Month: April 2016 Page 1 of 3

R&D from Prepd: Weekly Roundup for the Week of April 25-May 1, 2016

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of April 25-May 1, 2016.

R&D from Prepd: Austria’s Turn to the Right

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

This R&D provides resources on Austria’s turn to the right.  Last week, the Austrian Freedom Party, a far-right party that campaigns on a platform of immigration restriction and euroskepticism won the first round of the Austrian presidential election.  The party won the most votes in its sixty-year history for the ceremonial post.  However, if its candidate, Norbert Hofer wins the runoff it would pave the way for new parliamentary elections that could also benefit it.  Anti-EU parties across Europe championed Hofer’s win, but critics warned that it showed Europe was becoming increasingly intolerant of migrants and other cultures.

The North Carolina “Bathroom Bill”

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While the LGBT community won a significant victory at the Supreme Court last year when it came to same sex marriage, transgender individuals are now pressing for constitutional protections of their rights, namely their right to express their identity.  The public space that they are contesting are public restrooms, where transgender individuals argue that they should have the right to use the restroom of the gender that they affiliate with.  Social conservatives in states such as North Carolina are appalled by this demand, warning that it will threaten the safety of women and young children.  In late March, North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (HB2), which legally requires transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificate.  The law also makes it more difficult for transgender to sue their employer for discrimination.  Critics allege that the bill reverts to a new system of segregation and that it could endanger the mental health of transgender individuals.  Some businesses such as PayPal have already cancelled expansion plans in the state and there is evidence that a tourism boycott is developing.  As with most social issues, the fate of the so-called “bathroom bill” is bound to end up in the courts, which have thus far demonstrated that such legislation goes against the U.S. Constitution.

This topic brief will provide extempers with some terminology they should be aware of when discussing the North Carolina “bathroom bill,” analyze the arguments made in favor of the legislation, and then arguments for why North Carolina should consider repealing the law.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

R&D: The North Carolina “Bathroom Bill”

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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on the North Carolina “Bathroom Bill.”

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of April 25-May 1, 2016

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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

R&D from Prepd: Social Security

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

Today’s R&D from Prepd provides resources on Social Security.  The program was part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1935, but is now encountering problems related to a lack of workers for current retirees and questions about whether benefit cuts will have to take place in order to keep the program afloat.  The popularity of the program has traditionally thwarted radical attempts to change it, as former President George W. Bush experienced first-hand in 2005.  Nevertheless, members of both parties agree that some type of adjustment will have to take place within the program within the next twenty years to make it sustainable.

2016 California Invitational: Zheng Wins First National Circuit Title of the Year; Levenson Wins Final Round and Takes Second

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berkeleyThis year’s National Points Race features the California Invitational as a third tier tournament and Matthew Zheng of Mira Loma High School (CA) seized the chance to move into the rankings by winning the tournament in February. Zheng took the title in the cumulative competition by three ranks, defeating Jacob Levenson of Nova High School (FL), although Levenson did win the tournament’s final round by one rank. Daniel Ginsburg of Miramonte High School (CA) finished in third place.

If Levenson had defeated Zheng he would have become the first non-Californian to win the tournament in eleven years.

As expected, California schools dominated the tournament, with twelve of the fifteen competitors that survived to the semi-finals and finals coming from the state. However, there were some notable names that made the trip to Berkeley. One of them was Glenbrooks winner Marshall Webb of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX), who finished in fifth place.

All of the competitors that reached the quarter-final round and beyond will earn National Points Race points. The new National Points Race standings will be released late Wednesday night.

Here are the results of the 2016 California Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of April 25-May 1, 2016

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HOTtopics1. Is Macedonia bound to become the next flare-up in the Western-Russian relationship?
2. Are there any economic benefits to climate change?
3. What are the strategic implications of Japan building a stealth jet?
4. How can Saudi Arabia liberate its economy from dependence on foreign oil exports?
5. Is ISIS a more dangerous terror group than al-Qaeda?
6. Will President Obama’s entrance into the Brexit debate help or hinder pro-EU forces?
7. How will a recent earthquake affect Ecuador’s economy?
8. Will the Freedom Party win the second round of the Austrian presidential election?
9. Should the international community create “safe zones” inside of Syria?
10. Will new UN sanctions against North Korea restrict the communist nation’s nuclear program?

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of April 25-May 1, 2016

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HOTtopics1. What is one policy position that Donald Trump needs to become more specific about if he wants to win the presidency?
2. How important is a constitutional right to privacy?
3. Should the FBI disclose the security holes in the San Bernardino iPhone to Apple?
4. What fixes should be made to Social Security?
5. Can North Carolina afford to keep its “bathroom bill” on the books?
6. Has Paul Ryan been an ineffective Speaker?
7. Would placing American ground troops in Syria be a mistake?
8. If you were John Kasich, how would you attempt to secure the Republican presidential nomination at the Cleveland convention?
9. Would agreeing to and ratifying the TTIP help the U.S. economy?
10. Does Harriet Tubman deserve to be on the $20 bill?

2016 Harvard University National High School Invitational: Hu Defeats 218 Others to Move Up the National Points Race; Sloane Places Second

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harvardTwo months ago, Harvard University held its 42nd edition of its National Forensics Tournament. Katherine Hu of Plano Senior High School (TX) was the winner, achieving a five rank victory after taking three of the five available first place ranks in the final round. Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) finished in second place, continuing an impressive second semester string of showings in National Points Race tournaments. Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin winner Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) finished third.

Hu’s victory makes her the first Texas extemper since at least 2000 to win Harvard. She also becomes the second female winner of the tournament in the last five years, as Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School won the tournament in 2012.

Since Harvard is a second tier tournament in the National Points Race, Hu will earn 150 points for her victory. National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparation School (FL) saw his attempt to defend his title end in the preliminary rounds due to a sixth place rank in the second round. All of the competitors that reached elimination rounds earned National Points Race points.

Here are the results of the 2016 Harvard University National High School Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

R&D from Prepd: Weekly Roundup for the Week of April 18-24, 2016

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of April 18-24, 2016.

R&D from Prepd: The Sale of Yahoo!

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

This R&D provides information about the sale of Yahoo!  The Internet search engine reportedly has $7.1 billion in cash and has a core business that is estimated to be worth more than $4 billion, but it has failed to displace Google and its ventures into multimedia have largely failed.  Companies such as Google, Verizon, Microsoft, and the Daily Mail have been reported as possible buyers, but private equity firms may try to buy the company and then sell off its various assets.

The Fight for $15

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Arguably the biggest demand of the progressive activists over the last two years has been a demand for a $15 minimum wage.  Striking the nation’s low-wage establishments such as fast food chains, advocates insist that a massive wage hike would significantly dent poverty and provide a sufficient boost to the U.S. economy.  The “Fight for $15” movement has scored victories in cities such as Seattle and most recently in New York and California.  The Democratic primary has also become ground zero for the debate, with Bernie Sanders favoring a $15 federal minimum wage, while Hillary Clinton has adopted a more reserved approach, putting her support behind a $12 federal minimum wage that could be raised if the economy would support a larger increase.  Meanwhile, business groups and conservative economists argue that a $15 minimum wage will most states and cities uncompetitive in a global economy and warn that such policies will increase, rather than decrease, poverty in America.  What is clear is that this fall’s presidential election could hinge on the economy and whether Americans should receive another minimum wage increase.  As a result, extempers should be prepared to discuss this topic and answer questions about it.

This topic brief will provide some important vocabulary to understand the minimum wage debate, highlight the arguments that are in favor of a wage increase, and detail the arguments that are against a $15 minimum wage.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

R&D: The Fight for $15

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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on the Fight for $15.

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of April 18-24, 2016

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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

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