Letters: J.D. Vance is 'forgetful.' He doesn't recall how much he despised Donald Trump

What's up with J.D. Vance's memory?

Ohio Sen. Niraj Antani's Aug. 5 letter, "J.D. Vance understands our challenges," gushes about J.D. Vance being the man for us.

More: Letters: J.D. Vance an unlikely success story. He's 'walking proof of the American Dream.'

I'm worried about Vance's mental state. He seems forgetful. He was virulently against Donald Trump and now sees Trump as just the autocrat to lead us toward becoming our own version of 1930s Germany. He was against the role of corporate financing of his campaign, and then he was all in.

And in the same edition of the paper in which Antani espouses his great admiration for the man, J.D. says of a national bill to codify marriage rights, “You have a sky-high inflation crisis, you have a huge recessionary problem, and we’re arguing about rights that have already been granted by the Supreme Court.”

He seems to have already forgotten the overturning of Roe by the Supreme Court. 

More: 'He proved me wrong': Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance defends past comments on Trump

Are we sure that we want someone with his apparent memory issues to represent us in the U.S. Senate, an institution already rife with members who can't seem to remember scampering for their collective lives on Jan. 6, 2021?

Dave Schwendenman, Columbus

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How would Kamala Harris explain 1913?

Vice President Kamala Harris solemnly blamed the Kentucky floods on climate change. The area of flooding in Kentucky was coal country and already hit hard economically.

More: Eastern Kentucky flooding updates: Death toll rises to 37, more rain in forecast

People died as a result of the flooding. Using a devastating flood to push her green agenda was so cruel and cold. Shame on her.

Between 1798 and 1898, Columbus saw its share of flooding. Then on March 24, 1913, the rain began to fall. On March 27, Columbus was hit with its worst flood. The flood killed at least 93 men, women, and children.

How would Vice President Kamala Harris explain the Columbus flood of 1913? How about — oh, maybe — a natural disaster?

Miles C. Larrick, Columbus

Required computer science

A recent Dispatch opinion piece (“Ohio cannot be ‘Silicon Heartland’ if students are left behind”) is correct — a talented workforce is necessary to realize Ohio’s ambitious goal of becoming the Silicon Heartland.

The first step is to equip Ohio high school students with the computer science skills they need to succeed in an increasingly digitalized world.

Unfortunately, computer science is a skill where Ohio lags its peers in nearly every relevant metric. That is why it is so encouraging to see Gov. Mike DeWine join America’s 49 other governors in signing the Compact To Expand K-12 Computer Science Education.

More: Ohio can not be 'Silicon Heartland' if students are left behind |Opinion

That is a good start, but Ohio lawmakers should go further and require all Ohio public school districts to offer at least one foundational computer science class. Those new classes will require more teachers, and lawmakers must also revisit and update restrictive qualification requirements that limit the number of skilled computer science teachers.

Ohio needs more workers with computer science skills to become the Silicon Heartland and compete economically. Creating that workforce starts in Ohio’s schools.

Logan Kolas, Columbus, economic policy analyst, The Buckeye Institute

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Where is J.D. Vance's memory? Harris is wrong on climate change