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AIG bonuses | AIG did not file for bankruptcy; bonus contracts still valid | PRO |
Earmarks | Earmarks cannot be fully examined during short period of exposure | CON |
Earmarks | Earmarks are often unrelated to legislation; undemocratic. | CON |
Earmarks | Earmarks are more transparent than other spending programs | PRO |
Free public transportation | With the financial crisis, we can't afford to spend more money on something like this. | CON |
Free public transportation | The Government's job is to provide services. | PRO |
Education vouchers | Little evidence that vouchers improve academic achievement. | CON |
Education vouchers | Public schools are being improved without vouchers | CON |
Education vouchers | Vouchers comply with separation of church and state | PRO |
No Child Left Behind Act | No Child Left Behind does not inspire a love of learning. | CON |
No Child Left Behind Act | No Child Left Behind lacks non-English tests. | CON |
2009 US economic stimulus | Economic stimulus by government intervention always fails | CON |
2009 US economic stimulus | Stimulus is from taxes or debt; injects no new money | CON |
2009 US economic stimulus | New Deal did little-to-nothing to end the Depression | CON |
2009 US economic stimulus | Majority of economists believe government can stimulate economy | PRO |
Legalization of adult incest | Homosexuality is more benign than incest on the family. | CON |
Legalization of adult incest | Sex is for reproduction; incest cannot be only about sex. | CON |
Legalization of adult incest | Banning adult incest is analogous to banning homosexuality. | PRO |
Legalization of adult incest | Many things are bad for the family, but not banned like incest | PRO |
Charter schools | New Orleans should not be experimented on with charter schools | CON |
Charter schools | Adaptive charter schools can make necessary changes | PRO |
Crime cameras | Crime cameras are an intrusion on individual privacy rights | CON |
Crime cameras | Police should not waste time watching crime cameras | CON |
Crime cameras | Crime cameras often have no one watching due to limited resources. | CON |
Crime cameras | Crime cameras violate privacy no more than corner store cameras. | PRO |
Crime cameras | Cameras help protect citizens' liberties against crime. | PRO |
Crime cameras | If a person has nothing to hide, then there is no issue. | PRO |
Guantanamo Bay detention center | Guantanamo is inconsistent with American principles of justice | CON |
Guantanamo Bay detention center | Guantanamo detainees are not being tortured | PRO |
Guantanamo Bay detention center | Conditions at Guantanamo are very good for detainees | PRO |
Israeli military assault in Gaza | Israel's right to self-defense does not justify mass murder | CON |
Republika Srpska secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina | Republika Srpska cannot break Dayton, which created RS | CON |
Republika Srpska secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina | Republika Srpska founded on ethnic cleansing; no right to independence | CON |
Republika Srpska secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina | Republika Srpska has a right to self-determination by referendum | PRO |
Republika Srpska secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina | Republika Srpska has right to secede to protect right to exist | PRO |
Republika Srpska secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina | Dayton/Bosnia failures give cause to Republika Srpska secession | PRO |
Republika Srpska secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian Serbs fought legitimately in Bosnian civil war | PRO |
International Criminal Court | ICC lacks separation of powers and checks and balances | CON |
International Criminal Court | ICC adopts an unacceptably vague definition of aggression | CON |
International Criminal Court | UN Security Council can check/veto ICC prosecutions | PRO |
International Criminal Court | ICC has strong controls for politicization and abuse | PRO |
Rebuilding New Orleans | Government should fund residents, not rebuilding New Orleans | CON |
Rebuilding New Orleans | New Orleans has been on the economic decline for decades | CON |
Rebuilding New Orleans | New Orleans civilization should be maintained despite hurricane threat | PRO |
Rebuilding New Orleans | City location need not be logical to justify existence | PRO |
Rebuilding New Orleans | New Orleans should be rebuilt out of respect for tragedy. | PRO |
Rebuilding New Orleans | New Orleans can be rebuilt to address its social problems | PRO |
Bailout of US automakers | Blame for auto failures is on management, not outside factors | CON |
Bailout of US automakers | US has successfully aided autos before; can do it again | PRO |
US and NATO intervention in Libya | Libya didn't attack US; President not authorized for war | CON |
US and NATO intervention in Libya | Obama needed to consult all of Congress, not just leaders. | CON |
US and NATO intervention in Libya | President's action in Libya violates his campaign pledges. | CON |
US and NATO intervention in Libya | Pres has authority to commit to non-war military action. | PRO |
US and NATO intervention in Libya | US responded to Qadhafi loss of sovereign legitimacy | PRO |
US and NATO intervention in Libya | US action in Libya is morally legitimate | PRO |
Infant male circumcision | Neonatal circumcision violates right to avoid inflicted pain | CON |
Infant male circumcision | Circumcision is akin to vaccination of infants | PRO |
Infant male circumcision | Parents have a right to circumcise their children | PRO |
Fairness Doctrine | Balanced left/right broadcasting exist w/o Fairness Doctrine | CON |
Fairness Doctrine | Free speech requires boundaries, such as Fairness Doctrine | PRO |
Employee Free Choice Act | EFCA gives employees equal access to injunctive relief | PRO |
Employee Free Choice Act | There is significant public support for EFCA. | PRO |
Pickens US energy plan | Pickens Plan requires infeasible electric grid upgrades | CON |
Pickens US energy plan | Wind energy production is inconsistent relative to demand | CON |
Pickens US energy plan | Wind energy is non-dispatchable | CON |
Pickens US energy plan | The Pickens Plan is generally not viable. | CON |
Pickens US energy plan | Inconsistent wind energy in Pickens Plan can be accommodated | PRO |
Pickens US energy plan | Natural gas burns more cleanly than gasoline in general | PRO |
Pickens US energy plan | Natural gas is about half as expensive as gasoline. | PRO |
Wave power | Focus on energy conservation before wave power | CON |
Wave power | Wave energy more about profits than environment | CON |
Vehicle fuel economy standards | Fuel economy standards are a solution in search of a problem | CON |
Algae biofuel | Algae fuel ponds must be expensively covered | CON |
Algae biofuel | Algae biofuel is commercially viable on an industrial scale | PRO |
Algae biofuel | Algae biofuel is biodegradable. | PRO |
Algae biofuel | Algae biofuel is a renewable resource. | PRO |
Kyoto Protocol | It is unimportant for the US to join Kyoto now | CON |
Kyoto Protocol | Kyoto regulations on C02 emissions do not improve air-quality | CON |
Kyoto Protocol | The Kyoto Protocol's emissions targets are unrealistic | CON |
Kyoto Protocol | Humans are not causing global warming so Kyoto can't solve it | CON |
Kyoto Protocol | US cities are adopting Kyoto, the federal government should too | PRO |
Kyoto Protocol | Kyoto is an important first step in the right direction | PRO |
Year-round school | Year-round schools, with equal vacation time, is no better for learning | CON |
Year-round school | The studies on year-round schooling are inconclusive. | CON |
Year-round school | Year-round schools have same overall schooling and vacation time. | PRO |
Year-round school | Not-using schools in the summer is generally inefficient. | PRO |
Year-round school | Tradition and year-round schools can exist side-by-side | PRO |
$700 billion US economic bailout | $700b plan has been corruptly influenced by Wallstreet | CON |
$700 billion US economic bailout | Government should buy stock in banks, not just bail them out | CON |
$700 billion US economic bailout | Financial crisis requires and justifies strong executive powers. | PRO |
Reforestation as a solution to global warming | Trees only absorb C02 during their growth | CON |
Reforestation as a solution to global warming | Enough land for reforestation to be a viable solution | PRO |
Geoengineering, iron fertilization of algae blooms | Algae blooms do not sequester much carbon | CON |
Geoengineering, iron fertilization of algae blooms | Algae bloom solutions require fertilizing too much ocean area | CON |
Geoengineering, iron fertilization of algae blooms | Best practices in iron fertilization can ensure effectiveness | PRO |
Geoengineering, iron fertilization of algae blooms | If natural iron fertilization occurs, it is OK for humans to do it | PRO |
Geoengineering, iron fertilization of algae blooms | Humans are already changing Earth; how can geoengineering be wrong? | PRO |
Geoengineering, solar shading | Solar shading might cool tropics, but not high latitudes and poles | CON |
Geoengineering, solar shading | Arguments against geoengineering are too elusive | PRO |
Geoengineering, solar shading | Sunshield costs are reasonable in face of global warming | PRO |
Subsets and Splits