RoyLatham

65-year old male in Valley Springs, California, United States.

Online:	Right Now	Name:	Roy Latham
Updated:	5 Months Ago	Gender:	Male
Joined:	4 Years Ago	Birthday:	- Private -
President:	Undecided	Email:	- Private -
Ideology:	Conservative	Education:	Graduate Degree
Party:	Republican Party	Ethnicity:	Not Saying
Relationship:	Married	Income:	Not Saying
Interested:	- Private -	Occupation:	Self-Employed
Looking:	- Private -	Religion:	Atheist

About Me:	I am an engineer in Silicon Valley. My career has been in aircraft navigation and in computer graphics, including graphics for flight simulators. I founded Computer Graphics systems Development Corp. (cgsd.com), a small engineering company, in 1990. My degrees are in Aero & Astro, Electrical Engineering, Applied Math & Statistics, and Computer Science.
Activities:	Photography, being one of the world's oldest anime fans, travel, blogging. Recently I have been trying to learn how to do video.
Beliefs:	Many. Gravity and the laws of thermodynamics are high on the list. I am a Conservative, but tend to somewhat liberal on social issues.
Books:	This is a tough one. I have lots of favorites. "Good Cheap Food" by Miriam Ungerer "Mark Twain and Hawaii" by Walter Frear Recently, Ian Plimer's book on global warming, "Heaven and Earth." I always like the books by Bill Bryson and John McPhee. Also Douglas Adams, H.L. Mencken, and Christopher Hitchens. I often enough disagree with Hitchens, but he is a master of clear writing. Not books, but I like the DVD lectures put out by "The Teaching Company," for example the one on "The Dark Side of the Universe," which is about the physics of dark matter and dark energy.
Movies:	Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Kung Fu Hustle, Star Wars VI, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, A Christmas Story. 2001 and Forbidden Planet endure. Steve Martin's "LA Story" is a classic bout what a place is really like. Polar Express is an animation favorite. Avatar had great graphics, but needed a believable plot. Inexplicably, anime does not have a category of its own here. Some of my favorites are Haibane Renmei, Rurouni Kenshin, Kino's Journey, Witch Hunter Robin, The Third, Kamichu!, Chobits, and Mahoromatic. "Angelic Layer" is a nice prequel to Chobits. "Great Teacher Onizuna" is fun.
Music:	Hawaiian: Israel Kamakawewo'ole, Darlene Ahuna, Willie K, Amy Gilliiom; some J-Pop; Bach, Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi; P.D.Q. Bach, Dick Dale, Leon Redbone, Marsha Ball, The Capitol Steps, The Kingston Trio, Yo-Yo Ma
Quotes:	"I'm not afraid to die," I said. "I'm not afraid to live. I'm not afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to succeed. I'm not afraid to fall in love. I'm not afraid to be alone. I'm just afraid I might have to stop talking about myself for five minutes." -- Kinky Friedman; "If there are no cigars in heaven, I won't go." --Mark Twain "An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup. " - H.L. Mencken "And if you disagree with me, you're a racist homophobe who wears mink." - Greg Gutfeld "Even monkeys fall from trees." -traditional Japanese saying about experts "They teach me patience. I teach them respect." -Caine, "Kung Fu" (old TV series) Herman Kahn was a professional deep thinker at the Hudson Institute who pondered things like what would happen after a nuclear war -- Kahn: I am a stoic. Mrs. Kahn: Herman,you're fat. You can't be a stoic. Kahn: Then I'll be a neo-stoic.
Sports Teams:	None, no interest. I used to follow football, way back in the Joe Montana days when San Francisco had a team.
TV Shows:	I watch a lot of C-SPAN2 and the cable news channels. I'm a fan of Mythbusters. I like Greg Gutfeld and Craig Ferguson on late night. Old favorites: Monty Python's Flying Circus; The Two Ronnies; Have Gun, Will Travel; The Red Green Show; Police Squad; Kung Fu; Benny Hill

Websites:	Roy's Facebook Roy's flickr Roy's photo blog: Quick Shot Artist Roy's political blog: Facts Plus Logic

College:	Santa Clara University, Graduate Class of 1983 Santa Clara, California, United States Stony Brook University, Graduate Class of 1974 Stony Brook, New York, United States Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Undergraduate Class of 1969 Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

216 Debates

Progressive Creationism vs Darwinian Evolution

Progressive Creationism: a combination between Intelligent design theory and the old creation model discarded in the mid 20 century that is much more aligned with science via evolutionary theory. So to everyone out there don't assume that this will be the same arguments presented by mainstream creationists. Darwinian Evolution: a philosophical extension to the scientific theory of evolution. It is the idea that evolution is an unguided process or a only natural process where there is no ultim...

Voting Period

12 Comments

Updated 5 Days Ago

The Leibnizian Cosmological Argument is Sound - 2

Resolved: The Leibnizian Cosmological Argument is Sound.Rounds:1. Presentation of the LCA/Initial Refutation2. Clash3. Weighing/ClashNo new arguments should be presented in round 3 unless in direct response to a new argument presented in round 2.God is defined as the necessary, personal first cause of the universe.We should rationally accept an argument as sound if the affirmation of its premises is more plausible than the negation.The Leibnizian Cosmological Argument Every exi...

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30 Comments

Updated 1 Month Ago

The Americans with Disabilities Act should be repealed

This debate is about the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 [ADA], including changes made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-325). The full text of the various versions of the law are linked from the ADA's government site. [1. http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm] Wikipedia summarizes the law:The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with d...

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44 Comments

Updated 1 Month Ago

should unhealthy foods cost extra?

Firs of all i would like to say that i am quite new to this website so please excuse me with my terrible debating skills... I think it should cost extra because if it costs extra then people would stop buying unhealthy foods such as: burgers, chips, pizza's etc.. because it will be more expensive please answer.. thank you....

Voting Period

3 Comments

Updated 1 Month Ago

America Does Not Need More STEM Education

This is an argument against the common belief that STEM is the way out of the current financial crisis and into a new age of prosperity. To be clear, I used to personally agree with the belief, but have changed my mind after reflecting about labor economics. As much as any other market, labor markets adhere to how when supply goes up, price goes down. The key to modern prosperity, therefore, is not to increase supply. Raising the supply of STEM in America would only depreciate its value. Inst...

Post Voting Period

3 Comments

Updated 2 Months Ago

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Debate Statistics
Debates:	216
Lost:	13
Tied:	3
Won:	200
Win Ratio:	93.90%
Percentile:	99.98%
Elo Ranking:	7,498
Statistics based on completed debates.

Activity Statistics
Forum Posts:	3204
Votes Cast:	1869
Opinion Arguments:	10
Opinion Questions:	0

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The BIG Issues
This list identifies where RoyLatham stands on popular issues. The choices are limited to the following:

N/O - No Opinion
N/S - Not Saying
Und - Undecided
Con - Against
Pro - In Favor

If you are logged in, you will also see green or red bullets next to each issue, which indicate whether you agree or disagree with RoyLatham on that particular issue.

You can also click each issue to find other members that agree with RoyLatham's position on the issue.

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•	Abortion	ProComments Pro-choice for first term abortions, opposed to second and third term unless the life of the mother is threatened.
•	Affirmative Action	ConComments Per Justice roberts: "The way to end discrimination in the United States is to end discrimination."
•	Animal Rights	Con
•	Barack Obama	Con
•	Border Fence	ProComments Most useful in preventing truck traffic, but generally discourages illegal immigration.
•	Capitalism	Pro
•	Civil Unions	ProComments Provide equal rights without use of the word "marriage," Same position as Obama, Bush.
•	Death Penalty	ProComments The death penalty is required to restore an overall sense of justice. For the death penality, a higher standard of certainty should be required.
•	Drug Legalization	UndComments Depends what drug. Isn't that obvious?
•	Electoral College	Pro
•	Environmental Protection	ProComments Sure, protect the environment. It shouldn't be absolute, however, as reasonable tradeoffs are required.
•	Estate Tax	ConComments The main effect is to require family businesses to be liquidated. Ordinary rich people avoid the tax,
•	European Union	N/O
•	Euthanasia	ConComments It is too subject to abuse by greedy heirs who would urge elders to depart. Might craft an exception for painful illness.
•	Federal Reserve	Con
•	Flat Tax	ProComments Generally favorable to the idea, but it seems there are problems with having absolutely no deductions.
•	Free Trade	Pro
•	Gay Marriage	ConComments Civil unions should convey all rights, but not use of the word "marriage."
•	Global Warming Exists	ConComments Global warming exists, but I assume the prompt means "Human-caused global warming crisis exists."
•	Globalization	Pro
•	Gold Standard	Con
•	Gun Rights	ProComments Even the Supreme court seems to have figured out that the 2nd Amendment means what it says. Self-defense must be allowed because the government cannot guarantee protection.
•	Homeschooling	Pro
•	Internet Censorship	Con
•	Iran-Iraq War	UndComments There isn't any war in Iran, so the question is nonsensical. Action should be taken to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons, if that what the question is.
•	Labor Union	ConComments Yes on the right to form or join a union, no on being compelled or pressured to join. Government employee unions should be opposed as being part of corrupt system of kickbacks.
•	Legalized Prostitution	Pro
•	Medicaid & Medicare	ProComments It's fair to force people to save for their retirement expenses, but government run health care is disastrously inefficient.
•	Medical Marijuana	ProComments OK if prescribed by a real physician, not the California self-proclaimed healthcare provider.
•	Military Intervention	Pro
•	Minimum Wage	ConComments Encourages replacing jobs with automation; the government should provide welfare, not employers.
•	National Health Care	ConComments Government healthcare is too inefficient. Provide welfare to the poor to allow purchase of care.
•	National Retail Sales Tax	ConComments Taxes on consumption encourage savings, but not just one more tax on top of all the others.
•	Occupy Movement	Con
•	Progressive Tax	ConComments Flat tax is better. Depends somewhat on the nature of the whole tax system.
•	Racial Profiling	ConComments Strict racial or ethnic profiling is wrong, but it is appropriate to match suspects against a profile built from evidence.
•	Redistribution	Con
•	Smoking Ban	ConComments People should have the right to make dangerous choices.
•	Social Programs	ConComments There should be a minimum social safety net.
•	Social Security	ProComments Forced savings for retirement is fine, but the welfare aspects should be separated and funded by general revenues.
•	Socialism	Con
•	Stimulus Spending	Con
•	Term Limits	ConComments The problem with term limits is that it puts more power in the hands of unelected bureaucrats who become the only ones who know how to work the system.
•	Torture	Pro
•	United Nations	ConComments For some aspects and against others. It is good for passing out aid to the Third World, but is corrupt and accomplishes little else.
•	War in Afghanistan	UndComments It's better to fight terrorism overseas than at home.
•	War on Terror	ProComments Terrorists are not going to be charmed out of it. It's a war.
•	Welfare	ConComments Limited to a minimum social safety net. Negative income tax is a good idea.