He noticed there was a “troubling footnote” in an academic article written by professor Walter Block at Loyola University New Orleans. His mother, Sarah Bloom Raskin, recalled a time the two were driving from their home in Takoma Park to Wellfleet, Mass., shortly after he had graduated from Amherst College. Tommy’s parents and other family members also spoke about their son’s knack for debating.

One mom even said it was a turning point in the life of her son,” he said. “We’ve gotten letters over the last few months from parents who’ve told us this is one of the finest things they’ve ever seen a young person do. Jamie Raskin said that as an alternative, his son rounded up the students without dates for a dress-up dinner party at the family’s house, and they ended up going to the prom as a group. “Tommy notices that with all the nervous talk about who’s going with who to the prom, there are some kids that are not part of the conversation,” he said. When Tommy got to Montgomery Blair High School, he wanted to help the kids who didn’t have dates to the prom. He ended up signing a six-page contract to rent out the basement of the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church.

Jamie Raskin said that in order to accommodate the 50 kids, he spent an entire afternoon searching for a place to hold the party. “When we were totally shamed by our 5-year-old boy and gave in to the irresistible force of that argument, we had to quickly capitulate to his follow-up argument, which was quickly and enthusiastically endorsed by Tabitha, that we had to invite all the kids in her class, too …,” he said. But Tommy didn’t want anyone to feel left out and insisted the girls from his class be invited, too, his father said.

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