More Birthdays: Podcast
An 18 minute podcast on Bat Masterson, Joe Di Maggio, Emperor Komnenos, John Bunyan, William Blake, Berry Gordy, Jimi Hendrix, Merle Travis, Voltaire, C.S. Lewis, Gregory of Tours, Jonathan Swift, Theodor Momsen,
Author: Thomas Fleming
A Happy Real American Thanksgiving
how, once upon a time, some footloose Englishmen came to the New World seeking easy gold, free land, and the right to spit tobacco when and where they wanted. As good Anglicans, these adventurers, roughnecks, and proto-cavaliers were too busy minding their business to worry to much about minding yours. The few who who survived the initial attempts to settle various spots in Virginia, beginning with Jamestown, were reminded of their own weakness and from time to time their leaders decided it was time to give thanks to the Almighty for letting them survive in this savage land. So, with one accord, the men brought what game they could shoot, along with their jugs of corn-squeezings and stashes of tobacco, whipped out their fiddles, and had themselves a great time
Climate Change, Face Book, and Other Nonsense
On the basis of what authority are you entitled to declare all criticism of manmade climate change to be rightwing ideology? I know several people who never got beyond 9th grade general science but are forever sounding off on FB on the idiocy of “conservatives”–by which I think they mean supporters of global capitalism–who deny what all right-thinking men are supposed to know. Of course all right-thinking men once upon a time believed in Phlogiston, spontaneous generation, phrenology, and the possibility of a successful Marxist economy. It is true that we all have opinions, most of them unsubstantiated by any stronger proof than an editorial in the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or perhaps it was something we misunderstood once back in Music Appreciation 101. That is what ideologies do to the brain, and it scarcely matters if it is the ideology of Al Gore or Alfred Rosenburg. If Mr Henman, so absolutely certain he is on the right side of history (or should I say the left side), thinks he is an expert on climatology, how did he come by his expertise?
Thomas Fleming to Speak in Kentucky
Soon Fleming Foundation readers living in the vicinity of Louisville, Kentucky will have a chance to encounter Dr. Fleming in person, for on December 6th he will be at the parish hall of Saint Michael’s Orthodox Church to deliver the address “Shakespeare, Christian Moralist: Love, Family, Justice, and Hamlet.” The evening will kick off with a wine & cheese reception at 7 p.m., followed by Dr. Fleming’s lecture and a Q & A session. This free public event is sponsored by Immaculata Classical Academy, along with Holy Family Radio WCLR AM 1040. An independent Catholic school recognized by the Louisville...
Politics of Human Nature, Part III
A 24 minute podcast on how modern ideologies–Marxist, Freudian, feminist, Classical Liberal–have fragmented and undermined our understanding of human nature. The Soviet experiment ended in complete failure, and the American and European experiment in democratic hedonism is going faster into ruin than communism.
The Honest Journalist, Conclusion
If even the devil needs an invitation to cross the threshold, why do we allow Jimmy Kimmel or Stephen Colbert or Bill O’Reilly into our lives? Why should it be impossible to choose the cultural influences that will determine what sort of people most Americans are?
More November Birthdays: Augustine, R.L. Stevenson, Vachel Lindsay, Bert Williams,
A 21 minute podcast touching on Augustine and Robert Louis Stevenson and also the great Italian novelist C.E. Gadda.
Politics of Human Nature 30 Years Later, Part II
A 27 minute podcast: putting the American suicide in an historical context.
The Honest Journalist, Part One (of Two)
Mankind does not need to be taught to lie: Adam told his first lie in the Garden, but it is disconcerting to realize that the talk radio listeners, in modeling themselves on Mark Levin and Shawn Hannity, have learned to be as one-dimensional and misinformed as their heroes. I suppose, in defense of the American people, we should concede that the best people do not listen to talk radio or read the newspapers.
The Fifth of November–and Other Anniversaries
In this 11 minute podcast, Dr. Fleming and Rex take up some famous people born in early November.
