http://www.debate.org/debates/?order=1&sort=&member=SuperPerfundo Customize this RSS feed by going to http://www.debate.org/rss/ en-us 2013-05-24T13:37:40-08:00 2013-05-24T13:37:40-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Marijuana-Legalization/2/ (Voting Period) I think marijuana should be legalized. For the purposes of the debate, let's assume laws under legalization would make pot similar to alcohol (21 age limit, no driving under the influence, etc.) 1. Other substances Alcohol impairs you more, yet is legal. Cigarettes offer all of the same health concerns, but offer no significant benefit (high) and most cigarette smokers smoke more than marijuana users on a daily basis. Also, marijuana has been medically proven to be non-habit-forming, unlike cigarettes and alcohol. 2. Tax revenue The government could tax and regulate the marijuana industry, generating state revenue at a time when it is needed. Also, the birth of a high demand industry would foster jobs and economic growth. 3. Criminals With the ever growing popularity of marijuana, middle-class people who are not drug or street savvy are having to deal with dangerous people and frequent the more suspect areas of town to procure their product. Legaliz http://www.debate.org/debates/Marijuana-Legalization/2/comments/ 2009-03-20T15:47:25-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/The-NFL-should-not-allow-a-team-to-be-called-the-Redskins/1/ (Voting Period) I won't pretend to be a sports guy. I enjoy watching and playing sports, but I'd sooner turn on CNN. However, there is one issue that I feel can't be ignored. That is the issue of team names. And, a little disclaimer, I am a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, but that will not change my argument for the worse. I'm going to start out with some background in my area of more expertise, then I will come back to how that is relevant today. Andrew Johnson succeeded President Lincoln after he was tragically murdered. Johnson objected to Lincoln's freeing of the slaves. However, it was too far done for Johnson to do it (thank goodness). So instead, he took the nation backwards and instated the Jim Crow laws, what we now know as segregation, that we had to wait for another Johnson to undo. We now look back at A. Johnson as the second worst president in American history, according to a recent C-Span poll (Buchanan being worst). If you go back a few years, you get to Andrew J http://www.debate.org/debates/The-NFL-should-not-allow-a-team-to-be-called-the-Redskins/1/comments/ 2009-04-02T21:47:20-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Resolved-Talking-on-the-phone-while-driving-should-be-outlawed-in-the-United-States-of-America./1/ (Voting Period) My side is clear. I'm supporting talking on the phone while driving. Any takers[...]? http://www.debate.org/debates/Resolved-Talking-on-the-phone-while-driving-should-be-outlawed-in-the-United-States-of-America./1/comments/ 2009-04-09T08:11:29-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/High-Schools-should-have-a-designated-smoking-area/1/ (Post Voting Period) Hello and good morning, afternoon or evening. This is my very first debate of this kind so, as many others on this site seem to plead, be gentle with me. My argument is about tobacco use, albeit tailored to a more specific issue. I wish to argue that a high school where students from the ages of 14-18 attend, and some of which smoke, should have a designated area for those people to smoke. More details will be revealed in my list of arguments, which follows: 1. The first issue, as it always is, is of free choice. One thing I will highlight for my opponent to use is that some of the students are not of legal age to buy cigarettes, but I am still arguing for the smoking area. For me to succeed, I must prove that, not only should the students have the choice to smoke, the school they attend should support them by providing the facilities. 2. Secondly, the purpose of having the area must be defined and defended. I will wait to see what my opponent has to say on http://www.debate.org/debates/High-Schools-should-have-a-designated-smoking-area/1/comments/ 2009-04-02T10:41:09-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Marijuana-Legalization/1/ (Voting Period) I think marijuana should be legalized. 1. Other substances Alcohol impairs you more, yet is legal. Cigarettes offer all of the same health concerns, but offer no significant benefit (high) and most cigarette smokers smoke more than marijuana users on a daily basis. Also, marijuana has been medically proven to be non-habit-forming, unlike cigarettes and alcohol. 2. Tax revenue The government could tax and regulate the marijuana industry, generating state revenue at a time when it is needed. Also, the birth of a high demand industry would foster jobs and economic growth. 3. Criminals With the ever growing popularity of marijuana, middle-class people who are not drug or street savvy are having to deal with dangerous people and frequent the more suspect areas of town to procure their product. Legalization would stop this. Also, legalization takes away a large portion of criminal funds, without the cost of policing. By offering the legal sale of marijuan http://www.debate.org/debates/Marijuana-Legalization/1/comments/ 2009-03-16T20:18:02-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Do-dress-code-in-schools-postively-influence-learning/1/ (Post Voting Period) Okay, so I would appreciate anyone who accepts this debate. I stand for this because if everyone dresses all strangely, then the students would be more focused on the clothes instead of the lesson. Thats the basis of my argument but I will develop my standpoint more as the rounds go on. http://www.debate.org/debates/Do-dress-code-in-schools-postively-influence-learning/1/comments/ 2009-03-10T22:18:07-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Media-to-the-rescue-of-Common-MAN.../1/ (Voting Period) I, for one, vehemently believe that media be it print or electronic is paving its way to be a pivotal force in today's society. The media is vested with powers on the trust that it will bring into light startling facts about todays society and making people aware of things taking place in the vicinity. It will be difficult for me to explain my point to someone who is not from India. Around 10 years ago there was a case regarding the brutal murder of a young girl called Jessica lall. The case was wrapped up with the murderers being released with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. The case remained etched in the memories of the family and the dust ridden files of the case being put away in a secluded corner. After almost a decade the media both print and electric dug those old files and brought the case to light again. Media alongwith public support made sure that justice was given and did not breath easy till it made sure that the guilty was given the http://www.debate.org/debates/Media-to-the-rescue-of-Common-MAN.../1/comments/ 2009-03-10T09:59:11-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Is-Communism-efficient-in-real-world-application/1/ (Voting Period) I truly believe that if you are to argue about Communism, you should argue about it's real-world applications, since it appears perfect on paper. According to Answers.com, Communism is "a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people." Doesn't it sound pretty good? Material goods being shared equally by the populace? In truth, I believe that Communism will not work for several reasons. First, communism depends on people to thoroughly be fair and share equally, which is not something that can be accomplished on a mass scale. The citizens in a communist country can have no wants, free choices, or ambitions, and no sense of envy or jealousy – traits that are very common in mankind today. In Cuba, there are many restrictions on the freedom of speech, assembly, and movement, whi http://www.debate.org/debates/Is-Communism-efficient-in-real-world-application/1/comments/ 2009-03-10T22:09:00-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Resolved-People-Exist/1/ (Voting Period) People Exist. Noone can debate this, because it is true. Prove that it's not. http://www.debate.org/debates/Resolved-People-Exist/1/comments/ 2009-03-10T10:21:58-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Life-is-meaningless-without-God./1/ (Post Voting Period) My stance is that life is not meaningless without God. Meaning can be found in life even if some deity does not exist. I will expand further in the next rounds as to how, but I wish to give a definition of God first. Any deity can be used in this argument if it follows these basic tenets: 1. The god is supernatural. 2. The god had to do with the creation of life/the universe/mankind in some way. 3. The god is some being (or beings - having multiple deities for this argument is perfectly alright) that is said to exist. http://www.debate.org/debates/Life-is-meaningless-without-God./1/comments/ 2009-05-03T15:27:14-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Irreducible-subjectivity-and-consciousness/1/ (Post Voting Period) Thomas Nagel, John Searle, and Jerry Fodor all postulate the notion that consciousness is 'irreducibly-subjective' - that is, consciousness has a property of privileged-access in that experience is decidedly or necessarily First-Person and cannot not be so. I disagree. I suggest that the 'subjectivists' of consciousness, et al, are wrong. PRO will take up the position that consciousness is indeed irreducibly-subjective; I await a great argument. Let the contentions be raised! http://www.debate.org/debates/Irreducible-subjectivity-and-consciousness/1/comments/ 2009-04-19T11:21:39-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Get-rid-of-pennies/1/ (Post Voting Period) Resolved: The US government should stop minting the Jefferson nickel and assign the Lincoln penny a five cent value in its place. Due to the rising, and risen, costs of metal, minting change is more expensive than ever. A Jefferson nickel costs almost 8 cents to mint and the Lincoln penny about 1.25 cents. Normally, the government makes profit by minting money (seigniorage), paying production cost and recieving face value. But, in the case of nickels and pennies, the government lost almost $100 million dollars alone in 2007. So, a simple remedy is to stop minting the Jefferson nickel, and make the Lincoln penny worth five cents. This not only saves the 3 cent and .25 cent loss for every nickel and penny minted, but creates a profit gap where the new Lincoln nickel makes the government 3.75 cents per coin. This begs the question, how would we handle cash transactions without a cent piece for precise change? Following other countries like Australia, w http://www.debate.org/debates/Get-rid-of-pennies/1/comments/ 2009-02-18T15:59:01-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/These-Arguments-Against-the-God-of-Christianity-Are-Valid-1A./1/ (Voting Period) *NOTE* - The "1A" notation is for searching/browsing purposes. I hope to have more of these debates. The resolution is simple and brief: I am here to argue that the God of the Bible and thus the teaching of Christianity does not exist, i.e. has no solid evidence for it's existence. Common attributes given to this God is omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence , omnipresence, and many others. These 4 "omni-attributes", however, is what I will be focusing upon. =====Arguments===== For this debate I will be utilizing two popular arguments: the Argument from Evil and the Argument from Non-Belief. 1. Argument from Evil If an all-loving God+exists,+then+why+does+evil+and+suffering+exist+in+the+world?+Christians+commonly+use+free+will+as+an+excuse+for+the+evil+in+the+world.+But+then,+the+burden+is+placed+on+my+opponent+to+show+why+God+would+prefer+us+having+free+will+rather+than+us+not+having+free+will,+or+having+free+will+with+moral+perfection.+Secondly,+the+Christ http://www.debate.org/debates/These-Arguments-Against-the-God-of-Christianity-Are-Valid-1A./1/comments/ 2009-02-17T21:59:03-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Deontology-is-a-better-ethics-system-than-Utilitarianism/1/ (Post Voting Period) Rally it should be a Philopshical debate. Anyways I will take to the pro side saying that Deontology is better. The con side will say that util is better We will post cases in round 2 Refute/extend cases rest of rounds Um, that's basically it. I hope for a challenging and interesting, intellectual debate. http://www.debate.org/debates/Deontology-is-a-better-ethics-system-than-Utilitarianism/1/comments/ 2009-04-19T17:31:53-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Is-God-there/1/ (Voting Period) is there any supernatural bing, not just God in the christian sense or any other religin but is there some sort of higher being controling our every move? http://www.debate.org/debates/Is-God-there/1/comments/ 2009-03-13T13:19:47-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Block-Scheduling/1/ (Voting Period) Resolved: high school's undergoes a change from eight classes a day to four, a block schedule More Time to Learn By giving the student only four classes to deal with at a time, he or she can devote more concentration and time to each subject. Having 3-4 classes per day rather than the traditional 5-6, the teacher experiences a decrease in required work load and preparation time, allowing for more prep time per lesson, more grading time per class, and more teaching and one-on-one interaction per student. (Overall class size and student/teacher ratio decrease due to the increased number of total classes from 7 per year to 8.) Students spend less time changing classes, and teachers spend less time getting students settled and handling administrative tasks. More In-Depth Learning With longer, more highly-concentrated classes, students can take on more projects and papers, rather than the less time-consuming multiple-choice quizzes. Varied and innova http://www.debate.org/debates/Block-Scheduling/1/comments/ 2009-02-27T07:25:32-08:00