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Prepd – software that helps extemporaneous speakers research, practice, and compete – was founded in April, 2013. Thus far, nearly 300 debate programs have adopted the application. Over 1 million articles have been uploaded. With all of Prepd’s progress, it seems fitting that Prepd is now supporting a second debate event. I caught up with Prepd’s founder, Ian Panchèvre, to learn more about Prepd’s new product for Congressional Debate.
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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
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Today’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 former New York Governor George Pataki’s presidential candidacy. Pataki unexpectedly entered the Republican presidential primaries last week. He served as the Governor of New York from 1995 to 2006 and has a reputation as a moderate Republican. Some of Pataki’s political positions include a support for tax cuts and the death penalty, but Pataki’s position in favor of gay marriage and abortion will put him at odds with the Republican Party’s socially conservative base.
George Pataki has the best electoral resume in the 2016 field, yet nobody takes him seriously http://t.co/AJYXoAJAqT
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 29, 2015
Who is George Pataki? Here are 5 things you should know: http://t.co/LIdcFyOVuV
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) May 28, 2015
Can the GOP accept George Pataki, a pro-choice, gun-regulating centrist? http://t.co/kEAaaXyFlO pic.twitter.com/3hqhEwcnwa
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 31, 2015
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With the NSDA topic area analysis in the books, Extemp Central can refocus its attention on the state tournament results of the last two months. This second state tournament recap provides results for competitions in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Virginia.
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To access the 2015 NSDA Extemp topic area analysis by Logan Scisco, please click on the link below. The link is a .pdf document.
2015 NSDA Extemp Topic Area Analysis Book by Logan Scisco
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1. Will the U.S. prosecution of FIFA officials clean up worldwide soccer?
2. What steps should the Indian government take to help the poor survive the country’s deadly summer heatwave?
3. Is the Saudi government doing enough to protect its Shi’ite minority from sectarian violence?
4. Do the recent Italian local elections constitute a victory for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s reform agenda?
5. Should Burundi postpone its presidential election?
6. What effect is ISIS having on OPEC?
7. Is it counterproductive to shut Russia out of the G-7?
8. What role should Turkey play in stabilizing the Middle East?
9. Should Great Britain seek a stronger security relationship with Japan?
10. Are women’s rights universal?
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1. Is America facing a new nationwide crime wave?
2. Does the hemp industry have significant economic potential?
3. Should the Lifeline program be extended to cover broadband Internet?
4. Does the federal government need to pass a stronger law to stop scrap metal theft?
5. Are the Republicans heading for a deadlocked presidential convention next year?
6. How should Illinois close its budget shortfall?
7. Should Democratic presidential candidates worry about the anemic first quarter growth number?
8. Do the USA Freedom Act privacy protections go far enough?
9. When it comes to gay marriage, should the U.S. follow the Irish model?
10. What are George Pataki’s chances of capturing the GOP presidential nomination?
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Today’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 May 25-31, 2015.
Ex-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert indicted on federal charges. http://t.co/Jsy8ybzCOD pic.twitter.com/R6oLTe2Ycr
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) May 28, 2015
Friday is @UNPeacekeeping Day – here are numbers you need to know http://t.co/Oa3FOEFylF #PKDay #Together4Peace pic.twitter.com/H5j47XtAgs
— United Nations (@UN) May 29, 2015
Why Britain’s future depends on the answer to this carefully-worded question: http://t.co/Uh5P0FOxVV pic.twitter.com/JLYdgY0CAq
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) May 29, 2015
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Today’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 the General Motors (GM) ignition switch case. The company is facing lawsuits and a federal investigation into an ignition switch defect that has been linked to more than one hundred deaths. The defect caused the ignition switch to move out of position in older vehicles, disabling brakes, steering, and airbags. GM recalled 2.6 million vehicles last year that were linked to the problem and reports are surfacing that federal investigators are likely to press criminal charges against some of the company’s employees that were allegedly aware of the problem and did little to fix it.
Breaking News: Inquiry Into G.M. Ignition Defect Said to Find Criminal Wrongdoing http://t.co/I6JTR44Zio
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 23, 2015
Judge puts GM ignition-switch lawsuits on ice, for now http://t.co/clO9cpUrQ8
— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) May 27, 2015
General Motors faces huge fine over ‘criminal’ ignition defects – reports http://t.co/zxrTJuT4MZ
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 23, 2015
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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
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Today’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 Ethiopia. The nation held parliamentary elections on Sunday and the governing Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition was expected to win. Opposition parties said that the poll was not fair, but African observers said that the election was free of large irregularities. The Ethiopian government has strong ties to Western nations despite its recent history of silencing critics of the government.
Ethiopia’s ruling party has abandoned democracy in principle and adopted the Chinese developmental state in practice. http://t.co/6a8ypl3M3s
— WorldPoliticsReview (@WPReview) May 26, 2015
Inside Story: The two faces of Ethiopia’s democracy. http://t.co/UKzjDbjaVB pic.twitter.com/PI1KMyEM9V
— AJE News (@AJENews) May 25, 2015
Ethiopia’s Ruling Party Is Expected to Keep Grip on Power http://t.co/DnwaCpw5RR
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 24, 2015
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Yijia Liang of Upper Arlington High School (OH) ended the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) Grand National Tournament exactly where he began the season – in the winner’s circle – as he defeated the top two competitors in the National Points Race – Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) and Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY) – to win his first major championship. Liang’s victory is his second national circuit title of the season as he won the Wake Forest National Early Bird back in September. His win is the first time that an Ohio extemper has won the NCFL national title since Alex Draime of Howland High School took the crown in 2009.
Graham and Anderson tied for second place, but Graham had a cumulative score that was two ranks better than Anderson in the final round. This matters for the National Points Race as Graham will be able to enlarge his lead by fifteen points going into the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament.
Montville Township High School (NJ) placed an extemper in the final round for the second consecutive year, with Christopher Mayer coming within four places of repeating teammate Monica Coscia’s national winning performance at last year’s tournament.
Samhitha Sunkara of Ardrey Kell High School (NC) finished the tournament in sixth place, becoming the first North Carolina extemp finalist at NCFL Nationals since 2011.
Trinity Preparatory School (FL) did quite well at the tournament, placing two competitors in the final round. Along with Graham’s runner-up performance, Nathaniel Saffran took fourth. This is the first time since 2009 that a school has had two extemp finalists at an NCFL National Tournament. Howland High School was the last school to accomplish the feat.
The tournament’s octo-final round also lived up to its cursed reputation as several prominent national competitors had their dreams of a national title end prematurely. Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA), who took third at last year’s tournament, was eliminated in octo-finals and was denied the opportunity to win the third leg of the Grand Slam. Yale Invitational winner Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA) and New York state champion Charlie Barton of Regis High School were also eliminated from the competition early Sunday morning.
Since the NCFL National Tournament is a third tier tournament in the National Points Race all of the competitor who reached the quarter-final round and beyond will earn points. If the Extemp TOC maintains its existing qualification system for next year, all of the underclassmen that reached the semi-final round will earn a leg for next year’s competition in Evanston, Illinois.
Here are the results of the 2015 NCFL Grand National Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):
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Since December, American agricultural authorities have been wrestling with an outbreak of bird flu. Three strains of bird flu have affected the North American poultry industry and have thus far led to the culling of 38.9 million birds in the United States, twice the number of a major outbreak that took place three decades ago. The Pacific Northwest and the Midwest have been the regions most significantly impacted by the outbreak and Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa have been forced to declare states of emergency. Scientists are not yet sure what is causing the outbreak, but the leading theory is that migratory birds might be spreading various strains of the virus. Although there is no threat to American public health at this time, health officials are remaining alert to any bird-to-human transmission of avian influenza, which took place in Asia in 2003. Due to the fact that the recent outbreak will raise consumer prices of egg-related food products in the short-term, that U.S. taxpayers will be paying millions in relief to poultry farmers, and handling the problem will test the leadership of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, extempers that specialize in domestic issues should be aware of the recent bird flu problem.
This topic brief will chronicle how bird flu has become a significant problem for the American poultry industry, discuss the economic impact of the bird flu outbreak, and then point out some issues that extempers should be aware of as they continue to follow this news story.
Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.
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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on the U.S. bird flu outbreak.
Soaring toll of avian flu outbreak in U.S.: 33 million chickens and turkeys http://t.co/LIiuE4MOZX pic.twitter.com/AZpRrIvyaE
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) May 15, 2015
The avian flu epidemic will cause 33.5 million birds to lose their lives (nearly the human population of Canada). http://t.co/uVhijlQQGb
— Nick Turner (@SFNick) May 15, 2015
U.S. bird flu causing egg squeeze, emergency measures: http://t.co/xDGj4IXtgy pic.twitter.com/XZVsuffJpv
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 22, 2015
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1. Should Congress eliminate the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program?
2. How can the mass incarceration problem be ended?
3. Should individual employees face criminal charges in the GM ignition case?
4. How can fast food worker protests gain more traction?
5. Did Rand Paul’s recent filibuster against the Patriot Act bolster his presidential chances?
6. Is the Department of Agriculture effectively dealing with the domestic bird flu outbreak?
7. Are sustained low interest rates harming American economic growth?
8. How can the liberal arts secure more funding in a “STEM era”?
9. Will Republicans pay a significant political price for backing trade promotion authority?
10. Does the U.S. need to do more to fight ISIS in Syria?
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