Opinion category, Page 309
Letter to the editor: How is Biden responsible for people who don’t want to work?
Regarding the letter griping about President Joe Biden (“Pity the fools who support Biden,” Feb. 20, TribLIVE), I’m only questioning one of the writer’s many implications. That one would be “He touted the grandeur of all these infrastructure jobs that are in our future, but we can’t even get folks...
Letter to the editor: Has America turned its back on God?
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government (but) on the capacity of mankind for self government to control ourselves according to the Commandments of God.” — James Madison. Founding Father also hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” Why cannot America control...
Editorial: Youth voices bring new perspective to local government
There is a lot of conversation about getting young people involved. It usually refers to voting. Sometimes it hits on things like volunteering or reading the news — anything that gets youth interested and engaged in what is going on around them. What is less mentioned is participation in government...
Letter to the editor: Ziccarelli should pay for repairs
In the article “Westmoreland DA crash racks up nearly $33,000 in SUV repairs” (Feb. 16, TribLIVE), it was reported that Nicole Ziccarelli “has voluntarily paid for the $2,500 deductible out her own pocket so the cost does not fall onto the taxpayer.” Well, how generous you are. What about the...
Letter to the editor: Destroying Social Security, Medicare no way to help budget deficit
Some Republicans have lied repeatedly about the state of Social Security and Medicare. I would really like to know how doing away with these programs will help reduce the budget deficit. These programs are paid for by American employees and employers. If they go away, does Congress expect workers to...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 27
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 27....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 27
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 27....
Letter to the editor: Don’t let Ziccarelli’s crash be forgotten
We must not let the car crash by District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli get swept under the rug. In these times when citizens are hard pressed to buy groceries and medication, let alone keep up their homes with rising utility bills, the way she has responded to this incident is appalling....
Letter to the editor: Access to promising Alzheimer’s drug hampered
On Jan. 6, the Food and Drug Administration approved a second drug (Leqembi) to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Based on results from very strong clinical trials, leading Alzheimer’s researchers agree this treatment slows progression of the disease and contributes to a better quality of life. Currently in Pennsylvania,...
Letter to the editor: Fetterman should bow out
My heart goes out to Sen. John Fetterman and his family. I applaud the support pouring in from both sides of the aisle. Like Fetterman, I suffer from chronic cardiomyopathy, necessitating an ICD-pacemaker when I was 33. A heart attack in my 50s left me depressed and needing medication and...
Editorial: The burden of Pennsylvania taxes
It’s great to make the top half of a list. If you’re talking about public school test scores or high net income, that’s the place to be. Even on a more frivolous topic, you get a little thrill seeing your name at the head of the class. Pennsylvania, for instance,...
Letter to the editor: Looking out for Pa.’s seniors
To be a senior citizen in Pennsylvania is an honor and a privilege. There are all sorts of programs whose financial rewards go directly to benefit our seniors. Unfortunately, there have arisen some programs that are eating away at those benefits in a big-time fashion. In his op-ed “So-called ‘skill...
Letter to the editor: Let’s fix, not privatize, education system
The Trib’s recent articles criticizing public education speak to the ill-conceived effort in Pennsylvania to privatize education. Under the guise of vouchers or parental choice, the extreme right’s elite class of billionaires wants to corporatize one of the foundations of our middle class. They want more of our taxpayer dollars...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: In East Palestine and beyond, a familiar story
To many residents, it looked like the end of the world when 50 cars from a 150-car Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, just over three weeks ago. Eleven of the derailed cars carried toxic chemicals and were scattered along the tracks smoking and burning. Thousands of fish...
Mikhail Alexseev: Biden’s visit to Ukraine should put Putin on notice
For almost a year now, my former homeland has been under a brutal attack. But even as Russia keeps hammering at Ukraine, hope has sprung up, too. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, and tens of thousands of foreigners, have come forward to defend the nation. More than 50 countries are...
Jim Warren: Putin disinformation machine is unrelenting toward Ukraine a year after invasion
No sooner had President Joe Biden arrived in Ukraine on Monday than the Russian state news agency Tass berated the surprise visit to “his ward Zelenskyy” and warned that Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet the same fate as others “who have sold their souls to the Americans.” “Damned by...
Letter to the editor: Advice for our justice system
I just came upon some “advice,” in Exodus 23, that would be helpful for our justice system to follow: Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit,...
Sounding off: Division, Ziccarelli, guns, Bushy Run, medical marijuana among week’s topics
‘Tale of Two Americas’ “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … .” So begins Charles Dickens’ novel, “A Tale of Two Cities.” As I write, I’m saddened knowing a former president is near death. Acknowledged by friend and foe as being kind and decent,...
Letter to the editor: Commissioners must do better on ARPA funds
Voice of Westmoreland has asked for transparency and a comprehensive plan from the Westmoreland County commissioners for use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds since 2021. In a recent visit to Virginia, I reviewed the ARPA plan for the City of Richmond (see rva.gov/arp). The Virginia plan calls for...
Editorial: Rozzi scores with sex abuse bill passage
Pennsylvania Speaker Mark Rozzi has finally accomplished what he promised would be the state House of Representatives’ first action under his leadership. On Friday, the House passed the legislation that will give a window of opportunity for victims to sue over child sexual abuse claims that otherwise would be outside...
Letter to the editor: ‘Tale of Two Americas’
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … .” So begins Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities.” As I write, I’m saddened knowing a former president is near death. Acknowledged by friend and foe as being kind and decent, he became a role...
Gary Franks: George H.W. Bush and Rep. Adam Clayton Powell on civil rights
I will always fondly remember from my political career two individuals. They were different as night and day. One was a Republican president who became my friend and the other a Democrat born in Connecticut who would become my congressional role model — even though I never met him, as...
Michael W. Carroll: Supreme Court unlikely to ‘break internet’ over Google, Twitter cases — rather, it is approaching with caution
“These are not, like, the nine greatest experts on the internet,” noted Justice Elena Kagan — a reference to herself and fellow colleagues on the Supreme Court. Depsite this, the justices are being asked to negotiate complex arguments that could have wide implications for online providers and ultimately everyone who...
Colin McNickle: Covid bailout dollars enabled transit inefficiencies
Mass transit use in Pittsburgh in 2022 continued to lag far behind the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. And, despite the large shortfalls in recovery for Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) and many other systems, “there is apparently no urgency to...
Letter to the editor: After Tyre Nichols, now is time to push for justice, change
Enough is enough. It should have been, when it first happened, one time. But here we are again. Another innocent Black man, Tyre Nichols, brutally and viciously beaten to death, seemingly just because the police officers wanted to. “Just talking” has to end now. Black people have not gotten their...
