The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary
Donald Trump, as heavy-footed and inarticulate as he is, has shows himself time after time to be a man of superb political instincts. Cut off, for most of his life, from contact with ordinary Americans, he manages, nonetheless, to display old-fashioned common sense in statements guaranteed both to delight what is fast becoming the Silent Minority and to outrage the cowards, liars, and flunkeys who dominate politics and the press. Donald’s latest stunt—and we can only hope that it is not just a stunt—is to call for a moratorium on Islamic immigration into the United States. Of course, most sensible...
As a Roman moralist, Cicero is seen at his best in the three books of his De Officiis, a work that Dr. Johnson said ought to be read once a year. Officia are not public offices but duties, the responsibilities it is incumbent upon us to carry out. Cicero draw his primary inspiration from Plato and his followers in the Middle Academy, a phase of Platonism that emphasized epistemological skepticism. However, he was also very eclectic and fair-minded, seeking useful truths wherever he could find them–especially from Aristotle but also from the Stoics whose extremism he objected to. For all his...
Dear Readers Many of you by now have experienced our new “walled garden” subscriber format, and I hope you have come to understand and appreciate why we are doing it and how we are setting up the Foundation on a firm footing for a future that will outlast its namesake (though we hope that he will last for some time yet!). Our Charter Subscribers receive a mug and notebook, in addition to some yet-to-be disclosed benefits, but should you wish to purchase these for yourself or for friends or family this month, in solidarity with our cause or simply to...
You know me, folks. You know that when I hear the phrase “human rights” I release the safety catch of my Browning, or at least spit on the floor to register contempt. Like “social diversity,” which is its opposite in real life–and like a thousand other weasel phrases too noxious to enumerate here–that neologism is not only not a synonym of individual liberty, but often its functional antonym. So you will not think less of me if I mention something called the European Court of Human Rights in other than a derisory way. Some nine years ago a man in...
In this first episode of our podcast, Dr Fleming spends some time breaking down the first few verses of Chapter 1 from St. John’s Gospel. By diving directly into the text, Dr Fleming absorbs the reader right into the study of Latin, using anecdotes and gentle encouragement in his inimitable style. There is a “gentle” version of Dr. Fleming! Take a listen. Original Air Date: December 9, 2015 Show Run Time: 49 minutes Show Guest(s): Dr. Thomas Fleming Show Host(s): Stephen Heiner The Fleming Foundation · Latin, Episode 1: Initium The Fleming Foundation Presents Latin℗ is a Production of...
I did not watch, hear, or read President Obama’s brilliant address offering a range of eminently practical solutions to the terrorist threat. Why bother? Like most of his recent predecessors, this President would not tell the truth if it were tattooed onto his brain, and if he did accidentally blurt out some particle of reality, the state media would immediately cover up his gaffe. The security of the United States and of its citizens is menaced by Muslims, but neither the President nor the media is willing even to state thate fact. Without reading the speech, I...
The first four books of the Odyssey can be read as the tale of Odysseus’ troubled son, Telemachus, a young man brought up without a father and treated with contempt by his mother’s suitors. In his travels in search of information about his father, Telemachus learns how to be a man. Dr. Fleming’s introductory comments and the group discussion make an insightful and entertaining introduction to this early masterpiece of Western literature. Recorded: August 13, 2015 Original Air Date: December 7, 2015 Show Run Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Show Guest(s): Dr. Thomas Fleming Show Host(s): James Easton The Fleming...
This is a slightly modified version of a piece originally published in The Spectator under the title “Tories Back Wrong Philosopher.” It is being made available “On the House” for five days. TWO hundred years ago, the career of Edmund Burke was drawing to a close under a cloud of accusations. The Duke of Bedford and his friends had denounced the one-time budget-cutting reformer and enemy of the royal prerogative for accepting a pension from the Crown. In his ‘Letter to a Noble Lord’, published in February 1796, Burke rebutted the charges of inconsistency and hypocrisy. It was Burke’s last stand,...
As Americans went to bed on December 2, they knew little of what happened in San Bernardino, where mysterious “white” assailants murdered 14 people at a “social services center.” Like most people, probably, we were otherwise occupied. We were watching an old episode of Comissario Montalbano. Even this morning on NPR, which featured an interview with two “experts” on mass shootings, I only accidentally learned that one of the shooters had a Pakistani Muslim name. Checking out the stories in the Washington Post, LA Times, and New York Times, I was able to glean only a few facts: a...
“This would be a great target to hit.” It was Tuesday, and I closed my eyes and pictured an explosion ripping through the Eurostar that was taking me from Paris to London. Done at the right time, with the proper amount of explosives, such an act could destroy or severely cripple the Chunnel, kill hundreds of travelers of dozens of nationalities, and chill rail travel for months, if not years. I opened my eyes again, and gazed at the lovely French countryside. I’m not morbid by nature, but wars, and rumors of wars, have been on my mind since November 13th....
