by Civics -- pass or fail?,posted May 2 2012 11:33AM
Great study out about what immigrants have to know for a test as part of their naturalization process (click here to see more about it). And some of the questions seem pretty simple.
Like:
What's the function of the judicial branch? (To interpret law.) 75% didn't know.
What is the Constitution? (The supreme law of the land.) 71% didn't know.
63% could not name one of their 2 U.S. Senators.
And over half didn't know how to define "amendment."
(You'll see more of this in the link above -- that's where I got it.)
We had Scott Parks (from Radioactive with Dana and Parks, 2-6pm on KMBZ) on the show this morning and threw some of these at him. And he passed with flying colors. He know how many amendments there were to the Constitution (27) AND he named 12 of the original 13 states. The one he missed: Massachusetts. Consider its most recent presidential candidates...and maybe that's why he's trying to avoid it.
How well would you do? Click here for some sample questions and answers.
it has been a busy news week with big stories across the board. basketball has been one of them, what with the ncaa tournament drawn on sunday and getting underway in earnest today. we've talked about it quite a bit on the show. check out our preview of thursday's action with bob fescoe of 610 sports radio.
the mass killing of afghans by an american soldier continues to make headlines around the world. john schmader is a retired army 2-star general. he talked about these events with us, analyzing what may have happened. still, it could be a very long time before we know.
and what would a week be without a new research study on why we are all getting so fat. but this time, we really are to blame. we're getting fatter because the world is getting hotter? check it out for yourself.
it's one of those weekends where you just can't lose...and i'm just talking downtown.
the big 12 tournament is on at sprint center with a really good chance that ku and mu will square off saturday night for the championship (note this was written before thursday's first game). there's all the hype that goes along with the tournament in the power and light district. the college basketball experience has extended hours to accommodate tournament-goers.
the big 12 women's tourney is in town through saturday too!
on the other side of downtown, the auto show runs through sunday (radioactive with dana and parks will broadcast live on friday from 2-6). you can still win tickets mornings and afternoons on kmbz.
the titanic exhibit is completing its first week at union station, radiohead is live in concert, the mavericks play out in independence, nixon in china (originally 40 years ago) plays at the kauffman center, and yes, pancakes for penguins at the zoo.
here's a list of just some of what's going on over the next few days.
we had one of the those great black and white topics this morning on kansas city's morning news -- y'know, a topic with no gray area:
if you're a guy and a male birth control pill were available, would you take it?
(the subject comes up because of some advancements being made by a researcher right here at ku med. we spoke with him on wednesday morning. if you missed it, you can hear all about the pill, right here.)
i guess i expected to get a big response to the question...but that response didn't go the way i thought it would. here are some of the texts we received:
"Hell yea ill be first in line" ("hell yea" turned out to be popular.)
"The male pill, if it works is a great idea...I just wonder if there will be a spike in STD's if the man feels safe and decides to not use a condom."
"Im a 42 yr old single guy, and I would consider taking it depending on cost and side effects" (the doc talked about side effects in the interview. see link above.)
"Hell yea I'd take it! No more women trying to pin a baby on men. Great idea"
in the end, there were few responses rejecting the idea (which i --incorrectly-- expected most guys to do):
"one word: vasectomy."
perhaps we're more willing to say we'd do it since we're still years away from having it available on the market. the day that the male birth control pill is available in pharmacies...be sure to tune in to kansas city's morning news. i bet the "hell yea!" crowd will switch to, "well, let's think about this for a second...."
normally when i sit down to write a blog post, i write about something behind the scenes on the show, or about a guest or a particular topic from the day. but once a year, i pack a whole bunch of blog posts into just a few days and the subject has nothing to do with radio.
two years ago next week, i went to nicaragua for the first time. it was my first mission trip. it was a dual-purpose trip: to see patients in medical and dental clinics and to do construction work. (so what in the world made me think i could be useful at all?) and along with working on both construction and in the clinics, i took on the job of writing blog posts.
they liked them enough that they had me do them last year too. and for some reason, they asked again this year. (perhaps it was because my wife -- who i first met on the trip two years ago -- is one of the leaders and figures, "he's gonna do what i tell him anyway...but i'll be nice and make it sound like i'm asking.)
a group of 20 of us returned from jinocuao, nicaragua on sunday and if you like, click here and check out some of the pictures from the trip and my descriptions of our work. and thanks for stopping by!
