Opinion category, Page 375
Nicholas Goldberg: Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?
Watching the Jan. 6 committee hearings, one could be forgiven for believing we’re living in the heyday of conspiracy theories, between the Holocaust denialism of the Oath Keepers, the loony pedophilia fears of the QAnoners and the “Stop the Steal” ravings of Sidney Powell, Rudolph W. Giuliani and former President...
Hayley Brown and Katie Barrows: Nonprofits need unions, too
A progressive boss is still a boss. Yet for decades, senior leadership at left-leaning organizations have been excused from providing their staff with living wages, good benefits and inclusive work environments, in part because employees themselves feared holding bosses accountable for their hypocrisy could hurt the cause. But, in recent...
D. Brian Blank: Is the U.S. in a recession? Well, that depends on whom you ask — and what measure they use
The U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate 0.9% from April through June, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated on July 28, 2022. It follows a contraction in gross domestic product of 1.6% recorded in the first quarter of the year. Some observers suggest the two quarters of contraction constitute...
Letter to the editor: Liz Cheney won’t get reelected
I sincerely hope Liz Cheney enjoys her future job as the third-shift fry cook at a busy truck stop on I-80, ’cause she ain’t getting reelected! Maria Maliszewski Brackenridge...
Sounding off: Gun safety, Roe v. Wade, Trump, Mastriano, gas prices
Gun safety shouldn’t be a partisan issue Many Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers seem to care more about appeasing a minority of their base than protecting their own constituents’ lives. Republicans have persistently blocked and obstructed any legislation or even debate on gun safety bills in Harrisburg. Afraid of a small but...
Letter to the editor: All kinds of energy allow us to live our lives
There are plenty of both facts and “fake facts” out there about our energy situation. Facts don’t seem to matter much to some people. Green energy is anything that Mother Nature makes available to us if we take the initiative to seek and use it. We have used oil and...
Editorial: U.S. should work to bring Oakmont’s Fogel home from Russia, too
When WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia in February for possession of marijuana vape cartridges, everyone sat up and paid attention. Maybe it was that she was famous. Maybe it was how the 6-foot-9 Griner towers over the guards she is shown alongside. It most likely was how...
Letter to the editor: Women, welcome to your new job
Hello new hires! Welcome to your new job! Here, you’ll be able to enjoy all the freedom you can muster after working and commuting all day! Be sure to arrive by 8 a.m., even though your kids catch the bus at 8:30. You’ll figure it out! Lunch is unpaid, even...
Letter to the editor: How can our society support slaughter of abortion?
The article “‘Tidal wave’: Pittsburgh abortion clinics see influx of out-of-state patients” (July 8, TribLIVE) features an apparent abortionist at a “clinic” (a questionable use of the word, considering what they do) in East Liberty that has seen a threefold increase in demand for abortions. Another article describes how “impassioned”...
S.E. Cupp: Republicans have a huge women problem
Does the name Todd Akin ring a bell? For conservatives who remember the 2012 presidential election all too well, it induces a kind of political PTSD. Akin, the Republican nominee favored to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri, sent shock waves through the GOP when he said, in defense...
Cal Thomas: To ID or not to ID?
During recent election seasons there has been a debate over whether a voter must present an identification card to cast a ballot and if so, what type? Congressional Democrats are considering legislation that would provide secure identification cards, not to U.S. citizens for the purpose of voting, but to those...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: The rule of law could use a win
Dear Attorney General Merrick Garland: You are doubtless familiar with the old adage that, “The wheels of justice may grind slow, but they grind exceedingly fine.” As we watch your Justice Department’s ongoing investigation of the criminal conspiracy that was the Trump White House, many of us can readily vouch...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s actions on pipelines have no effect on gas prices
I wish more people would educate themselves before making false comments on subjects that they have obviously not researched. President Biden did not shut down any pipelines. What he did was stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which was the Phase IV part of the current operational Keystone...
Letter to the editor: Stop legislators’ power grab
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is among the largest, most expensive legislative bodies in the country. At the same time, it is one of the least effective in passing bills favored by its citizens. Now it wants to bypass the democratic process altogether with amendments to the state Constitution. They submit...
Lori Falce: Where does Thompson really stand on gay marriage?
Politicians are notorious for the slippery ways in which they can avoid taking a firm position on some issues, freeing up just enough wiggle room to allow them to court votes on both sides. Sure, there are the sometimes rigid positions that are taken on polarizing issues such as guns...
Letter to the editor: Why gas prices are high
Why are gasoline prices high? There’s plenty of crude oil. The essential problem is that the world, and the United States in particular, lacks refining capacity for gasoline. There has not been a major refinery built in the United States since 1977, and there are no plans to build new...
Letter to the editor: Biden and the brain trust
The presidency was finagled by the combined efforts of corporate America, academia/big tech and the media. This nefarious trio formed a national version of filmdom’s Three Stooges — Corporate Curly, Laboratory Larry and Media Moe, the bulwark of President Biden’s Build Back Better brain trust. Their zany antics torpedoed President...
Laurels & lances: Grants and punishment
Laurel: To healthy commitment. The Highmark Foundation is putting its money where its mission is by pouring funding into schools to support health and fitness programs. Across Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 81 schools are sharing in a $454,400 pool from the foundation’s School Grants and Awards program. In the Tribune-Review’s...
Colin McNickle: State, counties lack will to restore assessments fairness
The General Assembly’s steadfast refusal to mandate that every Pennsylvania county conduct regular property reassessments for tax purposes is patently unconstitutional, reiterates a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The Pennsylvania Legislature has known of the property tax problem for a long time,” says Jake Haulk, president-emeritus...
Greg Fulton: Campaign promises easy to make, harder to keep
It’s an election year and again Western Pennsylvania voters will be hearing various promises from candidates running for office. In recent years candidates have focused on how to retool the local economy for the 21st century, bring better paying and longer-term jobs to the region, and improve opportunities for local...
Letter to the editor: Responsible, effective laws keep us safe
Letter-writer Mike Rock (“Fully automatic weapons not legal,” July 9, TribLIVE) stated that my letter “We need lifesaving gun laws” (June 28, TribLIVE) is full of untruths. I reread the letter several times looking for untruths and could find none, just possibly that I used the wrong terminology. My information...
Letter to the editor: Mastriano’s dangerous plans for Pa.
William Penn, the founder of our commonwealth, was an advocate for religious and personal freedom for all people who came to live here. As opposed to Doug Mastriano, the current Republican candidate for governor, whose inflammatory comments have appeared in newspapers all over the state, including his promise to overturn...
Editorial: Steelers camp or Trump rally? Westmoreland security decisions are inconsistent
Consistency might be the hobgoblin of little minds, but it is important when it comes to government. We need our laws to be consistent so people obey them. If speeding isn’t illegal for everyone, why would anyone obey the speed limit? Embezzlement, shoplifting, fraud — prosecution shouldn’t be a matter...
Letter to the editor: Roe v. Wade uproar ridiculous
All this crying and uproar about Roe v. Wade is ridiculous. No. 1: Why should the rest of the country be dealing with the personal problems of anyone? No. 2: Women, if in fact you don’t want to become pregnant to begin with, there are many things you can do...
Jonah Goldberg: Was last week the beginning of the end for Trump?
“It’s not like in the movies,” is good advice for almost any field or endeavor, from war to Wall Street. But perhaps nowhere is it more true than in politics. At the end of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” Claude Raines admits he was the villain all along. Lonesome Rhodes,...
