Tuesday was primary night in 3 US states. Because of R shenanigans, the D Senate primary in TX did not end until 3 am Wednesday. The next evening James Talarico gave this barnburner of a speech that is even now being sliced into campaign ads. Whoever you are, you should listen to this whole speech, or at least read the transcript helpfully provided on the YouTube page. (Click More and then click the link for the scrolling transcript.)
James Talarico gives victory speech for Senate primary
Key thoughts:
Talarico began by thanking Rep. Jasmine Crockett for her campaign against him. They have joined forces for the general election.
- We’re done being divided.
- A people-powered movement to take on this broken, corrupt political system.
- His granddad, a Baptist preacher, told James at an early age that we follow a barefoot rabbi who gave us two commandments: Love God, and love neighbor.
- Not just my neighbor who looks like me, prays like me, votes like me. I am called to love all of my neighbors.
- I am trying to love my neighbor through public policy.
- There is far more that unites us than divides us.
- There is something happening in Texas. The people of this state have given this country a little bit of hope. And a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing.
- We are running against a broken system, and the powerful people who broke it.
- 2,000 years ago that barefoot rabbi...flipped over the tables of injustice...To those who love our neighbors, it’s time to start flipping tables.
This is of course barely the beginning of the real campaign. The Rs won’t know who their candidate is in this race until their runoff in late May.
Rabidly Repellent Republicans Rushing to Ruin/Bad News for Them
I have had enough of this for once. You can read my take on the Iran meshugas in
This Suffering World: Strife in Iran
The Pushback Chronicles: The Fog of Warmongering
As ever, the Democratic campaign ads just write themselves.
The House is bringing in White House officials for public hearings on their own misdeeds and those that they are enabling. The officials, notably Bondi and Noem, filibuster all questions, with a “How dare you ask me that?” attitude. Lutnick and Bondi are next.
Palate Cleanser/Brain Bleach
Alley Cat by Bent Fabric (Danish musician Bengt Fabricant)
I had to explain to some Danes in Denmark once, where this piece was used in a computer conference for session breaks, that “Bent Fabric” was his little joke, because you can fold fabric but not put a bend in it.
Regular Good News
It is unusual for Vatican diplomats to openly critique specific military campaigns. Vatican officials usually prefer to be behind the scenes, leaving open the possibility of the Church serving as mediator in conflicts.
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican’s top diplomat warned on Wednesday, March 4, that the ongoing US-Israeli attacks on Iran undermine international law and said nations do not have a right to launch “preventive wars,” in an unusually direct criticism of the military campaign.
“If states were to be recognised as having a right to ‘preventive war’ ,,, the entire world could risk going up in flames,” Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, said in an interview with Vatican News.
Science! Lifeforms! Weirdness (Legitimate or Stupid)!
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#PPOD: NASA’s JWST provided the first vertical view of Uranus’s ionosphere in this image released on Feb. 19, 2026, revealing auroras shaped by its tilted magnetic field.
Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) 🧪 🔭
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— SETI Institute (@setiinstitute.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM
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Did the disappearance of a star in the Andromeda Galaxy signal the creation of a black hole? New infrared and X-ray data help to discern what remained after the star disappeared. aasnova.org/2026/03/04/b... 🔭🧪 @columbiauniversity.bsky.social @flatironinstitute.org
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— AAS Nova (@aasnova.org) March 4, 2026 at 12:15 PM
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Amylin receptor agonists can promote weight loss and may enhance performance. Authors characterized the metabolic profiles of 3 amylin receptor agonists, identified metabolites for anti-doping analysis, and developed and validated an approach for detection. 🚫💊 🧪
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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— Partnership for Clean Competition (@pccantidoping.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 2:08 PM
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Diamonds are a qubit’s best friend — and the Quantum Prairie is building them a supply chain. Chicago Quantum Exchange partners are working together to scale the growth, processing, and integration of quantum-grade diamond. 🧪
ms.spr.ly/63321Q5XPf
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— UChicago Pritzker Molecular Engineering (@uchicagopme.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 12:07 PM
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Tardigrades, the toughest animals in the Universe, fail to survive in simulated Martian regolith.
However, they did much better when the regolith was washed, leaching away some of the salts and other chemicals.
Don't book that ticket yet 😜
More at fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/1161...
#PlanetSci #Science
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— AkaSci (@akasci.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 7:55 AM
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A study in Nature shows that the single-celled form of a tiny, aquatic organism can turn into a multicellular version by three different routes. The discovery adds insight to the possible origins of multicellular life, suggesting a previously unrecognized degree of flexibility. 🧪
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— Nature Portfolio (@natureportfolio.nature.com) March 4, 2026 at 8:11 PM
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Study reveals SNORA49 as a key player in liver cancer: its low expression boosts liver CSCs' self-renewal and tumor growth, while high levels curb cancer. PMID:41565615, Nat Commun 2026, @NatureComms https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66486-1 #Medsky #Pharmsky #RNA #ASHG #ESHG 🧪
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— Shicheng Guo (@shihcheng.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 8:10 PM
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Chimpanzees can distinguish crystals from ordinary stones, showing a preference for transparent surfaces and regular geometric forms. The study authors suggest this demonstrates a shared preference with quartz-collecting hominins of the Pleistocene! 🧪
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
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— Brandon Moore, PhD (@rando.insalubrio.us) March 4, 2026 at 7:36 PM
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A new drug is transforming the lives of children born with a severe form of epilepsy, say doctors and families.
Dravet syndrome, external can cause dozens of dangerous seizures a day and affects about one in every 15,000 babies born.
🧪🧠💊 @medsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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— Dan Jagger (@auditorynerves.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 4:39 PM
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The oldest-known articulated bony fish and an early example of teeth from a bony fish have been detected in a collection of fossils from China, dating back to the Silurian period (around 444 to 419 million years ago). spklr.io/63328EDB1u & spklr.io/63322EDB1p
#Palaeontology 🧪
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— Springer Nature (@springernature.com) March 4, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Funny or Fuggedaboudit
At Texas primary time, I always think about how much I miss Molly Ivins.
Ahhhhhhh! My work here (this week) is complete.
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So, here's the deal. I'm normally not one to put politics front and center. But this image had been brewing in my brain for some time now.
If it turns you off and you feel the need to unfollow, no worries. I am what I am.
#political #politics #cartoons #politicalcartoon #art #illustration #artist
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— Sarcastic Shark Art (@sarcasticsharkart.bsky.social) January 10, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Funny Music
Flanders and Swann Hippopotamus song
