Opinion category, Page 409
Henry Bial: Best Easter pageant ever? Half a century of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
In the days leading up to Easter Sunday, Christians around the world participate in retellings of the story of the last days of Jesus’ life, from his entry into Jerusalem to the Last Supper and to his trial, crucifixion and resurrection. They may walk the Stations of the Cross, a...
Letter to the editor: Gerrit Cole living the dream
Let me state up front that I don’t begrudge pitcher Gerrit Cole for getting as much money as he can from the New York Yankees, who I’m sure are doing quite well financially. The Yankees are paying Cole $36 million a year. Cole is obviously an excellent starting pitcher. Most...
Letter to the editor: The PSEA needs to be eliminated
After reading the letters “PSEA leadership should be challenged” (April 2, TribLIVE) and “Cyber charter funding reform needed” (April 3, TribLIVE), I felt compelled to write. Why are teachers not making as much money as PSEA employees? You want our teachers to make $200,000-plus? You are out of your ever-loving...
Editorial: Westmoreland County has to answer for hiring decisions
Westmoreland County government has some questions it needs to answer when it comes to hiring. On Wednesday, county commissioners voted to rehire Rich Gordon to run the Regional Youth Services Center. At first glance, this isn’t a big deal. People with a specific skill set are often known to leave...
Letter to the editor: Hate-filled writers need dose of reality
It seems to me that too many letter-writers spew out hatred for someone or for some perceived issue that is usually without merit because of historical or factual inaccuracies. These fallacies replace truth in these writings. Unfortunately, many readers accept what is written without questioning these fallacies or the motives...
Gary Franks: Prepare for the worst and pray it never happens
It is one thing when you have a self-inflicted wound, like the Afghanistan exit. It is quite disappointing when you see a major problem staring at you and getting worse over time before it wounds you, like what to do about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Thus far, we have...
Editorial: Celebrate our different holidays together
Faith is one of the things that defines us as people. Ask any historian, any anthropologist, any archaeologist and how a people worships is always a defining part of a culture. Unfortunately, it can also be a dividing aspect. That is seen in the footprints of war from our earliest...
Colin McNickle: The North Shore Connector at 10
Ten years after the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s North Shore Connector began operations, the mass-transit agency likely will tout the light-rail extension under the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh to the near North Shore as a “success.” After all, and according to official federal accounting, it’s moving thousands of...
Reps. Mike Puskaric and Frank Burns: Energy freedom in Pa. would help support our European allies
As the Ukrainian people fiercely defend their nation and fight for their freedom, Pennsylvanians are eager to do what they can to weaken Russia and help Ukraine’s freedom fight. To be sure, Pennsylvania has already taken important steps to help Ukraine in this fight — pulling Russian-made products from the...
Harriet Ellenberger: What’s a woman?
I can honestly say I was not particularly surprised by the question Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., posed to Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson at her confirmation hearing: “Can you provide a definition of the word ‘woman’?” I am not perplexed because it is obvious to me certain members of...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: After Texas abortion arrest — who’s next?
Last week, Texas gave us a glimpse of the future. It was not pretty. It seems that on April 7, a 26-year-old woman was arrested and charged with murder. Specifically, according to a statement from the Sheriff’s Department in tiny Starr County on the Mexican border, Lizelle Herrera “intentionally and...
Letter to the editor: Thriving on blame and prejudice
In 1930, blame for problems was cast upon recent European immigrants. “They are ruining our country.” Today, similar hatred is turned upon people with dark skin. Now, “they” are ruining our country. “They” are taking our jobs. The kitchen table has been replaced with the internet. The prejudice is the...
Letter to the editor: Pray for, fly flag in support of, Ukraine
As Easter approaches, let’s all pray for Ukraine. That’s all there is left to do to end this war. Pray for no World War III. No one will win. Fly your flag in support of Ukraine, too. Wendy Miller Harrison...
Letter to the editor: Mail-in balloting should be here to stay in Pa.
Other states have been using legal mail-in ballots for decades. It allows more registered voters more time to research/compare the candidates and to vote without taking time away from professional or family duties. A majority of Republican Pennsylvania state legislators introduced and enacted mail-in ballot legislation in the fall of...
Lori Falce: The blessing of quiet prayer
When I was a kid, we didn’t have Good Friday off. We spent it as we spent the Friday afternoons of Lent leading up to it — in church, following along as the Stations of the Cross walked us through the milestones of the Easter story. There was no question...
Letter to the editor: Biden failing us on the border
Has President Biden fallen asleep? Does he not realize that he is failing the American people regarding the border? Our government calls for hearings for Supreme Court nominees, and hearings regarding gas companies reaping profits, so why not call for the president of the United States to appear at a...
Paul Kengor: Since when are GOATS the greatest?
One of the weirdest things to hit the sports and pop-culture lexicon is this strange acronym GOAT. It’s a real headscratcher. Frankly, it’s dumb, and it needs to go away. You probably know what I’m talking about, given the sad saturation of social media. This GOAT thing stands for Greatest...
Laurels & lances: Clean woods, dirty mouths
Laurel: To cleaning up. Boy Scouts learn a lot about how to interact with the environment. One of their top priorities is to “leave no trace.” But when Troop 284 of Irwin spent some time in a wooded area of North Huntingdon, it was obvious they had been there —...
William Haupt III: Biden hides border moves behind Russia-Ukraine crisis
“The best way to conceal the truth is to hide it behind something of less significance.” – Confucius In 2008 during the Great Recession, Barack Obama hammered an $800 billion stimulus bill though Congress. Those who actually read it found it was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It had little...
Letter to the editor: Why the green energy rush?
I don’t understand this headlong rush into green energy even before the country has the ability to manufacture components of renewable energy. Nine of 10 of the largest makers of solar panels and six of 10 of the largest windmill makers in the world are Chinese. Europe has three of...
Letter to the editor: Residents not to blame for poor housing conditions
I believe the Westmoreland County Housing Authority continues to blame residents of subsidized housing for deteriorating facilities while sweeping growing complaints under the rug. Issues reported include accessible elevators that do not work, mold, poor water and sewage systems, bug infestations, old, malfunctioning appliances and broken HVAC systems that can...
Letter to the editor: Take a stand for freedom
Regarding Kathleen Bollinger’s letter “Let Ukraine, Russia duke it out”: In 1992, Ukraine signed the Lisbon Protocol, part of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Ukraine (along with Belarus and Kazakhstan) agreed to give up the Soviet-era nuclear weapons on its territory, making them a threat to no...
Jonah Goldberg: France’s election shows how political parties can fade away
Perhaps the most interesting thing about last weekend’s French election isn’t who won, but who lost — and what it might mean for America. French President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party won enough of the vote — 27.8% and 23.2% respectively — to head...
Christopher Redding, Allison Gilmour, Elizabeth Bettini and Tuan Nguyen: Why most teachers won’t leave the profession
Every spring, school and district leaders ask teachers about their plans to return to teaching in the fall. They need to know how many teachers to begin recruiting for the next school year. These career conversations are currently taking place under the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the covid-19 pandemic....
Eric Pauley: Mismanaged cloud services put user data at risk
Organizations’ failure to properly manage the servers they lease from cloud service providers can allow attackers to receive private data, research my colleagues and I conducted has shown. Cloud computing allows businesses to lease servers the same way they lease office space. It’s easier for companies to build and maintain...
