Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Sep 21 2023
Conversations
Haven’t had one of these in a while, have we? CSO: Owww! FWP: What’s the matter, Sweetie? CSO:The water just got too hot, that’s all. FWP: Well, then that was the wrong noise! CSO: Hm? FWP: “Owww!” is the wrong noise for too-hot water. You’re supposed to say “Aieee!” CSO: Are you feeling all …
Sep 21 2023
Remember This
I’m going to start following David Strom: [Jacinda] Ardern wore out her welcome as New Zealand’s Prime Minister and abruptly resigned in January, and is staying far away from the New Zealand elections that are occurring next month. Her Xi-like approach to fighting COVID and the free flow of information made her a …
Sep 20 2023
A Matter Of Units And Standards
When it comes to individuals’ Constitutionally guaranteed rights, the lines are sharp and clear. The understanding of a right would not be possible otherwise, for a right divides the universe of actions into permissible and impermissible. Thus, it’s always possible to know when an individual’s right to his life, his liberty, or his honestly …
Sep 20 2023
A Lost Battle
Once power-worshippers get into power, they will bend their fullest efforts to remaining there. And with command of the engines of state, they have a pretty good chance of getting their way. You don’t think so? You believe a “democracy” will correct for such things? That “the people,” bless their shriveled little hearts, …
Sep 19 2023
A Thought-Provoking Statement
Vaclav Havel provides one, via Professor Randall Smith: [W]hen it comes to ideology, I prefer to turn to someone who spent a lot of time living with it and opposing it: poet and one-time president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel. “Ideology,” wrote Havel, “is a specious way of relating to the world. …
Sep 18 2023
Commitment
You don’t really need to find out What’s going on You don’t really want to know Just how far it’s gone Just leave well enough alone Keep your dirty laundry [Don Henley] I don’t generally watch long videos, and the one below is over 25 minutes. But I watched it from end to end. …
Sep 17 2023
Marriage And The Loneliness Epidemic
There have been some articles and videos on “male loneliness” recently that have struck a chord with me. (Yes, I’m male; don’t let the androgynous first name fool you.) I sense that the problem is both real and extensive. I’ve known men of all ages who suffer from it. And while there are some …
Sep 16 2023
Music For The Ages
In my not-terribly-humble and completely irrelevant opinion, in all the annals of classical composition, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti reign supreme – and Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 3 is the pinnacle of the group. It’s been my favorite classical piece ever since I was a boy. But the Brandenburg Concerti were written for a chamber orchestra …
Sep 16 2023
How Much Evidence Is Enough?
So you don’t think things are that bad? You think dialogue between Left and Right is still possible? You think when the consequences of their insane policies become sufficiently obvious, our political opponents will come to their senses? No, Gentle Reader. It cannot be, for a simple reason: The Left is now a …
Sep 15 2023
In Memoriam
It was October of 2017. We had just lost our Newfoundland Rufus to B-cell lymphoma the day before. I felt the best way to commemorate Rufus and assuage the grief was to love someone new. So somewhat against Beth’s wishes, I dragged us to the Brookhaven Animal Shelter to adopt a dog in need. …
Sep 15 2023
Bastiat Redux
In his last and best-known book The Law, Frederic Bastiat provides us with a striking description of the essence of State lawlessness: But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom …
Sep 14 2023
Assorted
Day From Hell Alert! I have three appointments today – two doctors, one broker – a mandatory social engagement this evening, and a raft of other chores besides, so please accept the following few observations, that I might have some prospect of surviving the day. *** 1. Now Tell Us Something We Don’t Know. …
Sep 13 2023
De-Angrifying Music
Sometimes, nothing else will do the job for me. Herewith, The Telling, with the concluding track from their brilliant first album Blue Solitaire: May you know peace and contentment. They’re getting pretty hard to find, lately.
Sep 13 2023
Mask Droppings Dept 2023-09-13
I never expected anything this brazen, even from the Usurper Regime: The White House sent a letter to top US news executives on Wednesday, urging them to intensify their scrutiny of House Republicans after Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, despite having found no evidence of a crime. …
Sep 13 2023
Has The Left Reached Peak Viciousness Yet?
It doesn’t look like it: Far-left MSNBC columnist and radio host Dean Obeidallah said that Trump, “must die in prison,” to send a message. “I think Donald Trump must die in prison because I don’t care if he was 45 years old. You should get life in prison if you attempt a …
Sep 12 2023
Invidious Comparisons Dept.
This story provoked quite a range of reactions from readers. Mine was “Why did ‘they’ wait so long when the danger to ‘them’ is so obvious?” Bank Shuts Down ‘Silver Stackers and Gold Stackers’ Shop’s Business and Personal Accounts An Ohio-based coin shop owner recently took to YouTube to share alarming news: His …
Sep 12 2023
Why Now?
Robert Royal’s column of today, “Psychopaths In Power,” makes several useful observations: The great psychologist and social commentator Jordan Peterson recently found exactly the right few words for our predicament: Psychopaths are in power. Others have said as much. He added, however, that the psychopaths have been utterly brilliant in using terms like …
Sep 12 2023
Now Where Have I Seen This Before?
Karen Ashley reports: New York City is struggling with the financial toll of the illegal immigrant crisis, so as part of the city-wide budget reductions, the Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, Jacques Jiha, suggested reduced overtime hours for the NYPD, the Department of Sanitation, the Fire …
Sep 11 2023
Sovereign Immunity
[The following piece first appeared at Liberty’s Torch V1.0 on June 14, 2016. And before you ask: No, I haven’t been to the kzinti homeworld since then. – FWP] Some years ago, a friend of mine who sought to pursue an action against his township for mistakenly demolishing his house was told, in …
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