# Latest **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1191&state=tracking [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1192 --- ## [Supreme Court agrees to hear case over death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber \[and upholds the sentence–edited\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-case-over-death-penalty-for-boston-marathon-bomber-and-upholds-the-sentence-edited/938437)
**Author:** [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-case-over-death-penalty-for-boston-marathon-bomber-and-upholds-the-sentence-edited/938437 "2022-03-04T16:57:25Z")
Here is an early story on it. He is guilty as heck. He and his brother killed three people. Further, the Supreme Court is stacked to the max. It looks bad for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. That being said, I think I am still opp… --- ## [Anyone else smell Trump had a hand in the Russian invasion of the Ukraine](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-smell-trump-had-a-hand-in-the-russian-invasion-of-the-ukraine/960113)
**Author:** [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-smell-trump-had-a-hand-in-the-russian-invasion-of-the-ukraine/960113 "2022-03-04T16:47:55Z")
Didn’t Trump meet with Putin and have several closed doors meetings? and remove our troops from our NATO allies? And met with the Taliban to setoff a ‘timebomb’ of our withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan? And try to … --- ## [New movie version of Cyrano](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-movie-version-of-cyrano/953813 "2022-03-04T16:14:14Z")
I just happened to see the trailer for this new movie. I must lead by noting that Cyrano de Bergerac is probably my favorite play ever. It is a drama, a comedy, a romance and a tragedy. The 1950 movie with Jose Ferrer is… --- ## [Would This Travel Itinerary Arouse Suspicion (better explained in OP)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-travel-itinerary-arouse-suspicion-better-explained-in-op/960354)
**Author:** [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-travel-itinerary-arouse-suspicion-better-explained-in-op/960354 "2022-03-04T15:50:16Z")
My elderly mother is flying from Home to Destination. She’s terrified of flying so she’ll be on an anti-anxiety medicine, and she’s concerned she’ll be so mellow at the airport that she won’t remember to actually get on … --- ## [Graphing: x- and y- intercepts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphing-x-and-y-intercepts/960265)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graphing-x-and-y-intercepts/960265 "2022-03-04T13:12:50Z")
Is this really only relevant if you have to manually graph a line or curve on graph paper, or does it have some mathematical significance? IOW is it a theoretical or practical matter? --- ## [Why was Trump rushed in and out of Walter Reed Hospital, if not (the official explanation) Covid?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-trump-rushed-in-and-out-of-walter-reed-hospital-if-not-the-official-explanation-covid/960281)
**Author:** [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-trump-rushed-in-and-out-of-walter-reed-hospital-if-not-the-official-explanation-covid/960281 "2022-03-04T08:20:15Z")
From the “belief w/o evidence” thread, where I asked for the likeliest explanations yet offered. Trump had an amazingly short bout of “Covid” and a fast full recovery, so people doubted he was treated for Covid at all. A… --- ## [Can Putin keep Ukraine (if he takes it)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-putin-keep-ukraine-if-he-takes-it/960420)
**Author:** [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-putin-keep-ukraine-if-he-takes-it/960420 "2022-03-04T05:51:00Z")
Is he prepared to, Nazi-like, wipe out entire villages if Ukrainian snipers pick off Russians? --- ## [Just one more reason to love Buzz Aldrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-one-more-reason-to-love-buzz-aldrin/960244)
**Author:** [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-one-more-reason-to-love-buzz-aldrin/960244 "2022-03-04T02:56:47Z")
Maybe not the first on the Moon, but a pioneer in so many other ways… --- ## [Help me identify this 1970s late night TV episode on which Ray Charles was a guest?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-1970s-late-night-tv-episode-on-which-ray-charles-was-a-guest/960135)
**Author:** [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-1970s-late-night-tv-episode-on-which-ray-charles-was-a-guest/960135 "2022-03-04T02:22:25Z")
(Late night TV: I feel like it has to be either SNL or Fridays, but I can’t confirm the episode for either one.) At some point in the late 1970s, I was watching a weekend late-night comedy sketch show, and Ray Charles … --- ## [What, objectively, was better with the economy under Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-objectively-was-better-with-the-economy-under-trump/960409)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 4, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-objectively-was-better-with-the-economy-under-trump/960409 "2022-03-04T00:18:58Z")
How much a US president can impact the economy, especially within their first 4-year term, is the topic of many debates. When we consider all the factors and players that contribute to fiscal policy and the independence… --- ## [Beforeigners on HBO (open spoilers for first two seasons after OP)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beforeigners-on-hbo-open-spoilers-for-first-two-seasons-after-op/960069)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beforeigners-on-hbo-open-spoilers-for-first-two-seasons-after-op/960069 "2022-03-03T23:59:02Z")
A recent episode of the Imaginary Worlds podcast clued me on to Beforeigners, a Norwegian sci-fi/fantasy show I had previously heard nothing of. It sounded intriguing, so I basically binged the first two seasons. And wow… --- ## [Republican Rep admits affair with "former jihadist"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-rep-admits-affair-with-former-jihadist/960382)
**Author:** [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-rep-admits-affair-with-former-jihadist/960382 "2022-03-03T23:15:36Z")
Not sure this warrants its own thread, but it was too good to not post – Texas Republican Congressman Van Taylor ended his reelection campaign because it came out that he had an affair with and paid hush money to a woman… --- ## [Electrons, Muons, and Taus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrons-muons-and-taus/960178)
**Author:** [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrons-muons-and-taus/960178 "2022-03-03T22:55:22Z")
My understanding of current theory is that electrons are excitations in the electron field that, let’s say, “twists it into some kind of knot.” Are muons and taus, then excitations of their own fields, or might they be … --- ## [Wasp, bees won't sting if you hold your breath](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasp-bees-wont-sting-if-you-hold-your-breath/587120)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasp-bees-wont-sting-if-you-hold-your-breath/587120 "2022-03-03T22:37:33Z")
My grandmother told me this when I was a kid. Hold your breath and a curious wasp or bee won’t sting. Closes your pores and they can’t sting you. Also, you tend to stand still when holding your breath. :smiley: This o… --- ## [Van life and taxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-life-and-taxes/960360)
**Author:** [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-life-and-taxes/960360 "2022-03-03T22:26:15Z")
So, this van life thing seems to be taking off a bit these days. I don’t know what percentage of young folks are taking it up, but it certainly seems as though it is far more popular and also far more practical than it w… --- ## [Annoying thread scrolling problem](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-thread-scrolling-problem/960308)
**Author:** [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-thread-scrolling-problem/960308 "2022-03-03T21:37:52Z")
For a while now (months, at least), I have been getting a weird problem where I’ll visit a thread, scroll through a dozen posts or so, and then suddenly Discourse scrolls me back up to the place where I’d started reading… --- ## [Does the Don't Talk About Your Ignore List rule cover muting?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-dont-talk-about-your-ignore-list-rule-cover-muting/960201)
**Author:** [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-dont-talk-about-your-ignore-list-rule-cover-muting/960201 "2022-03-03T20:30:11Z")
I know I’m not allowed to talk about the specifics of my ignore list outside the Pit. Does the same go for if I’ve just muted notifications from someone, but they’re not actually on my ignore list i.e. I still see their… --- ## [Tax software questions/recommendations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-software-questions-recommendations/960417)
**Author:** [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-software-questions-recommendations/960417 "2022-03-03T20:12:31Z")
This year I cannot use Turbotax. Does any tax preparation software exist that isn’t online (loading my info to their servers)? In the past, I could buy a Turbotax disk and install it on my home PC. Now, I must use my … --- ## [What do we know about Russian control of nuclear launches?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-know-about-russian-control-of-nuclear-launches/960189)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-know-about-russian-control-of-nuclear-launches/960189 "2022-03-03T18:32:35Z")
Inspired by the way the Ukraine war is going, and the seeming increasing possibility that Ukraine can win. What if Putin, for whatever reason, orders that nuclear weapons be launched as a first strike? What kind of saf… --- ## [At the brink of War - Who is equivalent to Neville Chamberlain today?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-brink-of-war-who-is-equivalent-to-neville-chamberlain-today/959881)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 111\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-brink-of-war-who-is-equivalent-to-neville-chamberlain-today/959881 "2022-03-03T15:31:23Z")
Now, I know how my grandparents felt September 30, 1938. The world helplessly wrung it’s hands as Hitler prepared to conquer Europe. NATO was supposed to keep this from happening again. It’s just as impotent and frighten… --- ## [9mm handguns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9mm-handguns/959800)
**Author:** [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9mm-handguns/959800 "2022-03-03T15:16:51Z")
Inspired by so many rap lyrics mentioning this ammunition. Sometimes there is a .45, or a shotgun, or even an AK. Is it still considered a top choice for a sidearm or machine pistol? Or does it evoke something grandpa w… --- ## [Tax time follies, 2022](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-time-follies-2022/959876)
**Author:** [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-time-follies-2022/959876 "2022-03-03T15:04:29Z")
Last year I remarked about the local news stations reporting about filing federal returns electronically from the IRS site. It irritated me that the reporters all mentioned the dollar limit for the guided preparation, b… --- ## [Weaponized Architecture?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weaponized-architecture/960340)
**Author:** [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weaponized-architecture/960340 "2022-03-03T13:42:40Z")
Is there any way to use a city as a weapon? A lot of energy goes into the production and maintenance of a city. Concrete and steel are lifted into the sky, creating a lot of potential energy. A lot of electricity powers… --- ## [Captured Russian Soldier Says They Are Demoralized: 'We Do Not Want This War'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captured-russian-soldier-says-they-are-demoralized-we-do-not-want-this-war/960236)
**Author:** [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captured-russian-soldier-says-they-are-demoralized-we-do-not-want-this-war/960236 "2022-03-03T13:27:29Z")
They say that they were lied to and told that it was for training. --- ## [Banning Russian Commercial Airline Flights](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-russian-commercial-airline-flights/960118)
**Author:** [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-russian-commercial-airline-flights/960118 "2022-03-03T11:56:41Z")
The Chicago Convention of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) has several articles, including Article 6: Article 6 : (Scheduled air services) No scheduled international air service may be operated over … --- ## [Computer monitor cables: why monodirectional?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-cables-why-monodirectional/960356)
**Author:** [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-cables-why-monodirectional/960356 "2022-03-03T10:03:01Z")
I have a laptop PC with an HDMI port on it, and an external monitor with a DisplayPort, and would like to connect the two. I am finding that some of the cables that feature the right connectors for the job, like this on… --- ## [Converting a freezer to an A/C unit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-a-freezer-to-an-a-c-unit/194706)
**Author:** [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-a-freezer-to-an-a-c-unit/194706 "2022-03-03T06:35:25Z")
Many of you have no doubt heard that parts of Europe are having a pretty bad heat wave. What with one thing and another, it is neither practical nor economical for me to buy an A/C unit right now. For one thing, the av… --- ## [Am I ignorant for not being worried about nuclear armageddon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-ignorant-for-not-being-worried-about-nuclear-armageddon/960264)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-ignorant-for-not-being-worried-about-nuclear-armageddon/960264 "2022-03-03T06:14:56Z")
I’m normally the worrying type, but given the totality of what I know about this whole thing and the players involved (which may or may not be “enough” or even substantial), I just can’t get worked up about the idea of t… --- ## [iPhone bedside clock app recommendations](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-bedside-clock-app-recommendations/960124)
**Author:** [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iphone-bedside-clock-app-recommendations/960124 "2022-03-03T04:20:35Z")
Can anyone recommend an iPhone app to use the phone as a bedside clock? I want to have it standing on a charger overnight, preferably in landscape mode, with the time displayed (digital not analog) and an alarm time set.… --- ## [Question about an accident that happened in the 2000s](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-an-accident-that-happened-in-the-2000s/960381)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 3, 2022, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-an-accident-that-happened-in-the-2000s/960381 "2022-03-03T03:48:21Z")
Okay, I’m looking for links to a story that I’m pretty sure happened in the “oughts” and it’s proving to be a Prevention Of Cruelty To Google Users thing. In short, three female college students who lived in the upper m… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1190&state=tracking) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md?page=1192&state=tracking)