After avoiding the end of the world as we know it, take a break from stocking up on gold and canned goods to take our Week to Week news quiz.
Answers are at the bottom of the quiz.
1. How much did economists at Standard & Poor's estimate the government shutdown cost?
a. Net zero
b. $2 billion
c. Saved $13 billion
d. $24 billion
2. Following the reopening of the government, what did President Obama say about the GOP's attempts to force legislative change via its shutdown and debt ceiling strategy?
a. "I will meet with them on Tuesday to begin implementing their demands."
b. "I like playing whack-a-mole with these wackobirds."
c. "Was their temper tantrum worth it?"
d. "You don't like a president? Go out and win an election."
3. What country's leaders called for a "de-Americanized" world as a result of the debt ceiling threat?
a. Germany
b. France
c. China
d. Saudi Arabia
4. What did Fitch Ratings, one of the three big credit rating agencies, do on Tuesday?
a. It issued a "green light" on purchases of U.S. Treasuries
b. It put the U.S. government's credit rating on "rating watch negative"
c. It upgraded the U.S. credit rating to AA+
d. It suggested people buy gold and hoard canned food
5. Liberal stalwart U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel compared tea party House members to what?
a. Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine
b. Voldemort
c. Civil War Confederates
d. Boston Red Sox
6. On Tuesday, House Republican leaders floated what idea to force their plan through?
a. Pass the conservative bill in the House, then leave the city so the Senate would have to pass it or face default
b. Attach it to a bill to fund medicine for war orphans
c. Wait until 11 minutes before midnight on Thursday and then pass a bill unilaterally using their War Powers Act authority
d. Invoke the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to require the president to heed their wishes
7. According to a poll of members of a union representing 150,000 federal workers, how were they coping with the government shutdown?
a. 72% say they have fallen further into debt
b. 55% say they are relying completely on the power of prayer and positive thinking
c. Nearly 30% are delaying medical treatment to save money
d. 80% of them are raising money for candidates who oppose tea party Congress members
8. Which of the following is not true?
a. Germany repeatedly defaulted on its World War I reparations payments, which were only completely paid off in 2010
b. Russia stopped debt payments to its international creditors in 1998
c. Argentina defaulted on $132 billion in debt in 2001
d. East Tajikistan defaulted on $400 billion in debt left to it by the collapsing Soviet Union in 1990
9. In the wake of their loss in the budget standoff, what did several conservative Congress members blame for the shutdown?
a. Liberal media coverage
b. Sharia law
c. Satan
d. Hugh Hefner
10. What does Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who rallied conservatives behind the shutdown strategy, say about the future?
a. He will never put the full faith and credit of the United States at risk again
b. He doesn't rule out efforts to force another government shutdown
c. His presidency will start with the official repeal of ObamaCare
d. He knows 11 people who have died as a result of Obamacare
BONUS. Why was the U.S. House stenographer pulled from the legislative chamber on Wednesday during the vote on the shutdown bill?
a. She had impersonated a member of Congress to get into the chamber
b. She was inserting emoticons in her write-ups of congressional debates
c. She walked to the rostrum shouting several things, including "The greatest deception here is this is not one nation under god! It never was. Had it been, it would not have been! The Constitution would not have been written by Freemasons!"
d. She was wearing a Bart Simpson t-shirt
The news and quizzes don't stop there! Join us Friday, November 8 in San Francisco for our next live Week to Week political roundtable with a news quiz and a social hour at The Commonwealth Club. Panelists include Larry Gerston, Carla Marinucci, and Debra J. Saunders.
ANSWERS: 1) d. 2) d. 3) c. 4) b. 5) c. 6) a. 7) a. 8) d. 9) a. 10) b. BONUS) c.