Jerry Ewing’s greatest achievements in Wonderous Stories are to show conclusively that progressive rock never died and continues to thrive; and that it’s a vital and vibrant cultural expression, worthy of all due scholarly and cultural attention… 1,643 more words
via The Art and Delight of Progressive Rock — The Imaginative Conservative
The good folks of The American Conservative allowed me to indulge one of my greatest loves and write about the 2018 re-release of Marillion’s BRAVE, remixed by Steven Wilson. Whatever your politics, please head over there to check it out.
“The Cold War is done, but those bastards will find us another one.”
This cry might have come from any current reader of The American Conservative alive in the early 1990s—well, maybe without the bastard part. But still, an anguished expression from Russell Kirk or Pat Buchanan? Why not? After all, as TAC editor Bob Merry recently and wisely noted, so many so-called conservatives of the early 1990s “kicked Reagan to the curb” the moment they inherited the Republican Party. And it seems they kept kicking, mutating a military that came into existence solely to defeat the Soviets into a world peace-keeping force, a new Delian League. The bastards did find us another one.
And then: “They’re here to protect us, don’t you know. So get used to it. Get used to it.”
James Bovard or Virginia Postrel? Or some other grand libertarian of a quarter of a century ago? Why not?
Actually, the words are prog rock lyrics from Marillion’s album Brave (1994).
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/marillion-prog-rocks-bards-of-alienation/
Pulliam and Gutzman are ALWAYS worth reading. Enjoy this encounter of three stunning minds.
http://www.libertylawsite.org/2018/05/09/thomas-jefferson-revolutionary/
There now exists a general dissatisfaction with the present sunk condition of higher learning; complacency having trickled away, reform is conceivable… For a quarter of a century, the higher education in America has been sinking lower. 4,842 more words
via Simplicity & Audacity in Reform: A Call for Reactionary Radicalism — The Imaginative Conservative
For Father Tom, everything was larger in life, because he could see past our weaknesses and our failings. For Father Tom saw what God made a person to be, not what the person did stupidly with his own free will. When Father Tom looked at us, when he smiled at us, he did so with…
via An Ode to a North Texas Friar — The Imaginative Conservative
If James Madison offered the American republic a five-course meal of epicurean excellence, Roger Sherman was the short-order fry cook in the nearest greasy spoon, a block or two away from Independence Square… (essay by Bradley Birzer)
— Read on www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2018/05/roger-sherman-puritan-founding-america-mark-david-hall-bradley-birzer.html
I find it deeply disturbing that 1) so few Americans know about the Holocaust or believe it to have been as bad as it was; and 2) I find it disturbing that an actress’s comments have sparked so much debate. Each thing is tragic and sad. But, each is also true.
The Jewish holocaust matters. Our best estimates are that Hitler systematically eradicated the lives of 5.3 million Jews.
Governments (mostly communist and fascist) murdered roughly 205 million civilians (non combatants) between 1914 and 1991. Of these, Hitler and his regime are responsible for 21 million. Stalin and Russia for about 62 million, and Mao for about 65 million. In comparison, roughly 50 million combatants died in war in the same century.
Yes, to be sure, the organized state murdered 4x the number of people war (every war) did.
Granted, 5.3 million is much smaller than 62 or 65. Yet, there are still crucial differences and vital distinctions to be made about the Jewish Holocaust.
First, the National Socialists of Germany and Europe targeted a people specifically for their religion and ethnicity. They were torn from already ghettoized neighborhoods and communities to be wiped out in the camps.
Second, the Jewish survivors have done–unquestionably–more to remember and memorialize the dead more than any other group. Had the Jews not done this, it is almost certain that almost ALL holocausts of the last century would be ignored, forgotten or mocked.
Third, because of the power of the state of Israel, credible law enforcement went into the world–with righteousness and justice–eliminating the enemies of the Jewish people. There are lots and lots of retired Communists around the world. There are (and were) very few retired Nazis. They didn’t live long after the second World War. And, good riddance.
So, Natalie Portman–spout off all you want, but you 1) demean the Jewish people; 2) demean the dignity of ALL persons; and 3) show how historically ignorant you are.
Unlike reality—which is infinitely and ultimately unknowable—Marxism as ideology pretends to understand the world, but, in reality, it offers only the merest shadow of true complexities… 1,136 more words
Stormfields 