Opinion category, Page 418
Letter to the editor: ‘Nones’ don’t know what they’re missing
A December 2021 Newsweek article states “The number of Americans who do not affiliate themselves with religion is growing.” A Pew Research Center survey found that “nones” (Americans who do not identify as having any religious affiliations) make up about 29% of U.S. adults, up from 23% in 2016 and...
Letter to the editor: Book bans show that parents are concerned
The article “Hempfield is latest district to face book ban challenge” leads the reader to a conclusion that book challenges are wrong. The article states that 330 challenges were made in the last three months of 2021 compared with 156 in 2020, according to the American Library Association. What does...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Like Truman, Zelenskyy a true leader
“Cometh the hour, cometh the man.” No one is sure who first said that, but there is no mistaking what it means lately. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former comedian and television personality, has astonished the world with his ability to lead and unite his people in the face of...
Counterpoint: What comes after Roe?
Roe v. Wade didn’t create abortion, and overturning it won’t stop abortions. In fact, the procedure was practiced regularly — and safely — in America before the country even existed. But Roe isn’t about abortion. It’s also not about religion, morality or saving lives. Plainly, it’s about controlling women. You...
Point: If Roe is overturned, children, women and science will be respected once again
After decades of working to protect children from abortion, pro-lifers have successfully advanced legislation that challenges the bogus legal holding of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in our country. The challenge comes from a 2018 Mississippi law protecting babies in the womb starting at 15...
Sounding off: Biden must open access to American energy
In his State of the Union speech, President Biden promised to fight inflation. One of the biggest contributors to inflation is rising energy costs. The cost of gas, heating oil, electricity, etc., affects every aspect of our society. The price of food, consumer goods, transporting products and just about everything...
Letter to the editor: It shouldn’t be so hard to find a meal in Tarentum
We had a terrific weekend in the Tarentum business district March 5-6 as people, many from out of state, visited the Depression Glass and Pottery Show at the Quality Inn in New Kensington. Some were artists who were visiting the new exhibit at the Manos Gallery. Others were motorcycle enthusiasts...
Editorial: Amazon withdrawal leaves new challenge for Churchill
OK, Churchill, now what? On Thursday, Amazon announced it won’t use the former George Westinghouse Research and Technology Park as a new warehouse and distribution facility. It was an anticipated $300 million investment that brought about passionate debate from locals. Churchill council approved the project — expected to generate up...
Letter to the editor: Ukrainians should stay course, not surrender
Perhaps we should all be glad that letter-writer Bruce Reisner (“Non- intervention may be best for peace”) is not being considered for any serious positions involving defensive strategy. At least, let’s hope not. His advice to the defiant and courageous Ukrainians battling to stave off an unprovoked Russian invasion is...
Letter to the editor: Comparing Zelenskyy, Biden
In May 2019 I was fortunate to tour the War Rooms of Winston Churchill in Westminster. I’d seen the movie “Darkest Hour,” and being there brought home the hopelessness of their plight. Europe had fallen, and the U.K. was under siege. Today resembles, too closely, what happened there over 80...
S.E. Cupp: Herschel Walker is very gifted, and very scary — take him seriously
He had the audience enraptured. The crowd of evangelicals at Sugar Hill Church in Georgia last weekend hung on his every word. He spoke softly and with a smile, telling his personal story of finding the Lord and loving Jesus. He wove in parables and allegories that seemed both spontaneous...
Gary Franks: Ukraine is down but not out
In 1991, former President George H.W. Bush gave me and every member of the 102nd Congress a major decision to make: Should the U.S. use force to remove Iraqi troops who invaded neighboring Kuwait? The majority voted “yes,” and the operation was successful. I am sure Bush is rolling over...
Colin McNickle: Challenges ahead for Pittsburgh International
As if the challenges wrought by weak population and anemic economic growth and the coronavirus pandemic have not been enough for Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), now comes the reality of inflation and the specter of international hostilities. “The war in Ukraine and its impact on fuel costs and the economy...
Brad Simpson: Sunshine on government keeps you informed
A new Pennsylvania law protects your right to be informed about what issues government officials plan to deliberate or act upon at public meetings. That means you get a heads up that township supervisors might OK a cellphone tower behind your house. Or that the county could raise your taxes....
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Kinzinger’s apology too little too late?
So, what shall we make of Rep. Kinzinger’s apology? Adam Kinzinger, Republican from Illinois, took to Twitter last Friday with a remarkable statement of contrition for failing to hold the last president accountable. He wrote that his “biggest regret” was his decision to vote against Donald Trump’s first impeachment. “The...
Letter to the editor: We’re not that gullible, Mr. President
How gullible does President Biden think the American people are? He campaigned to shut down all fossil-fuel production on federal lands and to close down the Keystone XL pipeline. I believe he is in the pocket of the far-left climate-change progressives. His first day in office, he fulfilled his promises,...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s role in energy issues
Clarifying some information on President Biden, energy and the Keystone XL pipeline that was included in recent letters: There is a renewed push to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline as if it would solve all energy issues. This pipeline already takes Canada tar sands crude to refineries in Oklahoma. The...
Lori Falce: Would you kill Baby Hitler?
It’s the kind question that has been around forever. It’s the college coffeehouse brainstorming or the debate you have at the bar after a few drinks. It is the plot of movies and television shows and the books we read at the beach. It jump starts philosophy essays and thought...
Letter to the editor: Gas tax and bridge tolls
Two items in the March 11 print edition pushed me to write. The first was the article “PennDOT picks builders for bridge-tolling project work” and the second was the political cartoon showing Gov. Tom Wolf talking with the GOP about suspending the gas tax. Let me first discuss the gas...
Paul Kengor: Why didn’t Putin do this under Trump?
Trump supporters are pounding their chests over what they believe is a rhetorical question: Why didn’t Vladimir Putin do what he’s doing in Ukraine when Donald Trump was president? It’s a fair question that fair-minded liberals ought to ask. In fact, one of them, Bill Maher, raised it: “If Putin...
Laurels & lances: Cooperating, contaminating, and carrying on
Laurel: To joining forces. Pennsylvania is peppered with lots of municipalities, overlapping with counties and school districts and authorities that all have their own little fiefdoms. The Keystone State is third in the nation when it comes to various local government divisions, with the U.S. Census Bureau putting only Illinois...
Paula Knudsen Burke: Sun is shining on Pa. government
Happy Sunshine Week! Wait. What? Last month Punxsutawney Phil emerged and declared six more weeks of winter, so we’re not talking about the weather. Sunshine Week is a annual celebration — this year March 13-19 — aimed at promoting open government. The annual observance was launched in 2005 by the...
Mark Hendrickson: Economic ramifications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
As the world recoils in dismay and disgust at Russian aggression and grieves for the horrific suffering of the Ukrainian people, many Americans are just beginning to grasp the economic ramifications of this violence. After the devastation of two world wars in the first half of the 20th century, most...
Letter to the editor: Who really knows who was counted in census?
The article “Census undercount may lead to funding shortfalls, Western Pa. leaders warn” (March 12, TribLIVE) doesn’t explain how anyone knows — or can know — what wasn’t counted. If you can’t count it, how can you assign it a number? No evidence was offered to back up this claim....
Letter to the editor: Mean tweets are nothing compared to Biden’s actions
On Jan. 20, 2021, President Biden swore the presidential oath of office that he would “to the best of his ability” preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. To me, protecting and defending means the citizens of the United States while acting in their best interests. In...
