After several rounds, the original field of 210 competitors is down to six finalists for the 2010 installment of Supplemental Extemp Commentary. We’ll have live coverage as it happens. The round is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. CDT.
Blogging the Supplemental Events may prove a bit more tricky than the Main Events, as information has been a bit more hard to come by. We apologize for any misspellings of names and welcome corrections from our readers.
Topic Area: The United States of Anger and Demonization
Speaker 1 — Louis Lee
Topic: “Demagogues unite. Democracy needs you.”
Talk show hosts have a substantial effect on discourse in America. Democracy needs unity among the groups.
1. They deter Americans from participating in the political process.
2. They convey information to Americans, albeit in a biased way. They are useful as a means to share information.
Speaker 2 — Eli Bernstein
Topic: “Just say no. Always, no.”
Debate has come to an end. Taking away the power of debate diminishes the power of the USA.
1. How Republicans have transitioned further to the during Obama Administration. Shouting down the opposition and the filibuster are the key tools for accomplishing their “no.”
2. How this affects Average Joe voters by turning them off from voting. Americans are quickly losing trust in both political parties.
Speaker 3 — Rohan Pi
Topic: ”Don’t tax me, Bro.”
Ultimately, we have to acknowledge that taxes are the down-payments we make for an advanced society. The lifestyle we enjoy is not possible without taxes.
1. They maintain the goods, services and entitlements we enjoy as a society.
2. We are in debt to the idea of prosperity by utilizing increased taxes to bring down the deficit and provide a better future. This can be accomplished through reduced spending and higher taxes.
Speaker 4 — Nathaniel Hass
Topic: “Glenn and Rush: Ranting all the way to the bank.”
There are voices that are willing to make offensive, harmful arguments in public that are based on cultural stereotypes.
1. What these people say, which is just plain wrong.
2. Why are there people who say this, and who in the world is employing them?
3. These people are paid to say such racist, terrible and untrue things.
Speaker 5 — Davis Mattick
Topic: “Nattering Nebobs (sp?) of Negativism”
We’ve become a negative culture. (As negative as Harry Potter in the fifth novel.) Giving up on an idea before it’s given time is unfair.
1. Americans, in general, have a fatalistic attitude.
2. We’ve given up on the future; however, there’s no reason to maintain that negativity.
Speaker 6 — Trevor Griffin
Topic: “Internet Flamethrowers”
We forget that what we do on the internet and social networking websites is a metaphorical flame-thrower that can have serious ramifications.
1. Social such as Facebook and other social media.
2. The political napalm thrown via the traditional media (FOX, NBC, etc.)
3. Solutions for political and social flame-throwing and their extremities.
SpeechGeek Staff Report
