Debate.org: Johnicle's Debates

Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.

2008-09-13T11:26:26-08:00

(Voting Period) I realize that you are to be debating Cooperman88. But if you look on facebook, you will see that Cooperman88 is in fact Jacob Cooper. I am one and the same. So I will debate you on "In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote. Abraham Lincoln once defined America's democracy as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." The context of this quote refers to american citizens. My value for this round will be equality, and my criterion will be democracy. This means that whoever allows for the most amount of democracy by way of equality, will win this round. This is a fair value and criterion because the resolution is talking about what is best for a democratic society, ergo my criterion; and equality is essential to a democracy, ergo my value. Definitions: Democracy (root of democratic) - is a government elected by the people. The people elect their representatives who sit in the legislature to make laws Soc

President Obama has not benefited the United States during his presidency thus far.

2011-03-29T16:03:28-08:00

(Post Voting Period) This will be a Public Forum style debate. Round 1: state your main arguments. Round 2: Refute your opponents arguments as well as rebuilding your own. Resolved: President Obama has not benefited the United States during his presidency thus far. I stand in firm affirmation of the resolution for these two main contentions. President Obama is driving us into deeper and deeper national debt. Obama has done nothing except proposing Obamacare which has so far only taken up time without benefiting the country. Contention 1: The timing of a presidency is crucial. It has to fit the specific needs of the country at the time in order to be successful. When Obama was elected president the country needed a president that was tight on spending in order to pull us out of debt as well as lowering taxes to help stimulate the economy. However, Obama has only dramatically increased national spending to an all time high which will eventually be severely detrimental to

POLICY DEBATE: Space Topic.

2011-08-09T18:02:18-08:00

(Voting Period)

NOTE: If you don't know what Policy Debate is or how to do it... DO NOT ACCEPT.

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Here is the full resolution:

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its exploration and/or development of space beyond the Earth’s mesosphere.

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Here is some evidence: http://www.debatecoaches.org/page/open-evidence-project

I would prefer to be negative, but I'm willing to be affirmative just post in the comment section.

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Round 1: Challenge/1AC
Rou

McCain and Obama should not be allowed on the 2008 Presidential Ballot in Texas.

2008-09-10T03:43:24-08:00

(Post Voting Period) Ladies and Gentleman, I come to you with blatant ignorance of the law. Let me explain to you: The deadline for candidates to get their name on the ballot in Texas was August 26th @ 5:00 p.m. BOTH the Republicans and Democrats MISSED this deadline by not turning in the papers on time. By ANY interpretation of the law, they should not be allowed to be on the ballot, however, the Secretary of State in Texas seems to be poised to ignore this, and allow them on the ballot anyway. ============================================ This is absolute tyranny. While Republicans and Democrats slip by the law, independents are having the law turned against them to make it nearly impossible to gain access to all 50 states. The media seems to be either ignoring it or turning against the third parties who are currently demanding EQUALITY (as they should). Just because the majority didn't get the paper work filled out and turned in on time doesn't mean that you let them by.

With John McCain, the highest chance of World War III will be upon us.

2008-09-16T23:29:28-08:00

(Post Voting Period) Warmongering... John McCain seems to be receiving this adjective more and more lately. Throughout this round I will prove that John McCain is a warmonger but more importantly, he will give us the greatest chance to be a part of the 3rd World War (which is obviously a bad thing)... ========== Beginning with quotes from John McCain: Questioner- "President Bush has talked about us staying in Iraq for 50 years" John McCain- "Maybe a hundred. That be fine with me..." John McCain- "We were in two wars today, combating it, and there are other places in the world where we may have to." John McCain- "My friends, I know how to handle the Iranians, and I'll handle them." John McCain- "These young people that are in this crowd, my friends, I'm going to be asking you to serve." John McCain- "And it's going to be very expensive, and it's going to be long and hard and difficult." John McCain- "There's going to be more wars." (If you're interested:

It ought to be illegal to require students to work past 10:00 (pm) on a school night.

2008-12-14T13:55:08-08:00

(Post Voting Period) My least favorite place in the existence of all lively hood without a doubt is the scum that is Kmart... You see, this is where I work on a weekly basis, and I HATE IT! There are several reasons for this, and one of those reasons is their clever system of scheduling. For example, next Tuesday I work from 6:00 p.m. - 12:15 a.m. This would be the week of semester tests by the way. Speaking of which, I work from 7:00 p.m. - 12:15 a.m. the night before semester tests. I think that this is ridiculous, that the night before one of the most important school days of the year and I am required to stay up way too late or lose my job. Therefore, I propose that we ought to be illegal to require students to work past 10:00 p.m. on school nights. By doing this, we will: A) Give equal opportunity to everyone. -You see, most of my friends don't have jobs. They will be able to get plenty of sleep that night and therefore gain an advantage over me. But by voting pro, you

Resolved: That, on balance, social networking Web Sites have a positive impact on the United States.

2008-12-02T21:46:06-08:00

(Post Voting Period) Social Networks are basically things like: FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, TAG, ZANGA... - They are good because they increase communication opportunities Nowadays, just calling and text messaging is not enough. There has to be some sort of quick communication occurring online, and that is what social networking does. - They stimulate our economy Social networking websites are able to advertise to their users based on what it looks like they or their friends would like. That comes in handy because it saves consumers money and increases production opportunities. - They allow idividuals to expand their social horizons Normally, becuase we are human, we would want to stick with our "cliques" or circle of friends. Social networking sites reccomend individuals that you are not "freinds" with yet in an effort to increase your friends.

Enough is enough Congress, give me back my freedoms!

2008-11-05T11:43:59-08:00

(Voting Period) During this election process, I have realized the many flaws in our system. The biggest of which being the loss of freedoms. America is based on three things, guaranteeing us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, I have compiled a list of freedoms that I should have. I have split them into two categories… Category 1: Freedoms we need NOW. Seat Belt laws. Enough said. Guatanamo Bay: NO MORE taking "suspected terrorists" without a trial. It's B.S. that you can take away YEARS of someone's life without a trial. Many people have been released after years of capture with no more than a "sorry, we thought you were a terrorist." GIVE THEM A TRIAL LIKE WE PROMISED. Privacy: STOP LISTENING TO OUR PHONE CONVERSATIONS. Even if they have nothing to hide and even if they are calls to foreign conversations, we have the right to privacy. Gambling: The Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 put the nail in the coffin. In 13 states, gambling

Resolved: Webcorp should substantially increase the welfare of www.debate.org.

2008-12-27T17:26:23-08:00

(Voting Period) ATTENTION: This is intended to be a Logical Policy Debate round. Meaning a policy round (with inherency, disadvantages, etc.) BUT with evidence only used when absolutely necessary. Please take this into account when accepting the debate or judging it. Rounds 1/2: Constructives Rounds 3/4: Rebuttals I affirm: Resolved: Webcorp should substantially increase the welfare of www.debate.org. (By accepting this debate, please also accept that I can (and am) fiating webcorp rather than the usual federal government.) OBSERVATION 1: INHERENCY/HARMS A) There is no requirement for vote justifications. -When someone goes to vote, they can simply put in their vote without even reading the debate. There are ways to determine who voted for who, but for this takes time and can come down to even a guess when people have similar ideals. Furthermore, this allows people to be able to vote for themselves with the other person hardly even knowing. B) ‘Vote Bomb

CBA Debate - The use of Torture in order to prevent Nuclear Detonation.

2009-12-30T12:14:50-08:00

(Voting Period) This is a CBA (Cost/Benefit Analysis) Debate with specific rules and format. If you intend to judge/compete in this debate, please read up on the general guidelines found in the first post here: http://www.debate.org/forums/debate.org/topic/3107/ ... As you may see, the format is still up in the air so feel free to comment. Use comments 1, 6, and 9 as rules to judge and/or compete in this debate. ===== TOPIC: Scenario: All decently reliable leads on the plot to detonate a nuclear bomb in downtown Boston have come to an abrupt end except for a mans intelligence of the operation (for convenience shall be referred to as Jim). This man is under United States custody but refuses to give up any information about the plans that the terrorists have prepared. He even refuses presidential immunity. It is clear that these terrorists intend to use the nuclear bomb within the next 24 hours, and they have absolutely no reason to believe of any leak. It is therefore

Bob Barr is the best Presidential Candidate of 2008.

2008-09-02T09:23:49-08:00

(Post Voting Period) I'm going to begin with why I believe the typical 2 candidates to not be the best candidate. Certainly there are other candidates and if my opponent chooses to support one of them, I will argue that candidate as well. -John McCain: Mr. McCain's heart may be in the right place, but his rather large hints toward taking us to war against both Iran and Russia would lead to a destruction of our economy. Not only that, but he has said that he would be willing to re-initiate the draft. I understand that Mr. McCain has fought in wars and was honorable about it, I do not want to go to war nor do I want our economy to get any worse. To be honest, I don't think that America could survive 2 more wars (at least in good condition)... Furthermore, going to 2 more wars could lead to a 3rd world war where I don't think that we would be on the winning end of. Barak Obama: Mr. Obama has slowly but surely been leaving me and the country behind him. At first he was so proud t

Logical Policy Format: "Resolved: Webcorp should substantially increase the welfare of debate.org."

2008-12-14T14:11:38-08:00

(Post Voting Period) ATTENTION: This is intended to be a Logical Policy Debate round. Meaning a policy round (with inherency, disadvantages, etc.) BUT with evidence only used when absolutely necessary. Please take this into account when accepting the debate or judging it. Rounds 1/2: Constructives Rounds 3/4: Rebuttals I affirm: Resolved: Webcorp should substantially increase the welfare of debate.org. (By accepting this debate, please also accept that I can (and am) fiating webcorp rather than the usual federal government.) OBSERVATION 1: INHERENCY/HARMS A) There is no requirement for vote justifications. -When someone goes to vote, they can simply put in their vote without even reading the debate. There are ways to determine who voted for who, but for this takes time and can come down to even a guess when people have similar ideals. Furthermore, this allows people to be able to vote for themselves with the other person hardly even knowing. B) ‘Vote Bombing'

Smoking Really Kills

2008-12-09T20:43:47-08:00

(Voting Period) Lung cancer kills over 1 million people a year and people still smoke.If the cigerette company would stop making cigerettes then maybe the world would be a better place.No nasty smoke to get in little kids lungs and have them die from second hand smoke.No one wants there kid to die and if kids die they cant grow up and live there life.Think of all the lifes you could save if the world would stop smoking.

Debate.org profile occupations should include more options such as professional poker player.

2008-09-07T17:31:01-08:00

(Post Voting Period) I've been thinking about what I want to do with my life and one of the things that came up is professional poker player. If I DO go into that, how am I going to feel when I have to change my occupation to "other?" I want people to know what I do. I would accept being able to type it in (unlimited "options"), but having only 23 options simply does not suffice. It's not a BIG problem, but something that needs to be pointed out. I am ready for anyone that thinks otherwise.

The 21 year old drinking age should be lowered.

2009-11-11T17:56:39-08:00

(Voting Period) I will be generally arguing that the age should be 18. I assume my opponent will be arguing that 21 is the appropriate age, however they have the right to argue that it should be 21 or above. They could as well to re-initiate prohibition. I. 18-20 year old citizens have all of the responsibility, with only some of the rights. ---In our society today, it's a little ridiculous that people of the age of 18 can serve for our country, but do not get the freedom to choose whether or to go out and enjoy a round with their friends. We pay taxes, but we are limited in our entertainment rights. Apparently, the government decided that we have enough responsibility to bear life in prison with our decisions, but yet do not have enough responsibility to decide if we want to drink. It simply does not add up. II. The drinking age at 21, raises other limitation of rights to 21. ---The U.S. really has two separate 'adult ages'. The problem is that the age where you can b

Resolved: An ideal form of No Child Left Behind would be beneficial to the welfare of the U.S.

2009-03-29T12:20:47-08:00

(Voting Period) I would like to wish my opponent good luck with this debate and with the tournament in general. I affirm: Resolved: An ideal form of No Child Left Behind would be beneficial to the welfare of the United States. Clarification: No Child Left Behind = NCLB OBSERVATION: ‘Ideal' defined and applied ---From: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ideal ---Ideal: "a conception of something in its perfection" -Therefore, within this resolution, all that I have to prove is that NCLB is beneficial for the United States under its perfect condition. To examine this, I will look to the intentions of NCLB, and when they are carried through successfully, it benefits the United States. CONTENTION 1: NCLB is not in its ideal form under the status quo. ---From: http://harvardcitizen.com/2008/02/13/nclb-a-good-idea-a-bad-policy/ --- "It's a great idea, but the supports necessary in order for schools to reach that performance level are not in place." -What thi

That, on balance, social networking web sites have a positive impact on the United States of America

2008-12-22T20:47:49-08:00

(Post Voting Period) That, on balance, social networking web sites have a positive impact on the United States" I reserve the right top clarify 1st Round (Evidence and the case) 2nd Round Rebuttal 1. Social Networking web sites Definition www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php this is where people develop networks of friends and associates. It forges and creates links between different people. 2. impact- strong effect: the powerful or dramatic effect that something or somebody has http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861620320/impact.html An impact could be direct or indirect List of Positive impacts 1. Economy http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2008-01-17-social-network-nobarriers_N.htm Social Networks are boosting economy through helping businesses advertise. Social networks account for billions of dollars 2. Democracy Social networking web sites help people exchange ideas and ultimately spread their beliefs and in result the democ

Resolved- The costs of informing the public of the world ending 3 months prior outweigh the benefits

2008-03-18T12:57:22-08:00

(Voting Period) Resolved- The costs of informing the public of the world ending 3 months prior outweigh the benefits. I believe that three months is too much time for the public to know such information. Not because they don't deserve to know, but simply because their lives would be much worse if they knew this information. People always want to be able to enjoy the last part of their life, however, the end of their life would only be enjoyed if they did not know when they were going to die. I would suggest that a more appropriate time to inform the public would be maybe 2 weeks, but to inform them 3 months prior would be national suicide. The economy would seize to exist, people would begin invading stores as there would be no one in the store (because people would stop going to work). With no one working, the society would stop running appropriately and it would be 3 months that would simply be more enjoyed if they did not know for another 2 or 2 and a half months. Cos

Debate tournaments have a positive effect on debate.org.

2010-03-02T16:37:24-08:00

(Voting Period) I remember people used to get upset when I would post debates as advertisements for understandable reasons. Therefore, I intend to actually use this as a debate, as well as a reason to let people know about the tournament I am running: http://www.debate.org/forums/debate.org/topic/4409/ Now to the actual debate... This is the fourth attempt at a debate tournament run by me. The first one was completed in 9 months, and the other two ended for other reasons. This poses the question, are they even worth it? I believe that they are, for the following reasons: I. New members are attracted to debate.org ---I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but when a new tournament comes around, people that no one recognizes come out of no where and participate. This is because some friends of mine only are interested in debate tournaments. Therefore, it is a direct link of debate tournaments that increases the traffic on this site. This is an undeniable benefit. II

Resolved: Affirmative action should be practiced in college admissions.

2009-03-10T18:42:06-08:00

(Voting Period) Good luck to my opponent in this round, and for the remainder of this tournament. Now, let's get to this debate! I Affirm, Resolved: Affirmative action should be practiced in college admissions. -Affirmative Action Defined: ""Affirmative action" means positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded" ---(From: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) -Throughout this debate, I will prove that these positive steps are a good thing, and thus, should be practiced for college admissions. Furthermore, it must be noted that Affirmative Action simply breaks ties. In other words, affirmative action will not accept a worse student because of this it will simply take two similarly qualified students and take one over the other because of affirmative action. Furthermore, it must be noted that these establishments may choose to do this. In other