Opinion category, Page 314
Letter to the editor: ‘Free markets’ must have rules
It is noticeable that many of the Trib’s opinion pieces are written by the Commonwealth Foundation and Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. I consider these two organizations to have extreme right-wing conservative and libertarian beliefs. To me their objectives are no taxes, no regulations and privatize everything, and they worship...
Gary Franks: Black History Month surprise — are Reps. White and Franks cousins?
I did not realize that Rep. George White, R-N.C., the last Black member of Congress in the 19th century, was very likely my cousin. It is my Black History Month surprise. White and I have had a common mission. In his last speech on the House floor which was titled...
Hank Kalet: Adjuncts are the gig workers of higher education
Today’s word is “adjunctification.” Adjunctification is the process by which the gig economy is imposed on America’s colleges and universities and turns formerly tenured professors and instructors into contingent workers. Adjuncts are the part-time component of this, earning a fraction of what full-time faculty earn and having few of the...
S.E. Cupp: Biden plays the nice guy with rowdy, rude House
If you tuned in to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, Joe Biden’s third as president, it felt at times like we were watching the shouting matches typical of the United Kingdom’s Parliament more than it did a speech to the United States Congress. The unrulier members of the...
Peter Morici: Powell shouldn’t let up in the fight against inflation
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, through the FOMC statement and press conference remarks this month, made clear we’ve made progress fighting inflation, but it’s far too early to quit. Financial markets are proving skeptical — forward contracts anticipate the Fed will increase interest rates a bit further, then start cutting...
Colin McNickle: New steps to retiring Turnpike Commission debt
Immediate steps must be taken to begin reducing the legislatively spawned multibillion-dollar debt of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The state Legislature created this mess and should take steps to remedy the situation,” says Frank Gamrat, executive director of the...
Letter to the editor: Is Gov. Ron DeSantis afraid of learning?
In 1671, Gov. William Berkeley of Virginia wrote, “I thank God there are no free schools or printing, for learning has brought disobedience … .” It appears that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis feels the same way. Suzie Morris Stewart...
Letter to the editor: GOP and ‘fixing’ Social Security
The writer of the letter “Republicans not nihilists” (Feb. 2, TribLIVE), states that “The only fact is Social Security is broken and needs to be reformed. It’s the Republicans who want to fix it.” Below is listed a brief history of past Republican proposed fixes to Social Security programs: 1935:...
Lori Falce: Politics, tribalism and cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles
This is one of those times when it’s really hard to practice what I preach. Politically, I am all about middle ground and doing what’s in the common good. When it comes to sports, I am the radical fringe that doesn’t just want to win. I want to wage war...
Letter to the editor: Ideas to continue Bushy Run reenactments
Here’s some free advice for the Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society: Don’t cancel the battlefield reenactment (“Pa. agency explains why it enacted new ‘no force-on-force rule’ for Bushy Run, other sites,” Feb. 6, TribLIVE). Replace the Native American side of the battle with sound effects. There are many local universities...
Laurels & lances: Big save, big shame
Laurel: To co-workers you can count on. The people you work alongside can be just like family. That means they can be a confidante, a best friend or the person who bugs you more than anything. But sometimes they can also be real lifesavers. For Alexis Simon, a Penn-Trafford special...
Letter to the editor: Stop funding Israeli violence
Clearly the U.S. media inadequately covers the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and pretends that it is a clash of comparable violence. There has been unrelenting violence against Palestinians since the displacement and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands (over 750,000) of Palestinians during the 1948 creation of the state of Israel. Since...
Sen. Ryan Aument: How the Grinch stole the power grid
As a holiday cold snap gripped Pennsylvania in December, energy officials warned of rolling blackouts and called on families to turn down their thermostats and turn off the decorations. Truly, this was a Christmas gift with batteries not included. How did the power grid become so feeble that your Christmas...
Cal Thomas: Biden and Sanders, a fading star vs. a rising star
We’ve heard it all before. In fact, a recording of last year’s State of the Union could have been replayed, saving President Biden a trip to Capitol Hill. Numbers can be selectively used to hide reality and advance one’s political agenda. Both parties do this, but Democrats and their media...
Letter to the editor: Pope’s call on homosexuality a welcome step forward
There are currently over 65 countries throughout the world in which homosexual relations are classified as a criminal offense; indeed, in several countries, a person can be executed for being gay. Pope Francis’ historic call for the global decriminalization of homosexuality is a historic step forward for LGBTQ individuals, their...
Editorial: Pa. state House needs to get to work
It’s time for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to get to work. On Tuesday, the voters in three Allegheny County districts did their jobs. They showed up for the special election to fill the seats of the late longtime legislator Tony DeLuca, newly installed U.S. Rep. Summer Lee and Lt....
Letter to the editor: Bushy Run needs to continue its battles
The new woke policy on force-on-force reenactments that the National Park Service adopted, and this blue state liked, is being used to censor the history of Bushy Run Battlefield (“Pa. agency explains why it enacted no force-on-force rule for Bushy Run, other sites,” Feb. 6, TribLIVE). They claim it is...
Letter to the editor: GOP, party of violence
Ninety-nine percent of Republican lawmakers voted against banning assault weapons, and 96% voted against commonsense background checks before gun sales. Both of these safety measures are supported by the majority of Americans and would save countless lives. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 648 mass shootings in 2022....
Jonah Goldberg: Ron DeSantis may be the one Republican voters want now. Can he make that last?
Imagine a popular Republican governor from an important state. Despite intense criticism from the national media, he’s notched some huge policy wins that are simultaneously popular with donors, base voters and conservative intellectuals. His key theme is fighting the Washington establishment and the institutions of progressive power. Then, fresh off...
Rep. Greg Vitali: Shapiro must lead on environmental funding
A new governor offers hope that the chronic underfunding of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will finally end. This underfunding has compromised the department’s ability to regulate the oil and gas industry, monitor and reduce air and water pollution, protect the Chesapeake Bay and clean up hazardous waste sites....
Letter to the editor: With Ukraine aid, are we headed for WWIII?
As the U.S. continues to funnel tens of billions of taxpayer dollars and military aid to Ukraine, with what seems like zero accountability, ask this simple question: If Country A supplies Country B with missiles to bomb Country C, does Country C have the moral right to bomb Country A?...
Letter to the editor: Environmental insanity
Hopefully, the talk of banning gas stoves marked the beginning of the end of the radical climate change movement. It’s becoming a bad joke. The effort to switch from internal combustion engine-powered vehicles to EVs sounded like it made good environmental sense, but we are learning that it does not,...
Editorial: Support police by giving room to grieve
If you want to know the toll that a line-of-duty shooting can take, look at the pictures of McKeesport police Chief Adam Alfer. On Monday, he stood alongside other officials making statements and giving information about the death of one of his own, Officer Sean Sluganski, and the injury of another,...
Letter to the editor: We must address our gun violence problem
Our region has a gun violence problem that threatens to undo all progress we’ve made on equity and economic development. Public safety is a just expectation from every person. Our day-to-day existence is shaken to its core without the feeling of safety. Tragically, for many, this means the fear of...
Commentary: How does the U.S.-China relationship continue after the spy balloon saga?
If you thought the Chinese spy balloon saga would deflate as fast as the balloon did over the Atlantic Ocean, you’re sadly mistaken. Days after a U.S. F-22 destroyed the device with a single air-to-air missile at 58,000 feet, the story continues to hover over the news cycle like a...
