Opinion category, Page 252
Letter to the editor: Government excess in Maui
The federal government response to the Maui wildfires has been abhorrent. DHS/FEMA personnel are being housed in 5-star luxury resorts, where the lowest cost for a room at one of them is $1,300 per night. They are spending at least $200,000 per night for Washington bureaucrats to be housed. Why...
Tom Purcell: Jimmy Buffett was a super-spreader of happiness
There’s a reason the name “Jimmy Buffett” elicits immediate joy in the hearts of millions: Happiness contagion. A study conducted by Harvard University and the University of California followed 5,000 people for 20 years to determine if happiness was contagious. The study’s finding: It most certainly is. If you smile...
Julie Su: Why I’m spending Labor Day in Pittsburgh
America is home to a strong and storied labor movement that has fought many battles to empower workers and protect the rights of hard-working families. That includes in the proud union town of Pittsburgh, where I’m marching today in one of the oldest and largest Labor Day parades in the...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 4
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 4....
Letter to the editor: West Deer priorities
Where are the priorities in West Deer? Infrastructure seems to have been overlooked in many areas within the township. It’s 2023 and there are residents that have no access to public water or natural gas, and some have not had their roads reconstructed or properly repaired for more than 20...
Letter to the editor: We need an honest president
Our country has been blessed with country-loving leadership until recently. We, until recent times, believed in justice. If you commit the crime, then do the time. I would submit to you the following examples of poor leadership. President Trump knew on Jan. 5, 2021, that some citizens were spoiling for...
Editorial: State needs to join federal and local efforts to address predatory real estate companies
Predators in the wild prowl around the edges of a herd of animals, waiting to pick the vulnerable. They may lie in wait, camouflaged until it is time to pounce. In real estate, the wolves and hyenas are corporations that buy up properties from the desperate. The bait can be...
Letter to the editor: Are Amazon’s jobs worth its baggage?
When I read the article “Westmoreland officials hopeful Amazon warehouse portends future growth” (Aug. 16, TribLIVE), I had mixed feelings. New jobs for the area are always welcome. On the other hand, Amazon comes with baggage. Its anti-union stance is legendary. The workers in New York voted for a union...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Allegheny County executive race — looking for real change
When you are swimming upstream, it is best to get an early start, and Joe Rockey, the Republican nominee for Allegheny County executive, has run the first television ad in his race against Democrat Sara Innamorato. Innamorato is favored to win in the heavily Democratic county, but Rockey is defining...
Chris Kelly: Shapiro must rally rescue posse
Sometimes, spurring the cavalry to saddle up is a matter of poking the right rumps. In response to Lackawanna County Department of Health and Human Services Director Bill Browning’s desperate plea for help staffing his desolate Office of Youth and Family Services, state officials said consultants — free agents who...
Letter to the editor: Better under Trump or Biden?
Tangible is real, not imaginary. Be honest: Were you better under President Trump or President Biden? This should be an easy answer. A tangible vote in 2024 is crucial for our country. God bless America — we need it. Regis Farrell Greensburg...
Sounding off: Books, police, inflation, war on carbon among week’s topics
On books, whose beliefs matter more? When I read the article “‘It’s a small number of people who are very loud’: Local libraries grapple with book challenges, bans” (Aug. 22, TribLIVE), I was somewhat taken back by the headline and further by the story. The story described how the number...
Letter to the editor: Ward correct on vouchers
In response to the letter “Waiting on Ward’s action on budget” (July 30, TribLIVE) I’d like to set the record straight. The writer is from Fair Districts PA, which I consider to be a left-wing advocacy group. In my opinion, the organization advocates for districts beneficial to Democrats. Monopolies aren’t...
Editorial: Should 2024 primary date be moved?
Pennsylvania’s role in the 2024 presidential election cannot be underestimated. Since 1972, the state has only voted for the losing candidate twice, opting for Al Gore and John Kerry instead of George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. After the results have been reported in the small and sparsely populated...
Letter to the editor: Preserving land of the free
The Biden administration, the D.C. bureaucratic swamp and the sympathetic left-wing mainstream media, following their slippery slope toward Marxist socialism, have been repeatedly telling us that: 1. Our southern border is not open and is secure. 2. Bidenomics has improved our economy and reduced food, fuel, housing and living expenses....
Gary Franks: First GOP debate goes to DeSantis and Haley — surprises for 3rd and 4th place
Republican candidates for president, tell us your plan for America’s future. How will you attack President Joe Biden or any other Democrat, and how will you win in 2024? Do this, and Republican primary voters will reciprocate by handing you the nomination. Former President Donald Trump is leading largely because...
Carl Kurlander: The WGA/SAG strike and 4 lessons from a steel town for the modern-day labor movement
With Labor Day approaching and the writers and actors strike continuing into the fall, I thought this might be a good time for a historical perspective on the modern-day labor movement. I write as someone whose oldest membership outside of the AAA is the Writers Guild of America (member of...
Letter to the editor: Why so much firepower in Garfield?
By the Tribune-Review’s account, thousands of rounds were expended to get Garfield resident William Hardison to surrender (“Garfield shooter’s instability, extreme ideology likely contributed to violent confrontation,” Aug. 25, TribLIVE). Luckily, no policemen or residents were killed/injured, but the damage to the residents’ peace of mind and their homes is...
Lori Falce: Hey, Big Pharma, negotiation isn’t tyranny
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America really doesn’t back away from its reputation. Do you want to call the coterie of companies it represents Big Pharma? Fine. The trade group that lobbies for those companies leans into the name using its cheeky initials — PhRMA. The organization is so forthright...
Laurels & lances: Burned out and deadlocked
Laurel: To a fresh start. Elizabeth Forward High School ended the 2022-23 school year on a sad note with the auditorium, band and chorus rooms out of commission following a February fire. Those spaces are always full of activity in the final months of a school year as students bustle...
Letter to the editor: America’s war on carbon
Americans are constantly harangued about carbon emissions. We’re strongly encouraged to convert to electric cars, and accept restrictions on home heating and cooking systems. Industry has spent enormous sums to reduce its carbon footprint. Electric utilities are rapidly adding wind and solar power systems, and are phasing out coal. Upon...
Paul Kengor: When Democrats challenge presidential elections
As Donald Trump strolled into Georgia for a mugshot for alleged misdeeds in challenging the 2020 election, I was walking through the nation’s capital, where I was struck by this Washington Times headline: “Democrats deny wrongdoing with stolen elections claims.” Those claims weren’t from Trump supporters, but from Democrats, and...
Colin McNickle: Pa. must start living within its means
The influx of pandemic-spawned federal stimulus money boosted Pennsylvania general fund revenues in fiscal 2021 and 2022. But it also led to even more government spending, reminds a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. And that’s likely not sustainable. “(T)he state will not be receiving any more pandemic...
Peter Morici: How a third-party candidate with a sound economic program could win
A third-party candidate could win the presidency if the major parties offer voters a Biden-Trump rematch. In the 1992 presidential election, Ross Perot managed only 19% of the vote. But the independent candidate was leading in a June Gallup poll shortly before he dropped out only to reenter the race...
Letter to the editor: Will it be ‘rinse and repeat’ for Steelers?
Yinzer nation is already booking Super Bowl tickets, but it’s time to take off the rose-colored glasses. Guts and team doctors will be the deciders. Elder statesman Cam Heyward, one-footed Ogunjobi, one-footed Holcomb at linebacker. Do we have a podiatrist? T.J. Watt, you say? I say broken glass. Conditioning matters,...
