CreateDebate / Gunman's Waterfall

What's the best part of Thanksgiving?

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:12:30 -0600

I love the jellied cranberries. Especially putting it on the turkey as extra sauce. I could eat a whole can of that stuff.

Who is funnier - Obama or McCain (videos)

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:31:32 -0500

I have to give Obama credit, he is funny. But do we want a president that is funny, or do we want a president who knows how to lead. Obama's slick comedy routine just shows he's more flash and less substance.

Why do you vote?

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:28:07 -0500

Voting is one of the times everyone can influence politics. We can debate and talk all we like, but voting is action. It's the best way to show the world what you think, and what you and your city believe in. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain for the next four years.

Student auctions off virginity to pay for college

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:18:51 -0500

Since she's doing it in Nevada, where prostitution is legal when conducted according to all the relevant state laws, it's a great idea. She's just joining the world's oldest profession as a summer job before college. Unless there's massive publicity, she probably won't get anywhere near a million dollars, but I'm sure she'll make enough to justify the press tour and the day itself. Maybe she'll even get a book deal out of the whole affair.

Do Polls Actually Tell Us What America Thinks?

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:50:54 -0500

They're accurate to the percent that they say they are. If you notice, all of them have disclaimers about the percentage they might be off based on sampling error. For the first half of 2007, only 15% of households didn't have a landline. The gallup poll also tests cellphone users. If you randomize the people you call enough, that's not a very significant loss. The rest is just statistics about sample size and random sampling math. Those footnotes explain what the survey really is surveying. Just remember that if the error margin is 2%, it could be that one is 2% higher and the other is 2% lower

Palin is Cheney in drag.

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:44:26 -0500

Palin has two major qualities that make her a good VP pick. She is the true outsider, and she will speak her mind. She has never served posts inside Washington, which will make it easier for her to point out flaws in the way the system operates, cutting unnecessary positions or red tape. Secondly, she definitely speaks her mind. This is clear from her reactions when picked as a VP and asked in an interview what the vice president even does, and her comments about the freddie mac/fannie may fiasco. Both of those give her the outside the beltway attitude that will balance McCain's experience.

what's a vp do comments

should the government limit the profits oil companies make?

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:25:58 -0500

If the US government really wants to increase production and technology locally, there should be no profit limitations. Oil companies take that profit and reinvest it in research and development, which helps reduce our foreign oil dependence. There is no real reason to limit profit on any business, other than bowing to the masses who think it's unreasonable to be successful. If the government wanted tax revenue, then tax, but extremely high tax rates and profit limitations hinder innovation.

Bush Says Economy On The Upswing

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:57:24 -0500

In case you haven't noticed, gas prices are down and the housing market seems like it's stopped dropping like crazy. Those alone are enough to make me and people around me more confident that things are getting better. Even though prices may be higher for things, I'm less worried about the future.

Do you feel the Obama campaign is too media-hyped?

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:38:49 -0500

The media seems to think Obama is the second coming and that he can't do any wrong. Just the fact that Obama announced his VP pick through text message made the talking heads happy for the next couple days. His campaign managers know what they're doing, and they're getting way more press because of it. But like everything with Obama, it's all style and no substance.

Do you RTFM?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:05:01 -0500

I don't read the manual unless I come across something I can't figure out in five or ten minutes. Then I check the table of contents and try to skip straight to the part that will tell me how finish what I'm doing. Otherwise, manuals go too long on boring obvious stuff and not long enough on the complicated problems that people actually run into.

Is the Spanish men's basketball team really racist?

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:09:16 -0500

I created another debate before I saw this one. Here's my argument from that one:

There's no racial stereotype they're playing to, just physical appearance. If anything they're saying that they're getting ready to compete on the Chinese home soil. The players obviously didn't make the call, the ad people did, but even so, ads are supposed to be controversial. The ad seems like it's just some good natured humor. Any response by the Chinese besides coming out and eating some rice and beans before their next match would be reading way too much into the ad.

http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/Spanish_slanty_eyes_ad_good_humor_or_racist

Spanish slanty-eyes ad: good humor or racist?

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:07:20 -0500

God doesn't love us.

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:39:18 -0500

Another way of arriving at a logically consistent result is: A all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing god exists. If he knows some evil is necessary for the best possible world, then any evil that exists must therefore be necessary. The evil that cannot exist is non-purposeful evil. Since humans are not omniscient, they cannot tell the difference between the types of evil. But logically, god is all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, and there is justified and necessary evil in the world.

The flaw in the logic is that you assume evil is not necessary. If god is all three qualities, since evil exists, it must be necessary. If it was unnecessary, his omnipotence would have eliminated it. So therefore, the evil that exists must be justified according to god's plan.

God doesn't love us.

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:07:45 -0500

First, I don't know that an all-benevolent god is a core belief of Christianity. Neither the Nicene or apostle's creed states that god is benevolent. But that's not the question.

Why must it be that if a perfectly good god exists, then evil could not exist? I'm going to repeat the free will argument. Assuming god exists and is completely benevolent, then the greatest gift he could give us would be the freedom to determine our own lives. Otherwise we'd be nothing more than little robots with everything preprogrammed. Evil exists because some people choose to be evil. It's there as a reminder that we have free will.

Should paedophiles be known as "mainstream" or "us"?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:32:34 -0500

Pedophiles are definitely not "us." They are human beings, but society says the attraction they have towards small children is wrong, so they are not mainstream. If we lived in ancient Rome, they might be acceptable, but Christianity and all our laws say they are wrong for what they do. Obviously they are not mainstream.

Do you prefer honesty or harmony in a relationship?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:29:30 -0500

Lying to each other to keep things smooth in a relationship backfires too much. Little lies need larger lies to stay correct, and after a while, people stop trusting each other. A real relationship is based on accepting the people you are, not the fake image you have.

If Israel attacks Iran should Israel be punished

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:18:09 -0500

Any country that launches an unprovoked attack on another should be punished. There's no excuse for Israel to attack Iran. Israel won't attack Iran because it knows that would be the start of a new world war. Even though the US probably would back Israel, a new era of war would spread as countries took sides. That might be punishment enough, because Israel would be decimated in the end.

Was denying cust an iced espresso on principle right?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:37:07 -0500

It's a coffee store. You're supposed to drink coffee there. The guy knows how he likes his coffee. It's not like iced espresso is difficult to do - they obviously had ice and coffee. If they want to stay in business, they need to learn some basic customer service. At least don't just say no, offer other options instead. That way they still get the customer and the rules stay in place, but they're not dicks about it.

Correct toilet paper roll direction?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:59:32 -0500

The roll should face out, so you can clearly see the next piece and don't have to reach all the way to the back of the roll just to get a new piece.

Game controls maketh the gaming experience

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:49:55 -0500

I use keyboard and mouse with my shooter games. When they show the world champions at all these games, they're always using keyboard and mouse because it give them more control. If the best of the best use it, it's the best.

Are Biol-Fuels Really to Blame for Rising Food Prices?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:44:48 -0500

The only reason bio fuels are rising in price so much is that the US dollar has dropped so much in value. Because we import so much food, anything bought from foreign countries will be more expensive because of the weakness in the dollar. Any food produced here in the US will be higher because oil is more expensive, but oil is more expensive because the dollar is worth less.

Is sex with a robot hooker cheating?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:30:01 -0500

It's basically just masturbation with a machine. What makes something cheating is the the possibility of emotional attachment. Now if the robot had your ex-girlfriends face on it, that would be different.

Should the United States Eliminate Its European Military Bases?

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:40:46 -0500

Logistics and supply chain are the strongest reasons to keep European military bases. With our own bases, we can rapidly deploy wherever needed, and keep supplies flowing to troops engaged in military activities. It seems strange though that we have bases in Europe and elsewhere in the world, but as far as I know, we have no foreign bases in the US.

Local economic benefits are up to the host nation. If it wasn't in their best interest to have a base, then they wouldn't let us have one. Overall, bases strengthen our strategic position and give us an edge in global conflicts.

Colonization of Mars: NASA fantasy?

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:20:09 -0500

Even the physicist Stephen Hawking says that we need to get to other planets in case an asteroid hits earth or someone trips and hits the big red "nuke everything" button. At some point we're going to run out of land, and people always like a challenge.