All posts by bradbirzer

By day, I'm a father of seven and husband of one. By night, I'm an author, a biographer, and a prog rocker. Interests: Rush, progressive rock, cultural criticisms, the Rocky Mountains, individual liberty, history, hiking, and science fiction.

Harmony and Order: Giving Thanks ~ The Imaginative Conservative

Of course, I do not want or desire to conflate that which is sacred with that which is profane. The Sabbath does not exist for the right of association. Yet, as we pause and reflect on the many great and grand blessings bestowed upon us as Americans, we would be foolish to ignore the tradition of self-governance, of community building, and of the right to association. Once again, it is healthy to remember what we should cherish. Plato, after all, told us we must love what should be loved and hate what should be hated. In rough times, we too readily remember the hate part but forget the love part. As you celebrate your time with your family, eat turkey and mashed potatoes, and watch, for the 1000th time, Home Alone, don’t forget to give thanks—to all of those who came before us and, especially, to He who created us in His image to know, to serve, and to love Him.
— Read on theimaginativeconservative.org/2018/11/harmony-order-thanksgiving-bradley-birzer.html

Mises on Liberalism and Nationalism

An excellent article from my former colleague, Richard Ebeling.

Richard Ebeling

https://www.aier.org/article/ludwig-von-mises-liberalism-nationalism-and-self-determination?fbclid=IwAR0nDD7qk2izqkS7Jr3ZiJ1w97QZ4IGzlBBgrYSVniiNTJI9-g6XBmtHP_s

The Coming Bankruptcy of the American Empire | The American Conservative

I had the chance (privilege) to meet Hunter a year or so ago. He’s a truly fine young man with a great career ahead of him.

The Coming Bankruptcy of the American Empire | The American Conservative
— Read on www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-coming-bankruptcy-of-the-american-empire/

Why Facebook’s Long Reign May Be Coming to an End – Foundation for Economic Education

Sears and Blockbuster fell because neither was able to adapt and grow with its consumer base. Facebook has routinely gone against the wishes and needs of its users and is just now starting to face the consequences.
— Read on fee.org/articles/not-too-big-to-fail-why-facebooks-long-reign-may-be-coming-to-an-end/

Spirit of Cecilia note: This is an excellent article. Indeed, one of the best I’ve seen on the issue. I don’t know Brittany Hunter, but I look forward to reading everything else she writes.

Every Soul a Battlefield: Rush’s HEMISPHERES

A review of the 2-CD remastered version of Rush, Hemispheres, 40th Anniversary Edition.  Please note: I have NOT seen the deluxe edition yet.  It should be arriving soon.

An album that wants us to find the whole person.

Hemispheres represents Rush at its most progressive best—that is, until 2012’s Clockwork Angels. 

Indeed, Hemispheres represents Rush at its earliest progressive best. Caress of Steel might be more wacky; 2112 might be more anthemic; and A Farewell to Kings might be more diverse in tone; but Hemispheres is an album without flaw. Even though much of the album came about at the last minute and with little thought, Geddy and Alex were certainly at the height of their musical experimentation, and Neil had moved from writing short stories and prose poem to write a full novel and creating its own logically consisted internal world. Having already explored the mystical fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien, the bizarre individualism of Ayn Rand, Peart now embraced the work of one of the most complicated and best philosophers of the modern age, Friedrich Nietzsche. What made all the glorious pieces of this majestic moment in Rush history come together, though, was certainly Terry Brown’s flawless production and Hugh Syme’s surreal art.

The inspiration for Peart’s exploration of Apollo and Dionysius.

It would be hard to exaggerate Brown’s productions skills. On Caress, everything felt like a razor’s edge cutting through the haze of psychedelia. 2112 felt righteously angry, a call to arms to protect all that is good in western civilization. Farewell felt justly wise and statesmanlike, three intelligent men challenging the corruption so comfortably residing in their midst. Hemispheres, however, perfectly combines classical myth and 1970s era space opera, allowing a narrative that explains the Aristotelian notion of moderation while clothed in the tragic prose of Nietzsche and yet still giving us a Skywalker-esque hero in Cygnus. “Let the love of truth shine clear.” The first side ends with the apotheosis of Cygnus, becoming not just the god of moderation, but the most integrated and indispensable man yet to emerge in the universe. [Make sure to go to page 2–by clicking below]

Socialism Kills

Socialism kills.

I’m happily shocked that the New York Times would print an anti-communist article. I also notice that the piece conveniently left out the fact that the Times once left one of its reporters behind in Cambodia, Dith Pran, a man who suffered a year in the gulag before making his escape.

The two mentioned in the article are two of three (the third being Pol Pot) responsible for murdering upwards of 50% of the Cambodian population between 1975 and 1978.

Their communism combined Karl Marx, Thomas Jefferson, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Socialism kills (yes, worth repeating).

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/world/asia/khmer-rouge-nuon-chea-khieu-samphan-genocide-cambodia.html?emc=edit_th_181117&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=455752581117