Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Apr 17 2023
The Critical Questions: What Is Art?
This might prove to be the start of a series of essays. Beneath every argument about anything whatsoever, there will lie a question that must be answered for the argument to be soluble: “What the hell are we talking about?” That question, of course, must become specific for it to be relevant and …
Apr 16 2023
Faith, Doubt, And What Lies Apart From Them: A Sunday Rumination
[I wrote the essay below five years ago, in ruminating on another Divine Mercy Sunday. Having reviewed it, I find that it still serves the occasion — FWP] *** Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: …
Apr 16 2023
Death Cult Chronicles: The Cleverness Front
In a recent exchange of views with a cleverer-than-usual pro-abortion person, I posited that abortion is morally wrong because a human embryo is human. It contains human DNA distinct from that of its mother and, if not interfered with, in the normal course of events will become so recognizably human that no one would …
Apr 16 2023
A Call To Arms
Every now and then, I stumble over something so concise and so well shaped for its purpose that I’m impelled to suspend my own excessive loquacity and defer to it. The video in this piece from bustednuckles is of that caliber. Please watch it – yes, there are a lot of “fucks” in …
Apr 15 2023
A Saturday Smorgasbord
It promises to be a busy day – this home ownership scam can really get to you in the spring – so have a few scattered bits for now. *** 1. The FBI Doesn’t Like Us. I don’t mean “us” in the widest sense this morning. Rather, I’m thinking of the special attention …
Apr 14 2023
Signs Of The Apocalypse
Some see them everywhere. Myself, I seem to breed them. Like most Catholics, I have a couple of crucifixes in my home: the oft-celebrated Fortress of Crankitude. I also keep a supply of holy water in a decorative bottle. (Hey, you never know when you might have to repel a vampire, so suspenders …
Apr 14 2023
The Assault On American Children: The Op-Ed Front
Courtesy of The New York Post, we have this indication of a renewed op-ed offensive. The piece is full of high-flown sententiousness, clever deceits, and outright slander of the mushrooming Parental Rights movement, but in the end author Sarah Jones’s prescription is what matters: Children aren’t private property, then, but a public responsibility. …
Apr 13 2023
That Of Which They Do Not Speak
Education, though it is emphatically not a proper function of government, is an area in which governments are appallingly active. State education departments mandate specific aspects of school curricula. Elected school boards negotiate with “educators’” unions and set tax rates for their school district. Taxpayers foot the bills willy-nilly. The parents of school-age children …
Apr 13 2023
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up Dept.
If anything still requires explanation in this Age of the Absurd, it’s what sort of genetic engineering (or conditioning through drugs and torture) produces people with this degree of barefaced gall: Susan Rice, who lied on five Sunday News shows about Benghazi, claims that systemic racism cost the economy $16T. “In the …
Apr 12 2023
The Central Fear Of All Who Create
After Melkor, the rebellious Vala who sought the power of Creation that he might rival Ilúvatar the Creator, destroyed Telperion and Laurelin, the Two Trees of Valinor that gave undying light to the Blessed Lands, the Valar held a council with the Eldar, to this effect: After a time a great concourse gathered …
Apr 12 2023
Taste-Whetter
I have to hit the ground running and might not be back until the afternoon, so here’s a little something to kickstart the day, shamelessly stolen from Weasel Zippers: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton could not be reached for comment.
Apr 11 2023
Problems And Solutions
The news is the same as yesterday. The corruptocrats are all spouting the same self-serving bilge, while the media dutifully pretend otherwise. So let’s talk about something else this morning. I can’t remember the first time I heard a politician prattle about some “problem.” I’m sure the practice is a lot older than …
Apr 10 2023
Untrustworthy
The C.S.O. and I recently watched and greatly enjoyed Mark Wahlberg’s star-vehicle Shooter, about a master sniper who’s used as the frame-up pigeon in an assassination conspiracy. It’s a high-body-count action movie and replete with entertainment throughout, but one particular bit will remain in my memory for a long time to come. Sniper Bob …
Apr 09 2023
As He Said
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the …
Apr 08 2023
Visions Of Sugarplums
People respond to incentives and disincentives. Sticks and carrots work. – Charles Murray Ordinary people are massively baffled by the weird recent behavior of several major corporations. They look at the behavior of Anheuser-Busch, or Jack Daniels, or Nike, or Disney, and scratch their heads. “What could they have been thinking?” is the …
Apr 07 2023
Good Friday 2023
On Good Friday, Christians commemorate – not “celebrate” – the Crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s a day for thinking about ultimate things. The Church is constantly at pains to remind us that no matter how our temporal lives may run, every one of us will face “the last things:” death, judgment, and …
Apr 06 2023
New York And Weapons Law
A few days ago, owing to an unfortunate incident that occurred here at the Fortress recently, I visited a local firearms emporium for the first time in some years. In the process I learned a few things of which I “should” have been aware some time ago. New York state is highly unfriendly …
Apr 05 2023
Symmetries And Balances
In the realm of physics (a.k.a. “the world” or “reality”) a great many symmetries and equilibria are observable by anyone who cares enough to pay attention. Among the most interesting and educational things one can do, though not necessarily safely, is to disturb such a symmetry and watch what happens thereafter. Sometimes the consequences …
Apr 04 2023
If The Shoe Fits Dept.
Lesley Stahl is a socialist. That’s been an open secret for decades. As such, she’s a fierce defender of the Democrat Party, which is now openly socialist in agenda. However, her elevation to CBS’s once-admired “60 Minutes” staff made it necessary to pretend that she’s an impartial, objective journalist. So naturally – ? – …
Apr 03 2023
The English Disease
I don’t know if the title phrase ever became a part of common parlance. Even if you’re near to my age, you might not be familiar with it, or with the condition to which it refers. First and foremost: it doesn’t refer to a physical malady. An anecdote might best illustrate what was …
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