Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Jul 05 2022
The Crux Of The Matter
crux n. a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point. The nature of Man underlies everything in human society. We build the societies we build because we are what we are, including how various characteristics are distributed among us. Most of us want to be left alone…mostly. But some of us can’t abide that. …
Jul 04 2022
A Little Extra
Among the words of which I’m particularly fond, lagniappe holds a special place. There are several reasons, among them the difficulty of pronouncing it properly and the puzzled grimaces most people make when they hear it. It means “a little extra,” usually a small benefit beyond what one had expected. I first encountered …
Jul 03 2022
Transgressive Artists And Their Transcrap
Count on a lover of words to mangle them artistically. Of course, “art” doesn’t mean what it once did, but we’ll get to that in a moment. “Transgressive” is one of those words: the sort that appear only in very specific contexts. Such words are often used to defy some near-universal understanding, or …
Jul 02 2022
Intentions Over Achievements
Many a commentator has noted the Left’s preference for hawking its intentions for a proposed bill, and completely ignoring (or fan-dancing away) the consequences of the bill once it’s been signed into law. Thomas Sowell cites a number of instances of this behavior in The Vision of the Anointed, which I recommend heartily to …
Jul 02 2022
Fight Fiercely, Like Harvard…But Lose!
Concerning the never to be adequately damned betrayal of conservatism by the pseudo-conservative NeverTrumpers, a.k.a. “Conservatism, Inc,” Ace captures the core of their mindset: They live in very leftwing Blue Cities in which ultraleft governance is the norm, in which ultraleft social norms are the norm, in which ultraleft political imperatives are the …
Jul 01 2022
The Dollars-and-Cents Of Abortion
First, snippets from two excellent novels: “The women’s rights movement had three goals. First, it got women into the workplace where their labor could be taxed….So, with more women entering the workforce the supply of labor increases and wages are depressed…. “Now couples need to have two careers to support a typical …
Jun 30 2022
First California, Now New York
Remember what I said about the “may issue” states and their opposition to the right to keep and bear arms? Administrative processes can be made so painful and expensive that they deter effectively everyone from exercising their rights. California is tightening the screws one way: “Legal judgments of good moral character …
Jun 30 2022
A Month Of Free Fiction!
(Scroll down for new posts.) Smashwords, where I first listed my fiction for sale, is having a Summer Sale that will extend from July 1 through July 31. My novels will be part of it: The Realm of Essences Series: Chosen One On Broken Wings Shadow of a Sword Polymath Statesman The Spooner Federation …
Jun 29 2022
Back By Popular Demand?
The most recent Supreme Court decisions to make the national news have me thinking very rosy thoughts. Possibly they’re completely unrealistic ones, but at least they’re a change from my usual grumblings over “government” in these United States. All three — Bruen, Dobbs, and Kennedy — upset a significant Leftist applecart, which the Court …
Jun 29 2022
SCOTUS On A Roll?
Terresa Monroe-Hamilton, whose work I first encountered at Noisy Room, has a blockbuster article at Biz Pac Review: It seems overturning Roe v. Wade may not be the biggest decision to come down from the Supreme Court as its ruling on West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency could strip the government and …
Jun 29 2022
California’s War On Guns Continues
Looky here: California gun owners have been put at risk by the Attorney General’s office after a new dashboard leaked their personal information. The California Department of Justice’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal went live on Monday with publicly-accessible files that include identifying information for those who have concealed carry permits. The leaked …
Jun 28 2022
Evidence, Inference, and Faith
What statement is aimed at you more often than any other? For me, it’s “You must be crazy.” or some variation thereof. And more often than not, the stimulus is my religious beliefs. The person casting the aspersions on my sanity deems them “irrational,” the great majority of those who hold them as …
Jun 28 2022
Culinary Customs
Kenny “Wirecutter” Lane has a brief tale for us: My ex-wife slopped [mayonnaise] on everything. We went through more mayonnaise in a month than I did in a year before I met her. About the only thing I’ll use it on is a ham or bologna sandwich, but she’d slather it on …
Jun 28 2022
Quickie: California Parries The Bruen Decision
As I was sure it would: [T]he [California] AG’s office concludes that the existing statutory requirement “that a public-carry license applicant provide proof of ‘good moral character’ remains constitutional,” and that this requirement isn’t limited to disqualifying felons, certain violent misdemeanants, and the like. And in particular the AG’s office suggests that people …
Jun 27 2022
What Self-Imposed Blindness Looks Like
I can’t help it; I have a scientist’s preference for data over opinions. I have another preference as well: for life, limb, and property. So I respect data about crime. In particular, I respect data about where the majority of crimes against person and property are committed. I avoid those districts to the extent …
Jun 27 2022
Christian Love: A Primer
Every now and then I get a burr under my saddle, and I have to vent. (“No, really?”) (Shut up, you.) Today is such a day. I hope you’ll indulge me, as the subject matter is critical to the future of Mankind. Yes, the subject is the one in the title of this piece …
Jun 26 2022
Distortions And Evasions
My responsibilities to my Gentle Readers are more extensive than you might imagine. Yes, I’m here to provide analysis and commentary. Yes, I’m here to dissect the statements of others who don’t always express themselves clearly. But alongside those duties, I’m also here to pull the wool off your eyes – to tell you, …
Jun 25 2022
Concerning Yesterday’s Citation
A lot of people would like to disbelieve that statement by Mac Stipanovich. Some will say “There must be some missing context;” others, “Maybe he was just funnin’ us.” After all, the man was a Republican political consultant. By flapping his yap the way he did, he’s “given the game away” and endangered Republican …
Jun 24 2022
A Little Confirmation
Now and then, we get a “Kinsley gaffe” – i.e., when a politician accidentally tells the truth – that tells us more than we ever knew. (Sometimes it’s more than we wanted to know, but that’s a subject for another tirade.) We have one before us today: For decades, the Democratic Party had …
Jun 23 2022
Even When The News Is Good…
…it’s unwise to rely on the honesty or candor of the political class. A few hours ago, the Supreme Court struck down New York State’s “may issue” handgun-permit law: The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a restrictive New York gun law in a major ruling for gun rights. The justices’ …
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