Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Nov 26 2024
The Morning’s Prayer
Hail Holy Queen Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and …
Nov 25 2024
A Surfeit Of Pain
I’ve been spending some time on X, lately. The praise heaped on it since Elon Musk bought it persuaded me to give it a try. I’ve found the exchanges there free-wheeling enough to give it sustained attention. But I have another property of the site in mind at the moment. For those unfamiliar …
Nov 25 2024
Outlets
The Left’s control of the communications industry – education, entertainment, news media – privileged them politically for several decades. They still command the heights in those three areas. However, they don’t want dominance; they want total, unblemished control: Staff are protesting against a new US imprint of global publisher Hachette Book Group (HBG) …
Nov 25 2024
The COVID Lockdowns: A Remembrance
In the summer of 2020, when the entire nation seemed to have gone mad with fear of the COVID virus, some Long Island retailers gave only lip service to the draconian lockdowns, masking dictates, and “social distancing” requirements. They published the “rules,” but put little or no effort into imposing them on their customers. …
Nov 25 2024
The Morning’s Prayer
A Prayer For The Departed In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, …
Nov 24 2024
Day Off
I’ll be taking today off for the Feast of Christ the King. (Hey, if the King declares a holiday, I’m bloody well gonna honor it.) So enjoy yourselves, stay warm, dry, and out of the wind. And may the King of Kings bless and keep you all!
Nov 23 2024
Remember This
We’re at the midpoint of the “JFK Triduum.” That is, 61 years ago yesterday, President John F. Kennedy was killed by rifle fire. But 61 years ago tomorrow, accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was gunned down in public by a mysterious figure named Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner who had never before been …
Nov 23 2024
Fears Of An Old Man
[A reprint from Liberty’s Torch V1.0. I wrote this on January 31, 2015, shortly before I retired. – FWP] Just in case you were blissfully unaware of it, you’re getting older at an unrelenting sixty seconds per minute. I’ve already endured nearly two billion seconds of aging. Many of those seconds were …
Nov 23 2024
The Morning’s Prayer
Don Bosco’s Prayer to the Blessed Mother Most holy Virgin Mary, help of Christians, how sweet it is to come to your feet imploring your aid. If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children, how can you, the most loving of all mothers, forget me? Grant then to me, I implore you, …
Nov 22 2024
Thanksgiving 2002: A Remembrance
[I’m rather beset at the moment, so have an essay from the old Palace Of Reason. This one was written by writer and Co-Conspirator Michelle Buckman. — FWP] *** November 26, 2002. Ahh, Thanksgiving holiday. A full two days to relax. The relaxation begins at six o’clock in the morning, which is …
Nov 22 2024
The Morning’s Prayer
For A Grace-Filled Day Let this morning prayer come unto thee, O Lord. Grant us grace that we may pass this day in peace and joy, and that we not fall into sin, and so upon reaching the evening we may be able to offer unto thee our thanks and praise. Through Christ Our …
Nov 21 2024
The Morning’s Prayer 2024-11-21
A Petition For Grace O my God, thou knowest my weaknesses and failings. Grant me therefore the help of thy grace, according to my particular needs on this day. Help me to see clearly the path I should walk, and the tasks I should undertake, and to hew to them straitly despite the trials …
Nov 21 2024
What Is Really Harmful?
Most people are easily convinced to believe that a chemical with a polysyllabic name is ominous, something one shouldn’t eat. Some of the time, that’s correct. A few chemicals have been found in food that really shouldn’t be there. They were usually added to improve some cosmetic or otherwise superficial aspect of the food. …
Nov 21 2024
The Class Warfare Gambit Is Back
The Left is tenacious. Fortunately for the United States, their weapons are few and largely worn out: America’s richest 10% now hold 60% of the nation’s wealth. The bottom half of America? It holds just 6%. Wealth inequality is eating this country alive. pic.twitter.com/7apm6IrOAR — Robert Reich (@RBReich) November 20, 2024 Robert Reich …
Nov 20 2024
A Morning For Epiphany
“Discovery of my task is my task. It is like that with us higher life forms.” – Robert Sheckley, “Tripout” Epiphanies can’t be scheduled. They choose their own moments. (And I think that will go into the LIS Codex once I’ve finished this piece.) Say, did you know that blogs – “weblogs,” …
Nov 19 2024
Sequels
The news is blah – all the usual suspects doing all the usual things – so I’ll abstain from political and current events commentary for the morning. Instead, while we’re waiting for the coin toss that will mark the actual beginning of World War III – I’d elect to kick off – let’s talk …
Nov 19 2024
The Morning’s Prayer
In Thanksgiving Dear God, I most humbly thank thee for all the favors thou hast bestowed upon me to this present moment: from for my creation; for my redemption in the blood of thy Son; and for bringing me safe to the beginning of another day. Let this day and all my deeds therein …
Nov 18 2024
Is Serenity Even Possible Just Now?
“I feel that if any songs are gonna come out of World War III, we’d better start writing them now.” – Tom Lehrer The tag end of the Usurper Regime appears determined to trigger World War III: President Biden has authorized Ukraine’s military to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles on targets inside Russian …
Nov 18 2024
Everything Old Is New Again Dept.
To get a truly broad sense of the insanity rampant throughout our species – a copious supply of evidence to that effect, at any rate – there’s no substitute for a single book: Charls Mackay’s immortal 1852 study Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Today, mindful of this evil, I reproduce a …
Nov 18 2024
“Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion:” The Nadir
I’ve ranted before about how this plague has infested entertainment, especially video productions. I thought at the time that I wouldn’t be moved to say any more about it – that I’d expunged the irritation, that the case was made, and what would follow, would follow. That was before yesterday evening’s “entertainment.” The …
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