BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
Liberals are Lunatics

Liberals, especially Secular Humanists, believe that Man is innately good. The good just has to be encouraged by untrammeled personal license and therapy. So, evils like crime and terrorism cannot be simply condemned as evil. Liberals have to look for a "politically-correct" root cause for wrongdoing. Popular scapegoats for Liberals are: "Poverty" (even when that poverty is the fruit of a dysfunctional society unwilling to adapt to new realities), "Racism"(which might limit one's opportunities but doesn't lead directly to criminal behavior), "Zionism" (the Jews always make a convenient scapegoat), "Colonialism" (even though most of the colonial empires educated their subjects and built enough infrastructure for said former subjects to make a better go at modern statehood than they otherwise could have), or "Alienation" ( a convenient dodge for those who lack ambition, a work ethic, or any sense of personal responsibility). Therefore, the United States, being relatively rich, powerful, and the world's policeman must be the cause of all the world's ills. The solution is to hand our American sovereignty and military over to the United Nations, a true coalition of the weak and powerless. If the United States imprisons terrorists caught on the battlefield as unlawful combatants at Guantanamo, then it is a "gulag" and the U.S. military is equivalent to "Soviet Russia" or "Pol Pot". How can Liberals make such a morally ignorant simile? It's really quite simple. First off, to a liberal, history is mutable. History to be valid has to be reinterpreted by each generation and by each "oppressed minority". You end up with no history at all, unless it is in the Orwellian sense of constant reinvention to suit the causes of the immediate present. Facts don't matter much either. Facts are hard and cold, the province of Conservatives who care about results. Results don't matter, only intentions. How else can a bloody-handed murderer like Che Guevara still remain a cool lefty icon? So what if Castro runs real gulags and Guevara was his hangman? Castro brought free health care and education to Cuba. It's all about emotions. Liberals have to be constantly outraged. And they feel the need to express their outrage by outraging others. Why else would a picture of a crucifix and a beaker of piss be considered great art? It expresses what Liberals really want to do, which is piss on religion. They react emotionally, so they acclaim the "artist" in a Pavlovian response. They commit outrages, because they don't want to build. Not really anyway. There are rare exceptions like Jimmy Carter out there swinging a hammer for Habitat for Humanity (which is, btw, a Christian organization) The Left really wants to destroy. They want to destroy America, the family, God, capitalism, the Boy Scouts, and all these bourgoise fascist infrastructure that keeps them from their Neverland utopia where we can live off the dole, smoke pot, sleep around, and somehow not starve. Peter Pan was the penultimate liberal, because he never wanted to grow up and always got the best of that fascist capitalist pirate, Captain Hook.
should normal americans be able to buy and keep guns

yeah, it was a really bad solution now that i look back.but there is nothing a policeman can do if hes not there in time. i mean you could have navy seals as cops but if they can't get their quick enough then what happens. especially really open places were there are allot of farmers people live 30 minutes away from a police station or more. actually although many may believe its increasing crime has decreased sin the 1990's. plus its not going to stop the big things nothing is they'll just go in with a knife if they have to. plus as i said before any country that takes guns away has ended up killing their own people
should normal americans be able to buy and keep guns

I appreciate the point raised by you about individual safety, but I disagree with the solution you gave. For safety reasons, the law should be made strict or the policemen should be trained to be made more responsible and prepared or in any other way the law and order conditions should be made strong. That is the proper solution. Giving away the permission to hand over the guns to everyone will just increase such crimes because every citizen may not use them for safety reasons only. And this just cant be a solution because, in a sense, you are asking to teach robbery to common man in order to prevent robbery? How does this make sense? I am not sure of decreasing robbery in such case, but definitely many will use that knowledge in wrong direction. And how will you justify it's impression on young children? When they see guns at their place, what should be expected from them in their adolescence? And then we cry, 'Crime is increasing'...
should normal americans be able to buy and keep guns

ok, well the amendments is their so that if your country were to turn on you that you would have defense against it and look at other countries who have had their guns removed all have ended up hurting their own citizens and what happens when someone breaks into your house you know your family is sleeping they are armed dead guess what stopping the sale of guns won't do anything wither they will always be gotten by people who try that will just leave the normal people unarmed and the killers robbers and other criminals armed
the role respect plays in young adults participation in society

I disagree on several notions. First of all, I feel that respect is not to be expected, but to be earned. Many "young adults" are extraordinarily immature, irresponsible, and to me, unfit to voice their opinion about how things should be. If they wish to be respected, they should act in ways that are worthy of respect. I know many "young adults", myself included, who are given a great deal of respect when we show that we can offer something to society, and when we show that we have something important to contribute.
the role respect plays in young adults participation in society

First of all, I will be using capitals to signify emphasis, not to scream or yell. "U explained "if young adults wants respect they have to earn it". that is inexplicable." This sentence contradicts itself. If you maintained that I "explained" something, on what grounds can you go on to say that what I just explained was inexplicable? That's like me telling you I smelled almonds and you telling me that what I just smelled was unsmellable. "how is that possible when older adults do not understand what a young adults sees even though they were in those shoes before they grown with knowledge of the world that they forgot that they were young before. that why young adults are out there committing murderers etc because they were not understood. they were no respect so there were no positive help in society" This argument begs the question, it's circular logic an therefore, invalid. In addition, it also commits post hoc ergo propter hoc in that you assume but do not provide evidence for the correlation between lack of respect and murder rates. But I will respond anyway. You just answered your own question. Older adults DO understand what young adults go through. They understand completely because they were in our shoes once. The reason why we believe they disrespect us, is that they treat us differently from other adults. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS DISRESPECT We are treated differently from other adults because they know we lack experience and worldly knowledge, as you have said. Turning 18 doesn't magically bestow upon you the title of "adult", not in society's eyes. You will still be viewed as a child until you start ACTING like an adult. Your argument basically assumes that young adults should automatically be given the same respect that other adults do. I find this position to be absurd and utterly ridiculous. You don't gain a promotion upon hitting a certain age. You don't go from a B in a course to an A just because you've made it through a semester. You don't get a supersize meal instead of a regular one simply because you wait an extra 5 minutes. Why should a young adult reap the benefits, the respect that other adults get treated with, if they don't do anything to DESERVE it? I repeat my initial argument, which you have slyly refused to respond directly to. IF young adults are getting less respect, it is because THEY DO NOT DESERVE it. PLENTY of young adults get respect ONCE THEY START ACTING LIKE ADULTS. RESPECT IS EARNED, NOT EXPECTED.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

My last photo http://quickshotartist.com... is an autumn scene from the Apple Hill region of California in the Sierra foothills, near Placerville. In much of the U.S. autumn scenes and apples are pretty much everywhere, but in California it takes a special trip to the mountains. The photo shows the "station" for a kids' train ride set up during harvest time. The pixels have been flying for five rounds. I'm not sure what it all proves, but it was fun! Pro got the format right: five rounds and a thousand works well. I have enjoyed looking at his photos. He has great enthusiasm. Viewers of the photos may want to consider the effort it takes to look critically. My R3 photo of the flowers takes no effort, it just hits you in the face. R1, R2, and R4 have something going on that, I think, bears pondering. R5 is in between, but it mostly just hits you. Neither approach is necessarily better, it depends how well they are executed.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

I try not to take very many pictures of squirrels because I know that they are very over represented in the whole of photography. My round five and last photograph took a lot of, let's say energy, to acquire. This was taken in a small mountain creek in Caesars Head State Park in South Carolina about three miles into the the Natureland Trust Trail after about 2 miles on Raven Cliff Falls and then 2 on the Dismal Trail. [n] Just after this we ascended more that a thousand feet and passed a swinging bridge, and a rock face called The Cathedral. A 120 foot tall rock face that the trail passes right by. There was so much water falling off the rock that I was unable to use my camera. Anyway, all of that water turned into the small creek in my photograph around a thousand feet below us. http://www.flickr.com... [n] http://www.southcarolinaparks.com... See the trails for riveting tails on each trail.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

Squirrels are cute. One might add interest by replacing the squirrel with a hot girl wearing a bikini made from the pelt of the animal. Although whether that adds interest does depend upon the audience. Fur is also problematic these days, I know. Alas, I don't have anything *that* interesting either. For this round I have a picture http://quickshotartist.com... taken on a business trip to the port city of Yokohama, Japan, where I had a chance to walk to the waterfront. These pre-schoolers were far more interested in the seagulls feeding on popcorn than the museum ship. Note that about 75% of the way down the line there is one boy staring at me taking the picture. There is one of those types in every crowd. Notice all the backpacks and the yellow hats for identification.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

I can not see the overexposure that my opponent sees in my photograph, I would take a look at the histogram but I feel that is too technical for this situation. My opponent's round three photograph makes a great piece of art. Although I would like to see a version that has been brightened up a touch. For my round four photograph I offer this: http://www.flickr.com... A Squirrel on the University of Florida campus, perhaps partaking in some breakfast.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

I quite like the photo of the Japanese woman. On the technical side, the highlight details are completely lost from overexposure. For this round, I have a closeup photo of some flowers, http://quickshotartist.com.... I took the photo with a pocket camera in the parking lot of the Post Office in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, while my wife was mailing a package. I'm not sure what type of flowers it is, but it looks like a type of oleander, which is not at all exotic. (The California High Department has planted oleander everywhere.) The exotic appearance comes from getting inches away from the blossoms. I took out fine detail with a "Simplify" filter in Photoshop. That makes a sort of painting effect that works well with flowers. The intent is an over-the-top tropical look. With standard Photoshop Elements, posterize > palette knife produces a similar effect.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

While it's true photographs do not need a specific subject, my opponent's first photograph lacks anything to draw me in. There are a few scattered trees that block an excellent view of the ocean and then a random trash can down in the corner. I don't want RoyLatham to take my comments personally, this is just what I take away from his first round photograph. RoyLatham's round two photograph is nice. I would have not made it as wide as he did or as tall to get rid of that cut off tree in the top right corner and to make the rock face in the bottom left not take up so much of the foreground. I now present you with my round three photograph: http://www.flickr.com... This was taken at the University of Florida's Japanese Spring Festival, where the local Tea Ceremony ladies gave us quite a performance.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

Photos do not need a subject. Instead they may have multiple items of interest, a pattern, or just a sense of place. Pro's photo of the building on the lake is an idyllic setting. The photo would be improved if more of the lake were included in the foreground, and there was less sky. That would raise the horizon to make a better composition. As it is, the reflection is cut off. Large expanses of blank white sky are best avoided. For this round I offer a recent photo http://quickshotartist.com... taken at Point Lobos, near Carmel, California. Point Lobos http://www.pointlobos.org... is hopelessly scenic. The yellow flowers with red stems are, oddly, called "bluff lettuce." The frame with the kids is spliced with a frame of the waves. That allows timing the position of the kids and of the breaking wave separately. The kids provide scale and draw attention to the cliff edge. It's best viewed full screen to get the detail.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

I attempted to make it more debate-like with the topic one could take con against rather than something like "Photography Competition". RoyLatham I took the time to browse through your photography website to get a feel for any particular style you may have. Feel free to browse my Flickr portfolio if you would like to get a better understanding of my approach to photography. My opponent's first round photograph is an excellent example for proper HDR, too many times people get it wrong and go overboard with HDR. It doesn't do much else though and while the HDR is nice and everything is properly exposed the photograph otherwise seems like a random snapshot. The lack of a subject of some sort fails to draw me into the picture. For my second round photo I present you with this: . http://www.flickr.com... This is the Baughman Center on Lake Alice at The University of Florida
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

This is really not a debate, and I must admit that my somber icon is not as well suited to the subject as Pro's moe one. Nonetheless, if it involves photography, I'm all for it! I like the Muscovy duck photo because it gets up close to show detail that is not usually seen. Technically, the highlights are slightly blocked so it's hard to see the detail in the feathers. I tend to prefer the whole creature in the environment, but that's just a matter of taste. My photo http://www.quickshotartist.com... for this round was taken in Kawaihae (http://en.wikipedia.org...) on the Big Island in Hawaii. Kawaihae is an industrial port with few tourists. The movie "Waterworld" was shot in the harbor. The photo is a high dynamic range image from three exposures, combined in Photomatix. The objective is to preserve highlights and shadows in a high contrast scene.
My photographs are, on the overall, "better" than my opponent's.

In this debate my opponent and I shall post one (1) picture that we have taken ourselves each round and then include a short description and a criticism of their opponent's previous photograph. The word "better" shall be defined by the voters and they are free to listen to our arguments and choose accordingly. I will start the competition with one of my more recent photographs: http://www.flickr.com... Pictured is a Muscovy Duck [1] relaxing in the grass on the shore of Lake Tohopekaliga [2] in Kissimmee, Florida. Interestingly enough, while it is a tropical bird, they can be found in nearly every US state, Canadian province, and even in Japan where temperatures can reach as low as -12 Celsius. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org...
DDO Olympics: Storytelling Prelims

Chapter 5: The MirageI headed towards the corner of the room. Tears began to fill in my eyes. "God why? Why do I deserve this?" I began to cry as my lips were quivering. I buried my head in my arms as I was crouched down in the corner. I cried so hard that I passed out from exhausted.***********************************When I awoke I was still sprawled out on the floor. Nothing strange had occurred that I had taken notice to. Reason, the word came back to me. If I didn't want to go mad I would need to use logic. I reached my feat and begun to pace the floor. I can't use logic to decipher this, because this is just to strange. I killed my sister, saw a boy, my friend Johnathan, get disembodied, my other friends were probably dead, and I was raped.First thing is where am I? The figure had said it was the tunnels under the school, but I didn't think they were this advanced.My thoughts were interrupted when a green mist rolled into the room. I immediately assumed a defensive position. It felt like this veil of fear and depression had dropped over me. The smell of blood had again met my nose. Something seemed...familiar about the scent though. Could it have been Johnathan's or could it even have been my sister's? I herd the sound of trickling water and it seemed to grow louder and LOUDER! It now sounded like a rushing torrent a few seconds latter. A figure seemed to have sat up. It was soaked in blood. I looked closer, fear ran down my spine with realization. It was my sister! She got up. Her entire body was soaked in blood. I could only stare in shock as she rose her figure and pointed at me! "You did this to me!" Her voice was raspy and it seemed to have a certain power to it."No, ... Payton...I c-couldn't...I couldn't have it's...it's not my fault.""They raped me and then you go and kill me. What kind of big sister are you?"I closed my eyes, "You're not real...you're dead." I opened my eyes and she and the mist was gone. I then felt something dripping on me from the ceiling. I reached to where it was and brought it to my face it was blood. I looked up and I began quivering with fear as I my sister hanging from the ceiling. She had been carved up just like Johnathan.The rope began to lower. I was stricken with so much fear that I ran under the arc. The lowering had stopped. She was facing away from me. All I could see was her legs. Then the body began bouncing off the arc and turning around. I ran out the other side of the arc. I turned to look and she was right there in my face just a few inches away from me. Her face was decayed and her eyes were hazel, but her eyes are normally blue. "Look what you did." I screamed which fear and ran to the wire mesh and began trying to press through, but the barbwire was cutting me. I turned to look again and she was mythatically making her way towards me. I began to press even harder as she neared.
DDO Olympics: Storytelling Prelims

This is one of the preliminary rounds for the DDO Olympics in the event of Storytelling. My opponent and I have agreed that we will follow a format where we will build off of each other's story. We've agreed that we will write according to the gothic genre of writing. Lannan13 will start the story and in the final round will post "the end" as we agreed so that he will not have the advantage of having posted part of the story in more rounds than me. For ease of reference, the rules and pairings are provided by bsh1 here: http://www.debate.org... Now that everyone knows what's going on, let the story begin!
Lacrosse

Baseball Q. How much money do pro baseball players make? A.20.5 million dollars (a year) [1] Lacrosse Q. How Much Do Professional Lacrosse Players Get Paid? A. Professional lacrosse players get paid depending upon the number of years in the league. The average pay is $20,000 dollars for the year [2] A better sport has higher paid players. Good debate. [1] http://wiki.answers.com... [2] http://www.ask.com...
phone use in the classroom

The Technology You have listed above is truly amazing and Is already implemented into many schools today! Unfortunately These systems are no where near as foolproof and perfect as you make them out to be. The software for these programs are extremely buggy and easily by passible. Having one at my little siblings school he shows me how easy it is to bypass by just turning off your wifi and enabling a proxy!! If you do not know what a proxy is read this:http://www.whatismyip.com... Now continuing functions like the camera and other distractions can still be used when the phone is offline. The phone has to be online for the programs implemented by the schools to work. Sure you could have a teacher go around the class individually checking students phones to see if their wireless was turned on but that would take away from learning. I am not saying that phones should be Banned from class Im just trying to say that Students who have not earned the right to use their phones in class like none AP students should not be able to use them!
phone use in the classroom

Besides being an enormous distraction phones can also lead to arguments,bullying,fighting and cheating. with the new advancements in technology this happens more and more each day. With a student being able to take a picture of another student in class or a video of them in class and being able to post it anywhere they want can lead to some serious issues. Also imagine what would happen if students started to take pictures of their assignments and other things and send it to other students! Not only would this be a catastrophe this could also lead to some seriously bad punishments! Also Phones more and more have distractions like texting,Snapchat,Facebook,Twitter,Instagram And the list goes on! Imagine having all of the students in a class being able to access this while being told to work! This shows that the amount of pros that can come out of allowing phones in class significantly DOES NOT outway the number pro's.
Fictional presidential debate.

I fully agree with my opponent with his plan to contact this new species. Non interference is a noble goal to have, But I do not feel enough is gained by it. Too many lives are lost in the barbarous years before a planet finds itself civilized and united. And even when such a time comes, This does not mean that they come to some pacifist understanding of life the universe and everything. No wars amongst the stars show this often enough. I agree with my opponents basic plan in this endeavor. My question came from a random event in the computer game Galactic Civilizations II. The Federalist description came from the game as well.