Tag Archives: government

Thoughts

A lesson in civics and citizenship

I happened to look up resources on the Internet that help people prepare for the citizenship test. If you’ll remember, I announced last year that the citizenship test would get harder. I was amazed to see how many sites out there charge for access to information that’s already available freely, right on the USCIS website. They’ve got a great section that shouldn’t be missed by anyone studying for the citizenship test, called Civics and Citizenship Study Materials. It’s got a lot of downloadable PDFs stuffed full of valuable information, made available to anyone, for FREE. And here’s another web page with useful citizenship-related links.

I thought I’d offer you some sample civics questions that could get asked on the citizenship test. You may not be studying to be a citizen because you earned that privilege as your birthright, but it wouldn’t hurt anyone to know the answers to these questions. In spite of what the government tells you, there’s one kind of terrorism that runs rampant, right here among us. It’s called ignorance. I’m not implying that you, my reader, are ignorant, but we’ve all seen plenty of those people, right? Some of them don’t even know basic facts like who was our first president…

Let’s all do our part to fight ignorance. It costs nothing, and nobody dies in the process. How’s that for good odds? 🙂

  1. What are the colors of our flag?
    Red, white, and blue
  2. What do the stars on the flag mean?
    One for each state
  3. How many stars are there on our flag?
    50
  4. What color are the stars on our flag?
    White
  5. How many stripes are there on our flag?
    13
  6. What do the stripes on the flag represent?
    The first 13 states
  7. What colors are the stripes on the flag?
    Red and white
  8. How many states are there in the Union (the United States)?
    50
  9. What do we celebrate on the 4th of July?
    Independence Day
  10. Independence Day celebrates independence from whom?
    Great Britain
  11. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?
    Great Britain
  12. Who was the first president of the United States?
    George Washington
  13. Who is the President of the United States today?
    Barrack Obama*
  14. Who is the Vice President of the United States today?
    Joe Biden*
  15. Who elects the President of the United States?
    The Electoral College
  16. Who becomes President if the President dies?
    The Vice President
  17. What is the Constitution?
    The supreme law of the land
  18. What do we call changes to the Constitution?
    Amendments
  19. How many changes, or amendments, are there to theConstitution?
    27*
  20. What are the three branches of our government?
    Executive, Judicial, and Legislative
  21. What is the legislative branch of our Government?
    Congress
  22. Who makes the Federal laws in the United States?
    Congress
  23. Who elects Congress?
    The citizens of the United States
  24. How many Senators are there in Congress?
    There are 100 Senators in Congress, two from each state.
  25. For how long do we elect each Senator?
    Six years
  26. What makes up Congress?
    The Senate and the House of Representatives
  27. Name two Senators from your state.
    The answer to this question depends on where you live.
  28. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?
    435
  29. For how long do we elect each member of the House of Representatives?
    Two years
  30. Who is the head of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government?
    The President
  31. For how long is the President elected?
    Four years
  32. What is the highest part of the Judiciary Branch of our Government?
    The Supreme Court
  33. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?
    To interpret and explain the laws
  34. What is the supreme law of the United States?
    The Constitution
  35. What is the Bill of Rights?
    The first ten amendments to the Constitution
  36. What is the capital of the state you live in?
    The answer to this question depends on the state where you live.
  37. Who is the current Governor of the state you live in?
    The answer to this question depends on where you live.
  38. Who becomes President if both the President and Vice President die?
    The Speaker of the House
  39. Who is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
    John G. Roberts, Jr.*
  40. What were the original 13 states?
    Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Georgia
  41. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death”?
    Patrick Henry
  42. Name some countries that were our enemies during World War II.
    Germany, Italy, and Japan
  43. What was the 49th state added to our Union (the United States)?
    Alaska
  44. How many full terms can a President serve?
    Two
  45. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
    A civil rights leader
  46. What are some of the requirements to be eligible to become President?
    A candidate for President must:

    • be a native-born, not naturalized, citizen,
    • be at least 35 years old, and
    • have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
  47. Why are there 100 Senators in the United States Senate?
    Each state elects two Senators.
  48. Who nominates judges for the Supreme Court?
    The President
  49. How many Supreme Court Justices are there?
    Nine
  50. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
    To gain religious freedom
  51. What is the executive of a state government called?
    The Governor
  52. What is the head executive of a city government called?
    The Mayor
  53. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by American colonists?
    Thanksgiving
  54. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
    Thomas Jefferson
  55. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
    July 4, 1776
  56. What are some of the basic beliefs of the Declaration of Independence?
    That all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
  57. What is the national anthem of the United States?
    The Star-Spangled Banner
  58. Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner?
    Francis Scott Key
  59. What is the minimum voting age in the United States?
    18
  60. Who signs bills into law?
    The President
  61. What is the highest court in the United States?
    The Supreme Court
  62. Who was President during the Civil War?
    Abraham Lincoln
  63. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
    The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves.
  64. What special group advises the President?
    The Cabinet
  65. Which President is called the “Father of our Country”?
    George Washington
  66. Which President was the first Commander-in-Chief of the U.S.Army and Navy?
    George Washington
  67. What was the 50th state to be added to our Union (the United States)?
    Hawaii
  68. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
    The American Indians/Native Americans
  69. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
    The Mayflower
  70. What were the 13 original states of the United States called before they were states?
    Colonies
  71. What group has the power to declare war?
    Congress
  72. Name the amendments that guarantee or address voting rights.
    15th, 19th, 24th and 26th
  73. In what year was the Constitution written?
    1787
  74. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
    The Bill of Rights
  75. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
    All people living in the United States
  76. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
    The Preamble
  77. Who meets in the U.S. Capitol building?
    Congress
  78. What is the name of the President’s official home?
    The White House
  79. Where is the White House located?
    Washington, DC
  80. Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment.
    The rights of freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, of assembly, and to petition the Government
  81. Who is Commander-in-Chief of the United States military?
    The President
  82. In what month do we vote for the President?
    November
  83. In what month is the new President inaugurated?
    January
  84. How many times may a Senator or Congressman be re-elected?
    There is no limit.
  85. What are the two major political parties in the United States today?
    The Democratic and Republican parties
  86. What is the executive branch of our government?
    The President, the Cabinet, and departments under the cabinet members
  87. Where does freedom of speech come from?
    The Bill of Rights
  88. What U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form is used to apply for naturalized citizenship?
    Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization)
  89. What kind of government does the United States have?
    A Republic
  90. Name one of the purposes of the United Nations.
    For countries to discuss and try to resolve world problems or to provide economic aid to many countries
  91. Name one benefit of being a citizen of the United States.
    To obtain Federal government jobs, to travel with a U.S. passport, or to petition for close relatives to come to the United States to live
  92. Can the Constitution be changed?
    Yes
  93. What is the most important right granted to United States citizens?
    The right to vote
  94. What is the White House?
    The President’s official home
  95. What is the United States Capitol?
    The place where Congress meets
  96. How many branches are there in the United States government?
    Three

*Answer will change with time.

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Condensed knowledge for 2007-09-19

A bit of a health theme to this edition of condensed knowledge:

  • A new CPR technique was discovered. It’s called OAC-CPR (Only rhythmic Abdominal Compression). As its name implies, you only press on the abdomen, eliminating the risk of broken ribs, mouth-to-mouth, and fatigue from pushing so hard. Definitely worth looking into this!
  • Prozac found in the drinking water in the UK. Apparently so many people are on the anti-depressant in England, that it can now be found, diluted, in the water supply, after having passed through their bodies, into the sewers, through the water treatment plants, etc. Although the “experts” are saying there’s no risk, I doubt it. I mean, this is a drug, found active, in the water supply!
  • WD40 turns out to be a great help for bad joints. Despite the precautions written on the cans, rubbing it into the skin was of tremendous help to a man suffering from joint pain. Not sure that I’d recommend this.
  • Aspartame is the behind the spike in suicides for teen and pre-teen girls. Apparently, it’s a powerful mood-changer — it causes depression. Something to think about the next time you buy your children something with Nutrasweet or Aspartame as the sweetener.
  • Exercising in traffic is bad for your heart. Now that’s something I’ve known was wrong for some time. It just didn’t make sense to me when I saw people running on the sidewalk, next to heavy traffic, breathing in all those noxious fumes. When I run, I want to breathe fresh, healthy air, not someone’s nasty car exhaust. I just couldn’t get why they’d put themselves through something that unhealthy. It turns out the particulates from vehicle emissions decrease our blood’s ability to clot, and restrict the amount of blood that reaches the heart immediately upon exposure.
  • Mobile phones are as dangerous as smoking. So reads a recent headline… People have gone back and forth on the safety of mobile phones for years. Now the EU has finally decided to pick a side and take action. The article’s in Romanian, but what it says is that governments are starting to take mitigating action, first by warning people of the risks, and then by looking at ways to minimize exposure to WiFi radiation. They’re recommending that people go back to using wired Internet connections instead of wireless ones.

Now for some funny stuff:

And some economic discussion:

  • Greenspan on Iraq war, oil link. He confirms what I’ve thought and said for some time. In his talk with Matt Lauer, he touches on the housing bubble and the fiscal irresponsibility of the current administration, but he has no compliments for the Democrats, either. Last, but no least, he says the dollar may be replaced by the euro as the reserve currency of choice.
  • Transparent Investing: what your broker doesn’t want you to know. Here’s a site that offers a purportedly frank discussion of index investing. Definitely worth a look.
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Thoughts

US citizenship test to become harder

The federal government will start testing a new citizenship test early next year in select locations throughout the United States. The new exam “relies less on trivia and more on an applicant’s grasp of American democracy.” The goal is to encourage civic participation. The questions ask about the Bill of Rights and the meaning of democracy. An understanding of voting rights will also be needed. The test will be refined next year, and will become the official test in 2008. [via CNN]

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Since we're voting today

I thought you’d enjoy a couple of good videos about how voting in America works:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7236791207107726851

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adKD8pCxUng

[via Techdirt]

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Reviews

USPS Priority Mail is anything but that

USPSRecently mailed a package with Priority Mail, and it didn’t arrive at its destination on time. All the USPS website would tell me is that the shipping info was received. When I called them 7 days later — remember, Priority Mail is supposed to be a 2-3 day delivery — I told them I had a shipping/label number and asked what happened to my package. They couldn’t tell me anything. Their official answer was: “We can’t track Priority Mail packages.”

What’s the point of offering a tracking service if you can’t track it?

So I asked them, is there a way to start an investigation, and find out what happened to that package? What if it’s lost, what if someone stole it? What happens now? Their answer? “We can’t investigate Priority Mail packages. We can only investigate Express Mail packages.”

So I asked them what weight is carried with all of their “official” notices that say that tampering with or stealing postal mail is a theft, and is punishable under the law, etc. If there’s no way to tell where a Priority Mail package is, and they’re not willing or not able to start an investigation, does that mean people can go ahead and steal Priority Mail packages? No answer there.

There you have it. Not only is Priority Mail more costly than First Class Mail, not only does not take 2-3 days for mail to get there (it usually takes a week and the USPS only offers excuses when that happens), but the tracking service is non-existent, and you can’t find out what happened to your package if it never arrives at its destination.

What lesson are we to draw from this? My take on it is that Priority Mail is inferior to other shipping services out there. It may be cheaper than UPS or FedEx, but the packages can get stolen, they can get trampled on, they can be late or never arrive at their destination, and the USPS won’t care.

Updated 11/14/2007: I held a book drawing here, and one of my readers won it. After mailing the book via Priority Mail to him, the envelope got there damaged, opened and empty. We know we sealed it properly right at the post office and paid $8 to ship it. To add insult to injury, the message stamped on the envelope from the post office in his town that said the envelope was received opened and damaged. So not only did they damage my package and lose the book, but they lied about how the book got to be “lost” in the first place.

Updated 12/13/2007: The USPS has managed to top its previous performance. It has now taken them 13 days to deliver a local package to a distance of 25 miles.

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