Kavanaugh confirmation rich in irony for GOP
The New York Times recently published a front page story under the headline: "G.O.P. Stokes Anger About Accusations to Fire Up Voters," reporting on the Republican effort to get Brett Kavanaugh confirmed onto the U.S. Supreme Court.
The second paragraph noted that the party's attacks on Kavanaugh's accusers ... "are part of an effort to harness Republicans' outrage over what they see as a Democratic plot to steal a pivotal Supreme Court seat."
There you are: a perfect combination of irony and hypocrisy in a single sentence. It precisely describes what the GOP itself did when Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016. Republican leaders in the Senate announced they would not vote on any Supreme Court nomination.
GOP invocation of the "lame duck" excuse contrasts sharply with a similar episode in reverse nearly 30 years ago.
Two years after Democrats regained control of the Senate in 1986, President Ronald Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court on Nov. 11, 1987. The Democrat-led Senate confirmed him on Feb. 3, 1988 - a mere nine months before the next presidential election.
"Stealing" a Supreme Court seat, indeed.
Michael Loftin
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Mr. Trump, protect our public lands
When Donald Trump was elected president, sportsmen had high hopes that the president and his Cabinet would commit to, in President Trump's words, "honoring the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt."
As our 26th president, Roosevelt worked tirelessly to stop special interests from developing and privatizing our public lands and waters, conserving more than 230 million acres by establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks, and 18 national monuments.
Sportsmen have applauded the administration for some Roosevelt-like actions, such as its proposal to expand hunting and fishing on 10 national wildlife refuges and its calling on Congress to create a permanent solution to the practice of "fire borrowing."
Yet, we will continue to hold administration officials accountable for pursuing the rollback of conservation protections on millions of acres of national monuments, scrapping collaborative habitat management plans for sage grouse and proposals to cut popular public access programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
These actions threaten to undermine Roosevelt's legacy, and I join Backcountry Hunters & Anglers in urging the Trump administration to do the right thing and stand up for our public lands.
Casey Fugate, Evensville, Tenn.
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Mitchell will work for affordable care
Are you upset to learn Tennessee is first in the nation for bankruptcy?
One of the reasons is because of the high costs of medical care and medicine. Another is the lack of jobs that pay a living wage. Many Tennesseans have to work several part-time jobs that still don't add up to a living wage, much less a stable job.
Dr. Danielle Mitchell is running in Tennessee's 3rd U.S. Congressional District. She wants to be our representative so she can put into place laws and policies to establish affordable and high-quality health care for all citizens.
She wants to implement policies that ensure living wages are the law and to help people get the job training skills and education they need to be productive, self-supporting citizens.
A Mitchell campaign volunteer from Polk County recently said, "I am tired of a congressman who puts himself, paid lobbyists and big donors first. I want a representative in Congress who will work for us." I couldn't have said it better.
Dr. Mitchell is going to every county in our district to campaign and hear your concerns. Vote for her so she can work for us.
Therese P. Tuley