It was a stormy week in the worlds of politics and current affairs. Whether you were a New Orleans shop keeper or an Iowa bank employee, you got served with bad news. Take our quiz and see if you survived.
Here are some random but actual hints: The GOP might need to stop bashing the Golden State; the storm probably closed the airport, anyway; maybe he was channeling Kanye; and they're the only ones who know how to sell anything anymore. Now put those to good use and take the quiz! Answers are at the bottom of the quiz.
1) In the wake of Hurricane Isaac, Mississippi officials announced plans to do what to deal with the aftermath?
a. Pay residents $20 an hour to help pump water out of state government buildings
b. Use prison labor to reconstruct the state's seaside defenses
c. Intentionally breach a dam to relieve pressure and try to prevent its "imminent failure"
d. Rent boats to stranded residents so they could flee the area
2) What have federal prosecutors accused a group of American soldiers of planning to do?
a. Attack abortion clinics on the East Coast
b. Disrupt the Democratic National Convention
c. Kidnap Arizona Governor Janice Brewer and create an Arizona Free State
d. Overthrow the U.S. government and assassinate the president
3) An Arizona State University report ranked major U.S. metropolitan areas in terms of job creation. Which city was at the top of the list?
a. Janesville, Wisconsin
b. Houston
c. Miami
d. San Francisco
4) Conservative activist James O'Keefe couldn't make a planned appearance at a libertarian conference in Tampa during the GOP convention. Why?
a. He is in jail
b. He is on probation
c. He has been tapped to speak at the Democratic convention
d. He has a phobia about storms
5) Why did Yahoo News fire its Washington bureau chief, David Chalian?
a. He broke professional rules by donating $11,000 to Mitt Romney's campaign
b. He said that Mitt and Ann Romney are "happy to have a party with black people drowning" during the hurricane
c. During an interview with the GOP presidential nominee, Chalian called him "Mittens"
d. He was caught working at Google News under the pseudonym "Meg Whittlefield"
6) Who called the use of nuclear weapons a "big and unforgivable sin" this week?
a. President Barack Obama
b. Pope Benedict XVI
c. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
d. Saudia Arabia's official Council of Senior Ulema
7) In an effort to comply with strict new rules aimed at preventing crime at the upper layers of financial institutions,banks have been clearing house. Whom did Wells Fargo fire in its efforts?
a. Its CFO, who had trespassed on her neighbor's property to reclaim her runaway puppy
b. Its top mortgage executive, Edward Toboggan, because he had been arrested on a DUI
c. Wellsie, or more accurately the actor who portrayed the bank's mascot Wellsie in local commercials, because he had been a personal investor in several foreclosed properties
d. A 68-year-old Vietnam veteran who earned less than $30,000 a year as a customer service rep, because he had used a fake coin in a laundromat 49 years ago
8) Who admitted to tearing up during GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's speech Wednesday night?
a. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
b. Ann Romney
c. Mitt Romney
d. Rupert Murdoch
9) What did President Barack Obama say should be overturned?
a. The U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling
b. Syria's government
c. Last year's budget deal with congressional Republicans
d. Iran's government
10) What did German Chancellor Angela Merkel do this week in her latest bid to contain the eurozone debt crisis?
a. For the first time, publicly floated the idea of Germany leaving the eurozone
b. Demanded that Russia buy eurobonds before Germany purchases any more Russian oil and natural gas
c. Brought seven cabinet ministers with her on an official trip to consult with Chinese leaders
d. Suggested that Greece default on its debt and issue a new currency of its own
BONUS QUESTION) In a magazine article, what advice did Gina Rinehart, an Australian mining businesswoman estimated to be worth $30 billion, give to critics of the super-rich?
a. They "could be as rich as me, too," if they weren't "prison-bound whiners"
b. They should "spend less time drinking or smoking and socializing, and more time working"
c. If they "had fewer children and more dogs," they would be less distracted from money-making
d. They should stop complaining and learn to appreciate living in the shadow of "the great people"
Want more? Join us for each of our Week to Week news commentary programs at The Commonwealth Club. Our next program will be in Silicon Valley on October 4, 2012.
ANSWERS: 1) c. 2) d. 3) d. 4) b. 5) b. 6) c. 7) d. 8) a. 9) a. 10) c. BONUS) b.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE HINTS: For an economic failure, California sported three of the top-10 jobs-producing cities; O'Keefe would have gotten his feet wet if he flew to Tampa (the government actually prevented him from leaving, due to his probation status); "Mitt Romney doesn't care about black people" doesn't have the same ring to it; and Germany and China are the recession-defying (until now, at least) exporting champs.