Which outcome should be preferred in the stimulus plan: reform or recovery?
How has the Obama administration taken the presidency into the digital age?
Is Tom Daschle’s confirmation in peril thanks to his tax snafu?
Are professional sports suffering as a result of the current recession?
What would Sen. Judd Gregg offer to the position of Commerce Secretary?
Which governor is best handling her or her state’s fiscal adversity?
Was FEMA’s response to recent ice storms in the Midwest sufficient?
Are Obama cabinet nominees confusing his promise of ethics reform?
Should the economic stimulus plan include monies to expand rural broadband internet?
Will Sen. Gillibrand shift any of her key policy stances now that she has been sworn in?
Should other states adopt New York’s new revision of rent-regulation laws?
Will Gitmo be less punitive after an Obama-ordered review?
What does the GOP want in a revised stimulus plan?
Is a rise in the rate of Americans saving money a good sign of future economic behaviors?
Is the formation of a “bad bank” the solution to banking woes?
Will Jose Padilla’s case against Bush administration officials be heard in court?
Why has Florida become a hotbed of tobacco litigation?
Has the tide shifted against capital punishment in America?
Did the Illinois Senate handle the trial of Rod Blagojevich properly?
Will Rod Blagojevich be found guilty on federal corruption charges?
Should fertility doctors set limits on their services?
What must the CIA do to overcome two recent major scandals?
Is KGB the future of information accessibility?
Are 4% mortgages the key to restoring the housing market?
Will Chrysler and GM get requested concessions from the UAW?
Category: U.S. Extemp Page 51 of 55
1. Will the recession change America’s dismal savings rate?
2. Why was 2008 a bad year for the FARC?
3. Should Senate Republicans block the economic stimulus bill?
4. Is Muammar Qaddafi’s goal of creating a single African state realistic?
5. What do tax problems by some of his cabinet appointments say about the Obama administration?
6. Should the international community be worried about Iran’s successful launch of a satellite?
7. Can Michael Steele reverse the GOP’s decline?
8. Should Pope Benedict XVI step down over the lifting of the excommunication of Richard Williamson?
9. Will economic problems bring about a political transformation in Russia?
10. Is the nomination of Judd Gregg as the new commerce secretary a shrewd political move by Obama?
Over the last week, the news concerning the state of the U.S. economy continues to be troubling. Unemployment rates stand at the highest they have been in twenty-five years, banks continue to suffer problems despite the federal government’s willingness to give them aid, there is still doubt and uncertainty over the fate of America’s automakers, the federal deficit is expected to climb, and the gross domestic product (GDP) of the U.S. shrinking 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the biggest such contraction in GDP since 1982.
Faced with these massive economic problems, newly elected president Barack Obama has urged Congress to pass a new round of stimulus spending, over $800 billion worth, in attempt to get the economy growing again and avoid a second Great Depression in the United States. This is no surprise considering that the economic meltdown helped to elect Obama as president and if he fails to fix the economy over the next four years his chances of re-election look grim.
For extempers, the ongoing battle over this stimulus package is of utmost importance in examining domestic topics over the next two months. The success of the passage of this stimulus bill will demonstrate how well Obama can cross the aisle and win bipartisan support for his initiatives. This battle is also the first major legislative test of Obama’s presidency and a failure could cost his administration valuable momentum in its first several months in office.
This brief will clarify the components of the recent economic stimulus bill that passed the House of Representatives last week, describe what modifications the U.S. Senate may make to the bill, and the political implications that arise from these decisions.
1. Is it too late to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon?
2. Has Michelle Rhee done a good job so far in changing the Washington D.C. school system?
3. Is the stimulus bill just a pork bill in disguise?
4. Can Rwanda successfully root out the FDLR in the DRC?
5. Will Bolivia’s new constitution heal the nation’s divisions?
6. Why are sexual discrimination complaints falling?
7. Will Obama’s stance on fuel emission standards create more trouble for Detroit’s automakers?
8. Will the Obama administration be more confrontational with China than the Bush administration?
9. Will closing Gitmo be a setback in the war on terrorism?
10. How would the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as the next Israeli prime minister affect the Middle East peace process?
1. Can the U.S. solve its energy crisis in the next 40 years?
2. Will the recently brokered truce between Israel and Hamas hold?
3. Why did the Dow plunge on inauguration day?
4. How should the Chinese government deal with rising unemployment rates?
5. Why is the Likud Party benefiting from the Gaza offensive?
6. Should the world cut off aid to Rwanda after its incursions into the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
7. Will the Fiat-Chrysler strategic alliance benefit both sides?
8. Can U.S. airlines see a turnaround in 2009?
9. Is America more or less safe than January 2001 when President Bush first became president?
10. Will Obama face more trouble from the left or the right in his first term?
1. Will the Democrat’s decision to seat Burris cost them votes in 2010?
2. How will the federal governments projected deficit impact Barack Obama’s spending priorities?
3. Should Rudy Guiliani run for governor of New York?
4. What does the collapse of Satyam Computer Services say about Indian corporate governance?
5. Is President Bush responsible for the U.S. recession?
6. Will Taro Aso still be Japan’s prime minister by the end of 2009?
7. Would a successful Israeli invasion of Gaza bring the Israelis and Palestinians close to a peace accord?
8. Should Alvaro Uribe seek a third term as Colombia’s president?
9. What impact will Dr. Steven Chu have on America’s energy policy?
10. How can Europe best reduce its dependency on Russian natural gas supplies?
1. Can Israel win in Gaza?
2. Should the U.S. change the way it handles unemployment benefits?
3. Why has Blagojevich not been impeached?
4. Was Bangladesh’s vote fair?
5. Ten years on, has the euro achieved what it was supposed to?
6. Will the coup in Guinea bring positive change to the country?
7. Was Obama’s choice of Leon Panetta as the next CIA director a good one?
8. Should Obama take a stand in the Israeli-Hamas war?
9. Why are the Conservatives faltering in British political opinion polls?
10. How can U.S. schools get more math and science teachers?
Just when the drama in Illinois concerning Rod Blagojevich seemed to be running out of steam in the national press, the controversial and indicted governor gave it new momentum by defying Senate Democratic leaders and state lawmakers and appointing Roland Burris, a former state attorney general and former political primary opponent, to Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
The appointment of Roland Burris has created constitutional questions about the ability of the U.S. Senate, considered one of the most elite clubs in the world, to select who it seats in its chamber and has ignited a racial element in national politics. It has also provided a tough maze for Democratic leaders to navigate without offending African-Americans, arguably the most loyal Democratic voting bloc.
This brief will provide extempers with some background information on Roland Burris, background on the appointment, and the implications his appointment has for national politics. These implications will hopefully help extempers zero in on the appropriate level of analysis necessary to answer questions tied to the Burris situation.
1. Which country will be the biggest threat to international security in 2009?
2. Should the Senate refuse to seat Burris?
3. Is Caroline Kennedy a qualified candidate for U.S. Senate?
4. Will the Israeli offensive in Gaza help or hinder future Middle East peace talks?
5. Should the EU intervene in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute?
6. Will the winner of the Minnesota Senate race have a tainted victory?
7. Do Bulgaria’s problems mean that the EU should cease expansion plans for the near future?
8. Should China change its export driven economic model?
9. Are “obesity taxes” a good idea?
10. Will OPEC’s production cuts save the global economy from deflation?
1. How should Obama’s Senate seat be filled?
2. Can the Congress of the People Party successfully challenge the ANC in the 2009 South African elections?
3. Are higher cigarette taxes a good idea for tobacco growing states?
4. Would it be wise for Obama to overturn the Cuban embargo?
5. Will the Blagojevich scandal ruin Obama’s economic stimulus plan?
6. Can Michael Ignatieff guide the Liberal Party of Canada back to power?
7. Should U.S. policymakers be more fearful of hyperinflationary or deflationary pressure in the economy?
8. Why are communal tensions in the Philippines on the rise?
9. Should the Big 3 automakers be allowed to go bankrupt?
10. How will Obama’s counter-terror strategy differ from President Bush?
Last week, when it appeared that the Obama presidential transition would proceed as smoothly as possible in the midst of economic turmoil, two foreign wars, and a crisis of relations between India and Pakistan, the entire U.S. political climate was shaken to its core by the arrest of acting Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The controversy has been a distraction for the incoming Obama administration and his transition team has been beating a quiet message for the media, while circling the wagons to prevent any negative political fallout. The incident has also put into question Obama’s economic plan, worth up to $1 trillion, and has the implication of eventually altering the makeup of the U.S. Senate, at a time when Democrats assumed that Obama’s successor would be a Democratic candidate.
While controversy surrounding Blagojevich is not new, his accused actions of trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat for future campaign cash or for personal gain as well as trying to eliminate editorial members of the Chicago Tribune who disagreed with him are some of the most brazen acts of political corruption the U.S. political system has ever seen and will most likely be talked about by extempers for years to come.
This brief will give some brief background on the scandal, actions being taken against the governor, and the political fallout of the scandal for the Obama administration and Illinois politics.
1. Is Somalia the next Afghanistan?
2. Does the print news industry deserve a government bailout?
3. After an outbreak of violence by Zimbabwe’s army, is Mugabe’s regime in its final days?
4. Is the world closing in to becoming victorious over the AIDS virus?
5. Will the raid by British authorities over Damian Green make the British public resistant to future laws that encroach on their civil liberties?
6. What can Hugo Chavez do to reduce Venezuela’s homicide rate?
7. Why is Greece seeing an outbreak of riots?
8. What was President Bush’s biggest foreign policy accomplishment?
9. Is Nepal’s decision to close down its private schools misguided?
10. Will Obama’s economic plan work?
1. Should the Senate intervene in the Minnesota Senate race?
2. Why is California in a fiscal emergency?
3. Should Britain join the euro?
4. To the U.S.: Is Turkey important??
5. Should Obama have campaigned for Martin?
6. What impact will the banning of the PPP have on Thai politics?
7. Are African nations coddling Omar al-Bashir?
8. What impact will the Mumbai attacks have on Indian politics?
9. Why did Obama keep Gates?
10. After eight years, what grade does the Bush administration deserve on its environmental report card?
1. Do Obama’s cabinet appointments echo his campaign’s message of “change” or do they simply create a Clinton restoration?
2. Why are countries wary of an IMF bailout?
3. Can a resolution to the conflict in Kashmir bring stability to Afghanistan?
4. Was Tom Daschle a better selection for Secretary of Health and Human Services than Howard Dean?
5. How can the U.S. improve civic education?
6. Was the government bailout of Citigroup justified?
7. Should Barack Obama make cuts in the defense budget?
8. Have the Venezuelan local election results provided Hugo Chavez with some needed political momentum?
9. How should the world bring Somali pirates to justice?
10. Will low oil prices now lead to a supply crunch later?
Domestic social issues are issues that extempers never want to discuss. Extempers dread walking into them and feel even worse after they have competed. Speaking on domestic social issues well is a fine balancing act between taking a moderate approach on issues, so as not to offend judges, and having a knowledge base that can cite specific examples of how approaches have worked in the past and could work better in the future.
This brief will be shorter than most, simply because the Thanksgiving holiday does not allow for any tournaments to occur this weekend. However, I would hope that most extempers would use the days off of school to get caught up on current events and knock out some heavy reading.