Opinion category, Page 329
Letter to the editor: Our teachers are worth more
I discovered a long time ago that teachers don’t choose their profession for the monetary rewards. They start with grand ambition and much hope to shape our youth to their fullest potential and prepare them for the demands of a productive life in a modern world. They deserve our admiration...
Paul Muschick: Drug addicts, drivers will benefit from new Pennsylvania laws
The Christmas season is a time to be cheery and celebrate the good things in life. So I will take a break from my running criticism of our overpaid state legislators to note some of the positive work they’ve done recently that should make Pennsylvania a safer place to live....
Letter to the editor: Richard Simmons star of mall memory
After reading the article “Malls’ best days may be long gone, but memories remain strong, particularly at Christmastime” (Dec. 11, TribLIVE), I am reminded of a visit that my husband and I made to Century III in October 1994. We did indeed meet Richard Simmons when he invited us up...
Letter to the editor: Doom and gloom
The good of the world may be balanced out with bad. Wouldn’t it be funny if all the religions of the world had the same God? TV preachers and politicians prey on the weak for donations. Some TV preachers have a net worth of over $7 million. Talk about profiting...
Editorial: Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew’s unforced error
In 2019, when running for office, Doug Chew made a loud and proud campaign promise. Send him to the courthouse as a Westmoreland County commissioner, and he would take 60% of his paycheck and donate it to the drug court. The people listened. They gave him the job. Like other...
Letter to the editor: Energy independence and border security
From her point No. 1, it’s apparent that letter-writer Mary Beth Walling (“So what are Republicans’ plans to help?” Dec. 14, TribLIVE) has been reading and watching her news on the mainstream media (except for FOX), or she would understand that under President Trump, we had already achieved energy independence. In...
David Lenga: As a Holocaust survivor, the most important thing I can do is share my story
From Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., antisemitism is once again on the rise, being echoed by celebrities with wide audiences such as Kanye West and Kyrie Irving. To Jewish people who remember the Holocaust — or those, like myself, who survived it — this shameless bigotry is nothing new. Although...
Jonah Goldberg: It was a bad year for authoritarianism
As 2022 draws to a close, it’s worth celebrating that this hasn’t been a good year for authoritarianism. This might seem Pollyannish. After all, just last month, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance issued a report concluding that democracy is in decline while authoritarianism is deepening. Freedom House...
Letter to the editor: Kudos to football players, announcers
I watched the football championship games on PCN. The field was in perfect shape (beautiful venue). The broadcasters were very professional and well informed, and did a great job to make each game exciting and interesting. They were as good, if not better, than their big network counterparts. Hats off...
Letter to the editor: Justice for insurrectionists
I have been listening to the podcast “Ultra” by Rachel Maddow. It is frightening and at the same time reassuring. Reassuring in that our current political situation is not unique; we have been there before. And frightening in that our democracy can be so fragile. “Ultra” takes us back to...
Editorial: Automatic pay raises are unfair to taxpayers
There’s nothing like starting the new year with a hefty pay hike. Sadly, that’s not something most Pennsylvanians will get to experience. It is, however, a benefit of being an elected official. Much of the attention in recent weeks has been centered on state officials — namely the legislators who...
Letter to the editor: Immigration partnership could work
I have a lot of ideas. Sometimes I’m the master of the obvious, and others have thought and written about the same thing. Sometimes, I come up with a good one. I think the following represents a good one. I raise ideas with our legislators, and I receive responses, probably...
Tom Purcell: Hope is all we have
I’m filled with a renewed sense of hope all of the sudden. Truthfully, I don’t know why I feel such hopefulness. Last Friday I went to the hospital to have a hernia surgically repaired. They stuffed a hose down my mouth and pumped me with air, then sliced and sewed...
Aubrey Kirchhoff: What we should and should not do about kids and social media
Chances are if you’ve read the news in the past year you’ve seen a headline like these: It’s time to go nuclear. Mark Zuckerberg is choosing profit over children. We need to ban kids from social media … . And who could disagree with them? After all, you must be...
Theodore J. Kury: What social media regulation could look like — think of pipelines, not utilities
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, and his controversial statements and decisions as its owner, have fueled a new wave of calls for regulating social media companies. Elected officials and policy scholars have argued for years that companies like Twitter and Facebook — now Meta — have immense power over public...
Letter to the editor: Better ban the Bible, too
The book vigilantes of the Hempfield Area School District missed one book that might expose their children to all sorts of sinful behavior. Perhaps they haven’t studied it thoroughly and don’t realize how much really shocking behavior it details. Subjects like adultery, incest, slavery, murder, infanticide and homosexuality appear frequently...
Letter to the editor: Border insanity
Regarding Gloria Lesnock’s letter “Letter about Oprah hypocritical” (Nov. 28, TribLIVE): Our unsecure borders are allowing the criminal element to prosper on multiple levels in the United States, yet we continue to endorse a government that ignores the rampant wreckage spreading across our country. Please define sanity. Therese Bell West...
Letter to the editor: Blind to destruction
After reading Jim Harger’s letter ”There’s no destruction happening in U.S.” (Dec. 12, TribLIVE), in which he ignorantly critiques Ed Davis’ letter “Biden will take blame for destruction” (Nov. 10, TribLIVE), I wondered what world Harger has been living in for the past two years. Someone who could seriously ask,...
Editorial: Why appoint a public information officer?
A public information officer seems like a good idea. The idea is a designated person is the spokesperson for a government entity or other agency. The name sounds like someone whose job is providing information, so it can be frustrating when the reality proves to be different. In 2019, the...
Letter to the editor: Republicans don’t improve lives
Regarding the article “Westmoreland recount complete; officials say no evidence of widespread errors found” (Dec. 6, TribLIVE): Sen. Doug Mastriano’s campaign says, “Nobody is alleging fraud or malfeasance,” and, “These people had nothing to gain by asking for the recount.” I believe these statements are absolute lies. Republicans are trying...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 19
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 19....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 19
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 19....
Elwood Watson: Right-wing media’s reaction to Griner’s release telling
It sure didn’t take long for right-wing media figures to criticize the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner. Griner was released Dec. 8 by the Russian government as part of a negotiated prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “the merchant of death.” Since the deal was made...
Marie DeMarco: Speaking up for cleaner air
As a health educator in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I’ve seen firsthand just how harmful methane pollution from the oil and gas industry can be to our health. That’s why I am relieved that the Biden administration and the Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed new federal safeguards to curb methane pollution from...
Letter to the editor: We must stop legislators’ pay raise ‘affront’
Every year, you run an editorial about the automatic pay raises granted to Pennsylvania’s state legislators and the other covered under the Public Official Compensation Law amendment (“Lawmakers’ big raises are an affront to Pa. taxpayers,” Aug. 19, TribLIVE). As Pennsylvanians, we have a year to bombard the people responsible...
