Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Mar 10 2024
Never…Well, SELDOM On Sunday
I don’t awaken to a lot of news-rich Sundays. Generally, that’s to the good, as Sunday tends to be the busiest day of my week. Still, it’s nice to have something to rant and rave about. A news-deprived day is a blogger’s definition of frustration. *** 1. Vending Machines. The C.S.O.’s morning begins …
Mar 09 2024
If You Remember Paul Harvey…
He once composed a piercing piece called “If I Were The Devil.” The following video, a Trump campaign ad, borrows its structure from that piece: Video created by the Dilley Team for Trump. Do not skip this one. If I were the Deep State.pic.twitter.com/MfQvFubUUm — Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 8, 2024 Pass …
Mar 09 2024
Evil: The Frontier
I’ve been exploring evil as an abstract, categorizable phenomenon for decades. It’s one half of the most important question in all of human life. I sketched the edges of the other half of that question in this brief piece. To save you a mouse click: Primary authority is the sort possessed by him …
Mar 08 2024
“Let The Bodies Hit The Floor!”
Nothin’ wrong with me… Nothin’ wrong with me… Nothin’ wrong with me… Nothin’ wrong with me… Oh fudge…who do I think I’m kidding? *** Courtesy of Ace’s long and detailed piece of yesterday, I’ve only just become aware of what he’s styled “GamerGate 2.0.” You may recall the original …
Mar 08 2024
What Must Be Said
If we can’t bring back the idea of personal agency and responsibility for one’s actions, along with a societal moral code of right and wrong, we are doomed. — Weird Dave at AoSHQ Bravo. It cannot be said too often or too loudly. But note that the Left, principally through its “DEI” and …
Mar 07 2024
Inconceivable Yet Real
Writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror – the three main speculative genres – face challenges that don’t trouble mainstream fictioneers. We’re supposed to strive to be original, constantly looking for a new conception, a new scientific or technological development, a new evocation of wonder or terror. The flattest and least refutable of all …
Mar 06 2024
Cash And Chaos
This bit of news rang a bell for me: LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – A Senate bill introduced on Tuesday would prohibit businesses from refusing cash-only payments. […] Senate Bill 306 has not been assigned to a committee yet. [Steve] McClain said the Kentucky Retail Federation will be closely monitoring it. …
Mar 06 2024
And I Thought We’d Reached Peak Insanity
Before I saw the image below – shamelessly stolen from Kenny Lane’s place – I’d have said that there isn’t much in the way of untried yet marginally imaginable lunacy left to explore. But here we are: Yes, it’s possible. But it’s also a manifestation of genuine insanity. If you’re inclined to dispute …
Mar 05 2024
Flummery With Erudition And Panache
The following snippet is from a column by Jeffrey A. Tucker, the founder and president of the Brownstone Institute. The column, ”What Happened To Intellectual Life?” appeared at the Epoch Times on February 26, 2024. It seems that not even the specialists can tell the science from AI-generated caricatures built from utter rubbish. …
Mar 05 2024
Simple Foolishness Or A Communist Tactical Move?
It has frequently embarrassed me that Jorge Bergoglio, elevated to the Throne of Saint Peter some years back, chose my name for his papal appellation. The man is so demonstrably unfit for his position that the entire College of Cardinals should do severe penance for electing him. And as the successor to Pope Benedict …
Mar 04 2024
Partisanry Is Idiocy
Have I not said this before? Have I not screamed “Don’t be a joiner” loudly or frequently enough? Well, looky here: Ed Cox must resign. He is a donkey in Elephant’s clothing. It has been discovered that Cox, chairman of the New York Republican State Committee, sits on the board of …
Mar 04 2024
A Question With An Unpleasant Answer
Now that I’m caught up on my obligations, let’s address a painful question. It’s often been asked over the years. It’s painful because the most accurate answer to it is unpleasant. It just cropped up at Gab: Do the PEOPLE – of ANY Country – Really WANT WAR? And the answer is: Yes, …
Mar 04 2024
Assorted
For your humble Curmudgeon, Monday mornings are no longer special occasions that feature groans and a prolonged interval of turgid movement. Since I retired, that’s every day. *** I’ve been sifting through this article for a while, and I’m not sure how to assess it. The author makes some good observations, but he …
Mar 03 2024
Attention: Free Fiction!
From March 3 through March 9 is Smashwords’ Read-An-Ebook Week. In recognition thereof, nineteen of my books are free downloads at Smashwords this week. If you’re unacquainted with my fiction, stop over there and sample it while it’s free. What have you got to lose?
Mar 03 2024
A Modern Political Wonder
While it’s true that we prefer to associate with people who are much like us, the great majority of Americans are acquainted with at least some persons who differ with them in substantial ways, including in their political preferences. Despite those differences, we know, even if only subconsciously, that those “others” are not monsters. …
Mar 02 2024
This Happened In A “Public” High School
First, a brief excursion into stupidity from a nominally intelligent person: Don’t get me wrong: vigilantism in any form is wrong… Show me the difference – moral or practical – between vigilantism and the State’s version of “justice.” What palm of morality goes with a badge or an office in a “public” …
Mar 02 2024
After An Awful Night
…something like this is what I need to return to the land of the living: Tech tip pic.twitter.com/mKGD336lWg — ONT WTF (@OntWtf) March 1, 2024 I have absolutely no doubt that someone, somewhere thinks this is the right way to clean your laptop computer. And I find that strangely comforting.
Mar 01 2024
Longshots
Some longshots entice the bettor with misty visions of grandeur and glory. Others attempt to seduce with an emotional pitch. Still others are frank about the odds against them, but they appeal to the common desire to see oneself as a visionary or an adventurer. Their sole commonality is that a payoff is, in …
Mar 01 2024
Mask Droppings
The forces of chaos must feel that they can no longer be stopped: The most insane thing you have ever heard from@MSNBC Celebrity Black activist lawyer @BenCrumpLaw says that criminal behavior in America is just Black culture. Demands the legalization of crime.@TheRevAl and other Black racial activists all express agreement. pic.twitter.com/bfEQr0b7AU — National Conservative …
Feb 29 2024
Say What?
Something “out there” is seriously wrong. You know it; I know it. But is it a unitary thing, or merely the sum of all the little things that currently bedevil us? It can be hard to tell. I can’t shake the sense that there’s a monster lurking in the shadows, peering now and …
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