Jeff Stein tells us that the rising Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Silvestre Reyes, doesn’t know whether Al Qaeda and Hezbollah are predominantly made up of Shiite or Sunni Muslims. Well, the BCIS has decided to revamp the test required of applicants for citizenship. So I think we, the blogosphere, should put together our own new test–fifty questions a legislator should be able to answer correctly before he or she can vote on laws relating to those subjects. I’ve made a start below. Once we get a bunch I plan to put this into a document and send it to Pelosi and Reid. Hell–at the very least, maybe they can get their legislators to cram for the quiz so they don’t sound quite so embarrassing in interviews.

1. The terrorist group Al Qaeda is overwhelmingly made up of what kind of Muslims?

a. Shiite

b. Sunni

c. Kurds

d. Nation of Islam

2. The known nuclear proliferator, AQ Khan, comes from which country?

a. North Korea
b. Iran
c. Pakistan
d. Libya
e. Iraq

3. Which of the following countries is known to have nuclear weapons?

a. Israel
b. Iraq
c. Iran
d. Libya

4. Which of the following leaders was elected in an election deemed to be fair by outside observers?

a. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
b. King Abdullah of Jordan
c. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela
d. Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan

5. Which option correctly shows the US share of world population and its share of world oil use?

a. 5% of the world population, 25% of world oil use
b. 16% of the world population, 16% of world oil use
c. 25% of the world population, 25% of world oil use
d. 3% of the world population, 6% of world oil use

6. How much of Mexico’s GDP in 2005 came from remittances, money sent back to Mexico from migrant workers in other countries (primarily the United States)?

a. $21.8 million
b. $879.6 million
c. $1.7 billion
d. $21.8 billion

7. How many new jobs have been created by NAFTA?

a. 1,000,000
b. none — the US has effectively LOST 1,000,000 jobs due to NAFTA
c. none — the US has not lost or gained any jobs due to NAFTA
d. 56

8. What is the most common cause of personal bankruptcy?

a. Gambling debt
b. Medical expenses
c. Laziness
d. Unnecessary consumer expenditures

9. Which of the following is not a likely result of global warming?

a. Tsunamis in Asian countries
b. Heat waves killing thousands of people
c. Rising sea levels
d. Diminished agricultural productivity

10. How much has the average cost of a college education risen in the last five years?

a. 3%
b. 15%
c. 40%
d. 120%

11. Which state has the lowest divorce rate?

a. Georgia
b. Massachusetts
c. Missouri
d. Utah

12. Which country has the largest total number of people in prison?

a. China
b. India
c. Russia
d. United States

13. What is the poverty threshold for a family of four (with two children under 18) per the Census Bureau (2005)?

a. $19,806
b.  $21,424
c.  $24,498
d.  $25,255

14. Which country had no citizens among the nineteen 9-11 hijackers?

a. Egypt
b. Iraq
c. Saudi Arabia
d. Lebanon

15. Which of the following did the September 14, 2001, Authorization for the Use of Force resolution specifically provide for?

a. Domestic surveillance of telephone conversations
b. Extraordinary rendition of suspected terrorists
c. Suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
d. None of the above

16. How much has the S&P 500 index gone up since President Bush took office?

a. It has actually fallen
b. 2.5 percent
c. 25 percent
d. 125 percent

17. 84% of the Katrina-related destructive flooding of New Orleans was the result of:

a. Tropical storm
b. Category 1 hurricane storm surge
c. Eyewall of category 5 hurricane
d. Design failure of the Army Corps of Engineers levees

18. Between 1960 and 2004, Social Security helped cut the poverty rate among seniors by:

a. More than one half, from 25 percent to 10 percent
b. More than two-thirds, from 35 percent to 10 percent
c.More than one quarter, from 40 percent to 28 percent.
d. More than a tenth, from 50 percent to 43 percent.

19. How many eligible nonunion workers say they would join a union if they could?

a. 23 million/30 percent
b. 17 million/20 percent
c. 38 million / 39 percent
d. 57 million/59 percent

20. What percentage of shipping containers coming into US ports are physically opened and searched?

a. none
b. 2%
c. 10%
d. 22%

Provide your corrections and additions below.

Updated per corrections in this DKos thread.

Updated with more questions, 12/10 7:37 PM.

Updated played with question 14 so no one gives me the “Zarqawi in Kurdistan answer.”

Updated with still more questions 12/11 1:35–still working on the wording for the Katrina question.

Updated remittances question per Cujo’s correction.

Update by popular demand, answers (I will link to sources, hopefully by the end of Monday).

1 b — 2 c — 3 a — 4 c — 5 a — 6 d — 7 b — 8 b — 9 a — 10 c — 11 b — 12 d — 13 a — 14 b — 15 d — 16 b — 17 d — 18 b — 19 d — 20 b