Before political correctness marginalized the link between racial disparity and low academic achievement, Dr. Carter G. Woodson wrote The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861— A History of the Education of the Colored People of the United States from the beginning of Slavery to the Civil War.

Will the people who run those entities called the “Division of Correction” and the “Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services” simply admit they have it in for Marshall “Eddie” Conway? I believe they will all feel a lot better if they ’fess up.

I was forced to watch Bill O'Reilly the other day. No gun was held to my head and no group of conservative ruffians tied me up and forced me to listen to the hypocritical gas bag. I was in a Chinese carryout waiting for an order of Hunan chicken and the Fox station was blaring from the flat screen television mounted on the wall.

Six weeks before my son’s high school graduation, I drew up a list of longtime friends and relatives to invite to the commencement. For such a momentous occasion, I used a fountain pen to address the invitations old-school cursive style. Eschewing abbreviations, except for courtesy titles, each name and address was lovingly written and punctuated.

John Mackey never had to tackle John Mackey.

Knowledge is power —Sir Francis Bacon Instead of bemoaning the disappointing Maryland State Achievement scores and wringing our hands over school testing scandals, Baltimoreans should get serious about improving the public schools. Years of low academic achievement and high drop out rates threatens to compromise our City’s future. It is time to declare war on educational mediocrity.

One of the few pleasures I have left is going to the farmers’ market downtown on Sundays. The other ones I used to enjoy are gone for the most part. Sex is too unsanitary, too strenuous, and too exhausting. Outrunning the police is too difficult now. All the food I like is prohibited by my doctors and the alcohol I like to drink is too expensive. I love going to the farmers market for the girl watching smorgasbord and for Gary’s Turkey burgers. My good friend Gary Thornhill sells several sauces, Horseradish, chicken breast sandwiches and the best turkey burgers I have ever eaten.

The final gun sounded on old number 88 the recently. The great, great tight end John Mackey of the Baltimore Colts died after battling a number of health problems in recent years. It is indeed a sad day for fans of the Baltimore Colts and I was a fan growing up in this city. I had a plastic blue and white Colts helmet when I was a little boy.