# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=832 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 833 --- ## [A Second Sentient Species on Earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-second-sentient-species-on-earth/332276)
**Author:** [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Replies:** 64\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-second-sentient-species-on-earth/332276 "2005-11-30T11:38:08Z")
So, dolphins are apperently smart. So are corvids. So are various monkeys; I’m pretty sure all the Great Apes are now up to tool-using standards. Presumeably (unless we manage to wipe them all out before then), they’ll e… --- ## [No debate about Tookie?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-debate-about-tookie/333351)
**Author:** [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2005, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-debate-about-tookie/333351 "2005-11-30T10:59:56Z")
So should the former member and (co)Founder of the notorious gang “The Crips” get clemency or not. Personally, I say no. I don’t think writting a few childrens books and speaking of the evils of gang life, gets you a fr… --- ## [Does it make sense to send kids to Sunday school if you aren't really religious?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-send-kids-to-sunday-school-if-you-arent-really-religious/332965)
**Author:** [@VegaBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegaBean)\ **Replies:** 94\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-send-kids-to-sunday-school-if-you-arent-really-religious/332965 "2005-11-30T05:22:39Z")
I have some friends who would never go to church themselves, and say “Whether there is a god or not, churches are just not connected to him, but agents of men.” Yet they send their kids to Sunday school for the “civiliz… --- ## [Cannibals prefer Chinese take-away?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibals-prefer-chinese-take-away/333052)
**Author:** [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibals-prefer-chinese-take-away/333052 "2005-11-30T01:52:52Z")
When European gold diggers in Australia went into the jungle they would take a chinaman to walk in the lead and another one at the end. That way, when the cannibals attacked they would snatch up the Chinese and leave the… --- ## [For white collar criminals, is it fair to condemn them to poverty?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-white-collar-criminals-is-it-fair-to-condemn-them-to-poverty/333282)
**Author:** [@mint\_my\_own](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mint_my_own)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 30, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-white-collar-criminals-is-it-fair-to-condemn-them-to-poverty/333282 "2005-11-30T00:50:16Z")
People like the Enron group come to mind, but I’m also talking about simple swindlers who latch onto an old person, take all their savings and disappear. Often I read where a person accused of swindling, say twenty peop… --- ## [Religious War in Iraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-war-in-iraq/333226)
**Author:** [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-war-in-iraq/333226 "2005-11-29T21:31:46Z")
It has long been my contention that the most dreadful prospect we face in Iraq would be the morphing of political conflict in Iraq to sectarian conflict, i.e., Sunni vs Shia. Recent events in Iraq certainly seem to unde… --- ## [How can NPR be liberal???](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-npr-be-liberal/332635)
**Author:** [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-npr-be-liberal/332635 "2005-11-29T17:03:24Z")
I heard somebody tell me "Oh you listen to NPR? Its so liberal its sickening. " I mean, I know that many reporters are considered liberal but most editors are considered conservative. If I listen to Fox News or alot … --- ## [Do you think Jesus would like the way Christianity has gone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jesus-would-like-the-way-christianity-has-gone/331021)
**Author:** [@polljoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polljoe)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-jesus-would-like-the-way-christianity-has-gone/331021 "2005-11-29T14:22:59Z")
Do you think he’d even subscribe to the current views on the devil, his own resurrection, and people wearing little crosses with him on their necks? I have a feeling that most church trappings and prayer services would … --- ## [13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 90\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471 "2005-11-29T11:45:23Z")
This study claims that these thirteen members of congress are the MOST corrupt. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA) Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) Rep… --- ## [Why can't any state secede if it wants to?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-any-state-secede-if-it-wants-to/332535)
**Author:** [@ombre3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre3)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-any-state-secede-if-it-wants-to/332535 "2005-11-29T03:56:55Z")
What in the Constitution prevents a state from seceding? I don’t see anything there. Why in hell didn’t the damned Yankees, while they were shoving amendments down throats (13th 14th and 15th) ever mandate an amendment… --- ## [The Cult Experience](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cult-experience/332848)
**Author:** [@who\_me\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/who_me_2)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cult-experience/332848 "2005-11-29T03:51:11Z")
Okay, inspired by events of this weekend, I want to open a debate on the perception of cults in America these days. I was raised in a polygamist cult/offshoot of the LDS church. Someone who’s read John Krakauer’s “Unde… --- ## [Schumer's Plumbers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schumers-plumbers/333147)
**Author:** [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schumers-plumbers/333147 "2005-11-29T02:24:31Z")
What’s the board’s take on this? --- ## [What would be elements of a successful new American "War on Poverty"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-elements-of-a-successful-new-american-war-on-poverty/331052)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [November 29, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-elements-of-a-successful-new-american-war-on-poverty/331052 "2005-11-29T01:35:46Z")
In the U.S. we seem to have a dynamic economy with low unemployment, compared to other industrialized nations – and yet, compared with them, we have a shamefully high level of poverty. From The United States of Europe: … --- ## [Sharon leaves Likud, founds new party -- what now?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-leaves-likud-founds-new-party-what-now/332594)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-leaves-likud-founds-new-party-what-now/332594 "2005-11-28T21:16:33Z")
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, frustrated with his Likud Party’s resistance to his plan for disengagement from the Occupied Territories, has left the conservative party he helped form in 1973 and founded a new, “ce… --- ## [Is gentrification possible without displacement?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gentrification-possible-without-displacement/332710)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-gentrification-possible-without-displacement/332710 "2005-11-28T20:11:31Z")
Gentrification. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification Is it good or bad? One the one hand, I’m sure we’re all glad to see ugly, blighted, crime-ridden inner-city decay replaced by shiny new condos and upscale re… --- ## [Do we need an Electoral College?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-an-electoral-college/331248)
**Author:** [@EnderWay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnderWay)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-an-electoral-college/331248 "2005-11-28T19:29:48Z")
I understand that when the founding fathers wrote the constitution there was a need. That all states get at least three electoral votes, even though on a straight population basis some might be entitled to only one or tw… --- ## [What is an "intellectual"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-intellectual/332463)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-intellectual/332463 "2005-11-28T18:25:27Z")
In a newspaper editorial on the life of Adlai Stevenson (arguing that Stevenson, despite his reputation, was not really much of an intellectual), I read what appeared to me the most succinct and satisfactory definition o… --- ## [Chemical Weapons found in Iraq....](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemical-weapons-found-in-iraq/331287)
**Author:** [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Replies:** 130\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chemical-weapons-found-in-iraq/331287 "2005-11-28T17:02:23Z")
…trouble is, they are in the possession of and being used by US Forces: White Phospherus shells were used as anti-personnel weapons. This could be in contravention of the rules on Chemical Weapons- the very rules we … --- ## [Trolling for investigative purposes: ethical?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolling-for-investigative-purposes-ethical/332513)
**Author:** [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolling-for-investigative-purposes-ethical/332513 "2005-11-28T14:28:19Z")
Maybe this is more of an IMHO. If the M-ds determine it is, feel free to move it. I had a brilliant idea the other day: as a bit of momentary distraction and a way to get laughs, I’d go trolling on a well-known board of… --- ## ["Christianity Reconsidered" - Searching for answers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-reconsidered-searching-for-answers/332383)
**Author:** [@Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenback)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christianity-reconsidered-searching-for-answers/332383 "2005-11-28T13:42:55Z")
The book Christianity Reconsidered has surfaced within my circle of acquaintances. I have no knowledge of this book and finding any information on it other than a sale’s pitch has been unsuccessful. To be certain, I wil… --- ## [Can the other states force a cranky state to secede?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-other-states-force-a-cranky-state-to-secede/332844)
**Author:** [@VegaBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegaBean)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-other-states-force-a-cranky-state-to-secede/332844 "2005-11-28T12:09:20Z")
I’m thinking of Hawaii. They have a small nationalist movement. At some point could Congress just tell them, “Fine. We’ll convert the navy bases to 99-year leases, like on Cuba, fence them off and you will have your isla… --- ## [I Gotta Split. Paradox?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-split-paradox/327391)
**Author:** [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Replies:** 278\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-gotta-split-paradox/327391 "2005-11-28T09:13:33Z")
Imagine yourself being duplicated as an adult. Perhaps you come into contact with an alien material that has the curious side effect of causing one last bout of complete mitosis, reminiscent of your good ol’ embryologica… --- ## [China, the next economic giant; America, the next has-been?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-the-next-economic-giant-america-the-next-has-been/332942)
**Author:** [@Strengths](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strengths)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-the-next-economic-giant-america-the-next-has-been/332942 "2005-11-28T05:12:46Z")
Call it my lazy undesired American pride or whatever, but I am quite concerned about allusions as to what I posted in the title. That America is going to become a lot less economically powerful while China is going to be… --- ## [Does Jose Padilla's indictment change his status as an enemy combatant?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-jose-padillas-indictment-change-his-status-as-an-enemy-combatant/332827)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-jose-padillas-indictment-change-his-status-as-an-enemy-combatant/332827 "2005-11-28T04:02:51Z")
It is my understanding that Padilla was classified as an enemy combatant because he was accused of plotting to detonate a dirty bomb, but his recent indictment does not address that charge. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps… --- ## [Is the patent system out of control?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-patent-system-out-of-control/332801)
**Author:** [@Intermatic\_Timer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intermatic_Timer)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-patent-system-out-of-control/332801 "2005-11-28T03:56:03Z")
Am I the only one who sees “intellectual property rights” being distorted from the premise of encouraging experimentors to simply a way for the rich to get richer? I mean specifically that patents are getting longer in … --- ## [We would be happy to operate... if you weren't such a fat ass!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-would-be-happy-to-operate-if-you-werent-such-a-fat-ass/332883)
**Author:** [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [November 28, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-would-be-happy-to-operate-if-you-werent-such-a-fat-ass/332883 "2005-11-28T03:25:16Z")
I think it’s ridiculous. Being obese might increase risk but it also increases the need for assistance. What next - no operations for people who smoke or drink or eat too much red meat because those activities also wi… --- ## [Is giving all citizens a flu shot an effective way to spend limited health dollars?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-giving-all-citizens-a-flu-shot-an-effective-way-to-spend-limited-health-dollars/332470)
**Author:** [@Queuing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queuing)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-giving-all-citizens-a-flu-shot-an-effective-way-to-spend-limited-health-dollars/332470 "2005-11-27T23:54:44Z")
Here in Ontario, and probably the rest of Canada, and I would assume other countries with subsidized health care systems everyone is able to get a free flu shot. Now I don’t have actual numbers, but I would imagine that… --- ## [American revoltionaries were terrorists!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-revoltionaries-were-terrorists/332192)
**Author:** [@jocularjason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jocularjason)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-revoltionaries-were-terrorists/332192 "2005-11-27T17:43:00Z")
I’ve heard that the American’s participating in the Revolutionary War often used tactics that were unconventinal at the time (such as surprise ambushes and lots of running away which lead there enemy to follow them for l… --- ## [Poem -- Surprise Ending!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poem-surprise-ending/331387)
**Author:** [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Replies:** 39\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poem-surprise-ending/331387 "2005-11-27T14:23:19Z")
I just couldn’t keep this to myself any longer. Here’s hoping this is the correct forum. In the poem Footsteps in the Sand by Mary Stevenson, the narrator, who is walking along the beach with the Lord and reviewing sce… --- ## [Is There a Double Standard WRT Sex w/ Minors?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-double-standard-wrt-sex-w-minors/332327)
**Author:** [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2005, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-double-standard-wrt-sex-w-minors/332327 "2005-11-27T09:55:08Z")
In this well publicized story a 25-year old teacher pleads guilty to two counts of “lewd and lascivious battery” and she gets house arrest and has to register as a sex offender. I can’t help think that if this was a 25-… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=831) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=833)