Nordstahl @Nordstahl@qoto.org

✨ A Sprinkle of JoyousJoyness ✨

Cronch cronch!

Have a JoyousJoyfulJoyness day!

#happy #quokka #cute #joyousjoyness #repost

In a dramatic middle-of-the-night stand off, a bipartisan set of lawmakers pushing for true reform and privacy protections for Americans bought us some more time to fight!
They are holding out for, at a minimum,
the requirement of an actual probable cause warrant for FBI access to information collected under the mass spying program known as 702.

A reauthorization with virtually no changes was defeated because a core group of lawmakers held strong;
they know that people are hungry for real reform that protects the privacy of our communications. We now have a 10-day extension to continue to push Congress to pass a real reform bill. 

The Lawmakers rallied late Thursday night to reject a proposed amendment that made gestures at privacy protections, but it would not have improved on the status quo and would have reauthorized Section 702 for five more years to boot. 

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/keep-pushing-we-get-10-more-days-reform-section-702

My last weekly update for a while. With #COVID19 at historic lows and no sign a new surge will start soon, I'm suspending my weekly updates.

- COVID is very low in 39 states & low in 8 states.
- Mississippi has moderate viral activity, and West Virginia is high.
- The positive rate of testing is at its lowest point in over a year.

Spring should be the safest COVID period we've had since the start of the pandemic. I'll restart the updates when the summer surge begins.

https://medium.com/@augieray_66704/covid-very-low-in-the-u-s-update-for-april-17-2026-18218adcc66c

I’m one of those people who can’t draw.

Everyone here keeps saying “just go make art, no matter if it’s shitty.”

So I did.

Forecast is warning of “potato-sized hail” here in Kansas, because Americans really will do anything to avoid learning the metric system.

🧵Trump's war against Pope Leo is about something far larger than his foreign wars, it's actually a struggle for control of American Christianity.

This thread will summarize the main points of my latest essay about how Trumpism is a replacement Christianity. Continue or click through:
https://flux.community/matthew-sheffield/2026/04/trump-hates-pope-leo-because-he-sees-himself-as-the-real-vicar-of-christ/

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President #Zelenskyy

💬 "King Carl XVI Gustaf of #Sweden began his visit to #Ukraine by joining me in paying tribute to our fallen soldiers. We are very grateful for this tribute.

The memory of each and every one of them is very important to us.

"The Pope has shown the world how to stand up to Trump"

"Clearly, Leo rejects appeasement as an antidote to coercion & hate":

Jesus "does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war... 'Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: Your hands are full of blood.’”

Unlike sychophantic leaders who stroked Trump’s ego, Leo resisted.

Like every bully, Trump takes keen pleasure in satisfying his narcissistic hunger for dominance.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/4/16/the-pope-has-shown-the-world-how-to-stand-up-to-trump

#USPol #IranWar #EUPol #Pope .

Report: "The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants." Pope Leo

"Woe to those who manipulate religion & the very name of God for their own military, economic, & political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness & filth."

At the same time, Hegseth was lecturing the press corps that they were like Pharisees, witnessing Christ's miracles, yet choosing not to believe.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pope-leo-slams-those-who-manipulate-religion-war-trump-admin-invokes-divine-calling

#USPol #EUPol #IranWar #Hegseth #ChristoFascism #news #popeLeo .

What America Loses If WB and Paramount Merge
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/what-america-loses-if-wb-and-paramount-merge?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into Bulwark Latest @bulwark-latest-TheBulwark

Interview: The Pope Says War-makers Have “Hands Full of Blood”

Trump’s Catholic VP, JD Vance, said the pope should “stick to matters of morality.”

“I don’t know any other more pressing moral issues than war and peace... I don’t understand how VP Vance cannot see that war is a moral issue."

~Father James Martin

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/4/14/pope_leo_iran_war

#USPol #EUPol #PopeLeo #Trump #Vance #news #IranWar #ChristianNationalism .

Ukraine has confirmed a private air defense unit downed a jet-powered Shahed drone flying over 400 kmh in Kharkiv region, marking a first. The system has integrated 19 enterprise-based units into the national air defense network. #Ukraine

If the AFL-CIO Had a Convention, Would Anyone Notice? https://portside.org/2026-04-16/if-afl-cio-had-convention-would-anyone-notice

Tucker Carlson may have Turned on Israel and Trump, but he’s no friend to Progressives or Muslims http://dlvr.it/TS4gzd

If politicians gave a shit about children, the schools would feature:

- HVAC systems that cleaned viruses out of the air
- at least two child psychologists on staff
- age-appropriate lessons to help children identify abuse
- funding for well-paid staff in numbers sufficient for a buddy system to reduce the chances of abuse
- arts education and after-school clubs to provide third spaces for kids
- massive, safe playgrounds
- protected biking and walking infrastructure from the school to residential neighborhoods

Instead we get “parents’ rights”, funding cuts, book bans, and car-centric infrastructure that kills pedestrians and bikers.

If social media is bad for kids, THEY NEED ALTERNATIVES.

NEW: The Trump administration is discarding its shock-and-awe publicity tactics on immigration after mass backlash.

The White House has become allergic to the edgy memes, embedded camera crews and cosplaying officials that dominated Kristi Noem's tenure.
https://t.co/13tUZRggx6

So there's a really important debate on civil liberties and national security going on on the House floor right now. It is shameful that it's taking place at this late hour of the night / morning. But I'm going to at least do something productive & try to explain here: