London terrace! She's such a fag hag omg

I Am the Code

Beautiful and heartbreaking tribute by @madeleinekearns

We have to start with honesty about the effects of the migrant crisis-- at many poorer NYC schools, a large share of the student body can barely speak English. From 2020 to 2024, the total share of English language learners (ELL) in NYC public schools increased from 13 to 19%. My friend used to teach in a Brooklyn public school where something like 40% of the students were Spanish-speaking ELL. There was supposed to be a bilingual aide in every class that had a significant portion of ELL students. But on many days, he told me, the aides didn't show up or there weren't enough to cover all of the classes.

Not much to say about the NHJ essay that hasn't already been said, but I found it overall very heartening. She writes: "These days I feel that I failed both my values and my child." It seems like the default mode for media people is never apologize, always double down. Instead, she re-examined her beliefs with a rigorous honesty, apologized to the person she hurt, and wrote about what truths that process revealed. It gives me hope, not only for the way we discuss and debate ideas, but also for a sea change in how we manage the massive failures of our public education system. nytimes.com/2026/09/20/magaz…

Faith leaders are using AI to help research and outline their sermons. After speaking to several of them, I realized the true moral test of AI writing is whether it kills the intimacy between a writer and his audience. thefp.com/p/the-gospel-accor…

Why did 9/11 feel different this year? My friend, who immigrated to the US in her 20s, recently told me the pledge of allegiance always sounded odd to her- the way everyone recited it in that monotonous tone, it felt to her like a kind of brainwashing ritual (I'm paraphrasing-- she loves America and her tone was more curious than derisive). What is "the republic, for which it stands"? What is an American? Who are our allies and enemies? On September 11, 2001, we knew. Today, not so much. America's 250th birthday felt underwhelming compared to this year's 9/11 anniversary, I think, because it feels like there is little to celebrate and much to grieve. We grieve the nearly 3,000 American lives lost that, but also, I think, a sense of clarity— that *of course* we would raise the flag over the rubble, and we would salute it. Not because reason or logic told us to, but because we are Americans and that's what we do. The pledge isn't just a collection of words to rattle off before the school bell rings. It's a part of a larger education in civics. The passengers on United flight 93 understood this. They gathered to discuss what their options, and they took a vote on whether or not to storm the cockpit. They knew that democracy, citizenship, and "the republic, for which it stands" were not abstractions. I think 9/11 hurts more this year because we have been asked to never forget and we have failed. We have forgotten that we are human beings who belong to each other, who belong to a history, a tradition, and yes—to one nation, under God.