Proper, Intelligent, Informed Debate

The NPR Intelligence Squared US (IQ2US) audio podcast is a series of recordings of public debates held in New York focusing on hot-button issues (most specific to the U.S.) like immigration, affirmative action, and global warming. The debates are held in the Oxford-style meaning there are one motion (topic), one moderator, three speakers for the motion, and three speakers against the motion.
Prior to the start of the debate, visitors cast their votes for or against the motion. During the debate, the results of the initial vote are shown, and the visitors vote again at the end of the debate to decide which side "won."
If you're tired of cable news "debate" where the only real argument is who can yell louder and longer, then this is a wonderful change.  People properly informed, debating real issues for more than just sound bites. Intelligence Squared

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Candidate match game

Polls suggest Americans are concerned primarily with a few key issues in the 2008 presidential election. USA TODAY researched candidate positions on those top issues — Iraq, immigration and health care — as well as a few others that may influence the election. We then came up with 11 multiple-choice questions that would help differentiate the candidates and their stances.

As you answer the questions, you can roll over each color bar below the candidates' heads to find background on their positions. Your answers are matched with the positions of the presidential hopefuls to reveal the candidate (or candidates) closest to your views. The sliders on the right allow you to assign relative weights to match the importance that you place on each issue.

Play the "game" here

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Talented Immigration

The immigration debate is wrong. I'm not saying that we should reward illegal immigrants with amnesty, or even let them in our country. I'm saying that debate is the wrong debate to be having. The U.S. right now NEEDs immigrants. Mainly, the U.S. needs MORE educated and talented immigrants.While the baby boom retires, new young talented immigrants can fuel the economy and drive the technology the country will need for the future. We need security on our borders to keep out terrorists, we need less illegal immigrants lowering laborers wages and standards of living, but we need MORE immigrants as a whole. Microsoft recently announced they are moving some software development out of the U.S. into Canada. Why? Because with the strict visa quotas we have in place Microsoft is trouble getting the employees they want into the country to work for them. Other companies are having the same problem. We as a country are so paranoid about losing our jobs to immigrants, we're preventing the immigrants from coming in and helping us drive our economy to create new jobs. America's economic growth has always been at its highest when we were accepting large groups of immigrants into our country. When the atmosphere of the country is at it's open and welcoming, the best and brightest of the world want to come here. During the 1800's movement west, many immigrants helped form the railroads and invented new machines that helped drive the country. During the 1900's scientists and engineers from around the world flocked here following the World Wars helping us build our infrastructure and get to the moon. We shouldn't be arguing about how to get the Mexican's out as much as we should be arguing about how to get the best the world has to offer to come in!

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