Citizenship Test

The link below are questions for becoming a Citizen of the United States.  There are 96 questions.  See how many you can answer correctly.

U.S. Citizenship Test (Christian Science Monitor)

Most of the questions are good, knowing about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and branches of Federal government.  I'm not sure about the geography questions.  Which state borders Mexico?  Which ocean is off the East Coast of the United States?   But these are quibbles.

How many questions did you get correct?  I'm curious how many people know the answer for Benjamin Franklin.  And if most Americans know who is next in line for the Presidency if the President and Vice-President are no long qualified.  The answer to that last one might scare some people.

I was able to correctly answer 95% correctly.  I missed questions 69, 34, 27, 23, and 3.  I'm disappointed I didn't answer correctly the question: "Why did the Colonists fight the British?"

Knowing the answers to all of the questions won't make someone a better citizen or get them involved in local politics.  But I'm wondering why the passing percentage is 60%?  This means that a 'new Citizen' could have missed up to 38 questions.  Canada also has a passing percentage of 60%, but they only have 20 questions which means you can miss only 8 (Canadian Citizenship Test - A Brief Overview).  Britain has a passing percentage of 75% (U.K. Citizenship Test: Too hard for most Britains).

The current U.S. test was first used in 2008.  Immigration Officials Unveil Redesigned U.S. Citizenship Test

Prop 8, don't discriminate

Lots of talk going on about Proposition 8 being being struck down.

Much anger about 'the will of the people' being subverted. Some say "why can't we decide on validity of propositions before they are put on the ballot?" The simple reason is that if the Proposition doesn't pass, no time or money is wasted.

And when a Proposition passes, that's when the legality is questioned. Just because a Proposition is popular enough to pass doesn't make it legal. Many 'unpopular rights' were still 'legalized' because of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Think Civil Rights and Women's Rights.

It's been over 40 years since Civil Rights legislation was adopted. 40 years from now, we'll be thinking the same thing about Gay Rights.

Someone on a site I have misplaced said the Government should give a Civil Union License to those who want to be together in the eyes of the Government and all of the legal implications. If they want to get married, they go to a church with all of the religious implications. Makes sense to me.  Separation of Church and State.

Here is an opinion piece from the Los Angeles Times with a little background on Judge Walker, who struck down Proposition 8, and some quick info on racial discrimination in the 1960's. Proposition 8, Judge Walker, and our short memories (LA Times)

And another opinion on why Republicans shouldn't stand on the wrong side of another civil rights issue.  My Fellow Conservatives: Think Carefully About Your Opposition to Gay Marriage (Fox News)

What? Me vote?

Current opinion: Voting should NOT be made easier

Voter apathy occurs for many reasons:

• "My vote doesn't count"
• "All politicians are crooks"
• "There are WAY too many propositions on the ballot"
• "I can't get to the poll in time to vote"
• "They make the voting process too hard"
• "I'm sick and tired of all of the negative campaigning"

To help fix the current voting system, many states have proposed various ways of changing the process:

• Allow registration up to voting day (Washington, North Carolina, and more)
• Register voters when they get a driver's license
• Voting on the internet
• Sending 'text messages'to remind voters to vote

As for 'corrupt politicians' and 'negative campaigning' no one has suggested a way to fix these. Bad as they are, they go with the territory. But are negative campaigns always bad? I'm of the opinion that if a person can't take the time to register to vote 45 days in advance (or whatever it is in your state), then they won't take the time to investigate the issues and candidates. While the registration process should not be many hoops to jump thru, registering x-days in advance is certainly not an inconvenience. I might even be fine with a 'test' that each potential voter needs to take that might ask things like 'who is your House Representative?' and 'who was the second president of the United States?'.

New opinion (unchanged): Voting should NOT be made easier