The following is a summary of the December 2008 issue of the St. Croix Review:
In the editorial, "Without Faith, Savages," Angus MacDonald hopes that something other than self-indulgence and making money will define our culture.
Herbert London, in "I Lost My Country," runs through the many American traditions that may dissolve as a result of the election of Barack Obama; in "The American Socialist Republic (?)," he describes our slide into dependence on government; in "Nuclear Disarmament for the Gang of Four," he writes about the growing and dangerous momentum to disarm; in "Exceptionalism vs. Universalism," he shows how Barack Obama and his followers disbelieve in American and her unique qualities, but do believe a mush of multicultrualism.
Allan Brownfeld, in "What Would the Founding Fathers Think about the Explosive Growth of Government Power?" he blames Presidents, Congress, and the American people; in "Re-examining Booker T. Washington: Black America's Prophetic Leader," he shows what made Washington a giant of his time and an excellent role model for today: his philosophy of thrift, industry, and self-help.
Mark Hendrickson, in "We're Broke," writes that financial institutions and big government have created a "mountain" of leverage and debt that will collapse. He writes that we have a choice before us: Whether to return to free markets or move towards socialism. In "Economic Nonsense" he points out the economic fallacies in an article by Alan Blinder, Princeton Professor of Economics, who endorses Barack Obama; in "Blaming the Free Market," he identifies who is to blame for our financial mess: government intervention and improper regulation; "in Thoughts on 'the Big Bailout,'" he expresses skepticism about the $700 billion rescue plan; in "A Bailout for Detroit," he shows how a "loan" to the Big Three automakers could not be repaid, and would go to the unions with $70 an hour labor legacy costs, at the expense of American taxpayers who earn much less.
In "It Was the Wrong Cure -- But Now?" David Bean believes that, among contributing factors, too low interest rates caused our financial problems. He critiques Fed and Treasury Department policy, and sees a fundamental evolution towards socialism.
Tracy C. Miller, in "Rising Food Prices: Who Is to Blame?" points out how government mandates and subsidies for corn ethanol are harming consumers in the U.S. and around the world.
In "A Path to Healthcare Serfdom," Gary Gillespie points out the dangers of socialized medical care, and stresses the need to preserve choice and freedom.
In "Remembering Solzhenitsyn with Dr. Thomas Sutherland," Thomas Martin relates how Dr. Sutherland and Terry Anderson, who were kidnapped and kept prisoners chained to a wall for more than seventy months by Islamic Jihad in Beirut, read the writing of Solzhenitsyn. Thomas Martin shows how great writing overcomes differences of time and place to speak to the deepest of meanings.
Paul Kengor has composed a tribute to the great Russian in "Witness: Solzhenitsyn vs. Evil."
In "The Faith of George Washington," Gary Scott Smith offers evidence of Washington's character and his belief.
Robert L. Wichterman, in "Manners and Morals," sees a lessening of respect, dignity, deportment, and civility in America. He connects the weakening of manners to a loss of morals and Judeo-Christian values.
In "A 900-Year-Old Response to a Contemporary Debate," Craig Payne uses the reasoning of Anselm of Canterbury to refute the evangelistic efforts of the new atheists.
Jigs Garner, in "Writers for Conservatives: 18 -- Bruce Catton and the Meaning of the Civil War," surveys the writings on the American Civil War, and he explains why he thinks Bruce Catton's is the best.
In "Markets Don't Clear -- It Just Ain't So!" Joseph Fulda uses the ancient Jordanian "rose red city" and desert horsemen to teach a lesson on free markets.
