The following is a summary of the February 2009 issue of the St. Croix Review:
Barry MacDonald retells events leading to the Civil War in "Ominous Events Unfold."
In a "Letter to the Editor," Don Lee comments on polls and President Bush's disregard for them.
In "It Was Not Conservatism Which Was Defeated in the November Election," Allan Brownfeld sees the Bush administration as incompetent and big spending; in "Ending Racial Preferences: The Michigan Story," he relates the long struggle of overmatched individuals against the University of Michigan to eliminate racial preferences in admission standards.
Herbert London, in "Racism Revisited," writes that Obama's election is just another step America has taken in overcoming racism; in "Taking from Peter to Pay Paul: International Redistribution," he writes that Obama and the United Nations have plans for billions of tax-payer dollars: welfare for foreign nations; in "Compression at the Mean: The American Way," he shows how Obama's urge to "spread the wealth around," will destroy the incentive for individuals to work hard; in "Israel's Nuclear Umbrella," he believes the promise by Obama to retaliate in kind to a nuclear attack on Israel lacks credibility; in "The Censorship Justification," he takes after a New York Times book reviewer: she is snide, obtuse, and morally blind in her review of Sherry Jones' novel, The Jewel of Medina.
In "The Big Three: Assigning Blame and an Alternative to a Bailout," Mark W. Hendrickson writes that because the UAW is 100 percent responsible for the troubles of the automakers, the UAW should assume complete responsibility; in "Dancing with Fred or Frankenstein: Free Markets, Socialism, and the Bailout," he explains why federal intervention in the economy is destined to fail; in "The Threat Within," he details the moral rot that infects our nation, and he assigns blame; in "The Problem with Monotheism," he urges the faithful to follow the urgings of their faith.
David J. Bean explains how deep the government mismanagement of the economy is in "Some Thoughts on Capital and Money."
In "Losing Our Country?" Joseph S. Fulda says that as the world is becoming freer American workers are facing more competition, but Americans remain the best.
Michael Ledeen, in "Understanding Iran," writes that Iran is an implacable foe that cannot be appeased -- and it probably has nuclear weapons already.
A congressional report, "More Than 650 Scientists Dissent Over Warming Claims," challenges Al Gore.
In "Five Years Ago: The Beginning of the End for Saddam -- and George W. Bush," Paul Kengor reviews the bittersweet events following Saddam's capture.
In "Cultural Wars, Then and Now," Richard J. McGowan discusses the Council of Lyons in 1274. Catholic leaders gathered to decide whether to accept or ban the rediscovered works of Aristotle. The issue was whether reason was compatible with Christian faith. Dr. McGowan sees hope for our modern world in the outcome of this council.
Jigs Gardner, in "The Incomparable Jane Austen," writes of the artist and her time.
In "Shelby Foote," Robert Thornton writes about the popular historian of the Civil War.
