Monday, April 13, 2026

The Pride flat will remain at Stonewall


The Trump administration agreed in a court settlement on Monday to keep the Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument.

The administration removed the rainbow LGBTQ flag from the monument in New York City in February due to a government directive that determined what kinds of flags can be flown at national park sites.
The move drew intense backlash from the LGBTQ community and local officials in New York who viewed it as an attack on LGBTQ history.

The Stonewall Inn, an iconic bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, is considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the US. It was the site of a 1969 police raid that sparked protests as the bar’s patrons fought back. The riots led to the first gay Pride march in 1970.

Documents filed in federal district court in Manhattan on Monday show that the Trump administration agreed to a voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a group of nonprofits, which alleged that the Trump administration’s order violated federal law.

The settlement represents a loss for the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back diversity initiatives and change what is displayed at national parks across the country.

As part of the agreement, the federal government is set to return the flag to the monument’s official flagpole within the next seven days. The site will also fly the American flag and the flag for the National Park Service.


So, yea!  A victory in these dark times.  Amethyst Martinez (USA Today) notes:

Volunteers first noticed that the flag was missing on Feb. 9, with bar owner Stacy Lentz confirming management was given no notice the flag would be suddenly removed.

When the flag was taken down, the National Parks Service told USA TODAY that only the American flag and other authorized flags, with limited exceptions, are permitted on flagpoles managed by the agency.
"I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument," Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted after its removal.

"New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history. Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it."
The monument is known as one of the most notable LGBTQ+ historic sites in the United States.

It commemorates the clash between police and members of the LGBTQ+ community after officers raided the Stonewall Inn in June 1969. For six days, gay men and women, transgender people, bikers, street kids and others fed up with police harassment fought back.
In defiance, a large group raised the flag once again at the monument, which has been up since.


So that's a good news story. Now  Daniel Villarreal (LGBTQ Nation) reports on a homophobic arsonist: 

A 52-year-old man named Thomas Niehaus pleaded guilty to one federal count of malicious fire connected to his burning of Pride flags across Cincinnati, Ohio.

But while he awaits sentencing for that plea, he still faces seven counts of aggravated arson and three counts of arson in connection to the fires.
Police arrested Niehaus last July after an investigation allegedly connected him to a series of arsons targeting Pride flags outside homes in the neighborhoods of Clifton and Northside, WLWT reported. Video caught him laughing and shouting homophobic slurs while setting the fires.
“I hope it burns your f**king house down, you fa**ots,” he said in one video. One neighbor called the arson “absolutely horrific” and said the local residents are generally peaceful and protect one another.

Some of the community members affected were too scared to appear on local TV news broadcasts after being targeted for their perceived LGBTQ+ orientation.


Now here's MeidasTouch News noting Chump's continued public health decay.

Friday, my cousin Stan did a book review "FONDA ON FILM: THE POLITICAL MOVIES OF JANE FONDA" and also last week.   Here's C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Monday, April 13, 2026.  Chump attacks Pope Leo, the peace talks fall apart over the weekend, Chump makes boasts he can't back up, the administration's well known pattern of lying continues, Senator Tammy Baldwin calls on Chump to address the latest avian flue outbreak, and much more.



Further developments today in Chump's war on Pope Leo.  So that we're all on the same page, let's drop back to Friday's snapshot:


Chump is a terrorist.  And among those targeted outside this country?  The Pope.  Troy Matthews (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) reports:

The Vatican has cancelled a papal visit to the U.S. for the 250th anniversary celebration after Pentagon officials appeared to threaten the leader of the Catholic Church for speaking out against Trump's foreign policy.

Pope Leo XIV—the first American Pope in history—strongly condemned U.S. actions in Iran though not by name in his Easter message, stating that God "does not listen" to world leaders who wage war. 
Leo had already criticized Trump's actions on Venezuela and his threats against Greenland and Canada in a speech on January 9th stating, "a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force."

In response, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre—the Vatican ambassador to the U.S.—to a meeting. In diplomatic parlance, an ambassador being summoned to meet with government officials for a lecture is the first stage in disciplinary action that can lead to a break off of diplomatic ties. 

It is being reported by The Free Press that in the meeting Colby told Pierre, "The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side."

Someone in the meeting then reportedly mentioned the Avignon Papacy to Pierre. This refers to a 14th century attack on the Vatican by the French king, in which Pope Boniface VIII was murdered by assassins and the Vatican was forced to relocate to Avignon where it could be controlled by the French crown for the next 67 years. 



The controversy surrounding the meeting is likely to further inflame religious pushback to an unusual wave of spiritual saber-rattling by President Donald Trump’s administration — particularly surrounding the U.S. government’s military actions in Iran, which the president himself has suggested are the will of God. Combined with his other incendiary remarks about the war, the increase in faith-filled militaristic rhetoric is pitting Trump and his administration against a growing list of faith leaders, ranging from local clergy to the pope.
Faith leaders have reacted with frustration to the administration’s penchant for invoking the divine when discussing the Iran war, which was on full display earlier Wednesday when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth led a press briefing at the Pentagon on the five-week-long war with Iran. After insisting Tuesday evening’s fragile ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran was evidence of a broader military victory, the secretary intimated the pause in fighting was the result of divine intervention.


 Tom Boggioni (RAW STORY) notes that the story was addressed Thursday on MS NOW's MORNING JOE:



After MS NOW host Willie Geist reported on the exchange, contributor Mike Barnicle, a lifelong Catholic, made a compelling case that the president and his underlings created a massive and enduring problem for themselves.

“What do you make of what you're hearing here?” Geist prompted his guest.
“I make that they are once again clowning the atmosphere up, the Trump administration, the idea that they would try to intimidate Pope Leo, the first American-born pope, is just absurd,"the incensed Barnicle replied.“The idea that they would have anything to say critical of the Catholic church or the pope itself, the pope himself is absurd, especially given the Easter morning tweet from the president of the United States, which was so deeply offensive to any breathing, thinking human being that it's outrageous for the Trump administration to pose any problems they allege they have with the Vatican.”
“I went to parochial school for eight consecutive years, and I got thrown out nearly every year by the nuns. You know, every grade — you deserve early stuff like that,” he recalled. But the one thing that you get to, to hold on to when you're raised Catholic, born Catholic, raised Catholic, especially by my mother, we used to call her 'my mother, the nun.' The one thing you retain, I would think, is that the theory of the Catholic church is rooted in a simple phrase: the least among us.”

“So if you look at the Trump administration's behavior toward the least among us, it is almost criminal,” he accused. “It is certainly a sin because they don't care for the least among us, and that we should all care for the least among us. Because when we care for them, we care for ourselves.”


Graig Graziosi (INDEPENDENT) notes:

In the wake of the meeting, the Pope reportedly refused Trump's invitation to attend the nation's 250th anniversary events.

Instead of spending July 4th in the U.S., the Pope will instead visit Lampedusa, a small Mediterranean island that has become an entry point for African migrants attempting to reach Europe.

A Vatican official speaking to The Free Press said the Pope has no plans to visit the U.S. while Trump is in office.

“The Pope may well never visit the United States under this administration," the official reportedly said.



Pope Leo has called out the war on Iran and he has called out the US war on immigrants. 


60 MINUTES, last night, did a segment on the Catholic Church and the war on Iran and on immigrants. 



When President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran this past week, it came after a chorus of world leaders called for an end to the war. One of those voices belonged to Leo XIV, the first-ever U.S.-born pope in the history of the Catholic Church. The 70-year-old pope was born Robert Prevost and grew up in Chicago. For many years he was known simply as Father Bob. Leo is measured, deliberate and soft-spoken. But the American pope has become increasingly outspoken against certain policies of the American president. So we asked three influential American cardinals who know him well, why Pope Leo's church has emerged as a voice of moral opposition to the war in Iran and the crackdown on immigration.

"Peace be with you:" those were the first words that Pope Leo uttered as the new leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. 

His selection was a surprise, celebrated by many of the 53 million that make Catholicism the largest Christian denomination in the United States.

Norah O'Donnell: What do you think having an American pope has done for the Catholic Church here in the U.S.?

Cardinal Joseph Tobin: I think it's put Chicago on the map.

Cardinal Blase Cupich: Finally. We're proud - we're proud that we produced a pope. Chicago can say that. 

The archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, as well as Cardinals Robert McElroy of Washington D.C., and Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, agreed to their first ever joint interview. Their candor surprised us, about the new pope and what they're hearing in the pews.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin: We're the three American cardinals that are actively serving dioceses right now. So we listen to a lot of people. It's part of the job description. And I think we're aware of the anxieties of people about the threats to peace at all different levels.

Norah O'Donnell: Would you like to see this first American pope be more outspoken on issues that he disagrees with? 

Cardinal Joseph Tobin: He's the pastor of the world. He's not a pundit. So the distinction is he's not going to pronounce on everything. But he's going to pronounce on what's important.

He started in January with a speech criticizing U.S. military action in Venezuela.

After that, the Vatican's ambassador in the U.S. was called to the Pentagon for a meeting, which two church officials described to 60 Minutes as unpleasant and contentious. Both the Pentagon and the Vatican have said since in multiple statements that it was routine and provided an opportunity for an exchange of ideas.

In March, we traveled to Italy and managed to ask Pope Leo a question about the war in Iran.

Norah O'Donnell: Holy Father, can I ask you what your hopes are for the Middle East?

Pope Leo XIV: I am praying for peace, I hope that ceasefire would be the most effective way to work together to find peace for all parties, to respect all parties and to come to a solution, which is too many years, and you know, creating problems for everyone, so … Work for peace.

Since our visit, the pope's tone has sharpened; this past week he issued a rare condemnation of President Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization. The pope called it, quote "truly unacceptable."

He also took the unusual step of issuing a call to action.

Pope Leo XIV: "Contact the authorities — political leaders, congressmen — to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war always."



On Sunday evening, Mr. Trump attacked Leo after several influential American cardinals appeared on “60 Minutes” to discuss why they had followed the pope in speaking out against the global and domestic conflicts created by the Trump administration.

“It’s an abominable regime, and it should be removed,” Cardinal Robert McElroy said during the “60 Minutes” appearance, referring to the leadership in Iran. “But this is a war of choice that we went to, and I think it’s embedded in a wider moment in the United States that’s worrying, which is this: We’re seeing before us the possibility of war after war after war.”

Several prominent Catholics have come to the pope’s defense after the president’s attack.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement: “I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father. Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”

James Joseph Martin Jr., an American Jesuit priest and writer, wrote on social media: “I doubt Pope Leo XIV will lose any sleep over this, before he begins his pilgrimage to Africa tomorrow. But the rest of us should. Because it is unhinged, uncharitable and unchristian. Is there no bottom to this moral squalor?”


Katie Rogers also notes that in his post, Chump claimed credit for Pope Leo becoming Pope, alleging that it was done -- the choice made -- to appease Chump.  His ego is out of control.  He trashed the Pope as "weak on crime" and other nonsense.  


Chump's post was the posting of a tiny boy who can't grow up.  


Motoko Rich (NEW YORK TIMES) notes the Pope's reaction:


Pope Leo XIV said on Monday that he was not afraid of the Trump administration, hours after President Trump lashed out at the pontiff on social media.

Leo, speaking to reporters on a flight to Algeria ahead of a 10-day tour of several African nations, said: “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do.” Asked directly about Mr. Trump’s comments on Truth Social, Leo said: “It’s ironic — the name of the site itself. Say no more.”


Over the weekend, talks between the US and Iran came to an end.   THE NEW YORK TIMES' Tyler Pager, Farnaz Fassihi, Elian Peltier and Aaron Boxerman reported:


Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that 21 hours of peace talks in Pakistan, between the United States and Iran had failed to produce an agreement to end the war, leaving the question of what happens after the current two-week cease-fire up in the air.

“They have chosen not to accept our terms,” Mr. Vance said in a brief news conference in Islamabad, though he left open the possibility that terms could still be reached. “We leave here with a very simple proposal: a method of understanding that is our final and best offer,” he added. “We’ll see if the Iranians accept it.”


Nicole Charky-Chami (RAW STORY) reports the news was not received well:

President Donald Trump was booed while entering a UFC event on Saturday night with his family walking behind him, just as news broke that negotiations between the United States and Iran had failed.

Vice President JD Vance announced the negotiations had stalled without reaching any agreement over the ongoing war during a speech in Islamabad, Pakistan, while Trump was walking next to Dana White at UFC 327 in Miami.



Unable to quickly remove Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s most important oil transit corridor—with its current equipment, the US is switching tack: President Trump announced Sunday in two Truth Social posts that the Navy will launch its own blockade of “any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave” the passage, and intercept those that have paid Iran’s tolls to cross.

The announcement will almost certainly mean a further spike in oil prices when markets open on Monday, and it’s a move that does little to help Trump’s sagging domestic approval, leaving much of Iran’s hold on the global oil supply intact Gasoline costs will keep rising. Military commitments and expenses, will keep growing. The MAGA coalition will continue to crack.

Meanwhile, Trump’s two main promises on Hormuz this weekend, to clear Iranian sea mines from the strait—efforts he said were “starting” in another Truth Social post Saturday—and to detain “every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran,” are dubious.

That’s first and foremost because the US doesn’t have the resources to get rid of the sea mines. State-of-the-art demining vessels, if left alone by Iran, could clear the strait in a matter of weeks or months. But the Navy has no “significant mine clearing capability,” the Wall Street Journal reported in March, and its unmanned anti-mine vessels are unreliable even in clear waters that pose far less of a challenge than Hormuz. 


So many lies from this administration.  They lie about everything.  For example, Julia Ornedo (THE DAILY BEAST) reports:


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chest-thumping claims about Iran’s losses don’t appear to line up with intelligence assessments.

Iran still has thousands of ballistic missiles that could be pulled out of hiding or dug up from underground storage sites, officials familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments revealed to The Wall Street Journal.

The report undercuts the self-proclaimed secretary of war’s claims that Iran’s missile program has been obliterated.


Hegseth is only one liar in the administration.  Kristi Noem headed a whole department of liars when she was the Secretary of Homeland Security.  And there's Doctor Oz.  Ali Swenson (AP) reports:


President Donald Trump's administration this week acknowledged it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe into New York’s Medicaid program, a glaring mistake that undercuts a federal campaign to tackle waste, mostly in Democratic-led states.

The error, which the administration admitted first to The Associated Press, prompted health analysts to question how many of the Republican administration’s sweeping anti-fraud efforts around the country were based on faulty findings. One of a few mischaracterizations it made about New York's Medicaid program, it also reflected a common criticism that’s been made of Trump’s second administration — that it tends to attack first and confirm the facts later.

“These numbers could have been cleared up in a phone call, so it’s really slapdash,” said Fiscal Policy Institute senior health policy adviser Michael Kinnucan, whose recent analysis called attention to the Trump administration’s inaccurate claim.

The mistake appeared in comments made last month by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in a social media video and in a letter to New York’s Democratic governor announcing the fraud investigation.


And you can't talk lies from the administration and leave out the Justice Dept, right?  Daniel Hampton (RAW STORY) reports:


An eye-popping detail buried in a new Bloomberg report may explain why the Justice Department keeps getting caught making errors in federal court: Pam Bondi told her lawyers to treat the president as their client — and now they're afraid to push back on anything.

A February 2025 memo from Bondi directed DOJ attorneys to "vigorously" defend Trump's policies and referred to them as "his" counsel, according to a former Justice Department attorney who spoke anonymously to Bloomberg. The result, sources say, is a culture where lawyers are wary of pressing federal agencies about the accuracy of information they receive, because challenging it feels like challenging the boss.

The consequences are now playing out in courtrooms across the country.

In March, DOJ lawyers admitted to using incorrect information to defend migrant arrests in Manhattan, made inaccurate statements in a Rhode Island hearing about voter records, and missed a key deadline in Washington state due to unfamiliarity with local procedures.


Again, the entire administration lies.  But it's the lies about the Iran war that really register as Americans suffer daily.  Robert Reich notes:


Trump gas — like Trump shoes, Trump cologne, the Trump Bible, Trump shoes, Trump NFTs, Trump crypto, Trump resorts, Trump University, and everything else he’s tried to sell as a good deal — is turning out to be a ripoff.

The average cost of gas tracked by the AAA was $4.17 a gallon yesterday. The station at the end of my street is selling it for over $5 now. If you drive a Mini-Cooper, as I do, which demands premium grade, you’re shelling out over well over $6.

To put this in perspective, the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. the day before Trump launched his war was $2.98. Between then and today, the U.S. has experienced the largest increase in gas prices in 60 years.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Tammy Baldwin's office:


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) urged the Trump Administration to make good on its promise to address avian flu outbreaks and deliver much-needed support to Wisconsin farmers and their workers. Baldwin warns that without urgent action, egg prices could again spike to 2025 levels, when they hit $6 per dozen. Baldwin’s call follows three recent avian flu outbreaks in commercial egg-laying facilities in Wisconsin, which have impacted more than 4.3 million birds and resulted in over 80 layoffs at local Wisconsin farms.

“I write again regarding the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak that continues to devastate our nation’s poultry flocks and dairy herds,” wrote Senator Baldwin in a letter to United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. “The disease has repeatedly disrupted domestic and global agricultural markets and strained household budgets since 2022.”

“These recent outbreaks could potentially repeat the alarming egg prices seen in 2025, which peaked at $6 per dozen. Repeated supply shocks to markets have increased grocery costs across the country, hurting American consumers when affordability concerns are at an all-time high,” Baldwin continued.

Since March 2022, Wisconsin has lost 11.6 million birds across 50 commercial and backyard flocks. Between late February and March of this year, Wisconsin has experienced three major outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks, affecting more than 4.3 million egg-laying hens. As a result, two Wisconsin farms have been forced to temporarily lay off more than 80 employees.

In her letter, Senator Baldwin urged the Trump Administration to move forward with finalizing and implementing a national avian influenza vaccination strategy, as included in United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Five-Pronged Approach from February 2025.

In December 2025, Senator Baldwin pushed the Trump Administration to ramp up its avian flu response as the first dairy herd in Wisconsin tested positive for avian flu. Last year, Senator Baldwin also led her colleagues in demanding the Trump Administration release funding for labs that are dedicated to early detection, response, and control of animal diseases and outbreaks like avian flu. Additionally, she called on President Trump to quickly develop a plan to contain the avian flu outbreak that is devastating the nation’s poultry flocks and dairy herds and driving egg costs to reach record highs.

A full version of this letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Rollins,

I write again regarding the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak that continues to devastate our nation’s poultry flocks and dairy herds. The disease has repeatedly disrupted domestic and global agricultural markets and strained household budgets since 2022. Emergency disease response has been expensive for American farmers and taxpayers, and down the chain, American consumers have been burdened by high costs at the grocery store. The Administration must follow through with its promises in “USDA’s Five-Pronged Approach to Address Avian Flu,” including by finalizing an avian influenza vaccine policy that maintains markets for American farmers. These actions must include strong agency coordination with agricultural, animal health, environmental and public health industries.

Continued outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have resulted in the loss of over 200 million birds nationwide since February 2022, including 11.6 million birds on Wisconsin farms. In the last two months, Wisconsin has experienced three major outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks, affecting more than 4.3 million egg-laying hens. This past December, Wisconsin reported its first confirmed case of the disease in dairy cattle through the National Milk Testing Strategy. Exposures typically tied to poultry and dairy operations have resulted in 71 human cases of avian influenza across the U.S., including one confirmed case in Wisconsin and two deaths nationwide.

Despite USDA-backed biosecurity measures, migrating wild birds continue to infect domestic poultry flocks and dairy cattle across the U.S., making clear that existing containment strategies are insufficient. Spring migration patterns are expected to increase cases through May, often impacting poultry flocks with egg-laying hens. These recent outbreaks could potentially repeat the alarming egg prices seen in 2025, which peaked at $6 per dozen. Repeated supply shocks to markets have increased grocery costs across the country, hurting American consumers when affordability concerns are at an all-time high.

Farmworkers also take financial hits from these outbreaks. Just this past month, 87 employees have been laid off at two Wisconsin farms following the depopulation of their flocks due to avian influenza. It is estimated that these individuals will be without work for five to seven months while the farms repopulate their flocks. Unfortunately, this is not the first time Wisconsin farmers have had to temporarily close their doors and lay off workers, and if the USDA continues to slow walk its approach in addressing avian influenza, this will certainly not be the last.

The Administration has yet to make meaningful progress towards the avian influenza vaccine response called for in USDA’s Five-Pronged Approach to Address Avian Flu. While the USDA funded $100 million for its “HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge,” which included investments to develop novel vaccines, in the fourth year of the avian influenza outbreak, there has been no movement to stand up a vaccine pilot program. At the same time, USDA has spent roughly $2.5 billion compensating farmers for their extensive losses. Payments for outbreak response snowball while the status quo continues. American farmers, taxpayers and consumers cannot continue to absorb these costs.

I once again urge the Trump Administration to deliver on its pledge to address avian influenza, including by following through on a nationwide avian influenza vaccination policy. Agriculture and public health stakeholders are calling for a comprehensive and coordinated response to avian influenza. As the outbreak continues, farmers and consumers deserve a response that matches the rising scale and pressing urgency of this outbreak.

Sincerely, 

###



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