April Issue Summary

        The following is a summary of the April 2003 of the St. Croix Review:

        In the editorial Angus MacDonald discusses the history of racism in the U.S., recalling the roles played by James Meredith, the first black student at the University of Mississippi, and Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon. He draws upon the comments of Charles Barkley in his book, I May Be Wrong, but I Doubt It.

        Our professor of Philosophy, Thomas Martin, received a brochure announcing the agenda of the People of Color at Predominately White Institutions, which caused him to reflect. Being a tall man, or, one of the “vertically impaired,” he decided to form a conference on People of Height at Predominately Short Institutions. He provides a list of grievances.

        In his essays Herbert London comments on the incumbent, moral role the U.S. has accepted in the world; he shows that the health of Russian families is in decline, putting the nation at risk; he assesses responsibility for the uproar surrounding the high school superstar, basketball player, Le Bron James; and he considers whether school choice can be a solution to the poor public schools, in the absence of good parents.     

        In a collection of articles Allan C. Brownfeld asks whether the Bush administration has adequately prepared for the aftermath of war with Iraq; he reviews the last book of the historian Stephen Ambrose before his death, To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian; and he points out that whichever party is in power, Republican or Democrat, increases the size and expense of federal government.

        Murray Weidenbaum in “Business Ethics,” says that the guilty caught up in corporate scandals should be tossed in jail. While offering evidence that the average businessman is as moral as the next fellow, he reminds us that the free market needs integrity to work, and yet it also demands self-interested individuals seeking advantage. The dynamic tension involved is the “market paradox.” To keep the market honest requires constant tinkering, and he offers cutting-edge solutions.

        In “Prayer”  Harry Neuwirth discusses what prayer does to us.

        Doug Tice reminds us that this nation faced a severe test during the Civil War, and proved that free government endures, he asks whether we Americans have gone too far in our casual dress, and he discusses the latest tussle in Minnesota over conceal carry permits.

        In “Mr. Hundert, Mr. Bell, and the Mr. Julius Caesar Contest” Joseph S. Fulda presents a modern-day parable.

        From an insider’s point of view (that of working in newsrooms for forty years) Thomas Bray reveals new secrets in “How Did the Press Get That Way?”

        George M. Sayre Jr. presents a humorous viewpoint in “The Truth About Taxes.” 

        Using quotes from the Founding Fathers John D’Aloia points out that our government requires the participation of ordinary people to thwart would-be elitists in “The Founders and Today’s Elitists.”

        Peter Brownfeld discusses the current debate within the EU over whether Turkey should be admitted in “A Lesson from the EU Founders.”

        In the Book Review section Michael S. Swisher looks at Roger Kimball’s The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America.

        Michael S. Swisher reviews Roger Kimball’s The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America.