Opinion category, Page 423
Letter to the editor: Reality lesson for Trump and followers
Attention, Donald Trump and your band of followers: time for a lesson in reality. Reality is defined as fact, truth and authenticity. Unfortunately, there has been a loss of touch with reality, with people living in an altered world filled with misconceptions and misinterpretation. Embedded in their misguided thinking is...
Editorial: The balancing act between regulation and condemnation
Allegheny County Health Department levied $859,000 in fines against U.S. Steel this week, citing 2021 violations at the Clairton Coke Works. It isn’t the largest fine the department has hung on the company. In 2019, the company was tagged with a $2.7 million fine. It is, however, significantly larger than...
Letter to the editor: Confusion and inflation from Democrats
Joe Biden looked us in the eye through his aviator sunglasses and said: “I’m gonna raise your taxes.” Inflation is at a 40-year high. Inflation is a tax. Groceries that cost $35 last year now cost $75, and a barrel of gasoline that cost $60 last year now costs $100....
S.E. Cupp: How Biden cleverly claimed Republican terrain
President Biden, a long-time presidential hopeful, has waited decades to give a State of the Union address, and by all accounts it went off without a hitch Tuesday night. There were history-making moments, and many others that were jarring, disorienting and downright surreal. Here we are, in 2022, in the...
Gary Franks: Using banks to stop the tanks — will it work?
President Biden, I had hit the reset button after the exit debacle in Afghanistan. This was a rookie mistake from a near 80-year-old, even if you still do not see it that way. I also hit the reset button on your statements not matching the facts — “I will not...
Presley Gillespie and Bruce Katz: ARP money should go where it’s needed most
The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden March 11, represents a critical commitment to rebuilding the communities harmed by the covid-19 pandemic and is an unprecedented investment in our economy. The $1.9 trillion in federal dollars can be used for purposes as wide ranging as...
Michael Szanto: Russia remains a formidable nuclear threat, even to the U.S.
As is now clearer than ever, the greatest military threat to the United States and its allies in the near future is Russia. Many in the West have long lulled themselves into believing that Russian nuclear weapons somehow do not matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Does Ukraine have courage enough to be a country worth fighting for?
This was going to be a song of praise. Instead, it will be a groan of frustration. In other words, it was going to be a column heralding the titanic courage of Ukraine in the face of Russian attack, the acts of defiance that have endeared that nation to the...
Letter to the editor: If CRT is invalid, so is the Bible
Critics say critical race theory teaches that Americans are guilty of racism and responsible for past American racism and must make amends. Yet, the same critics subscribe to a religion that is premised on the very same beliefs when they teach biblical original sin and that the sins of the...
Letter to the editor: Racism exists mostly in media, academia, politics
After reading Jonah Goldberg’s column “In GOP embrace of truckers, some see racist double standard” (Feb. 18, TribLIVE) and then watching a Black man on social media preach against critical race theory, I have come to the conclusion that the Black man was correct when he stated that the only...
Lori Falce: Kanye West and the dangers of ignoring mental health
I am somehow confident that if I decided to make repeated veiled and not-so-veiled threats against an ex’s new love interest, I would receive a visit from law enforcement. This would be especially likely if those threats were on my social media accounts with just a thousand or so followers...
Letter to the editor: Selfish people threaten us all
I feel sad that there are people like letter-writer Cindy Wallace (“Losing our freedoms,” March 3, TribLIVE), who are unwilling to endure even the most minor inconvenience of masks and vaccinations while other people are dying of covid. Wallace says “only God can control the pandemic.” God controls pandemics by...
Paul Kengor: How much does Putin want?
“The collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” So declared Russian President Vladimir Putin in April 2005 in his annual state of the nation address to the Russian parliament, broadcast live on Russian television. That bombshell was dropped without any elaboration. “Putin deplores collapse...
C. Daniel Hassell: Wolf’s strong fiscal management has us poised to deliver for Pa.
It was only two years ago this month that the covid-19 pandemic first reached Pennsylvania and dropped a hammer on the financial health of our commonwealth. By the summer of 2020, what had been a modest surplus of General Fund revenue in February plummeted to become a loss of $3.2...
Laurels & lances: Crises, craters and charity
Laurel: To answering the call. Mental health care is important, and when people reach out, someone needs to be there to offer a helping hand. That is becoming easier as Westmoreland County adds a mobile crisis unit with a $372,000 grant. The addition will come as the new “988” phone...
Dennis Unkovic: Russia breaks yet another link in the supply chain
Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, along with the immediate tragic consequences and diplomatic crises it is creating, will have long-lasting ripple effects, including further disruptions of the global supply chain. Indeed, if the lessening of the pandemic recently suggested signs of hope, we should now expect things to get worse...
Letter to the editor: Biden should sanction Russia like he ‘sanctions’ U.S.
If President Biden had imposed sanctions on Russia as severe as he has imposed on his own country, Russia would be on its knees already. Just like us. Kenneth Minyon Saxonburg...
Letter to the editor: Road conditions embarrassing
I am a retired PennDOT employee and embarrassed by what I see happening to our roads’ safety and repairs. On Route 981 south of Latrobe, it is appalling to see the so-called “dip” repair and re-repair by what I am assuming is done by our District 12 maintenance crew. Also,...
Letter to the editor: Losing our freedoms
Thank you, John Gregory Parks, for your letter “Vaxxed and unvaxxed divisions” (Jan. 27, TribLIVE). I’ve been saying for two years that we’re losing our freedom due to the dictators of government instilling such fear over something only God can control. Why are we the people allowing elected politicians to...
Letter to the editor: In praise of Norwin’s curriculum
As a former member of the Norwin School Board, it is very distressing to me to see the education of our students being challenged. An unbiased education of current events gives them the freedom to make informed decisions. This curriculum at Norwin has been ongoing for years, and it has...
Editorial: Keep focus on steel promise from State of the Union
You can’t focus on infrastructure without mentioning steel. Build a bridge or dam, and you’re using steel. Build a school or hospital, and it’s part of the process. There is steel in roadways and railroads, ambulances and firetrucks. Steel is the skeleton that supports the body of the nation. So...
John Stossel: My dream State of the Union
President Biden just gave his State of the Union Address. Here’s what I wish Biden said: “Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine reminds us why it’s crucial that America’s military remains strong, and focused on defense, not distractions like gender equity. “I stand with the people of Ukraine, and I will...
Eric Barron: University innovation, investment keys to Pa. growth
Within the current state budget cycle, governors across the country are investing more heavily in higher education. This is encouraging to those of us who firmly believe that colleges and universities have the power to elevate individuals, as well as society overall. Progress is born from innovative ideas, diverse perspectives...
Jonah Goldberg: Putin has forced the West to change how it views its role in the world
In “The Sun Also Rises,” Ernest Hemingway famously answered the question “How did you go bankrupt?” “Two ways. … Gradually, then suddenly.” The last week suggests that getting out of bankruptcy works the same way. It’s difficult to exaggerate the suddenness and significance of the change in attitudes — and...
Letter to the editor: AV sewage plant cost overruns concerning
I am writing to express my concerns regarding the cost overruns for the expansion of the Allegheny Valley Joint Sewage Authority plant (“Harmar sees 47% sewage fee hike as cost of new treatment plant soars,” Feb. 18, TribLIVE). Where is the accountability for the near 200% increase in the cost...
