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The Long View

The Long View: Tokugawa America

Tokugawa Japan is one of the more remarkable societies that have ever developed. It produced most of the culture that both we Americans and the Japanese find distinctive, and managed to be relatively stable and resistant to the outside world for nearly 250 years. When the outside world finally barged

The Long View 2006-08-18: The Endings of Various Epochs

I learned a lot reading Matti Friedman's Pumpkinflowers, once I finally got around to it [it sat in my to-read pile for two years]. The suicide bombings started shortly after the Lebanese occupation was over, and then the security checkpoints installed to stop the bombers led to missile

The Long View 2006-08-15: Spelling, Genealogy, Lebanon, Tradition, Ham

In the mid 2000s, John Reilly often defended President George W. Bush, for partisan reasons. I have to hold him to account for this. However, I do try to balance it out with things like his assessment of the capacity of Islamic transnational movements to found a state: Transnationalism has

The Long View 2006-08-09: Qinshihuangdi; Republican versus Conservative; Bernard Lewis; Mark Steyn

When I was younger, I was much taken with the wild, Indiana Jones-style tales of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Alas, they are likely fables, but a young man can dream. Also, the zingers just keep coming. Anyone who has ever had a run-in with an overzealous HOA can

The Long View 2006-08-07: From the End of History to the Restoration of Art

Two great lines today: And as for the long term? You can argue with God about the merits of a system of family law that is neutral or hostile toward reproduction, but Darwin will have none of it. Love is too much to ask for. An informed respect for order

The Long View 2006-08-03: Fahrenheit Hype; World Can't Wait; Empire Past Due Date

I've always found the idea of putting Ed Asner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Gore Vidal, and Howard Zinn in a room together and seeing what happens funny. Four men with strong opinions, and probably not used to taking no for an answer. 3 of the 4 have now passed on,

The Long View 2006-07-27: Transitional Parties; Political Despair; Gnostic Novels

There was an entry listed in the 2006 archives page for July 26th, but I seem to have lost it. Thus, we move on to the 27th. Transitional Parties; Political Despair; Gnostic Novels A Third Party is almost impossible in America, according to the Prometheus Institute, and in any case