Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Sep 22 2013
Ultra Vires: Quandaries For Catholics And Conservatives
[The following essay, which first appeared at the old Palace Of Reason in April 2003, is being reposted by special request. Having reviewed it, I find it germane to many of the conflicts within both the Church and the American conservative movement at this time. — FWP] April 21, 2003 In its unique way, the …
Aug 25 2013
It’s On: What Now?
As I said in the previous piece, now that the long-feared race war is on, the imperative question is What now? However, the previous observation is so striking, and so paralyzing, that many Americans won’t get around to asking themselves what they should do next. Unfortunately, for perhaps two-thirds of us, the failure to address …
Aug 24 2013
It’s On
Here’s the evidence. Read it. Here’s a little more. Read that too. Here’s a lot more. Read it all. Weep or not, as you prefer. For myself, I’m done with tears. And I’m too much of a realist to deny objective evidence and its implications. In either case, the question becomes: What now? If you …
Jul 17 2013
Tea Leaves By Twilight
Part 1: Portents Among the greatest of the curses upon the race of Man is our propensity for “thinking” with our wishes rather than our powers of reasoning — our willful disregard of what is in favor of what we’d like. It leads us to imagine that we inhabit a world far distant from …
Jul 04 2013
When It Came
(The following short story first appeared at Eternity Road on March 1, 2009 — FWP.) The president-designate’s eyes flicked briefly toward his chosen successor, then back to the helmeted soldier who stood before him, sidearm holstered at his hip. The soldier noticed the glance and smiled briefly. “It’s all right, Mr. Secretary,” the soldier said. …
Jul 01 2013
Present Enemies, Future Wars
[I had intended to produce a gentle, philosophical musing with which to open the new week — something about why the Yankees can’t hit this season or what madness could have induced the Rangers’ front office to spurn Mark Messier as the team’s next head coach — until I came upon this bit of news …
Jun 19 2013
The Conservative-Libertarian Schism
[After I’d read this essay by humorist P.J. O’Rourke, it occurred to me that the time was right for a reprint of the following essay, which first appeared at the old Palace Of Reason in November, 2002. — FWP] 1. A Harmonization. In 1987, a California organization called the Advocates for Self-Government, led by a …
May 28 2013
You’re Getting Colder!
Today at Forbes, we have an excellent article by Peter Ferrara on the recently confirmed trend toward global cooling. The data, the correlations, and the grudging concessions by various powerhouses of global-warming alarmism leave no doubt that that house of cards, which always stood upon a shaky foundation of closely held temperature data and dubious …
May 23 2013
Patterns
[This piece first appeared at the late, lamented Palace Of Reason in February, 2002. In light of the foofaurauw in progress today over the multiple scandals we’ve learned about these past few weeks, it seems unusually apposite. Besides, I need time off from the “Debunkings” series. — FWP] Wise men see outlines, and therefore draw …
Apr 27 2013
The Manly Virtues
As usual at times when gutlessness and venality appear as a plague upon the land, there’s a lot of loose talk about “manliness” making the rounds. And as usual, the overwhelming majority of the gabbers haven’t got the faintest idea what they’re talking about. Manliness isn’t about size or brawn. Being covered head to toe …
Feb 08 2013
Bellwethers Everywhere: The Celebritarian Revolution
Apologies, Gentle Reader. This is a crucial topic about which I’ve written extensively in the past. Therefore, this post will be partly a reprint of material that previously appeared at Eternity Road, and partly a handful of new observations about the bellwether / celebritarian phenomenon in this year of Our Lord 2013. 1. Beautiful Bellwethers. …
Jan 27 2013
A Maxim, The Law, and The State of The Nation
It might well be that the greatest blessing to have recently descended upon these United States is l’affaire Gregory: the exculpation, by prosecutorial discretion alone, of pseudo-journalist and tendentious Washington twit David Gregory for openly and flagrantly breaking a D.C. law that’s been used to incarcerate other, entirely blameless persons. That little development has made …
Jan 06 2013
For The Feast Of The Epiphany
[The following piece first appeared at Eternity Road on January 6, 2008. — FWP] The ancient creed called Zoroastrianism predated the birth of Christ by about a millennium. Its founder, Zoroaster, laid down a small set of doctrines: There is one universal and transcendental God, Ahura Mazda, the one uncreated creator and to whom all …
Dec 14 2012
The New Lunatics
[The following two pieces first appeared at the old Palace Of Reason, on September 8, 2003 and February 26, 2004, respectively. — FWP] Come on, guys and dolls. It’s all getting to be a bit much. Is it only a Curmudgeon Emeritus’s privilege to note — and comment on — lunacies parading naked-faced in the …
Dec 04 2012
Blood Simple
Yes, things change: “Similar Cases” There was once a little animal, No bigger than a fox, And on five toes he scampered Over Tertiary rocks. They called him Eohippus, And they called him very small, And they thought him of no value – When they thought of him at all; For the lumpish old Dinoceras …
Nov 29 2012
Principles And Politics
A couple of days ago, Democrat pollster Pat Caddell, who has become a fairly frequent guest on various Fox News programs, decided to offer Republicans and conservatives his advice on how to get things turned around: As Breitbart.com readers know, I have been extremely critical of the current Democratic Party, which I see as having …
Nov 19 2012
The New Segregationists
[In recognition of this incredible story, and of Mark Steyn’s unflinching penetration of America’s ongoing suicide-through-uncontrolled-immigration, I present the following two pieces, which were first posted at Eternity Road on April 22, 2007 and April 24, 2007, respectively. — FWP] Fran here. This is an angry column on an ugly subject. If you have any …
Oct 24 2012
“We The People,” Who?
[The following essay was first posted at Eternity Road on June 19, 2007. In light of the furious debates over current immigration-reform proposals, it struck me as pertinent for a repost — FWP] In mid-2004, there was born a Website which proposed to hold an international plebiscite on the upcoming American elections. The thesis was …
Sep 28 2012
Dark Gods Part 2: The War On Truth
[This essay is a companion to the previous “Dark Gods” piece. It originally appeared at Eternity Road on January 23, 2006. — FWP] I often come to the end of a typical Eternity Road essay thinking that there’s more to say on the subject, but that I’ve already tried my audience’s patience to the limit. …
Sep 25 2012
Damage
[This essay first appeared at the old Palace Of Reason, on August 13, 2004. I chose to reprint it today in light of the unusual degree of attention Mark Butterworth’s post A Distasteful Subject has been getting. As usual when sexual mores and conduct are the topics, I expect disagreement – but given the facts, …
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