Opinion category, Page 367
Letter to the editor: Is pope giving Biden a free pass?
I am not now or will I ever be a Biden Catholic. The Catholic Church has laws; the government at different levels has laws. No one is above the law, not even President Biden. The pope is supposed to be the guiding light for the days of our lives. I...
Editorial: Schools should walk line with pros and cons of cellphones
Cellphones are a great tool. They are the Swiss Army knife of electronics. If you have a smartphone in your pocket, you have more than just a way to call home. You can take a picture or make a video. You can send an email or read a book. A...
Letter to the editor: Jeannette school merger would benefit students
I had a conference call with the state Department of Education some time ago, and the only way a merger between Jeannette City and Hempfield Area school districts can happen is if the Jeannette City School Board has five votes in favor of a merger. When five votes are received,...
Letter to the editor: Some actions climate change zealots can take
To all climate change zealots: If climate change is such an emergency, why waste time writing letters to the editor trying to convince us “deniers” that immediate action is required? Here are several immediate actions you can take, without our involvement. 1. Stop flying in airplanes. Except, of course, for...
Tom Purcell: When it comes to boys, schools are flunking
I trekked to St. Germaine School every morning in my sturdy Buster Brown shoes. Designed for rough-and-tumble boys, these heavy-duty shoes could take a scuffing and, with a good polishing, keep on shining — pretty much the way rambunctious kids like me were able to do in our elementary school...
Rich Askey: Mastriano’s school funding cut would mean lost jobs, lost opportunities for Pa. students
It isn’t every day you hear a candidate for office say, “Hey, let’s cut public school funding by billions, lay off a ton of teachers, and send class sizes through the roof.” Yet that’s what state Sen. Doug Mastriano wants to do if elected governor in November, even if he...
Letter to the editor: Vasectomies for all men?
This is in response to all the men writing letters about abortion and how wrong it is: All men should have vasectomies, then they would not have to worry about abortions. Shirley Kohn White Oak...
Letter to the editor: Republicans aim to control everything
Poor Gary Franks! He paints Democrats as all being socialists without knowing anything about either group (“Socialists/Democrats — is there a difference?,” Aug. 12, TribLIVE). He’s just trying to accuse Democrats of doing the very things his own GOP is doing. The GOP tries to control every state government and...
Letter to the editor: Man has little power to change climate
In the letter “Denial won’t stop climate change destruction” (Aug. 8, TribLIVE) responding to my letter “Climate change hysteria destroying economy” (July 25, TribLIVE), the writer outlined evidence of climate change. I don’t disagree that weather patterns are changing. I do believe, and historical data shows, that this is a...
Editorial: The lesson of the ‘Kids for Cash’ judgment
Some debts simply can’t be paid in money. From 2003 to 2008, two Luzerne County judges used children as a commodity. When juveniles appeared before Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, a large number were quickly found to be delinquent and handed over to facilities that made their money through such...
Letter to the editor: Media no longer fair and balanced
Recently, I saw a Gallup poll that only 36% of Americans trust the media. The poll went even further in its breakdown, relating that 68% of Democrats, 11% of Republicans and 31% of independents trust the media “a great deal or a fair amount.” To me that seemed like a...
Letter to the editor: Wasting tax dollars on audits
An “audit” done on the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Ariz., by Cyber Ninjas found an estimated 282 dead people submitted ballots. In its report, the company recommended “the Attorney General further investigate this finding to confirm the validity of their findings.” Arizona’s attorney general, Republican Mark Brnovich, did investigate...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 22
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 22....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 22
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 22....
William Behre: Higher ed must transform to match needs of 21st century
As a university president, I am all too familiar with the headlines and stories that paint a grim future for higher education. The demise of traditional four-year universities. An end to their relevance in a rapidly evolving world. The crumbling of higher education as we know it. In early August,...
Letter to the editor: Vote to make Pa. more welcoming
I am a local physician who has been practicing in Greensburg and Latrobe since 2009. I would like to point out that some of my physician colleagues are not white. Some are not Christian. Some are immigrants. And they are the kindest, most caring and most morally upstanding people you...
Letter to the editor: Oz’s dual citizenship a concern
The fact that Dr. Mehmet Oz is accused of being a wealthy carpetbagger from New Jersey, or the fact that he gets confused about what Pennsylvania grocery store he is in, or the fact that he uses the pretentious French term “crudités” for a simple vegetable tray, does not disqualify...
Letter to the editor: Our voting system works
In response to Debbie Buffer’s letter “Why is voter ID a bad thing?” (Aug. 15, TribLIVE): 1. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. According to Donald Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, 2020 was the most secure election ever, and his statement was supported by all of the recounts in...
Letter to the editor: Leaders must help prevent wrong-way crashes
How many highways must someone drive the wrong way down before we can make PennDOT take a stand? The answer, my friend, is in our legislators’ hands; the answer should be all over this land. On July 25, nearly a dozen people, including eight children, were taken to the hospital...
Letter to the editor: Catchy names don’t help Americans
Amazing how quickly our politicians have learned that it’s not what’s in the many bills they vote on. It’s giving them a catchy name. This automatically sells it to the masses of blind faith followers. Who can vote against the Save the Puppies Bill even if it contains millions to...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: We need leaders who support our laws
For most of my life, politicians in both parties have stood for law and order, and Republicans have been traditionally strong in their support. But while my Republican friends quickly denounced the Jan. 6 violence by the far right, a large group of Republicans chose safe reelection over their party’s...
Nicholas Goldberg: Is there anything Democrats and Republicans won’t fight about?
It’s gotten to the point where even the most obviously nonpartisan issues that Americans ought to be able to address cooperatively and rationally have fallen victim to the country’s culture of extreme political polarization. Hostility has grown so intense, especially on the Republican side, that subjects that should be entirely...
Ellen Jovin: How fighting over grammar can help fix a divided America
Four years ago, I decided I needed to host a pop-up grammar-advice stand. The plan was simple: I’d sit on the streets of New York City and help people with their questions. I ordered a folding table, drew a “Grammar Table” sign and waited for the weather to cool. On...
Letter to the editor: Democratic magicians
Just as many of the great magicians in history, the career politicians of the Democratic Party have become masters of misdirection. The Clintons, Obamas and Bidens have perfected this art. Any time they want to draw attention away from their self-serving and corrupt operations, they drag out Donald Trump. They...
Letter to the editor: Media trying to prevent Trump from running again
It is not social media causing problems with people taking things into their own hands. It is the liberal press; I think they’ve been lying about President Trump, calling him a Russian spy and now accusing him of espionage over nuclear secrets, just to try and prevent him from running...
