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Forum: The Crucible

The serious stuff. Debates and discussions on politics, religion, etc.

  1. Sticky thread Sticky: About the Crucible

    These are just general guidelines and may be added to or changed if and when the need arises. The forum is a place for serious debate, discussion of news and current events, and also witnessing, if you must. Whether it's the deep discussion on...

    Started by Zuul‎, 15 Nov 2009 07:38 PM
    • Replies: 0
    • Views: 32,526
    15 Nov 2009 07:38 PM Go to last post
  1. Will McConnell et al. push Snowe/Collins/Specter out?

    Damn, the titles are short here. Anyway, we saw how pissed a lot of Republicans got when Snowe, Collins, and Specter voted for cloture on the stimulus bill. If they continue on this path (which Specter, at least, pretty much has to do in an...

    Started by Captain Carrot‎, 02 Mar 2009 05:54 PM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 1,857
    02 Mar 2009 08:50 PM Go to last post
  2. Would a viable third party improve US governance?

    During my lifetime, Third Party candidates (for national office) have at best been spoilers (e.g., Perot in 1992; Nader in 2000). But if a third party -- Green Party, Libertarian Party, or what have you -- took a significant number of seats in...

    Started by Baldwin‎, 03 Mar 2009 07:51 AM
    • Replies: 3
    • Views: 2,474
    03 Mar 2009 10:05 AM Go to last post
  3. Is true altruism possible?

    Having been raised Jewish, and having since found my own set of rational reasons to behave morally as an atheist, I've wondered about this for a long time. Altruistic behavior, ISTM, is practically always rewarded in some fashion or another. If...

    Started by Hostile Dialect‎, 03 Mar 2009 04:25 PM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 2,179
    03 Mar 2009 05:04 PM Go to last post
  4. Are liberals going to be the new patriots now? (US)

    'Cause that will be weird.

    Started by Hostile Dialect‎, 03 Mar 2009 04:39 PM
    • Replies: 5
    • Views: 1,621
    03 Mar 2009 08:38 PM Go to last post
  5. CIA Destroyed Nearly 100 Interrogation Tapes!

    Uh, oh.The Central intelligence Agency (CIA) has destroyed 92 tapes of interviews conducted with terror suspects, a US government lawyer has admitted. The agency had previously said that it had destroyed only two tapes. The American Civil...

    Started by Tuckerfan‎, 02 Mar 2009 05:24 PM
    • Replies: 5
    • Views: 2,195
    03 Mar 2009 10:42 PM Go to last post
  6. FTD: When You Hate Your Customers

    Qadgop started an interesting thread about the ethical dilemma of being a prison physician (and haven't we all wondered how he manages to DO that?). But you know, when I worked for one of the Big Soft Drink Companies on the account team for a Big...

    Started by fessie‎, 02 Mar 2009 02:34 PM
    • Replies: 10
    • Views: 2,554
    04 Mar 2009 06:26 PM Go to last post
  7. What do you tell a kid when he asks if he's going to die?

    Question inspired by a family I saw at the store yesterday. Boy, around 7 or so, is heading around the corner towards me and I hear him say, "So, I'm not going to die, ever?" and two women, mother and grandmother in age, both assuring him, "No!...

    Started by WhyNot‎, 01 Mar 2009 11:59 PM
    • Replies: 28
    • Views: 5,806
    04 Mar 2009 11:02 PM Go to last post
  8. Do you know who runs other countries?

    Something occured to me while looking through the political threads, that although I knew the names of some of the people being mentioned, I did not necessarily know the policies or where they stood in the political spectrum. I am aware that...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 04 Mar 2009 02:01 AM
    • Replies: 5
    • Views: 2,599
    05 Mar 2009 09:53 AM Go to last post
  9. New Name for Great Debates

    This is the only forum that still has a SDMB name. I'm thinking it needs a new one. Personally, I'm partial to "Plato's Academy" but other suggestions are welcome. When we've got enough suggestions, I'll do a poll and run it by Crispy for his...

    Started by MsRobyn‎, 04 Mar 2009 11:45 AM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 62
    • Views: 8,449
    05 Mar 2009 02:50 PM Go to last post
  10. Why do we need "States" in a Country?

    What is the point of a country being divided up in to many States, each with it's own laws and legal systems? Would things be better if all laws were nationwide, yet there were still state governments to run the state? It seems to me that the...

    Started by The J Word‎, 04 Mar 2009 10:01 AM
    • Replies: 9
    • Views: 42,446
    06 Mar 2009 08:19 AM Go to last post
  11. Is telling Kids they can Be/Do anything appropriate?

    I've been watching kids programming lately, and I hear this theme over and over again. It's supposed to be a self-esteem builder but I think at the root of it's a highly destructive thing to tell kids that sets them up for disappointment. It's...

    Started by Tinker‎, 03 Mar 2009 10:04 AM
    • Replies: 14
    • Views: 3,473
    06 Mar 2009 10:10 AM Go to last post
  12. CPAC straw poll of 2012 Republican presidential contenders

    CPAC did a straw poll of attendees to find out who has the early conservative support for the 2012 Republican nomination. Mitt Romney won with 20%, as he did in 2007 AND in 2008. Jindal came in second with 14%. Considering that Romney won in...

    Started by Julie‎, 02 Mar 2009 02:19 PM
    • Replies: 19
    • Views: 8,620
    06 Mar 2009 01:55 PM Go to last post
  13. 20 states weighing the benefits of secession

    OK, not really. But.... Primarily “Red States,” right? The article cites Virginia, Arizona, Oklahoma and Montana, South Carolina, as harboring some dissidents willing to wield the legal shears that would carve their silhouette out of the map. ...

    Started by Inigo Montoya‎, 06 Mar 2009 06:40 PM
    • Replies: 7
    • Views: 6,036
    07 Mar 2009 11:33 AM Go to last post
  14. Why is the "Democrat party" supposed to bug me?

    I've seen numerous mentions, sometimes annoyed mentions, of Republicans called the Democratic party the "Democrat party." Apparently, this is supposed to bug me. Why?

    Started by Julie‎, 05 Mar 2009 04:58 PM
    • Replies: 15
    • Views: 3,495
    07 Mar 2009 02:14 PM Go to last post
  15. Releasing Attachments, and Maintaining Standards

    How do you find the boundaries there? Between letting go (which seems to be one of the Major Tasks of adulthood) and letting it ALL go. It seems to me that most of us enter our 20's with a fine set of notions of how the world should be. And for...

    Started by fessie‎, 03 Mar 2009 10:39 AM
    • Replies: 6
    • Views: 2,709
    08 Mar 2009 12:41 AM Go to last post
  16. Second Life and the Real World

    An old friend got in touch with me last week, and we spent several hours last night getting caught up. He mentioned something about Second Life. I know it's been around awhile, and I had a vague idea of what it is and what it's about, but I...

    Started by MsRobyn‎, 08 Mar 2009 08:16 PM
    • Replies: 3
    • Views: 2,080
    08 Mar 2009 11:29 PM Go to last post
  17. Can you guess when this was written? (USA)

    "As for the Republicans—how can one regard seriously a frightened, greedy, nostalgic huddle of tradesmen and lucky idlers who shut their eyes to history and science, steel their emotions against decent human sympathy, cling to sordid and provincial...

    Started by Hostile Dialect‎, 04 Mar 2009 07:23 AM
    • Replies: 23
    • Views: 3,294
    09 Mar 2009 05:17 AM Go to last post
  18. A Thought Experiment About Elections

    A hypothetical for the good people of domebo: Suppose the state of Wisconsin recently held an election for dog-catcher. It was a heated battle. Many first-time voters were registered. Among the instructions given to first-time voters was this:...

    Started by The Hyena‎, 05 Mar 2009 10:08 PM
    • Replies: 7
    • Views: 2,691
    09 Mar 2009 09:15 AM Go to last post
  19. Newspapers in crisis

    So newspapers (even aside from the Reader) are not doing so great lately. The Chicago Tribune went bankrupt in December. Closer to home, both of Detroit's newspapers are now only doing delivery Thursdays and Fridays, and on other days are selling a...

    Started by Exy‎, 06 Mar 2009 01:41 PM
    • Replies: 10
    • Views: 2,324
    09 Mar 2009 09:22 AM Go to last post
  20. Retirement savings, and how much one needs to live "well"

    I'd put this in the polling booth, but it's far from trivial: What's YOUR number? That is, how much capital would you need to feel good about retiring? In the US, this is complilcated by some factors, so I'd outline mine as examples: from what I...

    Started by prr‎, 07 Mar 2009 04:22 PM
    • Replies: 6
    • Views: 2,568
    09 Mar 2009 10:18 AM Go to last post
  21. Can a nation act altruistically?

    Now, I know that many nations will every now and then be nice, in the form of financial aid, medicine, military security, etc. But is it possible for a nation to, at least most of the time, place the needs of others ahead of their own? To give an...

    Started by AllWalker‎, 03 Mar 2009 01:23 AM
    • Replies: 12
    • Views: 2,538
    09 Mar 2009 09:09 PM Go to last post
  22. Kathleen Sebelius on abortion

    Much controversy is brewing over the president's designation of Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of Health and Human Services. She will head the FDA, the CDC, and the NIH to name a few. But in addition, President Obama has indicated...

    Started by Liberal‎, 03 Mar 2009 08:30 AM
    • Replies: 3
    • Views: 1,840
    10 Mar 2009 04:12 PM Go to last post
  23. Poll Poll: Voting thread for new Great Debates name

    The other thread's now into its second page, and it's got some serious contenders. Please vote for one. If there is a tie, it'll go to a run-off. I took the names with serious support, so Syllojism didn't make the cut. (Sorry). Voting will close at...

    Started by MsRobyn‎, 05 Mar 2009 02:01 PM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 54
    • Views: 6,432
    11 Mar 2009 08:54 AM Go to last post
  24. Some thoughts on Obama, Limbaugh and Holder

    I was sitting around a few days ago listening to people discuss President Obama. They were genuinely confused upon hearing that troops were going to be reassigned from Iraq to Afghanistan. “Hey Nate, I thought your Obama was supposed to bring...

    Started by Dangerously Unqualified‎, 11 Mar 2009 10:20 AM
    • Replies: 2
    • Views: 2,266
    11 Mar 2009 12:17 PM Go to last post
  25. How best to determine criminal 'types'.

    Let's face it, this mopping up the mess after the fact doesn't seem to be working, so how can we work towards being preventative in our approach to criminality, as opposed to simply reactionary? We know there are 'pointers' towards a person's...

    Started by ivan astikov‎, 05 Mar 2009 08:43 AM
    • Replies: 38
    • Views: 4,902
    11 Mar 2009 05:18 PM Go to last post
  26. How about restrictions on all "bailout" beneficiaries?

    I gather there is a fair bit of support on these boards and among the general U.S. population for limiting the salaries and otherwise restricting executives of financial institutions that received capital injections under TARP (not necessarily...

    Started by hopesperson‎, 06 Mar 2009 03:05 PM
    • Replies: 3
    • Views: 1,618
    11 Mar 2009 05:40 PM Go to last post
  27. American Socialism

    Where does the US stand in terms of word ranking of socialist states? Have the recent economic troubles and gov't intervention materially increased our leaning in that direction? As I understand it, socialism and democracy exist on a continuum, and...

    Started by Winston Smith‎, 03 Mar 2009 10:38 AM
    • Replies: 6
    • Views: 2,009
    11 Mar 2009 05:48 PM Go to last post
  28. Under what circumstances do you believe lying to be ethically justified?

    In a thread on the other board about my agnostic/rebellious teenage cousin and her asshole fundamentalist parents, at least one person opined that she should flat-out lie to them about rejecting of their faith until she turns 18 and can move out. ...

    Started by Skald the Rhymer‎, 07 Mar 2009 11:56 AM
    • Replies: 11
    • Views: 13,384
    12 Mar 2009 04:31 AM Go to last post
  29. Rockefeller and the UN and Overpopulation ::sigh::

    A message board friend of mine (honestly, I do like this gal) recently proposed that overpopulation really isn't a pressing issue for humanity and is, in reality, a ploy by the Rockefellers (who are evidently responsible for the UN, the Federal...

    Started by fessie‎, 09 Mar 2009 12:29 PM
    • Replies: 19
    • Views: 3,259
    12 Mar 2009 02:21 PM Go to last post
  30. Is the UN completely outmoded?

    As an institution, is the UN completely outmoded? A number of high profile failures to "step in" to a conflict have lead to disaster (Rwanda's a good example). Most of the heavy lifting of the UN seems to be done by a few countries (NATO, larger...

    Started by CRSP‎, 28 Feb 2009 05:16 PM
    • Replies: 10
    • Views: 2,852
    13 Mar 2009 03:40 AM Go to last post
  31. MCDonald's McNuggets and 911

    It is all over the news. A lady goes to McDonald's and asks for a 10 count McNuggets. She gives them her money, they ring her up. Cashier then discovers the store is out of McNuggets. She asks for her money back. The store refuses. She calls 911. ...

    Started by Paul in Qatar‎, 04 Mar 2009 10:16 PM
    • Replies: 34
    • Views: 5,991
    13 Mar 2009 10:01 AM Go to last post
  32. Should the Boeing 777 be grounded?

    It currently has a record with no fatalities which for a workhorse of its capabilities is impressive. However there have been two recent incidents with ice in the fuel delivery system causing engine failure. A near crash at Heathrow averted by quick...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 13 Mar 2009 10:30 AM
    • Replies: 1
    • Views: 1,594
    13 Mar 2009 11:06 AM Go to last post
  33. Who is the leader of the Republican Party

    I don't mean Rush. Who, within the party, is calling the shots? Who decided all the republicans should not vote for the Stim package? Who told Steele and Gengrey to apologize to Rush. Who is steering policy decisions? Does anyone know?

    Started by Biggirl‎, 04 Mar 2009 06:09 AM
    • Replies: 13
    • Views: 3,271
    13 Mar 2009 11:15 AM Go to last post
  34. Abortion not seen linked with depression

    This is a few months old, but I don't remember seeing any chatter about it. No high-quality study done to date can document that having an abortion causes psychological distress, or a "post-abortion syndrome," and efforts to show it does occur...

    Started by Julie‎, 06 Mar 2009 07:23 PM
    • Replies: 16
    • Views: 2,712
    13 Mar 2009 01:53 PM Go to last post
  35. An attempt at a non-offensive generalization of gender differences

    I absolutely hate discussing gender differences, as I am easily offended by such generalizations, and, while I fit the conclusion that I reach, I am anything but 'masculine' in the societal sense. However, I believe I know why the topic is so...

    Started by pedescribe‎, 10 Mar 2009 01:27 PM
    • Replies: 25
    • Views: 13,908
    13 Mar 2009 02:33 PM Go to last post
  36. What influence did the Celtic languages have on English?

    What influence did the Celtic languages, present in the British isles, have on the formation of English? As far as I can see, there seems to be no clear example of a major Celtic influence, other than a few loan words. Rather, there's many...

    Started by CRSP‎, 09 Mar 2009 05:49 AM
    • Replies: 13
    • Views: 10,583
    13 Mar 2009 07:03 PM Go to last post
  37. If you want prisoners to be raped in prison, you are a danger to society

    Inspired by a thread on the dope where a poster wants Bernie Madoff to be raped in prison: If you want someone to be sent to prison and raped, you are morally defective, ethically retarded, and pose a danger to society. You want certain...

    Started by Julie‎, 13 Mar 2009 09:53 AM
    • Replies: 22
    • Views: 3,950
    14 Mar 2009 02:13 PM Go to last post
  38. What'd be wrong (if anything) with understanding the Trinity this way?

    Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate entities. But they all have the same personality. And that personality is to be identified as God. The difference between the three is not in their personality, but in their circumstance. The Father...

    Started by Speusippus‎, 11 Mar 2009 11:36 AM
    • Replies: 15
    • Views: 2,697
    15 Mar 2009 02:44 PM Go to last post
  39. Why doesn't the errancy of the Bible mean that there's no God

    I've just started Bart Ehrman's new book, Jesus Interrupted, kind of an popular introduction to the historical critical approach to the New Testament. A point that he makes up front is that noticing the inconsistencies and historical errors in the...

    Started by Rube E. Tewesday‎, 27 Feb 2009 01:56 PM
    • Replies: 26
    • Views: 5,956
    15 Mar 2009 07:58 PM Go to last post
  40. Minimum price for alcohol: yay or nay?

    The Scottish government's about to attempt to push through minimum pricing laws for alcoholic drinks in order to try to break the back of the drinking culture here. Currently, with special offers, and the like, in supermarkets and pubs, it's...

    Started by CRSP‎, 15 Mar 2009 02:30 PM
    • Replies: 8
    • Views: 11,683
    16 Mar 2009 12:03 AM Go to last post
  41. Wherein I, a leftie Swede, explain why I will vote right in the next election

    I grew up in a socialist home. I have read some Lenin and Marx. I do believe that the best end result for humanity can only be achieved by way of socialist government. I further believe that in a country as small as Sweden, national politics are...

    Started by Claptree‎, 14 Mar 2009 07:41 PM
    • Replies: 21
    • Views: 3,362
    17 Mar 2009 02:26 AM Go to last post
  42. Daylight saving time is stupid

    I have never heard a good argument for DST, and I don't expect to, but I'd be happy to be surprised. Surprise me! Defend this ridiculous practice! Make me not hate it with all the fairly feeble hatred I can summon! Is DST a good idea now? ...

    Started by Julie‎, 06 Mar 2009 09:40 PM
    • Replies: 40
    • Views: 6,016
    17 Mar 2009 10:24 AM Go to last post
  43. Obama's nominee for FEMA director; did he get this one right?

    The President has picked Craig Fugate, an emergency management official from Florida, to head the Federal Emergency Management agency. As the Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Mr. Fugate oversees an agency with 138 full...

    Started by NinetyWt‎, 14 Mar 2009 06:37 PM
    • Replies: 4
    • Views: 1,910
    17 Mar 2009 11:44 AM Go to last post
  44. Should Auschwitz have been bombed?

    In planning a trip to Krakow I started following Wikipedia links and ended up on the Auschwitz bombing debate page. I'd never thought about it before, but after reading about the topic for a while it seems that a lot of people feel that not bombing...

    Started by Harlequin‎, 15 Mar 2009 05:18 PM
    • Replies: 8
    • Views: 2,279
    17 Mar 2009 07:13 PM Go to last post
  45. How do Republicans feel about libraries?

    Are they an example of "socialism"?

    Started by fsghjvdhkjschks‎, 04 Mar 2009 12:25 AM
    • Replies: 18
    • Views: 8,384
    17 Mar 2009 08:12 PM Go to last post
  46. Could the Lib Dems become the UK's Second Party?

    The next election in the UK is likely to be a Conservative win with a majority in the House of Commons. However, given the public's current disfavour towards Labour, either Old or New, is there a chance that the Lib Dems could become the UK's 2nd...

    Started by CatInASuit‎, 03 Mar 2009 09:32 AM
    • Replies: 21
    • Views: 4,441
    18 Mar 2009 10:58 AM Go to last post
  47. Principles of Discourse

    What are the principles we want to establish for serious discussion here, and more generally? We have the chance at the outset of a new forum to discuss what these principles should be, and ideally to have them endorsed by the Mods and New PTB here....

    Started by prr‎, 10 Mar 2009 07:21 PM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 55
    • Views: 7,773
    18 Mar 2009 12:36 PM Go to last post
  48. Why are liberals always sucking Barack Obama's dick?

    I'm sure he is a decent guy (personally), but what's with all this asskissing and deification? Seems only fair, considering the Reagan thread

    Started by Oakminster‎, 03 Mar 2009 01:54 AM
    2 Pages
    1 2
    • Replies: 82
    • Views: 5,421
    18 Mar 2009 08:45 PM Go to last post
  49. Where does our conception of what is "logical" come from?

    Where exactly do the established laws of logic come from? Are they innate, or are they in some sense learned, passed down from generation to generation? Why, for instance, do the majority of people not accept that there are true contradictions...

    Started by CRSP‎, 15 Mar 2009 02:50 PM
    • Replies: 18
    • Views: 2,084
    19 Mar 2009 09:51 AM Go to last post
  50. Party Afilliation: Taking Sides

    As I watch political discourse in this country sink to the level of idiots like Sean Hannity and Randi Rhodes, I ask this question: Why are people so willing to take a side? This isn't a bitch about how there's no real discussion anymore, just...

    Started by Oliveloaf‎, 15 Mar 2009 12:10 AM
    • Replies: 31
    • Views: 2,297
    19 Mar 2009 04:56 PM Go to last post

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