One of the oddest or perhaps funniest continuing plays in Iowa is how our Governor can only seem to add jobs gained but has brain freeze when it comes to the other side of the ledger – subtracting jobs lost. Sadly at that level it truly reflects badly on Iowa’s education system. Here is our own governor who claims Iowa has one of the best education systems in the country, but can’t seem to complete a simple mathematical equation.

We have done some tutoring in the past and we would be willing to help in this case. But I would insist we take his horn away first. Seems this man is always blowing his own horn and thus seldom listens to what anyone else says.

Were you paying attention last week?

1) She’s fabulous and she’s 50! What well known American woman was born just before the Beatles made their first trip to the US in 1964?

2) The NLRB last week charged what major retailer with violations of worker’s rights for repercussions against workers who took part in protests against the retailer?

3) Freedom Industries dumped chemicals in the Elk River last week, thus probably incurring many lawsuit and fines. So what action did they take this week?

4) An ongoing joke in Iowa is Gov. Branstad and his fictitious job creation numbers. He claims his administration has created how many versus the actual number of about how many?

5) An unexpected _________ sprung out of nowhere to cause huge traffic problems in Des Moines and central Iowa.

6) The execution of a death row inmate in Ohio was so botched that there were cries against “Inhumane punishment.” How long did it take the inmate to die?

7) What Senator surprised everyone by announcing his retirement from the senate at the end of 2014 with two years left on his term?

8) A judge in what state declared gay marriage to be constitutional under the equal rights amendment, then stayed his own decision pending appeal?

9) Police at a driving checkpoint in Mexico City was tipped that a driver was drunk by what?

10) $765 million may seem like a lot of money, but Judge Anita Brody said it was not enough for what group of plaintiffs in a previous lawsuit?

11) Retailer ____________ had a tough year. Thursday they announced they would be closing 33 stores and cutting 2,000 positions.

12) It is hard to keep a secret these days. While the Trans-Pacific-Partnership is being negotiated in secret, what group got a hold of some documents and released them to the media Wednesday morning?

13) At a theater in Florida a man is shot and killed by a retired policeman. The retired policeman will use what as his defense for the shooting?

14) The weather turns cold and in reaction the price of what spiked this week in Iowa?

15) As climate deniers once more scoff at climate change during a cold winter, athletes at what event are having trouble with their shoes melting in extreme heat?

One I could not make a question out of was the situation in France with the President and his (?)partner. His partner, considered to be France’s first lady has been hospitalized due to her response to the president, Francoise Hollande, dating(?) another woman. The current first lady attained her position by moving in on a previous partner. I couldn’t seem to find if Hollande and that partner were married, but they did have 4 children.

Ah! Vive la France!

Answers:

1) Michelle Obama!

2) Walmart. It seems they retaliated against protest leaders.

3) They declared bankruptcy no doubt to save their butts.

4) last numbers I saw – he claims to have created 133,000 jobs whereas labor counters say he has created 54,000

5) blizzard

6) about 25 minutes

7) Tom Coburn

8) Oklahoma

9) the driver’s parrot which repeated “he’s drunk, he’s drunk”

10) NFL head injury sufferers

11) J.C. Penney’s

12) Wikileaks

13) stand your ground. He claims the dead man would attack him. The man was unarmed.

14) LP gas shot up around 60 cents a gallon

15) The Australian Open Tennis tournament where highs have been close 110.