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1. Is the United States still the world’s economic leader?
2. Will environmental concerns decide 2014 Senate races in the Western states?
3. Is soccer becoming a more prominent sport in America?
4. Should public sector unions exist?
5. Is Main Street benefiting from the current economic recovery?
6. What does sensible gun control look like?
7. Will the reemergence of Monica Lewinsky in the public eye help or hinder Hillary Clinton’s presidential prospects?
8. Why is Scott Brown not gaining traction in his attempt to become New Hampshire’s next senator?
9. Why are U.S.-German relations so poor?
10. Is access to contraceptives a human right?
Since the war on terrorism began in 2001, questions about veterans’ issues have played a role in military and national defense rounds. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan added thousands of injured veterans to the list of those receiving care at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals throughout the country. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) current provides cares to nearly 10,000,000 American veterans across 1,700 sites. The VHA has been heralded as a healthcare success among other elements of bureaucratic dysfunction that are sometimes associated with the federal government, but a recent scandal has called into question the care that veterans are receiving. Allegations from a Phoenix VA facility that medical professionals there “cooked the books” to hide long waiting times for veterans in need of care have placed Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki under fire and Republicans and Democrats are calling for answers from the Obama administration.
Traditionally, the use of capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, has been one of many polarizing social issues in the United States. Proponents of the death penalty argue that it deters crime and provides victims’ families closure, while opponents say it constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment” and thereby violates the Eighth Amendment. Currently, thirty-two American states still have the death penalty, but public support for the death penalty is falling and the rate of executions is slowing. Oklahoma’s recently “botched” execution of Clayton D. Lockett by lethal injection has the potential to reignite the American death penalty debate and extempers should be prepared to discuss the constitutionality and future of the American death penalty at upcoming tournaments.
When entering the White House in 2009, President Barack Obama sought to “reset” relations with Russia. The Bush administration had tense relations with Russia, cancelling the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty during its first term, waging the war in Iraq over Russian objections, and establishing missile defense stations in Poland and the Czech Republic. The Obama administration decided to scrap the missile defense stations in Eastern Europe, signed a controversial nuclear reduction accord, and helped Russia become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, despite increasing America’s engagement with Russia, the Obama administration has recently been frustrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reassumed power in 2012. Russia has supported the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, has hedged its bets on Iran’s nuclear program, and violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity by seizing Crimea. Putin’s recent actions have given credence to domestic conservatives claims that the Obama administration is weak on national security and they make Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s claims about Russia being America’s “number one geopolitical foe” prescient.