Kavanaugh should be replaced with less controversial Supreme Court nominee

Brett Kavanaugh has been a controversial nominee for the Supreme Court from day one. Many of us believe he perjured himself in his recent Senate Judiciary hearings. And he is very unpopular with the general public for his extreme views, despite a promotional TV ad campaign funded by God knows who. Now he has been accused of attempted rape by a very credible professional woman. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is a psychologist and university professor at PaloAlto. She has provided therapy notes from marriage counseling in 2012, where she shared her story of attempted rape with a marriage counselor. She has also passed a polygraph.

It is nonsensical that the president and Republicans in Congress would choose to pursue more Senate hearings on Kavanaugh when he could be easily replaced by a less controversial nominee. The hearings will be excruciating for both Kavanaugh and the alleged victim, and it’s really a no-win situation for Republicans. They will lose support and votes by fighting this fight.

It seems this fight is really President Trump’s fight. It’s only about Kavanaugh in the sense that Trump believes Kavanaugh would protect him from any legal accountability in the Mueller probe.

Columbia has a wealth of lifelong learning programs

I am pleased that the Lourie Center is inaugurating a Lifelong Learning program (Finally, Columbia has lifelong learning program for seniors, 9/18/2018), However, I take issue with the writer that there are no such programs for seniors in Columbia. Indeed there are a wealth of such programs. Shepherd Centers, of which there are three in the Columbia area, have been engaged in lifelong learning for more than 30 years offering year-round academics taught by professional and skilled instructors. Many are retired from the business community or from schools and colleges here and elsewhere — some are still employed. Shepherd Centers offer a wide variety of courses including history, literature, language studies, computer technology, writing skills, music, travel, crafts and many more. Exercise programs such as, but not limited to, yoga and tai chi are offered. With all the classes, there are no prerequisites, no homework and no exams. The cost for a once-a-week, nine-week program is from $30-$35 depending on the location. Programs include lunch, at a small cost, and some form of entertainment. Fall programs are just beginning.

Many churches have senior programs. Also, Richland Library’s community programs includes seniors. Library book clubs are available to all.

Accusations against Kavanaugh are reflections of the past

When all else fails, reach back and pull out a tactic that almost derailed the 1991 nomination of the current sitting Supreme Court justice, Clarence Thomas. Judge Thomas’s confirmation hearings were bitter and intensely fought, centering on an accusation that he had sexually harassed attorney Anita Hill, a subordinate at the Department of Education and subsequently at the EEOC. Hill claimed that Thomas had repeatedly made sexual and romantic overtures to her, despite her repeatedly rejecting them. If sexual and romantic overtures didn’t derail a nomination, maybe this time “a little drunk groping” would do the trick. The state of politics has sunk to a truly sad state of affairs, even by the California players standards

The only additional card yet to be played in the attempt to block the Supreme Court appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh is “the race card,” which is expected as the final ploy to block a Republican presidential appointment to the Supreme Court.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.