Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
Oct 02 2021
“We Can Afford To Spend As Much Of Your Money As We Like.”
Listen as a top Congressional Democrat tells you exactly that: On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-KY) said that $3.5 trillion in spending under the reconciliation bill “is pretty inconsequential when you consider all the benefits to the American people,” and “The federal government can afford anything …
Oct 01 2021
A Little More On The “Public” “Education” System
This development almost got past me: The leftist National School Boards Association is begging President Joe Biden to use domestic terrorism laws to target parents who oppose anti-science mask mandates for children and the infiltration of racist curriculum in schools. In a letter sent on Wednesday, NSBA asked the Biden administration and …
Oct 01 2021
You Thought It Was Just A Gaffe, Didn’t You?
Not only wasn’t it a gaffe, it goes all the way to the top: So I saw this clip circulating the Twitter interwebs (I don’t think that’s a word but it’s funny to say when referencing the Internet – makes me feel like I’m 90) of Miguel Cardona, President Joe Biden’s Education Secretary, …
Sep 30 2021
The Point Of The Left’s Program
One could say a lot of very negative things about former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe. He hates guns. He’s pro-abortion. He keeps bad company. He lies a lot. In other words, he’s a typical Democrat politician. But, his backers would say, at least he’s consistent. And consistency is a virtue, right? McAuliffe is …
Sep 29 2021
More On The “Think Again” Front
“The threat is more powerful than its execution.” – Aron Nimzovich “Not if the probability of execution is zero.” – Me. I’ve been seeing a lot of online bravado of the sort that runs “If they go any further, we’ll rise up and…” – You get the idea, don’t you, Gentle Reader? …
Sep 28 2021
Peak Lunacy Dept 2021-09-28
We have arrived at a moment when making a gathering less diverse, according to the dictionary definition of that word is characterized as defending diversity: Video out of Arizona State University on Thursday shows a pair of black activists ordering two white students to leave a “multicultural” center for being white. “You’re …
Sep 27 2021
What We Need
Everybody is screaming a warning about something. Each of those everybodies is peddling a nostrum of some sort – usually something you can buy over the counter – he’ll tell you is essential to deal with the threat he hawks. And while it’s not perfectly uniform, a great many of the everybodies hope to …
Sep 26 2021
That Most Elusive Of Assets
I’m filled with quirky thoughts today, for a variety of reasons. For one, our Gentle Readers have been writing to ask questions I’d bet few other Web blatherers receive. For another, I’m in the middle of yet another romance novel – to be titled The Discovery Phase, look for it soon at a website …
Sep 25 2021
Assorted
Yes, yes, I took yesterday off from this dive. I’d been posting too much anyway, and I wanted some time to play with my dogs and cats, among other things. Speaking of dogs and cats and other things, let today be a break from news of the world and its many ills. First up, …
Sep 23 2021
Authoritarian Theft Part 2
Concerning my tirade of yesterday, Mike Hendrix adds a report on an incident I should have included: After the FBI seized Joseph Ruiz’s life savings during a raid on a safe deposit box business in Beverly Hills, the unemployed chef went to court to retrieve his $57,000. A judge ordered the government to …
Sep 22 2021
Five Minutes Of Teflon
My parish is privileged to have a genuinely excellent homilist for its pastor: Monsignor Christopher Heller. (In this he follows in the path of his predecessor, the late Father Charles Papa.) From the Gospel reading for Wednesday, he extracted a wisdom that few lay Catholics, and perhaps not many priests, would have found there. …
Sep 22 2021
Authoritarian Theft: Three Cases
“Taxation is theft!” rises the cry from thousands of freedom lovers. And it is so, if viewed through the lens of direct comparison. After all, what practical difference is there between the highwayman who points a gun at you and says “Your money or your life,” and the IRS agent who assesses you for …
Sep 22 2021
Rest In Peace
A great man died yesterday: Dr, Angelo M. Codevilla, who was walking home from church when he was hit by a drunk driver. He was taken to a hospital, where he died of his injuries. Herewith, a brief summary of Codevilla’s resume: Angelo M. Codevilla (born May 25, 1943) is professor emeritus …
Sep 21 2021
Something To Tell The Minimum-Wage Cranks
The following is a table of minimum wage levels, set by Congress, alongside another figure whose meaning I’ll withhold for now: YEAR Federal Minimum Wage Per Hour ??? 1964 $1.25 $0.90 1970 $1.00 $1.50 1980 $3.10 $14.05 1990 $3.80 $3.80 2000 $5.15 $4.15 2010 $7.25 $27.70 2020 $7.25 $23.90 Did you know the …
Sep 21 2021
Hard Times For Superherodom
“What do you mean?” I hear you say. Well, you know how tough it can be when a trade gets overpopulated. Think of America’s legal profession. Today there are more than one million lawyers in these United States. More than a lawyer for every three hundred Americans. There simply isn’t enough legal work to …
Sep 20 2021
No Man Is So Blind As Is He Who Refuses To See
I’m in a kind of “comedown” mood this morning. No, I didn’t get wasted yesterday; it’s a purely psychological phenomenon. You see, yesterday was “Talk Like A Pirate Day,” one of my favorite days of the year. Drives the C.S.O. nuts, but she knows it’s only one day a year. Happily, the many telemarketers …
Sep 19 2021
Premises
It has been said – I know this for an incontrovertible fact, as I’m the one who said it – that an argument founded on a false premise, no matter how perfectly and seamlessly logical, is worthless. This applies to arguments about any and every subject under the Sun. If your premises are wrong, …
Sep 18 2021
Fences
Why does anyone, anywhere and at any time, erect a fence? I have one around my backyard. It’s to keep my dogs in: that is, to lessen my fear that my dogs will run away, possibly to their deaths. When the patricians of other places erect fences, it’s usually to keep other …
Sep 18 2021
Is That A Clarion Call I Hear?
Well, maybe: People are waking up to the monumental con that’s been played on us: Those are basic facts – from the government horse’s mouth, at that. But don’t you dare try to dispute the importance of the “vaccine,” because the Left’s media minions will shortly know all about you: The …
Fran’s Recent Novels
Margaret’s Recent Novels
