1. Will the results of the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections cause the Democrats to back off of President Biden’s social infrastructure plan?
2. Is Eric Adams the future of the Democratic Party?
3. Does the Democratic Party have a messaging problem?
4. Will the Supreme Court strike down New York’s concealed carry restrictions?
5. Does the U.S. need to get more involved in the Tigray War?
6. Is Europe’s new COVID-19 wave a warning sign for the U.S. this winter?
7. Do states need to do more to make juries racially equitable?
8. Are American commitments going far enough at COP26?
9. Will the Minneapolis question 2 vote destroy ongoing progressive efforts to defund police?
10. Should states require high school students to pass an ethnic studies course?
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 COP26 Summit, the twenty-sixth meeting of nations that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994 and later agreed to the Paris Climate Accord in 2015. The leaders of the attending nations are trying to work out a framework to prevent global temperatures from increasing by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over the next twenty years.
COP26 news: Coal phase-out boosts hope for limiting warming to 1.5°C https://t.co/4f5ou1KraU
— New Scientist (@newscientist) November 4, 2021
As long as multilateral engagement is defined by nationalism, power politics, and emotion, rather than solidarity, law, and science, our future will continue to grow bleaker, warns @ecfr‘s @markhleonard. #COP26 #climatechange https://t.co/djwaY5x5zJ
— Project Syndicate (@ProSyn) November 4, 2021
“COP is sort of turning into a greenwash campaign, a PR campaign, for C.E.O.s, world leaders, politicians,” said Greta Thunberg at an event on the sidelines of COP26. https://t.co/e2MzJMNgiw
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) November 4, 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 Florida Blue Key, which was a fifth tier event. The next National Points Race competition will take place in a little over two weeks at the Glenbrooks, which will be the first third tier tournament of the season.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
Last weekend the University of Florida hosted its thirty-eight annual Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament in a virtual environment. National Points Race leader Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL) won a crushing victory over the field, picket fencing the final round and winning his second National Points Race title of the season by six ranks. Kind’s victory will allow him to extend his National Points Race lead as McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) did not attend the tournament.
Marc Zavarro of Western High School (FL) reached his second National Points Race final round of the season and was the runner-up by one rank over Chirag Choudhary of Unionville High School (PA).
The final three placings in the final round were close as Michelle Jin of the Harker School (CA) took fourth by one rank over Plano West Senior High School (TX) teammates Gabriel Bo and Kyle Letterer, who finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Even though it did not have any finalists, Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) had six extempers represented in the semi-finals and quarter-finals, the most of any school.
All of the finalists at Blue Key will receive National Points Race points. Since the tournament had seventy-six entries, all those competitors who reached semi-finals will earn a qualifying leg to the University of Kentucky TOC in April. And all extempers who made elimination rounds will receive a qualifying leg to the Extemp TOC at Northwestern University in May.
Here are the results of the 2021 Florida Blue Key (Click here for tab sheet):
1. Should the Biden administration retreat from its support of vaccine mandates?
2. What steps does Portland need to take to rein in destructive protests?
3. Is inflationary pressure in the U.S. economy here to stay?
4. How should states spend the money they are receiving from opioid pharmacy settlements?
5. Does Congress need better ethics rules to prevent insider trading?
6. How will FDA approval for COVID-19 vaccinations for children affect school operations across the country?
7. Should U.S. states decriminalize prostitution?
8. How will criminal charges against Andrew Cuomo affect the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial primary next year?
9. Does President Biden have enough political capital to pass his adjusted social infrastructure bill?
10. What should Eric Adams prioritize when he becomes New York City’s next mayor?
1. How will Sudan’s military coup affect Israeli-Palestinian relations?
2. Will COP26 be able to implement a successful global climate plan?
3. Why are military coups increasing in Africa?
4. How should the LDP respond to the results of Japan’s recent election?
5. Is the WTO doing enough to advocate the benefits of free trade?
6. Will the inevitable re-election of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the head of the WHO hurt the organization going forward?
7. Is the Ethiopian government losing the Tigray War?
8. Should Taiwan welcome the presence of U.S. troops in its country?
9. Are price controls hindering the Argentinian economy?
10. Should NATO be concerned about the growing arms race in the Balkans?
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 violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Fighting has engulfed the area since November. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the country’s armed forces to go to Tigray after there was an attack on a national military base. Tigray’s major political party governed Ethiopia’s affairs for almost thirty years until Ahmed took power in April 2018. To date, the violence has claimed more than 8,000 lives.
Situation for Tigray’s Population Grows More Desperate @DeutscheWelle: https://t.co/46J8pVUgAO #Ethiopia #Tigrai pic.twitter.com/U7WiUCt4do
— allAfrica.com (@allafrica) October 26, 2021
“God have mercy.” Interviews and internal documents reveal the most detailed picture yet of life under government blockade in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. https://t.co/IHQiY2RULL
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 16, 2021
Ethiopian textile industry at risk if U.S. suspends trade deal over Tigray war https://t.co/FT04rHAT7X pic.twitter.com/g5kwt8Uv6N
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 28, 2021
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Is South Africa’s ANC incapable of solving the nation’s economic inequality?
2. Should Vladimir Putin weaponize Russia’s energy resources?
3. What should be China’s ambitions in space?
4. How can Libya become stable?
5. What steps should Taiwan’s government take to counteract China?
6. Should the rise of AUKUS alarm ASEAN?
7. Has Hungary’s political opposition found the key to defeating Viktor Orban?
8. Should Chilean lawmakers remove President Sebastian Pinera from power?
9. Does the Taliban need international assistance to defeat ISIS?
10. Have Europe’s far-right political parties lost momentum?
1. Can the Forward Party turn America into a three-party system?
2. Should Senator Joe Manchin switch parties?
3. Is President Biden doing enough to solve America’s supply chain crisis?
4. Does the U.S. education system need to have more national or local control?
5. Should U.S. foreign policy accept Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear device?
6. Will President Biden’s Supreme Court commission produce anything meaningful?
7. Should the Federal Reserve change its interest rate outlook?
8. Will the restoration of the “Remain in Mexico” policy hurt the Biden administration’s standing with progressives?
9. What lessons should U.S. policymakers learn from Western Europe’s energy crunch?
10. Would price controls for prescription drugs have negative consequences for the American healthcare system?
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 global supply chain bottlenecks. As an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated shutdowns, the world is facing a massive supply chain crisis. Prices of groceries, automobiles, and energy sources are skyrocketing and the lack of resources is making things difficult for large and small businesses alike. In the United States, the Biden administration has committed to keeping West Coast shipyards open 24/7, while also modifying truck driver licensing requirements. However, experts warn that it could take more than a year to undo the damage.
China’s energy crisis threatens lengthy disruption to global supply chain https://t.co/uH5NkpMgsR
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) October 17, 2021
“The White House has stumbled into a messaging problem when it comes to higher prices and empty shelves,” writes @jimantle: https://t.co/YVlZbIUCIu
— The Week (@TheWeek) October 21, 2021
Fears grow as UK factories hit by worst supply chain shortages since mid-70s https://t.co/6OIOGtKCe0
— The Guardian (@guardian) October 21, 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 New York City Invitational, which was a fifth tier event. The next National Points Race competition will take place in a few weeks at the Florida Blue Key, another fifth tier competition that will award forty points to the winner.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
The 2021-2022 National Points Race resumed at the New York City Invitational last weekend, taking place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty-nine extempers competed, representing a diverse field that stretched from coast-to-coast.
McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ), this year’s Yale champion and the number two ranked extemper in the National Points Race, won the tournament, defeating last year’s CFL national champion Ananth Veluvali of Edina High School (MN). Paltzik and Veluvali were tied at the conclusion of the cumulative tournament, but Paltzik won the tiebreaker on final round ranks fourteen to seventeen to take the title.
National Points Race leader Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL) reached a third final round in as many National Points Race tournaments, placing third, three ranks behind Paltzik and Veluvali. This finish will help Kind retain the leadership of the National Points Race.
Peter Alisky of Smoky Hill High School (CO) reached a second National Points Race tournament final round, placing fourth overall. Alisky finished second in the final round behind Paltzik.
The state of Texas kept rolling nationally as some familiar names reached the final round. Cameron Roberts of Jack C. Hays High School, who placed fourth at Yale several weeks ago, finished fifth. Roberts ended up one cumulative rank ahead of Charles Hou of Plano West Senior High School, who finished ahead of Roberts at Yale.
Other notables competed but fell short of the final round. Dev Ahuja of Solon High School (OH), ranked seventh in the National Points Race, reached the semi-finals before bowing out. Marc Zavarro of Western High School (FL), who won the Nova Titan Invitational two weeks ago, reached the quarter-final round.
Although it is not a qualifier for the Extemp TOC, the New York City Invitational is a qualifier for the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC) in April. Based on the number of entries, all participants in the final round earn a qualifying leg for that event.
The next major National Points Race event will take place in two weeks online when the University of Florida hosts the Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament. That tournament, like New York City, will be a fifth tier event.
Here are the results of the 2021 New York City Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):