The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary

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Phillips Red

25 Feb, 2017

Will CPAC Adapt to Trumpism?

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The Conservative Political Action Conference, better known as CPAC, starts this week. For those who are unfamiliar with CPAC, it is an annual event that takes place in Washington, DC that brings together conservative activists with conservative elected officials, leaders, journalists and celebrities. It is likely the largest and most prominent event of its kind within the conservative universe. The event is sponsored by the American Conservative Union (ACU), a venerable conservative organization. The ACU, as would be expected for a long established movement conservative institution, generally represents orthodox “three-legs-of-the-stool” type conservatism – fiscally conservative, socially conservative and hawkish on...

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FF / Podcasts / Season 1 / SMJ

24 Feb, 2017

Surely, You Must Be Joking Dr. Fleming?, Episode 1: Slavery

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In the first episode of this new series Dr. Fleming takes on the issue of slavery. Is it a “moral issue?” How do we look at slavery both historically and within the context of “slavery” that most Americans think about, which is to say what existed prior to 1860? Is there a value to paternalism, to hierarchy, to obedience? What did St. Paul say? What about modern day wage slavery? Dr. Fleming discusses all this and more to help you possibly have a more productive conversation with friends should you dare to broach this topic sometime. Original Air Date: February...

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All Paid Subscribers / Seiler

22 Feb, 2017

Trump’s First Great Month

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  It hasn’t been easy, but Trump has put in a great first month as president.  As he said, he “inherited a mess.”  The mess goes back not just through the whole eight years of the Obama regime, but at least through the Bushes and Clintons. We can stop there, because the end of the Cold War, 1989-91, marked a time when America could have used a “peace dividend” to regroup, heal domestic wounds and develop a sensible foreign policy. Instead, in foreign affairs, America’s unique power of the 1990s was wasted on establishing first  President George H.W. Bush’s New...

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All Paid Subscribers / Andrei Navrozov / Wednesday's Child

22 Feb, 2017

Wednesday’s Child: The Laser and the Loser

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Watching what the Guardian last week rather wittily dubbed the president’s anti-press conference, I reflected on the extent to which the survival of our culture depends on syntax.  As I have a stepmother tongue, English, in addition to my mother tongue, I am constantly reminded of ways in which much less syntactically evolved Russian allows the speaker or writer to obscure his meaning – sometimes intentionally, when he is lying, sometimes despite himself, when he is telling the truth. To be sure, Russian has strengths that English does not possess – a wealth of inflections, for instance, keeps our rhyming...

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Uncategorized

21 Feb, 2017

Hellas: A Crisis That Is Absolutely Moral By Nikos Hidiroglou 

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The nihilists, cosmopolitans and atheist bureaucrats (some of them called ironically “Christian Democrats”) that run European affairs have actually decided to destroy everything on the continent that gave birth to our civilization.  And they are ruining Hellas, the timeless source of light.  Since WWII they have subjugated, step by step, its political system, and now they are enslaving the country financially.  Hellas is sinking deeply into debt. Well, there are no political expectations right now for modern Hellenes.  Their choices are indeed limited. The urban political elite of the country is demonstrating in every chance it gets, the strange syndrome...

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Fleming

18 Feb, 2017

The Xanthippe, Part 5

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In the last installment we heard Xanthippe as she refuted Plato’s argument for a society run by experts Xanthippe: Do you really want to live in a world made in the image of Plato and run by his mirror-images.  We should all be slaves or those mechanical servants that waited on King Alcinous in Phaeacia.  Surely, you remember the Odyssey ? Pheidippides:  That’s giving it to him, auntie! Part 5 Xanthippe:  And you think the same argument doesn’t apply to you? Pheidippides:  Not me, I believe in free markets, remember? Xanthippe: I don’t want to go through all of this...

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FF / ISL / Podcasts / Season 1

17 Feb, 2017

Islam: The Real Truth About the “Religion of Peace”, Episode 0: Introduction

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In this zero episode of Islam: The Real Truth About the “Religion of Peace” Dr. Srdja Trifkovic discusses the writing of his 2002 book The Sword of the Prophet: his motivations, how he went about writing the book, how it was received, and its importance today, 15 years later. We will be using Dr. Trifkovic’s book this season, so if you’d like to follow along or prepare better for the episodes, you can order the book here. Original Air Date: February 17, 2017 Show Run Time: 35 minutes Show Guest(s): Dr. Srdja Trifkovic Show Host(s): Stephen Heiner The Fleming Foundation...

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Feature / FF / FUTR / Podcasts / Season 1

16 Feb, 2017

The Antidote to the Poison of Democracy: From Under the Rubble, Episode 9

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In this episode Dr. Fleming takes on one of the issues brought forward by those who wished to dispute the validity of the recent US election: the relevance of the electoral college. Dr. Fleming explores the historical context for the electoral college, as well as various other “disputed” presidential elections and makes the case, among other things, for why the 17th amendment should be repealed. Original Air Date: February 16, 2017 Show Run Time: 35 minutes Show Guest(s): Dr. Thomas Fleming Show Host(s): Stephen Heiner The Fleming Foundation · From Under the Rubble, Episode 9: The Antidote to the Poison...

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All Paid Subscribers / Andrei Navrozov / Feature / Wednesday's Child

15 Feb, 2017

Wednesday’s Child: A Tale of Two Obituaries

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Apart from the indomitable Madame Defarge, all I remember about the famous novel by Dickens is that there are two cities in it. Those cities, London and Paris, were evidently symbols for the author, not merely geographic or historical entities.  And so, following his example, I offer the reader a tale of two obituaries – newspaper articles about my father, who died last month – one written in London and published in the Daily Telegraph, the other written in New York and published in the New York Times. “Lev Navrozov, who has died aged 88, was a Russian author, historian,...

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All Paid Subscribers / Feature / Seiler

14 Feb, 2017

The Supreme Court: The Most Dangerous Branch

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With President Trump’s appointment of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, the country again agonizes over the vast powers the high bench has arrogated to itself. But wasn’t it supposed to be “the least dangerous branch to the political rights of the Constitution,” as Alexander Hamilton promised in Federalist No. 78 way back on June 14, 1788? He continued, “The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The...