It is summer, and school is out, so it's time for a little quiz to keep us sharp and well-practiced. The exercise will be multiple choice, so even the most knowledge-challenged can participate.

1. The top millionaires in the Senate are:

a) Democrats b) Republicans c) Party makes no difference

The top five richest members of the Senate are all Democrats.

2. The richest members of the Senate and House are most likely to be:

a) conservatives b) liberals c) libertarians

Surely these richest of the rich will prescribe capitalist values for the rest of us. No way! The Wall Street Journal reported that "When the latest congressional wealth figures came out �, we learned that no fewer than 40 U.S. senators are millionaires. But more intriguing is the fact that the richest among them are all liberals."

So, how did they get so rich? They got their money the old-fashioned way; they got a powerful political position and milked it for all it was worth, practiced old-fashioned capitalism, and/or they married a rich spouse. Of course, they are very much opposed to anyone else becoming rich.

3. Who gives the highest proportion of their income to charity?

a) rich liberals b) poor liberals c) members of fundamental Christian religions d) conservatives who belong to respectable religious "traditions"

The correct answer is c. But everyone knows they are just doing it for the tax breaks, and everyone also knows that no one on the planet believes in charity more than rich liberals as long as it is administered by very large bureaucratic agencies with someone else's money. One of the reasons some of them advocate taxing private charity is so bureaucrats would have more resources to do charity properly.

4. Whose father marched with the Reverend King for civil rights?

a) Gore's b) Obama's c) Clinton's d) Romney's

Of course, the correct answer is d.

5. Whose house is the most environmentally friendly (i.e., "green")?

a) Al Gore b) George W. Bush c) Nancy Pelosi d) Obama

I don't know for sure, but I'll bet on b.

6. A new Gallup poll has shown that the largest ideological group in America is:

a) liberals b) moderates c) conservatives

The correct answer is c. Those who characterized themselves as conservative or very conservative constituted 40 percent of all Americans, while only 21 percent said they were liberal or very liberal. Almost twice as many people (9 percent) say they are "very" conservative as say they are "very" liberal (5 percent).

7. Which party has the most scandals and convictions in the federal government?

a) Democrats b) Republicans c) Independents d) Depends upon who is in power

The correct answer is d.

8. Which party has the most scandals and convictions in the state and local governments?

a) Democrats b) Republicans c) Independents d) Depends upon who is in power

No contest � since 1990, Democrats have had about 54 incidences of crime or corruption among elected officials that led to convictions, while the Republicans have had about 21 convictions; a nice 2 to 1 ratio. Much of this can be attributed to Chicago (Obama's power base), Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In these areas, being a Democratic politician and a criminal seems to be almost synonymous.

9. The reason that states are broke, cutting programs, and proposing tax increases is because:

a) they increased spending twice as fast as inflation continually for the five years prior to 2008

b) people don't pay enough taxes

c) politicians are responsible stewards of the people's resources

d) no one knows

The correct answer is a. The states are broke because they committed themselves to a spending spree that could not be sustained. State welfare spending and the salaries of state workers increased twice as fast as inflation. The pain currently being felt by tax payers is not a cosmic accident, but is a result of corrupt or incompetent leadership.