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  • Video: The Debate over Free College

    Video: The Debate over Free College0

    Overshadowed in the terrorist attacks in Paris by ISIS was the #MillionStudentMarch led by students and non-students who demanded (their words) “tuition-free public college, cancelation of all student debt, and a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers.” Here at Intellectual Takeout, we’re thoroughly troubled by the enormous costs of college and the expectation that

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  • Poll: Lots of Whites are Feeling Oppressed

    Poll: Lots of Whites are Feeling Oppressed0

    The Public Religion Research Institute recently released some fascinating polling data from its 2015 American Values Survey. It appears that all that white-shaming is actually having an effect. Regarding the culture, white Americans overwhelmingly think it’s going to hell: “A majority (53%) of Americans say that American culture and way of life has mostly changed

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  • Is Civilization Yielding to Barbarism?

    Is Civilization Yielding to Barbarism?0

    Back in 1996, all seemed wonderful. The world was peaceful, the Communists had collapsed, and the economy was booming. Yet during such peaceful times, Samuel Huntington published his famous book The Clash of Civilizations. He concluded with these thoughts: “On a worldwide basis Civilization seems in many respects to be yielding to barbarism, generating the

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  • Think the SAT Essay Exam is Hard? Try This One from 1915.

    Think the SAT Essay Exam is Hard? Try This One from 1915.0

    Taking the SAT or ACT exam is a big milestone in the high school careers of many students. One of the most daunting portions of the exam is THE ESSAY. For those who have taken the SAT recently, the following sample question may seem familiar: Compare this to the 1915 Grammar and Composition Exam produced

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  • The Gospel of Lincoln

    The Gospel of Lincoln0

    Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address has achieved a status as American Scripture equaled only by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Washington’s Farewell Address. In merely 271 words, the wartime president fused his epoch’s most powerful and disruptive tendencies—nationalism, democratism, and German idealism—into a civil religion indebted to the language of Christianity, but devoid of its

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  • Secrets of Septuplet Success

    Secrets of Septuplet Success0

    Remember the McCaughey septuplets? Amazingly, those tiny babies are celebrating their 18th birthday today! In honor of the occasion, USA Today served up a feature article about the family, complete with details on the future plans of each of the seven famous children. Judging from the article, the McCaughey septuplets seem to be happy, congenial,

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  • Is Education Control Finally Being Restored to the States?

    Is Education Control Finally Being Restored to the States?0

    In recent weeks, Congress has been working hard to revamp the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Following its initial welcome and acclaim, the law fell out of favor with the American public as the federal government’s role became more apparent and individual states had less say over education decisions. But news out of Washington

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  • What Bureaucrats Secretly Crave

    What Bureaucrats Secretly Crave0

    Good ol’ Tom Wolfe, author of The Bonfire of the Vanities, has a great description of bureaucrats and what they secretly crave in his short piece Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers. If you’ve ever been at the mercy of a bureaucrat demanding the proper forms, this one will probably resonate with you. “There are those who

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  • Mesa Verde and the Refugee Question

    Mesa Verde and the Refugee Question0

    A group of archeologists have recently concluded that it wasn’t just climate change that lead to the sudden disappearance of the Pueblo ancestors who used to occupy the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellings roughly 800 years ago. While historical climate change impacts are certainly relevant to our times, archeologists’ beliefs that migrants and culture clashes had a

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