# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=837 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 838 --- ## [GWB is an inarticulate goober .....](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwb-is-an-inarticulate-goober/330659)
**Author:** [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [November 12, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gwb-is-an-inarticulate-goober/330659 "2005-11-12T04:18:48Z")
… who doesn’t play political hardball very well. How else do you explain taking so long to give today’s speech? For debate: If the next president is a conservative Republican with the charisma and political scruples o… --- ## [Marilyn Monroe – Suicide or Cover-up?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-suicide-or-cover-up/330362)
**Author:** [@mooser745](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooser745)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marilyn-monroe-suicide-or-cover-up/330362 "2005-11-11T23:47:44Z")
Hello. If you could give me your brief opinion, it would be much appreciated. I’m writing a paper for my Philosophy class at UVM with the focus being Marilyn Monroe’s death…which is listed as a “suicide” but many believe… --- ## [Public healthcare and public education--differences and similarities](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-healthcare-and-public-education-differences-and-similarities/330581)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-healthcare-and-public-education-differences-and-similarities/330581 "2005-11-11T23:01:50Z")
I was discussing the future of healthcare in the US with a staunch conservative. She suggested that the state of public education in the US was evidence that in the US, specifically, getting the government involved in a… --- ## [Why believe in ONE god ?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-believe-in-one-god/329933)
**Author:** [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-believe-in-one-god/329933 "2005-11-11T18:34:23Z")
Hi! :slight\_smile: Why believe in one god when there are so many to choose from ? See this site: http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/gods.htm The trend in the last 2000 years is monotheism. But will it go on foreve… --- ## [Should churches be tax-exempt?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-churches-be-tax-exempt/330253)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 140\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-churches-be-tax-exempt/330253 "2005-11-11T18:20:47Z")
Inspired by this thread, about a church threatened by the IRS with losing its tax-exempt status for an anti-war sermon on the eve of the 2004 election: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=343725 Why do … --- ## [Why is the U.S. building 14 "enduring bases" in Iraq?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-u-s-building-14-enduring-bases-in-iraq/330295)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-u-s-building-14-enduring-bases-in-iraq/330295 "2005-11-11T17:31:30Z")
From the Chicago Tribune, 3/23/04 – http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2004/040323-enduring-bases.htm: This is news that broke last year, but, since I’ve found no source stating that construction plans have been al… --- ## [No headscarves for Turks?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-headscarves-for-turks/330406)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-headscarves-for-turks/330406 "2005-11-11T16:47:11Z")
Turkey is banning headscarves in Universities and offical buildings. Is this what secularism means? Banning personal expressions of faith in public places? Not my understanding. Or are Turkish officials misunderstandin… --- ## [Is there any real moral difference between killing & eating a pig & a dolphin?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-moral-difference-between-killing-eating-a-pig-a-dolphin/329976)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-moral-difference-between-killing-eating-a-pig-a-dolphin/329976 "2005-11-11T16:21:36Z")
Dolphins (the mammal not the fish) and pigs are both relatively intelligent animals. We eat pigs with gusto, and yet tend to be deferential to the dolphin in or moral calculus about what is, and is not, appropriate to ea… --- ## [Fired CBS News Producer Unrepentant (60 Minutes Memo Scandal Aftermath)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fired-cbs-news-producer-unrepentant-60-minutes-memo-scandal-aftermath/330288)
**Author:** [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fired-cbs-news-producer-unrepentant-60-minutes-memo-scandal-aftermath/330288 "2005-11-11T15:59:19Z")
In her first post-fiasco interview, Mary Mapes offers the following rationale for sticking to her guns: Inside the head of one former news producer, ignorance has won the war. --- ## [GAO report upholds Ohio vote fraud claims](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gao-report-upholds-ohio-vote-fraud-claims/329457)
**Author:** [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Replies:** 208\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gao-report-upholds-ohio-vote-fraud-claims/329457 "2005-11-11T15:50:43Z")
From The Rock River Times: --- ## [IRS Threatens Church for Anti-War Sermon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-threatens-church-for-anti-war-sermon/330032)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 202\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-threatens-church-for-anti-war-sermon/330032 "2005-11-11T14:29:02Z")
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/anti\_war\_sermon Churchs have been preaching against war for hundreds if not thousands of years. It is part and parcel of the message of Christ. How can the government demand that a church m… --- ## [Mexico annexation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-annexation/330384)
**Author:** [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexico-annexation/330384 "2005-11-11T04:54:24Z")
If Mexico passed a referendum that stated they would like to be annexed by the USA, would you be for or against the annexation? Please explain your position. --- ## [Clash of the Titmen: Insurance companies vs. Auto Body Shops](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clash-of-the-titmen-insurance-companies-vs-auto-body-shops/330394)
**Author:** [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 11, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clash-of-the-titmen-insurance-companies-vs-auto-body-shops/330394 "2005-11-11T03:59:21Z")
Too big of a hijack for here and possibly an interesting (to certain ‘ant-eater-tamers’ such as myself) exposition in its own right. ASSERTION: “Insurance companies have deals w/ autobody shops. They pay less when the … --- ## [Woman's Right to Choose - What? When?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womans-right-to-choose-what-when/328753)
**Author:** [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Replies:** 121\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womans-right-to-choose-what-when/328753 "2005-11-10T17:07:45Z")
Just what did Roe v. Wade establish and what would “overturning” it result in? Is the pro-choice side really concerned about going back to the days of back-alley abortions? I am pro-abortion but believe that some restr… --- ## [Future of the US (and global) economy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-of-the-us-and-global-economy/330315)
**Author:** [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-of-the-us-and-global-economy/330315 "2005-11-10T16:55:43Z")
The US Comptroller General says that I’ve read only a modest amount of material on this topic, and that too with a layman’s understanding. What are the realistic consequences, taking realpolitik into account, if the US… --- ## [Assassination: Acceptable Operation, or Dishonorable Warfare?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assassination-acceptable-operation-or-dishonorable-warfare/330244)
**Author:** [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assassination-acceptable-operation-or-dishonorable-warfare/330244 "2005-11-10T15:53:34Z")
Should we support assassination of military “targets”? I’m not talking killing for political reasons here (although if you want to make an argument that accepting assassination would lead to this on a “slippery slope”, g… --- ## [Religious Dopers: What tenets of your religion do you not follow, and why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-dopers-what-tenets-of-your-religion-do-you-not-follow-and-why/329954)
**Author:** [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-dopers-what-tenets-of-your-religion-do-you-not-follow-and-why/329954 "2005-11-10T10:08:03Z")
Are you Catholic and have sex before marriage? Are you Jewish and have tattoos? Muslim and eat bacon? Hindi and eat beef? What rules of your faith do you choose to not follow, and how do you justify not following the… --- ## [Do you agree with Bush that the whole world is either for him or against him?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-agree-with-bush-that-the-whole-world-is-either-for-him-or-against-him/330260)
**Author:** [@pocelene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pocelene)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-agree-with-bush-that-the-whole-world-is-either-for-him-or-against-him/330260 "2005-11-10T07:25:09Z")
Personally, I wish it were true, because he seems to be on the shy side of that equation, but in reality I think very few people ever line up 100% with any politician ever. --- ## [Did we peak in the 1960s?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-peak-in-the-1960s/329786)
**Author:** [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-peak-in-the-1960s/329786 "2005-11-10T05:15:08Z")
Certainly, there have been advances since then: socially, medically, technologically, artistically, etc. Notwithstanding these achievements, did we peak in the 1960s? Do we still exhibit a similar joi d’vivre, human sp… --- ## [So If The USA Became A Non-Secular State](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-the-usa-became-a-non-secular-state/330014)
**Author:** [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-the-usa-became-a-non-secular-state/330014 "2005-11-10T05:00:22Z")
How long would it be before the country imploded? Given that it seems that any time you have a country with several different religious groups running about, and one of them takes charge and begins changing laws to matc… --- ## [Safe cigarettes - why the big fuss?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-cigarettes-why-the-big-fuss/329790)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [November 10, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/safe-cigarettes-why-the-big-fuss/329790 "2005-11-10T00:17:08Z")
From the UK Times "BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) is to launch a controversial “safer cigarette” designed to cut the risk of smoking-related diseases such as cancer and heart failure by up to 90%. The cigarettes use to… --- ## [Terrorist Attack and the Shattered Executive](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorist-attack-and-the-shattered-executive/330299)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorist-attack-and-the-shattered-executive/330299 "2005-11-09T23:48:50Z")
What would happen if there were a major terrorist offensive in the next few months now that the Executive is broken. It seems like Bush is going nuts, and Cheney has almost no support, so who would step up to the plate … --- ## [Liberal Guilt and the damage of PC doublespeak](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-guilt-and-the-damage-of-pc-doublespeak/329961)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-guilt-and-the-damage-of-pc-doublespeak/329961 "2005-11-09T23:15:46Z")
I believe the doublespeak we refer to as “Political Correctness” is one of the most damaging aspects of our society. It has to do with etiquette. Historically etiquette has been used to seperate the upper classes from … --- ## [The Drug War and Foreign Policy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-and-foreign-policy/330085)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-and-foreign-policy/330085 "2005-11-09T22:47:20Z")
I’ve been looking at Afghanistan and hearing about how they want to end the Opium trade. And while I don’t believe this to be true, I don’t think drug policy is about ending the drug trade, more about controlling it, bu… --- ## [What I'd like to see the Dems do in 2006 campaign](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-id-like-to-see-the-dems-do-in-2006-campaign/329916)
**Author:** [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-id-like-to-see-the-dems-do-in-2006-campaign/329916 "2005-11-09T21:22:45Z")
I’d like to see a series of “straight talk” ads from average citizens and unexpected celebrities. I’m thinking along the lines of the Charles Schwab ads, but maybe without the drastic photoshop filter applied. The them… --- ## [Is Assassination for Political Reasons Effective?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-assassination-for-political-reasons-effective/330277)
**Author:** [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-assassination-for-political-reasons-effective/330277 "2005-11-09T21:04:23Z")
This thread on assassination as a just military option got me to thinking about political assassinations. In many of the cases I can think of–when it’s not just an act of insanity (e.g. James Garfield) but rather an att… --- ## [Are these leaks equally bad?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-leaks-equally-bad/330188)
**Author:** [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-leaks-equally-bad/330188 "2005-11-09T21:01:09Z")
No doubt the Dopers have been keeping up with the news story concerning the US government’s secret prisons in Eastern Europe, where terrorist suspects and other persons of interests are allegedly being interrogated. But… --- ## [Shoreline Retreat Commision ("SHREC")](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoreline-retreat-commision-shrec/330233)
**Author:** [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoreline-retreat-commision-shrec/330233 "2005-11-09T20:14:36Z")
On National Public Radio (I get it on satellite) the other day was an interview with a geologist who proposed a Federal Shoreline Retreat Commission based on the Base Closure and Realignment Commission. The idea is that… --- ## [What are they trying to accomplish? (Overzealous copy protection)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-overzealous-copy-protection/330185)
**Author:** [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-they-trying-to-accomplish-overzealous-copy-protection/330185 "2005-11-09T20:09:52Z")
(If there is already a thread on this, I apologize, but I did a search and found nothing outside of the Pit) The linked articles are concerning Sony’s two latest attempts to “protect” content on their CDs and DVDs. Th… --- ## [Is the FTAA dead?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-ftaa-dead/330011)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 9, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-ftaa-dead/330011 "2005-11-09T19:50:20Z")
The Fourth Summit of the Americas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar\_del\_Plata\_Summit\_of\_the\_Americas) in Mar del Plata, Argentina, just concluded. Talks on establishing a Free Trade Area of the Americas (http://en.wikip… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=836) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=838)