion was forced to resign because of illegal wire tapping and other evil deeds so what the difference now. is it lack of cahones. --- ## [Available for future delivery:bones, one set, full body. (cancer-free).reserve:$10k](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/available-for-future-delivery-bones-one-set-full-body-cancer-free-reserve-10k/337490)
**Author:** [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/available-for-future-delivery-bones-one-set-full-body-cancer-free-reserve-10k/337490 "2005-12-28T23:05:40Z")
Cooke died March 30, 2004, of lung cancer that had spread to his bones. The next day, before his cremation, body snatchers surgically cut out his bones and sold them for more than $7,000 to two tissue processing companie… --- ## [Krauthammer defends torture](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/krauthammer-defends-torture/336699)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 105\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/krauthammer-defends-torture/336699 "2005-12-28T20:19:55Z")
From a recent and already-notorious editorial by Charles Krauthammer in The Weekly Standard, 12/5/05 – http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/400rhqav.asp: Does anybody care to defend Krautha… --- ## [Bush/Cheney supporters - Try to explain these 2005 lies.....](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-cheney-supporters-try-to-explain-these-2005-lies/336952)
**Author:** [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-cheney-supporters-try-to-explain-these-2005-lies/336952 "2005-12-28T19:43:13Z")
Bush and Cheney are liars of lies far worse the Bill Clinton’d one “I didn’t have sex with that woman” lie because of the far-reaching political implications. Please try to explain these lies (as summarized in Eleanor C… --- ## [''War'' in Iraq - Should it now be called something else?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-in-iraq-should-it-now-be-called-something-else/336973)
**Author:** [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-in-iraq-should-it-now-be-called-something-else/336973 "2005-12-28T18:29:40Z")
This is actually a bit more of a GQ, but I figure it has some strong debate elements, and no real “factual” answer, so here it is. This morning I listened to some piece on NPR about the recent troop reduction announced … --- ## [Is the "mansion tax" fair?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mansion-tax-fair/336540)
**Author:** [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mansion-tax-fair/336540 "2005-12-28T15:41:34Z")
Let me preface this: I’m probably opening myself up to ridicule with this, and I’m not asking for sympathy, but the so-called “mansion tax” has possibly entered my life, and it seems inane. To summarize the tax, which … --- ## [Clinton and Aldrich Ames](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-and-aldrich-ames/337396)
**Author:** [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-and-aldrich-ames/337396 "2005-12-28T15:05:46Z")
As every President before him has, since the inception of Fisa, Bill Clinton asserted through his actions that Fisa did not apply to the President’s Constitutional mandate to protect the Union. Without warrants and with… --- ## [We got the guy who got Sama's kidneys;so of course he's at Gitmo. Kafka, we need you](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-got-the-guy-who-got-samas-kidneys-so-of-course-hes-at-gitmo-kafka-we-need-you/335707)
**Author:** [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-got-the-guy-who-got-samas-kidneys-so-of-course-hes-at-gitmo-kafka-we-need-you/335707 "2005-12-28T14:32:17Z")
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR2005121402125.html “The crowning irony is that he is an enemy of bin Laden, who was charged with conspiring to kill him, and we hold him prisoner today,”… --- ## [Why would the FBI spy on Greenpeace, PETA, and the Catholic Workers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-the-fbi-spy-on-greenpeace-peta-and-the-catholic-workers/337003)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-the-fbi-spy-on-greenpeace-peta-and-the-catholic-workers/337003 "2005-12-28T06:09:03Z")
Bush’s domestic-surveillance program having come to light, he is naturally trying to defend it as necessary to protect America from terrorist threats. But some of the spying appears to have been directed against parties… --- ## [Iraq Vote: early returns suggest Islamist Government](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-vote-early-returns-suggest-islamist-government/336547)
**Author:** [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-vote-early-returns-suggest-islamist-government/336547 "2005-12-28T05:21:42Z")
Christian Science Monitor: If this result holds in January, won’t this more closely align Iraq with Iran? Is this major bad news for the Bush Administration? Thoughts? --- ## [Why shouldn't women have to register for the draft?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-women-have-to-register-for-the-draft/336274)
**Author:** [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [December 28, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-shouldnt-women-have-to-register-for-the-draft/336274 "2005-12-28T01:43:41Z")
Hot off the tails of this thread… Is there any good reason why women still don’t have to register for the draft when they turn 18? I can’t think of a single one. While there are still (I believe) some positions in the… --- ## [Michigan Court: Kids can't visit dad while his GF living with him. Huh?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michigan-court-kids-cant-visit-dad-while-his-gf-living-with-him-huh/336731)
**Author:** [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michigan-court-kids-cant-visit-dad-while-his-gf-living-with-him-huh/336731 "2005-12-27T20:58:01Z")
Here is a story about the case. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court decision, in turn affirming a referee’s recommendation that the father not be permitted to have visitors of the opposite sex (he has a… --- ## [In the American "culture war," which side has time on its side?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-american-culture-war-which-side-has-time-on-its-side/336691)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [December 27, 2005, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-american-culture-war-which-side-has-time-on-its-side/336691 "2005-12-27T09:34:00Z")
I posed this question in this thread – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=342403 – but nobody really tackled it. William Strauss and Neil Howe have formulated a theory in which generations go in predic… --- ## [New Year's Resolution on Behalf of Politicians, the Media, Etc.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-years-resolution-on-behalf-of-politicians-the-media-etc/337285)
**Author:** [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-years-resolution-on-behalf-of-politicians-the-media-etc/337285 "2005-12-26T23:16:11Z")
George Dubya Bush I will keep my foot out of my mmmmfgggh. Dick Cheney I will get laid and not think about torture so much. Democratic Congressmen We will continue to nurture and grow those spines that started gr… --- ## [NY transit: Sans strike, whence union leverage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-transit-sans-strike-whence-union-leverage/337034)
**Author:** [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-transit-sans-strike-whence-union-leverage/337034 "2005-12-26T22:54:26Z")
So, it is illegal for those NY transit workers to strike. I’m curious, then, about the source of leverage in negotiations: “If we don’t get a contract we like, we’ll make funny faces!” What’s the SD? Thanks! --- ## [Are needle exchange programs really such a great idea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-needle-exchange-programs-really-such-a-great-idea/337249)
**Author:** [@Stentor\_2.5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stentor_2.5)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-needle-exchange-programs-really-such-a-great-idea/337249 "2005-12-26T20:47:56Z")
About two months ago I was walking through Paris and I saw a needle exchange vending machine. Put in a needle, get a new one. When I was in Amsterdam our tour guide pointed out the clinic that dispenses new needles. S… --- ## [Have the feared abuses of the USA PATRIOT Act happened (yet)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-feared-abuses-of-the-usa-patriot-act-happened-yet/335981)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [December 26, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-feared-abuses-of-the-usa-patriot-act-happened-yet/335981 "2005-12-26T16:17:18Z")
I had a thread on this a while ago – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251368&page=1&pp=50 – but, based on this current thread – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=349930 – this is on… --- ## [Intelligent Design banned...right or wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intelligent-design-banned-right-or-wrong/336508)
**Author:** [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)\ **Replies:** 151\ **Last updated:** [December 25, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intelligent-design-banned-right-or-wrong/336508 "2005-12-25T22:29:00Z")
A federal judge banned a Pennsylvania public school from teaching Intelligent Design as a desguised name for creationism…stating that this was NOT separation of church and state. I happen to agree with his decision in t… --- ## [Did the Framers intend the president to have "extralegal but constitutional" powers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-framers-intend-the-president-to-have-extralegal-but-constitutional-powers/336695)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [December 25, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-framers-intend-the-president-to-have-extralegal-but-constitutional-powers/336695 "2005-12-25T17:44:48Z")
From an editorial on the current domestic-surveillance controversty, by William Kristol and Gary Schmitt, in The Weekly Standard, 12/20/05 – http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/511bsnxq.asp: … --- ## [No woman president, religious reasons?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-woman-president-religious-reasons/334872)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [December 25, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-woman-president-religious-reasons/334872 "2005-12-25T13:55:57Z")
One thing that stands out when you look at the US is the level of religiousness compared with most other 1st world countries. Something that also stands out is the dearth of women in positions of power. It’s changing, … --- ## [How would matter-replication technology affect society?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-matter-replication-technology-affect-society/337100)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [December 25, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-matter-replication-technology-affect-society/337100 "2005-12-25T02:01:27Z")
Inspired by this thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=350806 In Damon Knight’s 1959 novel A For Anything – http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892884011/qid=1135450790/sr=1-3/ref=sr\_1\_3/104-9291609… --- ## [What if Chile's President Allende had not been overthrown in 1973?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-chiles-president-allende-had-not-been-overthrown-in-1973/336219)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [December 25, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-chiles-president-allende-had-not-been-overthrown-in-1973/336219 "2005-12-25T00:25:35Z")
This thread – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=349921 – on the impending election of a socialist (and coca-farming activist), Evo Morales, as president of Bolivia, got me to thinking: In 1970, Salvad… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=823) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=825)