The following is a summary of the August 2006, issue of the St. Croix Review:

In the editorial, "The Growth of George Washington" Angus Macdonald relates stories from the first president's youth that touch on his education, his work on the family farm, his first job as a surveyor, and his experience fighting for the British and against the French and Native Americans.

In a "Letter to the Editor" Justin Ingalls takes issue with the idea expressed in "The Cartoon Jihad" that freedom of speech is absolute.

Allan Brownfeld, in "Jamestown, 1607-2007: Preparing for America's 400th Birthday," recounts the story of Jamestown, and points out the vital contribution of British law and culture to American heritage; in "One Woman's Unique Journey--A Political and Social History of Texas," he tells how Marjorie Meyer Arsht became a pioneer of the Republican Party in Texas. She brought greater inclusiveness in civil rights to the party, and she was an early supporter of George H. W. Bush.

In "The Transatlantic Alliance and Nuclear Stability," Herbert London observers that Europeans seem united with the U.S. in diplomatic efforts prevent an Iranian nuclear threat, but he doubts Iranian resolve if diplomacy fails; in "Delusion v. Reality" he believes the world is divided into two classes: one awake to the threat posed by militant Islam and the other willfully blind to it; in "Inspiring Europe (?)" he comes away from a symposium in Switzerland with the view that Europeans are probably incapable of facing their cultural, demographic, and economic problems, and they are unwilling to acknowledge the hostility of the Islamic immigrants in their midst; in "Political Propaganda from the Academy" he reviews The Enemy of My Enemy-the author believes there is a convergence of militant Islam and the "right wing" in the U.S.

John Howard shows how the Continental Congress resolved not to publicize their conflicting views while drafting the Declaration of Independence, so that they could make necessary compromises, in "Independence Day."

Lt. Peter Hegseth of the 101st Airborne Division, who is stationed in Samarra, Iraq, gives us an on-the-ground assessment of the progress being made in "Samarra: The Long View." He cites developments that will never appear in mainstream media.

Winkfield Twyman Jr., in "The Introspection of a Nation," believes that Blacks are having a difficult time fitting in with the American mainstream because of a self-imposed personality trait: through centuries Black Americans have learned to be introverts. They have isolated themselves from needed relationships with those outside their comfort zone, and so they lack the friendships and contacts to be at home, and to succeed in business.

In "The Great Experiment" Martin Harris questions whether Vermont can continue to prosper while the numbers of newcomers who live off trust funds, and who stand in the way of development grow, and the traditional, wealth-generating industries decline.

Thomas Martin comments on how noisy the world has become in "On Silence and the Invasion of Privacy."

Jigs Gardner's next article in his series, "Writers for Conservatives: 4," is on Rudyard Kipling.

John D'Aloia Jr. reports on this year's earmark high jinks in "Mad Congress Disease."

Craig Payne writes answers to the questions he poses in "Nine Common Objections to Capital Punishment."