Commentary

There are a series of hilariously familiar memes on Pinterest contrasting packed lunches on the first day of school versus the last. They all follow the same theme: Kids begin the year with exquisitely assembled bento boxes of fresh fruit, charcuterie and fancy sandwiches with the crusts cut off, and end it with half a cheese stick, a smushed donut and the remnants of the last bag of chips.

When the Francis Scott Key Bridge was struck by a cargo ship and collapsed in March, the discussion of aging infrastructure was soon at the center of media coverage and public discourse. Specifics about how six construction workers died in the accident and even their identities appeared to become secondary. We would eventually find out that at the time of the accident, communication between the workers and emergency responders was clearly lacking.

How well is the city of Frederick's charter review process going? Specific dates help tell the story. The first date — Dec. 1, 2023 — is when the appointed Charter Review Committee submitted its 10-month study, recommending ways to update the city's charter. Those recommendations went to city officials. The city's staff said it would spend about two months analyzing the new ideas for legality, cost, equity and more.

At the end of April, members of the Hopkins Justice Collective created an encampment at the bottom of what is known on campus as The Beach, the large grassy area in front of the Johns Hopkins library, in protest of the Israeli military action in Gaza and Hopkins’ investment policies. On May 11, faculty and protesters worked out an agreement that saw the protesters potentially gain ground on divestment.

Earlier this year, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin came under scrutiny and was subjected to an abrasive and intrusive congressional hearing for, in part, having received treatment for prostate cancer while serving in his professional role. What struck me most about the hearings was what wasn’t discussed — that this person had a health issue and needed to take time off from work to address it.

As a journalist, I don’t publicly confirm my voting history for reasons of professional ethics — even though a lot of people on X assume they know when they call me a leftist and a commie. I will, however, confirm that my decision as a Black woman will not be determined by any candidate’s sudden status as a convicted felon. In fact, I’m more likely not to vote for that person. I am not a felon, nor are most of the people I know.

There’s clearly been an outbreak of performative politics of late — from the strident reaction of Donald Trump’s supporters to his conviction last week in the hush money case to Monday’s grilling of Dr. Anthony Fauci by a Republican-led House subcommittee clearly more intent on vilifying the infectious disease expert than on drawing lessons that might better inform the U.S. response to the next pandemic.