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POPSCommonly overused words "When you write, use the most precise word for your meaning, not the word that comes to mind first. Consult this thesaurus to find alternatives for some commonly overused words. Consult a full-length thesaurus to find alternatives to words that do not appear here. Keep in mind that the choices offered in a thesaurus do not all mean exactly the same thing. Review all the options, and choose the one that best expresses your meaning."
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POPSTyranny Is Counting On Ignorance As sovereign individuals it is our duty to self-govern. That means, among other things, to make choices and conduct ourselves in ways that do not burden or victimize our fellow human beings. As citizens of a nation, it is our duty to be informed as to the scope, nature and limitations of government, and to be on guard against abuses. While we have representatives for some concerns, it is still up to us to make sure servants don't turn into usurpers. That means we have to understand the issues of the day, and what is and is not the proper role of government in addressing them, if any.
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POPSThe world's first glass violin This remarkable piece of art comes from a block of heat-resistant glass. Individually numbered violins highlight the exclusivity of the hand-painted, $3,500 product.
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POPSThe Good Tease In seeking to protect our children from bullying and aggression, we risk depriving them of a most remarkable form of social exchange. In teasing, we learn to use our voices, bodies and faces, and to read those of others — the raw materials of emotional intelligence and the moral imagination. We learn the wisdom of laughing at ourselves, and not taking the self too seriously. We learn boundaries between danger and safety, right and wrong, friend and foe, male and female, what is serious and what is not. We transform the many conflicts of social living into entertaining dramas. No kidding. Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and an editor of the magazine Greater Good. His latest book, “Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life,” from which this essay is adapted, will be published next month by Norton.
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POPSIt Takes One Village To Save A Species "A breakthrough in protecting the species came in 1997 when he helped local villagers build a pipeline to secure clean drinking water. Shortly thereafter, a farmer from the village freed a trapped langur and brought it to Dr. Pan."
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POPSCatholic Patriarchy If your reaction to this clip is a blase "who cares" then the odds predict that you have a penis. It's remarkable that after centuries this outmoded way of thinking still holds sway. And what's even more remarkable is that women are sometimes responsible in not more forcefully opposing this outdated dogma.
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POPSMessy Truth about Georgia Article deals with US foreign policy. What's horribly remarkable about this human tragedy is how utterly predictable have been many responses by those unwilling (or unable?) to consider the situation in its full historical complexity.
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POPSBeauty of the beetroot Scientists have discovered that beetroot has a remarkable effect on lowering blood pressure. Maria Fitzpatrick tries a medically approved new juice
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POPSDeclaration of Independence from England not God Reliance upon God was the foundation from which our forefathers brought forth this great nation. And it is that continued dependence upon Almighty God that shall sustain us as a great nation. Declaring our Independence from God would only lead us into a path of destruction and oblivion.
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POPSThe Luckiest Girl "The cash from the milk accumulated, and Beatrice’s parents decided that they could now afford to send their daughter to school. She was much older than the other first graders, but she was so overjoyed that she studied diligently and rose to be the best student in the school. An American visiting the school was impressed and wrote a children’s book, “Beatrice’s Goat,” about how the gift of a goat had enabled a bright girl to go to school. The book was published in 2000 and became a children’s best seller — but there is now room for a more remarkable sequel. Beatrice was such an outstanding student that she won a scholarship, not only to Uganda’s best girls’ high school, but also to a prep school in Massachusetts and then to Connecticut College. A group of 20 donors to Heifer International — coordinated by a retired staff member named Rosalee Sinn, who fell in love with Beatrice when she saw her at age 10 — financed the girl’s living expenses.
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POPS17 yr Old Carer All this, and she has a heart condition from catching meningitis. A brave and wonderful person.