Good news! According to a recent report by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), most Americans reject the idea the United States is a theocracy. Only about one-third (35%) say that the U.S. is a Christian nation today

Bad news! About one-third (35%) of Americans think the U.S. is a Christian nation today!

A closer look at the numbers reveals some more startling news. Nearly 45% of the public believes that the U.S. once was a Christian nation but is not any more. Among Americans who believe the country is no longer a Christian nation, almost (61%) wish it still were.

“This just proves my point,” noted famed ‘war-against-Christians’ conspiracy theorist, Bill O’Reilly. “This myth of separation of church and state, a modern invention created by communists/liberals/atheists and shoved down the throats of a Christian America, is taking hold.”

“For Christ’s sake,” fumed O’Reilly, “what about our Pledge of Allegiance? It’s ‘One Nation Under God,’ not ‘One Nation Under Karl Marx!’ And what about ‘In God We Trust’ on our currency’?”

Papa Bear O’Reilly should have taken the time to study-up on his American history

The Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1892, did not originally contain the phrase “under god.” The phrase was added in 1954, at the height of the Cold War. It was another way for Americans to separate themselves from the atheistic Soviet Union.

“In God We Trust” is nowhere mentioned in the Constitution. The words did not appear on our currency until 1864 and didn’t become our nation’s motto until 1956 (once again Cold War inspired.)

Mr. O’Really, now let’s get real. Any honest reading of American history does not suggest a Christian nation forcefully secularized by the liberal left in recent years, but quite the opposite.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: …” – U.S. Constitution

Polling news for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been encouraging. Some national polls show Trump in a solid second place position behind Jeb Bush. But, businesswise, it has been a tough stretch for Mr. Trump. First NBC gave his reality show, “The Apprentice” the ax; then Univision dumped Trump’s “Miss USA”; then Macy’s stripped Trump’s clothing line from its shelves.

But things may soon be looking up for Trump. Comedy Central has just announced that, “in the event Donald Trump does not become our next president,” he will be the host of a new reality series, “I Really Did Run For President.” A Comedy Central spokesman, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that production for the new series is already underway. “We believe it’s a good bet. “The Donald’s” chances of being our next Commander in Chief are as good as that thing on his head being real.”

The new show’s format will feature Mr. Trump interviewing other failed presidential candidates. Each will be asked the same question, ”What on god’s good earth made you think you were presidential material?” First on the guest list will be “The Hermanator” himself, Herman Cain. The plan, as it stands, is to follow Mr. Cain with Michelle Bachmann.

As there are currently more than one dozen declared Republican presidential candidates, the show will have many colorful candidates to invite to the show. The producers believe they will have enough guests for at least two full seasons.

The list of misguided 2016 presidential wannabes will most likely include: Carly Fiorina, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Lindsay Graham, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio and Rick Santorum.

If the producers decide to go back a few years, they may have enough guests to go beyond two seasons. Who wouldn’t want to hear the following former presidential candidates answer Trump’s question: Roseanne Barr, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Tom Tancredo, Dennis Kucinich, Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan?

Just like many Americans like to talk about the Bible, even though they have little familiarity with the book, Americans love to talk about the U.S. Constitution when they have very little knowledge of its actual contents. It’s a sad fact but one in three Americans would fail the citizenship test given to immigrants wanting to become American citizens, who, by the way, pass at a 97.5 clip.

Below I am re-posting an article from the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. At the end of the article is a link to a test containing actual questions asked on the citizenship test. Do you have the nerve to take it? Are you smarter than an immigrant?

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Americans failing Citizenship test again

A new study by the Center for the Study of the American Dream at Xavier University confirms what we already know: Americans perform poorly on the U.S. Citizenship test. The new findings reveal some pretty alarming statistics:

• One in three native-born citizens fail the civics portion of the naturalization test, in stark contrast to the 97.5% pass rate among immigrants applying for citizenship. (To pass, one must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly.)
• If the pass rate were 7 out of 10, one half of all native-born citizens would fail.
• While native-born citizens do well on basic questions related to history and geography, the results reveal a low level of knowledge concerning the principles and features of American government that underlie our civic life.
  • 85% did not know the meaning of the “the rule of law.”
  • 82% could not name “two rights stated in the Declaration of Independence.”
  • 75% were not able to correctly answer “What does the judiciary branch do?”
  • 71% were unable to identify the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land.”
  • 68% did not know how many justices are on the Supreme Court.
  • 63% could not name one of their two US Senators.

As the Center explains, “the survey found that native-born citizens do best with elementary school level questions such as: ‘What is the name of the President of the United States?’, ‘What is the capital of the United States?’, ‘Where is the Statue of Liberty?’, ‘Who was the first President?’, ‘When do we celebrate Independence Day?’, and ‘What are the two major political parties in the United States?’. However, the highest incorrect scores consistently concern the US Constitution, and the governmental, legal and political structure of the American republic and basic facts related to current political life and identification of key political decision-makers.”

These findings are hardly surprising when, according to our 2010 report High Schools, Civics, and Citizenship: What Social Studies Teachers Think and Do, fewer than two thirds of social studies teachers believe it is “absolutely essential” for students to understand the principles of American government, such as federalism and the separation of powers, or to be knowledgeable about key periods of American history, like the American Revolution and the Civil War.

Think you can pass the citizenship test? Take it here.

Copyright © American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 2015.

In a related story,

Idaho Highschoolers Must Pass US Citizenship Test To Graduate

In 1911, two French psychologists, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, created the first modern intelligence test that measured intelligence quotient, “IQ.” The test classified individuals on a scale of intelligence from “moron” to “genius.”

Today, The American Psychiatric Association has developed a simpler test to determine whether one can be classified a “moron.” It is an easy 10 question, true or false, test.

OK, you know you’re not a genius. But could you be a moron? Just answer true or false on the following questions

1. You believe Fox News is really a news channel.
2. You believe the earth is only about 6,000 years old
3. You believe all politicians, mostly Republicans and Democrats, are all the same.
4. You believe the Confederate battle flag is just a benign symbol of southern heritage.
5. You believe Barack Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya.
6. You believe Jesus rode dinosaurs.
7. You believe Sarah Palin has an IQ greater than 75.
8. You believe the Iraq war was about weapons of mass destruction.
9. You believe the way to end gun violence is to arm every man, woman and child… and indoor pet.
10. You believe the theory of evolution is a liberal conspiracy.

If you answered “yes” to 8 questions, you are a true, bona fide “imbecile.” If you answered “yes” to 9 of the 10, your classification is one of “idiot.” If you answered “yes” to all 10 questions, congratulations, you are a pure “moron.”

The APA has proposed a simple, two-step solution to improving on such low levels of intelligence. Step one, remove your head from up your ass and smell the roses, not your own feces. Step two, turn off Fox News.

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe – Albert Einstein

Last night on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes,” Chris interviewed a woman who would rather quit her job as county clerk than issue marriage licenses to gays. Mississippi circuit clerk, Linda Barnette, said she is quitting her job of twenty-four years because she disagrees with the Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same sex marriage. She is strongly against the “gay lifestyle” and believes in the Bible’s teaching that marriage is “only between one man and one woman.”

She, like many other evangelical Christians, is of course wrong on that point, but at least she is doing the honorable thing. The previous night Chris interviewed a county clerk from Kentucky who proudly declared he would rather go to jail than issue marriage licenses to gays. Chris, of course, asked him why he wouldn’t just quit. There was not coherent answer forthcoming, however.

Does the Bible really talk about marriage as the union of only one man and one woman? Not really.

A trio of Iowa-based religious scholars recently penned an op-ed in a local paper, reminding readers that despite popular opinion, the Bible does not simply define marriage as between one man and one woman.

“The debate about marriage equality often centers, however discretely, on an appeal to the Bible,” the authors wrote. “Unfortunately, such appeals often reflect a lack of biblical literacy on the part of those who use that complex collection of texts as an authority to enact modern social policy.”

The Bible’s definition of marriage can be confusing and contradictory, noted the scholars. A primary example of this is the religious book’s stance on polygamy, a practice that was embraced by prominent biblical figures Abraham and David.

The scholars concluded that those who argue the Bible speaks plainly on any issue, especially something as complicated as marriage … haven’t taken the time to read all of it.

As Juan Cole pointed out in his excellent essay, “as for getting married biblically, you can do that in all kinds of imaginative ways– take two wives and someone else’s sex slave as Abraham did, or 300 sex slaves as Solomon did (not to mention the 700 wives), or your brother’s widow in addition to your own wife.”

If one reads the Bible selectively, one can pretty much justify anything. Boy are politicians good at that!

Only one day after announcing his run for the presidency, Chris Christie’s campaign slogan, “Telling It Like It Is,” has come under fire. “Yeah,” said one New Jerseyan, “ he tells it like it is until he doesn’t!” Many potential voters were still abuzz over the scathing Newark Star Ledger article written by Tom Moran, calling Christie a habitual liar. A slogan like “Telling It Like It Is” only highlights Christie’s “untruthiness.” It didn’t have to be this way. There were many other slogans Christie could have gone with that didn’t remind voters of his honesty, or lack thereof.

Here are some of the rejected campaign slogans:

Building a bridge to a brighter future!

Christie … No Lightweight!

My Way or no Highway

Don’t Mess With The Mass!

Let’s Get Rollin’

America Is Hungry For Christie!

Let’s Bridge The Gap!

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Christie For President … The Wait Is Over!

Chris … Your All-Round Nice Guy

Not Running To Lose!

Christie … He Measures up!

“We had a plethora of good slogans,” said a Christie campaign spokesman, “but ‘Telling It Like It Is’ we thought best fit Chris’ pugnacious style … that’s his brand, his calling card.” Rumor has it that, upon hearing of Christie’s slogan, Donald Trump berated his staff for not thinking of it first.