Month: January 2011 Page 4 of 6

On January 11, 2011

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

1. How should President Obama respond to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords?
2. Is America too harsh on felons?
3. How can the safety of members of Congress be improved?
4. Will the recent decline in unemployment continue?
5. Should the Fairness Doctrine be reinstated?
6. Would making significant cuts to defense spending significantly hurt Republicans in 2012?
7. Have the Federal Reserve’s steps to reduce borrowing costs exposed it too much to credit markets?
8. Will the Chicago mayoral election have a runoff?
9. Is Jerry Brown’s budget plan an effective way to get California back to fiscal solvency?
10. Does the Supreme Court’s refusal to take the case of Alderman v. U.S. show that it will find President Obama’s healthcare reform bill constitutional?

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R&D: Tom DeLay Sentenced to 3 Years, EU Envoys Call for East Jerusalem to be Palestinian Capital, and Giffords Shooting Puts Palin Under Fire

On January 10, 2011

In R&D

Here is your R&D for January 10th:

DeLay Sentenced to 3 Years in Money Laundering Case from the New York Times
The government’s length legal battle with former House majority leader Tom Delay has come to an end. DeLay was found guilty late last year of money laundering and conspiracy and was sentenced today to three years in prison for those offenses.

EU envoys in ‘East Jerusalem call’ from Al Jazeera
A leaked report has revealed that EU envoys in the Middle East want the EU to treat East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state. The document has recommendations from the heads of 25 European missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah. Predictably, Israel is not happy with the report.

Tucson shooting marks turning point for Sarah Palin from Politico
After the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s style of poliics has come under fire. Her response will have significant impact on where her political career goes from here.

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of January 10th-14th, 2011 (Short Answer Version)

On January 10, 2011

In Quiz

Here is your short answer Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of January 10th-14th, 2011 (Multiple Choice Version)

On January 10, 2011

In Quiz

Here is your multiple choice Extemp Central news quiz. Pick well and good luck!

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Nabeel Zewail Coasts to Victory in the Tournament and the Exhibition Round; Donahue Takes Second

In MBA Coverage, National Circuit Results

The 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin is now a part of history. The 2011 winner is Nabeel Zewail of San Marino High School in California. Zewail went wire-to-wire, never relinquishing first place during the ten rounds of the tournament. He also took first place on nine of the eleven ballots in the Exhibition Round, which is an MBA record. Both of Zewail’s national circuit victories have been in round robin tournaments. He won the George Mason University Extemp Round Robin last month. He is the first California extemper to win the Round Robin and the fourth extemper in the tournament’s thirteen year history to win the tournament and the Exhibition Round in the same year. Nathaniel Donahue of Durham Academy in North Carolina, the leader in the National Points Race, placed second in the tournament. In the Exhibition Round, Jared Odessky of Nova High School in Florida, who placed third in the tournament, finished second to Zewail. The topic area of the Exhibition Round was recent news, as all questions were taken from news that had transpired over the last twenty-four hours.

The Exhibition Round was recorded by the National Forensic League and will be posted on NFL TV. Jason Warren provided some post-round comments, which will make the video very insightful for extempers. When the video is posted on NFL TV, we will link to it here at Extemp Central.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Exhibition Round Participants Revealed (The Real Listing)

All ten rounds at the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin have come to a close. Adam Johnson, the director of the Round Robin, has just finished announcing the five competitors who will compete in the tournament’s prestigious Exhibition Round. These five competitors have placed in the top five of the tournament, although the order is unknown. Also, the sixth place finisher at the tournament (who is not in the Exhibition Round but will be recognized at awards) will receive National Points Race points along with the top five.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Final Pairings Are Released

The last round of draw at the MBA Extemp Round Robin has just gotten underway. This is the last opportunity for competitors to earn a way into the Exhibition Round and secure their final placing in the tournament. Exhibition Round participants are set to be announced at 1:35 p.m. CST and draw for that round will commence at 1:50 p.m. CST.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 9 Pairings Are Released and Day 3 Begins

Draw is currently underway for round nine, one of the last two rounds at the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin. Extempers will finish these two rounds, have a lunch break, and the Exhibition Round participants will be announced shortly after 1:30. The eighth round last night was a second experimental round, which is unusual because MBA typically only has one experimental round each year. In this second experimental round, extempers were given hypothetical scenarios and a question to accompany each scenario. They then had to answer that question in their speech. For example, an extemper may draw “The Democrats win the 2010 midterm elections. Where do they go from here?” Extempers will be jockeying for position today, as the top five extempers will make the Exhibition Round this afternoon and the top six will receive National Points Race points. In this round, Nathaniel Donahue and Nabeel Zewail, two of the top three extempers in the National Points Race will face off in section one. Each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

The topic area for this round is judicial, constitutional, and federalism issues.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 8 Pairings

Extempers are currently prepping for round eight, which is the last round of the second day of the MBA Extemp Round Robin.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 7 Pairings

The second to last round of the day is about to begin. Each extempers National Points Race rank is indicated by a parenthesis next to their name.

The topic area for this round is international organizations.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 6 Pairings

The draw for round six is underway. After this round, extempers will get a refresher and then complete two more rounds. Each extempers National Points Race is identified in parenthesis next to their name.

The topic area for this round is domestic economics.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 5 Draw is Underway

Following lunch, the fifth round of the MBA Extemp Round Robin is getting ready to take place. This round will be followed by round six and then a refresher from 4:45-5:30 CST until draw for the final round of the day takes place. Each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

The topic area for this round is international hotspots. The last round was an experimental round, where extempers were given the names of ten people and organizations. After choosing one of the names, extempers were given tweets from these people/organizations and had to craft a question that the tweet could answer.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 4 Pairings

Draw for the fourth round of the 2011 Montgomery Bell Extemp Academy Extemp Round Robin is underway. After this round there will be a lunch break for an hour and forty-five minutes. Draw for round five will begin at 1:45. Each extempers National Points Race rank is identified within parenthesis to the left of their name.

Live from the 2011 MBA Extemp Round Robin: Round 3 Pairings Are Released