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Contemplating a move…

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Devoting my energies to helping my brother prepare for his first NFL Nationals! (he’ll be doing Student Congress)

Belated May Extemp Questions

1. What should be the mission of community colleges?
2. What does the possible re-election of Hamid Karzai mean for Afghanistan?
3. Will the U.S. government become one of the largest shareholders in Bank of America?
4. Will “stress tests” become a permanent feature of banking regulation?
5. How is the US-Germany relationship?
6. Is the threat from swine flu dying down?
7. What is the future of Indian politics?
8. Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for Gordon Brown?
9. What will it mean for the state of CA to be broke?
10. Is Mexico returning to normal?
11. Can Dmitry Medvedev gain enough political clout to stand for re-election?
12. Can religious and moral authorities stamp out Somalian piracy?
13. Has the Obama administration sufficiently reformed President Bush’s military commissions?
14. Is Pakistan ripe for a jihadist takeover?
15. Is America’s new reservation toward Israel a mistake?
16. Will the publishing industry be the next to fall prey to online piracy?
17. What effect will President Obama’s speech to the Middle East have on Egypt?
18. Will America’s newly found frugality last beyond the recession?
19. Is the ousting of the Army’s top commander in Afghanistan a sign of failure in leadership or a change in military doctrine?
20. Can the national Republican leadership agree to support Gov. Charlie Crist’s senate bid?

April 2009 Practice Extemp Questions

To be updated intermittently throughout the month:

1. How dire is the threat posed by Chinese and Russian infiltration of the US electrical grid?
2. What should be NASA’s top priority?
3. Should central and east European Union countries adopt the euro?
4. Will the ousting of board members from US banks receiving government aid help the economic rescue effort?
5. How successful has Barack Obama been in charming the Muslim world?
6. Will gay marriage make headway in the American Midwest?

7. Will the world’s industrial powers agree on a new climate treaty in Copenhagen?
8. Will Attorney General Holder be able to restore confidence in the Dept. of Justice?
9. Is it time to seriously consider geoengineering?
10. Did the Obama administration make the right choice on wiretapping?

11. Will Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili respond to calls for his resignation?
12. Will New York be the next state to allow gay marriage?

13. Is the American Bar Association an asset to the judicial appointment process?
14. Is Cuba ready for democracy?
15. How should the Obama administration respond if the new Israeli government continues to reject the two-state solution?

16. Should CIA operatives who engaged in torture be prosecuted?
17. Should health professionals involved in CIA interrogation programs lose their licenses?
18. Does the Peace Corps need updating?

19. Are videos depicting animal abuse protected by the Constitution?
20. Will Jacob Zuma of South Africa keep his campaign promises?

21. How can the US increase its supply of general practitioners?
22. Will Secretary Clinton’s visit affect the Lebanese parliamentary election?
23. Will the swine flu outbreak lead to stricter pig farm regulations?
24. What will be the future of Google Book Search?
25. Is a $213m grant enough to take on Somalia’s pirates?

26. What can the Democrats expect from Sen. Arlen Specter?
27. Is Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing a sign of things to come?
28. Who will be President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee?
29. Has the poor economy led to a significant drop in college enrollment?

Extemp Practice Question Roundup, aka it was Finals Week at UChicago

1. Can the US manage in Iraq without Blackwater?
2. How can the US balance its relationships with the elected Pakistani government and the political opposition?
3. Is Russia’s rearmament plan a threat to the US?
4. How can the US better address the Mexican drug trade?
5. Should countries that demand goods whose production leads to greenhouse gas emissions take responsibility for their environmental impact?
6. Is the US prepared to sign an international climate treaty?
7. How can courts stop mistrial by electronic communication?
8. Are the actions taken against AIG over bonus payouts helpful to fixing the economy?
9. Is the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy more US government debt the jolt the economy needs or an act of desperation?
10. Will the Obama administration cut funding for abstinence-only sex education?
11. Does Osama bin Laden still have clout in the Middle East?
12. How will President Obama’s Nowruz video message affect US-Iran relations?
13. Does the juvenile justice system need reform?
14. How will President Obama “demand excellence” from schools?
15. Can the US and NATO break the “strategic stalemate” in Afghanistan?

March 2009 Practice Extemp Questions

1. Will the US lift its sanctions on Cuba?
2. What are Hamid Karzai’s chances for re-election?
3. Will the Obama administration be able to restart the US-Russia relationship?
4. Can the US make a successful appeal for reconciliation to more moderate elements of the Taliban?
5. Have Obama’s Cabinet choices increased the GOP’s likelihood of attaining congressional seats in 2010?
6. Will the Obama plan improve American education?
7. Is the Chinese government turning Tibet into a “hell on earth”?
8. Should the UN Security Council use its powers to defer the International Criminal Court’s warrant for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir?
9. Should the US make greater use of drug courts?
10. What can be expected of the nation’s new drug czar, Seattle Police Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske?
11. How will France’s return to integrated military command affect NATO?
12. Will the US and the EU’s disagreement over economic recovery policies spread to other areas?
13. How will the Obama administration handle the issue of health benefits for federal employees with same-sex partners?

More extemp questions – Feb. 2009

1. How will the Pirate Bay trial affect copyright law in the U.S.?
2. Where does the Obama administration stand on copyright?
3. Will Hugo Chavez win re-election in 2012?
4. Since Iran has enough nuclear material for a weapon, how should the US adjust its foreign policy?
5. Will Benjamin Netanyahu lead a centrist Israeli government?
6. Has the US Census become a political matter?
7. Is the performance of the stock market the best signal of the economy’s reaction to government intervention?
8. Is the White House pursuing the correct public relations strategy in directing confronting pundits?
9. Who will President Obama pick as his next Secretary of Health and Human Services?
10. Will the embargo on Cuba be lifted under the Obama administration?
11. Has Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger effectively ended his career as a Californian Republican?

Practice Extemp Questions – Mid-February 2009

1. Should the government increase regulation of the fertility industry?
2. Has the time come for the world to focus on adaptation rather than reduction when it comes to climate change?
3. Can Secretary of State Hillary Clinton change the US-China relationship?
4. Should Senator Roland Burris remain in Congress?
5. Did the Pakistani government make the right choice in making concessions to the Taliban?
6. Will North Korea heed Clinton’s warning against missile tests?
7. Should U.S. automakers receive more government aid?

Extemp questions – Start of February 2009

1. How should President Obama respond to North Korea’s claim of “weaponized” plutonium?
2. Can Michael Steele bring back the GOP?
3. Should the Supreme Court overturn the exclusionary rule?
4. What does the withdrawal of Tom Daschle mean for health-care reform?
5. What effect has the war in Gaza had on Israeli domestic politics?
6. What should China do in response to the world economic crisis?
7. Should there be a “Buy American” clause in the new US stimulus package?
8. Was the German foreign minister’s visit to Washington an attempt at reconciliation or a campaign move against Chancellor Merkel?
9. Are executive pay caps a good idea?
10. Will Bank of America be the next bank to fall?
11. Will the issue of Kashmir estrange the Indian government from the new Obama administration?

Practice questions – end of January

1. Should President Obama isolate Hamas or encourage a Palestinian unity government?
2. How should Obama deal with President Ahmahdinejad of Iran?
3. How will the Obama stimulus affect the US?
4. Do the benefits of closing Guantanamo Bay outweigh the costs?
5. Will Obama shut down the US prison camp at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan?
6. What did Putin’s remarks at Davos indicate about Russia’s stance toward the West?