ATS Debate Tournament: Member Discussion

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
PS. MS, did you ever get your sandwich from Ian?

Yeah...but it was peanut butter and jelly...and the bread had the crust still!

Right ... semi finals are off and rolling.

Both souls and myself posted our opening statements.

I have to say I am quite saddened by intrepid's unfortunate withdrawal from the tournament. Mostly for him for I know that he would never take such a course unless real life demands were truly extraordinary. Also for the integrity of the tournament which now has lost via default one of its top debaters and a favorite for the win from the outset.

I congratulate souls on getting to the final, though I am sure just as in the last round, this is not how he would choose to win. I also would like to point out that this in no way takes from his own accomplishments as both of the last withdrawals were obviously outside his control. Last, hope the topic can at some point be resurrected as I believe it to be a fascinating one.

However, ding and I hope to put forth a worthy debate, and one of us shall take on souls in the final for all forthcoming marbles.

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
However, ding and I hope to put forth a worthy debate, and one of us shall take on souls in the final for all forthcoming marbles.

And god knows I need all the marbles I can get

I echo SDog's sentiments. I'm disappointed to see intrepid had to withdraw, and I know that he must be disappointed also.

Souls, congrats on making it to the finals. I hope that either SDog or I will be able to give you the fight you deserve

Well Sdog is right. I did not want to advance forward this way. I have to admit though. This tournament has dragged on for a couple of months now, and I understand that priorities change for everyone, including myself. I almost did not make an opening post because of time, but regardless, I understand that things happen. I thank you guys for you congratulations and I hope this next debate is as challenging as it gets. I was expecting to get knocked down by Intrepid a few times, but most definitely not give away the knockout.

For the record, I believe that children under 14 years old have the capacity to rehabilitate, even if they have committed murder. I believe that incarcerating a child for life is like telling them what their parents beat into their minds, that they are a lost cause and they have no use to society. I believe that makes things a lot worse. Even though murdering someone is an mature act, the physiological changes taking place inside a teenage child must be taken into account. The capacity for change and rehabilitation is much much greater than that of an adult committing the same crimes.

The amount of children committing these crimes is not very much, compared to the overall statistics. Our society must not let these young minds go to waste away in prison. We do have a responsibility of punishing these crimes, but not to set an example for the rest, not at the cost of someone's life, unjustly done. It is the responsibility of our society not to pollute the minds of these future generations, to help them advance our species much further into the future, not to prevent them from it.

Good luck Sdog and A-dingbat. Anyway, I will be around.

I have had to withdraw and concede this round to SDog. I apologize to the readers and the tournament organizers and participants. I was hoping to be able to get through this debate but just haven't been able to give it enough attention.

Good luck to SDog and souls in the final

You'll always be a champ in my book, Ding...for whatever that may be worth...

reply to post by MemoryShock


Thanks Mr. Shock, the feeling is mutual.

We don't need no dang ribbons

Originally posted by MemoryShock
You'll always be a champ in my book, Ding...for whatever that may be worth...

Ditto!

Originally posted by americandingbat
We don't need no dang ribbons

Hey now with the crazy talk ... let's not hate on the poor ribbon.

Those are some great Debates and Topics. I truly wish I would have participated.

If anyone reading this is in the mood for a Debate-Forum Challenge Match, let me know.

Just a little logistical note in regards to the final ...

If souls has no objection, it would be great if we didn't get our debate topic posted no earlier than a week from today as I am rather heavily burdened with RL commitments for the next week.

However, should that not be agreeable to all involved, we can start on Monday and I'll somehow work around them.

Well at least I forfeited to a finalist

Nice work S-dog, and Ding.....was a clash of the elite for that one

Good luck in the finals Souls and S-dog

My suggested topic for final:

OzWeatherman is the coolest person on ATS.....and yes S-dog, you can have the easier side and argue the con position

Just send me an U2U message of when we will get started. I look forward to the final. Thanks to everyone.

Obviously when real life takes over, it can not be helped. But I'm pretty disappointed with how these last two rounds played out. The two finalists can select a time when they would like it to start and u2u me. We can be accommodating on this final debate to make sure it gets done.

For the finals, we may be looking at "enhancing" it some.

The number of posts will likely be slightly bumped and the time frame to respond within will go from 24 hours to 48 hours.

reply to post by chissler


Ok, so I communicated with souls and we agreed to start on wednesday should it be convenient to thee.

I'm personally of the opinion that unless the subject is source heavy, five posts are usually enough to make an argument before we start repeating ourselves, but obviously we defer to your judgment on this and the time allotment issue.

Cheers!

reply to post by schrodingers dog


The extra 2 will be well served.

reply to post by Skyfloating


I've still got some RL commitments for the next week or so. But after that I'll have time for a debate. I guess I'm accepting your challenge, if you still want in.

reply to post by chissler


Kewl ... shouldn't be a problem, I can 'pad' with the best and souls is well rested.

I agree in that this debate should have an extension in the posting time. Sdog suggested 36 hrs and I agree. Anything beyond that may take too long. What ever other changes are made I can adapt, but the current format is not bad at all.

I really look forward to this debate and I thank everyone who have made this possible. I am ready to go for Wednesday night. If anything should come up, I will let you guys know. Thanks specially to chissler

Also, I will most definitely give this a shot Sdog, so don't go easy on me.

* ... paces ... lights another cigarette ... mutters to self ... *

Soooooo ....