On April 29, 1969 President Richard Nixon and Duke Ellington stood together in the Easter Room in the White House. Nixon, along with an all-star cast of jazz legends including Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gerry Mulligan spent a night honoring Ellington for his 70th birthday. At the…

Why the Selection Process of Judges to State Courts Matter On March 21, 1930 John Johnston Parker — a federal judge on the 4th Circuit Appellate Court — was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Herbert Hoover, replacing Justice Edward Terry Sanford who died after complications from a…

Confirmation Bias, Digital Echo Chambers, and Social Media Bubbles — “ ‘Creepy’ Joe Biden roasted for strange selfies” blared a recent Tweet from a news outlet. Below the headline with a link to their full story was a side-by-side two-frame picture of President Joe Biden looking in through a window with two young girls in a picture. The first frame…

Earlier this year I wrote about the perennial debate over daylight saving time. I’ve dipped my toe into some controversial topics, but this one generated the most heat — pros and cons. Clearly, people are passionate about time. …

Agreat teacher can have a profoundly positive impact on a student’s life. Yet, recent news headlines have warned that “America faces catastrophic teacher shortage” resulting from an exodus of teachers from the profession left in the pandemic’s wake. According to some reports, the shift has forced districts into crisis mode…

The Recent NYC Student Test Results and the Long-Term Implications of Learning Loss During the Covid Era When the New York State Education Department released data showing improved high school graduation rates earlier this year, the seemingly good news was applauded in many circles. However, I wrote at the time…

I’m currently in the middle of a project examining Judge John J. Parker’s failure to get confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1930. A judge on U.S. Court of Appeals from the Fourth Circuit, Parker’s confirmation was doomed for a variety of reasons including opposition by organized labor and…

At the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood solemnly at the podium as he stood on the world’s stage. Standing there, he appeared to be in a moment of deep introspection. …

There are a plethora of news stories and reports about declining enrollment at colleges and universities. Of course, not every college and university have enrollment challenges — in fact, some are doing well. Binghamton University — a research juggernaut in New York State’s Southern Tier — recently announced a record…