e-Extra – SEPT. 1, 2005 1.  Congratulations to Cheri Pierson Yecke 2.  Upcoming Events 3.  American Experiment Speakers Bureau 4.  Another Example of why IntellectualTakeout.com is Needed 5.  Hurricane Katrina and Global Warming 1.  Congratulations to Cheri Pierson Yecke Center of the American Experiment CEO Annette Meeks issued the following statement this week in response to the announcement that American Experiment Distinguished Senior Fellow Cheri Pierson Yecke has been selected to serve as Chancellor of K-12 Education in Florida. “While we will greatly miss Cheri, we are also very proud that she has been chosen to serve as the Chancellor of K-12 Education in Florida. “Cheri’s rise to this prominent position not only speaks to her standing as one of the premier education reform advocates in the nation, it also highlights American Experiment’s continued standing as one of the nation’s premier state-based public policy think tanks. “As an American Experiment Senior Fellow, Cheri has been tireless in her efforts to challenge a system of education that has failed far too many of our children, especially children of color.  That’s why I’m also pleased to announce that Cheri will continue to serve as an education consultant for American Experiment. “We wish Cheri the best of luck in her new endeavor and know that the children of Florida will be well served by her presence there.” 2.  Upcoming Events September 15 American Experiment will be hosting a forum with Larry Schweikart, author of A Patriot’s History of the United States.  Schweikart, a professor of history at the University of Dayton, will examine historians’ deceptions regarding the Reagan years. The forum will be held at Providence Academy in Plymouth, at 7:00 pm.  (Map)  Pre-registration admission is $5.  Admission at the door is $10.  To register for the event, contact Devin Foley at 612-338-3605 or at Devin.Foley@AmericanExperiment.org. October 14 P.J. O’Rourke, best-selling author and America’s premiere political satirist, will keynote our 2005 Fall Briefing.  His presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday evening, October 14, at the Pantages Theater in downtown Minneapolis.  Ticket information will be available soon. 3.  American Experiment Speakers Bureau  Do you belong to a local service or civic organization that is looking for speakers to discuss some of the most important issues of the day?  If so, check out the speakers available at Center of the American Experiment’s Speakers Bureau. American Experiment has a number of policy experts and program directors who are available to speak to your organization – free of charge – on issues ranging from education to transportation.  If you are interested in booking a speaker from Center of the American Experiment, simply send an email to randy.wanke@americanexperiment.org. 4.  Another Example of why IntellectualTakeout.com is Needed  This year, the College of St. Catherine is hosting an anti-war exhibit by a peace and justice organization called American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).  According to a news release from the college, AFSC believes that “no war can justify its human cost.” This is a perfect example of why IntellectualTakeout.com is needed on Minnesota campuses.  Instead of exposing students to a variety of views, officials are only presenting them with the narrow view that the war in Iraq is wrong and that there is no such thing as a just war. When it comes to issues as important and divisive as war, college officials do students a grave disservice when they deny them the opportunity to hear a variety of opinions.  If St. Catherine officials are bringing an organization on campus to promote the idea that “no war can justify its human cost,” we suggest that they also feature on campus other individuals or organizations who would present an alternative point of view.  Students should be exposed to the idea that war, while a horrible endeavor, is sometimes very necessary to topple tyranny, protect human rights, and safeguard freedom.  In an effort to expose students to a variety of opinions, we suggest that they should hear from individuals who survived the Holocaust following the defeat of Hitler in WW II.  And they should be encouraged to learn more about the vital role of war in founding and preserving our nation, and emancipating African American slaves. Once they have been exposed to those alternative points of view, maybe they can make up their own minds about the War in Iraq, instead of having college officials do it for them. Given what appears to be a lack of intellectual diversity on their campus, we look forward to exposing St. Catherine’s students to some different ideas and points of view when we launch IntellectualTakeout.com in two weeks. 5.  Hurricane Katrina and Global Warming Some liberal environmentalists and media outlets, including Time magazine, were quick to exploit the Hurricane Katrina disaster in order to peddle the idea that global warming is responsible for increased intensity and frequency of hurricanes. In an ominous headline, Time wonders “Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina?” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. even appeared to try to lay the blame for Katrina at the feet of Mississippi Governor Halley Barbour and President Bush, writing “now we are all learning what it’s like to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged. Our destructive addiction has given us a catastrophic war in the Middle East and--now--Katrina is giving our nation a glimpse of the climate chaos we are bequeathing our children.” But Kennedy and other extreme environmentalists have gone too far – even for the reliably liberal New York Times.   In its August 30 edition, the newspaper noted that “because hurricanes form over warm ocean water, it is easy to assume that the recent rise in their number and ferocity is because of global warming. “But that is not the case, scientists say. Instead, the severity of hurricane seasons changes with cycles of temperatures of several decades in the Atlantic Ocean. The recent onslaught ‘is very much natural,’ said William M. Gray, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University who issues forecasts for the hurricane season.” Rich Lowry from the National Review also responded to the assertion that global warming is causing hurricanes to be more powerful by writing, "if hurricanes aren't more frequent, are they more powerful?  Warm water fuels hurricanes, so the theory is that as the ocean's surface heats up, hurricanes will pack more punch.  An article in Nature — after questionable jiggering with the historical wind data — argues that hurricanes have doubled in strength because of global warming.  Climatologist Patrick Michaels counters that if hurricanes had doubled in their power it would be obvious to everyone and there would be no need to write controversial papers about it. Indeed, if you adjust for population growth and skyrocketing property values, hurricanes don't appear to be any more destructive today.  According to the work of Roger Pielke of the University of Colorado, of the top five most destructive storms this century, only one occurred after 1950 — Hurricane Andrew in 1992.  An NOAA analysis says there have been fewer Category 4 storms throughout the past 35 years than would have been expected given 20th-century averages."