Blue Violets

It would be only fair to the reader to say frankly in advance that the attitude of any person toward this story will be distinctly influenced by his theories of the Negro race. If he believes that the Negro in America and in general is an average and ordinary human being, who under given environment develops like other human beings, then he will read this story and judge it by the facts adduced. If, however, he regards the Negro as a distinctly inferior creation, who can never successfully take part in modern civilization and whose emancipation and enfranchisement were gestures against nature, then he will need something more than the sort of facts that I have set down. But this latter person, I am not trying to convince. I am simply pointing out these two points of view, so obvious to Americans, and then without further ado, I am assuming the truth of the first. In fine, I am going to tell this story as though Negroes were ordinary human beings, realizing that this attitude will from the first seriously curtail my audience. W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS Atlanta, December, 1934

I'd forgotten how hard the preface to DuBois's "Black Reconstruction" (1934) went...and am saddened by how contemporary it still feels.

Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid Footage obtained by The Handbasket’s lawsuit shows a hostile takeover on March 17, 2025.

SCOOP — Body camera footage obtained as a result of my lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan PD confirms DOGE and the Trump administration openly admitted they were entering private property when they raided the building on March 17, 2025. That didn't stop MPD from breaking down the doors.

My report:

Page One in UK:

@telegraph.co.uk

Well, no shit. I’ve been raising the alarm on this for years now

Brilliant planning and flawless execution are the hallmarks of the Trump regime.

What Does Russia Have on Trump? Americans Deserve an Answer As Russia reportedly shares intelligence with Iran that could endanger American forces, the White House chooses to ease pressure on Moscow instead of confronting it.

Ukraine offers to help defend the West from Iranian drones.

Russia helps Iran track American forces.

And the White House eases sanctions on Russian oil.

Explain that to the families of U.S. troops. My latest:
open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

Yes. And we have to talk about this now, because talking about it is the first step to making it seem like a callous crime rather than a surprising emergency.

It’s almost like he’s hoping for it so that he can have an excuse to use “emergency powers”

Abstract Traditional vaccines target specific pathogens, limiting their scope against diverse respiratory threats. We describe an intranasal liposomal formulation combining toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and 7/8 ligands with a model antigen, ovalbumin, that provided broad, durable protection in mice for at least 3 months against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the vaccine protected mice from other viruses (SARS-CoV-2, SARS, SCH014 coronavirus), bacteria (Acinetobacter baumanni), and allergens. Protection was mediated by persistent ovalbumin-specific CD4+ and CD&+ memory T cells that imprinted alveolar macrophages (AMs), enhancing antigen presentation and antiviral immunity. Following infection, vaccinated mice mounted rapid pathogen-specific T cell and antibody responses and formed ectopic lymphoid structures in the lung. These results reveal a class of "universal vaccines" against diverse respiratory threats.

The study has been published in Science. YES, it is PEER-REVIEWED.
• www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

NOTE: THIS IS PRECLINICAL.

🧪🧵⬇️

GOOD NEWS! Researchers at Stanford University have developed a UNIVERSAL vaccine known as GLA-3M-052-LS+OVA, that protects against a wide range of respiratory viruses, bacteria AND even allergens. The vaccine is delivered intranasally AND provides broad protection in the lungs for several MONTHS.

Today, Michelle and I are proud to announce that we will be hosting the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center on June 18th in Chicago, and welcoming the public on June 19th.

We can’t wait for you to visit. Go to obama.org to learn more.

text graphic featuring a portion of Jane Hirshfield's poem. it reads: It was like this: you were happy, then you were sad, then happy again, then not. It went on. You were innocent or you were guilty. Actions were taken, or not.

photograph of poet Jane Hirshfield. She has wavy, hair and is resting her head in her hand.

"Whatever my life has been like, I’m lucky to have lived it. I know that now, and I hope I feel that way at the end," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1471 of The Slowdown.

Read “It Was Like This: You Were Happy” by Jane Hirshfield and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/47utOgF

text graphic featuring a portion of Cynthia's poem, which reads: They explain: The earth is a school. The earth is a projection. The earth’s vibration is rising and you’ll either be shaken off or taken up with the vibration. Earth souls stay to learn the lesson they haven’t learned yet. Our human world is not operating at frequencies as high as most other worlds. Which explains a lot.

photograph of poet Cynthia Arrieu-King. She has dark hair and is wearing a black shirt.

"The world is for learning and becoming, and we humans — we students — have so very much to learn," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1470 of The Slowdown.

Read “Common Denominators” by Cynthia Arrieu-King and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4rfuAW3

Russia Secretly Sharing Location of U.S. Targets With Iran, U.S. Officials Say In a sign of deepening ties, satellite data from Moscow could help Tehran hit American forces around the Middle East.

Imagine a Dem President who'd been making public overtures to Russia, then having it revealed Russia was handing intelligence to an enemy to murder US soldiers?

FoxNews would have calls for impeachment on blast 24/7

www.wsj.com/world/russia...

Malignant narcissists experience increased paranoia, denial, and rage as death nears. They often externalize these experiences through destruction and abuse of others in an effort to maintain a sense of control.

I suspect all of these wars are in part related to Trump’s awareness of his mortality.

Donald J. Trump @realDonald Trump 忄 Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries. They have said, "Thank you President Trump." I have said, "You're welcome!" Iran is no longer the "Bully of the Middle East," they are, instead, "THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST," and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse! Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran's bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Trump is totally deranged and a danger to the world.

This is completely unhinged

Vive La France

Amazon pulls sponsorship from Paris book festival after booksellers’ association boycott Syndicat de la Librairie Française accused online retailer of trying to ‘flood the market with fake AI-generated books’

Amazon pulls sponsorship from Paris book festival after booksellers’ association boycott | Books | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/mar/06/amazon-pulls-sponsorship-from-paris-book-festival-after-booksellers-association-boycott

A DOJ source says FBI agents found the woman who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her as a child to be credible:

"They would not have interviewed her four times if they thought she was lying."

Susie Wiles sounds the alarm on gas prices White House aides and Cabinet officials are coming under intense pressure to reverse the spike in energy prices caused by the start of the war in the Middle East.

Sweet Jesus. “The administration is scrambling to improvise a sensible domestic response to its own foreign policy. There are definite signs of a potential policy spiral.” www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

Last 14 months of Biden's term:

+1.74m jobs

First 14 months of Trump's term:

150,000 jobs

(total! for the whole 14 months!)

www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Oh no, I can't believe all those slurs forced themselves into that defenseless group chat!

This appalling White House video game imagery on Iran illustrates what @teotten1.bsky.social and I discuss on today's pod: The role of fantasy, unreality and sadism-as-entertainment in MAGA politics.

newrepublic.com/article/2074...

Aerial view of five rows of graves being prepared by people and digging equipment, with vehicles on the left side.

Once you see this image as a grim American flag you cannot unsee it.

Aside from the childish unseriousness, the thing that just really stands out to be here is just the artistic and cultural leeching. They can't produce anything anyone actually wants to watch themselves so they just pinch a load of clips to repurpose.

Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction – #63 in United States v. State of California (C.D. Cal., 2:25-cv-10999) – CourtListener.com (IN CHAMBERS)-PLAINTIFF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION (Dkt. 11, filed on November 25, 2025) by Judge Christina A. Snyder: In accordance with the foregoing, the Court...

But the takeaway is that, despite many academic commentators saying that mask bans are destined to lose, the federal district court found that they are actually constitutional so long as they apply to all levels of government and do not discriminate against the federal government. 3/

Tesla sued after Austin shooting suspect allegedly assaulted co-worker A 65-year-old woman says the automaker ignored warning signs before Ndiaga Diagne, the suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting, assaulted her. She sued Thursday.

the Austin mass shooter was a Tesla employee who assaulted a coworker during a company-allowed prayer break late last year

the company refused to give the victim her assailant's name so she could press charges, and he went on to become a mass shooter

www.statesman.com/business/art...

Justice Department publishes some missing Epstein files related to Trump The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld.

The files include 16 new pages that cover three additional FBI interview summaries with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago when she was a minor.

Justice Department publishes some missing Epstein files related to Trump The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld.

NEW @npr.org: The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld.

But 37 pages of records are still not public.

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