Can you lie in a debate and still win it is a question of ethics

[caption id="attachment_16580" align="alignleft" width="300"] Debating chamber[/caption]

Carol Forsloff — Judging criteria for debating concentrates on both content and delivery, but the emphasis is not on checkable facts as part of the scoring. That means it is possible to present a good argument and refutation, be inaccurate about the facts, and still win the debate. Media were quick to score the Presidential debates between Mitt Romney, Presidential challenger and Barack Obama, current President of the United States, but should the public follow suit in how it ends up judging the candidates future performance? And can you lie in a debate and still win it?

This reporter's experience many years ago with debating saw the problems reflected in the very instructions given to debaters. Again the emphasis was on style, the ability to listen and reflect on the opponents content and to present an argument that was competitively given. No one said, "Make sure you get your facts straight, as we will be checking them afterward before giving the final score." The final score was given almost immediately by the panel of judges, based upon the scoring criteria that measures content understanding and style of delivery.

In the clear light of day, pundits now examine the facts presented by both Romney and Obama and find errors on both sides. Obama is said to have stretched the truth about the financial picture in terms of future cost savings with his plan. On the other hand, those who have examined Romney's arguments, remind us that those trillions of dollars of savings will require deep cuts in social welfare programs for the helpless and the needy and indeed will cost trillions of dollars more than the present budget by keeping Bush tax cuts permanent and other legislation designed to aid the more prosperous of the American people. Romney is also said to have offered few specifics on just how he would fix the medical care problems in this country outside of slashing the budget in key areas. Income concerns were addressed with simple statements based upon more people having jobs. Yet during the years of relative prosperity and boom, under Presidents Clinton and the early years of President George W. Bush, health care costs had continued to rise and people with pre-existing medical conditions found themselves without health insurance entirely.

Romney has proposed the abolition of Obamacare. The alternative is touched on lightly, with the same proposals put forward numerous times, of competitive insurance company offers. Those exist today. But they have been competitive and costly. And if they have to cover those with pre-existing conditions, the rates are likely to increase dramatically. And most people with severe health problems have likely already met with a host of insurance claims problems from these competitive companies. Blue Cross Blue Shield is often cited for its rate problems and claims issues, as well as other errors. It is just one among many. And insurance companies continue to post record gains while other areas of the economy have struggled. Yet these same companies are touted as having the solution to the existing health care problems. Lack of tort reform seems not to have inhibited these companies in making a profit. Yet tort reform would enhance those profits, as fewer people would receive maximum benefits with restrictions on plaintiffs.

Then there are the arguments offered about tort reform. The public gets the buzz words of debates and public pronouncements but not the facts that offer solutions. The fact is it is the insurance company competitors and their expensive plaintiff attorneys, who charge large fees, and pack them in large bundles that include just "thinking about the case" as a billing entry, although not worded as such.  Plaintiff attorneys must front all costs for their clients and few win those big numbers insurance companies cite.

On the other side of the issue are the growing numbers of medical errors, that include physician's carelessness, pharmacist errors, hospital mistakes caused b y personnel and a host of other issues. Without some reasonable opportunity to receive just compensation many victims of these errors will be left on their own with life-long disabilities for which they have no money to pay. And these people would then require Medicaid, highly vulnerable, experts have told us, under the plan offered by Romney.

So the next debate might want viewers and pundits to consider the facts both before and after the debates. Because that scientifically-based argument reminds us that it is more difficult for people to believe the facts after they have been told a falsehood and accepted that initially. Eyes and ears should be open to the candidates' arguments in light of the real facts and not just points for "content" knowledge and delivery. Folks also might reflect on how difficult it is to argue and debate against lies, especially when the point system is based on personal control and delivery as opposed to facts.

Political debates interrupt expanding provision of protection fordomestic abuse victims

I heard the woman crying across the hall in an apartment complex, watched her hurry through a doorway and down some stairs, her face filled with pain.  On another occasion, a woman stood at a bus stop, as a man, using the foulest language, drove by and cursed her.  Violence is a way of life for many people, both male and female, as organizations look for ways to end the pain and politicians debate over who should be protected under the law.

Domestic violence has been a hot button issue on both sides of the political aisle, although these days some folks associate abuse with women's rights restrictions as well.   There may be a ring of truth to that, as it was in those decades of the 50's we sometimes reflect on with nostalgia, when women often followed the husband's dictates, even to how she should vote.

These days domestic violence comes in many forms.  While it is often thought that the fist is the primary assault weapon, words offer tremendous pain as well.   Rap videos and songs often focus on the woman as an object to be ridiculed or used for sex.  Those are abusive elements in our culture that come through in many ways, including the "bad girl" television shows that accent girls pummeling each other, fighting over fellows or just fighting to be the "baddest."

The scars of abuse come in many forms.  While we may think of the abused person with the black eye or the torn garments, it is often the more subtle signs experts tell us must be looked at as a sign that someone is being victimized.  Often the victim of abuse has serious problems with self-esteem and avoids conflict in order to protect himself or herself from further abuse.  Isolation is another characteristic of the abused; friends and family are left behind as the victim lives a type of closeted lifestyle that keeps out those folks who could help.

With the discussions recently on the rights of women and gays, Democrats and Republicans were torn over the expansion of the Violence Against Women Act.  Republicans were opposed to expanding the bill to include gays and lesbians, immigrants and tribal communities.  Although most Senate Republicans voted against the expansion, enough were in favor of it to allow the bill to be passed in the Senate.   Presently the  House is debating the bill, with Republicans putting forth their own version of the bill to eliminate protections for immigrants, tribal members and same-sex couples.  The Republican version of the bill takes away the confidentiality protections for immigrant women as well.   Folks are concerned that a bipartisan bill in the Senate is turning into a major political battle over the issues of immigration and same-sex relationships, specifically with regard to expansion of protection to these groups.  It also removes the ability of people to keep confidential their report of abuse.

The issue of domestic violence remains a controversial one, with most folks agreeing that a man should not hit a woman nor a woman hit a man, but the definition of abuse, what type of relationships might be included and whether folks should open themselves up to retaliation from the abuser after reporting a dispute remains a political debate.  And this hits many people particularly hard.

American tolerance, temperance required during Egypt's crisis

Carol Forsloff - During 2010 many voices were raised against the building of a mosque near ground zero, despite it was being built in an area of diverse businesses and by an Islamic group known for peaceful ways.  Recent events in Egypt should not be the road to more intolerance.


Egypt coat of arms - wikimedia commons

Experts tell us that during times of economic and political crises, there is a greater tendency for extremism to occur.  This was seen in the run-up to both world wars.  Now the same type of cries for economic stability,  while looking at leaders through the eyes of rising expectations, along with nationalism can provoke serious consequences by outside and inside extremist groups.

Egypt, while it's culture is vastly different than that of the United States, is nevertheless a country with many educated people who are used to having some semblance of contact with the western world and with ways that are coherent with values outside of its country.  There are also those within the country who have extreme religious views, similar to the types of groups that present those same types of intolerant statements in the United States and elsewhere.   This means there is some platform for both common sense and the lack of it, every bit as much as occurred during the political debates concerning the building of a Muslim mosque near ground zero in New York City.

America's position is on the fulcrum of discontent in Egypt, so that if there are abrupt moves in any direction the weight of the distribution of extremism may descend to the detriment of international peace.  That is the reason, according to political advisers reported across the globe, Obama must be cautious in dealing with the volatility of the region and the calls for Hosni Mubarak to resign.

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The writer was the first female student in the Middle Eastern Studies program in 1960 at Portland State College, now Portland State University, who studied the language and culture over several years and continues to be focused in reading and presentation of information and opinion on the Middle East and its issues of politics and religion.