Office Pool 2016

1) The Republican nominee for president in 2016 will be
a. Donald Trump by unanimous acclamation of the Republican National Convention.
b. Ted Cruz by unanimous acclamation of the convention.
c. Mitt Romney after a contested, bitter, brokered convention.
d. none of the above.
2) The Democratic nominee for president in 2016 will be
a. Hillary Clinton.
b. Bernie Sanders.
c. Al Gore after a contested, bitter, brokered Democratic National Convention.
d. not Hillary Clinton, because she will be indicted by a federal grand jury for various crimes.
3) The voters will elect in a landslide
a. whoever promises to give them the biggest piece of the federal pie.
b. whoever scares them the most.
c. whoever comes across as most faithful to the Constitution.
d. a sleeper candidate not yet on the scene.
4) The 2016 Republican platform will promise
a. to eradicate the Islamic State group by using ground troops and fighting an all-out war.
b. to replace Obamacare with a lighter, easier version of it.
c. to make abortion illegal, except for in cases of rape and incest.
d. to bring the troops home and let the Russians fight the Islamic State.
5) The 2016 Democratic platform will promise
a. a 2016 version of “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.”
b. free health care for those who want it.
c. criminalizing hate speech.
d. all of the above.
6) The Super Bowl will be won by
a. the Carolina Panthers.
b. the New England Patriots, but only by cheating.
c. the New York Jets after the greatest comeback in NFL history.
d. none of the above.
7) The World Series will be won by
a. the New York Mets.
b. the San Francisco Giants.
c. the Boston Red Sox, but only after they acquire A-Rod from the Yankees.
d. none of the above.
8) In 2016, climate change
a. will be embraced by the Republican Party in a dramatic turnabout.
b. will be defined as an article of faith by Pope Francis.
c. will be exposed as a fraud.
d. will leave the public marketplace of ideas.
9) The Supreme Court
a. will invalidate all spying without a warrant based on individualized suspicion.
b. will invalidate race as a factor to be taken into account by government-owned schools.
c. will continue to expand First Amendment rights.
d. will finally invalidate Obamacare.
10) Congress will
a. continue to finance the federal government by borrowing money.
b. will let President Barack Obama declare war.
c. will impeach President Obama for refusing to enforce federal law.
d. do none of the above.
11) Pope Francis will
a. permit divorced and remarried Roman Catholics to receive the Blessed Sacrament.
b. forgive everyone’s sins during the 2016 Year of Mercy.
c. remove the requirement for a miracle as a condition for declaring someone to be a saint.
d. resign and become a simple parish priest in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
12) The Hollywood industry will
a. offer movies directly to consumers.
b. suffer its most crippling actor strike in its history.
c. continue its leftward view of human existence.
d. leave California because of the drought.
13) The highest taxes in the United States will be in
a. New Jersey, where they are now.
b. New York City because Mayor Bill de Blasio will tax the rich at 50 percent of income.
c. in California.
d. none of the above.
14) One year from today
a. Hillary Clinton will be in prison.
b. Donald Trump will be selling pencils.
c. Chris Christie will have been in the Olympics.
d. the president-elect will be someone who did not participate in any 2015 presidential debates.
15) One year from today
a. the government will be able to take any property from you that it wants.
b. the Environmental Protection Agency will be able to regulate your use of a lawn mower and a rake.
c. the National Security Agency will still be able to capture your keystrokes on your computer in real time.
d. none of the above will be true.
16) In 2016, President Obama will announce
a. that he will become the president of the University of Chicago.
b. that he has lost his license to practice law.
c. that he and Michelle Obama will soon divorce.
d. that he was not born in the United States.
17) In 2016
a. Fox News Channel will surpass the broadcast networks in audience share.
b. Bill O’Reilly will run for public office and lose.
c. A-Rod will get sexual reassignment surgery.
d. Madonna will enter a convent.
18) By the end of 2016
a. the Islamic State will be dead and gone.
b. the Islamic State will have signed a peace treaty with the West.
c. Vladimir Putin will be out of office.
d. none of the above will have happened.
19) One year from today
a. gasoline will cost less than $1 a gallon.
b. a Big Mac will cost $10.
c. half the newspapers presently in the country will be out of business.
d. Apple will be producing an iPhone that it claims can contact dead relatives.
20) Ultimately
a. it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
b. that government is best which governs least.
c. taxation is theft.
d. all of the above are true.
My choices: 1d, 2d, 3b, 4a, 5b, 6c, 7d, 8b, 9a, 10a, 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a, 15d, 16c, 17a, 18d, 19c, 20d.