The following is a summary of the April 2010 issue of the St. Croix Review:

Barry MacDonald, in "Healthcare Reform Up in Smoke," shows how Republican Paul Ryan exposed the Democrat's double-counting gimmicks in the latest version of healthcare reform at the Blair House Summit.

In a "Letter to the Editor," Don Lee comments on whether we Americans have retained a "moral compass" in the conduct of our politics.

Herbert London, in "The Spiritual Dimensions of Nationhood," writes Americans have lost self-confidence because too many of us have come to believe our nation is not worth defending; in "Remembering Liberty," he believes that big government is rarely the solution to our problems, and that for all our difficulties, we remain the land of miracles; in "Presidential Denial," he writes that President Obama's persistent habit of blaming others for difficulties shows stubbornness and self-pity; in "Terrorism's Victory," he believes that the Nigerian Christmas-day bomber succeeded in deepening the fear involved in air travel; in "Iranian Influence in Iraq," he shows how the announced withdrawal plan has played into Iranian hands: they have the power to provoke a Sunni insurgency -- in return for a peaceful exit, the U.S. must acquiesce to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Allan Brownfeld, in "With the Deficit Soaring, the Bipartisan Congressional Practice of Wasteful Earmarks Continues with No End in Sight," reports on the unprecedented debt piling up, and the disregard of its consequences by Congress and the President; in "Recent Acts of Violence Illustrate the Need for Repeat Criminals to Serve Their Full Sentences," he relates several recent failures of the justice system to protect the innocent; in "It Is Not 'Racism' but Far More Complex Factors Which Account for the Gap in Achievement Rates for Black Students," he writes that one primary reason black children are not learning is the absence of fathers in the home; in "The Largely Untold Story: Rescuing Jews in Mussolini's Italy," he tells the stories of unrecognized heroism.

Mark Hendrickson, in "The Theory of Moral Sentiments: Adam Smith's Timely and Timeless Classic," explains Smith's three cardinal social virtues: prudence, justice, and beneficence; in "Obama's Anti-jobs Policy," demonstrates why the president's programs are making things worse; in "The Student Loan Problem," he talks about the predicaments naive young people find themselves in; in "A Moment of Illumination," he casts light on the foolishness of poor-performing, mercury-filled, "green" light bulbs: we will never use all the energy that our energy-rich world contains.

Paul Kengor interviews Guido Hulsmann about the consequences of bloated spending in "Outrageous Public Debt."

James Inhofe, in "Sneak Peek Into New Senate Report on Climategate," provides an overview and selections of a Senate Report on the scientific scandal known as Climategate.

James Inhofe's Senate Office has compiled the emails that have been at the center of Climategate in "A Sampling of CRU Emails and Documents."

In "Pennsylvaia's Green Eco-Slumber," Robert Smith reveals liberal lawmakers' method: demand uneconomical and unfeasible changes, make utilities carry out the changes and take the blame, then leave office before the bill comes due.

Thomas Martin, in "Discerning Care," takes a philosopher's scalpel to arguments for including abortion funding in healthcare reform; in "Christmas" he writes of redeeming "newness."

In "H. L. Menken -- Man of Prejudices," Robert M. Thornton reveals the spark that animated an early 20th century American writer.

Jigs Gardner, in "Thomas Hardy," discusses the author's failings and strengths, and his tragedy that has no equal in English literature since Shakespeare.