Extemp Topics from Captain Nitro

These topics come from an original set provided by request to an Oklahoma Tournament, they will be updated periodically to ensure they reflect the latest current events.  Please feel free to use them for practice or filing.  In addition the author fully authorizes their use for any contest completely free of charge or copyright.

Domestic Extemporaneous Questions

10.  What factors have lead to the incredibly high gas prices?

11.  Have McCain and Bradley made any real impact on the 2000 agenda?  

12.  Who will win the U.S. Presidency in 2000?

13.  How can we ensure quality healthcare for every American?

14.  Are the problems of teenage drug and alcohol abuse really being solved?

15.  Has the incredibly low unemployment rate helped or hurt the U.S. economy?

16.  How can America solve its energy crisis?

17.  How has the Internet affected Education in America?

18.  Is the U.S. finally winning the war on drugs?

19.  Is there a need for increased government regulation of the Internet?

20.  How should the U.S. Federal Tax system be reformed?

21.  In the 200^th Anniversary year of George Washington’s death, has America stayed true to the founding fathers’ ideals?

22.  What will be the affect of liability suits on gun-makers?

23.  Will the U.S. government “bust Microsoft’s trust?”

24.  How should we address the ever-increasing hate and obscenity on the Internet?

25.  Are HMOs good medicine for health care in America?

26.  Is our current economic boom coming to an end?

27.  Were billions wasted preparing for a millennium bug that didn’t bite?

28.  After years of budget cutbacks, is our military still strong enough to protect America?

29.  Should Elian Gonzalez be returned to Cuba?

30.  What does the future hold for the American tobacco industry?

31.  Do student-lead prayers in schools and at school events violate the First Amendment?

32.  Is the U.S. doing what is necessary to preserve its natural resources and environment for future generations?

33.  What change(s) need to be made to U.S. immigration standards?

34.  Has merger mania taken over the business world?

35.  Is violence on TV causing violence in the real world?

36.  Are professional athletes to be blamed for setting bad examples for America’s youth?

37.  Have baseball, basketball, and football become businesses instead of sports?

38.  Who is most likely to be George W. Bush’s running mate?

39.  Will Bill Clinton be remembered for his public policies or his perversion?

40.  Is the entertainment industry corrupting America’s youth?

41.  Who will win the Congressional majority in 2000?

42.  What is the future for agriculture in America?

43.  Can we ever find a cure for cellular mitosis?

44.  Will the U.S. see ever-higher death tolls from domestic terrorism in the new decade?

45.  What issues are likely to define this year’s presidential race?

46.  Is marijuana on the way to national legalization?

47.  Have many American schools become “factories of failure?”

Foreign Extemporaneous Questions

10.  Have the mid-east peace talks ground to a halt?

11.  Who’s really ruling Russia

12.  Is Asia recovering from its economic crisis?

13.  What must Russia’s new president do to ensure his country’s future?

14.  Has the crisis in East Timor really subsided, or just disappeared from the headlines?

15.  Can Russia bear the costs of the war in Chechnya?

16.  Can there be peace in the Congo?

17.  Is Venezuela coping effectively with the deadly flooding and mudslides that have befallen it?

18.  Is civil unrest in Nigeria out of control?

19.  Is the World Trade Organization a threat to the environment?

20.  How severely has the World Trade Organization been damaged by the disaster in Seattle?

21.  Is globalization a reality, a dream, or a nightmare?

22.  Is China becoming more capitalist?

23.  Are India and Pakistan heading for an all-out war?

24.  What measures can Russia take to restore stability?

25.  What are the greatest dangers to world peace in the 21^st Century?

26.  Is Indonesia headed for full-blown civil war?

27.  Is the European Union thriving, or just surviving?

28.  How is the European Union affecting the global economy?

29.  Is Japan recovering from its economic woes?

30.  Has a lasting peace finally been attained for Northern Ireland?

31.  What must central Africa do to ensure economic and political stability?

32.  Has the United Nations become a toothless tiger?

33.  Are the nations of the world on the right track to universal protection of human rights?

34.  What does the future hold for communism in Cuba?

35.  Does the United States need a new policy for dealing with Cuba?

36.  Is the “kinder, gentler” regime in Iran no longer posing a threat to the United States?

37.  Has the time finally come for a lasting peace in the Middle East?

38.  Is the drug war being won in Central and South America?

39.   Can NATO declare victory in the Balkans?

40.   What will be the effect of global overpopulation in the new century?

41.  Is the gap between industrialized nations and the third world widening?

42.  Has the International Monetary fund been achieving the goals set out for it?

43.  Is the European Union leaving the poorer nations of Eastern Europe out in the cold?

44.   As President, will Vladimir Putin change the face of Russia?

45.   What effects will the India Air hijacking have on central Asia?