The following is a summary of the October/November issue of the St. Croix Review:

Barry MacDonald, in “Israel’s Finest Hour,” comments on the anniversary of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. He also comments on Donald Trump’s 2nd election to be President of the United States.

Mark Hendrickson, in “My Hurricane Helene Experience,” relates the insights and emotions that come with a power outage over an extended period of time; in “Reviewing Reviews of ‘Reagan’ (the movie), he contrasts audience appreciation with the sour conclusions of reviewers who distain Reagan’s Christianity, his crusade against Communism, or his economic policies; in “If Greenies Want Justice, They Should Sue Themselves,” in response to lawsuits against oil and gas companies, he asserts that those who consume the products deemed to be harmful should also be subjected to the suit; in “The Sports Kaleidoscope Continues to Fascinate,” he comments on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ victory over the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series.

Paul Kengor, in “Reagan Conservatism Is Alive and Well,” presents 11 principles of conservatism that remain vital, and he remarks on Reagan’s winsome, winning character; in “The Washington Post’s Looney Liberal Readership,” he praises Jeff Bezos’ statement to readers of The Washington Post; in “Indigenous People’s Day: Cherokee Leader Stand Watie,” he writes of a little-known Cherokee leader who owned slaves and fought in the Civil War as a Confederate General; in “Moment of Unity: Reagan United the Country Like No Other,” he shares the story of a Jewish Ukrainian family, including a grandson, who immigrated to America and who had a happenchance meeting with Ronald Reagan in a public park.

Allan Brownfeld, in “Approaching the 250th Anniversary of the Constitution, That Is Increasingly Being Diminished,” writes that America’s Founders placed suspicion of tyrannical government power at the center of the structure of the American republic. He shows the erosion of original checks and balances with the ascendancy of consolidating massive government. He concludes that self-government is difficult and arduous, and that free societies in world history are rare. In “Examining the History of America’s Approach to Race and Diversity,” he refutes the charge that America is a “racist country.”

James Thrasher, in “Gen Z — What’s a Paper Route?” describes the work ethic of today’s youth with that of the past.

Derek Suszko, in “The Failure and Future of the Pro-life Movement,” challenges the Reaganite, limited-government approach to policy that inhibited a broad-based support of motherhood.

Francis Destefano, in “Who Are the Socialists?” reviews Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s novel, Cancer War, to reveal the genuine quality of socialism and socialists.

Jigs Gardner’s “Versed in Country Things — Spring and Summer,” epitomizes the revival of spring growth, the oddity of simple country people, the art and satisfaction of plowing and planting potatoes, and more.

Jigs Gardner, in “Writers for Conservatives: 13, Edmund Wilson — A Paradigm,” reviews the writings of a mid-20th century literary critic who pointed the way for our present class of snobs who despise American history and culture.