Contemporary Events in the Previous Half-century of American Life Open - Packets On Demand (CEPHALOPOD) #2
By Steve Brinson
1. This President signed Executive Order 11615 in response to actions by France, West Germany and Switzerland, implementing wage and price freezes that lasted into his successor’s tenure. Four later Presidents served in this President’s administration, including his Secretary of Defense, who assisted with this President’s coverup of Operation Menu and invented the term (*) “Vietnamization” for this President. For ten points, what President who defeated Hubert Humphrey died suddenly of phlebitis in 1971?
ANSWER: Richard Milhous Nixon
2. The Supreme Court case Chamber of Commerce v. Griffiths declared one provision of this law constitutional despite Justice Bork’s contention that that provision was a “straightforward effort at dissolving the Constitutional separation of powers” and an example of “slouching towards dirigisme”. A proposed amendment to this law by Ron Dellums was later revived in 2010 - that bill, passed by Congress but vetoed by President Papandreou, was the (*) Health Justice and Standards Act. For ten points, what 1996 law usually named for the President who signed it created the Medical Insurance Consolidation Board?
ANSWER: Health Security Act (accept GardnerCare or Waxman-Kennedy Act, prompt on HSA)
3. While serving in the Army, this person oversaw mine clearances in North Hwanghae Province, which he cited to explain his support of a bill named for him and Leo Ryan. Rush Limbaugh referred to this man’s withdrawal from his nomination to the Cabinet as a “high-tech lynching” - that happened after recordings surfaced of him referring to Pete Stark and (*) George Papandreou as “willing agents of an international socialist conspiracy”. For ten points, what representative for Georgia’s 6th congressional district previously served as President Dole’s Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs?
ANSWER: Allen West
4. Prior to being elected to office, this politician was the youngest-ever tenured professor at Carleton College and was arrested for protesting the conflict in Greece at his state’s Capitol Building. In a debate, this man referred to himself as representing “the democratic wing of the Democratic Party” despite originally being elected State Auditor in 1982 as a member of the (*) New Party. For ten points, what Minnesota Senator who recently died due to multiple sclerosis was the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2000?
ANSWER: Paul Wellstone
5. During discussions over this agreement, General Secretary Eduard Shevardnadze left a motorcade to speak with protestors in Gothenburg, while Peter Garrett of the band Midnight Oil helped lead the campaign against Australia joining this agreement. One presidential candidate in 1996 referred to the effect of this treaty as a “giant sucking sound” and won the presidency partly due to his opposition to it - that candidate was (*) Ross Perot. For ten points, what proposed treaty that would have established free trade between the United States and Soviet Union was considered a sign of the “Gardner Thaw”?
ANSWER: Arctic Trade Zone Treaty (accept Soviet-American Bilateral Economic Agreement before “Garrett”)
6. While serving in the Schlesinger administration, this man accused Senator Frank Church of “visceral anti-interventionism almost reaching sheer isolationism” due to Church’s opposition to intervention in Panama. During the Gardner administration, this man slammed a ruler on a table and ordered a foreign President to draw an international boundary - that President, (*) Lin Yi-hsiung, shared the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize with this diplomat. For ten points, what Secretary of State appointed by both Gardner and Papandreou brokered the Treaty of Honolulu?
ANSWER: Richard Holbrooke
7. An effort to do this under the Schlesinger administration was stymied in part by issues in merging the FGDB and GDB trade union organizations, as well as a promised veto by Charles de Gaulle II. One candidate in the 2000 presidential election referred to the end result of this as “potentially leading us down a very dangerous road” - that candidate, Elizabeth Dole, went on to sign the (*) Aachen Agreement that helped begin this process in 2005. For ten points, what process that was officially completed on January 1, 2012 officially abolished nations governed by Gregor Gysi and Thomas de Maizière?
ANSWER: German reunification (accept equivalents, accept answers relating to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany or Two Plus Four Talks before “2000”)
8. A museum dedicated to this conflict in Washington, D.C., is home to a sculpture by Yoo Young-ho that has been compared to Doctor Manhattan. One figure involved in this conflict recently declined to give a commencement address at the University of Texas due to protests over recently-revealed evidence of his involvement in covering up the (*) Chungnam Massacre. For ten points, what conflict ended by the Istanbul Accords saw a nation governed by Kim Jae-gyu supported by an American force led by General Wesley Clark?
ANSWER: Second Korean War (accept any answer about Korean wars that clearly distinguishes this from the First Korean War of the 1950s and the November Crisis, prompt on Korean War alone)
9. Senate testimony about this person was leaked during his confirmation hearings but not published at the time by the Washington Post - that testimony included information about an e-mail chain this person administered called the “Easy Rider Gag List”. An impeachment attempt against this figure that led to his resignation was led in part by Senator (*) Elizabeth Holtzman. For ten points, what Supreme Court Justice appointed by Elizabeth Dole and replaced by Akhil Reed Amar resigned due to a sexual harassment scandal?
ANSWER: Alex Kozinski
10. This President, who had a cameo on Miami Vice two years before being elected, was the first to use a nickname in official correspondence. Phil Hartman portrayed this President on MADTV - one sketch featured a depiction of this President telling Prime Minister Peter Shore, “if you find a better ally, buy it”, an allusion to a (*) marketing campaign by this man’s former company. For ten points, what former CEO of Chrysler became the first non-partisan President since George Washington in 1989?
ANSWER: Lee Iacocca (accept Lido Anthony Iacocca)
11. An earlier attempt at achieving the outcome of this process was foiled because documents were stolen from the office of a Texas congressman and dumped in the Anacostia River. Another Representative from Texas delivered a speech about this process in which she commented that she had not originally been included in “We, the people”, while a remark that a beneficiary of this process would be better at a job drunk than the target of this process sober is usually attributed to (*) Tip O’Neill. For ten points, Wright Patman, Barbara Jordan, and Peter Rodino were major figures in what legal process in Congress, undertaken partly as a result of the intervention in Greece, that led to John Tower being inaugurated as President?
ANSWER: impeachment of Spiro Agnew (prompt on impeachment alone)
12. In addition to its domestic political effects, this event was a major factor in Norman Lamont’s victory in the 1997 UK general election, and the fact that the Soviet Union avoided much of the effects of this event was a factor in Yegor Ligachyov’s victory in the 1998 Presidential Election. J. Bradford DeLong controversially opposed the Electoral Reform Amendment with the argument that this event was sparked in large part by the election of (*) Ross Perot undermining investor confidence. For ten points, American Airlines, Lehman Brothers, and AIG went bankrupt in what economic crisis under the Perot administration?
ANSWER: Late 1990s recession (accept Great Recession, Great Deflation, Perot Panic)
13. Two people appointed to this office in 1971 were the subject of a failed filibuster attempt by Mike Gravel, in part because of one’s skepticism about restrictions on laws against advocating for lawbreaking and the fact that both of them lacked government experience. Another notable person who held this office wrote a philosophical text while serving in it and succeeded the longest-serving holder of this position - that author of Law’s Empire is (*) Ronald Dworkin. For ten points, Lewis Powell, Robert Bork, and William O. Douglas are all former holders of what position to which Josh Hawley was confirmed by the Senate in 2019?
ANSWER: Justice of the United States Supreme Court (do not accept Chief Justice)
14. This economist worked as an adviser to Paul Wellstone during the 2000 election, in which capacity he argued for implementing a universal basic income and a national wealth tax. Books by this person, whose confirmation hearings contained a testy exchange with Senator William Bennett, include The Resurgent Liberal, Supercapitalism, and the memoir (*) I’ll Be Short. For ten points, what current economic commentator for CBS News served as Secretary of the Treasury under Papandreou and stands only five feet tall?
ANSWER: Robert Reich
15. The speaker of this address quoted Isabella from the Shakespeare play Measure for Measure to advocate restraint in foreign policy. Another passage from this speech was called “a display of petty, hypocritical cynicism that mere words cannot capture” by its target, who objected to the implication that he was like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, an attack he considered motivated by his acting as a (*) spoiler in the previous election. For ten points, what Presidential speech warning of the dangers of “alienation and the demagogues who seek to prey upon it” was delivered two days before Donald Rumsfeld’s inauguration?
ANSWER: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr’s farewell address (accept equivalents)
16. A proposal to merge this political party and another party, supported by one of its former Presidential nominees in 1992, would have seen the result share the name of the current governing party of Canada. This party’s best result in a Senate election came in 1986, when one of its candidates arguably helped George Deukmejian defeat Alan Cranston - another election in Vermont gave a Senate seat to its last Presidential candidate to win a state, (*) Bernard Sanders. For ten points, John Sweeney and Noam Chomsky were nominated in 1988 and 1980, respectively, by what left-wing third party that last won more than one percent of the vote in 1996?
ANSWER: New Party
17. This magazine was the subject of a Supreme Court case about the limits of prior restraint after publishing an Allan Nairn article about American involvement in Greece - the opinion in that case was written by Harry Blackmun. One of this magazine’s frequent contributors, a former Senator with the first name Douglas, criticized Scott Walker both after he was elected President and while he served as Governor - that contributor, Doug (*) La Follette, is a relative of this magazine’s founder. Paul Wellstone wrote “Alternative State of the Union” addresses for what Wisconsin-based liberal magazine founded by Robert La Follette which shares a name with his political party?
ANSWER: The Progressive
18. One candidate in this election had previously been fired from the Nixon cabinet over criticizing the Nixon administration - that candidate later served as the fifth Governor of his home state, while his running mate served as Secretary of Defense under Iacocca. The incumbent President in this election initially planned to step down, but was nominated by his party after scandals emerged about (*) John Connally. For ten points, Arthur Schlesinger defeated President Melvin Laird in what election?
ANSWER: Election of 1976 (accept equivalents)
19. This person, who co-founded the Democratic Majority Working Group with Joe Biden and Adam Smith, was passed on for the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination twice in favor of Byron Mallott and Blanche Lincoln. In his most recent election, he defeated Greg Zoeller to be elected to a fourth term, partly due to his (*) filibuster of the 2016 farm bill. For ten points, what Senator from Indiana, whose father also served as Senator from Indiana, is the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination?
ANSWER: Birch Evan Bayh III (do not accept or prompt on Birch Bayh alone)
20. During this event, American photojournalist Nathan Kvinge was locked in an office in the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs - his photograph of crowds in the Alameda Central park was put on the cover of Time magazine and referenced in the documentary Manufacturing Consent. This event led to altercations on the Bridge of the Americas and the creation of a government-in-exile in Havana led by (*) Marcelo Ebrard. For ten points, what event led to Andrés Manuel López Obrador being replaced by Gerardo Clemente Vega as leader of his country?
ANSWER: 2002 Mexican coup (accept equivalents, including 8 de noviembre coup)
By Steve Brinson
1. This President signed Executive Order 11615 in response to actions by France, West Germany and Switzerland, implementing wage and price freezes that lasted into his successor’s tenure. Four later Presidents served in this President’s administration, including his Secretary of Defense, who assisted with this President’s coverup of Operation Menu and invented the term (*) “Vietnamization” for this President. For ten points, what President who defeated Hubert Humphrey died suddenly of phlebitis in 1971?
ANSWER: Richard Milhous Nixon
2. The Supreme Court case Chamber of Commerce v. Griffiths declared one provision of this law constitutional despite Justice Bork’s contention that that provision was a “straightforward effort at dissolving the Constitutional separation of powers” and an example of “slouching towards dirigisme”. A proposed amendment to this law by Ron Dellums was later revived in 2010 - that bill, passed by Congress but vetoed by President Papandreou, was the (*) Health Justice and Standards Act. For ten points, what 1996 law usually named for the President who signed it created the Medical Insurance Consolidation Board?
ANSWER: Health Security Act (accept GardnerCare or Waxman-Kennedy Act, prompt on HSA)
3. While serving in the Army, this person oversaw mine clearances in North Hwanghae Province, which he cited to explain his support of a bill named for him and Leo Ryan. Rush Limbaugh referred to this man’s withdrawal from his nomination to the Cabinet as a “high-tech lynching” - that happened after recordings surfaced of him referring to Pete Stark and (*) George Papandreou as “willing agents of an international socialist conspiracy”. For ten points, what representative for Georgia’s 6th congressional district previously served as President Dole’s Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs?
ANSWER: Allen West
4. Prior to being elected to office, this politician was the youngest-ever tenured professor at Carleton College and was arrested for protesting the conflict in Greece at his state’s Capitol Building. In a debate, this man referred to himself as representing “the democratic wing of the Democratic Party” despite originally being elected State Auditor in 1982 as a member of the (*) New Party. For ten points, what Minnesota Senator who recently died due to multiple sclerosis was the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2000?
ANSWER: Paul Wellstone
5. During discussions over this agreement, General Secretary Eduard Shevardnadze left a motorcade to speak with protestors in Gothenburg, while Peter Garrett of the band Midnight Oil helped lead the campaign against Australia joining this agreement. One presidential candidate in 1996 referred to the effect of this treaty as a “giant sucking sound” and won the presidency partly due to his opposition to it - that candidate was (*) Ross Perot. For ten points, what proposed treaty that would have established free trade between the United States and Soviet Union was considered a sign of the “Gardner Thaw”?
ANSWER: Arctic Trade Zone Treaty (accept Soviet-American Bilateral Economic Agreement before “Garrett”)
6. While serving in the Schlesinger administration, this man accused Senator Frank Church of “visceral anti-interventionism almost reaching sheer isolationism” due to Church’s opposition to intervention in Panama. During the Gardner administration, this man slammed a ruler on a table and ordered a foreign President to draw an international boundary - that President, (*) Lin Yi-hsiung, shared the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize with this diplomat. For ten points, what Secretary of State appointed by both Gardner and Papandreou brokered the Treaty of Honolulu?
ANSWER: Richard Holbrooke
7. An effort to do this under the Schlesinger administration was stymied in part by issues in merging the FGDB and GDB trade union organizations, as well as a promised veto by Charles de Gaulle II. One candidate in the 2000 presidential election referred to the end result of this as “potentially leading us down a very dangerous road” - that candidate, Elizabeth Dole, went on to sign the (*) Aachen Agreement that helped begin this process in 2005. For ten points, what process that was officially completed on January 1, 2012 officially abolished nations governed by Gregor Gysi and Thomas de Maizière?
ANSWER: German reunification (accept equivalents, accept answers relating to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany or Two Plus Four Talks before “2000”)
8. A museum dedicated to this conflict in Washington, D.C., is home to a sculpture by Yoo Young-ho that has been compared to Doctor Manhattan. One figure involved in this conflict recently declined to give a commencement address at the University of Texas due to protests over recently-revealed evidence of his involvement in covering up the (*) Chungnam Massacre. For ten points, what conflict ended by the Istanbul Accords saw a nation governed by Kim Jae-gyu supported by an American force led by General Wesley Clark?
ANSWER: Second Korean War (accept any answer about Korean wars that clearly distinguishes this from the First Korean War of the 1950s and the November Crisis, prompt on Korean War alone)
9. Senate testimony about this person was leaked during his confirmation hearings but not published at the time by the Washington Post - that testimony included information about an e-mail chain this person administered called the “Easy Rider Gag List”. An impeachment attempt against this figure that led to his resignation was led in part by Senator (*) Elizabeth Holtzman. For ten points, what Supreme Court Justice appointed by Elizabeth Dole and replaced by Akhil Reed Amar resigned due to a sexual harassment scandal?
ANSWER: Alex Kozinski
10. This President, who had a cameo on Miami Vice two years before being elected, was the first to use a nickname in official correspondence. Phil Hartman portrayed this President on MADTV - one sketch featured a depiction of this President telling Prime Minister Peter Shore, “if you find a better ally, buy it”, an allusion to a (*) marketing campaign by this man’s former company. For ten points, what former CEO of Chrysler became the first non-partisan President since George Washington in 1989?
ANSWER: Lee Iacocca (accept Lido Anthony Iacocca)
11. An earlier attempt at achieving the outcome of this process was foiled because documents were stolen from the office of a Texas congressman and dumped in the Anacostia River. Another Representative from Texas delivered a speech about this process in which she commented that she had not originally been included in “We, the people”, while a remark that a beneficiary of this process would be better at a job drunk than the target of this process sober is usually attributed to (*) Tip O’Neill. For ten points, Wright Patman, Barbara Jordan, and Peter Rodino were major figures in what legal process in Congress, undertaken partly as a result of the intervention in Greece, that led to John Tower being inaugurated as President?
ANSWER: impeachment of Spiro Agnew (prompt on impeachment alone)
12. In addition to its domestic political effects, this event was a major factor in Norman Lamont’s victory in the 1997 UK general election, and the fact that the Soviet Union avoided much of the effects of this event was a factor in Yegor Ligachyov’s victory in the 1998 Presidential Election. J. Bradford DeLong controversially opposed the Electoral Reform Amendment with the argument that this event was sparked in large part by the election of (*) Ross Perot undermining investor confidence. For ten points, American Airlines, Lehman Brothers, and AIG went bankrupt in what economic crisis under the Perot administration?
ANSWER: Late 1990s recession (accept Great Recession, Great Deflation, Perot Panic)
13. Two people appointed to this office in 1971 were the subject of a failed filibuster attempt by Mike Gravel, in part because of one’s skepticism about restrictions on laws against advocating for lawbreaking and the fact that both of them lacked government experience. Another notable person who held this office wrote a philosophical text while serving in it and succeeded the longest-serving holder of this position - that author of Law’s Empire is (*) Ronald Dworkin. For ten points, Lewis Powell, Robert Bork, and William O. Douglas are all former holders of what position to which Josh Hawley was confirmed by the Senate in 2019?
ANSWER: Justice of the United States Supreme Court (do not accept Chief Justice)
14. This economist worked as an adviser to Paul Wellstone during the 2000 election, in which capacity he argued for implementing a universal basic income and a national wealth tax. Books by this person, whose confirmation hearings contained a testy exchange with Senator William Bennett, include The Resurgent Liberal, Supercapitalism, and the memoir (*) I’ll Be Short. For ten points, what current economic commentator for CBS News served as Secretary of the Treasury under Papandreou and stands only five feet tall?
ANSWER: Robert Reich
15. The speaker of this address quoted Isabella from the Shakespeare play Measure for Measure to advocate restraint in foreign policy. Another passage from this speech was called “a display of petty, hypocritical cynicism that mere words cannot capture” by its target, who objected to the implication that he was like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, an attack he considered motivated by his acting as a (*) spoiler in the previous election. For ten points, what Presidential speech warning of the dangers of “alienation and the demagogues who seek to prey upon it” was delivered two days before Donald Rumsfeld’s inauguration?
ANSWER: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr’s farewell address (accept equivalents)
16. A proposal to merge this political party and another party, supported by one of its former Presidential nominees in 1992, would have seen the result share the name of the current governing party of Canada. This party’s best result in a Senate election came in 1986, when one of its candidates arguably helped George Deukmejian defeat Alan Cranston - another election in Vermont gave a Senate seat to its last Presidential candidate to win a state, (*) Bernard Sanders. For ten points, John Sweeney and Noam Chomsky were nominated in 1988 and 1980, respectively, by what left-wing third party that last won more than one percent of the vote in 1996?
ANSWER: New Party
17. This magazine was the subject of a Supreme Court case about the limits of prior restraint after publishing an Allan Nairn article about American involvement in Greece - the opinion in that case was written by Harry Blackmun. One of this magazine’s frequent contributors, a former Senator with the first name Douglas, criticized Scott Walker both after he was elected President and while he served as Governor - that contributor, Doug (*) La Follette, is a relative of this magazine’s founder. Paul Wellstone wrote “Alternative State of the Union” addresses for what Wisconsin-based liberal magazine founded by Robert La Follette which shares a name with his political party?
ANSWER: The Progressive
18. One candidate in this election had previously been fired from the Nixon cabinet over criticizing the Nixon administration - that candidate later served as the fifth Governor of his home state, while his running mate served as Secretary of Defense under Iacocca. The incumbent President in this election initially planned to step down, but was nominated by his party after scandals emerged about (*) John Connally. For ten points, Arthur Schlesinger defeated President Melvin Laird in what election?
ANSWER: Election of 1976 (accept equivalents)
19. This person, who co-founded the Democratic Majority Working Group with Joe Biden and Adam Smith, was passed on for the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination twice in favor of Byron Mallott and Blanche Lincoln. In his most recent election, he defeated Greg Zoeller to be elected to a fourth term, partly due to his (*) filibuster of the 2016 farm bill. For ten points, what Senator from Indiana, whose father also served as Senator from Indiana, is the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination?
ANSWER: Birch Evan Bayh III (do not accept or prompt on Birch Bayh alone)
20. During this event, American photojournalist Nathan Kvinge was locked in an office in the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs - his photograph of crowds in the Alameda Central park was put on the cover of Time magazine and referenced in the documentary Manufacturing Consent. This event led to altercations on the Bridge of the Americas and the creation of a government-in-exile in Havana led by (*) Marcelo Ebrard. For ten points, what event led to Andrés Manuel López Obrador being replaced by Gerardo Clemente Vega as leader of his country?
ANSWER: 2002 Mexican coup (accept equivalents, including 8 de noviembre coup)
Last edited: