2020-2021

Round 1:

  1. THW provide for the popular election of Supreme Court Justices.

  2. In the US, THP that party officials select candidates for office.

  3. THW scrap the Presidential debates.

Round 2:

  1. THW provide immunity from pandemic-related civil lawsuits for businesses that re-open while following official health guidelines.

  2. Many parents or groups of parents have hired tutors or otherwise created a “bubble” to educate their children while keeping them safe from disease. TH, as parents able to comfortably afford to do so, would not participate in an education bubble.

  3. THS government cell phone tracking for contact tracing

Round 3:

  1. “Qualified immunity” holds that law enforcement officers cannot be sued for harm that results from their performance of their jobs. THW eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement officers.

  2. THR civil suits against fossil fuel companies for global warming.

  3. THW require all criminal defendants to use public defenders.

Round 4:

  1. China has recently expelled and/or severely limited the activities of foreign reporters. The US has responded by designating several Chinese news organizations as government agencies and restricted their number of employees in America. THR the US action.

  2. THW initiate a “cold war” policy of containment towards China.

  3. THBT US targeting of Chinese technology companies will backfire.

Round 5:

  1. Medical school graduates and hospitals participate in a national program that matches the graduates to residency programs. Graduates rank their preferred hospitals, hospitals rank their preferred graduates, and a computer algorithm matches them. THW implement a uniform national system of undergraduate college admissions.

  2. THW forbid colleges from considering an applicant’s social media posts.

  3. THW require colleges to use public, objective standards for admissions.

Double-Octas:

  1. THBT individuals have a right to post on social media.

  2. THBT free speech is on the decline in America.

  3. THW prohibit corporations for penalizing employees for speech outside of work.

Octas:

  1. THW ban government incentives to corporations.

  2. “Stakeholder capitalism” is the theory that businesses should consider and even prioritize the needs of employees, suppliers, communities, creditors and others, rather than simply seek to maximize shareholder value or profits. TH agrees with Milton Friedman that the sole objective of a corporation should be to maximize shareholder value.

  3. THBT employees without children should receive benefits equal in value to those currently provided

    only to employees with children.

Quarters:

  1. THW not prosecute a President after they leave office.

  2. THW make US foreign policy independent of the President.

  3. THBT Congressional subpoenas should not be subject to judicial review.

Semis:

  1. As an opposition party in an oppressive country, THW boycott unfair elections rather than contest them.

  2. “Universal jurisdiction” is a policy whereby a court or country claims the right to prosecute certain

    classes of crimes or civil actions, e.g., war crimes or crimes against humanity or environmental lawsuits, regardless of where they occur in the world. THS claims of universal jurisdiction.

  3. THP strong authoritarian rule to weak democracies in developing nations.

Finals:

  1. THP a government that is effective to one that is democratic.

  2. THP a government that is fair to one that is democratic.

  3. THP a government that is honest to one that is democratic.

Editor’s note: Most of my ideas for motions come from reading the news. The final round, however, comes from my recent reading of Francis Fukuyama’s The Origins of Political Order and Political Order and Political Decay. Fukuyama is famous for his essay on the “end of history” published at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Recommended reading!

2019-2020

Round 1:

  1. THW require citizens to pass a test to vote.

  2. TH regrets the use of primaries to select party candidates for office.

  3. THW prohibit elected officials from engaging in fund raising activities while in office.

Round 2:

  1. TH supports tariffs on China.

  2. TH regrets US military power.

  3. TH, as a Western democracy, would act to raise the birth rate.

Round 3:

  1. TH agrees that meritocracy is a myth invented by the rich. (“meritocracy” is a system or belief that the most able rise to the top through talent and hard work)

  2. THBT democracies ultimately commit suicide. (comment made by John Adams, one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence and second President of the United States)

  3. THS direct democracy. (“direct democracy” would put all major policy, legislative and/or judicial questions to a popular vote, which would be decisive)

Round 4:

  1. THW require all internet and social media services to verify the identity of their users.

  2. THW ban the use of the internet and social media in political campaigns.

  3. THW forbid Amazon from selling its own products on its system.

Round 5:

  1. THW subsidize news organizations.

  2. THW ban contact sports.

  3. THW put a citizenship question on the census.

Octofinals:

  1. TH supports a substantial increase in the minimum wage.

  2. THW ban non-compete agreements.

  3. TH regrets the emergence of the “sharing” economy.

Quarterfinals:

  1. THW eliminate the Presidential veto.

  2. THW place US environmental policy in the hands of an independent body similar to the Federal Reserve.

  3. THW replace impeachment with an independent prosecutor for misconduct by elected officials.

Semifinals:

  1. THW require each college to accept students at random from those applicants who meet that school’s minimum standards.

  2. THBT colleges and universities should be able to accept faculty, research staff and students world-wide without government interference.

  3. THR college spending on student amenities.

Finals:

  1. THW not exclude at trial evidence obtained improperly.

  2. THBT a juror should vote to acquit if they believe a law is unjust or unjustly applied.

  3. THR the proliferation of surveillance cameras. (chosen motion)

2018-2019

Round 1, Flight 1: The United States should cease the withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council.

Round 1, Flight 2: The United States should withdraw diplomatic support for Israel.

Round 2, Flight 2: The United States criminal justice ought to value truth-seeking over attorney client privilege.

Round 3, Flight 1: The USFG should replace police officers with class B misdemeanors or higher.

Round 3, Flight 2: High schools in the United States should replace metal detectors with more trained security personnel.

Round 4, Flight 1: College admissions in the United States should value depth of academic success over breadth of extracurricular involvement.

Round 4, Flight 2: In the wake of gun violence in school settings, news media should prioritize interviews with survivors over legislative change.

Round 5: The United States should cease all current developments of space force.

Round 6, Flight 1: United States trade policy should prioritize stability of trade deals over tariff bargaining.

Round 6, Flight 2: The United States department of energy should value energy cleanliness over affordability.

Octos: Foreign interference in elections makes them illegitimate.

Finals: The USFG should abolish ICE.