1. Will the Buffalo shootings become the impetus for greater gun control measures in the United States?
2. Does the recent collapse of cryptocurrency markets highlight the need for more federal regulation of the industry?
3. Could higher taxes on the wealthy solve America’s inflation problem?
4. What should California do with its record budget surplus?
5. How should the Biden administration respond to the recent baby formula shortage?
6. Which competitive Senate race should Democrats “punt” for the 2022 midterms?
7. Will Texas’ power woes hinder Governor Greg Abbott’s re-election hopes?
8. Is it in America’s best interest for Sweden and Finland to join NATO?
9. What steps can be taken to depoliticize the judicial branch?
10. How should the U.S. respond to China’s growing nuclear arsenal?
Month: May 2022
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.
Over the next month and a half, Extemp Central will provide R&Ds on the topic areas for the 2022 NSDA National Tournament. USX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Thursday and IX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Friday. This is meant to help extempers assemble resources to prepare for the competition in Louisville. This week we tackle IX topic area #2 on Central & South America.
An OPEC-style lithium pact in South America is a “far-fetched prospect” because of “key differences between the oil and lithium industries.”https://t.co/CJOYEiaVQm
— World Politics Review (@WPReview) April 16, 2022
China is South America’s top trading partner and a major source of both foreign direct investment and lending in energy and infrastructure.
But Beijing’s growing sway in the region has raised concerns in Washington and beyond. More in this explainer ⬇️ https://t.co/wq4I0rae7U
— Council on Foreign Relations (@CFR_org) April 28, 2022
South America’s breadbasket is also balancing on precarious ecosystems https://t.co/hT1nPmZHzg
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) April 30, 2022
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.
Over the next month and a half, Extemp Central will provide R&Ds on the topic areas for the 2022 NSDA National Tournament. USX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Thursday and IX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Friday. This is meant to help extempers assemble resources to prepare for the competition in Louisville. This week we tackle USX topic area #2 on education.
More recognition, flexible schedules, and better pay are among the keys to improving teacher morale, a panel of education experts said in a candid discussion about a “profession in crisis.” #TeacherTwitter https://t.co/YN2JsS84S8
— Education Week (@educationweek) May 10, 2022
Opinion: We can’t afford not to pay for undocumented immigrants’ education https://t.co/a8oqgMyMCI
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) May 10, 2022
NEW: Black and Hispanic Americans, those with less education are more likely to fall out of the middle class each year https://t.co/unR8iBttdQ pic.twitter.com/gSoXL16rpd
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) May 10, 2022
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Will public outcry cause the Supreme Court to change its suspected opinion in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization?
2. Is the Federal Reserve to blame for America’s current inflation woes?
3. If Roe v. Wade is overturned this summer, can that minimize Democratic losses in the midterm elections?
4. Is Ohio a winnable Senate race for Democrats this November?
5. If President Biden runs for re-election in 2024, should he choose a different running mate?
6. Should the American Bar Association scrap the LSAT?
7. What would be the implications of the Supreme Court overturning Plyler v. Doe?
8. Should the U.S. provide military assistance to the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan?
9. Will California’s water conservation measures work?
10. Should U.S. intelligence agencies provide targeting assistance to the Ukrainian military in its war with Russia?
1. Is Yoon Suk-yeol too unpopular to effectively govern?
2. What was Russia’s biggest miscalculation in its invasion of Ukraine?
3. How will the Taliban’s new dress decree for women affect its efforts to get greater international recognition?
4. After bad results in local elections, should the Conservative Party ditch Boris Johnson?
5. How can Tunisia avoid economic collapse?
6. What reforms are needed of international institutions in order to make them more effective?
7. Should Mexico adopt electoral reforms proposed by AMLO?
8. Does the Philippines have a “strongman problem”?
9. How should the Quad respond to China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands?
10. Why is Turkey trying to form a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia?
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.
Over the next month and a half, Extemp Central will provide R&Ds on the topic areas for the 2022 NSDA National Tournament. USX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Thursday and IX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Friday. This is meant to help extempers assemble resources to prepare for the competition in Louisville. This week we tackle IX topic area #1 on Africa.
The ‘War on Terror’ did much to feed terrorism in the Horn of Africa. The 2006 Ethiopia invasion of Somalia was encouraged by the US as it sought to oust the Islamic Court Union, writes Alex Vines (@AfricaProg). https://t.co/weLLEmJeYX
— Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) April 30, 2022
Ethiopia continues to present a major source of instability for the Horn of Africa region and beyond. Mediation efforts by the African Union have made little progress, writes Alex Vines (@AfricaProg).https://t.co/sDvNVkTLo8
— Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) April 16, 2022
The U.S. announced $670 Million in food aid for Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen, where the war in Ukraine has exacerbated food insecurity.
Michelle Gavin outlines what to know about East Africa’s growing food crisis. https://t.co/OfnheXloc8
— Council on Foreign Relations (@CFR_org) April 28, 2022
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.
Over the next month and a half, Extemp Central will provide R&Ds on the topic areas for the 2022 NSDA National Tournament. USX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Thursday and IX topic areas will have R&Ds posted on Friday. This is meant to help extempers assemble resources to prepare for the competition in Louisville. This week we tackle USX topic area #1 on arts, entertainment and society.
The Oscars were a queasy spectacle that underlined doubts about the function of the Academy Awards.https://t.co/CYVakASmXL
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) April 28, 2022
U.S. arts, entertainment, and recreation total revenue was $85.6B (seasonally adjusted) in fourth quarter 2021, up 53.3% from fourth quarter 2020, and up 14.5% from fourth quarter 2019. #CensusEconData #QSS pic.twitter.com/gZZAVpcYWW
— U.S. Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau) March 15, 2022
In recent years, entertainment executives have vowed to make a genuine commitment to diversity, but are routinely criticized for falling short. Now studios are turning to consultants to make sure their movies or shows don’t raise any cultural red flags. https://t.co/YzKG7RV03y
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) April 2, 2022
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 last weekend’s Tournament of Champions of Extemporaneous Speaking, a third tier event that was won by Cameron Roberts of Jack C. Hays High School (TX).
The next National Points Race event will take place at the end of the month when NCFL Nationals take place in Washington, D.C. This will be the second-to-last National Points Race event of the season and is a second tier event that will award 150 points to the winner.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
This year’s Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking, also known on the circuit as the Extemp TOC, attracted a field of forty-four extempers. The competition was hosted by Northwestern University and had to be held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
#9 Cameron Roberts of Jack C. Hays High School (TX) won her second National Points Race event of the season, defeating #6 Ananth Veluvali of Edina High School (MN) by four ranks in the final round. The victory is Roberts’ first major championship and earns her 100 points in the National Points Race. Roberts has reached five National Points Race tournament final rounds this year, the second-most of any extemper in the country.
Veluvali, who already has a major championship, finished runner-up for the third consecutive time in a National Points Race tournament. He has also notched runner-up finishes in the season’s first two majors.
Kevin Li of Ridge High School (NJ) finished third, seven ranks behind Veluvali and eleven behind Roberts.
Fourth place went to Raghav Ramki of Plano East Senior High School (TX), who finished four ranks ahead of Pierce McDade of Normal University School (IL).
#21 Phoena Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX) was the third ranked extemper to reach the final round. She finished sixth in her second national circuit final of the season.
As with the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC) there were a few notables who did not reach finals. These included #1 Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL), who missed the final round by one rank after taking two sixth place ranks in semi-finals. #24 Theodore Gercken of College Preparatory School (CA), the lone California extemper in the field because this year’s TOC clashed with the California state tournament, dropped in quarter-finals. And #14 Olivia Wetzel of Whitmer High School (OH) missed clearing to quarter-finals by one rank.
#16 Mukta Dharmapurikar of Durham Academy (NC) did not attend the tournament to defend her champinship.
The TOC awards a sweepstakes trophy, which was won by Edina High School. Second place went to Plano East and third was taken by Ridge High School.
Since the TOC is a third tier event in the National Points Race, all extempers who reached elimination rounds will receive points. New standings will be released later this week.
All non-senior extempers who cleared to elimination rounds are automatically qualified for next year’s TOC.
Here are the results from the 2022 Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking (Click here for tab sheet):
1. Will Vladimir Putin use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine?
2. How are drones reshaping global national security policy?
3. Should the EU expel Hungary for agreeing to Russia’s energy demands?
4. What can the WTO do to combat export bans on agricultural goods?
5. Which party will win the upcoming Lebanese elections?
6. Is Bangladesh sliding into autocracy?
7. If the Balkans fragile peace disintegrates, how should NATO respond?
8. Will Kim Jong-un’s provocative rhetoric cause Japan to build its own nuclear deterrent?
9. Should the international community extend more debt relief to African nations?
10. Can the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement be salvaged?
1. Has stagflation taken hold of the U.S. economy?
2. Does Bernie Sanders have too much influence on the Democratic Party?
3. Is the U.S. finished with the war on terrorism?
4. Would a cancellation of student debt improve Democrats chances in the midterm elections?
5. Is recent rhetoric by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin counterproductive to finding a solution to Russia’s war with Ukraine?
6. What role should former President Trump play in the midterm elections?
7. Is U.S. higher education in need of significant structural reforms?
8. When is the proper time for sex education to be taught in U.S. schools?
9. Does the U.S. need a Disinformation Governance Board?
10. Would Tucker Carlson be a strong presidential candidate?
This morning, the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) posted extemp topic areas for the national tournament. This year’s national tournament will take place in Louisville, Kentucky from June 12-17.
Like last year, Extemp Central will start doing R&Ds for these topic areas in the weeks leading up to the national tournament to assist extempers in their preparation. So look for us to double up on R&Ds on Thursdays and Fridays for IX and USX starting next week.
Here are the topic areas for this year’s national tournament: