1. How should the Iranian government handle recent protests over its downing of a Ukrainian jetliner?
2. Is “Megxit” a major blow to the British monarchy?
3. What can be done to stop Libya’s collapse?
4. Does Australia need to adopt controlled burning programs?
5. Why did Tsai Ing-wen win the Taiwanese presidential election?
6. Is China’s Taiwan strategy failing?
7. What should Justin Trudeau prioritize in his second term?
8. Can Europe reduce tensions between the U.S. and Iran?
9. What will be the economic impact of Spain’s new left-wing government?
10. Are global commodity prices poised to rise in the next five years?
- Has Britain’s Labour Party lost touch with the working class?
- How should Iran respond to the death of General Qassem Soleimani?
- Would a war between the U.S. and Iran allow China to retake Taiwan?
- Was the drone strike on Soleimani a violation of international law?
- Are Bolsonaro’s economic policies working?
- Which nation improved the most in 2019?
- How can Russia make significant diplomatic inroads in Africa?
- Will the global economy grow in 2020?
- Could growing tensions in the Middle East drive a wedge between NATO allies?
- Has Shinzo Abe’s foreign policy been beneficial to Japan?
1. Should the U.S. seek regime change in Iran?
2. Is the Democratic presidential primary becoming a race between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders?
3. Are schools becoming too lax in their discipline policies?
4. Should the U.S. reinstate the draft?
5. Is anti-Semitism growing in the United States?
6. If the 2020 presidential election suddenly becomes more about foreign policy and national security, which candidate stands to benefit the most?
7. What role should the Department of Housing and Urban Development play in combating America’s homelessness crisis?
8. Should California repeal AB5?
9. Will new FDA regulations banning the purchase of tobacco products by those under the age of twenty-one further lower teen smoking rates?
10. Are hedge funds hurting rural America?
Note: These will be the last practice topics of 2019 as none will be posted next week due to the winter holiday. New topics will resume on Monday, January 6. However, we will provide updated results from George Mason and the University of Texas-Austin, along with updated standings in the National Points Race before MBA.
1. Does the U.S. need a new “war on poverty”?
2. Should President Trump endorse a minimum wage increase?
3. Was Labour’s recent defeat in Britain a bad omen for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaigns?
4. Why has the U.S. economy grown over the last decade without experiencing inflation?
5. Should college campuses have the ability to adjudicate sexual assault and harassment allegations?
6. Will the recent move by colleges to become “test optional” make the college admissions process more fair?
7. Should the size of the U.S. budget deficit alarm policymakers?
8. Will the Supreme Court force a disclosure of President Trump’s financial records?
9. Should the U.S. lower the legal voting age to sixteen?
10. How can the U.S. break the deadlock in talks over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program?
1. Will Brexit cause a breakup of the United Kingdom as a political entity?
2. What is the future of global capitalism?
3. Will the USMCA become the model for future global trade deals?
4. Can the EU reach its target of having net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050?
5. Who should be the next leader of Canada’s Conservative Party?
6. Was the recent British general election a realigning one?
7. Do the IMF and World Bank have a role to play in the fight against global climate change?
8. Were the 2010s a “lost decade” for Latin America?
9. Would a victory by Khalifa Hifter in Libya’s civil war be a victory for Russia?
10. Is Russia reasserting control of Moldova?
Adam Johnson, the director of the Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin, recently unveiled the list of this year’s sixteen invitees. These competitors, who represent eleven states, will compete in Nashville on January 5-6 in one of the two second tier tournaments in this year’s Extemp Central National Points Race.
Extemp Central congratulates the following invitees:
*Steve Asthana (Shrewsbury High School, Massachusetts)
*Mukta Dharmapurikar (Durham Academy, North Carolina)
*James Gao (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Nikitha Kalahasti (Presentation High School, California)
*Anuj Kothari (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Gustavo Lanz (Cypress Bay High School, Florida)
*Eve Mainster (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Jocelyn “Mo” Marks (Theodore Roosevelt High School, Iowa)
*Alex Massa (Hoover High School, Ohio)
*Anurima Mummaneni (Westwood High School, Texas)
*Pranav Pattatathunaduvil (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Juliette Reyes (American Heritage School – Plantation, Florida)
*Kay Rollins (The Potomac School, Virginia)
*Jack Silvers (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Angela Wang (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Brian Zheng (Naperville North High School, Illinois)
1. Why is Germany’s political center collapsing?
2. Can Macron pass pension reform?
3. Should electoral interference be deemed an act of war?
4. Do economies woes bode ill for the long-term viability of Iran’s Islamic Republic?
5. Should Justin Trudeau fear a “Wexit”?
6. Does Japan need to embrace a more lax immigration policy?
7. Is China gaining more power in international institutions?
8. Are religious parties losing ground in the Arab World?
9. Is Italy’s Five Star Movement imploding?
10. What steps can Haiti take to wean itself from international food assistance?
1. Would the nomination of Pete Buttigieg depress African-American and Latino turnout in 2020?
2. Can the Trump administration close a big trade deal with China by the end of 2020?
3. Is President Trump making significant inroads with African-American voters?
4. If the Trump impeachment push fails, should Democrats try it again if he is re-elected?
5. Do police tactics need a significant overhaul?
6. Will the Pensacola shooting strain the military ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia?
7. Why did Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy fail?
8. Should gunmakers be legally liable for their products?
9. Are America’s public schools becoming too political?
10. Should religious adoption agencies be closed?
by Daniel Kind
The 39th annual Glenbrooks Speech and Debate Tournament was recently held the weekend before Thanksgiving with 88 entries. As per usual, the tournament was run using a clean break system, but without the usage of the internet during prep. As one of the largest tournaments in the season and one of the last of the year, Glenbrooks is hugely impactful on the Extemp circuit. The final round this year was one of the most hotly contested finals in recent memory for the tournament.Gus Lanz from Cypress Bay High School (FL) earned 1st place in the tournament. He beat out East Ridge High School’s (MN) Sam Padmanabhan, who got 2nd, by one rank in the final round. Pierce Florey of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) was tied with Padmanabhan for 2nd, but due to judge preference, he took the 3rd place spot. Anuj Kothari from Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) got 4th place while Ethan Jiang from Seven Lakes High School (TX) edged out Sinan Kassim from the NSU University School (FL) by judge preference for 5th and 6th place respectively.
As a result of The Glenbrooks’ status as a 3rd tier tournament, Lanz earned 100 points for the affair, propelling him to 1st place in the Extemp Central national points race. Padmanabhan got 80 points, placing him in 5th place. Florey accrued 70 points for 6th place in the points race. Kothari attained 50 points for 8th, Jiang earned 40 (tying him for 12th place with Pranav Pattatahunaduvil), and Kassim gained 33 points, making him 10th. All semifinalists got 25 points, putting Theodore Roosevelt HS’s Mo Marks at 2nd and Lake Highland Preparatory’s Daniel Kind at 7th respectively. All quarterfinalists earned 15 points, tying American Heritage Plantation’s Juliette Reyes for third with James Gao.
Here are the results of 2019 Glenbrooks (Click Here for Tab Sheet):
1. Do Democratic presidential debates need to focus more on foreign policy?
2. If President Trump is able to negotiate the end of the Afghan war will that pay major political dividends in 2020?
3. How can the U.S. resolve the ongoing fighting between Ukraine and Russia?
4. Does Joe Biden need to win Iowa or New Hampshire to keep his presidential campaign going?
5. Is it too late for Deval Patrick to make an impact on the Democratic presidential primaries?
6. If there is a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020, how might that impact the presidential race?
7. Should OSHA conduct a more thorough review of Amazon workplace practices?
8. Is the future for historically black colleges and universities bleak?
9. Should House Democrats censure, rather than impeach, President Trump?
10. Could school choice become a wedge issue between Democrats and African-American voters?
1. How can Spain resolve the Catalan crisis?
2. Is “knife control” needed in Europe?
3. How might the London stabbings affect the British elections?
4. Will the SPD’s move to the left undermine Angela Merkel’s political standing?
5. Should Benjamin Netanyahu resign?
6. Is AMLO’s anti-corruption drive more about enhancing his own political power?
7. Has Bolsonaro lost the political energy that made his presidential campaign so successful?
8. How should China respond to America’s official support of the Hong Kong protests?
9. Will Sudan’s political revolution help the peoples of Darfur?
10. Is the Internet becoming less free?
Note: Because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday there will be no questions posted for the week of November 25-December 1. Questions will resume on December 2.
1. What effect might a mass Christian exodus have on the Middle East?
2. How can the international community bring Iran back to the table with regards to its nuclear weapons program?
3. Would the recognition of Bashar al-Assad as the winner of Syria’s civil war best help the nation get back on its feet?
4. Is Australia too dependent on China?
5. Should Iran try to step in and suppress the uprisings in Iraq and Lebanon?
6. Are Latin American states too divided to help stabilize Bolivia?
7. Why have attempts by the West to liberalize China failed?
8. Should President Trump pardon Roger Stone?
9. Is the upcoming British general election do or die for Jeremy Corbyn’s control for the Labour Party?
10. A year later: Did the yellow vest protests achieve their goals?
1. Will the Trump impeachment saga cost Democrats seats in the House in 2020?
2. If Mayor Pete were to win Iowa, does that open up a lane to win the Democratic presidential nomination?
3. Should college endowments be seized to pay off student loan debt?
4. Is Nikki Haley positioning herself for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024?
5. Should the sale of contraceptive products be made tax free?
6. Would universal background checks actually reduce gun crime?
7. Does President Trump have the constitutional authority to ditch DACA?
8. Is “hate speech” becoming too broadly labeled?
9. Has globalization been a net positive for the United States?
10. Is Ukraine a “critical ally” of the United States?
This week’s local results include competitions from Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. We also have the results of the Purdue University’s Boiler Clash.
If you would like us to post the results of your event, please send them along to [email protected].
1. What should be the Republicans impeachment strategy?
2. Do the results of the 2019 gubernatorial elections bode well for Democrats in 2020?
3. How can the GOP stop the movement of suburban voters to the Democratic Party?
4. Can Michael Bloomberg win the Democratic presidential primary?
5. Is it Facebook’s responsibility to check the truthfulness of political ads on its platform?
6. Are underwater car loans becoming a growing problem for the U.S. economy?
7. Do conservative Democrats still have a place in the Democratic Party?
8. Will the California wildfires reduce the shine on Gavin Newsom’s political star?
9. Should the use of smartphones by children under the age of 14 be banned?
10. Can President Trump improve upon his share of the African-American vote in the 2020 presidential election?