In 1993, when it grappled with fundamental questions the state’s educational finance system, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court used language from the state’s more than 200-year old constitution as the basis for a groundbreaking decision that forced the state to give much more aid to its poorest cities and towns. That clause was written by […]

Because today is the 75th anniversary of the day that the United Nations officially came into being, it’s a good time to reflect on what the UN stood for when it was founded, what it stands for today, and what it, broadly defined, might be in the future. The UN’s first 10 stamps, which were

It’s hard to believe today, but once upon a time, the people running the U.S. Post Office invested in facilities that were supposed to speed up mail deliveries. Moreover, they celebrated those efforts, most notably in today’s 4-cent #stampoftheday, which commemorated the opening of America’s first automated post office in Providence, Rhode Island on October

I ended yesterday’s #stampoftheday post by asking “What were they thinking?” when they issued a stamp celebrating the forced relocation of Native Americans. Today, however, it’s clear “what they were thinking” when the Post Office issued three “National Defense” stamps on October 16, 1940 (which is why the stamps are today’s #stampoftheday). “They” – particularly

When the young “future farmer” portrayed on today’s #stampoftheday gazed over the bucolic farm and valley shown on the stamp do you think he was thinking that many decades later the owners of those fields would receive record amounts of politically motivated federal aid? That’s the question that comes to mind when I examine today’s

Like many of my generation, I learned that Robert E. Lee was special. Yes, we were taught that Lee fought for the Confederacy, which wanted to preserve slavery. But that uncomfortable fact was downplayed in favor of a narrative that instead highlighted both Lee’s military prowess and his strength of character, particularly his efforts to

Although she died almost 60 years, Eleanor Roosevelt still offers important wisdom and guidance for those trying to address our current concerns. Roosevelt, who was born on October 11, 1884, was pictured on today’s #stampoftheday, a 5-cent stamp issued in October 1963, about 11 months after she died. Roosevelt’s story has been told by many

Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Masque the Red Death”, makes a bizarrely timely appearance as today’s #stampoftheday. Poe, who is known today for his chilling tales of horror and haunting poems, was featured on a 3-cent stamp issued on October 7, 1949, which was the 100th anniversary of his death. This choice presents two

On a strange day when it’s hard to know how to react to the news, it’s heartening that the #stampoftheday project makes me pause and ponder Mahatma Gandhi, who was born on October 2, 1869 and who appeared on the 10th Champions of Liberty stamp, which was issued in January 1961. Gandhi, of course, employed

As I write, the first presidential “debate” is underway and, while the bulk of the debate has, thanks to our president, degenerated into a juvenile schoolyard name-calling contest. Among the many things lost in the president’s sadly infantile attacks is the fact that freedom is among the many things at stake in this consequential election.