Site MapHelpFeedbackPractice Quiz
Practice Quiz
(See related pages)

1
According to "The Declaration of Independence, 1776," a just government derives its power from:
A)military might.
B)taxation.
C)the consent of the governed.
D)the recognition of other nations.
2
As noted in "The Declaration of Independence, 1776," all of the following are stated in the Declaration as grievances against the "present King of Great Britain" except that he:
A)suspended the people's right to legislative representation.
B)swayed the system of justice in his favor.
C)interfered with free trade and immigration.
D)suspended recognized rights to property.
3
According to "The Declaration of Independence, 1776," the text of the Declaration uses the term "British brethren" to refer to all of the citizens of Great Britain.
A)True
B)False
4
As asserted in the commentary accompanying "The Constitution of the United States, 1787" the most important provision in the Constitution is for the:
A)doctrine of judicial review.
B)separation of powers.
C)division of authority between the federal government and the states.
D)presidential veto.
5
According to "The Constitution of the United States, 1787," the individual elected as president of the Constitutional Convention was:
A)James Madison.
B)George Washington.
C)Alexander Hamilton.
D)Benjamin Franklin.
6
According to "The Constitution of the United States, 1787," the foremost feature of the organizational plan for the new government was the separation of powers.
A)True
B)False
7
In "The Size and Variety of the Union as a Check on Faction," James Madison asserts that the form of government most able to control the effects of faction is the:
A)pure democracy.
B)small republic.
C)large republic.
D)oligarchy.
8
What does James Madison cite in "The Size and Variety of the Union as a Check on Faction" as the most common and durable source of factions?
A)government instability
B)diversity in the faculties of man
C)unequal distribution of property
D)lack of political representation
9
As explained in "The Size and Variety of the Union as a Check on Faction," human nature dictates a republican form of government because such a government guards against the cabals of the few and the confusion of the multitude.
A)True
B)False
10
In "Checks and Balances," James Madison cites which of the following as essential to the preservation of liberty:
A)maintaining cultural, religious, and political diversity within a single society
B)the separate and distinct exercise of the different powers of government
C)dividing power between two distinct governments, with separate authority extended to each
D)protection by the government of all parties, the weak as well as the powerful
11
In "Checks and Balances," Madison claims that the "fountain of authority" under a republican system of government is the:
A)legislature.
B)Constitution.
C)people.
D)judiciary.
12
According to "Checks and Balances," the executive branch can counter the legislature, because it holds an absolute negative on it.
A)True
B)False
13
According to the author of "Can America Fail?", a simple empirical test to see whether people are giving back more than they take from their own society is to ask whether citizens:
A)are more likely to volunteer than be drafted into military service.
B)are willing to make sacrifices in time of war.
C)pay back the interest on such government loans as student loans and small business loans.
D)pay more in taxes than they receive in government services.
14
As given in "Can America Fail?", the Doha Round of world trade talks might be successfully concluded if there were a willingness to sacrifice on the part of currently subsidized U.S.:
A)cattle ranchers.
B)citrus growers.
C)wheat farmers.
D)cotton farmers.
15
In the opinion of the author of "Can America Fail?", American thinkers and policymakers are engaged in an incestuous, self-referential, and self-congratulatory discourse that keeps them from seeing how many of the world's problems have been created by American policy.
A)True
B)False
16
According to "What Makes a Country Great?", factors that contribute to happiness include all of the following except:
A)stable marriage.
B)unlimited wealth.
C)good health.
D)economic stability.
17
In comparing the United States to other nations, the author of "What Makes a Country Great?" notes that:
A)China's economy is larger than that of the United States.
B)Japan is likely to have greater economic expansion in the coming years than the United States.
C)the United States ranks first in global competitiveness.
D)the United States has lower unemployment than Germany.
18
As pointed out in "What Makes a Country Great?", a higher percentage of people of working age in Switzerland are employed than in the United States.
A)True
B)False
19
As reported in "What They Don't Know," various polls have shown that a majority of Americans:
A)believe that the economy did not grow in 2010.
B)do not consider the budget deficit a serious problem.
C)believe that almost half the federal budget goes to housing assistance for the poor.
D)believe that eliminating Medicare would equal the savings of cutting foreign aid.
20
As noted in "What They Don't Know," the single program on which the government spends the most money is:
A)Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
B)enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
C)Medicare.
D)Social Security.
21
As stated in "What They Don't Know," young people in the 1990s knew less about what was going on in the world than young people in the 1960s and 1970s.
A)True
B)False
22
According to "Changing Faiths," the religious earthquake identified in the book American Grace was:
A)the Roe v. Wade decision.
B)disaffection with religion in the 1960s.
C)Vatican 2.
D)the invention of the birth-control pill.
23
In comparing religious Americans to their non-religious counterparts, the author of "Changing Faiths" finds that religious Americans are:
A)less-conscientious citizens.
B)more likely to tolerate dissent.
C)less likely to contribute to secular causes.
D)more generous neighbors.
24
As stated in "Changing Faiths," Democrats have always been less likely to oppose abortion than Republicans.
A)True
B)False
25
As reported in "Democratize the Grid," alternative-fuel technologies:
A)will never be cheaper than fossil fuels.
B)require massive infusions of government investment.
C)provide savings in health and environmental costs.
D)should be part of a corporatized structural model.
26
As noted in "Democratize the Grid," the message the Earth is giving us is:
A)productivity is inherently positive.
B)governments have no incentive to care for the planet.
C)there are real physical limits to growth.
D)renewable electricity is a contradiction in terms.
27
As pointed out in "Democratize the Grid," clean-energy jobs grew faster than those in all other sectors in recent years.
A)True
B)False
28
The author of "Pledging Allegiance to Peace," contends that patriotism:
A)is immoral.
B)is necessary to maintain the social fabric.
C)is a civic duty.
D)strengthens rational judgment.
29
As noted in "Pledging Allegiance to Peace," demonstrating allegiance to a current government is:
A)inherently imperialistic.
B)to consent to violence.
C)a form of greed.
D)part of human nature.
30
As pointed out in "Pledging Allegiance to Peace," patriotism as a universal virtue is inherently illogical.
A)True
B)False
31
As reported in "A Decent Proposal," the author's assessment is that:
A)only a redefinition of marriage can satisfy gay-rights activists.
B)a large majority of Americans oppose same-sex marriage.
C)advocates of same-sex marriage are winning.
D)religious institutions have no legitimate role in the marriage business.
32
As noted in "A Decent Proposal," public opinion on same-sex marriage is moving because:
A)propaganda campaigns are very effective.
B)there is a class divide on the subject.
C)of the economic downturn.
D)such families are becoming mainstream.
33
As pointed out in "A Decent Proposal," the 2012 presidential election will not likely hinge on the issue of gay marriage.
A)True
B)False
34
As claimed in "It Is Time," one of the major problems with the original U.S. Constitution, when viewed through the eyes of a citizen today, might be that the document does not:
A)reflect the true thinking of the time in which it was written.
B)provide for the basic rights that drive today's democratic form of government.
C)supply the language necessary to establish a desirable political order.
D)offer anything of value for those living in modern times.
35
As presented in "It Is Time," the current construction of Congress is unrepresentative of the U.S. population because:
A)every state has the same number of senators, regardless of population.
B)state representatives are appointed rather than elected by the people.
C)only one house of Congress needs to approve a bill for it to become law.
D)the president can veto any legislation passed by Congress.
36
As asserted in "It Is Time," it is impossible to correct the flaws in the original Constitution, and it must be abandoned entirely and started over again from scratch.
A)True
B)False
37
As reported in "Debating Citizens United," Justice John Paul Steven's dissenting opinion in the Citizens United case:
A)did not address any precedents.
B)rejected the idea that a corporation could be limited because it is powerful.
C)contended that no harm had been demonstrated as resulting from the video.
D)conceded that corporations have been held to be covered by the First Amendment.
38
As noted in "Debating Citizens United," the Taft-Hartley Act:
A)did not apply to labor unions.
B)was passed by a Republican Congress.
C)was seen as a response to lopsided elections.
D)was supported by President Harry Truman.
39
As discussed in "Debating Citizens United," the Citizens United case undoubtedly affected the results of the 2010 election.
A)True
B)False
40
According to "Obama in Libya: A Clear and Arrogant Violation of Our Constitution," American bombs landing on Libya:
A)do not constitute an act of war.
B)were in response to provable acts of genocide by Libyan security forces.
C)began before the United Nations completed its inquiry into the situation.
D)were requested by the entire international community.
41
As noted in "Obama in Libya: A Clear and Arrogant Violation of Our Constitution," the Congress through the War Powers Act provided the executive the right to unilaterally use force when:
A)civilian casualties are a possibility.
B)U.S. property is at risk.
C)the executive deems it necessary.
D)the United States is in actual or imminent danger.
42
As pointed out in "Obama in Libya: A Clear and Arrogant Violation of Our Constitution," occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan make the United States less vulnerable to being engulfed in a generalized war.
A)True
B)False
43
As stated in "The Founders' Great Mistake," the most often amended feature of the Constitution is:
A)voting rights.
B)provisions relating to religion.
C)the presidency.
D)congressional elections.
44
According to "The Founders' Great Mistake," the Constitutional Convention gave little attention to defining the powers of the presidency, in large part because the president of the convention was:
A)George Washington.
B)Benjamin Franklin.
C)James Madison.
D)Thomas Jefferson.
45
As asserted in "The Founders' Great Mistake," Hamilton's formulation of the theory of the "unitary executive" was merely the reflection of widely held opinions among those who framed the Constitution.
A)True
B)False
46
According to "Veto This!," with regard to the use of the veto, George W. Bush is only the second president in history to:
A)use the veto as a political tool.
B)go an entire term without using the veto at all.
C)utilize the veto in a "lame-duck" presidency.
D)disagree with congressional legislation.
47
As presented in "Veto This!," the first U.S. president to veto major legislation was:
A)George W. Bush.
B)John Quincy Adams.
C)Abraham Lincoln.
D)Andrew Jackson.
48
As claimed in "Veto This!," the Supreme Court has overturned far more legislation throughout history than the presidential veto has.
A)True
B)False
49
According to "What Happened to Obama's Passion?", the hallmark of the Obama presidency has been:
A)challenging oratory.
B)repetitive message delivery.
C)tic-like gestures of compromise.
D)disregard of public opinion.
50
As identified in "What Happened to Obama's Passion?", the decisive move that broke the arc of history in the Obama Administration was the:
A)passage of Dodd-Frank.
B)handling of the stimulus.
C)mid-term elections.
D)healthcare mandate.
51
As pointed out in "What Happened to Obama's Passion?", Barack Obama has a deep-seated aversion to conflict.
A)True
B)False
52
As identified in "Bullied Pulpit," what two words did Republicans use to turn public opinion against the Obama healthcare-reform plan?
A)death panels.
B)unfunded mandate.
C)required purchase.
D)government takeover.
53
As reported in "Bullied Pulpit," Lanny Davis, who did damage control for the Clinton White House, argues that:
A)the Internet has made fighting lies easier.
B)search engines take misinformation and put it in an echo chamber.
C)people do not believe what they see on the Internet.
D)the faster information moves, the more accurate it tends to be.
54
As stated in "Bullied Pulpit," it is easier for a sitting president to combat disinformation than it is for a presidential candidate.
A)True
B)False
55
As reported in "Studying the Gipper," one thing that the Truman, Reagan, and Clinton Administrations were all remembered for was:
A)lack of scandal.
B)consistently high approval ratings.
C)ability to get things done despite having divided government.
D)shrinking government intrusion into life.
56
As noted in "Studying the Gipper," Ronald Reagan's mantra was:
A)government is the problem.
B)to have a friend, be one.
C)America is not the world's policeman.
D)government belongs to people.
57
As stated in "Studying the Gipper," Ronald Reagan inherited a vastly stronger economic climate than did Barack Obama.
A)True
B)False
58
As claimed in "When Congress Stops Wars," the decisive factor in determining whether lawmakers will oppose or acquiesce in presidential calls for war is:
A)how strong a case for war the president is able to make.
B)whether or not members of Congress agree with going to war.
C)the partisan composition of Congress at the time.
D)how aggressive or intimidating that particular president is able to be.
59
As noted in "When Congress Stops Wars," the increase in Congressional oversight after the 2006 midterm elections was a result of the:
A)Democrats gaining control of Congress.
B)president acting without Congressional approval.
C)Republicans attempting to regain popularity with constituents.
D)administration making decisions in secrecy.
60
As stated in When Congress Stops Wars," overall, Congress has very little power when it comes to dictating the conduct of war.
A)True
B)False
61
Regarding the integrity of members of Congress, the author of "The Case for Congress" notes that:
A)the deterioration of congressional integrity mirrors that in society as a whole.
B)the ethical climate at the Capitol has not changed much in recent decades.
C)probity in Congress is the rule rather than the exception.
D)Americans have a largely accurate view of congressional behavior.
62
As reported in "The Case for Congress," criticisms of Congress that the author agrees with include that:
A)there are too many luxury perks provided to members of Congress.
B)the money chase has gotten out of hand.
C)Congress is totally dominated by special-interest groups.
D)obstructionism has caused Congress to slow its pace to the point of damaging the institution itself.
63
As stated in "The Case for Congress," public discussion of controversial issues increases the clout lobbyists have with legislators.
A)True
B)False
64
As explained in "How to Get Our Democracy Back," the opportunity to reform Congress missed in the first year of President Obama's term is attributed to the fact that:
A)a split Congress causes difficulty in passing important legislation.
B)President Obama is far too young and inexperienced.
C)his presidency is too liberal.
D)his presidency is too conventional.
65
As suggested in "How to Get Our Democracy Back," the movement inspired by candidate Obama was:
A)one that called for challenging the broken system in Washington and bringing about a fundamental change in the way government works.
B)criticized by many as being too conventional.
C)the most liberal movement since the 1930s.
D)one that called for reform in the U.S. Congress.
66
As discussed in "How to Get Our Democracy Back," the author predicts that when President Obama leaves office he will have boldly changed the way Washington and politics work.
A)True
B)False
67
According to "Pulling Apart," Walter Jones of North Carolina is the only current lawmaker in Washington:
A)who changed parties and got re-elected anyway.
B)with a 2010 vote record out of sync with his party.
C)who opposed intervention in Libya and Haiti.
D)to successfully sponsor legislation across party lines.
68
As stated in "Pulling Apart," the most conservative Democrat in the House is:
A)Virginia Fox of North Carolina.
B)Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.
C)Gerry Connolly of Virginia.
D)Gene Taylor of Mississippi.
69
As noted in "Pulling Apart," senators from the same party who represent the same state tend to vote the same way.
A)True
B)False
70
According to "Being Boehner," John Boehner motivates through:
A)encouragement.
B)persuasion.
C)intimidation.
D)enforcing rules and standards.
71
As reported in "Being Boehner," Paul Ryan's assessment of Newt Gingrich compared to John Boehner is that Gingrich:
A)relied heavily on the committee system.
B)was more open to negotiation.
C)used working groups to get around the committee system.
D)stressed seniority in making assignments.
72
As pointed out in "Being Boehner," today's Republican leaders place ultimate emphasis on protecting their members from tough votes.
A)True
B)False
73
According to "Master of the Senate," Mitch McConnell says that the most important attribute any leader can possess is:
A)patience.
B)realism.
C)opportunism.
D)focus.
74
In "Master of the Senate," Jim Imhofe of Oklahoma contends that Mitch McConnell:
A)is easier to work with than his predecessors.
B)has an impressive sense of humor.
C)is aggressive and gets things done.
D)is not as effective as Trent Lott.
75
As noted in "Master of the Senate," despite Mitch McConnell's efforts, the Obama health plan passed on a bipartisan basis.
A)True
B)False
76
According to "Congress's Man of the Vines, Including His Own," the biggest industry battle Mike Thompson has taken up in recent years:
A)involves advertising regulations.
B)prohibits direct sales of wine across state lines.
C)aims to grant states more power to regulate alcohol sales.
D)aims to encourage big box retailers to buy wine directly from suppliers.
77
As reported in "Congress's Man of the Vines, Including His Own," Mike Thompson has drawn criticism particularly from:
A)alcohol industry rivals.
B)Treasury Department officials.
C)state officials in California.
D)his neighbors.
78
As stated in "Congress's Man of the Vines, Including His Own," Mike Thompson opposes tax breaks for vineyard owners who promise never to develop their land.
A)True
B)False
79
As reported in "Roberts versus Roberts: Just How Radical Is the Chief Justice?", at the beginning of his tenure, Chief Justice John Roberts pledged to:
A)avoid controversial cases.
B)avoid divisive and unnecessarily sweeping Court opinions.
C)persuade the more liberal justices to come around to his side so as to avoid polarizing 5-4 decisions.
D)promote a more activist judicial tone on the Court.
80
As asserted in "Roberts versus Roberts: Just How Radical Is the Chief Justice?", Roberts has been accused of "faux judicial restraint" because he:
A)refuses to budge from rigid positions in divisive cases.
B)refuses to have the Court hear controversial cases.
C)attempts to persuade the justices to avoid polarizing and divisive decisions.
D)has only chipped away at restrictions on corporate political speech without overturning them once and for all.
81
As noted in "Roberts versus Roberts: Just How Radical Is the Chief Justice?", the chief justice cannot seem to achieve his goal of less divisive Court decisions in business cases.
A)True
B)False
82
As shown in "Court Under Roberts Is Most Conservative in Decades," an analysis of Supreme Court decisions since 1937 show the Roberts court to:
A)be a shift to the left of previous courts.
B)be more conservative than recent courts.
C)rule uniformly conservative, particularly on social issues.
D)rule uniformly liberal, particularly on business issues.
83
As described in "Court Under Roberts Is Most Conservative in Decades," one way that a chief justice can influence the ideological direction of the Court is to:
A)persuade other justices to join a majority opinion in the interest of unanimity on the court.
B)nominate like-minded candidates for the Supreme Court.
C)determine who writes the dissenting opinion.
D)determine who writes the opinion for the court when they are in the majority.
84
According to "Court Under Roberts Is Most Conservative in Decades," the Roberts court has expanded the use of the death penalty.
A)True
B)False
85
As reported in "Justices Venture into Court of Public Opinion," Jonathan Turley of George Washington University contends that:
A)there are significant enforcement provisions to prevent conflicts of interest on the Supreme Court.
B)justices should be encouraged to write books.
C)justices are left to judge their own acts of misconduct.
D)the cloistered life of the Supreme Court justice is an anachronism.
86
As identified in "Justices Venture into Court of Public Opinion," the senior associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court is:
A)Anthony Kennedy.
B)Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
C)Clarence Thomas.
D)Antonin Scalia.
87
As pointed out in "Justices Venture into Court of Public Opinion," no Supreme Court justice has ever run for president.
A)True
B)False
88
According to "Marking Time," when compared to the U.S. government, organizations like al-Qaeda are:
A)overly bureaucratic.
B)inherently nimbler.
C)structurally disorganized.
D)unable to make concrete plans and decisions.
89
As presented in "Marking Time," a hallmark of al-Qaeda attacks is that they:
A)are poorly planned and executed.
B)take an inordinate amount of time to carry out.
C)occur frequently on very small scales.
D)are technically and operationally sophisticated.
90
As claimed in "Marking Time," the disaster of September 11, 2001, can be attributed largely to simple delay and chronic slowness in the U.S. government.
A)True
B)False
91
As noted in "Legislation Is Just the Start," the Volker Rule:
A)places new restrictions on public accounting firms.
B)strengthens regulation of financial holding companies.
C)places new limits on the amount of money banks invest in hedge funds and private equity funds.
D)discourages excessive risk-taking.
92
As described in "Legislation Is Just the Start," the entity that benefits most from Congress' financial reform legislation is the:
A)executive branch.
B)Congress itself.
C)judicial branch.
D)lobbying industry.
93
As mentioned in "Legislation Is Just the Start," the new financial-reform law creates a Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection as a standalone agency.
A)True
B)False
94
As noted in "Polarized Pols versus Moderate Voters?", a recent book by Morris Fiorina contends that:
A)the American public has become far more extreme in its political ideology over the past generation.
B)self-described conservative voters are far more conservative than their conservative representatives in Congress.
C)the public is no less moderate than in the past, but elected officials are more polarized.
D)liberal voters have become more extreme in general, shifting overall public opinion to the left.
95
As maintained in "Polarized Pols versus Moderate Voters?", when it comes to divisive issues:
A)the political class encourages polarization among the voting public.
B)voters are more ambivalent than members of the political class.
C)members of the political class are more ambivalent than the voting public.
D)the American public is clearly polarized between conservative and liberal ideology.
96
As cited in "Polarized Pols versus Moderate Voters?", although there is talk about a culture war in the United States, both Republicans and Democrats have become more accepting of homosexuality.
A)True
B)False
97
According to "Limited War," Republicans have staked the entirety of their electoral future on:
A)the Tea Party.
B)white voters.
C)senior citizens.
D)the affluent.
98
As reported in "Limited War," the message that the Tea Party expertly articulated was the grievance that:
A)government does not listen to people.
B)most government spending is wasted.
C)the government spends too much on defense.
D)the government is redistributing money from hard workers to the idle.
99
As stated in "Limited War," the reason for the existence of the Democratic Party is social programs.
A)True
B)False
100
As discussed in "Reagan's Lasting Realignment," the single greatest factor distinguishing Barack Obama's first two years in office from Ronald Reagan's was Obama's:
A)single-minded change of the basic premise of entitlements.
B)heavy reliance on polling data to make important policy decisions.
C)inability to build cross-party coalitions.
D)advancement of a big-government agenda in the face of popular opinion leaning toward limited government.
101
As reported in "Reagan's Lasting Realignment," Ronald Reagan was able to realign the American electorate by:
A)clearly communicating his vision.
B)governing from a clearly articulated set of principles.
C)focusing his energies on issues people cared about.
D)building a bipartisan coalition.
102
As pointed out in "Reagan's Lasting Realignment," Ronald Reagan's success had no effect on the percentage of Americans who identified themselves as conservative.
A)True
B)False
103
As noted in "America Observed," most of America's electoral problems would be solved by:
A)enforcing the Help America Vote Act.
B)requiring presentation of identification to vote.
C)allowing provisional ballots.
D)repairing the dysfunctional decentralization of voting methods.
104
As maintained in "America Observed," the responsibility for the administration of U.S. elections falls to:
A)the incumbent government.
B)a non-partisan election commission.
C)the Federal Election Commission.
D)an oversight group comprised of officials from each national party.
105
As identified in "America Observed," America registers 95 percent of its eligible voters while Canada only registers about 55 percent.
A)True
B)False
106
As presented in "Six Myths About Campaign Money," the vast majority of Americans believe that Congress is controlled by:
A)the Democratic party.
B)groups that help fund political campaigns.
C)the Republican party.
D)the will of the people.
107
As cited in "Six Myths About Campaign Money," an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation recently probed:
A)half a dozen political action committee officials who collected donations from Wall Street donors shortly after the House vote on financial services legislation.
B)several lawmakers who collected contributions from Wall Street donors shortly after a House vote on financial-services legislation.
C)six lawmakers who accepted illegal funds.
D)several U.S. Senators who collected funds from corporations in excess of the amount allowed by Senate rules.
108
As disclosed in "Six Myths About Campaign Money," there is little to no evidence that political action committee money affects roll-call votes.
A)True
B)False
109
As presented in "The Presidential Nomination Process," it can be said about the American presidential nomination process that it:
A)does not significantly involve the American people.
B)has not changed much since its beginnings.
C)involves only two political parties and two individuals.
D)allows for many individuals to have an equal chance to be president.
110
According to "The Presidential Nomination Process," a component of the first era of the presidential nomination process was the:
A)Congressional caucus.
B)mixed system.
C)national nominating convention.
D)direct primary.
111
As noted in "The Presidential Nomination Process," the McGovern-Fraser Commission was charged with making delegate selection more democratic.
A)True
B)False
112
According to "Three Ways Social Media Will Make or Break 2012 Election Campaigns," in reviewing the use of social media in general, the author notes that:
A)the number of users is massive and growing.
B)there is no prospect of widespread use among people over age 50.
C)it is used far more by Democrats than Republicans.
D)it is used far more by Republicans than Democrats.
113
As reported in "Three Ways Social Media Will Make or Break 2012 Election Campaigns," in the 2008 election, the Obama campaign used Facebook to:
A)appeal to independent voters.
B)build volunteer donor networks.
C)fight off propaganda attacks.
D)conduct polls.
114
As stated in "Three Ways Social Media Will Make or Break 2012 Election Campaigns," the audience for the evening news on television is on average over 50.
A)True
B)False
115
As reported in "Big Oil's Man in Washington," Jack Gerard believes he can protect his industry by reminding people:
A)of the connections between Mideast oil and terrorism.
B)how much oil it takes to keep America moving.
C)how many people his members and affiliates employ.
D)about his friendships with legislators.
116
As noted in "Big Oil's Man in Washington," the Oil Pollution act requiring oil companies to develop disaster-mitigation plans:
A)was enacted in response to the BP oil disaster in the Gulf.
B)was signed by President George H. W. Bush.
C)was killed by Senate Democrats.
D)should reduce dependency on imports.
117
As discussed in "Big Oil's Man in Washington," Jack Gerard has more access to industry CEOs than in-house lobbyists of those executives' own companies.
A)True
B)False
118
As profiled in "Born Fighting," MoveOn.org began when its creators:
A)established a campaign Web site for Barack Obama.
B)began an Internet protest site regarding the economic crisis.
C)posted an online petition opposing the drive to impeach Bill Clinton.
D)developed software for a popular screensaver.
119
According to "Born Fighting," MoveOn.org's political impact can be measured on the two levels of:
A)causes and candidates.
B)advertising and marketing.
C)activism and organizing.
D)message and mechanics.
120
As noted in "Born Fighting," MoveOn.org is based on the concept that fighting makes the organization stronger.
A)True
B)False
121
According to "Why They Lobby," besides money, many lobbyists in controversial industries choose their profession because they:
A)enjoy the challenge.
B)get the opportunity to exercise their ethical beliefs.
C)have not been successful in other industries.
D)want to provide a valuable service for future generations.
122
As presented in "Why They Lobby," all the lobbyists interviewed cited their belief in the:
A)ethical principles inherent in lobbying.
B)value of their industry to the larger society.
C)First Amendment right to petition the government.
D)necessity of the products that their industry produces.
123
As noted in "Why They Lobby," all of the lobbyists profiled use and enjoy the products that their industry produces.
A)True
B)False
124
According to "Conservative Juggernaut Melds Politics and Policy," anonymously financed advocacy groups:
A)do not compete with labor unions.
B)are not permitted to run aggressively political ads.
C)came about as a result of the Citizens United case.
D)may only operate in non-election years.
125
As stated in "Conservative Juggernaut Melds Politics and Policy," Crossroads GPS:
A)focuses its pressure exclusively on Democrats.
B)is a tax-exempt organization.
C)does not spend money on nonpolitical issues.
D)has demonstrated no interest in the lawmaking process itself.
126
As reported in "Conservative Juggernaut Melds Politics and Policy," Crossroads GPS filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information about President Obama's plans to develop high-speed rail lines.
A)True
B)False
127
As reported in "The Radical Right Returns," the syndrome of paranoid rhetoric is most likely to be elicited by:
A)religious decline.
B)economic prosperity.
C)large-scale shifts in the perceived balance of power within the United States.
D)catastrophe or fear of catastrophe.
128
In "The Radical Right Returns," comparing them to other ideological groups, the Gallup Poll says that the very conservative are more likely to be:
A)male.
B)in their forties.
C)college graduates.
D)from the Midwest.
129
As stated in "The Radical Right Returns," the theme of the 1964 book None Dare Call It Treason, which sold millions of copies, was that the entire U.S. government had sold out to the Communists.
A)True
B)False
130
According to "Group Think," the principal goal of the tea party movement is to:
A)change the country's political culture.
B)develop a new political party.
C)offers voters guidance about candidate positions.
D)win key congressional districts.
131
As reported in "Group Think," a difference between the tea party and MoveOn.org is that the latter:
A)has a national director and considerable other paid staff.
B)emphasizes civic engagement as a remedy for flawed governance.
C)owes its existence to new media.
D)prides itself on following its members.
132
As noted in "Group Think," it is unlikely that the tea party movement would have been possible without free conference calling.
A)True
B)False
133
As summarized in "A See-Through Society," in the end, transparency regarding our government leaders breeds:
A)trust.
B)duplicity.
C)creativity.
D)complexity.
134
As mentioned in "A See-Through Society," the U.S. House of Representatives' website, www.house.gov, was crashed in September 2008 by enormous public interest in the:
A)impending surge in Iraq.
B)presidential election.
C)financial bailout legislation.
D)Obama's new dog, Bo.
135
As recounted in "A See-Through Society," the Twitter Vote Report allowed citizens to report on their voting experience during the 2008 election, providing a real-time picture of wait times and complications that the news media picked up on and reported.
A)True
B)False
136
As profiled in "Governing in the Age of Fox News," in recent years the news media has become:
A)dominated by independent, non-partisan forces.
B)dominated by partisan media.
C)increasingly right-leaning.
D)increasingly left-leaning.
137
When it came to the news media, as described in "Governing in the Age of Fox News," the Founding Fathers believed:
A)the news should be controlled by the state.
B)popular newspapers were a political threat.
C)news media should be taxed.
D)the circulation of news and political debate could preserve their fragile republic.
138
As noted in "Governing in the Age of Fox News," by 1835 the United States probably had the highest per-capita newspaper circulation in the world.
A)True
B)False
139
As reported in "Serious Fun with Numbers," the story that Daniel Gilbert was gathering data for concerned:
A)unpaid insurance claims.
B)pollution levels in drinking water.
C)royalties from mineral rights.
D)intellectual property rights.
140
As noted in "Serious Fun with Numbers," the information Daniel Gilbert needed:
A)required legal action to acquire.
B)made no sense to anyone who looked at it.
C)was not available in any medium except on paper.
D)required computer skills Gilbert did not have.
141
As stated in "Serious Fun with Numbers," the amount of raw data available to reporters has increased in recent years.
A)True
B)False
142
According to "The Realities of Immigration," the modern immigration era commenced:
A)with the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
B)with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
C)during the Great Depression.
D)at the conclusion of World War I.
143
As reported in "The Realities of Immigration," in comparing illegal immigrants without a high school education to their native-born peers, the author finds that:
A)the immigrants are employed at lower percentages.
B)native-borns have more incentive to work.
C)immigrants workers are more likely to lack initiative.
D)wages of native-borns have been adversely affected by the presence of immigrants.
144
As observed in "The Realities of Immigration," the Immigration and Control Act of 1986 was a monumental failure.
A)True
B)False
145
As maintained in "The Other National Debt," a great deal of state and local debt arises from:
A)wasteful spending.
B)tax cuts.
C)overstaffed and inefficient local government.
D)the issuance of tax-free municipal bonds.
146
As profiled in "The Other National Debt," many state pension funds:
A)make up only six percent of a state's budget.
B)are the only solvent entitlement programs in state government.
C)are woefully underfunded and projected to run out of money in coming decades.
D)provide much-needed investment capital for states.
147
As noted in "The Other National Debt," the amount of state and local debt in the United States adds up to about $14 trillion.
A)True
B)False
148
As claimed in "In Defense of Deficits," a big deficit-reduction program would:
A)provide much-needed solvency for programs like Social Security.
B)destroy the U.S. economy.
C)enable the United States to invest in its future.
D)reduce the national debt.
149
As mentioned in "In Defense of Deficits," public debt:
A)is more onerous than private debt.
B)does not have to be repaid.
C)is a burden on future generations.
D)does not have to be serviced as private debt does.
150
As presented in "In Defense of Deficits," public debt is the foundation of economic growth.
A)True
B)False
151
As identified in "Meet the Real Death Panels," in the United States healthcare is viewed as:
A)a commodity that is purchased by those who can afford it.
B)a human right whose costs and benefits are shared by the entire population.
C)unnecessary for most young and healthy Americans.
D)a responsibility of the state.
152
As stated in "Meet the Real Death Panels," end-of-life expenditures:
A)are viewed as unnecessary by most Americans.
B)make up the majority of healthcare dollars spent.
C)can be decreased with the advent of advance directives.
D)are not an onerous burden on the healthcare system.
153
As noted in "Meet the Real Death Panels," the United States spends more per capita on healthcare than most other developed nations.
A)True
B)False
154
As detailed in "Clean, Green, Safe and Smart," enhanced oversight and stiffened regulations cannot help avert future ecological energy disasters because:
A)the U.S. government has no control over private energy producers.
B)energy production does not affect the environment.
C)the United States relies too much on fuels acquired from ecologically and politically hazardous locations.
D)fuel procurement is a necessary evil and risks must be taken to acquire it.
155
As described in "Clean, Green, Safe and Smart," the National Energy Policy of May 17, 2001, reflected the Bush Administration's outlook that:
A)the need for cheap energy sources outweighs ecological concerns.
B)energy should be procured only in a way that preserves the environment.
C)energy is a commodity that can be purchased by those who can afford it.
D)cheap and abundant energy is essential for economic growth.
156
As stated in "Clean, Green, Safe and Smart," hydraulic fracturing is an environmentally risky method by which natural gas is derived from shale rock.
A)True
B)False
157
As described in "A Flimsy Trust," the author believes that Social Security is a bailout lurking beneath the surface that may soon emerge like:
A)a Jack in the box.
B)the iceberg that hit the Titanic.
C)a plant growing in the springtime.
D)the great white shark in Jaws.
158
As mentioned in "A Flimsy Trust," the Social Security system is required by law to show:
A)transparent accounting of all taxes paid in and benefits paid out.
B)75 years of "solvency."
C)a positive balance in the "trust fund."
D)surplus funds to cover the next 20 years.
159
The author of "A Flimsy Trust" makes that point that he and his wife will receive more in Social Security benefits than they and their employers have paid into the system during their careers.
A)True
B)False
160
As noted in "What We Don't Know Can Hurt Us," information that is known about the jobs created by the Obama stimulus includes:
A)who got the jobs.
B)how long the jobs lasted.
C)how many jobs were created or retained.
D)how much the jobs paid.
161
As reported in "What We Don't Know Can Hurt Us," the country's main source of foreclosure information is:
A)the Home Affordable Mortgage Program.
B)Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
C)the Department of Commerce.
D)a company called Realty Trac.
162
According to "What We Don't Know Can Hurt Us," banks make the majority of their fee revenue from automatic overdraft penalties.
A)True
B)False
163
According to "The Tyranny of Metaphor," America's love affair with universalism began during the presidential administration of:
A)James Monroe.
B)Theodore Roosevelt.
C)Woodrow Wilson.
D)Harry Truman.
164
Conclusions about the war in Iraq reached in "The Tyranny of Metaphor" include that:
A)the robust democracy George Bush hoped for has come to Baghdad.
B)our efforts in Iraq have led to a pro-American climate there.
C)appeasement would eventually have ousted Saddam Hussein.
D)Americans have limited patience with nation building.
165
As reported in "The Tyranny of Metaphor," Winston Churchill contended to the end of his life that there is no place in diplomacy for appeasement.
A)True
B)False
166
As assessed in "Worth Fighting—Or Not," historians say that the war from which the fewest benefits have been gained by the United States is the:
A)Vietnam War.
B)Mexican War.
C)Iraq War.
D)World War I.
167
As estimated in "Worth Fighting—Or Not," the American Revolution was supported by:
A)about 10 percent of the colonists.
B)about a third of the colonists.
C)nearly 75 percent of the colonists.
D)virtually all of the colonists, with only about 5 percent remaining loyal to the crown.
168
As revealed in "Worth Fighting—Or Not," Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican, raised the possibility that his state might want to secede from the United States.
A)True
B)False
169
According to "Back to Normalcy," factors that contributed to making the United States the most powerful nation in the world included:
A)a laissez-faire approach to business regulation.
B)geographic distance from any other great power.
C)consistently leading the world in technology development.
D)the Civil War.
170
As reported in "Back to Normalcy," the sturdiest support of the U.S. position of superpower in the current world climate is:
A)the ability to influence other states through soft power.
B)economic power.
C)foreign-currency heft.
D)military power.
171
As pointed out in "Back to Normalcy," soft power on the world stage rises and falls very slowly.
A)True
B)False





To learn more about the book this website supports, please visit its Information Center.
Copyright (c)2010 McGraw-Hill Education .
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Notice | Report Piracy


Contemporary Learning SeriesOnline Learning Center

Home > American Government > 12/13 42e > Practice Quiz