The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary

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Little Boxes of the Mind, Part One of Two

I do not blame the students. The fault lies almost entirely with their parents and with their teachers. Entire university departments are now populated exclusively by trained monkeys who specialize in critical theory or sociology or marketing and know absolutely nothing worth knowing.

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Wednesday’s Child: Worse on Friday

Put simply, over the last twenty years the story of civil liberties in Russia has run in parallel with Solomon Grundy’s.  That arrest there has now become virtually synonymous with prosecution, and prosecution with conviction, is evidence stark enough for any man of good will, but periodically a legal case comes to light for which the starkness is merely a charming background. This week it is the case of one Egor Zhukov, a 21-year-old university student who was arrested in July during the street demonstrations in Moscow.  As evidence the judge was shown a police videotape of a young man...

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GI Jane Jive–Women in Combat

Of all the areas of our lives negatively effected by this absurd doctrine [equality], perhaps few could be construed to be as dangerous as the move to institutionalize women in combat. Tennesseean Mark Atkins explores this in the recent release from Shotwell Publishing, Women In Combat: Feminism Goes to War. Hollywood continuously produces films showcasing nature-defying feats of diminutive women who have the ability to grapple in one-on-one combat with men two or three times their size and emerge successful. But these fanciful characterizations are as real as Santa Claus. As Atkins explains at length, aside from unusual exceptions, the God of nature has not endowed women to be combat warriors. 

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Our Saudi Friends and Allies

Why are Americans getting so ticked about a Saudi or two acting up in Pensacola.  They are our good allies and buddies, right?  Saudi businessmen were pals of the Bushes, and who really cares if members of the royal family and other Saudi billionaires  are funding Jihadi schools in America?  After all, they’ve been paying good money to both parties in Congress.  Besides, there’s money to be made.  It’s oil, man, oil.  Either get with the plan and pick up the crumbs under the Bushes (and the rest of the GOP’s table) or go off and sulk and kiss your...

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Wednesday’s Child: Letter from London

Apart from mudslinging at Prince Andrew for his alleged peccadillos, first sexual and now financial, British newspapers are occupied with exposing the “anti-Semitism” of Jeremy Corbyn.  “What will become of Jews and Judaism in Britain if the Labour Party forms the next government?” asked Britain’s Chief Rabbi in what the Times of Israel has described as “an unprecedented intervention into partisan politics.” As in the case of Prince Andrew, discussed in this space last week, I’m not an admirer of Corbyn.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that should Labour win the general election next Thursday...

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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,