The Video section has been updated and now features a number of playlists. The January and February topic pods are available free in the section. Additionally, we have put together a playlist of debate videos from all over the country. We would love to see any ideas you might have about the high school debate experience or live action from one of your contests.
Barack Obama and John McCain emerged as winners in the Potomac Primaries held on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008. Both Obama and McCain swept D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. Obama exceeded expectations by pulling votes from Hillary’s typical base, white Democrats. In his victory speech, Obama was much more policy oriented than poetic.
Mike Huckabee has rescinded to become a second-tier candidate as McCain swept the Potomac Primary.
Don’t forget, The Carver Files March Edition is now available in our ‘Store’ section for immediate purchase and download.
As part of our continued effort to be the most complete Public Forum Debate resource on the internet, we are rapidly improving he ‘PF Resources’ section of the website. The latest addition to the page is a new article from our leading student correspondent, Christian Chessman. Public Formula recently published his first article, The Final Focus. His new article, PF Debate: The Basics is a great piece on some of most important parts of Public Forum Debate.
Here is a clip from the article which can be found in its entirety on the ‘PF Resources’ page.
Speaking ability as it relates to persuasiveness is critical. You must be able to get the judge to relate to you and believe what you are saying to be successful. This is especially true in light of the fact that Public Forum is aimed at “citizen judges” – judges without debate experience. These are also known as lay judges.
We are done with the initial research for the March Public Forum Debate Topic. The file is being formatted right now and will be sent out as soon as possible.
Resolved: The US system of presidential primaries is contrary to democratic values.
Still debating February? Check out the Public Formula store where you will find this month’s Carver Files which include the mid-month supplement.
If you are a political junkie like me, you were paying close attention to the Super Tuesday primaries last night It appears John McCain had the better night on the Republican side while it is decidedly more split between the Democrats. Despite the constant pressure from the far-right division of the party, it looks as though John McCain is now considered the front-runner. Despite the amazing progress Barack Obama has been able to make in the last months, it appears bookmakers think Hillary Clinton will beat John McCain in a general election. YouTube has a great interactive website up for the 2008 Presidential Primaries.
As a debater, you can learn a lot from watching polished public speakers. Take notes from them, look at how they handle themselves. How do they connect with the audience? Barack Obama is probably the best public speaker of our time, take a look at his speech following last night’s voting.
Debaters have always argued over the simple question of whether examples or generalizations are better to use in a debate round. While the answer to this simple question has been and probably will remain unclear, its implications will reach far into the Russia topic. After researching and publishing the research on this topic, it seems apparent that both sides will have to choose whether to construct their respective cases around specific examples of threats to U.S. interests or long-term, historical analysis of U.S.-Russia relations. There is no right or wrong answer to this dilemma. As a word of caution, never put all your eggs in one basket. If you rely heavily on examples in your case, have a substantial quantity of backup evidence tailored to historical analysis that arrives at an overarching conclusion. At the same time, if your case primarily contains generalizations, be prepared to provide substantive examples in the other speeches. Remember, debaters will always argue which is right, but the trick to this topic will be to not answer the question and argue from both sides of the dilemma. Make sense? Try it and see if it works for you. Good luck with Russia!
The new topic for March has been announced. The March 2008 Public Forum Debate topic is Resolved: The US system of presidential primaries is contrary to democratic values. This new topic will likely carry implications ranging from inherent political beliefs to economic implications to comparison of alternative foreign government election systems. As always, one should begin their research with a general idea of the key components of the resolution in mind. For example, you should probably begin asking yourself what democratic values are and then find field-contextual definitions to support your claims. Good luck with Russia and enjoy preparing for presidential primaries!
On the eve of the new public forum debate topic for March, I am predicting the new topic will discuss the economy. Economic forecasters are calling it a market crisis and politicians from both sides have come together to support an economic stimulus package. The economy was a major issue in the Florida Primary as well as some other early primary states. An expert panel recently discussed the gloomy economic situation on The McLaughlin Group; this is a video clip from the show.
It appears that for many voters, Iraq has rescinded as the most important issue in American politics. Despite this, I still think the NFL should deliver a real resolution concerning foreign policy in the Middle East. The previous resolutions have been written in way that make it difficult to have competitive, two-sided debate.
Russian Organized Crime
We have been talking a lot about loose nukes and the aging Russian military. A threat that has not been receiving as much attention is organized crime. Russian gangsters are involved in a number of rackets in the United States. We put together a short list of stories and video concerning Russian mafia activity. This topic is covered in the February edition of The Carver Files which is available in the ‘Store’ here at Public Formula.
Detectives in Moscow just arrested Russia’s most notorious crime boss, Semyon Mogilevich. He has been labeled ‘The Brainy Don’ and is considered to be among the most important organized crime figures in the world. This is the first part of a BBC program about the infamous mobster made in 1999. One could argue that the capture of this important figure might produce a decrease in threat to American interests from Russian organized crime.
Check out our all new Video section, full of topic related footage from all over the internet. We are continuing to expand the ‘PF Resources’ section with new articles and other Public Forum Debate related information.
If you haven’t finished up tournaments for the month of January, you may be interested in purchasing the January edition of the Carver Files. The January file has already been formatted to include the Supplement File as well. Plenty of useful evidence plus expert analysis from the team here at Public Formula.
2008 January Public Forum Debate Topic
Resolved: In a democracy, civil disobedience is an appropriate weapon in the fight for justice.
The civil disobedience topic may not exactly be “ripped from the headlines” like the other Public Forum topics but that doesn’t mean it isn’t relevant. Most teams will likely associate civil disobedience with people like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. The most famous examples are in the past but people today in the United States are using civil disobedience as a means for change. Here are some contemporary examples…
Tacoma Citizens Protest the War in Iraq
Universal Health Care in Connecticut
