Francis W. Porretto
Mount Sinai, NY USA
Author's posts
May 11 2022
Does Anyone Need A Reminder…
…about why the Second Amendment is so important? Well, here: I rest my case.
May 11 2022
“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 …
May 10 2022
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 …
May 10 2022
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 …
May 09 2022
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 …
May 08 2022
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 …
May 08 2022
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 …
May 07 2022
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 …
May 07 2022
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.
May 07 2022
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 …
May 07 2022
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 …
May 06 2022
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 …
May 06 2022
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 …
May 06 2022
Before I Proceed…
…to the other business of the day, I must recommend this article to my Gentle Readers. It concerns a minor matter with which you might even be personally acquainted: broken ice-cream machines at McDonald’s: When you order ice cream, you don’t want to hear “We’re out” or “It’s broken,” yet it has been …
May 05 2022
Something To Hide…From?
Who are you? I know who I am: a cranky old man with a lot of conservative-libertarian opinions. I don’t trouble to hide myself, or what I think. In fact, I glory in all of it. Yes, I’ve attracted some haters. And yes, at one time there was an attempt to do me …
May 04 2022
Terror In The Vestibule
I was thinking of taking the rest of the day off from commentary when, courtesy of J. J. Sefton, I started reading this essay by Naomi Wolf. It’s long, and addresses several matters of both political and sociological interest, but the segment that struck me most powerfully appears below: Overnight, a new concern, …
May 04 2022
My Irony Meter Has Pinned Again
I don’t think this: This radical dishonest slob pretends to be a journalist…Yamiche Alcindor: Overturning Roe Would Result in Pregnancies that Will ‘Turn Into Children’ https://t.co/nHctl6daBY — Troy Fauber (@TroyFauber) May 4, 2022 …requires any deep exegesis from me. Yamiche Alcindor is regularly presented to a large cablecast audience as an intelligent …
May 03 2022
A Time For Perspective
Geez, I get to write about what I want so seldom these days… Yes, yes: Politico has leaked a draft Supreme Court opinion, purportedly written by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, which strikes down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The majority opinion in that case was written by Associate Justice Harry Blackmun. Of …
May 02 2022
A Time For Candor
There is no longer any politics in our political contests. There is only slander. As pleased as I was to see Andrew Cuomo resign the governorship of New York, the accusations that elicited his departure depressed me rather badly. Cuomo, for all that I dislike him as a man and a public official, …
May 01 2022
Need To Know
No, this won’t be about federal security regulations. And I know a father Who had a son He longed to tell him all the reasons For the things he’d done. He came a long way Just to explain, He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping Then he turned around and headed home again. …
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