# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=858 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 859 --- ## [Debate the Fair Tax](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-the-fair-tax/317513)
**Author:** [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [August 26, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debate-the-fair-tax/317513 "2005-08-26T07:38:38Z")
John Linder (R-somewhere) and talk show host Neal Boortz are advocating a “fair tax” system. It is essentially a national sales tax on retail goods that replaces most if not all other taxes, with the interesting twist t… --- ## [Historical perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-perspectives-on-the-sermon-on-the-mount/318334)
**Author:** [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 26, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-perspectives-on-the-sermon-on-the-mount/318334 "2005-08-26T05:21:55Z")
Namely, this passage (quoted from the NIV): You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the … --- ## [Date of The Book of Daniel (New title for merged threads)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-of-the-book-of-daniel-new-title-for-merged-threads/318195)
**Author:** [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-of-the-book-of-daniel-new-title-for-merged-threads/318195 "2005-08-25T23:33:43Z")
I shall endeavor here to show why I do not date the Bible book of Daniel around the 2nd Century B.C. or later. Probably the best reason is that Daniel was included in the Septuagint, or “LXX,” a Greek translation of the… --- ## [Political Compass #61: Society's openness about sex is going to far.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-compass-61-societys-openness-about-sex-is-going-to-far/317071)
**Author:** [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-compass-61-societys-openness-about-sex-is-going-to-far/317071 "2005-08-25T23:22:54Z")
Many political debates here have included references to The Political Compass, which uses a set of 61 questions to assess one’s political orientation in terms of economic left/right and social libertarianism/authoritaria… --- ## [Religious loopholes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-loopholes/317259)
**Author:** [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-loopholes/317259 "2005-08-25T23:08:15Z")
Is there any prevailing religious views on loopholes in religion, and do dopers of these relgions feel that such loopholes are permitted by religious laws? I’ll cite some examples of loopholes from different religions t… --- ## [Question about Bush, big oil, and Iraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-bush-big-oil-and-iraq/318205)
**Author:** [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-bush-big-oil-and-iraq/318205 "2005-08-25T19:09:34Z")
I’m asking this out of curiosity more than anything. Many of you here believe that Bush started this war over oil. Going along with this theory, it would seem logical that he expects to get something out of it, right? … --- ## [The Ultimate Political Compass Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ultimate-political-compass-thread/317732)
**Author:** [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ultimate-political-compass-thread/317732 "2005-08-25T15:25:20Z")
The Ultimate Political Compass Thread And so, journey’s end: Does The Political Compass give an accurate reading? Political Compass #1: Globalisation, Humanity and OmniCorp. #2: My country, right or wrong #3: Pride … --- ## [What if the Mongols conquered Europe?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-mongols-conquered-europe/317670)
**Author:** [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-mongols-conquered-europe/317670 "2005-08-25T15:09:51Z")
Inspired by the American Revolution What if? thread, I thought I’d bring up another scenario from this book: What If? One of the most chilling chapters is what if the Mongols continued into Europe. They pretty much anni… --- ## [Should CEOs be screened for psychopathic behavior?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ceos-be-screened-for-psychopathic-behavior/317795)
**Author:** [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ceos-be-screened-for-psychopathic-behavior/317795 "2005-08-25T14:56:19Z")
Reknown criminal psychologist Robert Hare, creator of the Psychopathy Checklist, has proposed screening CEOs for signs of psychopathic behavior: The rest of the article is worth a read, as it talks about how recent tre… --- ## [Political Compass: Did Hitler want a feudal economy? Does that work on the Compass?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-compass-did-hitler-want-a-feudal-economy-does-that-work-on-the-compass/318196)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/political-compass-did-hitler-want-a-feudal-economy-does-that-work-on-the-compass/318196 "2005-08-25T14:29:09Z")
I had my family take the test at the Political Compass, but my mother objected to his placement on the right side. Some snips from our argument: To which I replied: They ranked the figures not by putting them down wh… --- ## [Creationist view on Language Development? What language did Adam and Eve speak?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-view-on-language-development-what-language-did-adam-and-eve-speak/317764)
**Author:** [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creationist-view-on-language-development-what-language-did-adam-and-eve-speak/317764 "2005-08-25T08:01:41Z")
I was wondering what the Christian Creationist view of Language Development is? Did Adam just arrive on this physical plane with the ability to speak? Did he really need that ability before Eve arrived from his Ribs…? W… --- ## [Can the "intelligent design" theory be falsified?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-intelligent-design-theory-be-falsified/316906)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 81\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-intelligent-design-theory-be-falsified/316906 "2005-08-25T07:56:42Z")
Some politicians in South Carolina and Utah are campaigning to have the theory of “intelligent design” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent\_design) taught alongside the more conventional theory of unguided biologica… --- ## [Isn't accepting evolution ultimately destructive of religious/supernatural faith?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-accepting-evolution-ultimately-destructive-of-religious-supernatural-faith/316737)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 79\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-accepting-evolution-ultimately-destructive-of-religious-supernatural-faith/316737 "2005-08-25T07:52:20Z")
Per the Slate article linked below, in the end, no matter how were parse it or dance around it, isn’t accepting evolution as a fact ultimately destructive of supernaturally based faith? Aren’t the attempts, at various l… --- ## [NY Police Recruit With ‘JIHAD’ Tattoo Raises A Few Eyebrows – Should It?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-police-recruit-with-jihad-tattoo-raises-a-few-eyebrows-should-it/317768)
**Author:** [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [August 25, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-police-recruit-with-jihad-tattoo-raises-a-few-eyebrows-should-it/317768 "2005-08-25T03:27:21Z")
Subtitled: Freedom of Expression Through Body Art - The Amric Singh With A Twist Thread. A great debate or a ‘well-I-kinda-feel’-type poll? \[Flips Coin\] Heads, IMHO / Tails GD \[/Flips Coin\]: Tails. Link from NYC Tabl… --- ## [UN sucess](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-sucess/318411)
**Author:** [@Jeffro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeffro)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/un-sucess/318411 "2005-08-24T22:02:31Z")
What would you say has been the UNs greatest sucess in the past 20 years? --- ## [Does it make sense to elect judges?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-elect-judges/316893)
**Author:** [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-make-sense-to-elect-judges/316893 "2005-08-24T16:29:55Z")
During the last presidential election, Michigan held elections for some Supreme Court Justices. One of the incumbents ran a series of ads in which he claimed that he got thus and such evidence in to support the convictio… --- ## [Indians and the naming of sports teams.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indians-and-the-naming-of-sports-teams/315401)
**Author:** [@MAGunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAGunter)\ **Replies:** 156\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2005, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indians-and-the-naming-of-sports-teams/315401 "2005-08-24T09:22:58Z")
It’s been an ongoing issue for a few years, but not one that I’ve seen discussed here in the recent past. Here’s the article that brought me to bring it up, from the Dallas Morning News: Will Indian icons stay on the te… --- ## [Did the US Constitution have a deadline?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-constitution-have-a-deadline/316934)
**Author:** [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-constitution-have-a-deadline/316934 "2005-08-24T01:38:42Z")
If there was, I must have missed this little bit of History. It just seems odd that the Iraqi’s have a deadline for their Constitution. Ever see what the homework of a procrastinator looks like when trying to meet a dead… --- ## [Why no rose petals in Iraq?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-rose-petals-in-iraq/318327)
**Author:** [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-rose-petals-in-iraq/318327 "2005-08-23T22:28:35Z")
Why no rose petals in Iraq? Some of the insurgency I can understand. They are fighting an occupying power, and I’d hope we would be as courageous and resourceful if another country took us over (like Red Dawn). But the… --- ## [Seriously, why the war in Iraq?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-why-the-war-in-iraq/317291)
**Author:** [@sixball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sixball)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-why-the-war-in-iraq/317291 "2005-08-23T18:24:53Z")
This is what I remember- Weapons of Mass Destruction; Saddam is a clear and present danger and we’re not going to wait for him to strike first. This never rang true to me. I don’t know everything the US government is pri… --- ## [ELCA struggles but there is hope](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elca-struggles-but-there-is-hope/316791)
**Author:** [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elca-struggles-but-there-is-hope/316791 "2005-08-23T17:28:33Z")
I just heard on NPR that the national synod for my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has voted down a proposal to allow gay and lesbian clergy to have parners. The current rules stand where gay clergy … --- ## [Netanyahu and the Gaza pullout](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netanyahu-and-the-gaza-pullout/317829)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netanyahu-and-the-gaza-pullout/317829 "2005-08-23T16:32:50Z")
Was watching the BBC tonight (sorry, no link) and they were interviewing Netanyahu. I didn’t catch the whole interview but Netanyahu was saying the reason he resigned was in protest over the Gaza pullout. He claims tha… --- ## [Eric Rudolph - terrorist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-terrorist/318125)
**Author:** [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-rudolph-terrorist/318125 "2005-08-23T15:22:18Z")
This morning the radio was on on my bus to work, and the hosts were talking about how Eric Rudolph was finally in the process of being sentenced for the bombs he set at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. I only heard the fir… --- ## [Does evolution predict more or fewer species?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-evolution-predict-more-or-fewer-species/318218)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-evolution-predict-more-or-fewer-species/318218 "2005-08-23T14:51:44Z")
Does the theory of evolution lead to the conclusion that in the future, there will be more species than we currently have or less? Assuming that survival of the fittest is accurate, would we expect to see species that a… --- ## [What if the money spent in Iraq were used to secure the US border?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-money-spent-in-iraq-were-used-to-secure-the-us-border/317437)
**Author:** [@sixball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sixball)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-money-spent-in-iraq-were-used-to-secure-the-us-border/317437 "2005-08-23T14:36:22Z")
If the US had focused on literal “homeland” security, would my family be safer? Would the economy be helped with loads of new jobs (inspectors, screeners, patrol officers, etc.)? Perhaps this should be another thread bu… --- ## [Should scientific journals be allowed to publish 'creation science'?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-scientific-journals-be-allowed-to-publish-creation-science/317838)
**Author:** [@David\_God\_of\_Frogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_God_of_Frogs)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-scientific-journals-be-allowed-to-publish-creation-science/317838 "2005-08-23T12:40:02Z")
According to theWashington Post (see also the Worldnetdaily and Opinionjournal articles), the editor of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, which decided to publish an article that cast doubt on evol… --- ## [Alternate history: no American Revolution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-history-no-american-revolution/317576)
**Author:** [@sixball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sixball)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternate-history-no-american-revolution/317576 "2005-08-23T01:29:58Z")
Would things be much different? Would the US be more moderate? I mean, it’s not like England is so dissimilar than the US. --- ## [Is there irony in feminist support for Muslim women?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-irony-in-feminist-support-for-muslim-women/317008)
**Author:** [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-irony-in-feminist-support-for-muslim-women/317008 "2005-08-22T16:25:22Z")
I’m thinking that one reason that Muslim women must be so completely clothed is so that men do not think of them as FEMALE. They must not be considered as objects of affection or attraction to the opposite sex. So th… --- ## [Bush signs bill for hybrid tax credit: Thoughts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-signs-bill-for-hybrid-tax-credit-thoughts/317920)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-signs-bill-for-hybrid-tax-credit-thoughts/317920 "2005-08-22T14:34:48Z")
Was reading this article today on a bill Bush is planning on signing into law. The bill will allow for up to $3400 in a direct tax credit for the purchase of a new hybrid (I don’t think you get anything if you already o… --- ## [Kelo vs. New London...the hits just keep on coming](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kelo-vs-new-london-the-hits-just-keep-on-coming/317745)
**Author:** [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kelo-vs-new-london-the-hits-just-keep-on-coming/317745 "2005-08-22T13:28:42Z")
For having the unmitigated gall to fight for their homes, Kelo et al are being charged rent for living in their own homes. Silly homeowners. Don’t they know if the city wants to take your house, you should just let the… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=857) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=859)