CAE e-Extra - September 29, 2005

IntellectualTakeout.com Makes its Mark on College Campuses

Just two weeks after its launch, American Experiments award-winning website IntellectualTakout.com is already making its mark on college campuses across the country.

The American University Eagle newspaper, located in Washington, DC, reported, "Intellectual Takeout is a great site that gives the young conservative the weapons they need in order to battle liberals on America's campuses, said John Zevitas, special projects member of the AU College Republicans and a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs. It provides articles filled with fact rather than just opinion on every hot button issue that our generation faces today."The University of Wisconsin, Madison Badger newspaper reported, "A recent study showed 72 percent identified themselves as being liberal, while only about 15 percent identified themselves as being conservative, [Randy] Wanke said. University of Wisconsin political science professor Kenneth Mayer said IntellectualTakeout.com sounds like a number of movements attempting to prompt greater intellectual diversity on college campuses, and added that he considers Wankes point a fair one"

And the Duke University Chronicle newspaper wrote, "The Center of the American Experiment, a Minneapolis-based group promoting conservative and free-market ideas, started a website called intellectualtakeout.com earlier this month to help students respond to the intellectual imbalance on their campuses."

PoliticsOnline also gave IntellectualTakeout.com its HotSite award, which is "used to recognize Internet sites that stand out as being truly innovative in the realm of bringing the Internet and politics together."

College students across Minnesota are doing their part to promote IntellectualTakeout.com by distributing promotional materials on their campuses, including this IntellectualTakeout menu. (If you are a college student interested in distributing these materials on your campus, please send an email to britt.haugland@americanexperiment.org.) Additionally, American Experiment staff members are traveling to campuses around Minnesota to promote the website. Here is the Mankato Free Press article regarding their stop at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

IntellectualTakeout.com was also highlighted during American Experiment Founder and President Emeritus Mitch Pearlsteins presentation this week to the Big Ten Government Relations Conference. His full remarks can be found here.

American Experiment is continuing to update IntellectualTakeout.coms content on a daily basis. For example, check out the latest "Daily Dish," which focuses on an upcoming University of Minnesota Journalism Center forum on a book entitled The Republican War on Science.

As the Daily Dish points out, the forum is yet another example of how some University of Minnesota officials are once again failing to present students with a diversity of ideas.

Annette Meeks Op Ed: Of course there's still fat to trim

Last Sundays Star Tribune featured an op-ed by American Experiment CEO Annette Meeks, who called on members of Congress to cut wasteful government spending in order to help fund the recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast.

In the op-ed, Meeks wrote, "some of [Newt] Gingrich's lieutenants, including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, have lost their way. In a bizarre interview with the Washington Times, DeLay declared an ongoing victory in the battle to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy. Further, DeLay announced that after 11 years of Republican majority we've pared [government] spending down pretty good. According to the Times, DeLay said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget. This would surprise most Americans, in light of the fact that in July, Congress passed the largest transportation bill ever -- $286.5 billion -- $25 billion of which is due to be spent on pork projects. Members of Congress earmarked money to 6,373 individual projects in the highway bill, money that could have been spent on the genuine infrastructure needs in the Gulf Coast region."

Meeks continued In light of this genuine need, it seems frivolous for Minnesotans to accept $495 million contained in 147 transportation earmarks. Ironically, those political earmarks neatly equal $100 per Minnesotan. I suggest that we refuse this money and offer it back to the Treasury to help offset the cost of rebuilding the Gulf Coast region. What will we be sacrificing? Nothing we can't live without. I suspect that those who commute between Virginia and International Falls can wait a few more years before Hwy. 53 is expanded. This alone would save taxpayers a neat $50 million. Bicycling year-round in Minnesota is difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, next on my list of cuts is a $25 million rails-to-trails project that would network bicycle and pedestrian paths with transit stations, schools and the like. This project was championed by Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, an avid cyclist and, more importantly, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee."

Upcoming Events

October 14 – Fall Briefing with P.J. ORourke

Join us at 7:30 pm at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis, when P.J. ORourke presents "Government vs. the Free Market." For ticket information, please contact Devin Foley in our Development office at 612-338-3605. Or call to find to find out how you can sponsor a row of tickets for Minnesota college students.

October 17 – Leadership and the Fiscal Future of the United States

Leadership and the Fiscal Future of the United States is a non-partisan forum cosponsored by the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum and the Concord Coalition. How should the United States balance the financial responsibilities of its entitlement programs, fighting the war in Iraq, and now rebuilding the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? This forum will focus on the role and responsibility of leaders in making policy choices that address our domestic and national security interests without burdening future generations with excessive debt. (American Experiment is a supporting organization for this event.)

This event is free and open to the public. However advance registration is requested by October 12. Contact Ellen Tveit at 612-625-8330 or etveit@hhh.umn.edu.

When: The day-long event begins at 9 am.

Where: Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis

TownHall.com Launches New Redesigned Website

townhall.comThis summer American Experiment joined Townhall.com, which is the first truly interactive community on the Internet to bring Internet users, conservative public policy organizations, congressional staff, and political activists together under the broad umbrella of "conservative" thoughts, ideas and actions.

We are now happy to announce that Townhall.com has just launched a newly redesigned website with a new tagline: News. Opinion. Action.

Here are just a few of the exciting features that Townhall.com has to offer:

Townhall.com News. The new site is committed to streamlining the information you need to stay informed and make a difference in local, state and national politics. Townhall.coms talented staff is respected in Washington circles for hard-hitting reporting and advocacy. They work tirelessly to scour the wire and web for scoops and to compile the best work from premiere political and research organizations.

Townhall.com Opinion. Townhall.coms unparalleled collection of more than 60 conservative political writers includes Charles Krauthammer, Thomas Sowell, Ann Coulter, and Mike Adams - the ultimate op-ed page. And theres more. Point/Counterpoint, a new feature, will allow leading opinion makers to face off on vital policy debates. The C-log will be joined by a new blog, the Capitol Report, to deliver timely news and reaction from Capitol Hill. Readers can also sound off on news and events by writing their own Soapbox blog.

Townhall.com Action. Through top action items, petitions, and local meetings with other conservatives, Townhall.com will support your ability to mobilize and to make a difference.

We encourage you to visit Townhall.com, where you will see the most recent information and commentaries, not only from American Experiment, but from conservative organizations from around the nation.

Quote of the Week

"In writing a book about science-policy-making in America today, Mooney has bravely tackled a gigantic and complex topic. Unfortunately, the journalist in him won out over the scholar, for he ends up trying to reduce the subject's complexities to the good guy/bad guy categories of TV polemicists. The resulting book is ill-formulated, overwrought and surprisingly unconvincing. (Trust me: As a resident of tree-hugging, gay-marrying, marijuana-scented, Bush-bashing San Francisco, I was prepared to be convinced.)"

A Washington Post review slamming the lack of scholarship in Chris Mooneys book The Republican War on Science. That lack of scholarship didnt stop the University of Minnesota Journalism Center from inviting Mooney to be a featured speaker at one of its upcoming forums.

Center of the American Experiment is a nonpartisan, tax-exempt, public policy and educational institution which brings conservative and free market ideas to bear on the most difficult issues facing Minnesota and the nation. Our accomplishments are made possible by the generosity of our donors. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to support our important mission. You can contact us at: 1024 Plymouth Building, 12 S. 6th St., Minneapolis, MN 55402, 612-338-3605, www.amexp.org. Feedback regarding the e-Extra should be emailed to e-Extra editor Randy Wanke at: info@americanexperiment.org.