Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Dec 07 2024
“Racism:” A Tirade.
I just caught a Catholic priest denouncing a man he does not know as a racist: Anyone baptized a Catholic is a Catholic: you can’t become uncatholic. That does not mean every Catholic acts in accord with that baptism. Neither you nor Biden are examples of acting in accord with baptism. You are racist; …
Dec 06 2024
Who Decides Part 2: “The Rules”
You’re an intelligent and erudite person, aren’t you, Gentle Reader? I certainly hope so. Which means you’re already cognizant of the old saying that “war is a continuation of diplomacy by other means.” While it’s not absolutely true in every applicable respect, it contains a terrifying insight. In a peacetime situation (“Peace: a …
Dec 06 2024
This Might Not Qualify As A “Thought”
…but it is so beautiful, and so inspiring, that I simply must post it. From the great Andrea Shea King: I only wish I could have said something that wonderful, just once in my long and generally misapplied years.
Dec 05 2024
Can I Get A Big Amen?
I think many Gentle Readers will agree with the gentleman below: Let the correcting begin!! pic.twitter.com/UxZ5PtdHWo — Scott LoBaido (@ScottLoBaido) December 3, 2024 What do you say, folks?
Dec 05 2024
Pardons, The Never-Ending Story
I knew that this idea had been floated: President Joe Biden’s senior aides are conducting a vigorous internal debate over whether to issue preemptive pardons to a range of current and former public officials who could be targeted with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to senior Democrats familiar with …
Dec 04 2024
The Pardon, One More Time
I should stop thinking about this. I really should. Because the consequences will be wider and harsher than anyone has yet had the courage to mention. A pardon says, sotto voce, “Yes, you’re guilty and I know it, but I’m going to let you off.” The acceptance of a pardon says, in equally hushed tones, …
Dec 03 2024
An Answer, And A Justification
I received a curious inquiry just yesterday, from a fiction colleague I’ve known for some time. As we hadn’t spoken for some time, we exchanged some pleasantries before he got to the real reason for his call. He wanted to know why there’d been no new novel from me in 2024. As Doors was released …
Dec 03 2024
The Pardon, Continued
Among the more interesting things about Joe Biden’s “unexpected” decision to pardon his son Hunter for his gun felony and federal tax offenses is this: Hunter has the option to decline the pardon. I was aware of this previously, but the legal significance of it had not occurred to me. The acceptance of a pardon …
Dec 02 2024
“Rebranding” And Other Weasel-Words
This got my attention a couple of days ago: Former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, has said that his party needs to “rebrand” in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s big win. […] “What does it mean to be a Democrat?” Ryan asked. “People want to trust us. They don’t want to …
Dec 02 2024
No Surprise Here
Is anyone sincerely surprised that Joe Biden lied when he said he wouldn’t pardon Hunter? Lying is what Biden does. It’s his specialty. We joke about politicians lying, but when it comes to Joseph Robinette Biden, Usurper of the Presidency, it’s as natural as breathing. Biden’s lies make a mighty long list. He only tells …
Dec 01 2024
A Maxim For the Coming Trump Administration
… and for all of us in the Right: Shamelessly stolen from Non-Original Rants.
Dec 01 2024
Your Curmudgeon Emeritus Needs Your Help!
Beloved Gentle Readers of Liberty’s Torch, you few whose patronage have sustained us lo, these many moons, your Curmudgeon has a problem. It’s one he cannot solve alone. Yes! It’s true! I, Fran Porretto, international superstar, hero to screaming millions, the fantasy of would-be love slaves on every continent of the world, am at an …
Nov 30 2024
The Year’s End
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, is of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” — C. S. Lewis. You don’t have to be a Catholic to appreciate the season of Advent. For the next four weeks, Christians everywhere will prepare for the holy day that commemorates …
Nov 30 2024
Who Decides?
Just a quick thought this morning, as I’m still on a backup computer with no software except Windows, Kindle PC, and Notepad. I’ve been reading — and am greatly impressed by — Henry Brown’s six-volume Paradox series, the core motif of which is a “multiverse” caused by the invention of a space-time “warp …
Nov 29 2024
There Is Only One Guaranteed Remedy
Mark Steyn put us on notice long ago: If it were just terrorists bombing buildings and public transit, it would be easier; even the feeblest Eurowimp jurisdiction is obliged to act when the street is piled with corpses. But there’s an old technique well understood by the smarter bullies. If you want to break …
Nov 29 2024
The Assault Continues
There’s no refuge from the tide of “woke” in entertainment. You’d think the British would have better sense, but apparently that’s not the case. The newest season of the BritBox series Hope Street, which centers on a police unit in a seaside Northern Ireland town, has become drenched with it. Hope Street isn’t a glossy …
Nov 29 2024
Quote Of The Morning
Sometimes life isn’t fair. Jesus is the light of the world, and he dined with sinners and prostitutes, yet when I do the same thing I’m “making Thanksgiving awkward”. People ask WWJD, but I don’t really think they mean it. — Weird Dave I could tell you stories, Dude.
Nov 28 2024
The Big Giveaway
I’m going to struggle through one post this morning, because the subject is so important. The big “reveal,” if you will, that the State has gone totalitarian comes in parts. They don’t always arrive together, but once any one of them becomes visible, you may rest assured that the others will soon be upon you. …
Nov 28 2024
It Will Take A While
Dear Gentle Readers, My main computer, whose power supply fried on Tuesday, won’t be back to me until late this coming week. so I must ask once more for your patience. This “backup” computer — an old Dell laptop I bought to serve as a “backup Kindle” — has virtually nothing on it but Windows, …
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