III - American Government

1)   (True/False) Judicial Activism is justified in cases where congress or the president have refused to act to remedy a social ill

2)   (True/False) A democracy automatically confers freedom to its citizens

3)   (True/False) The first amendment protecting free speech guarantees the speaker an audience and money

4)   The United States

a)    Is a Democracy

b)   Is a Republic

c)    Is Ruled by the judiciary

d)   Was founded by greedy capitalists

e)    Is the worst violator of human rights in the world

 

5)   The United States Constitution is designed to 

a)    Provide Basic freedoms from Government that protect all people

b)   Allow mobility in an individuals position in the social strata

c)    Protect the rich while subjugating the poor, just like every other government

d)   Protect the people from their own foolishness

e)    Protect the people from bad luck

f)    Balance human nature against itself

 

6)   The Function of the Judiciary Branch is to

a)    Apply the laws in  accordance with the original intent of the legislature

b)   Interpret laws where the letter of the law and legislative intent is not clear

c)    Ignore the original intent of the legislature and interpret laws based on the needs of society as perceived by the judiciary

d)   Enact new laws under the guise of “due process”

 

7)   Judicial Activism is

a)    A myth made up by conservatives

b)    The Judiciary deliberately interpreting the law contrary to the original intent

c)   A good way to create new rights and laws not ratified by the legislature or the people

d)    The Founding Father’s intended method of allowing the Constitution to deal with the changing needs of the people

e)   A rejection of the principle of “ratification by the people” via the amendment process

f)    Deciding what the people would want if they only knew better

 

8)   “Due Process” as used in the Constitution means that

a)    That all citizens must be prosecuted according to legislatively established procedures

b)   The legal processes enacted by the legislature must be constitutional

c)    The Supreme court dictates processes to be used

d)   The method by which water condenses in the morning

 

9)   A Constitutional Right is

a)    A religious practice performed by superstitious people

b)   The opposite of Left

c)    A guarantee that prohibits government interference with an individual’s freedoms

d)   A guarantee that prohibits the people from interfering with Government freedoms

e)    A benefit that the government provides to one group at the expense of another group

10)  Which of the following are rights protected by the U.S. Constitution

a)   Access to clean water

b)   Access to clean air

c)   Freedom from exposure to religious thought

d)   Freedom from being offended in any way

e)    Freedom from having basic liberal assumptions challenged

f)    Freedom of children from the guidance and discipline of their parents

g)    Protection of all genetically separate organisms from torture or inhumane treatment as long as they have had access to atmospheric oxygen

h)   Insurance against the effects of making bad investments

i)   Insurance against  failing to invest in regards to retirement

j)    Insurance against the effects of bad health (either self-inflicted or natural)

k)    Insurance against the effects of  job loss

l)   Insurance against the effects of natural disasters

m)    Insurance against the effects of anti-social behavior

n)  Insurance against the effects of a lack of natural ability (Strength, Intelligence, etc)

o)   Insurance against the effects of being unskilled/uneducated (due to monetary circumstances or self-inflicted behavior)

p)   Equal incomes and wealth

q)   Equal respect regardless of behavior

r)   Victim hood

s)    The right to inflict costs on others

t)    The right to inflict anti-social behavior on others

u)    Abortion

v)   Gay marriage

 

11)  The Government should protect people from risks by

a)    Encouraging risky behavior by insuring those who fail to save and invest wisely

b)   Encouraging risky behavior by providing health insurance to those who engage in dangerous recreational activities (drugs, etc)

c)    Encouraging risky behavior by providing disaster relief to those who choose to live in disaster prone areas 

d)   Requiring people to engage in less risky behavior by using laws that reduce personal freedom (seatbelt laws, helmet laws)

 

12)  The Constitutional Separation of Church and State implies that

a)    Moral values defined by those who worship a deity cannot be applied to society

b)   Moral values defined by those do not worship deity should applied by force to society

c)    Atheism is not a religion, and therefore government persecution of atheists is legal

d)   Atheism is protected as a religion, but the doctrine believed by atheists is not religious

 

13)  The American Principle  that “all men are created equal” means

a)    Criminals and Law-Abiding People should be treated the same

b)   Men and women are the same

c)    Everyone’s skills and abilities (intellectual and  physical) are the same

d)   Adults and Children are the same

e)    All cultures and traditions have the same effects/results upon a  society

f)    Right and wrong are the same

g)   Everyone’s attitudes and behaviors are the same

h)   Apples and oranges are both fruit and therefore the same

i)    Any difference in the performance of one  individual from another is caused by some systematic form of discrimination

j)    Everyone has the same economic outcomes regardless of ability or behavior

14)  Taxes should NOT be used to 

a)    Force taxpayers to contribute to charitable causes

b)   Force taxpayers to contribute to groups that  promote or commit acts that the taxpayer would otherwise refuse to contribute to for moral reasons

c)    Force taxpayers to support religious causes

d)   Force a redistribution of wealth regardless of the contributions of those receiving it

 

15)  More (social) justice for all means

a)    A loss of choice on where your child goes to school

b)   A loss of choice about the type of cirriculum taught to students

c)    A loss of choice about the methods used to teach students

d)   A loss of choice on what wage a worker may accept a job at

e)    A loss of choice on what wage an employer can offer a job at

f)   A loss of choice about what qualities are important in hiring

g)    A loss of choices about how to spend income

h)    A loss of choice on personal moral decisions and social issues (homeless, etc)

i)   A loss of choice in Medical Practioner and Medicines available

j)    A loss of choices of where and what types of housing an be built

k)   More equality (for certain groups)

l)    More freedom (for certain groups)

 

16)  Banning Homosexual marriage is a violation of civil rights

      a)    Beause the current laws single out a group for inequal treatment under the law

a)   Because heterosexual men are allowed to marry each other, while Homosexual men are not

b)   Because heterosexual women are allowed to marry each other, while lesbians are not

c)    Because it dictates who an individual can love and live with

d)   Because society needs more equality

 

17)  The legal “slippery slope” of Gay Marriage is a Myth because

a)    The People can use their legislatures to impose bans on other forms of marriage such as polygamy, intra-Family and Man-Animal marriages

b)   The courts reasoning that the government can’t dictate what consenting adults do in private only applies to Homosexuals

c)    The Courts have the legislative power to decide where we stand on the slope and keep society from slipping

d)   The Representative Legislature is not to be trusted with the power to make laws that reflect the will of the people

 

18)  Abuses of power are

a)    Inevitable

b)   Something only the wealthy can accomplish

c)    What Labor Unions fight to protect workers against

d)   What monopolies fight to protect consumers against

e)    Something only Republicans do

 

19)  Which of the following constitutes manipulation of federal elections:

 

a)    Voting using the electoral college

b)   Refusing to count properly submitted absentee votes

c)    Using Brazilian money to sponsor legislation to change electoral vote assignment

d)   Sponsoring legislation that changes election rules retroactively

e)    Using law enforcement to investigate claims of voter fraud

f)    Vandalism of property based on the public political leanings of property owners

g)   Redefining the rules for counting ballots after a federal election

h)   Asking for recounts only in certain districts that statistically favor one candidate

i)    The media calling a winner before polls close

 

20) What was the original intent of the 2^nd Amendment as expressed by the Founding Fathers in the Federalist

a)    There is no 2^nd Amendment

b)   To arm the populace as protection against their own State and Federal Government

c)    To arm the populace in case of foreign invasion

d)   To satisfy the NRA lobby and get them to shut up

 

 

Extra Credit: Explain why Constitutional Protections of life begin with breathing atmospheric oxygen.

Because breathing atmospheric oxygen is a vital part of the “human experience”