BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
High school attendance should be voluntary

In this debate, I will assert one initial contention, and then attempt to refute my opponent's arguments thus far. First, one's ability to choose whether or not to attend any level of education is an effective check to indoctrination. In a world where authoritarian regimes have been routinely established, we as a society must do what is best the individual, and if possible, the greater good. And in this instance, we have to err on the side of making high school attendance voluntary to uphold these values. To quote George Orwell in his famous book 1984, "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past. " It is such, that education is the ultimate level at which individuals can be indoctrinated. Once the government has the ability to mandate enforcement of high school attendance, they retain ultimate ability to spread ideologies they support. In doing so, thought control becomes the status quo in such a society, which if we seek to support individualism and the advancement of society, we have to refrain from promoting this thought control, and ultimately mandatory high school attendance. An empirical example of thought control being a very real thing in the education system, especially in the United States, we only have to look at the campaigns of previous presidents in the Department of Education. During Reagan's term in office, despite running his campaign partially on abolishing the central education agency, used it to his advantage to support ideologies that benefit him, through appointment of a secretary that promotes 'traditional values' My opponent may call into question the option of using private schools rather than public school, however, private schools are still controlled by an apparatus that could, just as easily as the government, support their own ideologies against what is objective, or what is right in a society. We must affirm. As for my opponent's argument, I would like legitimate, clear reasoning as to why making high school attendance voluntary would make these teachers lose their jobs.
Mistavega is the one epic omnipotent ruler of ownage.

Disappointing. "mistavega forfeited this round." This is probably the best argument that my opponent has, on second thought. I commend him for his originality, but chide him for his unnecessarily short reply to my arguments. I do not consider his R2 to have covered my points adequately. And, as my opponent was online just a dew hours ago, he could at least have posted a brief explanation of why we was forfeiting this round; as he did not do so, I suggest that he no longer cares enough to argue this and has conceded this debate. As my points are all unrefuted, my arguments unanswered, I strongly urge a Con vote. ---------- I wish my opponent all the best in his future debates here on Debate.org, and hope he enjoys them more than he did this one.
Mistavega is the one epic omnipotent ruler of ownage.

My opponent posted the following, referring to modern civilization: "There in that civilization there is but one epic omnipotent ruler of ownage and his name is I, which is me, which is AWESOME. " . http://www.debate.org... I will show this to be incorrect. First, a definition or two, just to keep us on track. ---------- Mistavega: . http://www.debate.org... Civilization: an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached. . http://dictionary.reference.com... Epic: heroic; majestic; impressively great: . http://dictionary.reference.com... Omnipotent: almighty or infinite in power, as God. . http://dictionary.reference.com... Ruler: a person who rules or governs; sovereign. . http://dictionary.reference.com... Ownage: an instance of owning something; an instance of dominating something; the acquisition of control over something. . http://dictionary.reference.com... Awesome: inspiring awe . http://dictionary.reference.com... ------ I posit two arguments against my opponent's claim. 1) My opponent is not mentioned in Google under his title 2) My opponent has a very unimpressive record on here. 1. Google. I looked up my opponent by his title. . http://www.google.com...= No results. I tried searching for his name. I found a Myspace profile, and a twitter account. Nothing on the internet that I could find mentioned his title. This is hardly awesome or epic; my opponent, were he omnipotent, should have been able to make me find a more impressive definition. He did not; though it does not follow that he IS not, it at least casts doubt upon it. Were he the One Epic Omnipotent Ruler of Ownage, surely modern civilization would know? His title should be all over Google, if his claims are true. As his title is not even mentioned, I can conclude that they are not true. 2. Record. My opponent has been a member of DDO for a week. As of this posting, he has not begun any debates, or made any "friends. " His entire output has been three mildly amusing posts in the forums. Although I encourage him to grow and develop his debating skill here, and welcome him to Debate. org, one must admit that his record here is hardly awesome. With that, I turn this little debate over to my opponent.
The United States drinking age should be 18.

I'm going to try and keep these short since there's not a whole essay to write. On July 17, 1984, Unitd States Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age into effect, increasing the drinking age from 18 years of age to 21 years of age. This limited the purchase, sales, and consumption to anyone underneath this age. Previously, the states had set their own laws as to the drinking age which varied from eighteen years old to twenty-one at the time. The vast majority had it set at eighteen years. The United States is one of ONLY FOUR developed countries in the entire world to have this age set to over 18. It currently has the highest drinking age in the world. The other countries are South Korea being 19, parts of Canada being 19, Japan being 20, and Iceland being 19 years. The majority of the world has it set at eighteen years of age with a few exceptions at sixteen. At the age of 18 years of age, one becomes a legal adult. This person is able to vote in all national elections including Presidential, Congressional, and Gubernational. They are able to legally vote for the person that runs our country. This is far more important than consuming alcohol. They are also able to enlist in the military, righteously defend their country, be drafted, and participate in war. They could possibly be killed in battle as well. An eighteen year old person is also able to smoke and buy tobacco legally. They are able to inhale nicotine, smoke, and chemicals into their body through cigarettes or cigars. This causes far more damage than alcohol. Not to mention that they are also able to play the LOTTERY and win millions of dollars for themselves. An eighteen year old can also legally have sex without risk of statutory rape being pressed against them, they can visit a sex store, and legally watch or produce pornography. An eighteen year old is able to move out without the support of their parents, apply for welfare and food stamps, build up credit, and take out loans for cars, houses, school, or anything of the sort. So let's sum this up. An eighteen year old is an adult, can be a part of the military, die for their country, vote for the leader of their country, smoke highly addictive cigarettes and cigars, known to cause cancer, move out of their parent's hospitatility, legally buy a car or house and take out loans, have sex and watch porn with no problem, but cannot drink alcohol. While alcohol can be psychologically addictive, it is nowhere as dangerous as tobacco smoke. Alcohol is a stimulant and depressant and should be drinken responsibly. An eighteen year old can doing anything else responsibly, so why not drink? This would also lower the amount of worry and preoccupation of police officers on college campuses with students trying to smuggle it into the campus. This is why the alcohol purchase and consumption age should nationally be lowered to age 18 after thirty years of having it at twenty-one years of age.
The United States drinking age should be 18.

Drinkng is a bad habbit for anyone. Those who are get used to drinking do not have good way of thinking. Then they are going to be a shame people who do not have place amiog society since they are harmful. Person in their 18 age in this case, obviously, are fresh in thought, power, and mind. If they are introduced drinks then the youth are going to be bad youth as the future leader.
Che Guevara

Hmmm. Lets see here... Is Cuba communist? I think so! Who did Che help put in office? Fidel Castro! Is he a communist? I think so! Casualties? He sent thousands of them to the firing squad. Poor ones, rich ones. Che had absolutely no respect for human life. As for the incident of Chavez and term limits, Che would have been on Chavez's side!
Che Guevara

When you are trying to overthrow a government that is hurting the people and spending the peoples money on nonsense such as the Batista government did, there will be casualties. I think your exaggerating the number he killed, but he's a soldier what do you expect. And he believed in socialism, not communism. Communism cannot work and will never exist, but socialism can. The U.S was preventing Latin America from becoming a strong region, and that's why Guevara was tired of seeing his people suffer and starve while they didn't benefit from the selling of the peoples resources. Look what Guevara started even today. He taught people to stand up to oppressive governments. Look at a few weeks ago when the Venezuelan president was trying to pass a bill that would allow him to have unlimited terms in office. The people stood up and voted against it, becuase Guevara set an example for them and others.
MLP:FiM is the best show ever

"There are between 7 and 12.4 million people in the United States that would identify themselves as bronies." -You realize that is a meager 3% of the total United States population? According to Adventure Time's Facebook page, there are over 14 million fans of the show. That totals 4% of the U.S. population. This proves that Adventure Time has a larger fanbase. "I will simply state that MLP has won lots of awards, such as three British Columbia Leo Awards for Animation, Best Program, "Best Direction, and Best Overall Sound." - Adventure Time's numerous awards and nominations can be viewed here, and their combined wins/nominations surpass the number from MLP. (1) Considering the fact that both shows have been around for four years, Adventure Time has received considerably more critical acclaim, not only among critics, and not only the United States, but worldwide. It has the best of comedy, drama, mystery, action, fantasy, science fiction, and adventure. With a cast of memorable characters that is ever expanding, Adventure Time caters to every type of fan, and is ultimately the better television show. Saying that My Little Pony is the best TV show of ANY genre is simply a fallacy. Vote Con, please! SOURCES: (1)- http://www.imdb.com... http://www.imdb.com...
MLP:FiM is the best show ever

"there are between 7 and 12.4 million people in the United States that would identify themselves as bronies. ". http://www.thewire.com... #"more than 500,000 pieces of Friendship Is Magic artwork were present on deviantArt by June 2012. ". http://www.wired.com... ""Everfree Network", a brony media network, compiled more than 4,800 pieces of fan music by over 500 different musicians in late December 2011. " . http://www.dailydot.com...If these don't prove MLP is popular and well liked, what proves this? Because this is my conclusion and the round of your conclusion as well I do not want to make this too hard for you. I will simply state that MLP has won lots of awards, such as three British Columbia Leo Awards for Animation, "Best Program", "Best Direction", and "Best Overall Sound". [ . http://leoawards.com...Because of its awards and amount of fans, the lessons (which you have not even mentioned! ), and the overall goodness of the show, MLP:FiM is a better show than Adventure Time, and it's also the best show of all time as well.
MLP:FiM is the best show ever

"My Little Pony has more fans. Let me give you a tiny pop quiz. What are Adventure Time fans called? Uhh.....Adventure Time fans? What are MLP fans called? Bronies."-You are making an assumption that because the show has more fans, it is more popular. Where is your source confirming the number of fans? Since when does the name of the fanbase matter? In addition Adventure Time fans DO have a name; Adventurers. "Bronies" only refer to male fans of the show, but what about the other female fans? Good Lord don't even make me mention the CLOPPERS!"Audience target for AT and who watches it? Teenagers; teenagers and adults. Audience target for MLP and who watches it?teenage girls; everyone, but especially adult men. It might seem ridiculous, but this only strengthens my argument concerning that everyone likes MLP:FiM.-How does it strengthen your arguments? You yet again make a hasty generalization stating that "everyone likes MLP." Adventure Time is popular among children, teenagers, AND adults of both sexes. You state that MLP caters to teenage girls and adult men mostly, but it was INTENDED to be a show for female children! Adventure Time was INTENDED to be unisex and universal, and if you watch it you might catch on some of the mature jokes that were put in to please the older audience, as well as the themes and characters that any gender or age can relate to."The characters are just...bad. ...Jake, Finn's best friend--is a different story... Plus, Jake is a jerk... This might be understandable, but he has the great flaw of being incredibly forgetful, and changing ideas or personality, possibly just for the sake of the randomness of the show! I'm too annoyed at how bad a character Jake is. I'm so frustrated I can't debate more this round."-You say that the characters are bad, yet you immediately contradict yourself by praising Finn. And what about the other characters? All you managed to do was write a paragraph about Jake's flaws. His personality is not for the sake of randomness, but for the sake of humor! Is he so bad that you seriously could not continue your arguments?
MLP:FiM is the best show ever

Ah. Very well then. However, you have yet to rebut on the fact that MLP:FiM has heart-warming lessons that appear on almost half of the episodes. Sure, Adventure Time has lessons, but they're not the main focus of the show. The show is strange, a mixture of adventure-action-romance-mystery-ish-comedy, too unsure of itself to stick to any story. However, MLP is solid, a comedy episode is comedy, a mystery episode is mysterious, an action-adventure episode is filled with action and adventure, not some bad mish-mash of everything.In addition, My Little Pony has more fans. Let me give you a tiny pop quiz.1. What are Adventure Time fans called?"Uhh.....Adventure Time fans?"2. What are MLP fans called?"Bronies."3. Audience target for AT and who watches it?Teenagers; teenagers and adults.4. Audience target for MLP and who watches it?teenage girls; everyone, but especiallyadult men. (from http://en.wikipedia.org...)It might seem ridiculous, but this only strengthens my argument concerning that everyone likes MLP:FiM.I'll add another great flaw of Adventure Time if you're not convinced.The characters are just...bad. Sure, the main character, Finn is good, heroic, and does all the good things for everyone, has dreams of getting romance, but Jake, his best friend--is a different story. Because of his (rather overpowered) ability to stretch, he has the habit of laziness. When his ability was removed, he couldn't even walk any more! Plus, Jake is a jerk. One good example is how he "relies heavily on his powers (or Finn) to get him out of any dangerous predicament.", as shown in http://adventuretime.wikia.com.... This might be understandable, but he has the great flaw of being incredibly forgetful, and changing ideas or personality, possibly just for the sake of the randomness of the show! If you want randomness, you've got do "random good", like Regular Show does! In addition, Jake gets unnerved about losing a stupid video game! And he doesn't even learn that "friends are what are important, not games"!ARGHGHGHGHGG. On the other hand, the MLP mane six might have flaws, but they learn from them and change as a result. I'm too annoyed at how bad a character Jake is. I'm so frustrated I can't debate more this round, so make your argument.
MLP:FiM is the best show ever

Rebuttals:"Adventure Time had songs too, but most of them are not nearly as seemingly catchy and visually engaging." Then I advise you to look here. (1)"Furthermore, Adventure Time has too much sad stories that add to it." -Why is this an issue? There is no problem with having melancholy storylines within the show. It generates sympathy for the characters and makes the show more human and relatable. Arguments:I would like to note that the character variety in Adventure Time is more unique and greater than that of MLP.This (2) picture contains every character that has been in Adventure Time as of now. THIS (3) picture contains every character in MLP so far.As you can see, each character in Adventure Time has a unique and distinguishable design. MLP characters all resemble horses, with only a few characters that could stand out.SOURCES:(1)- (2)- http://i57.tinypic.com...(3)- http://i58.tinypic.com...
MLP:FiM is the best show ever

Adventure Time. Smart choice.Just like My Little Pony, Adventure Time is funny and adventurous. However, I think MLP:FiM is a better show than Adventure Time. However, MLP's one of the few shows that has legitimately good morals that everyone (yes, everyone, not just kids) can benefit from taking to heart without feeling it being cheesy or anything. The animation really shows what Flash can do when used well. The voice acting is of utmost quality and it manages to be a girl's show without being especially girly (in terms of content, of course.) In addition, MLP's songs are better. Catchy songs are meant to be catchy, sad songs are somber, happy songs are joyful. Some of the greatest songs are "Winter Wrap Up", "Pinkie the Party Planner", "Hearts Strong as Horses", and "The Flim Flam Brothers". All of these song fit to the theme and mood of the story, have a good beat, and are generally very well-liked. Sure, Adventure Time had songs too, but most of them are not nearly as seemingly catchy and visually engaging.Furthermore, Adventure Time has too much sad stories that add to it. MLP:FiM may have some sad stories, but they eventually come around, and with the addition of the comedy episodes, the full show feels family-friendly.In contrast, Adventure Time is filled with unsolvable tragedies--The Ice King who sacrificed his sentience in order to save Marceline, ending him up in a world void of romance; Finn, the boy with the unknown past and who almost got love, but Princess Bubblegum is too old for him, and even though he has Flame Princess, their relationship is unsteady. The girl I just mentioned--Flame Princess, has a sad story too: because of her pure evil and uncontrollability, she was locked in a lantern by her own father!!These are only a few examples of the tragic backstories of Adventure Time. MLP:FiM has a view tragic stories too, but they are all solved (with the exception of the Cutie-Mark-Crushaders, whose problems are purposefully kept for humorous purposes).
MLP:FiM is the best show ever

I think My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic is the best show ever because it contains all genres of fiction, really catchy songs, and lots of awesome lessons. You will have to present reasons that another show is better than MLP:FiM.This is reposted because of the unfairness of the voter..."I am against the MLP primarily because i know a few people who watch it, and dont rather like how they act." That's your OWN opinion! This should have been a tie!Rematch!!
LD style debate-NATIONAL QUALIFIERS TOPIC

Well, I am at a bit of a loss. It seems that my case was deleted from my computer. My deepest apologies to my opponent. I can write a new case, but it would take a day or two. If it is all right with my opponent, I would propose a new format? Round 3 AFF constructive Neg rebuttal Neg Constructive Round 4 AFF rebuttal AFF voters Neg voters I know this is a large change, but I see it as the only option to continue the debate. Is my opponent in agreement?
LD style debate-NATIONAL QUALIFIERS TOPIC

True to the title, this debate will be as close to LD style as you can get on this site. If you accept this debate, you agree to adhere to all of the rules listed. Here is how its going to work: Round 1 Introductions, points of clarification Round 2 Affirmative constructive Negative CX (3 one-sentence questions only) Negative Constructive Round 3 Affirmative answers Affirmative CX (3 one-sentence questions only) Affirmative Rebuttal Negative Rebuttal and voters Round 4 Affirmative voters Negative-forfeit Additional rules- Only LD debaters may vote. Each side may ONLY ADDRESS VOTERS when listed. Each side may only have five voters maximum. The negative WILL FORFEIT in the last round, as in LD, affirmative speaks last. Please limit to three questions, one sentence each. If there are any questions, post them in the comments or in the first round. Good luck! The resolution is as follows: Resolved, Vigilantism is justified when the government fails to enforce the law
Beauty contests should be banned.

Yes, it affects others sometimes in a negative way. But honestly, it is a personal problem that is not trying to be caused by the beauty pageants. The reason that these things happen is in order to try and show off superior appearance. The fact that these little girls are jealous of supposedly "more attractive girls" is just a matter of jealousy. The fact of the matter is jealousy in someone else's "superior appearance" does not give them the right to get rid of the contest. There needs to be more of a contributing factor than it makes girls jealous. Plus, you are only targeting beauty pageants. There are so many other competitions that makes kids feel horrible about themselves that you are not addressing. Does that mean that everything that makes people feel bad and get jealous should get banned? Unfortunately, these contests do teach little girls at a young age that appearance is extremely important from everything from their Barbie Doll to watching the TV and seeing a pretty lady, etc. This is inevitable and young people will take an interest in their appearance. But to solely blame every bit of this competition on the beauty contest is missing the point. If we banned everything that made women feel bad for their appearance, so many show, model, toys, etc. would be banned just because of that reason. It unfortunately is a personal problem that cannot affect the legality of an issue. Beauty pageants turn women into objects? It shows of the beauty of these women hence the name beauty pageants. Of course, there are perverts about there that will objectify women for anything but that goes outside of beauty pageants. I understand that some people are getting hurt from this but you have to understand that it is not an explicit attack on these women, but rather the apparent need to keep up with these women fashion wise. I do not understand how this is a bad thing though. If by teaching them to make an effort in your appearance, this increases their chances to find a partner and how is increasing appearance to find a partner bad. It promotes the sexual selection that evolution so strongly demands. You have failed to address though how banning beauty contests does not affect our liberties? You also just explained indirect personal problems of a group of people that is going to directly affect the group of people that appreciate the beauty contests.