The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary
Coming Soon to a Theater Near You by Thomas Fleming Thursday evening, I am going to be watching one of my favorite westerns: Four Faces West, based on a novella by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. Our friend Mark Kennedy will be joining us, and Ray Olson is willing to post some remarks. If you have a chance, try to see the movie, and we can start a discussion either over the weekend or next week.
I asked Robert Peters to share his thoughts on the renewed demand to take down the Battle Flag in South Carolina. This is his response. TJF A False Flag Operation by Robert Peters Since the advent of abolitionism we have been plagued by a false narrative about the South and things Southern. This narrative has ebbed and flowed throughout American history from its advent to the present. Since the late 1960’s there has been a resurgence of the narrative, with its now being at high tide and raging. Within that narrative, particularly since the late 1980’s, the Confederate Battle Flag or...
See full text of complete series here: https://fleming.foundation/2022/01/the-autodidact-homer/
See full text of complete series here: https://fleming.foundation/2022/01/the-autodidact-homer/
Reading After the Movies: William Wister Haines By Ray Olson Every so often, instead of reading a book before I see the movie made of it, I’ll read it afterward because I want to see whether it’s as good or better. Often the same kind of clue that gets me to read before—the writer’s reputation, the book’s, or even, in the case I’m going to present, a name—boosts my curiosity to read after. In Command Decision (1948), bomb group CO K. C. Dennis (Clark Gable) is sending his planes deep into Germany to destroy three separate facilities involved in producing jet aircraft....
The Best Party That Dollars (Canadian or Brunei) Can Buy Thomas Fleming The Best Congress Money Can Buy is divided over President Obama’s demand for “fast-track” trade authorization, which maintains presidential authority to make trade deals without interference from a reluctant Congress that might be too sensitive to the needs of the American people. The authorization bill is so complicated that members of Congress are voting on it without knowing, much less understanding the contents. All we really do know is that the globalists are reaching out to Europe and the Pacific Rim in order to create “a more perfect union.”...
The Best Revenge 3: A Party for Boethius Thursday we held our first little get-together. It was too modest to be called an “event.” About 20 friends came for a glass or two of wine to our crumbling stuccoed shack on Highcrest Road. We cannot afford expensive stuff for this many people, but we did serve a decent Merlot from Mirassou and a better Portuguese Douro (Altano). I don’t remember which pinot grigio we served, but one of the guests in a misguided gesture of friendship brought a bottle of E.B. (Ezra Brooks contribution to single barrel Bourbon). After...
See full text of complete series here: https://fleming.foundation/2022/01/the-autodidact-homer/
Washington’s Criminal Conspiracy By Thomas Fleming One way or another, the provisions of the Patriot Act will be confirmed and strengthened. There is nothing that either libertarian Republicans (Rand Paul) or leftist civil libertarians (Bernie Sanders) can do to stop it. Conspiring against the citizenry is the lifeblood of our government. Most of the debate on the renewal has been focussed on practical and legal matters: Are the Feds listening to my telephone calls and monitoring my email? Has Federal surveillance actually stopped acts of terrorism? Does this surveillance violate the US Constitution? These are serious questions, and they are...
Hijab Rules By Thomas Fleming In an 8-1 decision that surprised no one, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Muslim woman’s right to wear a head-scarf in defiance of an employer’s dress code. Abercrombie and Fitch—a maker of overpriced preppy status clothing—had implemented a dress code that required sales staff to dress in in the style of A&F’s product line. Among the prohibited items was any form of head-covering. A Muslim woman took the job without informing the company either of her religion or her intention to wear a head scarf. A&F’s lawyers took the line that...