Columns

In older times, many children did not begin learning to read until they started school, and “starting school” meant going to first grade. Everyone did not attend kindergarten, and all-day kindergarten was a rarity indeed. Preschool was almost unheard of.

Contrast this with today’s emphasis on early learning, and it is clear that many things have changed.

It may not be celebrated as much as Independence Day, but Constitution Day is arguably just as important.  While the Fourth of July recognizes the birth of our nation, Sept. 17, commemorates the day we established the cornerstone of our government and secured our rights as citizens.

In the 228 years since that journey began, the U.S. Constitution has become the oldest charter among the world’s major countries and still remains, at 4,400 words, the shortest.

By JIM PAXTON

The Paducah Sun

The 2016 presidential race is shaping up as one of the most interesting, and to some extent bizarre, such exercises we can remember. It takes place against a backdrop of a public that is in an increasingly foul mood. A poll released Monday by Rasmussen Reports finds that only 26 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction. That’s down a point from a week earlier and down four points from the start of this year.

Last week, the United States celebrated the 95th anniversary of women’s right to vote, a milestone made possible by the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Kentucky was the 23rd state to ratify that amendment, but it did not clear its final legislative hurdle until Tennessee became the 36th in August 1920.  Interestingly, that decision was a close one, occurring only when a young legislator voted in favor at the request of his mother.