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Current Events Home | Essay Information | Sample Questions from Spring 2006 | Essay Prompts from Spring 2006
INVITATIONAL A
Ron Fournier of the Associated Press wrote of the catastrophe in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, “At every turn, political leaders failed Katrina's victims.”
E. J. Dionne Jr. of the Washington Post added, “Katrina is the work of nature, but what happens from this point forward is the responsibility of political leadership.”
Explain briefly how political leaders failed before, during and after the hurricane, thus compounding the tragedy of New Orleans.
INVITATIONAL B
James Graff of Time magazine wrote of the Paris riots, “Above all, the rage expressed by alienated youths dealt a crushing blow to France's self-image as a model of tolerance and social equity.”
Molly Moore of the Washington Post added, “Confronted by the most dramatic social uprising since 1968, the government of France remains largely helpless against gangs of angry youths.”
Explain the causes of the riots that exploded in the suburbs of Paris.
DISTRICT I
Ross K. Baker of USA Today wrote, “Republicans in the White House and Congress who are facing a host of legal and ethical problems resemble a patient suffering from multiple, but unrelated, ailments who might be able to fight off one affliction but is ultimately killed by the debilitating effects of all of them.” Explain the various “afflictions” now troubling the GOP.
DISTRICT 2
Warren Richey of the Christian Science Monitor wrote, “The potential replacement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with appeals court Judge Samuel Alito sets the stage for a series of significant shifts in the legal landscape at the U.S. Supreme Court.”
What are the issues? Explain how they are likely to change with Judge Alito on the nation's highest court.
REGION MEET
Jeremy Bowen, Middle East editor for the BBC, wrote, “The Americans are discovering that the problem with democracy is that it can produce results that you don't like.”
Explain how this truth has vexed and continues to vex the Bush administration.
STATE MEET
Lynn Varner of the Seattle Times wrote, “The sleeping giant is awake, and boy, is he angry. Multiply tenfold the thousands of immigrants and their advocates who marched Monday down Seattle streets and you have an idea of the size of the political dilemma presented by immigration reform.”
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said, “Today's immigration policy is founded on lies. It presupposes lying by almost everyone involved.”
Explain the social, economic and political implications of the current immigration reform debate.
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