274 Easter 4: The Straps of Augustine's Sandals
“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” ~ Psalm 23
Announcement
Hey readers!
This will be the last MadMondays for the foreseeable future. For the past five years, this newsletter has been a purposeful part of my week—filtering through the news feed to bring you stories that matter, the ones that shape our ability to live faithfully and at peace with our neighbors. But the time commitment to do so has become too much. Growing the reach of this little newsletter in a saturated space also requires time, money, and a kind of savvy that I just don’t have! So, I’ve decided to put this project to rest and give my attention to other things for the time being.
I’ll still be publishing my own writing and that of others too, at MadPXm.com. (Send in your writing!) The site will also remain a contact point for questions directed to Pastor Fisk. There are a few other projects in the pipeline, so stay subscribed for future updates!
In the meantime, Rev. Fisk is pumping out great content at revfisk.com to help you make sense of the news feed in these crazy times.
Thank you for reading and kind messages and support!
God’s peace to you all.
Frisby
Need to know: I will pause all payments from paid subscribers. If you would like to continue supporting MadMondays as it goes forward, could you let me know? I will cancel all payments from next week and reimburse the remaining amounts for annual subscriptions. If you have any questions, please ask!
On the Radar
Rome’s Holy Smoke
The Catholic church’s conclave elected Robert Francis Prevost last week, giving the church its first American pope. Prevost was not on many church watchers’ short lists but was well-known in Vatican inner circles, having led the Dicastery responsible for appointing bishops.It remains to be seen whether the new pope—who has taken the moniker Leo XIV—will continue Catholicism’s liberalization or promote a return to traditionalism. His namesake, Pope Leo XIII “was known for opening the doors of the church to the world and made Catholic social teaching a central issue during his pontificate.” Prevost, who was born in Chicago, spent decades in Peru and appears to be a fan of liberation theology and social justice–he has criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies and posted on social media in support of action against “climate change.” However, he is also expressed devotion to the Latin Mass, which gave conservative Catholics hope that he might stand strong for them. Rev Fisk noted that Prevost’s allegiance lies with an Augustinian order, that “was born beneath the shadow of Augustine, but it never learned to walk in his sandals….Augustine's theological precision—on grace, predestination, and original sin—was not structurally inherited. The order canonized his style of life, but not necessarily his doctrinal battle against Pelagius, which was the true Augustinian edge.”
Read Rev Fisk’s thoughts in entirety here:
The Blitz
Life
Birth, Death and Marriage
A diabolical Colorado bill has been amended after significant backlash. In another dead-of-night session, lawmakers removed punishments for “deadnaming” people but still allowed for children to secure transgender treatments without parental permission. One Democrat Senator, Chris Kolker, said he supported the bill since he might one day be accountable to “trans Jesus”. (Read Lion)
The Trump Department of Justice has asked a Texas court to throw out a lawsuit against it by three states seeking to restrict access to abortion drug, mifepristone. (WNG)
Not many people noticed that New York State Assembly passed euthanasia bill, right after Pope Francis died. “Though it must still pass the senate and receive Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature, this is the first time that an assisted-suicide bill has cleared one of the state’s legislative chambers, signaling a troubling turn in New York’s approach to end-of-life care.” (Bill McMorris via X, City Journal)
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy has chastised the Department of Defense after a black hawk helicopter took a “scenic route” off its designated path, resulting in two reported near-misses. The incident comes as a recent investigation into January’s deadly collision between a black hawk and a passenger plane found that the helicopter’s female pilot, Capt. Rebecca Lobach failed to respond to instructions to change direction. It is unclear why she failed to heed warnings, but independent media reported that she "was on her fifth check ride after failing four previous ones", noting the unit leaders are keen on promoting women and minorities. (The Blaze, Red State, Not the Bee)
Crime and Punishment
Courts, Law and Policing
President Trump says he has ordered Alcatraz prison to be rebuilt and reopened to house the nation’s worst offenders. The island jail was shut due to high maintenance costs and has become a somber tourist attraction. Democrats said the idea is not a “serious proposal”. (Reuters)
Prospective jurors have been interviewed for the New York trial of rapper Sean “Diddy” Combes. Combes is accused of forcing young women to “participate in drug-fueled sexual encounters with male sex workers” which he filmed and used to exploit people. Combes rejected a plea deal. (NBC, ABC News)
Maine’s attorney general, Aaron Frey, has asked the Supreme Court not to intervene in the case of Rep. Laurel Libby, who is suing to have her House voting and speaking rights restored. Rep. Libby was censured for speaking against transgenderism. (The Federalist)
Tribes and Tongues
Immigration and Race
The Trump administration has offered $1000 and a flight out of the US to any illegal alien who will self-deport. The plan is touted to save money and give the opportunity for illegal immigrants to apply to return at a later date through official channels. (The Hill)
Health
Medicine and Food
President Trump has kept a campaign promise, signing an executive order banning gain-of-function research. (Just the News) | See Frisby’s previous write up of the potted recent history of gain-of-function in the US.
Are vaccines biological and chemical weapons? “The only legally-relevant distinctions between prohibited ‘biological agents’ and promoted ‘biological products’ are the stated purposes or intents of promoters and handlers.” (Bailiwick News)
What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger? A snake enthusiast has voluntarily taken over 800 snake bites and now scientists hope his blood might produce a mega anti-venom. (Science Alert)
Two proteins work together to secure memories. “It’s the persistent association between two proteins that maintains the memory, rather than a protein that lasts by itself for the lifetime of the memory.” (Quanta)
Grip strength says a lot about your health. (BBC)
Six stretches to do before bed. (CBS)
Treasure
Money, Markets and Jobs
US Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, said last week that the economy is “doing fine”, announcing that interest rates will remain steady at 4.25% to 4.5%. "The right thing to do is await further clarity,” Mr Powell said. (USA Today)
Credit Suisse will pay over $500 million after admitting to helping ultra-wealthy Americans hide around $4 billion in offshore accounts. The conspiracy also breached a plea agreement made by Credit Suisse after it was charged with doing the same thing in 2014. (CNBC)
Bill Gates has announced that he will pour pretty much all his remaining tech fortune–around $107 billion–into the Gates Foundation. Gates’ hope is to eradicate causes of preventable death for children in poorer countries. The Gates Foundation will close in 20 years, so expect a spending spree. Gates says he hopes to wipe out this problem, meaning “wealthy donors will be free to tackle other problems later.” (AP)
Steak ‘n’ Shake says it will begin accepting bitcoin payments at its restaurant locations from next week. (Not the Bee)
From the Mad☧Tank
This week, Pastor Franson reminds us of a great promise:
Train Up a Child
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)
Reality Bytes
Digital Technology
A bipartisan bill requiring social media companies to remove AI-generated pornography has been sent to President Trump to sign into law. Supporters say the law will “empower victims to remove NCII [nonconsensual intimate images] from the Internet and end the cycle of victimization by those who publish this heinous content.” Critics say the bill presents a slippery slope and could punish smaller providers who cannot remove content within the required time frame. “Platforms may respond by abandoning encryption entirely in order to be able to monitor content—turning private conversations into surveilled spaces.” (The Verge)
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to tackle loneliness by creating AI “friends”. Tech commentator, Mike Solana noted the tacit admission of failure in Facebook’s core mission: “Facebook launched as a tool for connecting friends and family. Then, it became an extraordinarily sticky television..and mostly just distracted us from friends and family.” (John Daniel Davidson via X, Pirate Wires via X)
Skype is no more. (TechCrunch)
Learning
Homeschooling, Education and Classrooms
A survey by a UK publisher has found that the majority of parents are not reading to their kids. One in five respondents said reading is more about learning than recreation, and many admitted they find reading to their children tedious. Experts responded by urging parents to keep reading aloud even after children learn to read on their own, emphasizing that it helps instill a lifelong love of reading. (Scary Mommy, The Conversation)
Columbia University says it has suspended dozens of students while it investigates an anti-Israel protest on campus. Students in masks and keffiyeh barricaded Butler Library, disrupting students studying for finals. (Just the News, CNN)
Straight Outta J-School
Media and newsmakers
This year’s Pulitzer Prizes for journalism confirm, yet again, how crucial it is to stay discerning in today’s media environment. The progressive outlet ProPublica received recognition for reporting that a woman who died from complications after taking an abortion pill had actually died because of Alabama’s pro-life laws. Meanwhile, The Washington Post was praised for its coverage of President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania—coverage that described the assassination attempt as merely “loud noises.” Commenting on the awards, Mollie Hemingway noted, “Once you realize Pulitzers are awarded for propaganda, it’s kind of funny to see who wins and who loses.” (The Federalist, The Federalist, The Federalist)
Frisby’s post about the ideological capture of the Pulitzers:
Metropolis
Politics and the State
Maybe avoid Newark airport for a while. (USA Today)
Heritage
Arts, History and Sport
The automation of language: a comparison between early humanist scholars and todays’ Large Language Models. “Both work in identical fashion by decomposing apparently new situations and topics into familiar elements, so that those situations can be addressed with language that is already associated with those elements in the training corpus.” And the criticism is similar too: “The accusation is this: that Erasmus gives his students a technology for producing language as an end in itself, but he doesn’t teach them how to communicate.” (Aeon)
New York City has unveiled a 12-foot bronze statue of a “plus-size woman” which art critics say should confront “preconceived notions of identity and representation.” The Blaze’s Matthew Peterson said that while statuary is meant to celebrate achievements and noble characteristics, this one is meant to “condemn you” and make you feel bad. The statue is part of a temporary installation. The internet reported that similar statues have been popping up in other cities around the world. (The Blaze, Artnet, ZeroHedge)
Swimming great, Gary Hall Jr, has had his ten Olympic medals replaced by the Olympic committee after they were all lost in the California wildfires. (ESPN)
Why archers couldn’t and wouldn’t fire volleys of arrows, despite what Hollywood tells us. (A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry blog)
Hearts and Minds
Philosophy, Hacks and Human Connection
Have digital technologies ruined our ability to tackle real-world problems? According to one essayist, the digital world has been made “frictionless”. “Everything accelerates, until you forget what it means to try.” But unfortunately, the real world is full of friction, including “the exhaustion of trying to hold together systems that no one’s willing to invest in anymore.” (Kyla’s Newsletter)
The Bride And The Counterfeits
Religion and the Church
Before he died, Pope Francis donated all the money in his personal bank account to a pasta factory in Rome that employs former juvenile inmates. He also left one of his Popemobiles to be used in Gaza as a mobile health clinic for children. (New York Post, AP)
Washington’s governor, Bob Ferguson, has signed a law that mandates that clergy report information about child abuse or neglect revealed during confession. (WNG)
Knowledge
Science and Data
Driverless commercial semi trucks have begun traveling routes between Houston and Dallas. (WNG)
A Soviet-era spacecraft, Kosmos 482, has crashed back to earth after 53 years stuck in orbit. The 482 was intended to travel to Venus but never made it out of earth’s grip. Its orbit had been deteriorating but observers don’t know where it landed. (The Guardian)
War and Rumors of War
Conflict and Weaponry
The US Supreme Court has upheld a ban on transgender military personnel, allowing the Trump administration to immediately discharge anyone who identifies as a gender other than their biological sex. The case is still unfolding, with two lower court decisions with judges emphasizing “harm” to transgender troops. But military policy has long seen “change of sex” as a “disqualifying physical condition” in conflict with the Force’s need to remain fit for purpose. (WNG, Not the Bee, WNG, The Hill) | Around 1,000 troops will be discharged, according to reports. (Epoch Times)
President Trump declared that the US should celebrate VE Day, along with other Allied nations. (Not the Bee)
President Trump has announced a full ceasefire between India and Pakistan after US-led peace talks. The two nuclear powers had been trading strikes since Pakistan-backed terrorisms killed two dozen tourists in the disputed Kashmir region. (Time, ZeroHedge, Just the News)
President Trump has said that Yemen’s Houthis militias have “capitulated”, and "announced to us … that they don't want to fight anymore." The terrorist group that has been disrupting shipping routes through the Red Sea, has yet to comment. (Die Welt) | The deal appears to have been made independent of Israel and may have helped secure the release of Edan Alexander, an American hostage in Gaza. The President announced Alexander will be returning home. (Just the News)
European leaders have called for Russia to commit to a 30 day ceasefire, but Vladimir Putin has proposed that Russia negotiate directly with Ukraine, nominating Turkey as host for talks this week. (SBS)
The US has lost a second fighter jet after a F/A-18E rolled off the deck of an aircraft carrier into the ocean. The aircraft was being towed out of a hangar aboard the USS Harry S. Truman which is operating in the Red Sea. (ABC News)
Stories From Far Away
World News
🇬🇧 🇺🇸 The UK and USA has reached a negotiated tariff arrangement with President Trump agreeing to reduce the penalty on imported British cars and removing tariffs on Boeing airplane parts. There will be no tariff on British steel and aluminum. The UK will accept more beef imports from America, but Britons are concerned that meat raised using growth hormones allowed in the US will affect the British market which banned the practice in the 1980s. (BBC, BBC) | President Trump has signalled talks China (Just the News)
🇷🇴 Right-wing/hard right/nationalist candidate, George Simion has won the first round of voting in Romania’s presidential election. The country’s high court overruled the election of Calin Georgescu six months ago, disqualifying him from running again upon allegations of fraud and Russian interference. (BBC)
🇩🇪 Germany’s Friedrich Merz has taken two rounds on voting to secure his position as chancellor, in a political first. (EurActiv, BBC)
🇯🇵 A Japanese tech company says its drones can induce and guide a lightning strike. (Science Alert)
Quickhits For The Eyebuds
🍍 Pineapples were once a total luxury
🇨🇳 A one-of-a-kind mid-century Chinese language typewriter
🤙 An interactive Nokia 3250 the power button
👑 Princess cake makes a comeback
🗣️ Linguists nominate English’s most beautiful words
🍴This guy made a real-life version of Wallace and Gromit’s breakfast machine
🇭🇰 Hong Kong’s life in towers
Good Word: Starfall 2029
Catch Rev Fisk on YouTube or Rumble, or listen here (audio should be up soon!)
Sweetness You May Have Missed:
This Week Preached:
Podcast Release:
Let us pray. Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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God's peace be with you