Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Nov 11 2023
The Poles Of Human Life
Now and then I feel the hand of destiny. Or fate. Or God. On rare occasions a man can feel it poking him. Penning the first words of my next novel – working title Ex Nihilo — seems to be the occasion. Contrary to what the predestinationists believe, we have free will and …
Nov 11 2023
This Is The Era Of Graphics And Videos
When Lysander Spooner wrote this: The government does not, indeed, waylay a man in a lonely place, spring upon him from the road side, and, holding a pistol to his head, proceed to rifle his pockets. But the robbery is none the less a robbery on that account; and it is far more …
Nov 10 2023
The Biennial Serving Of Kool-Aid
DON’T VOTE: It Only Encourages them! – from a West Coast shopping bag I’m in a dour (dire?) mood this morning. Part of it arises from a taxing, difficult chore I’ve been straining to put off, the day for which has arrived and cannot be hired out, delegated, or otherwise shoved aside. But a …
Nov 09 2023
Muslims’ Concept Of “Tolerance”
Presented without comment: #BREAKING: Two groups clash outside L.A.’s Museum of Tolerance as the center screens a film on Hamas atrocities. LAPD officers move in as several people appear to have been punched and pepper-sprayed. Eyewitness News is live with the tense situation. Tonight at 11 from ABC7 pic.twitter.com/JJSpV6MmXi — ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) …
Nov 09 2023
“Keeping The Receipts”
Chaya Raichik, the worthy proprietor of the popular Twitter account “Libs of TikTok,” has demonstrated that she knows the importance of “keeping the receipts:” It all started with USA Today “journalist” Will Carless and his article trying to tie Raichik and her tweets to threats supposedly made to people and organizations whose derangement …
Nov 08 2023
I Really Don’t Like To End A Day This Way
…but events have me boiling with rage yet again. What events, you ask? Why, these events: Can you believe it? Leftists are furious with this YouTuber – apparently a man who does a lot of philanthropy – for “reinforcing the stereotype that Africa is dependent on handouts.” Great God in heaven! Africa IS …
Nov 08 2023
Have A Little Afternoon Music
…for lovers in the afternoon of life: Dan Fogelberg wrote it; Glass Hammer raised it to glory.
Nov 08 2023
Note The Contrast
There’s an old story that when the ruling powers of some Eastern nation had…pardon my Belgian…royally fucked up, such that immediate corrective action was required, the potentate would send a trusted emissary to consult the chief monk of a Buddhist monastery. According to the story as I remember it, the chief monk would simply …
Nov 08 2023
A New Book Promotion Scam
They’re as regular as the rising of the Sun…and that’s roughly the time of day at which they arrive in my Inbox: Dear Francis Porretto, Our platform reaches over 300,000 book lovers and we are currently offering only 10 slots for featured book promotions for next week. This is a fantastic opportunity to …
Nov 08 2023
A Brilliant Insight
No, not one of mine. Courtesy of Mike Miles: Let that sink in for just a moment.
Nov 07 2023
The Portents Look Good…
…for this recently wedded Tennessee couple: LEBANON, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Middle Tennessee couple exchanged vows on a lovely, family farm two days before Halloween. Then they had their reception with a side of hashbrowns. Eli Holbrook and Mary Cate Hedge met during high school in 2016. The Wilson County natives …
Nov 07 2023
The Sea
Now and then we get a clear statement of verifiable facts from some figure known as a “public intellectual.” Depending on the tenor of the time and the attitude of the ruling elite, that statement might be honored, dishonored, suppressed, or ignored. Those who take note of the patterns involved will reach their own …
Nov 06 2023
Little Men
Up the airy mountain, Down the rushy glen, We daren’t go a-hunting For fear of little men… William Allingham, “The Fairies” Allingham’s poem isn’t about anything contemporary…or real. But those first four lines spoke to me a few minutes ago. Little men are a problem of immense significance today. And they show their actual …
Nov 05 2023
The Escapist Imperative
Not long ago, I encountered a gentleman who ran an unusual business: he positioned himself as a writer’s “pre-agent.” That is, he assisted aspiring writers in persuading an actual literary agent to represent them. (I have no idea what percent of his customers actually acquired representation, but he didn’t do badly…for himself.) As you …
Nov 04 2023
Get It While You Can
Americans are used to a condition of abundance. Not Marxist “abundance,” which prophesizes a world in which everything is so copiously available that there’s no need for prices and commerce. Rather, Americans are used to free-market abundance: a condition in which the availability of goods at affordable prices can be relied upon, because there …
Nov 03 2023
The Biggest Picture
The exchanges of rhetoric over the IDF invasion of Gaza have already breached the ludicrousness threshold and are rocketing toward utter insanity. The tweet embedded here lays the matter out plainly. And as I said immediately below that, wars of extermination have no rules. No amount of hand-wringing will change the fundamentals here. …
Nov 02 2023
Pray For Whom Or What?
It’s All Souls’ Day, the day we the living are supposed to pray for our beloved dead who might be in Purgatory enduring a last purification before finally reaching Heaven. (See also this piece.) I’ve got a fair number of beloved dead to pray for, but just now my attention is on another sufferer …
Nov 01 2023
Give No Quarter To Those Who Seek Your Blood (UPDATED)
I was pleased to read this, from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: While Israel is doing everything to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. Israel urges Palestinian civilians to leave the areas of armed conflict, while Hamas prevents those civilians from …
Oct 31 2023
Allhallowtide
If you’re a Gentle Reader who comes for the political tirades but leaves when I start to rant “Catholic stuff,” here’s your heads-up: It’s time to go, hero. Fran’s boiler is lit once again. Not many other commentators are likely to mention this. Hallowe’en, which has become one of the most “celebrated” days …
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