Washington Squares

Each week until July 14, MoJo Wire lets you test your prowess with political trivia and win a <b><font color=red>FREE</font color></b> subscription to <i>Mother Jones</i> magazine. Every Tuesday we’ll have a new set of questions about a different politician, plus the answers and winners from the week before. Just make sure you play before 5 p.m. Pacific Time each Monday.

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This Week: James Traficant

James TraficantJames A. Traficant, Jr. may not be a household name, but his outrageous “one-minute” speeches on the House floor raise political eyebrows throughout the Beltway. Sporting polyester, double-blend bellbottoms with skinny ties, the Democratic Representative from Ohio delivers delectably provocative sound bites on issues ranging from NAFTA to Air Force Lt. Kelly Flynn’s discharge. Journalists flock to capture a juicy Traficant tidbit such as, “I say there should be some permanent brain surgery for these permanent politicians performed by some permanent proctologist; permanent this, China.”

Is Traficant simply an outspoken, old-fashioned stiff from the Rust Belt ruffling Capitol Hill’s well-oiled feathers? Or he is just another media-savvy smooth operator searching for extra C-Span coverage?

Decide for yourself below.

  1. What phrase does Representative Traficant frequently employ in his infamous ‘one-minutes’ at the House?

    “The truth is out there.”
    “Beam me up.”
    “Strike that from the record.”
    “Let’s take this outside.”
    “Believe that lie.”

  2. What is Representative Traficant’s motto?

    “Bangin’ away in D.C.”
    “Look under the hood. Take out the trash.”
    “Mediocre people deserve to be represented, too.”
    “I am a hatchet man.”
    “Create a giant sucking sound.”

  3. Traficant has made all the following statements. Which one did he direct to the Clinton administration?

    “I believe that Dr. Ruth is beginning to advise the president on the budget because this must be a massive sex experiment the way the taxpayers are being treated.”
    “Those are not roses near the White House. That must be marijuana because President X seems stoned.”
    “I think it’s time for Congress to tell the President to shove that $12 billion up his deficit.”
    “Something is wrong when men are willing to wear brassieres and pantyhose around here to get a job.”
    “We have a trade crisis ahead that will make the ’29 crash look like a fender bender, and for all those who keep making light of it in about 10 years, you try and eat your Toyota.”

  4. Traficant has appeared on all the following television programs, except:

    “Cop Talk”
    “Good Morning America”
    “America’s Most Wanted”
    “Unsolved Mysteries”
    “Hard Copy”

  5. Traficant has said all of the following are “exciting jobs,” except:

    zipper trimmer
    chicken sexer
    brasserie tender
    ball bearer
    sanitary napkin specialist

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We’re compiling the results from this quiz, please come back later

Ted Rueter is the author of several books on politics, including The Newt Gingrich Quiz Book and The Rush Limbaugh Quiz Book.

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

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