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All in the title.
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Personal
Hello friends, I have a few updates and an important announcement.
MEEP Results
MEEP Results
It took a while, but the MEEP results have been tallied and implemented (the help center now reflects this: https://info.debateart.com/). All motions passed, and while I understand some of you disagreed with them strongly, I believe you will come to appreciate them in the future.
Where have I been?
I've been gone for a while... I apologize profusely to anyone who has been trying to reach me for the past three or four weeks, as I probably haven't answered. So where have I been?
Frankly, absolutely drowning in real life responsibilities.
- Sundays - Get up, go to church, come back, eat, crunch homework, go to small group, get back, recover mentally, go to bed
- Mondays: Get up, go to class, crunch homework, more class, go home, eat, recover mentally, maybe go on a flight lesson, crunch more homework, go to bed
- Tuesdays: Get up, go to class, crunch homework, more class, go home, eat, go to work, get home and go to bed
- Wednesdays: Get up, go to class, crunch homework, more class, go home, eat, go to my weekly Men's Leadership Training class (it's a two year class), get home, go to bed
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Thursdays: Get up, go to class, crunch homework, more class, go home, eat, recover mentally, maybe go on a flight lesson, crunch more homework, go to bed
- Fridays - Saturdays: Get up, do whatever I have neglected over the week (usually that's a lot), eat, go to work, get back, go to bed
Then I rinse and repeat the whole cycle... And again, this is rough so things can either be a lot worse than this or a bit better depending on the circumstances.
Point is, by the end of each day I can't so much as rub two braincells together, and I have so little free time that DebateArt has taken the backseat recently in favor of "more important" things (In fact, I'm writing this now when I probably should be studying for an exam tomorrow).
What's worse, is it doesn't look like this is going to get any better anytime soon. To be honest, none of these things I'm doing are things I'm able to (or want to) back out of. And these are all going to be long-term weights on my schedule.
So... what?
I guess all of this is to say... I need to step down, for my own sake and for the sake of the site. And I will being doing so shortly.
It's a decision I've had a tough time making. When I commit to something I try my hardest to see it through, and I wanted to lead the site into a new chapter. Plus, the last thing I want to do is make us administration-hop.
But, to be fully transparent with you all, I don't have enough time to dedicate to the site anymore to justify my position. And ultimately, I'm doing the site a disservice because of that. An AWOL chief mod is just not healthy for the site long-term. More than that, I need to protect my mental health somewhat, which has been suffering a bit.
What's next?
I will be tying up loose ends and handing the reigns to Whiteflame by tomorrow, who has agreed to take my place. I know he will be amazing in the role, and I'm fully confident in him. Ideally, I'll be able to find a good work-life balance eventually... I'd like to be able to return to the site at some point. In fact, I'll probably pop in every now and again, just at a much lower frequency.
I'm quite optimistic about this site's future. And while I may not be a huge part of that future, I'm glad I had the time with you all that I did. It really meant a lot to me to have online friends to talk to and a platform to hone my skills as a debater and leader. I do intend on returning at some point, but in all honesty, that may very well be years from now or for limited bursts every once in a while. For better or for worse I'm entering a new chapter in life...
So, farewell I guess.
MisterChris,
Chief Moderator
So, farewell I guess.
MisterChris,
Chief Moderator
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DebateArt.com
After a long period of careful policy creation and review, we have a few big MEEP propositions that I'm very excited about sharing.
PROPOSITIONS:
Below are the proposed changes to be voted on. Please vote “yes” or “no” for each one. You may change your vote at a later time, just don’t be a pain about it.
This house proposes:
- In order to promote consistent, fair and even-handed moderating practices across the board, the unreserved adoption of the Standardized Policy Enforcement System (SPES) which overhauls and systematizes banning practices and replaces the Consequences section of CoC.
- In order to allow more accurate & direct community representation, the unreserved adoption of the proposed DebateArt President office and related policy.
- The creation of a “Community” category in the Help Center that will include:
- The Hall of Fame policy and archive
- The DebateArt President policy and archive
- The moderation ban log
ABOUT MEEP:
As seen in the moderation overview,
Moderation may submit questions and proposals regarding moderation policy, voting policy, and the code of conduct to Moderation Engagement and Enactment Processes (MEEPs). MEEPs are binding referenda and comment periods on the questions and proposals submitted. Moderation has full discretion on which questions and proposals are submitted to MEEPs, though no substantive change to the COC may be made without either the consent of the site owner(s) or ratification via a MEEP.In order for a submitted question or proposal to be ratified, at least 10 users must have voted in the MEEP, and more than a majority of all those voting must have voted for the question or proposal. That means, in practice, that in a MEEP with 10 total voters, the minimum threshold for a binding result is 7 votes in favor of the proposal or question. If a MEEP fails to produce a binding result, moderation will maintain the pre-MEEP status quo, unless doing so is entirely untenable.
The voting period will be open from now until 12:00 PM (EST) Friday, September 10th.
Now, for Narnia, and for Aslan!!!
Now, for Narnia, and for Aslan!!!
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DebateArt.com
Hello all! I'm thrilled to serve as the new chief moderator for DART!
Now, for a few announcements:
1. In an effort to make the system on DART more clearly reflect who is actually a mod and who isn't, I have spoken to all users that retain admin access in order to ascertain whether they would like to continue serving in an official capacity as mods or retire and relinquish their admin access. I have finished this process, and so I'd like to take this opportunity to announce the finalized mod team lineup under the new administration:
MisterChris, chief moderator
SupaDudz, deputy moderator
Speedrace, forum moderator
Whiteflame, vote moderator
Blamonkey, vote moderator
Ragnar, assistant moderator
David, assistant moderator
Deadfire27, discord moderator
Note the role "Assistant Moderator." This is a role I have created to take advantage of Ragnar and David's experience while accommodating their limited time. As the name suggests, the primary function of an Assistant Moderator is to help wherever it is most required. As such, this role will have the authority to handle forum posts, debate votes, and debate comments, but will likely not act unless the rest of the mod team is overwhelmed or inactive.
2. With this new transition is coming many exciting changes that I will hint at here, but will be proposed more fully in a MEEP down the line.
- In an effort to promote consistent, fair and even-handed moderating practices across the board, the Standardized Policy Enforcement System (SPES for short) I am working on will completely overhaul and systematize banning practices by laying out specific ban times for specific offenses. Moderators will be required to uphold these standards across the board, except in certain freak scenarios that I shall specify.
- Various updates to the information center
- A more formal system & framework surrounding the idea of a DART President. The role would most likely serve as an elected advisor to the mod team and may have limited powers. (This idea is in its infant stages)
3. In keeping with tradition, the new mod team will adopt a "near blank slate" approach in dealing with the offenses of long-time users.
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DebateArt.com
To preserve debate integrity, here is a public archive of both R1's of the "Resolved: The European Union should, as a joint policy, discourage its member states from joining the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative." debate that Undefeatable and I are putting on hold to complete at a later date:
If/when we resume the debate, we can cross reference each R1 to ensure that changes have not been made.
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DebateArt.com
We used to have a constant base of players. What's happened folks?
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Forum games
In a few hours I graduate high school and am officially semi-free from the government's grip. I'm highly excited for a break from the constant grind, and am even more excited for my future prospects. Anyway, I hope you all have been doing well during my absence. I've been largely inactive for the past month and a half in order to focus on school, but with my newfound freedom I will be able to commit a lot more time to the site and catch up on the current happenings.
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Today, I felt an irresistible call to dedicate myself to the Lord. I’m a disciple of Christ as of today- not by my own strength, but by His alone.
I understand that I will be congratulated by some and ridiculed by others for this decision, but it doesn’t matter. I have faith.
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I'd say a contender for my favorite is the Thor movie soundtrack:
It's so grand and majestic with the brass instrumentation and big drums. As a former trombone player it definitely ticks all my boxes.
What about you folk?
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Show business
three....
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DebateArt.com
Hi folks, round 2 of live practice debating is here!
This time, I'm wanting to do a minimal approach where both sides come to the table with only a constructive, and no other prep! This will force us to think of rebuttals on our feet, which I'm horrible at.
I'm thinking of doing a simple Public Forum 2 team style debate as follows:
Team A Speaker 1: Constructive (4 mins)
Team B Speaker 1: Constructive (4 mins)
Crossfire between both first speakers (2 mins)
Team A Speaker 2: Rebuttal (4 mins)
Team B Speaker 2: Rebuttal (4 mins)
Crossfire between both second speakers (2 mins)
Team A Speaker 1: Summary (3 mins)
Team B Speaker 1: Summary (3 mins)
Grand crossfire between all speakers (3 mins)
Team A Speaker 2: Final Focus (2 mins)
Team B Speaker 2: Final Focus (2 mins)
I'm open to all topic suggestions. If you want to participate let me know, we need at least 4 people.
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DebateArt.com
Just finishes FMA:B and liked it, and I'm now on season 2 of Re:Zero and love it.
Any other suggestions? I'm going to start Fate/Zero after I finish S2 of Re:Zero for sure.
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Show business
With no way left for a town victory, Mafia WINS!
Role list + Night Actions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MAMvCu1NszieDCrFK9DgmKy-SNtwH-bq1zw97Y9wiuE/edit?usp=sharing
Both Mafia and Town had some major slip-ups/bad luck, but everyone played their hardest (RIP Speed) and the end result was a very nail-biting finale.
Good game!
P.S. As this is my first game, I would appreciate any and all feedback regarding setup.
P.P.S. I did in fact mess up Supa's PM and messaged him a correction. The reason I didn't disclose this was because ultimately it meant the difference between mafia and town winning, and I didn't want to show favoritism (plus mafia just about threatened to quit if that happened). I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on whether a WATCHER should be able to see self-visits. My thinking was that since the WATCHER notes each person that targeted their watch target with a role, if the target targets themselves with a role, it is equivalent. I want to hear other people's thoughts though.
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Forum games
GRAVEYARD:
- ILikePie5, SirAnonymous, Elminster (the og)
- Oromagi- You are Yugoslavia. After extensive stalling and newfound threat of invasion from the Axis, you signed the Tripartite Pact against your will. Because you are only an Axis sympathizer on the surface, you are the MILLER. If investigated, you will appear to be aligned with the Mafia. You win with Town.
- SupaDudz- You are France. During the start of the war, you engaged in what is known as the Phoney War, where you simply watched and waited for Germany to make the first move for weeks on end. Because of your reluctance to actually fight, you are the WATCHER. During the night you may choose another player. You will receive a report of all of the players that visited your target. You win with Town.
TOWN:
1. Speed
2. Lunatic
3. Whiteflame
4. Intelligence_06 (Now played by Elminster)
5. Reece101
6. Greyparrot
The Dayphase ends in 72 hours, or at 5:15 PM, Saturday, February 06, 2021
With 6 players, it takes 4 votes to lynch.
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GRAVEYARD:
- ILikePie5, SirAnonymous.
- Elminster- You are the Soviet Union. Your people make great sacrifices to win the war, (in fact sacrificing 15% of your total population) but ultimately you’re remembered as a Red Menace. You are the HATED. You required one less vote than normal to be lynched. You win with Town.
TOWN:
1. Speed
2. Supa
3. Lunatic
4. Whiteflame
5. Intelligence_06 (Now played by Elminster)
6. Reece101
7. Oromagi
8. Greyparrot
Intelligence is being subbed by Elminster.
The Dayphase ends in 72 hours, or at 7:05 PM EST Friday, February 05, 2021
With 8 players, it takes 5 votes to lynch.
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Hi all. Apologize for the delay, I went out of town for a few hours and did not expect the DP to end so soon.
GRAVEYARD:
- ILikePie5-
- SirAnonymous- You are Imperial Japan. You are famous for your surprise attack against the US at Pearl Harbor, and throughout the rest of the war, you are known for absolutely refusing to surrender and fighting ferociously until the end. In order to advance, the Allies have to jump slowly from island to island, encountering massive resistance along the way. Because you made progress slow and costly for the allies, you are the ROLEBLOCKER. Each night you may visit another player. That player may not take any actions. You win with the Mafia.
TOWN:
1. Speed
2. Supa
3. Lunatic
4. Elminster
5. Whiteflame
6. Intelligence_06
7. Reece101
8. Oromagi
9. Greyparrot
The Dayphase ends in 72 hours, or at 4:45 PM, Friday, February 05, 2021
With 9 players, it takes 5 votes to lynch.
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Welcome to WWII Nations Mafia!
- Default win conditions (Town wins when all Mafia are dead/Mafia wins when they are 50% or more of the player base)
- It takes more than 50% of votes to lynch.
- There will be 72 hour dayphases and 24 hour nightphases.
- There's of course the default rules (i.e. no talking outside of PM, no editing/deleting posts, no copy/paste from PM, you may share screenshots if they aren't of PM's or private chats, etc.)
- There will be a theme split, and I will give mafia the choice of fake claim or fake role as Pie does in his games.
- Any inquiry as to how roles work should be limited to PMs with me. I probably won’t give any info unless it’s pertaining to your role specifically.
TOWN:
1. Pie
2. Speed
3. Supa
4. Lunatic
5. Elminster
6. Whiteflame
7. Intelligence_06
8. Reece101
9. Oromagi
10. Greyparrot
11. SirAnonymous
The Dayphase ends in 72 hours, or at 1:07 PM EST, Friday, February 05, 2021
With 11 players, it takes 6 votes to lynch.
Have fun!
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Hi all! This is my first time hosting a mafia game, so hopefully things will go smoothly. I'd like to get at least 10 players, but 8 or 9 will work.
Since this is my first time modding I want the game to be fairly simple....
Default win conditions (Town wins when all Mafia are dead/Mafia wins when they are 50% or more of the player base), no "Twilight Phase" or anything like that. I'm going to do 48 hour dayphases with 24 hour nightphases...
There's of course the default rules (i.e. no talking outside of PM, no editing/deleting posts, no copy/paste from PM, you may share screenshots if they aren't of PM's or private chats, etc.)
There will be a theme split, and I will give mafia the choice of fake claim or fake role as Pie does in his games.
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I thought we were anti-riot? What happened to that? This is just embarrassing.
"tHaT wAs BeFoRe ThEy StOle ThE ElEctIon"
The "evidence" for widespread fraud in the 2020 election is no greater (and I would argue far less) than the "evidence" for widespread fraud in the 2016 election... and after that election, weren't Republicans the ones talking about how the Democrats should accept the results?
"wE sHouLd INveStigAte"
I agree, and we DID. Qualified people looked into it, they saw no good evidence for widespread fraud, and decided that any further investigation is unnecessary.
Weren't we the ones that were against the "wasteful" Russian hack investigation?
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Politics
We're doing a practice debate for fun.
Me + Whiteflame vs. David + Speed
Anyone who wants to spectate can through this link
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DebateArt.com
Looks like I'm an ENTP.
What do you guys get for this? I'm curious.
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People
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Current events
Is this game worth my money? There was so much hype around it, I've been very tempted to give it a whirl.
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Gaming
TheUnderdog has asked me the following: “If someone told you they were pro choice because they didn’t want foster kids getting PTSD in the foster system, how would you respond?” I figured I’d share my answer publicly, because I really detest this form of argument from the Pro Choice camp.
The argument posited is that it is moral to make abortions due to concerns over conditions after birth. For the sake of argument, I will be assuming that in this hypothetical scenario the child will be certainly born into non-ideal conditions.
The very first thing to examine is the morality of the act itself. If the act is obviously amoral (that is, neither moral nor immoral) or moral, then having the abortion would be a no-brainer and we could end the discussion here.
Recall from my debate with Seldiora,
“Those in favor of abortion assert there is a difference between being a human being and being a human person. The human being is simply a member of the species Homo sapiens, but personhood is based on other qualities that are developed over time. This is how, despite abortion objectively and irrefutably killing a human being, Pro-Choice advocates can still manage to justify the practice. They say killing a human being is fine, as long as it is not a human person.However, using the Pro-Choice’s own line of reasoning, the uncertainty principle states that there are 4 potential possibilities of abortion:1. The fetus is a person, and that is known.2. The fetus is a person, but it is unknown.3. The fetus is not a person, and that is known.4. The fetus is not a person, and that is unknownThere are ramifications to each:1. You have committed brazen homicide.2. You have committed manslaughter3. You have done nothing wrong.4. You have committed criminal negligence.In 3/4ths of scenarios, the abortion is not justified.However, 2/4ths of these scenarios are impossible. No one can say with absolute certainty that abortion does not kill a human person. At best, someone can be strongly convinced that it does not, but they have no capacity to prove so....This throws out options 1 & 3, along with the only justifiable abortion scenario, leaving only unjustifiable scenarios.”
OK, so there is no way abortion as an act is not immoral in some form or fashion. So clearly, then, the matter is worth digging into deeper.
Now, even if abortion as an act is immoral, an immoral act could still be justified if it is outweighed by a positive good. This depends on three things: the degree of the immorality of the act, the degree of the positive good, & whether there are alternative options available to circumvent the immoral act and attain the positive good.
Regarding the first, I think both options 2 & 4 present a great evil.
Abort73 furthers:
“Uncertainty as to whether a building is occupied does not give an exterminator the right to fumigate. Uncertainty as to whether an overturned bassinet is empty does not give a truck driver the right to plough through it. Uncertainty as to whether a walk-in freezer has been vacated does not give a night manager the right to lock and bolt it. Uncertainty as to whether a high climber has moved to another tree does not give a lumberjack the right to fell the timber. And uncertainty over whether a person is really dead does not give a mortician the right to light the furnace. Personal conviction makes no difference. The absence of human life must be completely verified before any of these actions can take place.”
I also think it wouldn’t be inaccurate to reject the Pro-Choice differentiation between humanity and personhood altogether.
Further citing my debate with Seldiora,
“Because the Pro-Choice metrics of defining personhood are indistinct and immeasurable, the voter should prefer the objective Pro-Life standard: “To kill a member of the Homo sapiens without justification is immoral.”Under this standard, the abortion debate is instantly settled.......Indeed, it is better to draw the line at killing a human being. If we did not, what else would be the metric we use to draw it?If PRO thinks personhood begins with consciousness, then people in a vegetable state, suffering brain damage, or severely developmentally handicapped are “not people” under PRO’s logic and can be freely killed with no moral repercussion.If PRO thinks life begins with the “ability to respond to stimuli,” we run into the same logical blunders: what about people in a vegetative state?The baby is also able to respond to stimuli as early as 8 weeks, well within the first trimester, when the majority of abortions happen.Maybe PRO thinks it is “viability,” that is also nonsensical. Are people on life support who are technically “unviable” less than a human person?
This would escalate the severity of the crime to blatant murder.
The other thing to consider is the circumstances that has lead to the perceived need of such an abortion, starting with the decision to have sexual intercourse in the first place. An act of evil is less severe if the actor was forced to make the decision due to circumstances out of their control (i.e. rape). Yet that’s not what we see for greater than 99.5% of abortion cases.
Abortions happen typically when a couple has sex without taking proper precautions.
A study took polls of those who had abortions and asked them if they were using condoms or contraceptives at the time of pregnancy, and they asked them if they were using these consistently.
While 42% of the condom-users reported failure, inconsistent use was reported by half of those using condoms as well. Once you consider that only 1/250 condoms breaks (0.4%), the study shows that inconsistent use was the biggest contributor to unwanted pregnancy.
The results are similar with contraceptives, which are 91%+ effective, as 3/4ths of those taking them reported inconsistent use.
Using a condom consistently, and using a contraceptive if it fails consistently is next to foolproof statistically. There is also the tried and true method of abstinence.
IEP furthers:
“when a person voluntarily engages in a behavior which can produce reasonably foreseeable consequences, and the agent is a proximate and primary cause of those consequences, then it follows that the agent has obligations with respect to those consequences. In the case of procreation, the child needs care. To fail to provide it is to allow harmful consequences to obtain. Since the agent is causally responsible for the existence of a child in need of care, then the agent is morally responsible to provide it. “
The agent should not simply forgo their responsibility by killing that child. Such an act is beyond abhorrent.
Moving to the second factor, then, abortion must reap a very large positive good in this scenario to outweigh the act itself… Unfortunately, it doesn’t. It is preferable to live in crappy conditions than to not live at all.
I addressed this some in my debate with Seldiora, when he asked: “what about disabled children, who may live an entire life of suffering?”
To which I responded:
“As you have admitted, life is a continuous process. If this is the case, why stop preventing the suffering at birth? Why not kill 80 year old disabled people so that their remaining years will be pain-free?
Hopefully you will see CON’s point. Furthermore, who are you to decide which life is or is not worth living? What level of suffering is the threshold? Where do you draw the line?”
Expanding this idea to poverty, Abort73 writes:
“Isn't it true that there are born-children, today, who are growing up in poverty? Has anyone ever heard someone argue that the mothers of these born-children should have the right to kill them, since they can't afford to raise them? No one makes such an absurd and heartless argument because we all know that no amount of financial hardship is sufficient rationale for killing another human being, particularly an innocent child. On a practical level, there are more crisis pregnancy care centers in America today than there are abortion providers. They all function to help bring women through their pregnancies by providing them the emotional and financial assistance they need to carry to term and, if need be, place for adoption (which would relieve all future financial obligation). When help is needed, help can be found.”
This form of argument additionally assumes that if you live impoverished or in crappy conditions your life is nothing but pain. That’s objectively false in every case without fail.
C. Everett Koop, who pioneered the field of pediatric surgery, points out that
"some of the most unhappy children have all of their physical and mental faculties, while some of the happiest youngsters have borne burdens which most of us would find very difficult to endure."
In every life, there is the good & there is the bad. Even if there is a little good and a lot of bad, who are we to say that life is not worth living? Additionally, who are we to say that someone’s conditions won’t improve over time?
Research shows there are 3 basic things that any person can do to be successful: finish high school, get a full-time job and wait until 21 to marry and have children.
The results speak for themselves:
“Our research shows that of American adults who followed these three simple rules, only about 2 percent are in poverty and nearly 75 percent have joined the middle class (defined as earning around $55,000 or more per year).”
Addressing the foster home PTSD thing specifically, if anything the presence of foster homes and orphanages supports my argument.
Tying this into the third factor (that is, “whether there are alternative options available to circumvent the immoral act and attain the positive good”), a foster home or an orphanage is not at all a net negative existence. While it’s true that these systems are not perfect, overall they are very positive forces for society. Have you heard anyone argue to kill born orphans so that they can avoid the prospective chance of developing PTSD (Which, by the way, many people live with just fine)?
Thought not.
If those options exist, then, how then do we justify abortion? The answer is simple: we can’t.
That’s why many people argue the orphanage/foster care system will be overrun if we outlaw abortion.
Newsflash: it won’t.
Abort73 writes:
"The National Council for Adoption (NCFA) points out that "there are many couples hoping to adopt for every one adoptable infant." Their studies show that one-third of all women, aged 18-44, have considered adopting, and their coverage of the dramatic rise in international adoptions is further evidence that the demand to adopt is well ahead of the number of infants available to be adopted.
The NCFA also points out that roughly 98% of the unmarried women who give birth decide to parent their baby. Only 2% place for adoption.10 If you apply that percentage to the number of pregnancies currently being aborted each year, the abolition of abortion would require the adoption of approximately 20,000 additional babies each year.....
A second point to consider is this. If abortion were not an option, if women had to carry their children to full term and fathers couldn't bail themselves out of child support by paying for an abortion... The number of unplanned pregnancies would almost certainly go down. As it stands now, abortion is a safety net”
Finally, even if none of that were true, we could look back to what I said earlier:
“Using a condom consistently, and using a contraceptive if it fails consistently is next to foolproof statistically. There is also the tried and true method of abstinence.”
Those constitute alternatives in of themselves, do they not?
Hope this answers your question, TheUnderdog.
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Politics
Virtuoso/David says he plans on starting a live debate tournament on the site. I think that's a great idea, but I'm very rusty in live debate (as I assume other people are too).
Is anyone down to do some live debate practice at some point? Wouldn't be super competitive obviously, as of course we'd be doing it just to brush up on our skills a bit.
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DebateArt.com
THE BEARMAN TOURNAMENT FINAL RESULTS, PUBLISHED BY THE MAN HIMSELF. WAIT, SHIT, I MEANT BEAR HIMSELF
*puts on bear mask*
Hi all! BearMan here, and definitely not someone else pretending to be a Bear, because.... well, that would be weird. Thanks to my incredible Bear management, we've had a fantastic tournament with our very skilled roster of debaters. Unfortunately, though, as with all good things (including my presence on the site), the tournament must come to an end.
MisterChris and SupaDudz talked it out, and it seems that SupaDudz plans on taking a break from debating and has thus forfeited the final round of the tournament. This is unfortunate, but it's about hibernation time for me anyway so I'm ok with it.
Given this decision, here are the final results from the tournament:
Papa Bear: MisterChris
Mama Bear: SupaDudz
Baby Bear: Nikunj_Sanghai
Slightly Deformed Bear: Speedrace, Dr. Franklin
Bear Hitler: Intelligence_06, Seldiora, Crocodile, & Lemming
Please make sure to congratulate each participant for their achievements! Thanks to all who participated!!
Peace.
~ Totally Definitely BearMan.
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DebateArt.com
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The Neuroscience of NoFap | Why Pornography Changes the Brain
Escaping Porn Addiction | Eli Nash | TEDxFortWayne
I believe porn is the root cause of a lot of problems, and I can gladly say I've quit starting this No Nut November.
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Science and Nature
I have been lying to everyone. I'm extremely sorry to those I will hurt by giving this confession, but it must be done. I would like to apologize more formally to my cat, who has always been by my side, to my fish, who does my tax returns, and to that one guy who I thought was waving at me 237 days ago but was actually waving to his friend behind me....
I am the crowned prince of Saudi Arabia.
I will now be quitting this site. You will never see me again
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People
I suppose there is always an inherent benefit to being within the majority. Even something as small as the psychological benefit of feeling "more at home" in your community is technically a privilege. In that sense there is no way white privileges does not exist in the US. The real question is whether it prevails to the point that it is worth addressing over the multitude of variables that are more controllable. Racial distribution can not be controlled as easily as the choice to wait until 21 to have children, or actually sticking around once they are born.
That is something I feel that critical race theorists neglect to consider... whether that inherent benefit of whiteness overrides other privilege of circumstance, or whether additional factors such as the choices of individuals can override racial privilege when it comes to predicting success. If that were the case a debate about how to solve white privilege would be moot and a net harm (think of all the racial tensions cultivated by critical race theory so far in the US). Even in the rare scenario we managed to quell white privilege in some fashion, if other factors outweighed it anyway, then we would have just been pissing in the wind. A better debate to have then would be "well, which controllable variables predict the most success and how do we encourage everyone to positively correlate with as many of those variables as possible?"
The evidence is in on that front... controllable factors easily matter more and we have specifically identified many of the important ones.
"Let politicians, schoolteachers and administrators, community leaders, ministers and parents drill into children the message that in a free society, they enter adulthood with three major responsibilities: at least finish high school, get a full-time job and wait until age 21 to get married and have children.Our research shows that of American adults who followed these three simple rules, only about 2 percent are in poverty and nearly 75 percent have joined the middle class (defined as earning around $55,000 or more per year). There are surely influences other than these principles at play, but following them guides a young adult away from poverty and toward the middle class.Consider an example. Today, more than 40 percent of American children, including more than 70 percent of black children and 50 percent of Hispanic children, are born outside marriage. This unprecedented rate of nonmarital births, combined with the nation’s high divorce rate, means that around half of children will spend part of their childhood—and for a considerable number of these all of their childhood — in a single-parent family. As hard as single parents try to give their children a healthy home environment, children in female-headed families are four or more times as likely as children from married-couple families to live in poverty. In turn, poverty is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes in children, including school dropout and out-of-wedlock births."
So, then, maybe we should reallocate our focus.
But that doesn't make for good politics, does it? Now you must take some form of responsibility for where you are in life, and you can not simply label "group X" as the reason for all your problems. I suppose, though, that this phenomena is to be expected. The tribal mentality of humanity is not so easily overridden after a few million years of development.
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Society
There are 3 main categories of refutations. I try to use all 3 categories to refute each major point my opponent makes... this gives me a lot of extra room to breathe, as even if one refutation fails, the others can prop up my argument.
First, there are impact refutations. These are refutations that address the impacts your opponent's arguments give, and either "turn" them in your favor, outweigh, or negate/minimize them. So for example, in my abortion debate with Seldiora, I gave the impact that we were killing something to the tune of 40 million people yearly via abortions. Seldiora said that is actually a good thing, because it addresses overpopulation. That's a turn. Seldiora maybe could have argued that the harms of illegalizing abortion would be worse than the current harms of 40 million people dying. That's outweighing. Seldiora also could have given counter-evidence and said "there are way less abortions than that" theoretically. That's negating, or minimizing the impact.
Second, there are warrant refutations. A "warrant" is a reason an impact is going to happen. For example, I said we are killing 40 million people yearly. That was the impact. I had 1 big warrant, that those fetuses are people, and therefore every fetus that dies is a person. So in response Seldiora could have said "those fetuses are not people" and give the reason why, and maybe give some counter-evidence to back that up as well. This would have effectively "de-linked" my warrant from my impact, and the impact would have become irrelevant.
Third, there are source refutations. This doesn't mean counter-evidence, these are arguments that rely on you going into your opponent's source and discrediting it somehow. Let's say I unwittingly used commentary from a universally discredited scholar to establish that fetuses are people, for example. If nothing else, seldiora could have argued that he is a bad source according to other professionals in the field.
Knowing these categories helps, because even if you don't figure out how to address one category of your opponent's argument (maybe the warrant or impact is much too solid), maybe you can find something to work with in the other categories (maybe the source looks iffy).
Hope this helps!
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DebateArt.com
Well, I can now legally boink with a MILF, but I don't feel any different.
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Personal
Very solid video. The world isn't going crazy by historical standards... this is just a return to normalcy in a way.
You could've seen most of what's happened over the last 4 years coming if you knew where to look... and no, we can't just blame it all on the Right or the Left.
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Current events
I didn't expect them to actually accept my track on Spotify, but here we are. This is a pretty big landmark for me and my music
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Show business
Soooo I've made a SoundCloud recently and am going to be adding more songs to it. I already have a single called "Lovesick" that will hopefully be on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and more soon.
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Show business
A-well-a everybody's heard about the birdB-b-b-bird, b-birdd's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, bird is the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, well-a bird is the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, well-a bird is the wordA-well, a bird, bird, b-bird is the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, well-a bird is the wordA-well, a bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well-a don't you know about the bird?Well, everybody knows that the bird is the wordA-well-a-bird, bird, b-bird's the word, a-well-aA-well-a everybody's heard about the birdBird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well-a don't you know about the bird?Well, everybody's talking about the bird!A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well-a bird, surfing bird, brr, brr, ah, ahAh, bap-a-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-papMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-ma-ma, ma-ma-mowMa-ma-ma-ma, ma-ma-mowMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mowA-well-a don't you know about the bird?Well, everybody knows that the bird is the wordA-well, a bird, bird, b-bird's the wordA-well-a mow, mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-paMa-ma-mow, ma-ma, mow, pa-pa
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Religion
I call myself a conservative libertarian, so I'd say it's a fairly accurate test, leaning slightly left.
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Personal
All of my hard work and dedication has paid off. Getting to 1000 posts has been a dream of mine for many years, and I would like to thank those who have helped me along the way. First and foremost I would like to thank god for giving me this opportunity. Next I would like to thank my parents. I want to thank my friend Peter Griffin for being really skinny and always being there for me. I would also like to thank my pet tadpole for surviving against all odds for over a week. Next I would like to thank the squirrel that lives in my backyard for climbing trees because that gives me inspiration that I need to get through the day. This is a special moment in my life and I would like to thank any of my unmentioned friends and family that have helped me along the way. This moment will be a moment that I will never forget. I just remembered a few other people I would like to thank; Abraham Lincoln, the fish I caught in the third grade, my light in my room because I wouldn’t be able to see the keyboard without it, the internet for letting me go on bodybuilding forums, my house because without it I would be homeless, and last but not least I would like to thank all the people out there that actually took time out of their day to read this. I cannot stress how much of a big deal to me this is. I have been trying to achieve 1000 posts for years, but that has not been possible until this amazing day. Hopefully my good luck will continue, but this is undoubtedly a rare occasion. If you asked me how I did this, I would say, you can achieve anything you set your mind on. To all the kids out there reading this, I would like to tell them to follow their dreams. And lastly, to everyone legitimately taking this post seriously, thank you the most for your brilliant obliviosity.
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DebateArt.com
Trump had his faults (stupidly interrupting, when he should have just let Biden dig his own grave as well as not giving a straight answer on condemning racists), but I personally think Biden couldn't have done any worse.
1. He openly endorsed the Green New Deal, universally recognized as the stupidest idea anyone has ever presented in American politics.
2. He made no condemnation of the riots and domestic terrorism plaguing America.
3. His COVID argument literally consists of "This international plague is somehow Trump's fault."
4. His economic argument is "you killed the economy" but at the same time "we need to close the country"
5. Weirdly enough, Biden hurled more insults at Trump than vice versa. This was the time he was supposed to be the grown up. Instead, they both looked childish.
There's so much more....
Really, I don't think the Democrats understand how absolutely disconnected they are from the American voter. It's like they're trying their hardest to be as radical left as possible. It's baffling to me.
Even if you agree with him on these issues, you have to admit, it is political suicide.
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Politics
If 't be true we useth shakespearean english, p'rhaps our arguments wouldst beest m're compelling. The elegance of mine own w'rds seep into the souls of the readeth'rs at which hour i speaketh in this tongue, wh'reas bef're mine own w'rds w're hath lost in the void.
Forsooth, i bethink i shouldst publish all of mine own arguments in this tongue
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Artistic expressions
Orator medal farm. Have as many extensive and useless convos as you want.
I'll start the conversation by saying something controversial: pineapple on pizza is actually pretty good
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DebateArt.com
Hi all! You likely know me by my previous user, "christopher_best"
However, as you can see, I've changed it as of recent.
I wanted to change it up for a while now, to sort of mark a new chapter where I'm more involved in the site. My involvement has increased drastically over the past few weeks, and I hope to stay involved in the future too.
Anyway, just letting you all know so that you do not get confused at the sudden change.
Adios amigos!
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Personal
What are some cool Shonen you all like?
Here is a list of my favorites (they are pretty basic.)
- Naruto & Shippuden
- Bleach
- Black Clover
- Blue Exorcist 1 & 2
- SAO 1 & 2
- One Piece
Suggest me some other stuff.
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Show business
What games have you sunk the most hours into recently?
My list:
Civ V (200ish hours)
Hearts of Iron 4 (150ish hours)
Skyrim (∞ hours)
Black Mesa
Doom
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Gaming
RELIGION POLL #3: Is Genesis Compatible With Science?
A couple of points I'd like to share. From a non-literalist perspective, many of the "days" in Genesis happened without the presence of a sun. That suggests to me that perhaps the time schemes are longer. Even If you were to come from a Biblical literalist perspective, in context, Genesis does not necessary make for full-fledged historical accuracy. At the time of Genesis' writings, no Jew would have a scientific background to understand concepts like evolution and the old earth. So it makes sense that God would present a simplified account that had some symbolic meanings.
But that is just my limited knowledge on the subject. Feel free to share your take.
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Religion
All in the title. I've decided that if Jesus existed, he most likely resurrected.
But did Jesus exist at all? Is the whole thing myth, or is it history? Share.
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Religion
POLITICAL POLL #1: If current trends continue, will BLM succeed in advancing the position of the black community in the US? (socioeconomics, safety etc.)
My current stance is NO. Give me arguments for both positions.
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Politics
RELIGION POLL #1: What is the best argument for/against the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, and why?
Feel free to discuss below. I have been doing a lot of research into the matter recently.
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Religion