Questions

1. Who sanctioned Columbus' voyage?
a) King Ferdinand of Spain
b) Hernando de Soto
c) King John II of Portugal
d) Lorenzo de' Medici of Italy

2. In his letter to the King's treasurer, Columbus explains that he gave the natives "many beautiful and pleasing things that I had brought with me, no value being taken in exchange," and that he did so for all but which one of the following reasons?
a) that they might find and give Columbus things he and his men needed
b) to trick them into showing them where they kept their gold
c) to more easily make them friendly to him
d) that they might be made worshipers of Christ

3. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers released this week concluded that the health care reform bill being voted on in Senate committee would
a) cause health insurance costs to increase $70 per family in four years
b) keep health insurance costs about the same over the next ten years
c) cause health insurance costs to increase $1,700 per family in four years
d) reduce the amount the average family has to pay for health insurance

4. The White House dismissed the PricewaterhouseCoopers report as not being credible. A White House spokesman said that the health care reform bill they support will not raise costs, but do all but which one of the following?
a) provide affordable health insurance options
b) lower costs for those that have insurance
c) put control of your medical care into the hands of a government bureaucrat
d) expand coverage

5. The sheriff of Maricopa County, _____________ announced this week that he would continue street sweeps to pick up illegal immigrants even after his agreement with the federal government runs out.
a) Florida
b) Louisiana
c) Tennessee
d) Arizona

6. If Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] refuses to take the illegal immigrants Sheriff Arpaio detains, and instead tells him to let them go, he said he will:
a) let them go
b) transport them himself to the border with Mexico and turn them over to Border Patrol
c) put them in the local jail
d) apply for funding to get them housing and job training

7. There will be no cost of living increase in Social Security payments next year because
a) By law, payment increases are linked to inflation, which has been negative this year
b) Social Security payments increased by 5.8 percent in 2009, the largest increase since 1982
c) Social Security pays out more money than it takes in in taxes
d) none of the above

8. President Obama's plan to finance the payout to seniors totaling $13 billion is:
a) to raise taxes on anyone making more than $200,000 a year
b) to take the money from Social Security
c)  he has not said yet how he will pay for the checks to seniors
d) to borrow the money from Saudi Arabia

9. Owners of 500 unused cargo ships have tied up their empty vessels 20 miles off the coast of
a) Malaysia
b) Indonesia
c) Philippines
d) Maldives

10. The commercial ship owners have chosen this location because:
a) it's close to China
b) it's in a convenient location
c) they didn't know where else to leave the ships
d) it's cheap and is off the beaten path for pirates