Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Sep 07 2021
On Going Too Far
Yesterday’s tirade about moderation reaped me an email objection I should have expected. My correspondent assumed that I had a “system” of some sort in mind, rather than a simple respect for the equilibrium principle that governs all things under the veil of time. The writer asked if I were about to advocate “Christian …
Sep 06 2021
A Deadly Shift In Emphasis
I am frequently impressed by Misanthropic Humanitarian’s selection of Quotes for the Day. Today is such an occasion: Those three quotes underscore one of the deadliest conceptual tragedies of recent times: the shift in emphasis from achievement to acquisition. I’m about to start sounding like a cranky old man, here – as I …
Sep 05 2021
Long, Long Ago…
…back in the dark days before the Internet, there was a brilliantly scripted, star-studded movie, titled Network. It was scripted by Paddy Chayevsky and directed by Sidney Lumet. If you haven’t seen it, repent of your sins and beg, borrow, or buy the DVD. (If you don’t have a DVD player, buy one of …
Sep 04 2021
Every Era Of Music Has Its Standouts
As the Disco era of the Seventies faded, new powers arose to make their mark in popular music. The guitar faded as a dominant instrument, supplanted – though only for a while – by the synthesizer. Some Eighties bands were as fleeting as the life of a mayfly. Others, such as the Pointer Sisters, …
Sep 04 2021
Conversations
There’s no way to predict in what direction a chat here at the Fortress of Crankitude will go. For example, recently the C.S.O. lamented the frequency of chicken in our dinner menu. Since that, she’s made a serious attempt to reduce the number of chicken occurrences per week. Knowing her proclivities as I do, …
Sep 04 2021
Self-Unmaskings
Now and then, your enemy will blatantly reveal himself to you, as if daring you to do anything about it: Noted True Conservative Rick Wilson of the Noted True Conservative North American Man-Boy Lincoln Association comes out breathing fire against Texas’ terrible terrible abortion law, trying to organize a boycott against any corporation …
Sep 03 2021
Fifty Years Ago…
…a musical prodigy named Todd Rundgren decided to stretch his wings further than he ever had before. This was the result: I wanted to write you… …a beautiful, beautiful song I wanted to write you… …a beautiful, beautiful song A beautiful song The kind that makes your memory go sailing through the …
Sep 03 2021
State Of Fear
I apologize to the ghost of Michael Crichton for appropriating the title of one of his best novels for this piece. Sorry, Mike, but it just fits our milieu too well to pass up. The theme for a Liberty’s Torch piece often comes to me in the middle of reading something from another …
Sep 01 2021
To Other Indie Writers: A Warning
The scamsters are restless. A couple of evenings ago, I received a voicemail from a “Neil” who said he represents a company called ReadersMagnet. He said something boilerplate-ish about the “potential” of my book Innocents (first red flag) and suggested that his company could assist me in getting it to the attention of …
Sep 01 2021
Outrages To Be Watched For
You may already have read about this story: As previously reported, Rebecca Firlit, a Chicago mother, said that a Cook County judge took away her parental rights for not getting the COVID vaccine – the judge then reversed the order after his decision garnered media attention. The 39-year-old mother said that the …
Sep 01 2021
Because We All Need To Be Blessed Now And Then
The wanderer has far to go Humble must he constant be Where the paths of wisdom lead Distant is the shadow of the setting sun. Bless the daytime Bless the night Bless the sun which gives us light Bless the thunder Bless the rain Bless all those who cause us pain. Yellow stars may lead …
Sep 01 2021
A Comment On Commentary
Back in the heyday of blogging, everyone and his halfwit Uncle Herman had a blog. There were, at peak, over 50 million such sites. Most, of course, were of no broad consequence: little was posted there, and most of that was worthless. However, they gave their “proprietors” a sense that they could be listened …
Aug 31 2021
Afghanistan: A Retrospective
We were so sure of ourselves. What I originally thought would be a straight-up “justice / vengeance” mission for the 9/11 atrocities: Invade in force; Locate, close with, and destroy the al Qaeda / Taliban forces; Go home; …turned into yet another exercise in “nation building.” Whose idea was it? Unknown. But …
Aug 30 2021
What We Can And What We Can’t
At this morning’s Mass, our pastor, Monsignor Christopher Heller, reminded us in his homily of the reception that Mother Teresa of Calcutta received when she castigated the First World – the United States most emphatically included – for “sleeping soundly at night when there are people with nothing to eat.” It was unfriendly, to …
Aug 28 2021
An Eye-Opener For My Saturday
Even though I’m “retired” – from wage labor, that is – I continue to treat the weekends differently from the rest of the week. I reserve them for rest and recreation, the occasional domestic disaster (and a house built from a random collection of leftover components has them rather often) notwithstanding. I’ll admit that …
Aug 27 2021
The Meat, The Potatoes, And Just A Drop Of Gravy
You can read innumerable columnists’ fulminations about the atrocity in Afghanistan at hundreds of other sites. Perhaps thousands; I’m disinclined to count into the four digits. (Not enough jelly beans.) So here at Liberty’s Torch you’ll get…well, at least some material of other kinds. We like to think of ourselves as the Waldorf Salad …
Aug 26 2021
Too Good Not To Share
If you don’t yet subscribe to The Babylon Bee, here’s a tiny taste of what you’re missing: That publication is staffed by a gaggle of BLEEP!ing geniuses. The comedy industry should take lessons from them. Especially the blatantly unfunny ones on late-night television. But I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t …
Aug 26 2021
Target Selection
Among the very first things a shooter-to-be is taught about guns and shooting is to know your target and focus on it. There are actually two reasons for this imperative: If you don’t “know your target and focus on it,” how can you expect to hit it? If you do “know your target and …
Aug 25 2021
The Corpse Walk
An old metaphor for an attitude of gleeful, even vindictive opportunism is “he’d walk over his colleagues’ corpses.” I’ve used it rather frequently in recent years. There are a lot of conscience-challenged opportunists in the world. They make their presence known when disaster befalls others. I’ve seen a lot of corpse-walking lately, especially …
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