Stormfields

Christopher Dawson, “Claims of Politics,” 1939

One of Christopher Dawson’s many pieces on the dangers of the New Leviathan and the rise of the modern state, something unique in world history, claiming the traditional roles of state as well as church.

Source: “The Claims of Politics,” SCRUTINY 8 (September 1939).

 

cd claims of politics

Rush’s SUBDIVISIONS (1982)

The last album produced by the then fourth-member of Rush, Terry Brown, Signals (September 9, 1982) marked yet again a major progression in the music of Rush as well as in the lyrics of Neil Peart. The pressure to produce something similar to the previous year’s Moving Pictures naturally proved immense, as they had never […]

via SIGNALS (1982): A Song Cycle by Rush — Progarchy

Big Big Train’s FAR SKIES DEEP TIME Reissued — Progarchy

According to an email from Burning Shed this afternoon, Big Big Train has redesigned and remastered its 2010 maxi-ep release, FAR SKIES DEEP TIME. Coming after 2009’s THE UNDERFALL YARD, FAR SKIES DEEP TIME was never seen by the band as a proper studio release, but rather as a compilation of disparate tracks. Over the […]

via Big Big Train’s FAR SKIES DEEP TIME Reissued — Progarchy

Burke’s View of Human Nature (TIC)

The French Revolutionaries, Edmund Burke rightly understood, sought not just the overturning of the old, but, critically, they also desired the destruction of the true, the good, and the beautiful. 1,214 more words

via Edmund Burke & the French Revolutionaries — The Imaginative Conservative

FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTASY at 25

Let me throw down the mother of gauntlets as I start this piece. Of all the bands and artists I’ve seen perform live over my fifty years of life, no one has ever exceeded Sarah McLachlan in intensity and performance. And, yes, I’m comparing her to Rush, to Yes, to Tears for Fears, to Neal […]

via Sarah McLachlan’s FUMBLING at 25 — Progarchy

Father Dwight’s Pope and President (TIC)

God’s way of working in the world is full of seeming coincidences, plot twists, and unexpected jolts. Ronald Reagan’s election at an advanced age could not have been predicted, neither could have the sudden death of Pope John Paul I, which thrust the young pope from Poland onto the world stage. 1,269 more words

via A Pope, a President, and Providence — The Imaginative Conservative

Returning to Catholicism. . . in Morocco, 1988 (TIC)

There I, a convinced atheist, stood alone in a sandy and windy world, devoid of water, trees, or anything that seemed to be alive. And I couldn’t help but wonder what madness had overcome me… 1,293 more words

via Surprised by Faith: My Moroccan Odyssey — The Imaginative Conservative

Birzer Bandana Video: A View

There may possibly be some readers who still don’t know that, as well as being editor and chief contributor to Progarchy, Dr. Brad Birzer has also written lyrics and created concepts for two progressive rock albums. This is a track from the latest album Of Course It Must Be. You can explore more of Brad’s […]

via A View — Progarchy

Marillion LIVE in Grand Rapids by Rick K.

Marillion at 20 Monroe Live, Grand Rapids, Michigan, February 18, 2018. Waiting for Marillion to take the stage, my thoughts drifted to the rest of those gathering in this well-appointed concert club. Why were they here? Doubtless, there were locals who, when they heard Marillion was returning to Grand Rapids after 20+ years, anticipated pure […]

via In Concert: The Heart of Marillion — Progarchy

My Review of Roie Avin’s ESSENTIAL MODERN PROG ROCK ALBUMS

Yes, I want to break into song. I just recently rewatched THE SOUND OF MUSIC with my two oldest daughters. I’d forgotten what a great joy the whole movie is, and how satisfying it is that the family outwitted the Nazis. As their followers, the alt-nuts grow in audacity in America, I hope the descendants […]

via Roie Avin, ESSENTIAL PROGRESSIVE ROCK ALBUMS (Book Review) — Progarchy

The Deep Humanism of Flannery O’Connor (TIC)

Not only was Flannery O’Connor one of the most important Christian Humanists of the twentieth century, but she also well understood what made Christian Humanism what it was. 1,240 more words

via Intelligent Piety: The Christian Humanism of Flannery O’Connor — The Imaginative Conservative

Available for Pre-Order–My Biography of Andrew Jackson

AJ cover

Arriving on your book shelf, September 10, 2018.  Published by Regnery.  Order here.

I just found out recently that my quirky (and, I hope, lively and thoughtful) biography of Andrew Jackson comes out on September 10, 2018, just four days after I turn 51.  How great is that?

And, yes, Andrew Jackson was brutal toward the Indians.  Strangely, though, Jackson could be extremely compassionate and sympathetic toward them as well.  Not only did he NOT fight American Indian women or children, he threatened execution of any one who did.

And, yes, he really employed every ounce of his personal power to extend (maybe overreach) the executive branch.  Believe me, I’m not thrilled about this aspect of the man.  Yet, like Marshall with the Supreme Court before him, he sought not to make the executive more powerful than the judiciary or legislative, but to place it on an equal level with each.

Frankly, I’ve never “met” such an honest and violent man.  There is no doubt he believed in a republic, but he thought that republic could only be attained and maintained through extraordinary means.  Yet, I can say with equal ferocity, the man was as honest as the day was long.  He would’ve considered a lie of any kind as an indication that he was not a real man.  He would’ve much rather suffered death than dishonesty and loss of reputation.

To pre-order, please click below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1621577287/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1