Monday, November 24, 2008

This Is A Test.....This Is Only A Test.....

Ok, now that the election is over, I swear I'm seeing more Obama bumperstickers than I saw before election day.

Am I alone in noticing this?




Anyway, everyone that I know went to the polls and voted.
The question is, did you have any business voting? William in the Tarrant County Libertarian Meetup sent out a link to a Basic Civics Test to the TCLM members, and everyone who did well is spamming the hell out of everyone else's inbox with their high test scores.


Full Disclosure: I made an 84. I should have made an 89. I know the answer to question number two better than I know my child's birthday. I could correctly answer question number two during the biggest drop on The Texas Giant rollercoaster at 6 Flags. I could give you the correct answer to question number two during childbirth, as long as it was a woman birthing the child and not me. And I missed question #2. I just wasn't thinking.


I agree with my friend and former co-worker Tim Lebsack that there's some Big Government bias on question 30. (And who really gives a crap about Sputnik? We don't need no stinkin' Commie Sputnik ! Neil Armstrong was the one who brought dirt back.)


Take the test by hitting the link above, and get back to me.


According to the people who administer the test, the average college freshman scores a 52. After four years of college, the average senior scores a 54.


71 percent of Americans fail the test, with an overall average score of 49%.
Liberals score 49%;
Conservatives score 48%.
Republicans score 52%
Democrats score 45%.
(So far, the average Tarrant County Libertarian score is an 89%, but I'm only hearing from those who are proud of their achievement.)

Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America’s constitutional system.

Only 24% of college graduates know the First Amendment prohibits establishing an official religion for the United States.

Government officeholders typically have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average, they score 44% - that's five percentage points lower than non-officeholders.


Lord have mercy.


At the risk of sounding like an interventionist.... if you scored below 70%, may I suggest a remedy?



"Parliament Of Whores", by P.J. O'Rourke. O'Rourke worked his way through the ranks at Rolling Stone, Car & Driver, American Spectator, and several other periodicals. This book is his attempt to explain how the government works. And it's hilarious. I can't recommend it highly enough.
And I'm still waiting on someone with the Tarrant County Libertarians to admit that he/she made less than a 70.

13 comments:

TarrantLibertyGuy said...

Hey - hate to toot my own horn but ... ahem * 93! Toot! Toot! Almost 50 points higher than the average elected official.

Perhaps we should set up a tutoring service for the average democrat...

Question 30 is INSANE! Had the real answer been used I would've scored 97. Toot!

TarrantLibertyGuy said...

If this shows up twice - my bad.

So, I hate to toot my own horn, but I made a 93. Toot Toot!

Maybe the Tarrant Libertarian Party should do some tutoring to the Dems and GOPers. Once they learn the US Constitution and a little history... they may come over to the LP in droves!

TarrantLibertyGuy said...

I shamefully scraped 88.2% of my Barr '08 bummer sticker off my bumper 12 hours after election night. I left on my "Texas Libertarian" bumper sticker.

The only reason I have 11.8% left is that it's not very high quality and tore into bits. The remainder has somehow melded itself into my paint. Nice going BARR!

Anonymous said...

I got a 74. Oh the shame! That's like a C in college!

Lisa said...

I didn't do too bad, 87.88%

Anonymous said...

73%

And I'm British.

Browncoat Libertarian said...

79% here. Pretty pathetic.

Gar said...

I did so poorly I'm not posting my score to be easily retrieved. You have to search for it. Sorry.

Spreading the Ignorance

Anonymous said...

I missed one, and I still think the official answer is debatable. And no, you're not alone - I've also noticed a lot more Obama stickers post-election than pre-election.

Anonymous said...

91%

And I am Australian, not American, and I have never had a civics lesson in my life.

The Whited Sepulchre said...

Chris at Counting Cats,

Congratulations on doing well on our Civics test. But before you get too big-headed, please remember that you don't have the disadvantages of an American education....

Good to hear from you !

Unknown said...

96.97 % 32 out of 33 (fail on the last one) Woot!
And, like NickM, I'm a Brit; OTOH did some US history at college, so I'd have no excuses for a low score.

Dr Ralph said...

93.94%: Liberal Democrat.

I missed two, and I kick myself for one of them.