Francis W. Porretto

Mount Sinai, NY USA

Author's posts

Knives

     Circus knife throwers go through a lot of beautiful young assistants in scanty costumes. That’s not because they “miss” all that often; obviously not, or their unique occupation would have been banned long ago. Rather; it’s because the young beauty’s fear that sooner or later the day will come eventually wears her down. She …

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Anarcho-Tyrannical America, The Continuing Story

     It’s beyond the possibility of dispute today.      Consider the following short video:      Stephen Miller of America First Legal has stated the matter perfectly. But it’s not just medical care that’s at risk:      Manhattan’s new DA has ordered his prosecutors to stop seeking prison sentences for hordes of criminals and to downgrade …

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The Devolution Of The American Female

     Among the truly stupendous lies of the decades behind us, this one is near the top: Ladies: You Can Have It All.      It’s shorthand, of course. “All” is an abbreviation for “all the fulfillments and satisfactions known to Mankind, without limit and without cost.” It was one of the inducements for young American …

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The Search For Exculpations

     It continues.      I admire Maura Dowling. She’s done terrific work at her site for many years now, which has put her on my twice-daily reading list. Besides, she’s one of the only two Long Island bloggers in the Dextrosphere, which makes her special indeed. So the following should not be interpreted as an …

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Threatening Or Heartening?

     I’m in the habit of sending out “Happy New Year” notes to my friends, cordial acquaintances, and other regular correspondents. Those who reply usually just echo the wish, perhaps with a few words of personal news attached. However, this year one friend, whom I’ll call Smith, included in his response that he’d decided to …

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Crisis: The Agar Of Leviathan

     [A repost from four years ago. It came to mind when I read this John Hinderaker piece. History might not be perfectly cyclical, but its “greatest hits” surely do get a lot of replays. — FWP] ***      You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s …

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Alert! Alert!

     They killed him! The wisest man on Earth, a godlike being with superior intelligence who has absolute evidence and proof of his theory. He could not have expired from any natural cause. He’s been taken from us by the Worldwide Single-Day-Time Conspiracy!      To gauge the immeasurable height, width, and depth of what we …

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Free Fiction!

On January 1, 2022, my new Onteora County romance The Discovery Phase will be a free download at Amazon! One day only, so get yours while it’s free!      And by the way, Happy New Year!

Make Up Your Own Clever Title

     Sorry, Gentle Readers. The “Future Columns” folder is about to explode, and as the UXB squad has professed a complete lack of interest in my peril, I’m just going to slather it all over you.      (Don’t you feel special?) *** 1. Alternative explanations dept.      These days, it’s unwise to settle for the …

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Perfection: Its Uses And Abuses

     Once again, I have to take the C.S.O. to a medical procedure a little later. And once again, my “Future Columns” folder is near to bursting. Therefore, in an <sarcasm>unprecedented act of self-assertion,</sarcasm> I’m going to write about what I damned well please.      ‘Tis the season to be ornery. ***      To me, …

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An AFK Day

     I’ll be offline much of today, as I must take the C.S.O. to a medical procedure a good distance away. It will take several hours, during which I’ll be hopping up and down and jittering about waiting with my justly famous confidence and world-renowned patience in a nearby coffee shop while the flesh mechanics …

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Comprehension: A Primer

     First, a few quotes:      You say: “There are persons who have no money,” and you turn to the law. But the law is not a breast that fills itself with milk. Nor are the lacteal veins of the law supplied with milk from a source outside society. – Frederic Bastiat, The Law      …

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Saint Stephen

     Today, December 26, is the feast day of Saint Stephen, one of the first (some accounts make him the very first) martyrs to the Christian faith. Here’s what this morning’s missive from the Catholic Company has to say about him:      St. Stephen (1st. c.) was one of the Church’s first deacons in Jerusalem …

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The Big Whys

     Why do you do what you do? Apart from the autonomic stuff such as breathing, and the instinctive stuff such as chasing cute girls, that is.      As far as I can tell, there are only three categorical reasons for any consciously chosen action: Desires; Fears; Beliefs.      Virtually everyone understands the first two …

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For Real Americans Everywhere: Lest We Forget

     Just a quick reminder, before I go offline for the Christmas weekend:      Government kills.      All governments, at all levels.      All elements of government, whatever their nominal function.      Killing is the only thing they’re good at.      The events of January 6? Capitol police officers killed three protestors. All three were …

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Some Early Christmas Presents To Indie Colleagues

     Here we are: December 23, only two days from the Feast of the Nativity, Christianity’s second-biggest holy day. But many Americans’ thoughts remain on entirely secular matters, especially the purchasing and wrapping of presents for others. As one of my parish priests put it, this is the time of year we go running around …

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Tribalism Ascendant

     I’ve written about tribalism on several occasions, mainly at Liberty’s Torch V1.0. Because of associations that link tribe with race, it’s a subject that induces considerable trepidation in persons who dislike being called nasty names. Yet it’s a real phenomenon, it has deleterious effects on a society, and when allowed any latitude it can …

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Shibboleths And Scare Talk

     Political talk is mostly hot air, of course. Among other influences, politicians almost unanimously regard their own voices as the sweetest sound in the universe. They’ll fill whatever space is provided to them with as much blather as they can get away with – and it won’t necessarily mean anything in particular.      So …

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Christmas, Children, and Christ

     If you have young children (I don’t), or were once a young child yourself (I wasn’t), you’re probably familiar with children’s Christmas frenzy. It’s all about the presents. (Well, maybe a little about the decorations.) The religious aspects of the holiday are virtually impossible to communicate to them. The origin of the gift-giving tradition …

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Bits Of Fun

     Christmas is a week away. What point is there in writing about politics and current events at a time this joyous? Shut ‘em out with me, at least for today, and see if we can amuse one another.      (Amuse, not abuse! Get your mind out of the gutter.) ***      I saw this …

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