Columns

Rarely has the political class whipped itself into a lather that has abated so quickly. After the Newtown, Conn., massacre, so many invested so much hope in President Barack Obama’s pledge to “use whatever power this office holds” to pass new gun-control laws.

The president has certainly done his part. He has held rallies. He has used children as props. He has held events with parents of the little victims of Newtown. He has shamed the nation for its alleged forgetfulness over the terrible events of that day.

Having children changes you in many ways.

When I was a younger man, people would tell me that, but I always dismissed the notion. I knew there would be changes, like not being able to stay out all night on a whim or being able to afford that new camera lens I was saving for.

But the first time I held my newborn son in my arms, I started to understand what those people had been saying.

You can’t truly understand how much you love your children until you hold them and care for them.

That change extends to many parts of your life.

DRS. STEPHEN WRIGHT

JAIME PITTINGER

and SEEMA SACHDEVA

It’s not always a good thing to be at the top of a list. In a region ranked among the best in the country for college sports, places to raise a family and start a business, there is one ranking many of us may not be aware of and one we must change immediately. Kentucky is one of the top – meaning worst – states in the nation for frequency of child abuse and deaths due to non-accidental trauma.

NELDA MOORE

April may well be the cruelest month, given that warm weather is apparently boycotting us and there’s that substantial check to write to the IRS mid-month, reminding us of all the taxes we pay day in and day out. But of those taxes, there is one I don’t mind paying at all — the school tax.