Extemp topics

I've never done this but I thought it would help those of you who are committed to extemp.  I've created some current practice topics:

1.       What will come of “Biden Group” gun control proposals?

2.       With the discovery of dozens of dead bodies, is there genocide occurring in Syria?

3.       Will the Benghazi embassy attack ruin Hillary Clinton’s chances at a 2016 Presidency?

4.       What is the legacy of former President George W. Bush?

5.       How will the Texas Supreme Court rule in the case of the school districts v. the state?

6.       What can the U.S. do to improve on handling soldiers with PTSD?

7.       What does the assassination of Chokri Belaid mean for Tunisia?

8.       Will the U.S. Justice Department move against the marijuana laws in Colorado and Washington?

9.       Should the U.S. fully support the Keystone Pipeline?

         Is Afghanistan ready for a U.S. troop withdrawal?

1 .   What does the future hold for Venezuela’s Presidency?

1 .   Was the “Arab Spring” of 2011 a success?

 These will also be up in the classroom and we'll use these for practice rounds.  Some are domestic - some are foreign.  Some are current - some are evaluating older issues.

Those of you who do extemp probably don't need to be reminded of this, but I'll do it anyway: Extemp requires commitment.  It is not an event you can do once and then conclude that it's not your thing.  Success at the event relies on your commitment to creating a working knowledge of current events.  It demands that you build on previous knowledge and that you follow certain stories and issues as they develop.  Last year at Nationals was the first time in a LONG time that we did not win extemp., and while not experiencing the overall success at Nationals that we're used to was not fun, not winning extemp was the equivalent of a kick to the gut.  It hurt.  It's more competitive than it used to be and like every other event we as a team have to push ourselves to find ways to improve what we're doing.  We can't get away with merely being confident, citing some made up sources and doing the "Munson Shuffle."  I know we're up to the task, and if you do extemp and know nothing about these practice topics, then you NEED to do a little web-searching to acquaint yourselves with these issues because these questions deal with pretty basic stories.

That said, good luck!