# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=851 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 852 --- ## [White House Ambitions -- Rep Tom Tancredo (R-CO)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-ambitions-rep-tom-tancredo-r-co/322275)
**Author:** [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-ambitions-rep-tom-tancredo-r-co/322275 "2005-09-20T19:35:56Z")
As many of you may recognize, absent a drastic Constitutional change, George W. Bush is not going to be our President come January 2009. The want-to-be candidates to replace him are starting to line up at the fair groun… --- ## [Is Jeffrey F. Bell a realist or a pessimist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeffrey-f-bell-a-realist-or-a-pessimist/320979)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jeffrey-f-bell-a-realist-or-a-pessimist/320979 "2005-09-20T17:49:04Z")
Jeffrey F. Bell is a commentator and critic who’s articles are periodically featured in the Space Daily online site. His writings largely consist of rebutting the “true believers” and “space cadets” who insist that only … --- ## [I, Robot, And I Vote](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-and-i-vote/321659)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-and-i-vote/321659 "2005-09-20T17:44:40Z")
Could a human-like artificial intelligence ever be a “person” for purposes of protection under the Fourteenth Amendment? If the idea of an AI suing for civil rights is too science-fictiony for you… can Koko the Gorilla,… --- ## [A "peace candidate" cannot be elected POTUS in 2008](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-peace-candidate-cannot-be-elected-potus-in-2008/322021)
**Author:** [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-peace-candidate-cannot-be-elected-potus-in-2008/322021 "2005-09-20T17:12:34Z")
Anyone who remembers George McGovern, please raise your hands. ::Spiff scans Doperspace:: Hey, you’re all older than dirt! But seriously, Mc Govern was the “peace candidate” in ’72, and he got clobbered by Nixon even … --- ## [How do religious Jews explain the Holocaust?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-religious-jews-explain-the-holocaust/322015)
**Author:** [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-religious-jews-explain-the-holocaust/322015 "2005-09-20T14:49:26Z")
Based on this statement by DocCathode: “the Lord who brought us forth from Egypt”, in this thread, it got me thinking: Do religious Jews think God actively tries to help them out in day-to-day life? If so, then how do … --- ## [Poetry And American Decline.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-and-american-decline/322404)
**Author:** [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-and-american-decline/322404 "2005-09-20T14:16:05Z")
From “Horatius”: Over many years, I have read the opinion expressed that there is truth in poetry. Do the above stanzas reflect, reasonably, the decline of American Civil Society? I am aware that they were not origina… --- ## [Why you need to own a gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-you-need-to-own-a-gun/321405)
**Author:** [@Atlantlis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atlantlis)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-you-need-to-own-a-gun/321405 "2005-09-20T13:03:32Z")
Hi, I’ve not posted here before, but I’m impressed with the level of debate on the forum, so here goes: I’m an Australian who has never owned a gun. We have much stricter gun control laws than the US. I was reading t… --- ## [What is our beef with Cuba?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-our-beef-with-cuba/320298)
**Author:** [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-our-beef-with-cuba/320298 "2005-09-20T10:35:26Z")
The cold war is long over. We won. Democracy 7, Communism 0. Cuba has a different political system. So What? Why do we still have a trade embargo? What has Castro done to threaten the US in the last 30 years? He has … --- ## [Right to Die?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-die/322353)
**Author:** [@blackraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blackraven)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/right-to-die/322353 "2005-09-20T07:34:33Z")
Do you agree with the following statement. It is illogical, unreasonable and unacceptable to prolong the life of another against their will if they are suffering in order to satisfy anothers moral and or relgious belief… --- ## [At the outset, which World War did Germany et al. have a better chance of winning?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-outset-which-world-war-did-germany-et-al-have-a-better-chance-of-winning/321125)
**Author:** [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [September 20, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-outset-which-world-war-did-germany-et-al-have-a-better-chance-of-winning/321125 "2005-09-20T00:02:52Z")
The question is straightforward. Did Germany and her allies have more chance of defeating (or winning a favourable treaty from) the Allied Powers of the First or Second World Wars? --- ## [More tax cuts and less spending?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tax-cuts-and-less-spending/322220)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-tax-cuts-and-less-spending/322220 "2005-09-19T23:26:59Z")
President Bush announced that he will not raise taxes, and that tax cuts are necessary to stimulate the economy. He says that the government can reduce spending. But Tom DeLay has said that there’s no more fat to cut. … --- ## [What are conditions like in Cuba nowadays?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conditions-like-in-cuba-nowadays/320287)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-conditions-like-in-cuba-nowadays/320287 "2005-09-19T23:09:53Z")
As discussed in this thread – http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333511 – Fidel Castro has offered to send 1,500 doctors and 26 tons of supplies and equipment to help Hurricane Katrina victims. http://… --- ## [Global warming unstoppable? What SHOULD our climate be like?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-unstoppable-what-should-our-climate-be-like/322050)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-warming-unstoppable-what-should-our-climate-be-like/322050 "2005-09-19T22:44:12Z")
This Slashdot article links to a UK newspaper story containing quotes that claim that global warming is now “past the point of no return.” That brings up two questions in my mind. First, what do you think about the quo… --- ## [Ask the neoliberal thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-neoliberal-thread/321912)
**Author:** [@David\_God\_of\_Frogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_God_of_Frogs)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-neoliberal-thread/321912 "2005-09-19T03:50:44Z")
After a long period of wandering, I think I’ve arrived at a political philosophy that fully suits me. Neoliberalism is basically a belief in free markets, but for economic and political reasons, not moral ones or as end… --- ## [What would the world of artistic endeavor be like without money?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-world-of-artistic-endeavor-be-like-without-money/321880)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-world-of-artistic-endeavor-be-like-without-money/321880 "2005-09-18T18:56:26Z")
Here’s something that’s debated about all the time in debates about intellectual property. IP is a debate in of itself, but I wanted to focus on this particular aspect. What would the artistic scene (include theatre, w… --- ## [What will be the main issues in the 2006 Congressional election?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-main-issues-in-the-2006-congressional-election/321827)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-main-issues-in-the-2006-congressional-election/321827 "2005-09-18T15:28:58Z")
Inspired by this thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=334953 The next presidential election is still three years away. But it’s just a little over a year to the next Congressional election. Ove… --- ## [Less welfare= Less poor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-welfare-less-poor/320771)
**Author:** [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-welfare-less-poor/320771 "2005-09-18T14:29:41Z")
Interesting discussion by Larry Elder, nationally known talk radio host that welfare actually encourages the poor to stay poor. He even quoted FDR who stated that chronic welfare inhibits desire, ambition and encourages… --- ## [Re the NO mess why are there no urban militas? Most seem to be quasi-rural](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-the-no-mess-why-are-there-no-urban-militas-most-seem-to-be-quasi-rural/322120)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-the-no-mess-why-are-there-no-urban-militas-most-seem-to-be-quasi-rural/322120 "2005-09-18T03:28:10Z")
Re the breakdown of the NO social order after Katrina, with even police becoming somewhat feral or abadoning their posts, it seems (in hindsight) that cities might be a place where they could be most useful. Are city fo… --- ## [Lawyer with Texas SOS fired for talking about Karl Rove](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-with-texas-sos-fired-for-talking-about-karl-rove/321127)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyer-with-texas-sos-fired-for-talking-about-karl-rove/321127 "2005-09-18T02:51:31Z")
From the Washington Post, 9/1/05 – http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/10/AR2005091000768.html: Issues for debate: Was this firing justified? Why did it happen? Would it have happened if… --- ## [Katrina: Why did the levies fail?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina-why-did-the-levies-fail/321367)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina-why-did-the-levies-fail/321367 "2005-09-18T02:41:13Z")
I was watching a show on History Channel tonight called Katrina: An American Catastrophe and they were going over a lot of the reasons about what happened when Katrina came in and the levies failed. I was amazed that t… --- ## [Alternative Energy is Issue #1 for 2008](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-energy-is-issue-1-for-2008/321625)
**Author:** [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-energy-is-issue-1-for-2008/321625 "2005-09-18T01:23:55Z")
I am an independant thinker, trending Conservative. I liked Clinton, and never really bought into the bashing he took for his sexual escapades. I do not like his wife. I voted for Bush and supported the war, but now a… --- ## [Ontario to disallow religious arbitration](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-to-disallow-religious-arbitration/321262)
**Author:** [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ontario-to-disallow-religious-arbitration/321262 "2005-09-17T16:30:54Z")
From this article. Obstensibly, the move came as Muslims wanted to have religious councils to uphold Sharia (Islamic law) in arbitration cases. Until now, Jews, aborigionals, Catholics, Mennonites and other religious … --- ## [How hard is it for the U.S. to descend into total anarchy and chaos?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-it-for-the-u-s-to-descend-into-total-anarchy-and-chaos/322016)
**Author:** [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-it-for-the-u-s-to-descend-into-total-anarchy-and-chaos/322016 "2005-09-17T16:07:26Z")
Following what happened in New Orleans after Katrina, which, according to reports, fell into chaos and anarchy for a couple of days (roving gangs of armed thugs, rapes, murder, etc) before the National Guard came in to r… --- ## [Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-of-life-the-universe-and-everything/321458)
**Author:** [@EarthStone777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EarthStone777)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-of-life-the-universe-and-everything/321458 "2005-09-17T12:59:18Z")
\[post=6576859\]In this thread\[/post\] the question was asked ‘what would you do with three wishes’ and my reply was… So here I am to ask Dopers to debate\* what the actual question should be. What is one question, that i… --- ## [Refugees a bad word?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/refugees-a-bad-word/320400)
**Author:** [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/refugees-a-bad-word/320400 "2005-09-17T05:25:39Z")
From a new story, here: What’s wrong with the word “refugees” to describe people who are forced to take refuge from Katrina? --- ## [New weird rumor- N.O. Jews got out sooner than most.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-weird-rumor-n-o-jews-got-out-sooner-than-most/320087)
**Author:** [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Replies:** 44\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-weird-rumor-n-o-jews-got-out-sooner-than-most/320087 "2005-09-17T02:32:57Z")
A friend in the NW told me that a businesslady told her that a Jewish man in the New Orleans area had a revelation of how bad Katrina would be, and alerted his fellows to evacuate before it hit the fan. My friend turned… --- ## [The Greatest Debate Never Debated... (Was Jesus an admirable moral teacher?)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-debate-never-debated-was-jesus-an-admirable-moral-teacher/321085)
**Author:** [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Replies:** 70\ **Last updated:** [September 17, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-debate-never-debated-was-jesus-an-admirable-moral-teacher/321085 "2005-09-17T00:04:44Z")
anyone here want to go on record as not liking/admiring Jesus? I can only recall former Doper badchad openly disdaining JC, mainly for teaching damnation for those who opposed him. Yeah, his one-note playing was annoyin… --- ## [Katrina victims to receive $2K debit cards... how's that going to work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina-victims-to-receive-2k-debit-cards-hows-that-going-to-work/320538)
**Author:** [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katrina-victims-to-receive-2k-debit-cards-hows-that-going-to-work/320538 "2005-09-16T21:43:30Z")
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/07/D8CFH5F00.html What about people in smaller shelters? And private residences? How do they avoid fakes? I’m not intending to criticize, I’m just trying to imagine how they’ll pu… --- ## [How does "Intelligent Design" account for ...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-intelligent-design-account-for/319986)
**Author:** [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Replies:** 147\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-intelligent-design-account-for/319986 "2005-09-16T21:41:51Z")
How does “Intelligent Design” account for the (rapid) development of resistance to certain antibiotics by bacteria? Oversimplifying, I think it would be pretty easy to take a culture of, say, Strept. faecalis and add a … --- ## [A second American revolution would only have to fight the National Guard?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-second-american-revolution-would-only-have-to-fight-the-national-guard/321569)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-second-american-revolution-would-only-have-to-fight-the-national-guard/321569 "2005-09-16T21:39:02Z")
My friend and I were talking a few days ago about what it would be like if there were a second American Revolution. Basically, if armed militias tried to overthrow the government, how much of a chance would they stand? W… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=850) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=852)