Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Oct 30 2023
A Writer’s Crosses
Have you wearied of the door-to-door religious solicitors who insist that you really need to learn about the Latter Day Saints, or the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the Seventh-Day Adventists, or what have you? You find them annoying, do you? Well, that’s perfectly understandable, especially if you’re comfortable with your faith and don’t feel a …
Oct 29 2023
Second Attempt
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. – old maxim Oh sure. We know the importance of perseverance in the pursuit of what one seeks. It “should” be equally “obvious” that the more imperative is a particular goal, the greater must be the perseverance with which one pursues it. This is …
Oct 28 2023
Hate Scam Jamboree
In these days of trillion-dollar budgets, a mere $110 million looks like a rounding error. But it is not so; it’s a huge amount of money that someone, or some organization, would immediately put out its claws to snag. So any rationale under which a government could appropriate $110 million is something to be …
Oct 26 2023
Things Have Been Getting Too Heavy
…so let’s have some music. Here’s Emmylou Harris, from her Stumble Into Grace album: God bless you, Emmylou.
Oct 26 2023
The Question That Perpetually Goes Unanswered
I was musing over problems of veracity tests and identity management – in less highfalutin’ terms, truth and trust — and spontaneously remembered something I wrote back in 2015, at Liberty’s Torch V1.0. I reproduce it below, in its entirety. I’ll rant on from there. The GTOFTS Gazette: Audiences (No points for guessing …
Oct 25 2023
What’s Coming
A few nights ago, some friends asked for my predictions about what’s going on in the Middle East. Specifically, they wanted to know “How big will it get?” I led off with the old mutual-fund disclaimer: “Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.” A prognostication must stand independently of its prognosticator. No matter …
Oct 25 2023
For This Disease There Is Only One Cure
There cannot be peace with persons such as this: A phone call by a Hamas terrorist in Israel who called his parents in Gaza to boast how he killed 10 jews. “Dad, be proud of me!” Part of this recording was played by Israeli FM Eli Cohen at the UN today. pic.twitter.com/TaflXJkeSf — Moshe …
Oct 25 2023
I Think That I Shall Never See…
…a better condensation of my attitude toward airliners than this: Nervous of flying? Don’t be. As long as 2 million parts in a plane work perfectly while traveling at close to the speed of sound as sharp metal blades rotate at supersonic speeds in temperatures of -65 degrees 7 miles above the earth …
Oct 24 2023
They Want You To Notice
It’s been a while since the term studied insult was common in American discourse. Yet the thing itself has been much with us these past few years, so it’s well to understand what the term signifies: studied insult: An insult carefully designed to pertain to a particular person or group, such that the insulted …
Oct 23 2023
Clerical Missteps
The news in religion today focuses on the “Synod on Synodality” currently being held in the Vatican. Many Catholics are seriously concerned about what’s being discussed by the assembled clergy. Longstanding teachings of the Church appear threatened. Of course we won’t know what will come of it all until it’s over and its deliberations …
Oct 22 2023
New Fiction (Sticky; Scroll Down For Updates)
It’s finally available: Paul Larsen’s B&B in Ogunquit, Maine is running him off his feet. Desperate for someone to share the load, he hires pretty, appealing Carol Holm as his assistant manager. Carol is desperate to be gone from Onteora County, New York, where she’s made some highly placed enemies. As time passes …
Oct 21 2023
Assorted
Did I really just cite weekends as a time to relax? What on Earth was I thinking? *** 1. “It’s Islam.” Daniel Greenfield has compiled a record of serial brilliance for his essays, especially when he addresses matters in the Middle East. His most recent offering rips the false facade away from the …
Oct 20 2023
The Sons Of Martha
First, a little music: Well I’m on the Downeaster Alexa And I’m cruisin’ through Block Island Sound I have charted a course to the vineyard But tonight I am Nantucket bound We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterday And left this morning from the bell in Gardiner’s Bay Like all the locals here …
Oct 19 2023
Beauty And The Engineer
No, the title is not a joke. Please indulge me for this morning. I have a need to rant about things that are a bit off the beaten path. I won’t be able to get to trivia such as world wars and the banality of evil until it’s off my chest. *** No …
Oct 18 2023
Who Is Really Speaking?
Yesterday was a rollercoaster ride: far too much to do and too little time to do it. You don’t need to hear the details. One consequence was that I “missed” my afternoon Rosary interval. Being on the go with mundane things can do that to me. Worse, I didn’t even realize it until the …
Oct 17 2023
No… Well, Only Minimal Comment Dept.
I have a busy morning before me, so please enjoy the following examples of something for which your Curmudgeon is not generally known: brevity. *** 1. Why? Bull’s-eye, Tuck. *** 2. The Professor Misfires. From Glenn Reynolds: Is everything going to hell? Maybe, maybe not. BZZZT! Wrong, Professor, but …
Oct 16 2023
Against The Odds
I could have titled this one “Choosing Your Battles,” but the scope of the thing isn’t purely a matter of strategic or military considerations. It’s more about not being as stubborn as a mule while simultaneously being a horse’s ass…and before you ask, yes: I did search for equine metaphors and images before choosing …
Oct 15 2023
The Battle For Your Soul
What’s that you say? You don’t feel as if you’re being fought over? Well, I’m not one to argue feelz. However, the objective evidence is as plain as a fart. Would you like some? Church music director cleared of assault charge. Where dialogue with “liberals” gets you. Hillary’s “deprogramming” program. A pro-life…bank? This tidbit …
Oct 15 2023
Marital Matters
This might become an occasional feature at Liberty’s Torch. There are few things that interest me more than the pressures on marriage and families today. The rise of militant feminism has exacerbated the natural tensions that will always exist between men and women. Yea verily, even when he’s an actual man and she’s an …
Oct 14 2023
Complexities And Human Capability
Today, over at Cold Fury, there’s an excellent and thought-provoking essay by co-contributor SteveF that explores one of the funnier fallacies commonly advanced as an aphorism: (NB: I have no idea who Hanlon is or was and bear him no ill will, but I will say that as a vendor of rose-colored glasses, …
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