If a National Park Service report puts the value of a piece of property (including mineral rights) at $5 million to $20 million, how much should the United States Government pay its owners to incorporate it into a national park?

a) $500,000
b) $1,000,000
c) $5,000,000
d) $20,000,000
e) $35,000,000
f) $120,000,000

In the 2000 national election in the United States, how many voters showed up at the polling station only to be turned away and refused the right to vote?

a) 850 thousand
b) 1 million
c) 3 million
d) 6 million
e) 10 million

Answer: (f) $120,000,000

Apparently if the owners of a property have donated $50,000 to the Florida Republican Party in the year that a PresidentÕs brother is running for re-election as governor, than the worth of the property is increased by $100 million dollars. According to a report by Richard A. Oppel, Jr. in the October 18, 2002 New York Times "the Bush administration agreed in May to pay the Collier family $120 million for oil and gas drilling rights on land in the Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida. State records show the family has donated more than $50,000 to the Florida Republican Party this year" (http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/18/politics/campaigns/18JEB.html). I guess that it is nice to see George W. Bush finally discovering the value of protecting the environment regardless of its cost to the American taxpayer. In fact, Mr. Bush has so strongly embraced the environmental cause that his administration is advocating this purchase of the Collier property despite the fact that the National Park Service report stated that the oil and gas reserves under the surface of this property were not yet "determined to be economically recoverable" (http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/18/politics/campaigns/18JEB.html). I guess that the President and his staff just don't want to take any chances that exploration for oil might endanger the environment. Now if only they would bring the same kind of thinking to oil exploration in Alaska. Perhaps there is someone in Alaska willing to donate $50,000 to the Florida Republican Party in time for November's gubernatorial election.

The smiling 15 year-old girl is Christina Santhouse who, according to an October 7, 2001 Associated Press report by Michael Rubinkam, had half of her brain removed in 1996 in an operation to control seizures caused by Rasmussen's encephalitis, an autoimmune disorder that eats away the brain. In order to control the seizures and eliminate the possibility of even more severe damage, Santhouse underwent a hemispherectomy. A month and a half after surgery Santhouse was back in school. Now a ninth grader in Bristol, Pennsylvania, Santhouse carries a 97.4 GPA (http://www.rosiemagazine.com/kids/0208_amazingcase.html) and, according to Rubinkam, "is a typical teen-ager. Her intellect and memory are fine. She hates algebra, loves 'N Sync" (http://www.detnews.com/2001/health/0110/10/a04-312491.htm). While one might suggest that hating algebra and loving 'N Sync are not exactly indicators of a fine intellect, there certainly is no question that they are indicators of being a typical American teen-ager and, therefore, proving Cusick's point about the mental requirements of American high schools.

According to a report by Pam Fessler on National Public Radio's Morning Edition (October 17, 2002) around 6 million Americans tried to vote but were turned away due to a range of problems such as faulty machinery, bad registration lists, poorly designed ballots, and other problems. However, given that Democratic candidate, Al Gore, received 537,947 votes more than Republican candidate, George W. Bush (Gore: 50,996,116 to Bush: 50,456,169), what would another 6 million votes have meant anyway?