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The Long View

The Long View 2006-12-18: Class of the Year; Past the Apogee; The Latin Mass

This post by John J. Reilly was written about six months before the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum was published, giving universal permission to celebrate the Mass in the Latin Rite according to the pre-Vatican II rubrics. I have a pending review of the book A Bitter Trial, containing letters between

The Long View 2006-12-13: Waiting for the Mahdi; AH and Iraq; Christmas Kitsch

I note that Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi did win election to the upper house in Iran in 2006, but that his party did not gain a majority in the legislature. The Wikipedia article is broadly consistent with Dr. Timothy Furnish’s description that John J. Reilly quotes here, but as this is

The Long View 2006-12-07: Iraq Study Group; Vladimir the Poisoner; Space Colonization

The Patrick Buchanan article John links to here looks a little batshit [OK, more than a little] in retrospect, given that Vladimir Putin has whacked a number of political enemies inside and outside of Russia in the years since. Iraq Study Group; Vladimir the Poisoner; Space Colonization If you insist

The Long View 2006-12-04: Chaos, Social Darwinism, Patronage Socialism

John J. Reilly poo-poohs criticizing the high cousin marriage rate in the Middle East, but it really is bad….. Genetics wasn’t really one of his interests, but I thought it was more widely known that cousin marriage makes your kids dumber and sicker than they would be otherwise. Chaos,

The Long View: Something Rotten

To start the New Year off, let’s jump into a book review by John J. Reilly of a series I am entirely unfamiliar with! Something Rotten: A Novel By Jasper Fforde Viking, 2004 385 Pages, US$24.95 ISBN 0-670-03359-6 A Review in Dialogue By John J. Reilly ----------

The Long View: Two Scientists

This essay from John is an extended reflection on the lives of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie, who were famous at about the same time for about the same reason. One hundred years later, I note that famous people’s personal lives are approximately as scandalous now as they were

The Long View 2006-12-01: Benedict in Istanbul; Transcendent Liturgy; Great Days

I will admit I haven’t thought deeply about whether Turkey’s admission to the European Union would have in fact been good or bad. I do find Pope Emeritus Benedict’s acts less alarming in retrospect than John did at the time. Some random thoughts: * Turkey wouldn’t have