# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=864 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 865 --- ## [Wow! Money for kids and seniors embezzled into Air America!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-money-for-kids-and-seniors-embezzled-into-air-america/314369)
**Author:** [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Replies:** 102\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-money-for-kids-and-seniors-embezzled-into-air-america/314369 "2005-07-31T20:36:33Z")
Seems the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx has had their funding pulled by the city due to the diversion of hunderds of thousands of dollars from the club to Air America. The transfer was designated as a “lo… --- ## [Are Americans world's most medicated people?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-worlds-most-medicated-people/314986)
**Author:** [@pace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pace)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-worlds-most-medicated-people/314986 "2005-07-31T18:54:27Z")
Having travelled abroad, lived abroad and remain in close contact with people I met during those times, one of the topics which always made me stop and wonder was a general assertion that Americans have a pill for everyt… --- ## [Is it time to pull out of Iraq regardless?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-pull-out-of-iraq-regardless/314058)
**Author:** [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Replies:** 197\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-to-pull-out-of-iraq-regardless/314058 "2005-07-31T13:08:04Z")
Thisdisturbing story in this morning’s Los Angeles Times causes the question in the title. The implication of the story to me is that US forces are in a situation that grows increasingly intolerable and they are underst… --- ## [What's to be done about bad parents?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-be-done-about-bad-parents/314642)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 34\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-be-done-about-bad-parents/314642 "2005-07-31T03:20:21Z")
At first I thought I’d just do a Pit thread about this excuse for a parent, who got upset with her four-year-old child and put him out of the car on the should of DC’s beltway, four lanes of heavy, fast traffic in each d… --- ## [Against Gay Marriage = Against Homosexuality?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-gay-marriage-against-homosexuality/312776)
**Author:** [@DeathOnTwoLegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeathOnTwoLegs)\ **Replies:** 80\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/against-gay-marriage-against-homosexuality/312776 "2005-07-31T02:05:17Z")
I suppose that I am very likely to get in some hot water for saying this, but it’s inevitable. I am not anti-homosexual. I have slammed and will continue to slam anyone who preached anti-homosexual views. Even when I … --- ## [Lion Cut - Cool or Cruel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lion-cut-cool-or-cruel/314522)
**Author:** [@John\_Stewart\_Pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stewart_Pie)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lion-cut-cool-or-cruel/314522 "2005-07-30T22:07:27Z")
Is giving a cat a lion cut for no other reason other than looks cruel? --- ## [Some sins are worse than others..](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-sins-are-worse-than-others/313872)
**Author:** [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-sins-are-worse-than-others/313872 "2005-07-30T21:19:17Z")
Wether you agree with the title of this thread or not, try to persuade me (preferably from a christian standpoint) that the statement is true. I know that it is a christian belief that all sins are pretty much equal, bu… --- ## [Not another thread on psychiatric medications!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-another-thread-on-psychiatric-medications/314525)
**Author:** [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Replies:** 49\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-another-thread-on-psychiatric-medications/314525 "2005-07-30T14:36:41Z")
Yes, another thread on psychiatric medications. The usual question, of course - are they lifesavers? Are they just a crutch to keep us sedated? Is there a middle ground? There’s a really intriguing debate going on in… --- ## [The White Bear Stands](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-bear-stands/314857)
**Author:** [@TheObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheObserver)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2005, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-bear-stands/314857 "2005-07-30T06:48:39Z")
And he is not alone. Bears fight fiercely, and do not kneel. --- ## [Fact or opinion: Are we more wealthy than before?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-or-opinion-are-we-more-wealthy-than-before/314085)
**Author:** [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fact-or-opinion-are-we-more-wealthy-than-before/314085 "2005-07-30T04:39:20Z")
We haven’t talked about the economy in about a month or so, so let me put forth this argument. \[btw: I believe this is a GQ, but I’m sure this will spark a debate, so I posted in GD. Mods, please feel free to move it … --- ## [Runaway Greenhouse Effect: The Real Scoop?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runaway-greenhouse-effect-the-real-scoop/314298)
**Author:** [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/runaway-greenhouse-effect-the-real-scoop/314298 "2005-07-30T02:16:31Z")
In the tradition of Peak Oil: The Real Scoop?, I submit the following: What’s the real deal about runaway greenhouse effect? Do we need to worry? Can anything be done? Is anything being done? This has a GQ feel to it, … --- ## [Harry Potter and the Religious Paranoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-religious-paranoia/314254)
**Author:** [@theamazingluther](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theamazingluther)\ **Replies:** 78\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-religious-paranoia/314254 "2005-07-29T20:27:06Z")
So there’s this wing of the religious right that condemns Harry Potter for witchery and Satan and so on. I don’t see why, but if that’s the way you think, I don’t see much to argue about. What I don’t get is why such cl… --- ## [Under which enumerated power may Congress regulate state tort law?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-which-enumerated-power-may-congress-regulate-state-tort-law/314767)
**Author:** [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-which-enumerated-power-may-congress-regulate-state-tort-law/314767 "2005-07-29T20:26:23Z")
Malpractice award limits pass in House In a famous case, the Supreme Court said: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=304&invol=64 (Emphasis added) Previous GQ thread about tort reform and C… --- ## [Can Anyone Justify The Jersey Supreme Court's Ruling Making Private Beaches Public?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-justify-the-jersey-supreme-courts-ruling-making-private-beaches-public/314431)
**Author:** [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-justify-the-jersey-supreme-courts-ruling-making-private-beaches-public/314431 "2005-07-29T19:40:00Z")
Apparenty, the assault on private property owner’s rights & ‘residents-only’ policies continues. It’s a trend I notice to be more prevalent in the Northeastern US.First, 2001’s state supreme court ruling that Greenwich, … --- ## [Strategies for defending evolution](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strategies-for-defending-evolution/314648)
**Author:** [@ragerdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ragerdude)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strategies-for-defending-evolution/314648 "2005-07-29T19:12:59Z")
Clearly, there is enough evidence to convince a fair-minded, unbiased person of the antiquity of the universe, cosmological evolution, and biological evoluton. I am already familiar with the evidence. But what about th… --- ## [SCO copyright of Linux (kernel) code?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sco-copyright-of-linux-kernel-code/181063)
**Author:** [@rhodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhodyne)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sco-copyright-of-linux-kernel-code/181063 "2005-07-29T16:23:28Z")
This issue has been raging for some time and I have some questions that might get me labeled as paranoid and/or conspiracy prone. I wanted to bring it out here because there are some intelligent people (and some not) tha… --- ## [What would the gun liability bill actually do?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-gun-liability-bill-actually-do/314708)
**Author:** [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-the-gun-liability-bill-actually-do/314708 "2005-07-29T14:33:39Z")
The issue of limits on lawsuits against gun manufacturers and sellers is once again in the news. Most of the news stories include a fair amount of “one side says, but the other side says” journalism; from that CNN.com ar… --- ## [after all the Bush/Kerry hoopla--has anybody moved to Canada?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-all-the-bush-kerry-hoopla-has-anybody-moved-to-canada/313834)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-all-the-bush-kerry-hoopla-has-anybody-moved-to-canada/313834 "2005-07-29T14:15:26Z")
So did the world come to an end last November? Its been long enough since the election for the emotions to calm down( and not just for the moveon.org people , or the Michael Moore fans.) The morning after the election… --- ## [Marriage: time for a new paradigm?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marriage-time-for-a-new-paradigm/313923)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 77\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marriage-time-for-a-new-paradigm/313923 "2005-07-29T07:37:48Z")
This thread and a few previous threads have set me to thinking: is it time we reconsider the concept of marriage? I’ve not had the experience of a relationship so I know I’m speaking from a certain - massive - ignorance… --- ## [Rice hints that Bush bypass Senate to appoint Bolton](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-hints-that-bush-bypass-senate-to-appoint-bolton/309099)
**Author:** [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [July 29, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rice-hints-that-bush-bypass-senate-to-appoint-bolton/309099 "2005-07-29T02:53:52Z")
From Yahoo News " Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is keeping open the possibility that President Bush will bypass the Senate to get John R. Bolton installed as U.N. ambassador temporarily if Democrats persist in ho… --- ## [Has IRA/UDA terrorism become irrelevant?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-ira-uda-terrorism-become-irrelevant/311646)
**Author:** [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-ira-uda-terrorism-become-irrelevant/311646 "2005-07-28T20:40:18Z")
News of the London subway bombings reminded me of In Name of the Father (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107207/), the 1993 film about the 1974 IRA bombing of the Guildford Pub in London, and its aftermath. So far as I can… --- ## [Regarding Bicycles](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-bicycles/314538)
**Author:** [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-bicycles/314538 "2005-07-28T20:18:49Z")
This is part GQ but its probably better suited to Great debates forum, since I don’t really expect much of a factual ansewer. So if Bikes were plated , registered and insured , would bike ridership decline ? Myself I … --- ## [51% is too low a requirement to confirm Judges](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-is-too-low-a-requirement-to-confirm-judges/314521)
**Author:** [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/51-is-too-low-a-requirement-to-confirm-judges/314521 "2005-07-28T15:08:29Z")
We’re talking about a lifetime position here. And the only requirement to pass confirmation is a bare majority in the Senate. Theoretically, we could be in a situation where 50 Senators are adamantly opposed to a nomine… --- ## [An idea that is picking up momentum behind closed doors on terrorism.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idea-that-is-picking-up-momentum-behind-closed-doors-on-terrorism/313697)
**Author:** [@Kaleidoscope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaleidoscope)\ **Replies:** 188\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-idea-that-is-picking-up-momentum-behind-closed-doors-on-terrorism/313697 "2005-07-28T14:19:31Z")
Terrorists and suicide bombers often don’t give a damn about themselves. I have caught wind that there has been some high level discussions behind closed doors on a new way to limit terrorism. It has nothing to due wi… --- ## [How do we decrease the number of lawyers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-decrease-the-number-of-lawyers/314311)
**Author:** [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-decrease-the-number-of-lawyers/314311 "2005-07-28T13:57:09Z")
I got wagged by a moderator for hi-jacking another thread. He politely explained what I did wrong and I am moving my rant out here. I think the USA has too many laws and far too many lawyers. I think we could rewrite th… --- ## [Lance for Governor! -or- Celebrity Politicians](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065)
**Author:** [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lance-for-governor-or-celebrity-politicians/314065 "2005-07-28T13:20:44Z")
From Outside Magazine: Off the cuff remark or trial balloon? Is Texas ready for a governor who is a liberal Republican, as Armstrong is described? What is the recent track record of celebrities who become politicians… --- ## [Workers paradise: North Korea and hunger. What can be done?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workers-paradise-north-korea-and-hunger-what-can-be-done/314274)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workers-paradise-north-korea-and-hunger-what-can-be-done/314274 "2005-07-28T08:41:26Z")
I remember thread not so long ago (I think it was a Brainglutton thread IIRC) asking why the North Koreans have come back to the table. I’m not sure if anyone answered that one of the reasons might be that they are rapi… --- ## [Are the Romani criminals?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-romani-criminals/313459)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-romani-criminals/313459 "2005-07-28T04:52:53Z")
In this thread I posted the following tangent: And received the following reply: Now I admit my surprise at the size of the current Romani population. I had believed that they were actually almost all killed by the G… --- ## [Rick Santorum - What a tool](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-what-a-tool/314179)
**Author:** [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [July 28, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-what-a-tool/314179 "2005-07-28T00:49:50Z")
Saw Santorum on the Daily Show tonight… He is King of the Dorks. A total wad. Though being an idiot, he acts as if someone has told him he is quite bright. Perhaps his Mommy and Daddy? The question is, how come the Dem… --- ## [Do we need a zero tolerance policy on terrorism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-a-zero-tolerance-policy-on-terrorism/313819)
**Author:** [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Replies:** 91\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-a-zero-tolerance-policy-on-terrorism/313819 "2005-07-27T23:04:56Z")
This comment was made by Fareed Zakaria on The Daily Show a few days ago: “What ever the foreign policy disagreement, that’s not a reason to blow up commuters.” His point was that after each act of terrorism, there are… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=863) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=865)