Here are the proposed NFL LD resolutions and the rules for voting as stolen from the official NFL website. Comment at your leisure.
2008-2009 NFL Lincoln Douglas Debate Ballot for Topic Selection
Directions: Indicate your preferences for the headings listed below. In other words, from the list of 10 topics, indicate your first, second, and third choices for each time slot. A first choice will receive 3 points, second choice 2 points, and the third choice 1 point. After tabulation, the topic with the highest point total for a given time slot will be selected. Repeating topics within a given time slot is not acceptable. However, a topic may be reselected for another time slot. A minimum of five different topics must be listed on the entire ballot. Fill in all blanks for your ballot to be valid.
List of topics:
A. Resolved: Military conscription is unjust.
B. Resolved: On reservations, sovereignty claims by indigenous peoples ought to be prioritized above the plenary power of the United States federal government.
C. Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.
D. Resolved: A parliamentary form of government is preferable to the United States presidential system.
E. Resolved: United States law ought not recognize marriage.
F. Resolved: United States immigration policy ought to prioritize admitting skilled workers over reuniting families.
G. Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court designed to prosecute crimes against humanity.
H. Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams tograduate.
I. Resolved: The United States ought not issue torture warrants.
J. Resolved: Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the law.
8 comments:
Here are my thoughts on the topics:
A. Resolved: Military conscription is unjust.
--Straight Forward, know exactly what the resolution is and what you should value, Justice
--Almost too AFF friendly though – Neg would have to use examples from other nations such as Israel, etc to have good ground – almost too much bias against a draft since Vietnam
B. Resolved: On reservations, sovereignty claims by indigenous peoples ought to be prioritized above the plenary power of the United States federal government.
--Complicated, but I like it
--LOTS to debate about with this topic, for example, what about the Black Hills, do the Native’s get to claim it and kick people off of the land? What about Mt. Rushmore? Or how about the Badlands, that is a national park as well, does that mean Native populations would take control over both of those national parks?
--All of those questions I guess make it debatable, which is a good thing.
C. Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.
--Again, a pretty clear cut topic with a focus probably on Justice
--Not sure how debatable it is though: it would almost get too focused on just a couple of issues and be too narrow of a topic
D. Resolved: A parliamentary form of government is preferable to the United States presidential system.
--This would be a good topic, you can talk about so many things, which could be a problem because it could lead to some muddled debates, but in essence, you would value democracy or freedom and which one best serves those needs?
--Good topic!
E. Resolved: United States law ought not recognize marriage.
--Quoting Leo from a couple of years back “If the NFL wanted to talk about (it was Abortion, but I will replace it with Gay Marriage) they should have the testicular fortitude to say so”
--I don’t like this topic because it is trying to talk about Gay Marriage without saying it and it would just lead to muddled bad debate.
F. Resolved: United States immigration policy ought to prioritize admitting skilled workers over reuniting families.
--Interesting topic, one that we haven’t debated (at least to my knowledge over the past 10 years, but I could be wrong).
--I’m not sure on how good of a debate this would lead to though, I think it would be two ships passing in the night: one side talking about families and quality of life issues and the other talking about the benefits of the government…not good.
G. Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court designed to prosecute crimes against humanity.
--ICC – this I think is interesting because on the one hand you have the value of Sovereignty and on the other side Justice
--This would put the US in an interesting position and I think could be a good debate
H. Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to graduate.
--High Stakes testing – not sure I want high school kids talking about something that directly affects them, would that lead to good debate? I think a lot of kids and teachers alike would get too distracted by their own prejudices to have some good debate
I. Resolved: The United States ought not issue torture warrants.
--I don’t like this topic because it talks about torture warrants and not torture – if it stated something like: the US ought not to use torture, it would be plain and simple, however, with the way it is written now, the Neg doesn’t have to defend torture because a torture warrant puts a burden on the US gov’t before they can actually use them – which means the AFF would have to argue that we shouldn’t use them because it takes too long if we need to use torture and there would be too much muddled debate about who is advocating torture if anyone is at all – no one is really forced to take a stand on anything
J. Resolved: Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the law.
--I.E. The Watchman! Or Batman for that matter
--Seriously, we are going to get those type of analogies and references, these are some pretty nerdy kids (and coaches for that matter, I’ve read Watchman), besides, what are the historical instances of this happening? I would almost say that the KKK would argue that this is what they were doing, the government was failing to enforce something and so they were vigilantes and justified in what they were doing
Overall I am not Thrilled at all with any of them, but here are my rankings:
__5_ A. Resolved: Military conscription is unjust.
__4_ B. Resolved: On reservations, sovereignty claims by indigenous peoples ought to
be prioritized above the plenary power of the United States federal government.
__7_ C. Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.
__1_ D. Resolved: A parliamentary form of government is preferable to the United
States presidential system.
__8_ E. Resolved: United States law ought not recognize marriage.
__3_ F. Resolved: United States immigration policy ought to prioritize admitting skilled
workers over reuniting families.
__2_ G. Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an
international court designed to prosecute crimes against humanity.
__10_ H. Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be
required to pass standardized exit exams tograduate.
__9_ I. Resolved: The United States ought not issue torture warrants.
__6_ J. Resolved: Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the
law.
I am going to copy Travis and give some comments before giving a ranking.
A. Resolved: Military conscription is unjust.
I lived through "Hell no we won't go; we won't fight for Texaco." I really don't want to hear it again. I am worried that the debates will get muddy rather fast. The side issues of is the US bogged down in Iraq? or Is the US military overstretched? will become central and the key issue of forcing someone to risk life and limb for a government will get lost. Also, this resolution is not US specific, and I think major differences exist between conscription in China, if they have it, and conscription in Israel, a nation that can be argued to be permanently at war. It just seems to me that the a strong case can be made for a nation with limited population and resources using conscription to defend itself when attacked, and negs can then do their "aff has to prove the resolution true every time or the judge must negate" argument. I don't want to sit through those rounds.
On the other hand, the younguns should be able to grasp this one quickly.
B. Resolved: On reservations, sovereignty claims by indigenous peoples ought to be prioritized above the plenary power of
the United States federal government.
I like this one at first blush. The whole issue has lots of pro and con material available. It's a South Dakota issue. I think it can be simplified for the novice and allow the debate veterans to deal with new issues.
C. Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.
If this resolution would have added the prefix ex- or the word released, I think it would be and excellent topic. It doesn't and the arguments about inmates voting seem rather limited. If we could guarantee that this resolution would be about released felons, I would really like it. The whole idea of what's an unpardonable political sin would be fun to debate. There certainly are tons of race and class issues that can be explored
D. Resolved: A parliamentary form of government is preferable to the United States presidential system.
Great topic. I really think that it gets to the core of what constitutes a good government and forces debaters to look beyond the US
E. Resolved: United States law ought not recognize marriage.
I know that they are trying debate the gay marriage issue without mentioning gay marriage, but there is a subtle church state issue here as well. If marriage is a religous sacrament, why is the state involved in regulating it? I think there's some ground beyond just gay marriage, but it will not make my top 4.
F. Resolved: United States immigration policy ought to prioritize admitting skilled workers over reuniting families.
Immigration seems to generate more heat than light. This one at least on first blush avoids the legal vs illegal aspect of the debate. I really don't have strong feelings one way or the other.
G. Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court designed to prosecute crimes against humanity.
I really like this one for some reason. I think the idea that the US claims to be above some aspects of international law while asking the UN to condemn other nations is just a weird thing that I would like to see debated. I don't really have good reasons. The role of international institutions vs national sovereignty has been debated recently, however.
H. Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to graduate.
I know that this is something the kids feel strongly about. I just don't see where it's a debate that I want to see 20 rounds on. Also, if we are going to argue about adolescent rights, aren't there bigger issues that a graduation test?
I. Resolved: The United States ought not issue torture warrants.
I'm sure there's a game here that will change my mind, but right now I hate this topic. First, if the aff asks the neg, "Does issuing a torture warrant give someone in the US government the authority to torture another human being?" and the neg answers yes, I will be 90% on the way to voting aff. I've made up my mind on this issue. Torture is always wrong. I was able to deal with the death penalty which I oppose, but this one will be a lot tougher.
Moving beyond the issue of torture, I did a quick search over warrants, and the only Dershowitz seems to advocate warrants
J. Resolved: Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the law.
Been there done that. It seems to have oppressive government vs no government combined with individual's responsiblility to society to just government should do X. I doubt it will produce much new.
The Ratings
(8) A. Resolved: Military conscription is unjust.
(2) B. Resolved: On reservations, sovereignty claims by indigenous peoples ought to be prioritized above the plenary power of
the United States federal government.
(6) C. Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.
(1) D. Resolved: A parliamentary form of government is preferable to the United States presidential system.
(5) E. Resolved: United States law ought not recognize marriage.
(4) F. Resolved: United States immigration policy ought to prioritize admitting skilled workers over reuniting families.
(3) G. Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court designed to prosecute crimes
against humanity.
(9) H. Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to
graduate.
(10) I. Resolved: The United States ought not issue torture warrants.
(7) J. Resolved: Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the law.
I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks and change my rankings for the next few days.
It seems that for the most part we agree on the top four and our number one. I like your thoughts on the topics...it would be nice if there were more from other coaches....
Mike Larson here:
I will follow Travis's lead and talk a little bit on each before I give my rankings:
a. Miltary Conscription: I don't mind this topic since it harkens to an idea of poor versus rich and serving ones country. I think that there are a lot of examples and you can talk about bringing back the draft. A little too much of the policy topic on civil service.
B. Reservations: Like this topic for the reasons mentioned by Travis and Leo. Very Wordy
C. Felons: DOn't like it since it is limited to Felons...like it if it is ex-felons
D. Parlimentary form vs presidential form...I am not sure since both are based in democracy. I would have liked compeating ideas.
E. Marriage: I actually like this one since you can focus on US Government's role and seperation of church and state. Plus it has clear and current connections for the students.
F. I do like this topic. Pleanty of ground. Interesting and current discussion.
G. the ICC: I like this one too, plus I got a chance to ask a question about it on MPR!
H. Tests: YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!
I. Torture: Hello nationals topic?
J. Vigilantism: DOn't like the ground division, not a big fan of it.
My Vote:
1: G
2: B
3. F
4. A
5. E
6. D
7. J
8. I
9. C
10. H
This is Tschetter (Douglas-brand) trying to post on here in case it will only show up as anonymous.
A---Military conscription--I like A because it is very clear. I like the fact that there is clear ground on both sides of it. While I understand Travis' comment, I don't think it has to apply only to our country.
B--reservations, sovereignty claims--I get a sniff of policy with this resolution. Not impressed overall with it.
C.--Felons and right to vote--This would be one that I would tire of hearing after a few rounds and I can't imagine the kids would enjoy many rounds of it. I am not sure I understand the comment about ex-felons that are made by some. You are NEVER an ex-felon. Isn't it like be an alcoholic? Once a felon, you don't lose the title just because you serve your time!
D. Parlimentary govt vs. [presidential system--My favorite on the list. I like it for its debatability. . and its educational value!
E. (hidden gay marriage) I read this one several times trying to figure out what it was really trying to address. I, too, think it is 'gay marriage' in disquise. While I don't mind arguing gay marriage, I don't like this resolution because it serves as a mask overall.
F.--immigration policy--This one reeks of policy. Sorry but I can't stand it. Immigration is a turn-off for me personally though.
G.international court--I like the debatability of this one as I think both sides have good ground/arguments that are available. I think it is also the resolution that could continue to develop through a two-month period.
H. Exit Exam--My least favorite by far. What about this isn't asking for a 'negative' policy??
I.--torture warrants--no specific reason, but I don't like it (I think I must be crabby at 3:30 AM)
J. Vigilantism--There is a real negative feeling about the word Vigilantism that I would have a really hard time saying that it is justified (personal problem, I know). I again, don't like this one
I asked Erik Lambrechts to look at these as well and will try to add his comments on here if he can't.
E.
These are comments from Michelle Trent:
Here are my thoughts on the topics. I Love the following topics:A. Resolved: Military conscription is unjust.C. Resolved: In a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote.B. Resolved: On reservations, sovereignty claims by indigenous peoples ought to be prioritized above the plenary power of the United States federal government. G. Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court designed to prosecute crimes against humanity. I HATE the following topics:E. Resolved: United States law ought not recognize marriage.I. Resolved: The United States ought not issue torture warrants.H. Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to graduate. I wouldn't mind the following topics:J. Resolved: Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the law. D. Resolved: A parliamentary form of government is preferable to the United States presidential system.F. Resolved: United States immigration policy ought to prioritize admitting skilled workers over reuniting families. I would really like for the January/February topic to be: On reservations, sovereignty claims by indigenous peoples ought to be prioritized above the plenary power of the United States federal government. In the November/December topic, I don't care what the topic is but I would prioritize the ones that I love over the other ones.
How can you not like?
J. Resolved: Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the law.
I just want to run a batman case
whats up everyone
just signed up and wanted to say hello while I read through the posts
hopefully this is just what im looking for looks like i have a lot to read.
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