The following is a summary of the December 2009 issue of the St. Croix Review:

In "Civilized Behavior," Angus MacDonald writes, "Of all the animals of earth, man is the most intelligent and the most uncivilized . . ."

Robert M. Thornton, in "A Teacher's Plight in a Public School," writes that our schools suffer from parental neglect of children and bureaucratic stupidity.

In "A Man Apart," Herbert London sees Barack Obama as Albert Camus' "stranger" -- a man who is estranged from the American spirit and history; in "The New and Old Socialism," he asserts that in the various incarnations of socialism, including the new American version, each envies the successful, and all view the pursuit of wealth as sinful; in "Losing Liberty," he describes decades of wear and tear on American institutions; in "The Race Ploy," he relates his personal experience of being labeled a "racist," and calls on President Obama to repudiate this harmful tactic; in "No Taxation With Representation," he points out dire consequences to follow from having a small minority of Americans paying a vast portion of the tax burden.

Mark W. Hendrickson, in "Cap-and-Trade Update," covers the latest science casting doubt on the dangers of CO2, and the horrendous Boxer/Kerry bill in the Senate; in "Gold Geopolitics, and the Carry Trade," he explains why "gold is warning us that our country is on the wrong track"; in "Monetary Madness," he writes about the disintegrating value of Federal Reserve notes; in "No Laughing Matter," he relates how people in other countries view our free-spending ways.

Allan Brownfeld, in "The $90,000 in Rep. Jefferson's Freezer Is Only the Tip of the Iceberg of Congressional Corruption," examines everyday, underhanded dealings in Washington D.C.; in "Big Business and Free Enterprise: Which Side Is It Really On?" he shows how Republicans and Democrats have worked with corporations to limit competition; in "False Allegations of White Racism Are Widespread While Black Racism Is Tolerated: It's Time to End the Double Standard," he cites well- and little-known examples to make his case.

Paul Kengor, in "The Philosophy of Mao and Mother Teresa?" examines why Obama's communication director praises Mao; in "The Nobel Committee Dishonors Itself," he writes that the committee's purpose is to help Obama pursue a leftist agenda -- and Paul Kengor is pleased by the committee's act.

In "Long-term Impacts of Obama Economics" Murray Weidenbaum considers the implications of the huge growth of government, regulation, and taxation.

David Bean, in "Left and Right -- but No Center?" asks whether our differences are reconcilable.

How the fact that Social Security is unsustainable has been denied for so long is revealed by Chuck Blahous in "Social Security Myths."

In "Not Quite Understanding the Word Mandate," Ed Morrissey asserts that the Constitution does not grant Congress the authority to force Americans to buy health insurance.

Robert Wichterman, in "Intolerant Secularists," relates how secularists are exerting new leverage over religions in America.

In "Politics and Culture," John Ingraham puts his finger on why the left is winning the cultural war: Conservatives have been absent from the fight.

John J. Fry discusses the writing of and motivation behind the famous writer's books in "The Politics of Laura Ingalls Wilder."

In "Willa Cather: A Quiet American Voice", Jigs Gardner writes about her ability to evoke the American landscape, and to find "the meaning in common things."