Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
Month: September 2021 Page 1 of 2
1. Should U.S. states impose stricter homeschool guidelines?
2. Is the Biden administration losing control of its immigration policy?
3. Would more than 2% inflation benefit the U.S. economy?
4. Is Liz Cheney’s political career on borrowed time?
5. Did the Biden administration botch the rollout of the AUKUS partnership?
6. Why did Congress fail to achieve a bipartisan deal on police reform?
7. Does American foreign policy need a dose of “relentless diplomacy”?
8. After the war in Afghanistan should the U.S. cut defense spending?
9. Would it be politically unwise for progressive Democrats to block the infrastructure bill?
10. Will Minneapolis voters agree to the Yes 4 Minneapolis Initiative?
1. How should China respond to the AUKUS partnership?
2. What lesson should Canadian conservative learn from the recent snap election?
3. How closely should the European Union’s foreign policy mirror the United States?
4. Will the Chinese government have to intervene in Evergrande’s collapse?
5. Should the CPTPP include Taiwan?
6. Will Erdogan’s pressure for a rate cut worsen Turkey’s economic situation?
7. Should Kristalina Georgieva resign as the head of the IMF?
8. How will Sudan’s decision to stop supporting Hamas impact the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
9. Should the Arab League readmit Syria?
10. What can the United Nations do to better combat racism?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
This week’s R&D covers the AUKUS partnership. Announced on September 15, AUKUS is a trilateral security agreement between the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. The nations pledge to cooperate on defense issues and is seen by experts to be a counter to Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region, even though British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the British Parliament recently that the partnership is not meant to antagonize China. The European Union was less than thrilled with the agreement, with France recalling ambassadors to the United States and Australia last week after Australia cancelled plans to purchase French submarines for nuclear models from the United States and Great Britain.
A new security partnership, AUKUS, will deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. This sets a troubling precedent for nuclear nonproliferation policy.@james_acton32 highlights this precedent and what can be done to offset its consequences: https://t.co/VpeKV7FV2H
— Carnegie Endowment (@CarnegieEndow) September 22, 2021
Balance is needed between the hard power of AUKUS and the collaboration and rules-based competition with China that are required for climate diplomacy and trade https://t.co/yddCnaUr2p
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) September 23, 2021
“Raising the costs for major Indo-Pacific powers of going to war is in Indonesia’s interests, but not if that means China has greater maritime capabilities which threaten Indonesia or are used in grey-zone operations.” Read @SecurityScholar on #AUKUS: https://t.co/ZbQWbkdFsm
— Brookings FP (@BrookingsFP) September 23, 2021
Updated standings for the 2021-2022 Extemp Central National Points Race have been posted! You can find them by clicking on the “National Points Race” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.
The new standings reflect the results of the Yale Invitational, which was a fourth tier event. The next National Points Race competition will take place in a few weeks at the New York City Invitational, a fifth tier competition.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
Paltzik’s victory is the first time that a Yale champion has repeated since Kate Fisher of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) accomplished the feat in 2018.
Since Yale is a cumulative tournament the final round winner is not always the person that emerges as the champion. That was the case this year as Cameron Roberts of Jack C. Hays High School (TX) was victorious in the final round with a twelve composite, two ranks better than Paltzik and three better than Kind. However, not enough ground was made up to win, so Roberts placed fourth behind Paltzik, Kind, and Charles Hou of Plano West Senior High School (TX).
For the second straight weekend, Colorado had a finalist in a National Points Race event. This time it was Peter Alisky of Smoky Hill High School, Colorado’s reigning state champion in United States Extemp, who placed fifth.
Solon High School (OH) continued its run of placing extempers in the top tier of national circuit events. Vikram Sundaram, who placed sixth at the University of Kentucky two weeks ago in the Season Opener, replicated that finish at Yale. Sundaram’s teammates Dev Ahuja and Michelle Park reached the semi-final round.
Other notables fell short of making the final round at Yale. These included last year’s NSDA International Extemp final round winner Mukta Dharmapurikar of Durham Academy (NC), who dropped in semis; NSDA United States Extemp national finalist Katelyn Cai of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ), who dropped in octo-finals; and NSDA International Extemp semi-finalist and Season Opener third place finisher Marc Zavarro of Western High School (FL), who dropped in quarter-finals.
Paltzik’s victory at Yale will give them seventy points in this year’s National Points Race. Kind’s second place finish will be enough to keep him on top of the rankings, though, until the New York City Invitational in a few weeks. New National Points Race standings will be released late on Thursday night.
The number of entries at Yale means that all extempers reaching the quarter-finals earned a bid to this year’s University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC). Quarter-finalists also earn a bid to the Extemp TOC at Northwestern University.
Here are the results of the 2021 Yale Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):
1. Should Latin America form a European Union-like political and economic bloc?
2. How should the international community interpret North Korea’s latest missile test?
3. Is Macron overreacting to the cancellation of France’s submarine deal with Australia?
4. Should the Taliban be forced to equalize gender access to education in order to receive international recognition and aid?
5. Can international sanctions force a change in Ethiopia’s behavior in Tigray?
6. Is Iran benefitting from Lebanon’s economic turmoil?
7. Can AUKUS effectively counter Chinese influence in the South China Sea?
8. How can the Argentina’s Peronist Party recover from a poor midterm election showing?
9. Who will win Canada’s snap election?
10. Will protests force Tunisian President Kais Saied to reduce his executive powers?
1. Do the results of the California recall election bode ill for Republican chances in the 2022 midterm elections?
2. Should the U.S. put more priority on global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines instead of booster shots for those already vaccinated?
3. Is President Biden beginning to pivot his policies too far to the left?
4. Should Democrats make election reform the key piece of their 2022 midterm campaign?
5. Will Senate Republicans eventually vote to raise the debt ceiling?
6. Should TikTok be held liable for damages caused by #deviouslicks?
7. Will ethics issues at the Federal Reserve scuttle Jerome Powell’s chances at being renominated as Fed chair?
8. Should President Biden push for a revival of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?
9. Are the Abraham Accords worth saving?
10. Should more states follow California and New York in banning the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2035?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
This week’s R&D covers Tuesday’s California recall election. Governor Gavin Newsom survived the recall effort, with 64% of voters (as of the time of this writing) voting “No” to his ouster. Republican Larry Elder won the most votes on the second ballot question of who would replace Newsom if the recall was successful. Some analysts argue that the results bode well for a Democratic midterm strategy of connecting Republican candidates to former President Donald Trump.
California voters and Newsom’s political allies stepped up to defend the governor from the GOP-led recall, delivering a win that paves the way to his reelection next year. https://t.co/t89v3KmncB
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 16, 2021
Now that the dust has settled and (most of) the ballots counted, here are a few thoughts (from Hoover fellow @billwhalenCA) on what transpired in California earlier this week and a recall election that failed to oust Governor Gavin Newsom from office: https://t.co/6KzEnGaGym
— Hoover Institution (@HooverInst) September 16, 2021
How much did the 2021 recall election cost?
California lawmakers agreed to spend at least $276 million in the most recent state budget to cover the costs, but some elections officials have estimated the final tab will be closer to $300 million.https://t.co/tj4Ha2ltAE
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 16, 2021
The first standings of the 2021-2022 Extemp Central National Points Race have been posted. You can find them by clicking on the “National Points Race” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.
These early standings mirror the results of the Speech and Debate Season Opener Hosted by the University of Kentucky. This weekend’s competition at Yale University, a fourth tier tournament that will award points to all finalists and semi-finalists, promises to shake things up.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
The 2021-2022 national circuit season kicked off last weekend online as the University of Kentucky hosted its annual National Speech and Debate Season Opener. The tournament, a fifth tier National Points Race event, drew fifty-one competitors. Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL) was the tournament champion, defeating Cade Savoy of Teurlings Catholic High School (LA) by three ranks in the final round.
Kind and Savoy were the only competitors in the final round to have a cumulative score below ten among the three judges. Marc Zavarro of Western High School (FL), a semi-finalist in International Extemp at last year’s NSDA National Tournament, finished third with ten ranks, three ahead of Dana Ko of Pine Creek High School (CO), who took fourth place.
Solon High School (OH) had two competitors reach the final round, Dev Ahuja and Vikram Sundaram. They finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Ananya Singh of Centennial High School (TX) finished seventh.
Kind, who won last season’s Barkley Forum and Harvard, will become the season’s first National Points Race leader. All competitors in the final round who placed in the top six will earn points toward this year’s standings. The first standings of the National Points Race will be posted Thursday evening.
Although the tournament is not a qualifier for the Extemp Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University, all of the finalists earned a bid to this year’s season’s UK TOC.
Here are the results of the 2021 National Speech and Debate Season Opener Hosted by the University of Kentucky (Click here for tab sheet):
hot1. Twenty years after 9/11, is America safer?
2. Should organized labor support President Biden’s vaccine mandate?
3. Have terrorists won the war on terrorism?
4. Should Chris Christie run for president in 2024?
5. How can President Biden convince Democratic moderates to support his $3.5 trillion social infrastructure bill?
6. Are mandates or incentives the best way to get more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19?
7. If the recall effort against Governor Newsom fails, what does it mean for the future of California’s Republican Party?
8. After Afghanistan, what changes does the U.S. need to make to its counter-terrorism policies?
9. Would it be wise to significantly increase the capital-gains tax?
10. Should the U.S. impose tariffs on Chinese industries that receive subsidies?
1. Has China successfully weaponized capitalism against the West?
2. Are North Korea’s recent military activities a sign of strength or weakness?
3. Is the world less safe since 9/11?
4. If leftist parties prevail in the German elections, should the Left Party be included in the governing coalition?
5. What impact will the coup in Guinea have on global commodity prices?
6. Can Najib Mikati fix Lebanon?
7. Is India’s caste system holding back its economy?
8. Who should the UN recognize as Myanmar’s representative?
9. Is Russia successfully isolating Ukraine?
10. Should Uruguay make a new trade deal with China?