R&D top five for December 9th:
Obama’s FDR moment from the Washington Post
Contending with the PKK’s Narco-Terrorism from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
After Brief Uptick, Obama Approval Slips to 47% from Gallup
Cap, trade and block (in Australia) from the Economist
Climate documents spark rich vs. poor clash from the Seattle Times
1. With a reported deal on healthcare in the Senate does that mean that healthcare reform is finalized?
2. Will Congress get more serious about cutting the deficit next year?
3. Is Obama’s AIDS policy insufficient?
4. Should the University of North Dakota drop its Fighting Sioux nickname?
5. Were the conclusions reached by the Congressional Oversight Panel concerning the TARP Program accurate?
6. Will the one drug method of lethal injection quell criticisms of the practice?
7. Does the media need to leave Tiger Woods alone?
8. Will Martha Coakley be the next senator of Massachusetts?
9. Have Democrats failed to clean up Capitol Hill?
10. Should the U.S. significantly increase the amount of its drone attacks in Pakistan?
Here is your R&D top five for December 8th:
Copenhagen’s Many Agendas from the Council on Foreign Relations
Journalism and Freedom (Rupert Murdoch Editorial) from the Wall Street Journal
EPA is preparing to regulate emissions in Congress’s stead from the Washington Post
Gordon Brown did not understand Afghan war, says former Army chief from the London Times
Chavez Announces Creation of New State Bank in Venezuela from the Latin American Herald Tribune
1. Will Japan’s stimulus package help it stave off deflation?
2. Can Afghanistan build an effective army within the next two years?
3. Will Iran arrest Mousavi?
4. Can a Palestinian boycott on Israeli products from the West Bank cause Israel to reconsider its settlement policy?
5. Will Romania’s presidential election result stand?
6. Should Turkey’s Constitutional Court ban the DTP?
7. Does the the reelection of Evo Morales breathe new life into Latin America’s socialist movement?
8. Is the conviction of Amanda Knox a stain on Italian justice?
9. Will Michel Barnier wreck havoc on London financial services?
10. Is the Honduran Congress making a mistake in not allowing Zelaya to finish the law several weeks of his term?
Here is your R&D top five for December 7th:
The Health Care Race to Christmas from The Washington Post (courtesy of RealClearPolitics)
Athens Hit by Fresh Unrest on Anniversary of Teenager’s Death from Der Spiegel
Evo sticks (Bolivia) from The Economist
Handing Back Responsibility to Timor-Leste’s Police from the International Crisis Group
Promoting the Car Phone, Despite Risks from the New York Times
Here is this week’s short answer version of the Extemp Central news quiz for those that are looking for a challenge. This is the second to last news quiz of the semester. Good luck!
Here is the multiple choice version of this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. This news quiz will be the next to last one of the semester. Good luck!
In the final round of this year’s George Mason University Patriot Games tournament, Dillon Huff of Southlake Carroll High School in Texas pulled off a second sweep of the season and captured the regular tournament to go with the Round Robin crown he won several days ago. These titles go with the United States and International extemp championships Huff won at St. Marks in October. This is the second time in the brief history of the GMU tournament that someone has won the regular tournament and the round robin. Another Texan, Tex Dawson of Plano West High School, did it in 2006.
Here are the final results courtesy of Aaron Lutkowitz and Adam Johnson:
Champion: Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
2nd: Oscar Wang (San Marino High School, California)
3rd: Jamie Mohan (Danville High School, Kentucky)
4th: Mirza Germovic (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
5th: Dylan Slinger (Lakeville South High School, Minnesota)
6th: Andrew Pentland (JP Taravella High School, Florida)
Extemp Central congratulates all of the finalists on their performance. We have received word that the field for the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin will be finalized this week. When Extemp Central finds out the finalized field we will bring it you ASAP. Find out who is in and who had their bubble burst this past week in Fairfax, Virginia. Also, National Points Race standings will be updated near the end of the week to reflect on the GMU results.
After a grueling day of competition to whittle the quarter-final field down to six, here are your finalists at the 2009 George Mason University Patriot Games tournament. It should be an excellent round in looking at the participants.
Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
Dylan Slinger (Lakeville South High School, Minnesota)
Oscar Wang (San Marino High School, California)
Jamie Mohan (Danville High School, Kentucky)
Mirza Germovic (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
Andrew Pentland (JP Taravella High School, Florida)
We’ve got the latest news from the George Mason University Patriot Games. Outrounds are taking place across the tournament, and now we’re excited to share the names of the 12 semifinalists in extemp:
Andrew Pendland (Taravella High School, Florida)
Olivia Barket (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)
Carl David Goette-Luciak (Blacksburg High School, Virginia)
Oscar Wang (San Marino High School, California)
Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
Taylor Smith (Calvert Hall College High School, Maryland)
Richard Holland (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
Mirza Germovic (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
Dlyan Slinger (Lakeville South High School, Minnesota)
Jamie Mohan (Danville High School, Kentucky)
Matthew Alonsozana (Loyola-Blakefield High School, Maryland)
Rachel Yang (San Marino High School, California)
We’ll post finalists and results as they become available this evening. Check back with Extemp Central for the latest results.
In the conclusion of the George Mason University Round Robin tournament last night it has been reported that Dillon Huff of Southlake Carroll High School in Texas emerged victorious from the field of eight. Huff defeated Yale champion Aaron Lutkowitz of Montgomery Bell Academy in Tennessee in the tournament’s final round. This is Huff’s third championship this season, to go with the two championships he won at this year’s St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational.
George Mason is wrapping up the preliminary rounds of its regular tournament today. When we hear any information about breaks we will be sure to bring it to you.
The Exhibition Round of the 2009 George Mason University Patriot Games is currently taking place. The finalists of this year’s Round Robin are Dillon Huff of Southlake Carroll High School in Texas and Aaron Lutkowitz of Montgomery Bell Academy in Tennessee. This matchup could also be viewed as the St. Mark’s winner colliding with this year’s Yale champion.
Updates forthcoming when the winner is revealed! The regular Patriot Games tournament kicks off tomorrow and concludes on Sunday.
The GMU Round Robin has been going on for much of the day. This year’s Round Robin field consisted of the following participants:
Gabriella Barahona (Spring High School, Texas)
Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll High School, Texas)
Jane Kessner (Walt Whitman High School, Maryland)
Nikki Luke (Blacksburg High School, Virginia)
Aaron Lutkowitz (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee)
Emily Martin (Boone County High School, Kentucky)
Dylan Slinger (Lakeville South High School, Minnesota)
Oscar Wang (San Marino High School, California)
When we hear the results, we will post them here to the site. While the Round Robin is not worth points in the National Points Race, it is an interesting competition that puts extempers against each other head-to-head. Check back late tonight/tomorrow to find out who emerged victorious.
@TweetCongress
by Corey Alderdice
We’ve written about how Extemp Central is using Twitter to digest news sources, media outlets, think tanks, organizations, and more.
Even though it seems Twitter’s exponential growth is slowing, there are over 18 million active users of the Tweet Machine. Even as Twitter finds itself integrated into the daily tech cycle for countless individuals, it seems as though there is one group who is slow on the uptake: Congress. Over half of the members of the US House and Senate have yet to use the microblogging platform to stay in touch with their constituents.
Slate analyzes several of reasons why members of Congress haven’t bought into the hype:
A more fundamental problem is that, so far at least, members of Congress just aren’t that good at it. A report released by the Congressional Research Service in September found that nearly half of congressional tweets simply link to press releases or news articles. (The report doesn’t distinguish between the two, but an informal survey of congressional feeds suggests the former are more common.) The next most common type of tweet describes an official congressional action, like a roll call vote or a trip abroad. “Personal” tweets and those related to business in their district—the two types of messages most likely to interest constituents—were the least common types.
While you’re prepping for the weekend, take a moment to follow Extemp Central on Twitter.
To learn more about the members of Congress on Twitter, visit @tweetcongress/senate and @tweetcongress/congress.
Here is your R&D top five for December 4th:
Six ideas Obama heard at the White House job summit from the Christian Science Monitor
Kenyans draw weapons over shrinking resources from the Los Angeles Times
Africa: ‘Development More Important Than Quick Conclusion of Doha’ from the Inter Press Service courtesy of AllAfrica
UN panel promises to investigate leaked ‘climategate’ e-mails from the London Times
Assessing China’s Carbon-Cutting Proposal from the Council on Foreign Relations
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