# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=89 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 90 --- ## [Why did Obama issue a "stand down" order of counter-cyber activities targeted at Russia?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-obama-issue-a-stand-down-order-of-counter-cyber-activities-targeted-at-russia/818217)
**Author:** [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-obama-issue-a-stand-down-order-of-counter-cyber-activities-targeted-at-russia/818217 "2018-07-20T20:48:41Z")
Our resident Silver lining has asked this question in a number of different threads, so I figured I’d start one here to centralize the discussion. Presumably he thinks this question is of great importance and or persuas… --- ## [Terrorism - it's gone way down, hasn't it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252)
**Author:** [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252 "2018-07-20T15:20:59Z")
I remember in the year leading up to Trump’s election, there were seemingly constant terror attacks in Europe. (There were also several shootings in America by Islamic fundamentalists, though the degree to which they wer… --- ## [NFL: Stand for the anthem or stay in the locker room.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-stand-for-the-anthem-or-stay-in-the-locker-room/814701)
**Author:** [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Replies:** 475\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-stand-for-the-anthem-or-stay-in-the-locker-room/814701 "2018-07-20T14:20:10Z")
The NFL announced that teams will be fined if players do not stand for the National Anthem. Players not wishing to stand are allowed to stay the locker room, but not on the field. I don’t know if this is constitutional… --- ## [Should there be laws for the FBI and law enforcement from making political statements of anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851)
**Author:** [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Replies:** 73\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-there-be-laws-for-the-fbi-and-law-enforcement-from-making-political-statements-of-anger/817851 "2018-07-19T22:12:21Z")
Should there be laws for the FBI and law enforcement from making political statements of anger via emails or texts or not? I for one think anyone empowered with the job that requires an investigation should refrain from… --- ## [What radicalized white voters in 2016?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-radicalized-white-voters-in-2016/817909)
**Author:** [@Kennedy1960](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kennedy1960)\ **Replies:** 121\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-radicalized-white-voters-in-2016/817909 "2018-07-19T18:26:18Z")
My parents were born in 1954, kids of the 60s generation. My dad hated Vietnam and Richard Nixon and all he stood for. He was greatly traumatized by the nightly death tolls on TV from Nam. He tried to join but was reject… --- ## [Who is Trump's base?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-trumps-base/816820)
**Author:** [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Replies:** 180\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-trumps-base/816820 "2018-07-19T16:18:58Z")
I hear references to “Trump’s base” a lot around here. I’m particularly interested in hearing from those who have used the phrase themselves. Who are you talking about? I think many of you are using a definition that wou… --- ## [Actress refuses to do nude scene: right or wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-refuses-to-do-nude-scene-right-or-wrong/685852)
**Author:** [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Replies:** 262\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-refuses-to-do-nude-scene-right-or-wrong/685852 "2018-07-19T02:44:38Z")
Anne Greene and HBO are suing each other. Green’s an actress who was hired to do a role in the HBO series Femme Fatales. (The series plays on Cinemax which is an HBO subsidiary.) Anne Greene’s lawsuit says she was pres… --- ## [Jack Goldsmith on the Russia Indictment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-goldsmith-on-the-russia-indictment/818105)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-goldsmith-on-the-russia-indictment/818105 "2018-07-18T19:49:08Z")
Lawfare contributor, Jack Goldsmith published the following commentary, yesterday, in regards to his thoughts on the recent indictment against 12 officers of the GRU who used cybercrimes in a targeted attempt to influenc… --- ## [Need argument help re: net neutrality](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-argument-help-re-net-neutrality/817470)
**Author:** [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [July 18, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-argument-help-re-net-neutrality/817470 "2018-07-18T17:04:14Z")
I’m getting into it with an old friend who seems to have taken his conservatism that I thought was grounded in actually respectable Christianity, and now seems to have swallowed almost everything the current Republicans … --- ## [More of a "moral streak" in America than elsewhere in the West?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-of-a-moral-streak-in-america-than-elsewhere-in-the-west/817579)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-of-a-moral-streak-in-america-than-elsewhere-in-the-west/817579 "2018-07-17T20:55:29Z")
Having a hard time putting this in the right words but it seems that in many facets of American life, and especially politics, there is more of a “moral streak” here than in the rest of the West. Be it the political lef… --- ## [Mueller & Trumps Taxes- Does he have them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mueller-trumps-taxes-does-he-have-them/818043)
**Author:** [@DtypeJag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DtypeJag)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mueller-trumps-taxes-does-he-have-them/818043 "2018-07-17T16:00:37Z")
Do we know if Mueller has ever gotten or requested Trumps tax returns? Maybe Cohen had copies. If not, can he legally obtain them? They might add alot of light on the Trump v. Putin situation. --- ## [Separating immigrants from their children is child abuse.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/separating-immigrants-from-their-children-is-child-abuse/816206)
**Author:** [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Replies:** 518\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/separating-immigrants-from-their-children-is-child-abuse/816206 "2018-07-17T15:36:21Z")
This is a dastardly deed that Trump and Sessions have planned. it seems to me that they are doing this in order to force the Democrats to vote for their stupid border wall which nobody wants. I also think that they are … --- ## [Communicating with the Far future: Nuclear Waste](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communicating-with-the-far-future-nuclear-waste/817789)
**Author:** [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [July 17, 2018, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/communicating-with-the-far-future-nuclear-waste/817789 "2018-07-17T11:20:17Z")
A videoon placing warning signs at sites of nuclear waste storage. Due to the long half lives of these products they need to be kept for many millennia, which makes it very likely that the storage facilities will eventua… --- ## [Why don't homicidal stalkers target celebrities more often (politicans, actors, businessmen)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-homicidal-stalkers-target-celebrities-more-often-politicans-actors-businessmen/817942)
**Author:** [@EricaRoche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EricaRoche)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-homicidal-stalkers-target-celebrities-more-often-politicans-actors-businessmen/817942 "2018-07-16T23:38:49Z")
There are a lot of genuine people in the world who get along with most in places like the US but conversely there are a lot of aggrieved people who are borderline mentally ill (personality disorders, psychotic disorders)… --- ## [Fixing the Supreme Court without packing it](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fixing-the-supreme-court-without-packing-it/817338)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 89\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fixing-the-supreme-court-without-packing-it/817338 "2018-07-16T19:40:35Z")
Jennifer Rubin has an interesting column in WaPo today: How to fix the Supreme Court without packing it. She gives a couple of proposals: This would take a constitutional amendment, but we’ve enacted far more dramatic … --- ## [White folks and alcholism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620)
**Author:** [@Huey\_Freeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huey_Freeman)\ **Replies:** 103\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-folks-and-alcholism/817620 "2018-07-16T18:41:45Z")
I think this post belongs in general questions but I’m pretty sure white folks gonna trip so here it is. If a moderator disagrees, please put in general questions folder (I prefer it there). Anyway, while putting toget… --- ## [Are Americans kind of forced to support LGBT standpoints?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-kind-of-forced-to-support-lgbt-standpoints/815430)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 382\ **Last updated:** [July 16, 2018, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-kind-of-forced-to-support-lgbt-standpoints/815430 "2018-07-16T07:34:41Z")
Looking at American media as a non-American, I have a feeling like saying anything that isn’t supportive of LGBT standpoints (in a civilized way, not in a hate against gays way) is modern day blasphemy and the biggest ta… --- ## [Did Jesus say he was the son of God?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jesus-say-he-was-the-son-of-god/817624)
**Author:** [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-jesus-say-he-was-the-son-of-god/817624 "2018-07-14T19:48:20Z")
It’s been a long time since I did religious studies classes. Did Jesus say he was the son of God, or was it a label that his followers bestowed upon him? Did he believe himself to be divine/semi-divine, or did he believ… --- ## [Sometimes you can't win, no matter what. \[Environment vs disabled access in straws.\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-you-cant-win-no-matter-what-environment-vs-disabled-access-in-straws/817777)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [July 14, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-you-cant-win-no-matter-what-environment-vs-disabled-access-in-straws/817777 "2018-07-14T17:58:01Z")
Recently I’ve been kind of annoyed at the propensity for everyone out there to bitch and moan about everything under the sun. If there’s something someone doesn’t like, they’re griping about it on Twitter, Instagram, Fa… --- ## [Why do Americans forget their ethnic roots?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-forget-their-ethnic-roots/817069)
**Author:** [@Kennedy1960](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kennedy1960)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-forget-their-ethnic-roots/817069 "2018-07-13T23:00:03Z")
I come from an Italian family. Many members of my family sadly are bigoted against the Hispanic community and especially against Mexicans, for the usual reasons - usual Trumpian logic. I have pointed out to them that a w… --- ## [Proposed: Special Governmental Ethics Investigative Unit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposed-special-governmental-ethics-investigative-unit/817744)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposed-special-governmental-ethics-investigative-unit/817744 "2018-07-13T21:36:37Z")
I was just reading about Brett Kavanaugh’s recommendations for how best to investigate the President. As I see it, there are a few known issues with investigating the President: The President has power over the Execut… --- ## [Why is there such a stigma against changing your body through plastic surgery?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-stigma-against-changing-your-body-through-plastic-surgery/817563)
**Author:** [@EricaRoche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EricaRoche)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-stigma-against-changing-your-body-through-plastic-surgery/817563 "2018-07-13T17:00:39Z")
I heard there was a belief by many in the mid 20th century that with the rise of new and advanced medicines and technologies, people would soon be able to design their own babies as well as aspects of themselves (eye col… --- ## [Should the US go forward with (renewed) high tech arms sales to Taiwan?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-go-forward-with-renewed-high-tech-arms-sales-to-taiwan/817781)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 13, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-us-go-forward-with-renewed-high-tech-arms-sales-to-taiwan/817781 "2018-07-13T01:31:19Z")
Based on this podcast(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOGySArXjeo). It’s long and a bit rambling, however, so I’ll give you guys the Cliff’s Notes version. The US for the last several administrations has limited arms s… --- ## [Good luck with Gun Control now](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-luck-with-gun-control-now/817683)
**Author:** [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-luck-with-gun-control-now/817683 "2018-07-12T22:01:27Z")
I have been watching the development of the home fabrication movement out of cursory interest, and though that the original case showing a guy “print” and later fire a handgun was interesting. Well today my newsfeed bro… --- ## [Parents Upset: School Did Not Notify Them Their Daughter Was Not Graduating](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-upset-school-did-not-notify-them-their-daughter-was-not-graduating/817176)
**Author:** [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Replies:** 135\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-upset-school-did-not-notify-them-their-daughter-was-not-graduating/817176 "2018-07-12T19:58:59Z")
Parents of an Arlington County high schooler are angry at Yorktown High School. Their daughter failed English, and could not graduate. The school maintained a website that let them see their daughter’s grades, but “N/A… --- ## [Online gaming ethics and mores...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-gaming-ethics-and-mores/756253)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 258\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-gaming-ethics-and-mores/756253 "2016-06-07T16:05:58Z")
So in this thread about role playing games, there arose a discussion(starting on post #63) about the legitimacy and relative assholery of actually role-playing an evil character in a MMORPG. Essentially one side was of … --- ## [Re: Cornell Study "Dissolving the Fermi Paradox". Your Opinions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-cornell-study-dissolving-the-fermi-paradox-your-opinions/816913)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 139\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2018, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-cornell-study-dissolving-the-fermi-paradox-your-opinions/816913 "2018-07-11T11:15:04Z")
Link here: Basically the jist is that the long-standing belief that there are likely to be many other forms of intelligent life, or life at all, in our galaxy or even the universe as a whole is overblown. The actual od… --- ## [Kennedy Retiring from SCOTUS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858)
**Author:** [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Replies:** 328\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858 "2018-07-10T23:18:15Z")
Trump gets to pick a 2nd time. --- ## [Hypothetical Moral Question...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-moral-question/817289)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 65\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-moral-question/817289 "2018-07-10T18:23:28Z")
And potentially controversial one at that. But I assume I am in the right place, you all being open-minded and not minding a good debate. I actually first heard this hypothetical moral question on a nihilist website, po… --- ## [How do you reconcile the fact that good requires evil to defend itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-reconcile-the-fact-that-good-requires-evil-to-defend-itself/817364)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 63\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-reconcile-the-fact-that-good-requires-evil-to-defend-itself/817364 "2018-07-10T16:38:57Z")
My usage of the term evil for the purposes of this discussion may be offensive to some, but thats fine. Anyway, I’m sure they discuss this in philosophy 101 in college. So here is my question. To have good you have to … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=88) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=90)