Opinion category, Page 434
Letter to the editor: All should have skin in Ukraine war game
Let’s ensure that all Americans, including politicians and their families, have “skin in the game” before committing combat troops to defending Ukraine. Here’s how: 1. Enforce the War Powers Act, so the military commitment decision includes Congress, not just President Biden. Authorization must include measurable criteria for success and for...
Editorial: Keystone State built on bridges
So what happened to the Fern Hollow Bridge? While most people might not necessarily know the name of the bridge that transported traffic through Frick Park, it gained national attention when it broke apart Friday and plummeted into the ravine below. The timing of the collapse, just hours before a...
Letter to the editor: New Republican leaders needed
As a Pennsylvania Republican, I find myself with questions I’m struggling to answer. On Nov. 13, 2020, a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency-led group, including its director, Christopher Krebs, issued a statement calling the Nov. 3 election “the most secure in American history.” On Nov. 30, 2020, Attorney General William...
Letter to the editor: Reality check on animal research
Regarding the article “Pennsylvania monkey truck crash spawns conspiracy theories after woman at scene falls ill” (Jan. 25, TribLIVE): The recent truck crash in Pennsylvania, which sadly resulted in the deaths of three research monkeys, has naturally received widespread media attention. It’s also unsurprising those opposed to animal research —...
Tom Purcell: Thin Mints should be our next government ban
The federal government should ban them. Girl Scout cookie season is upon us, my friends — the most agonizing of all the seasons. Dieters with ever-worsening health like me who need to lose weight are always at the mercy of those devilish treats — as Thin Mints clearly are as...
Bernie O’Neill and Eugene DePasquale: Legislative action on charter reform is long overdue
Our roles as former elected officials from both of the major political parties have given us unique perspectives into not only Pennsylvania’s political process, but also its public education system, particularly charter schools. Charter schools in the state have grown tremendously in the 24-plus years in which they have existed....
Letter to the editor: Unemployment mess
What is going on with the unemployment mess? People are waiting months and months for their unemployment, and nothing is coming. Some call their congressmen, and they promise to look into the mess, and still nothing is happening. Some people are told that someone has stolen their identify, but it...
Letter to the editor: Democrats’ Ponzi schemes
According to letter-writer Kenneth Powell, the Democrats gave me Social Security and Medicare (“Most of our benefits come from Democratic leaders,” Jan. 19, TribLIVE). I say the Democrats gave me nothing but Ponzi schemes that will soon run out of money without a rescue plan. I paid into Social Security...
Letter to the editor: Too many men ‘don’t get it’
Andrew Yang has started a new third political party, the Forward Party. He sent me an email titled “American Men,” in which he cites many statistics and studies that convince me that boys and men have indeed fallen behind girls and women in many ways. He writes “I’ve long felt...
Editorial: Nursing shortage can use rescue plan funds
A shortage of nursing care is the kind of problem everyone can notice and everyone agrees needs to be addressed. It’s not, however, the kind of thing where the answer is readily apparent. See a fire, grab a hose. The solution is literally as simple as water. But the nursing...
Letter to the editor: Allegheny County’s discredited newcomer tax scheme
“I’m from Allegheny County government, and you can trust me.” This is what we expect when we pay our property taxes. The Pennsylvania Constitution mandates uniformity in the way tax bills are divvied out. Assessed values haven’t changed in 10 years. County leaders say they could remain frozen for another...
Letter to the editor: Republicans have their own version of ‘cancel culture’
Why is it that Republicans scream “cancel culture,” but the minute they don’t agree with something, that something needs to be silenced? Letter-writers Lou Hoetzlein (“S.E. Cupp not credible,” Jan. 21, TribLIVE) and Frances Olyarnik (“Why run S.E. Cupp’s bitter diatribes,” Dec. 20, TribLIVE) don’t agree with columnist S. E....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 31
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 31....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 31
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 31....
Mona Charen: Everybody’s getting CRT wrong — except most Americans
In 2020, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., included so-called whiteness traits in its “Talking About Race” online portal. The museum advised that traits like “hard work” and “objective thinking” were vestiges of “whiteness.” When this created a stir, the museum (which is fantastic, by the way) removed the online...
Letter to the editor: The ‘other team’ is not the enemy
Welcome to 2022: We have a national midterm election this year, which I fear will include lots of partisan fighting. Please remember that the other team is not the enemy; they simply see things differently than you. Shawn Mason Trafford...
Letter to the editor: Cops under the microscope
How would you like a job where when you made a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo? That’s a quote from Jacques Plante, goalie of yore for the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, it’s like that for today’s cops, who are being scrutinized on the way they...
Letter to the editor: Casinos shouldn’t cater to smokers
Regarding the article “Pennsylvania casinos not ready to cut smoking from gambling experience” (Jan. 3, TribLIVE): I’m from Greensburg, and when I left, it was a smoking city. I’m a nonsmoker (actually no bad habits). There are 24 states that outlaw smoking (an addictive habit) in their casinos. A lot...
Letter to the editor: Reducing violence, starting with schools
This is in response to your editorial “Truth is kids need to be safe from gun violence”. The truth is kids need to be safe from all violence, and schools should use education to try to make it so. We should be using schools to reduce violence throughout life with...
Editorial: Logical failings with Act 77 challenge, court ruling
On Friday, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court narrowly decided that voting by mail without being sick or working isn’t how things should be done. It isn’t just not legal, the court decided. It’s unconstitutional. The five-judge panel that came to that decision split along party lines — three Republicans to two Democrats....
Letter to the editor: Just say no to plastic bags and straws
Here’s why I am happy to refuse plastic bags and straws: I know that I am not responsible for the beached whale that died with its stomach full of plastic trash. I know that the pain of the sea turtle with a plastic straw caught in its nose was not...
Colin McNickle: Christina Cassotis’ big payday
It has become an annual rite of critical review: Questioning the repeated, dubious and massive annual pay raises and bonuses for Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis. This year is no exception. Earlier this month, the Airport Authority’s board of directors yet again did what it does worst —...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Oz is fun, but the Republic must come first
When Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is seeking the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race, made a campaign appearance in Westmoreland County last week, it had all the excitement of a celebrity event, with Oz supporters jockeying for selfies with the star-politician. Known as Dr. Oz on his television show,...
Sounding off: Biden hasn’t kept word on covid
Letter-writer Dale Vukovich (“Vaccines and gas prices”) must have missed President Biden, Vice President Harris and many of their Democratic friends last October saying they wouldn’t “trust or take the vaccine that was developed under Trump.” He must have missed Biden during the second presidential debate saying that “anyone who...
Rebecca Saltzman: Covid does harm children, in the short and long term
Our lives changed with a headache. I checked my 10-year-old son Gus’ forehead and found it burning. It was the week before Halloween 2021, and the FDA had not yet approved vaccines for children his age. We had been living with the pandemic for a year and a half by...
