Signal school of pe

ROCKVILLE, Md. — For the college class he teaches on inequality, Richard D. Kahlenberg likes to ask his students about a popular yard sign. “In This House We Believe: Black Lives Matter, Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, No Human Is Illegal, Science Is Real,” it says. His students usually dismiss the sign as performative. But what bothers Mr. Kahlenberg is not the virtue signaling. “It says nothing about class,” he tells them. “Nothing about labor rights. Nothing about housing. Nothing that would actually cost upper-middle-class white liberals a dime.” Since picking up a memoir of Robert F. Kennedy at a garage sale his senior year of high school, Mr. Kahlenberg, 59, has cast himself as a liberal champion of the working class. ‌ For three decades, his work, largely at a progressive think tank, has used empirical research and historical narrative to argue that the working class has been left behind. That same research led him to a conclusion that has proved highly … [Read more...] about The Liberal Helping Conservatives Fight Race-Based Affirmative Action

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 BALTIMORE (AP) — When Baltimore prosecutors asked to vacate Adnan Syed ’s murder conviction and have him freed after 23 years behind bars, their request exemplified a growing movement within the American criminal justice system to acknowledge and correct past mistakes, including police misconduct and prosecutorial missteps. But a Maryland appellate court ruling released Tuesday raises new questions about the rights of crime victims, whose role in such proceedings often comes in opposition to ongoing justice reform efforts. In interviews Wednesday, legal experts said the ruling could have serious implications in Maryland and beyond. The Appellate Court of Maryland’s 2-1 decision reinstated Syed’s conviction, creating yet another unexpected wrinkle in the protracted legal odyssey chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial.” The court ordered a redo of the September hearing that won Syed his … [Read more...] about Adnan Syed case pits victims’ rights against justice reform

Walter Cole, otherwise known as Darcelle XV, a rhinestone-bedecked drag performer with an exuberant blonde beehive whose popular Portland, Ore., nightclub hosted what is believed to be the longest-running drag show west of the Mississippi, died on March 23 at a hospital in his hometown. He was 92. His death was announced by Kevin Cook, who performs as Poison Waters and was Mr. Cole’s co-host at the nightclub, the Darcelle VX Showplace. No cause was given. Seven years earlier, when he was 85, Mr. Cole earned an entry in Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest drag performer. Mr. Cole had been running a jazz club and working as a manager at a grocery store when, in 1967, he bought the derelict Demas Tavern in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood, which was then considered the area’s Skid Row. He reimagined the place first as a lesbian bar and, after a few years, as a drag cabaret. In the beginning, there were only two performers: Tina, a Native American whose real name was Jerry … [Read more...] about Walter Cole, Who Dazzled as Darcelle, the World’s Oldest Drag Performer, Dies at 92

Nine years ago, near the end of my residency training, I sat across from a patient, wondering whether he’d accepted that he was dying. He was in his 60s, an artist with sinewy arms and serene eyes, someone I’d come to know well over the past three years. Cancer had broken into his liver and bone marrow, robbing him of hunger and energy. Each time I saw him, the hollows of his cheeks deepened. I wanted to tell him that he was dying, that I wanted to understand how he envisioned spending his remaining life. But he mostly spoke about his plans: a camping vacation in six months, a friend’s wedding after that. I awaited some sort of arbitrary signal that it was safe to talk about dying. Maybe he’d tell me that he didn’t want more chemotherapy or that his affairs were in order. Like many physicians, I feared that by talking about death before he appeared ready, I might take away his hope, make him give up or send him into an unstoppable tailspin of anxiety and depression. Whether he … [Read more...] about As a Doctor, I Know Being Ready to Die Is an Illusion

California Democrats are finally reconsidering their ineffective bans on travel to half the country — a welcome sign that they’re moving to embrace substantive policy over performative politics. On Wednesday, state Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, surprised Capitol onlookers by announcing she plans to carry legislation to repeal a 2016 law that bans state-funded or state-sponsored travel to states with policies deemed discriminatory to LGBTQ people — a list that now includes 23 states . Atkins, who is lesbian, said she wants to replace the ban with a nonpartisan publicity campaign supported by private and possibly taxpayer dollars that would encourage LGBTQ acceptance, inclusion and hope in those states. The news comes about two weeks after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to exempt construction contracts from an ordinance that prevents city employees from traveling to or doing business with 30 states that restrict LGBTQ, abortion or voting rights. The … [Read more...] about California’s travel ban to anti-LGBTQ states was always performative. It’s also harmful