Francis W. Porretto

Mount Sinai, NY USA

Author's posts

Do Mine Eyes Deceive Me?

     Three men gang-raped a minor, filmed it, and were sentenced to probation?      WEST JORDAN — Two men accused of raping a 14-year-old girl who was in and out of consciousness and another man charged with videotaping the sexual encounter were sentenced Wednesday to 48 months of probation.      Third District Judge Douglas Hogan …

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The Vice President Of These United States In This Year Of Our Lord 2022…

     …should have better sense than ever to speak in public: KAMALA: “We will work together, and continue to work together, to address these issues, to tackle these challenges, and to work together as we continue to work operating from the new norms, rules, and agreements, that we will convene to work together…We will work …

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Determinism And Its Antecedents

     Were you aware that the hottest issue in the physical sciences today is whether there’s really such a thing as causality? Actually, it’s been the hottest issue for several decades already, ever since the codification of measurement uncertainty and quantum level indeterminacy. Physicists struggle to work with quantum systems that defy classical conceptions of …

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The Great Othering

     I’m sure my Gentle Readers are familiar with the neologism othering. It’s been used in connection with common allegations that some minority group has been targeted for elimination. Supposedly, the targeted group is slathered with propaganda designed to convince the majority that “they are not like us – they are others.” This is used …

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Since No One Else Is Doing So…

     …it falls to me to commemorate the 105th Anniversary of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima:      Our Lady of Fátima is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary based on the famed Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria, in Fátima, Portugal. …

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“Tapping The Wires”

     The Gentle Readers of Liberty’s Torch will probably already know what I’m about to say, yet its significance might be greater than any of us have yet imagined. Even so, I shall eschew large font for it. I’ll restrain my desire to shout. This once, anyway.      The mainstream media are largely the mouthpieces …

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When What You Want To Say Would Come Out As A Scream

     …it’s best to say nothing.      Just now, the patience of real Americans – patriots who love our country and are agonized by what’s happening to it – is being tried to its limits and beyond. In less than two years, the Usurper Regime has brought this nation to the brink of the abyss. …

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Does Anyone Need A Reminder…

     …about why the Second Amendment is so important? Well, here:      I rest my case.

“Not Done”

     Historically, much that is not illegal by statute has been restrained by an unwritten social code. Nineteenth Century England, the closest approach to a classical-liberal polity in Europe of that era, had extensive codes of that sort. Because English society was stratified by class, there were several such codes, which included rules by which …

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Masks Off Dept.

     First, the scene at Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, just this past Sunday: Marxists try to disrupt Mass at Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels. Security, ushers and parishioners said they were not having it.#cathedral #Catholic pic.twitter.com/HlN8yHxPKL — Romangod7 (@Romangod7) May 8, 2022      And what do the Usurpers think …

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More Cans And Can’ts

Certain truths appear to be particularly difficult for people to accept. One such truth is on my mind this morning: Laws cannot change people’s desires.      Laws, coupled with sufficiently determined enforcement, can change the incentives and disincentives people face, but nothing else. If a politician proclaims himself in favor of a law that’s in …

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Everything New Is…Old Again?

     A number of years ago, someone I worked with asked me to describe libertarianism. There are a host of answers to that question, most of them pretty good. I replied with one I find more polemically effective than the rest…possibly because I concocted it: “A libertarian is a conservative who remembers what conservatism used …

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For Life

     I attended several of the annual conventions of the Libertarian Party of New York, back when I was engaged with the party. I can’t remember at which of them, but at one I heard a presentation by an upstate activist, Andrew Melechinsky. “Andy Mel,” as we called him, told some riveting stories about his …

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For Mothers’ Day 2022

     A Happy Mothers’ Day to all my Gentle Readers, all mothers, and anyone who had a mother! Mothers, as most of us are aware, are vital to the continuing of the species…and you’ve just got to love our species. Especially the members who wear “pronoun pins” and insist that men can give birth. But …

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Things Lost And Things Misplaced

     Time was, there was a kind of space reserved in pop music for the ballad. Harry Chapin was one of the better known practitioners of the form, but there were many others. Being a storyteller by inclination, I have a soft spot for ballads and balladeers, and I miss them.      Way, way back …

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One More Before I Stir My Stumps

     In Weird Dave’s Friday Night ONT, he cites this tweet:      Is further comment really necessary?      Verbum sat sapienti.

Offhand Truths Of Staggering Import Dept.

     I stumbled over this in Weird Dave’s Friday Night ONT:      I don’t think men in general get complimented enough, and I think men and women react differently to compliments.      Well, yeah. But remember, Gentle Readers: obvious really means overlooked. And as the late, great Ron Popeil liked to say: But wait: there’s …

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When They Can’t Keep It Inside Any Longer…

     …it can sound louder than a car crash:      According to Canadian sociologist and political commentator Mathieu Bock-Côté, mass immigration has weakened social cohesion and cultural conflict.      Bock-Côté made the comments during an appearance on the Face a l’Info political talk show.      “When a society predominantly receives new populations it cannot integrate …

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A Gentle Suggestion

     A number of news and commentary sites I’ve enjoyed reading for years have recently set up for-subscribers-only sections. Those sections are only accessible after one agrees to a yearly payment. In effect, the subscriber must trust the site with access to one of his credit cards. I’m absolutely unwilling to do this, no matter …

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Roe And Race

     While we’re on the subject of Roe v. Wade — we are, aren’t we? – consider the reaction of this crowd of “medical professionals” to a simple question from an unidentified person: Phew. It gets awfully quiet. This man knows how to silence a protest. pic.twitter.com/LeGQ3DToHO — Abigail Dodds (@abigaildodds) May 5, 2022      …

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