Dania Palanker

@ipersist

Cisgendered supporter of transgender rights. Health insurance, disability equity, pain policy

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Dania Palanker@ipersist· 19d

The author mentions struggles to have their own school work evaluated "on what I had written as opposed to my spelling," followed with 50% extra time on open book exams "would have over-corrected." But many students with dyslexia & ADHD need extra time for the content—for what they write.

Some of this reflects good news. It tracks a broader, more humane understanding of who struggles and why, and less stigma about saying so. I have no interest in relitigating any of that. I don't want to demonize students seeking accommodations.

(Remaining text is highlighted)

I am dyslexic and have ADHD, and I remember how hard it was fighting to have my teachers and professors evaluate me on what I had written as opposed to my spelling. But also know that if I had been given 50 percent more time than my fellow students in an open-book exam, that would have over-corrected.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· 21d

And I'm including the screenshots with alt text for anyone who relies on a screen reader

An arms race we built
Extra-time accommodations have become very, very common. In my Property class last semester, a third of the students had them, mostly time and a half, occasionally double time, and colleagues around the country report much the same.
Some of this reflects good news. It tracks a broader, more humane understanding of who struggles and why, and less stigma about saying so. I have no interest in relitigating any of that. I don't want to demonize students seeking accommodations. I am dyslexic and have ADHD, and l remember how hard it was fighting to have my teachers and professors evaluate me on what had written as opposed to my spelling. But also know that if I had been given 50 percent more time than my fellow students in an open-book exam, that would have over-corrected.
A system that hands a large advantage to anyone with the right paperwork will not stay honest for long. Once students perceive that extra time confers a significant advantage in a highly competitive environment, the incentives are obvious. The legal standard for a disability is, by design, not a demanding one, so the rational move for a student under pressure is to find a name for whatever they are feeling and get in line. I have heard first-hand from students who feel this pressure and are wrestling with this dilemma. Many commentators see accommodations as a strategic tool for competitive advantage, with growth concentrated at the most selective and expensive institutions, but it's important to understand that strategic is not the same as dishonest. No dishonesty is required, given the prevalence of ADHD, anxiety, etc.

Extra-time accommodation started out as a remedy for unfairness, but usually not a terribly well-thought-through one. Of course, I have no idea in any individual case whether a student should be accommodated with extra time, and if so, how much. also suspect, based on my conversations with the university department that determines these accommodations, that they don't either. When I pushed for an explanation from DAS last year, I was told that each evaluation was an "individualized assessment." When I and another professor asked, "on what criteria?" we were offered the phrase
"individualized assessment" as though it answered that question. It doesn't.
We cycled through the "what criteria?" - "individualized assessment" loop several times until it emerged that the primary determinants of how much extra time to award were a combination of (a) what the student had asked for, (b) what they had received at a prior institution, and (c) what the relevant medical professional/therapist had recommended.
Our disability offices do their best, but their focus is compliance with the law as it has been explained to them. As far as I know, they are neither teachers, psychologists, nor psychiatrists, and thus they are poorly positioned to second-guess accommodations recommended by mental health professionals, already agreed to by some undergraduate institution. They also seem to have trouble understanding how something as benign-sounding as time and a half interacts with a curved, time-pressured exam.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 14

With alt text for people who rely on screen readers to access information online

Homeland Security
@DHSgov
X.com

On July 13, 2026, at approximately 7:00 AM ET, ICE was conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal. An illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle. ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The vehicle
attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.

The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 6

I still expect there's worse to come out close to the election.

Received text: You think he can win?

Sent text: I expect there's worse from his past that will come out close to the election.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 5

View from the Washington Monument live cam at 12:03 a.m. & 12:38 a.m. on July 5 The smoke build up & loss of visibility is quite clear, even with the poor definition @capitalweather.com

A lot of fireworks in a row behind a far off Lincoln Memorial with the typical amount of smoke from a large firework show. The reflection of the fireworks can be seen in the reflecting pool and river.

The same view as the last image, but an enormous amount of smoke is in the air blocking the fireworks so only some yellow light is visible behind the smoke or reflected in water. There is what looks like an extremely bright white ball of fire from an explosion just above the reflecting pool.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 4

Amongst the Reuters' photos of Patriot Front on the DC metro is an Asian woman sitting as far into the metro wall as possible as one of the Patriot Front sits on the seat next to her. Neither her nor the Black woman is all of America. Neither are white or men. 1/4

White men in matching uniforms with white face coverings, sunglasses & baseball caps covering their faces are standing and sitting on a DC metro train. A woman whose face is blacked out is sitting into the corner of her seat, against the wall of the train. One of the informed men sits next to her.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 4

From Shakespeare Theatre Company

T-shirt with an image of the US capitol and the words above read

Hell is empty and all the devils are here

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 4

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good He has sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures #ICEOut #FreeDc #TransRights

Photograph showing part of the facade of a weathered whitewashed brick house. "ICE out now" is written backwards on the upstairs window panes. A DC flag with the lower red stripe replaced with a stripe of the colors of the pride flag including the rainbow colors, light pink & light blue, and brown & black.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 2

Every word choice in a White House press release title is carefully chosen. The word "eliminate" in this press release was chosen because it brings to mind the eradication of a group of a people. As with the imagery DHS uses on social media, this is meant to make us think of Nazis & the Holocaust.

The White House
Releases

Supreme Court
Bolsters President
Trump's Push to Eliminate
Transgender Insanity

The White House
June 30, 2026

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jul 1

Did you see that they are closing access to the watch the fireworks on Thursday at 6pm...so people need to wait in line and then hang on the mall, with little shade, for hours when it's 100 degrees....

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO WHAT TO EXPECT
Salute to America | July 4, 2026

ENTRY & SCREENING
Main security mags and guest queuing at 15th Street, between Madison & Jefferson Drives. Gates & screening open 1:00 PM. Guest entry closes 6:00 PM.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
One clear bag ≤ 12"x6"x12") or a small clutch (≤ 10"x6"x2"). Blankets & strollers welcome.
No backpacks, coolers, folding chairs, drones, firearms or aerosols - no on-site storage.

FOOD, DRINK & WATER
Food & beverages available for purchase throughout the site.
Free water refill, distribution & misting stations to help you stay cool.

WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES
Expect lots of walking across the Mall. Ground is uneven and soft in places - dress and step accordingly.

GETTING THERE
No on-site parking. Metro & rideshare strongly recommended.

Check WMATA and AlertDC for the latest route & traffic alerts.

Freedom 250
EGREAT AMERICAN
*** STATE FAIR ***

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 30

Sending love to the transgender community.

A heart shape in the colors of the trans pride flag

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 30

They're the same picture meme with Pam from The Office with a photo of Trump Plaza in Atlantic City with a gaudy gold emblemish thing between big red letters reading Trump Plaza and a screenshot of Trump's post about with a photo of a large gold eagle with a red crest on the White House.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 22

Inflation is bad, but at least a cheeseburger from DQ is still less than $1K

Screenshot from Dairy Queen website. With a picture of a cheeseburger:

Original
Cheeseburger
$999.00

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 10

Happy to know y'all are still team democracy

Screenshot from twitter

Capital Weather Gang
@capitalweather

Touché.

(Quote tweeting)
Dania Palanker @DaniaPalanker

Is the solar eclipse really nothing to fear if democracy dies in darkness?
@

Screenshot of the Washington Post masthead reading
The Washington Post
Democracy Dies in Darkness

above a headline from
Capital Weather Gang
Parents: The solar eclipse
Is nothing to fear. Here's
8/9/17, 4:19 PM

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 9

Zotero is an automatic research senser...?!?

Collect with a click.

Zotero automatically senses research as you browse the web. Need an article from JSTOR or a preprint from arXiv.org? A news story from the New York Times or a book from a library? Zotero has you covered, everywhere.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 5

I am finding so much hope and and reminders of humanity in this one man's stories about Anthony Stewart Head, who seems to have been a true mensch.

A photo of a gray haired Anthony Stewart ahead standing with his hand resting on the shoulder of a young man with the English countryside behind them.

Text underneath reads:
When he saw this photo Anthony said: "You look like my son here!"
And I nearly cried. Because my own parents can't call me their son. They can't get the word past their lips.
But he could, and it felt like acceptance. Like pure, unadulterated acceptance.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 2

The autonomic nervous system controls the involuntary body functions we don't think about The parasympathetic branch relaxes the body after stress—it basically takes us out of fight or flight and keeps (or should keep) relaxed functioning. The sympathetic branch activates fight or flight.

Infographic showing some activities controlled ny the different branches of the autonomic nervous system, such as:

Sympathetic:
Dilates Pupils
Inhibits Salivation
Increases Heart Rate
Bronchial-dilation

PARASYMPATHETIC
Constricts Pupils
Stimulates Salivation
Decreases Heart Rate
Bronchial-contraction

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 2

@alanlevinovitz.bsky.social does use the word autonomic once, in a list of symptoms characterizing post-acute infection syndromes. Autonomic nervous system dysfunction isn't defined. No mention that autonomic nervous system dysfunction causes the symptoms before and after it in the sentence.

Now known as post-acute infection syndromes, severe cases are characterized by cognitive impairment, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, diffuse pain, and, crucially, debilitating crashes after overexertion, which go by the term "post-exertional malaise."

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Jun 2

Lay's kobe beef

Dania Palanker@ipersist· May 28

Waiting for Thrasher

Two tall directors's chairs with "Politics and Prose" written on the back are set up in front of a table. The only thing on the table is the book The Overseer Class : A Manifesto by Steven W. Thrasher.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· May 28

Bruce Springsteen most definitely knows that art is resistance. He performed an incredibly powerful show that wove together nostalgia and resistance. Hope over fear Resistance over complacency Peace over war #BruceSpringsteen #Springsteen #HopesAndDreams

Dania Palanker@ipersist· May 19

A request to expand accessibility of your posts: Please copy and paste any relevant text that is part of an image into the alt text of the image so disabled people who use screen readers to access visual information have the same access to the visual text. I included such alt text here.

Text of the start of Section 4 of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution, with the start of the second sentence highlighted:

"But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States"

Dania Palanker@ipersist· May 12

My mom's Buttercup

A gorgeous dog with cooper fur, white front paws and a thin white stripe down her face lays on the floor at the top corner of steps. Her head is resting on her front legs and her front paws hang slightly over the corner of the stairs. She is looking directly at the camera.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· May 7

Seems a bit suspect that this is what I see when trying to log into my kid's K-12 public school canvas account... Anyone at @51st.news know if DCPS student data has been hacked

Canvas is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance

Check back soon

Dania Palanker@ipersist· May 5

These mannequins are based on detailed scans of real people. They are also all in the Met's Costume Institute Exhibition.

Five images of a single mannequin with a flat mirror as a face in different styles of clothing and poses.

A mannequin of a heavier set tall woman mostly bare in the torso except for black bands wrapped under each breast and around the neck like two halter tops and two bands around the waist in a soft and seductive pose as the black skirt appears to be falling to the ground.

A mannequin of a very slim woman with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair with long, thin limbs in denim shorts and a white tshirt that reads "queer capital".

A mannequin of a thin, but not model skinny, woman with her legs straight and her right hand reading on her hip looking somewhat neutral and somewhat awkward in a brown leather top that has one short sleeve and one bare arm and looks somewhat like armor, a straight skirt made of ruffles of ivory lace, and brown boots that look a bit like carved wood.

A mannequin of a little person standing with her legs apart, weight mostly in her left leg, and both hands resting just above her hips in a strong stance. She wears a short white dress, pushed up at the sleeves, with a black and white image of early Mickey and Minnie Mouseo

An androgynous mannequin with a belly of that appears to be in the second trimester in low waist jeans and a cropped white t-shirt that reads "new world baby"

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Apr 27

Repeatedly singling out antisemitism & using it as an excuse to take away people's civil rights does not make Jewish people safer. It's actually a way of scapegoating us.!

Immigration officers must elevate all cases involving "potential anti-American and/or antisemitic conduct or ideology" to their managers and to the agency's general counsel's office for review, according to the documents.

In recent months, the agency has also changed the way it refers to the employees who adjudicate green card applications, long known as "immigration services officers." In job postings, it now calls them "homeland defenders."

"Protect your homeland and defend your culture," one posting says.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Apr 24

Wow, the memories Trump just brought back. My brother & I used to fly People Express out of Newark to visit our dad in Baltimore. We missed their salami & cracker snack pack when they merged with Continental & ceased operations 39 years ago.

Screenshot from x.com of text above a screenshot of Trump sitting at his desk in the Oval Office.

Acyn
@acyn

Reporter: Is the government going to buy a stake in
Spirit Airlines?

Trump: They were going to merge with People Express or one of them and Obama decided it was a bad idea. How did that work out? I think we just buy it. And when the price of oil goes down, we'll sell it for a profit.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Apr 20

Sharing with alt text and repeating this here: "Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees a fundamental right to reproductive autonomy"

IV. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the Coverage Exclusion violates the Equal Rights Amendment in Article I, Section 28 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Further, we conclude that Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees a fundamental right to reproductive autonomy, that the Coverage Exclusion does not operate neutrally with respect to that right and is not properly justified in doing so, and accordingly the Coverage Exclusion violates the equal protection guarantee in Article I, Section 26 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Providers are entitled to summary relief in their favor on both Counts of the Petition.

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Apr 20

Registering for a new health provider and really tempted to choose Middle English as my preferred language

Screenshot of a pull-down answers to a questionnaire

Preferred language

Pulldown answers read:
English
English, middle (1100-1500)
English, old (450-1100)

Dania Palanker@ipersist· Apr 15

It seems as if not preventing teen pregnancy is the actual point of abstinence only support on the right. They want teen girls having babies.