# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=844 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 845 --- ## [Another China/Space question to ponder](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-china-space-question-to-ponder/326907)
**Author:** [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-china-space-question-to-ponder/326907 "2005-10-23T19:33:24Z")
China uses a modified Soviet capsule for their space program. So I suppose that they could dock with the international space station. Suppose China sent some guys up and they forcefully took over the ISS? What could w… --- ## [The Democrats' Contract with America](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-contract-with-america/326058)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 310\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-contract-with-america/326058 "2005-10-23T19:09:28Z")
For the first time, I’m seeing important folks explicitly agree with what I’ve been saying for years. According to The New York Times: So the question is: what should such a campaign consist of? I think it’s got to … --- ## [According to intelligent designer believers...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-intelligent-designer-believers/327231)
**Author:** [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-intelligent-designer-believers/327231 "2005-10-23T18:28:31Z")
According to intelligent designer believers… why do men have nipples? That is, why do they believe that a god that seems so opposed to sex for fun would stick two utterly useless nubs on a guy’s chest? And while we’re … --- ## [Libertarian position clarifications](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libertarian-position-clarifications/327114)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libertarian-position-clarifications/327114 "2005-10-23T16:15:08Z")
Whilst looking for something else, I fond these two bits on a Libertarian Party page and wondered about the libertarian stance once again. First: So are they pleased with this or not? Should roads, bridges, and other p… --- ## [Assassinations in the Bush Administration](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assassinations-in-the-bush-administration/327169)
**Author:** [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assassinations-in-the-bush-administration/327169 "2005-10-23T14:46:28Z")
Do you think it’s possible with indictments going around that the Bush administration could start acting like a crime family that’s turning on one another? They’ve kind of been acting like mafiosos this whole time, woul… --- ## [Flu shots](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/326953)
**Author:** [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flu-shots/326953 "2005-10-23T08:24:10Z")
My apologies if this topic has recently come up. I couldn’t find anything on search & I haven’t been lurking much in the past couple weeks. I’ve had the flu exactly once in my life, and I happened to get it in one of t… --- ## [Survival of the fittest religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survival-of-the-fittest-religion/324462)
**Author:** [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Replies:** 147\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survival-of-the-fittest-religion/324462 "2005-10-23T04:29:46Z")
Take a bunch of people. In most situations, they will form a society for mutual benefit. The society will need to trust and depend on each other. Trusting another often requires someone to take the word of another, wi… --- ## [Miller: A con artist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miller-a-con-artist/324216)
**Author:** [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miller-a-con-artist/324216 "2005-10-23T03:31:06Z")
So, to no one’s real surprise, Judith Miller was unwilling to disclose the identity of Scooter Libby as the source for a story she never wrote. She spent three months in the clink, but in retrospect, it’s not at all cle… --- ## [is it time for a New Political Movement in this Country?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-a-new-political-movement-in-this-country/326068)
**Author:** [@DrLoveGun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLoveGun)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 23, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-a-new-political-movement-in-this-country/326068 "2005-10-23T02:24:20Z")
I think it is time for a new political movement in this country. Too long have we languished under one form of the current leadership or another. It is time for a change in this country. Here is my evidence. “The tre… --- ## [Is there a genuine Miers-Bush scandal afoot?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-genuine-miers-bush-scandal-afoot/327445)
**Author:** [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-genuine-miers-bush-scandal-afoot/327445 "2005-10-22T23:02:28Z")
If Miers’ name is quickly withdrawn from the Supreme Court nomination, it might just be to prevent the following story to come before the Senate Judiciary Committee. For clarity’s sake, I’ve bolded my comments Miers pan… --- ## [Delay lawyers subpoena Earle](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-lawyers-subpoena-earle/325822)
**Author:** [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/delay-lawyers-subpoena-earle/325822 "2005-10-22T22:25:35Z")
More of a GQ than GD, but I thought it might lead to GD territory. From here: OK, I thought subpoenas were issued by judges, not lawyers? Or can I (through my lawyer) subpoena someone if the mood moves me? And just wh… --- ## [Darwin vs Religion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darwin-vs-religion/327404)
**Author:** [@Habanero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habanero)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darwin-vs-religion/327404 "2005-10-22T19:37:06Z")
My professor recently started on the subject of Darwin. He informed us that a lot of people get up and walk out of the room when he brings up the subject of evolution. I don’t understand what all of the controversy is ab… --- ## [The Bankruptcy lines. The Revenge of the Capitalists?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bankruptcy-lines-the-revenge-of-the-capitalists/326343)
**Author:** [@Wake\_up\_call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wake_up_call)\ **Replies:** 115\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bankruptcy-lines-the-revenge-of-the-capitalists/326343 "2005-10-22T15:45:42Z")
This thread is addressed for comments by the Ayn Rand worshipers – the Capitalists. In light of the desperate movement by thousands of Americans this weekend, do you feel better to read this article? Is this your idea … --- ## [Kansas Supreme Court: Homos not subject to harsher punishment, afterall.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-supreme-court-homos-not-subject-to-harsher-punishment-afterall/327338)
**Author:** [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kansas-supreme-court-homos-not-subject-to-harsher-punishment-afterall/327338 "2005-10-22T14:57:28Z")
Kansas high court rejects harsher treatment of gay sex. Matthew Limon has been in prison since 2000, on a 17 year sentence, for giving head to a fellow juvenile at the group home where they lived. If he had done a simi… --- ## [Let's use up all the world's oil ASAP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-use-up-all-the-worlds-oil-asap/325831)
**Author:** [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-use-up-all-the-worlds-oil-asap/325831 "2005-10-22T13:21:18Z")
Because the sooner we use it up, the sooner we’ll be forced to develop alternative energy. Tell me why I’m wrong. --- ## [Spain issues arrest warrant for 3 US soldiers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spain-issues-arrest-warrant-for-3-us-soldiers/327028)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spain-issues-arrest-warrant-for-3-us-soldiers/327028 "2005-10-22T06:10:53Z")
Spanish judge issues arrest warrants for 3 U.S. soldiers Um…thoughts? -XT --- ## [1. Canadian nukes? 2. US reaction?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-canadian-nukes-2-us-reaction/326355)
**Author:** [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Replies:** 96\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-canadian-nukes-2-us-reaction/326355 "2005-10-22T00:12:19Z")
1. Canadian nukes? 2. US reaction? This is a two part question. First, should Canada arm itself with nuclear weapons? Canada is an exceptionally oil rich nation. The USA needs oil, which presently makes for good tr… --- ## [When does a state have authority to prosecute crimes committed elsewhere?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-a-state-have-authority-to-prosecute-crimes-committed-elsewhere/327312)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-a-state-have-authority-to-prosecute-crimes-committed-elsewhere/327312 "2005-10-21T20:50:16Z")
Inspired by this thread on a Spanish judge’s recent warrant to arrest three U.S. soldiers accused of killing a Spanish journalist in Baghdad: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=340572&page=1&pp=50 The … --- ## [Pro-Lifers: Are they hypocrites?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-lifers-are-they-hypocrites/326400)
**Author:** [@Cryptoderk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoderk)\ **Replies:** 288\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-lifers-are-they-hypocrites/326400 "2005-10-21T18:41:17Z")
I was just thinking - Pro Lifers don’t go far enough. They claim to believe that a foetus is a human being. But they are trying (the vast majority of them) to stop abortion by peaceful means, while at the same time hundr… --- ## [Strange Bedfellows: Is the GOP splitting the sheets?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-bedfellows-is-the-gop-splitting-the-sheets/327098)
**Author:** [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-bedfellows-is-the-gop-splitting-the-sheets/327098 "2005-10-21T18:30:12Z")
The Republican Party since Reagan has held a strange mix of religious right-wing supporters, less-extreme social conservatives, economic conservatives, anti-tax nutjobs and law-and-order types. Pat Robertson and Jerry Fa… --- ## [One of Saddam henchman's defense lawyers kidnapped and killed. Why?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-saddam-henchmans-defense-lawyers-kidnapped-and-killed-why/327247)
**Author:** [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-of-saddam-henchmans-defense-lawyers-kidnapped-and-killed-why/327247 "2005-10-21T18:11:05Z")
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/21/iraq.main/index.html Who is behind the kidnapping and murder? What do they hope to accomplish by this? How secure is Baghdad, anyway? I am deeply puzzled and wonder if GDenizens… --- ## [CENSORSHIP... moi?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/censorship-moi/327095)
**Author:** [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/censorship-moi/327095 "2005-10-21T15:35:59Z")
COULD I (and my “staff”) BE ACCUSED OF CENSORSHIP? I was considering placing this in “General Questions” but I’d end up feeling pretty silly if it had to be moved to GD very soon anyway. So I’ll save the mods a step, m… --- ## [Scientific American: Selective Logging Fails to Sustain Rainforest](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientific-american-selective-logging-fails-to-sustain-rainforest/327261)
**Author:** [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientific-american-selective-logging-fails-to-sustain-rainforest/327261 "2005-10-21T15:20:10Z")
A new study using satellite imagery to analyze the rainforest shows that selective logging does much more damage than anyone expected. Scientific American: Selective Logging Fails to Sustain Rainforest So if this is t… --- ## [Sell me on rights for illegal immigrants](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rights-for-illegal-immigrants/325671)
**Author:** [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Replies:** 107\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-rights-for-illegal-immigrants/325671 "2005-10-21T05:35:30Z")
I heard in the news that California shot down drivers licenses (or some benefit) for illegal immigrants. Since they are here against the law, it makes sense. My question is how this issue came up at all? I’m assuming th… --- ## [Intel & Analysis on Iraq: Issues for the Intel Community](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intel-analysis-on-iraq-issues-for-the-intel-community/326474)
**Author:** [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intel-analysis-on-iraq-issues-for-the-intel-community/326474 "2005-10-21T05:19:04Z")
A Q&A w/ the recently publicly released Kerr Report: Intelligence and analysis on Iraq: Issues for the Intelligence Community (scanned image pdf)\* (c&p-able) text pdf)\*\* (html)\*\* Q: Why was the Iraq WMD intel not as g… --- ## [The illegality of importing prescription drugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-illegality-of-importing-prescription-drugs/326607)
**Author:** [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-illegality-of-importing-prescription-drugs/326607 "2005-10-21T02:57:52Z")
I was listening to the radio on the way home when they had a Consumer Reports minute where the guy talked about importing prescription drugs from Canada. To their credit they did pretty much everything but tell you how t… --- ## [Robert's Rules of Order and Parli Pro Questions (Yeah, it's long and it's boring)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roberts-rules-of-order-and-parli-pro-questions-yeah-its-long-and-its-boring/327057)
**Author:** [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roberts-rules-of-order-and-parli-pro-questions-yeah-its-long-and-its-boring/327057 "2005-10-20T16:58:43Z")
I have to run meetings with an assembly according to Robert’s rules and parliamentary procedure. For the most part I understand it (and have grown to hate it). However, there are a few things I am unsure of. This post… --- ## [My disgust with politics](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-disgust-with-politics/326520)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-disgust-with-politics/326520 "2005-10-20T13:48:58Z")
Putting my cards on the table, I feel that the conservative agenda is far favorable to the American people as a whole as the liberal agenda (people who know me on the board already know this). With this out of the way, … --- ## [Is coveting all that bad?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coveting-all-that-bad/326922)
**Author:** [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2005, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coveting-all-that-bad/326922 "2005-10-20T12:57:42Z")
The 10th commandment did express this as a sign of disobediance but is it all bad? Is wanting something bad if you are willing to work honestly? One of my parents does not think that it is the same thing as the biblical… --- ## [Sell me on why the US should engage in torture.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-why-the-us-should-engage-in-torture/325655)
**Author:** [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Replies:** 162\ **Last updated:** [October 20, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sell-me-on-why-the-us-should-engage-in-torture/325655 "2005-10-20T11:50:27Z")
Bob Herbert’s column reminded me how insane the executive branch’s apparent love of torture is. Herbert quoted an (IMO) apt Washington Post editorial: Let’s see the downsides: Torture is bad. We’re America. We should… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=843) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=845)