Milwaukee newspaper provides July 4th lessons

When on the road, I love to sit down with the local newspaper's first two sections, especially the editorial and op-ed pages and the metro section.

This past Independence Day weekend, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel provided a wonderful set of commentaries on the Bill of Rights called "Those first 10 amendments define us." It begins with a history lesson on the origins of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which were born of a deal to seal ratification of the new Constitution. It continues with one or more thoughtful essays on each amendment, by noted scholars, journalists, lawyers, a judge, and the Virginia attorney general Robert F. McDonnell.

On the fourth of July, the paper published the entire text of the Declaration of Independence.

You couldn't find a more appropriate way to observe and appreciate the 230th year of our nation's independence than to spend an hour with these essays and the Declaration. Check it out online.