Letters to the Editor category, Page 216
Letter to the editor: Norwin swamp
Norwin has a political swamp, too. This letter is serving as my public apology to the Norwin community for endorsing Raymond Kocak for school director. I financially supported Kocak in his bid. I openly advised the public and worked the polls to get him elected. He was part of the...
Letter to the editor: Conflicting interests and the Marcellus circus
Reading about the latest trials and tribulations in Upper Burrell (“Former supervisors ask Upper Burrell to add 2 more seats; ties to Marcellus shale raised,” Dec. 5, TribLIVE), one thing is obvious: The circus with Marcellus gas drilling continues. Supervisor Ross Walker’s appearance at a West Deer meeting extolling the...
Letter to the editor: Government control
Apparently my Webster’s dictionary has become obsolete. According to it, a vaccine is a substance to induce immunity to a disease, and a mandate is an authoritative command — not a law. The government is trying to force all American citizens to get the covid-19 shots; workers could be fired...
Letter to the editor: The supply crisis is real
Until very recently I was on the fence regarding this “supply chain” crisis. My friends on the political left told me there wasn’t one, that this is all part of the Christmas gift-buying season. They hedged by saying if there was one, it is the fault of Donald Trump. On...
Letter to the editor: Rep. Leslie Rossi is not demonstrating leadership
Rep. Leslie Rossi, please demonstrate some leadership (“Westmoreland Co. lawmaker offers to help with vaccine exemptions as covid-19 infections surge.” Covid-19 cases and deaths are rising. Consider these headlines: • “Excela reopens Unity testing center in response to rising covid-19 numbers.” The article reports that on Dec. 10, a record...
Letter to the editor: Why run S.E. Cupp’s bitter diatribes?
Reading (which I usually do not) S.E. Cupp’s columns has me wondering why the Tribune-Review continues to print them. Cupp must have a dictionary with only words like “conspiracy-spewing quack,” “rotten fermenting barrel of toxic waste,” “soulless,” “insane” and “kooks.” Her hatred of President Trump has no end. Cupp dislikes...
Letter to the editor: Nurses need a lifeline
There are currently more than 1.7 million positive covid cases in Pennsylvania, which is leading to burnout for nurses and causing a spike in staffing shortages. Pennsylvania has been hit hard in terms of nurses leaving their jobs, and these professionals are in need of a “rapid response” to help...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s climate order is not enough
Regarding the Associated Press story “Biden order would make U.S. government carbon neutral by 2050”: After the less-than-adequate pledges coming out of COP26 in Glasgow in November, the executive order seems like good news. Here’s the problem. Presidential executive orders can be easily reversed by the next administration; and with...
Letter to the editor: Schools must ensure safety of all
Following this month’s state Supreme Court ruling striking down Pennsylvania’s school mask mandate, Mark Holtzman, McKeesport Area School District superintendent, announced that students and staff will no longer be required to wear masks in district schools. He believes this ruling is good for the district, because it gives parents the...
Letter to the editor: Our problems are government-inflicted
OK, can we be any more ridiculous? Non-American citizens should never be allowed to vote for anything, period. Also, if the government is going to allow businesses to continuously be robbed without any bail or penalties, then all businesses big and small should be equipped with a bar system keeping...
Letter to the editor: Republicans are not planning for our well-being
Can you imagine that one of our two major political parties has no platform, no legislative agenda, no guiding principles beyond “Democrats are bad,” to improve the lives of Americans ahead of next year’s election? The Republicans have no proposed legislation to help us survive human-caused climate change. No sense...
Letter to the editor: Grateful for ATI’s generosity
My late husband, Kenneth (Jack) Koedel, retired from ATI after 46 years of employment. He has been gone for 5½ years. Every year during the holiday season, the company deposits a gift of money in my bank account. I am so grateful that they have not forgotten the widows of...
Letter to the editor: Maybe Dr. Oz will be good for Pa.
With Dr. Mehmet Oz throwing his hat in the Senate race, I ask myself, why not? In recent elections, we have had a diversity of candidates. Hey, we have a caterer as a coroner in Westmoreland County. Caitlyn Jenner is running for governor of California, a position formerly held by...
Letter to the editor: Hungry kids need Build Back Better passed
While families are counting down to the holidays, many are also anxiously watching a different clock — the one that is running out for Congress to take meaningful action to address hunger and poverty in communities here in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Unless Congress acts before the end of the year,...
Sounding off: Covid is what ‘ruins lives’
I have seen many dumb statements made on this page, but the letter by Michael Arnone is quite possibly the winner (“Don’t worry about the unvaxxed,” Dec. 2, TribLIVE). He says vaccine mandates are “ruining people’s lives” and that, since the vaccine works, the vaccinated shouldn’t care if others get...
Letter to the editor: Society honors gold-medal Pennsylvanians
What do former Gov. Dick Thornburgh, television icon Fred Rogers and philanthropists Elsie and Henry Hillman all have in common? The obvious answer is they all proudly called Pittsburgh home. They also share a unique distinction of being recipients of the Pennsylvania Society Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement, presented to...
Letter to the editor: Countering ‘consequences’
Leonard Stanga’s diatribe “Predictions have consequences” (Dec. 4, TribLIVE) was sort of over the edge. He starts by asking, “How can BLM or antifa or anyone get away with these threats?” Then he proceeds to make a few threats of his own. How does that work? Then he goes off...
John Scott: Keystone Saves can build retirement savings for millions of Pennsylvanians
In a promising step for the millions of Pennsylvanians who want to save more for retirement, members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Dec. 13 announced the Keystone Saves Program Act, which would allow workers whose employers don’t offer a retirement plan to save for retirement. This opportunity to help...
Letter to the editor: Pickett deserves Heisman
I didn’t expect the Pittsburgh Panthers’ Kenny Pickett to win the Heisman, but after watching his disappointing third-place finish, I must call out the media, once again. Just like our political media, even our sports media seem to follow a herd mentality. Certainly Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was an exceptional...
Letter to the editor: Advice for Steelers leadership
The Steelers are disgusting to watch. Week after week, fiasco after fiasco, it’s clear to me that Art Rooney is the problem. His grandfather and father are probably doing backflips in their graves. The NFL is a business; start running your team like one. Starting at the top: Your GM...
Letter to the editor: Christmas TV offerings leave Jesus out of the picture
Reviewing the Christmas television offerings listed recently in the Living section left me with a feeling of disgust. Believe me, I’m not a Grinch and enjoy celebrating the holidays as much as anyone, but who, I ask, are we honoring? There seems to be only one true, legitimate story reflecting...
Letter to the editor: Pa. needs more climate change action
Nations from all over the world gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, recently for the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 to address the climate crisis. Meanwhile in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Legislature has failed to act: The Pennsylvania Senate passed a resolution blocking the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s sleight-of-hand
Magicians use sleight-of-hand and distraction to do their tricks. They instruct you to look at one hand and use the other one to fool you. I believe President Biden is using the same tactic. When domestic and foreign affairs get too bad, it is a strange coincidence that a new...
Letter to the editor: Fake slide is a great move
I was reading where these sports authorities think that when the Pittsburgh Panthers’ Kenny Pickett faked a slide, the play should have been called dead (“Football rules experts agree: Controversy over Kenny Pickett’s fake slide needs to be addressed ‘effective immediately’,” Dec. 7, TribLIVE). And they want to make that...
Letter to the editor: Signs point to end of civilization
Dr. Mehmet Oz’s campaign slogan is “America First.” It is unattainable. Wake up to reality. Praise a man who has done so much damage to our federal government and country? Our democracy is ending. Not one politician seems to want to do anything about our national debt. The last time...
