Francis W. Porretto

Mount Sinai, NY USA

Author's posts

The Most Obscure Beatitude

     Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3      Have you ever pondered the first of the Beatitudes, Gentle Reader? Were you uncertain about what it might mean? Perhaps, given that the Sermon on the Mount is deemed an indispensable roadmap to living a Christian life, …

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The Ugliest Front In The Race Wars

     Full disclosure: I’m married. I’m not going anywhere except to the grave. Hopefully, neither is my wife. So you wouldn’t think the subject of racial preferences in dating would be of intense personal interest to me. However, as it happens, I have some relevant experience with interracial dating: all of it bad.      It’s …

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Conditional Hypotheticals

     “Say, what if there were no hypothetical questions?” – Originator unknown      I found this at Ace’s place:      I can’t speak to whether the figures cited are accurate. However, the suggestion that persons of below-average intelligence would have trouble understanding such propositions seems like that most uncommon of all things, “common sense.” Moreover, …

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It’s Plain And Open Now…

     By now you’ve heard about the Project Veritas capture of a Director of Pfizer, Jordon Walker, talking about how his employer might perform a “directed evolution of the COVID-19 virus so it can devise new vaccines for the variants. Here’s the video:      Here’s James O’Keefe himself to tell you why YouTube is suppressing …

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One Of My Heroes Is No Longer With Us

Gerard Vanderleun:December 26, 1945 – January 27, 2023      For many years, Gerard set the Web standard for graceful and evocative writing. Whether in poetry or in prose, and regardless of the subject, his pieces consistently demonstrated what I call “The poet’s gift:” The right words in the right order. One who loves this language …

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Why I Am Not A Republican

     Republican Party partisans and assorted functionaries have on several occasions striven to persuade me that I “belong” in the Republican Party. I countered that I belong elsewhere – specifically, in that void where no party goes – but my interlocutors seldom take me seriously.      A nice person on Gab has developed a graphical …

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More Likely Than Not?

     One of the enduring characteristics of the Leftist is that he refuses to accept the responsibility for anything that goes wrong. This is utterly evident in matters of public policy, but it’s also visible as regards personal decisions. Two graphics – one intended as black humor; the other a fake headline – illustrate the …

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“Shoulds”

     Among the utterly invaluable bits of life advice I’ve received from older and wiser heads – no, not recently — several stand out as gems of wisdom that deserve to be immortalized: “Get a shot off fast.” “Don’t sit with your back to the door in a public place.” “Don’t go ‘round breakin’ young …

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Qualifications For The Federal Bench

     …don’t include intimate familiarity with the Supreme Law of the Land: Q: “Judge, tell me what article V of the Constitution does?” Biden judicial nominee: “Article V is not coming to mind at the moment.” “How about article II?” Nominee: “Neither is Article II” pic.twitter.com/MvdLR3TDKZ — Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 26, 2023      …

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The Good Old Days Dept.

     Being old, my memories contain a great deal that pertains to “those halcyon days of yore:” i.e., when I was young, dumb, and full of…well, never mind. Just a minute ago I ran across an image that brought many such memories flooding back:      (Courtesy of Bustednuckles.)      The engine is sweet-looking, but that …

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Hey, Where’s The Music?

     It’s been a while, hasn’t it? And thinking about it, I find myself in a mood for Bob Seger’s darkest, most contemplative hit:      Members of my generation should know the feeling well. ***      The longer I live, the more Bob Seger strikes me as the bard for my generation.      We came …

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Two New Icons

     There aren’t many people in the entertainment world who possess visible courage. Such courage is critical in the confrontation with “woke” culture:      Until I played that speech, I knew nothing about Konstantin Kisin. I intend to look more deeply into him. I doubt he’ll go forward from here without being savagely attacked by …

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From The Land Of Fruits And Nuts

     California Democrats have an odd definition of the state’s power to tax:      California Democrats are looking to push legislation that would tax the state’s wealthiest residents, even if they’ve moved to a different state.      The bill was introduced last week by progressive Democrat Alex Lee, which is looking to impose an extra …

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Yeah, Right

     Are we really expected to believe this?      A former Las Vegas Judge committed suicide a year after she resigned from her position after facing an ethics investigation.      Per the Clark County coroner’s office, Judge Melanie Andress-Tobiasson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.      Here’s what happened, in chronological sequence: Andress-Tobiasson’s sixteen-year-old daughter …

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Framing Mischief

     There are parts of the Old Testament that are particularly instructive, especially when applied to the behavior of governments. Here’s one: Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. But the LORD …

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Laws For Thee But Not For Me

     It seems to be a plague.      Does any member of the political Establishment believe that the laws apply just as strongly to him as to us peones? I ask because the evidence is against it:      Great God in heaven! Will there be no end to this farce? To add insult to injury …

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Questioning The Timing

     Remember that delightful phrase “I question the timing?” The Democrats trotted it out repeatedly, back when. It was the predecessor to several of their current rhetorical tropes, most important among them the tu quoque parry they use so frequently today. Unfortunately for them, their ability to “tu quoquify” a Republican has collapsed to a …

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There Are Days I Wish I Were A Journalist

     …especially one who conducts interviews with politicians:      U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) blamed the overturning of Roe v. Wade for the Republican party’s lackluster midterm showing during a recent appearance on Meet the Press. “It’s the reason we didn’t get more of a majority. We could have had a two dozen seat majority, …

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Upholstering the Skull

     I just encountered this gem:      Being an introvert, I spend a lot of time in my own head. — Dio      As a colleague of mine likes to say, I resemble that remark. But just as “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s,” you don’t have to be an introvert to …

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Christian Conundrums

“The best of questions have no answers. The best of answers need no questions.” – David Cousins –      If you’re blessed / cursed with my sort of thought process, you’re also likely to find yourself pondering abstruse questions for which definitive answers are lacking. Such questions abound, especially for one who has embraced faith …

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