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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the psychiatric professor that O'Rourke talked to about the crack cocaine problem?

2. O'Rourke says the hysteria over drugs in the middle class could be the product of what?

3. How many poor people does O'Rourke say live in the U.S.?

4. What is the name of the Michael Harrington book which says America had a hidden poverty?

5. What drug does O'Rourke says makes a person think they can fly?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does O'Rourke believe that a lot of money should be spent on the American military?

2. How does O'Rourke feel about the housing project he visits in Newark?

3. How does O'Rourke feel about the war in Afghanistan?

4. How does O'Rourke feel about American poverty at the beginning of "Poverty Policy: How to Endow Privation"?

5. How does O'Rourke describe the USS Mobile Bay?

6. What does O'Rourke see when he spends an evening with the Washington DC police department?

7. How does O'Rourke feel about Panama when he goes there in the wake of Operation Just Cause?

8. How does O'Rourke feel about the government's treatment of the nation's problem with drugs?

9. Why does O'Rourke feels that Blatherboro is out of its depth when it comes to city planning?

10. Explain how the government wastes billions of dollars on farm subsidies, according to O'Rourke.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore O'Rourke's story concerning runaway car syndrome and the hype around it. What does runaway car syndrome have to do with bureaucracy? How do instances like runaway car syndrome seem to fuel increased bureaucracy? How does O'Rourke seem to feel about increased bureaucracy in the U.S. government? What techniques does the author use to convey these feelings?

Essay Topic 2

The purpose of O'Rouke's book is to criticize the U.S. government and explain the problems he sees with it. Based on the ideas he shares in the book, what would O'Rourke's ideal government look like? How would it be run? How would citizens be treated? Use examples from the text to support your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Explore O'Rourke's idea of the "whiffle life." How does it apply to people with different economic statuses? How do the rich fair in the whiffle life? How do the poor fair? What point is O'Rourke making about the country in general when he speaks about the "whiffle life"?

(see the answer keys)

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