Opinion category, Page 435
Vidhur Senthil: Teaching students to care for environment is critical
This year, about 50 million students will attend primary and secondary school in the United States. Every morning, as I and millions of others struggle to get out of bed, asking ourselves whether it’s really necessary to wake up this early, it’s evident that we have no other choice. School...
Letter to the editor: Actions speak louder than words
OK, multiple days of letters to the editor by people complaining about the Westmoreland County commissioners not putting money toward homes for the homeless, mental health facilities, drug treatment facilities, etc. Enough: If you Voice of Westmoreland people feel so strongly about helping people who need those facilities, why don’t...
Letter to the editor: Use ARPA funds to bridge economic divide
The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on access to affordable housing. A 2022 report found that, since the pandemic began, Southwestern Pennsylvania was near the top for rents rising faster than home prices. In Westmoreland County, renting costs $400 a month more than a home mortgage. That $400 represents...
Letter to the editor: Jesus was no socialist
I read with interest the letter “Socialism in line with Christian faith”. An extensive history of socialism was conducted by Igor Shafarevich, a Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and an associate of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn and Shafarevich had a front-row seat to the glory days of socialism. That seat provided them with...
Editorial: Pittsburgh bridge collapse shows infrastructure failings
Pittsburgh is more than a city of steel. It is also the City of Bridges. It has more of them than Venice, Italy — a city that is most easily traveled by boat. Venice has 443 bridges. Pittsburgh had 446. Today it has 445. That last bridge, where Forbes Avenue...
S.E. Cupp: A memo to the covid complainers
Just this past week, covid deaths hit an 11-month high in the United States, surging 11% compared to the previous week. While cases are finally beginning to drop, an average of 2,200 people a day are still dying thanks to the highly contagious omicron variant, bringing total fatalities in our...
Gary Franks: Black babies are nearly 40% of U.S. abortions
Is there something wrong with this picture? Nearly 40% of all abortions in America since Roe v. Wade have been from Black Americans. This equates to more than 20 million Black pregnancies aborted. That would be the equivalent to either the populations of New York or Florida. Yet Black people...
Peter Morici: Republicans need an economic agenda for the midterm elections
Wokeism and progressive overreach helped propel conservative values in the 2021 elections, but cultural issues won’t grip as reliably for Republicans in the midterms. Virginia exit polls indicated the economy was still the most important issue, but state and municipal politicians can do little more than steal jobs from other...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: For some, white is the default position
It does not exactly break your heart to see Mitch McConnell used as a piñata. He is a man of uniquely pious hypocrisy, able to affect moist-eyed sincerity while ruthlessly chopping the legs out from under democracy. Whether it is stealing Supreme Court seats or defending an indefensible president, his...
Rep. Greg Vitali: Pa. budget should fully fund environmental protection
Gov. Tom Wolf’s address to Pennsylvania’s General assembly on Feb. 8 will mark the official opening of negotiations on the commonwealth’s 2022-23 fiscal year budget. Regrettably, this annual budget has shortchanged the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for many years. With a rosy revenue picture for the upcoming fiscal year,...
Letter to the editor: No praise for Democrats’ ‘accomplishments’
My open letter to Congressman (Hope-to-be-Senator) Conor Lamb and Sen. Robert Casey: I have received several of both of your “updates” extolling your perceived legislative accomplishments under the guidance of President Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and you know guys, I’m just not feeling it. What both...
Letter to the editor: History lesson on political parties
Regarding Jim Papke’s letter “Biden should learn history, humility” (Jan. 19, TribLIVE), contending that President Biden should learn the correct history of the Republican and Democratic parties: The first thing one should learn is that the parties have switched stances throughout our history. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were Republicans...
Letter to the editor: Many lack access to commissioners’ meetings
We, the people of Westmoreland, have the absolute right to access our county commissioners when they hold public meetings at the courthouse, without fear of contracting covid-19. As an individual with multiple sclerosis, I am desperately trying to avoid putting myself at risk. Transparency and accountability at these meetings are...
Lori Falce: When to keep your kid home from school
We pay a lot of attention to the shortages of employees at work. The questions arise about what causes the shortages and what exacerbates them during the pandemic. Is it laziness? Is it burnout? Is it the rise and ebb of covid-19 numbers with various variants taking their turn as...
Letter to the editor: Facts about electric cars
What the politicians and car makers aren’t telling you: The maximum distance most electric cars can travel between charges is around 260-300 miles. That’s if your car has permanent magnets made from neodymium oxide in the motor. Guess who controls 90% of the supply of neodymium oxide? China. Mining this...
Letter to the editor: Polarization has replaced unity
I was touring Ireland when foreign terrorists attacked the U.S. on 9/11. So it wasn’t until I returned three weeks later that I really began understanding that event. I recall how proud I was seeing the waving flags and sense of national unity I returned home to. But no more....
Laurels & lances: Partners, verdicts and a voice
Laurel: To assembling assistance. Chris O’Donnell is the state humane officer for Armstrong County. That means she has more than enough on her plate trying to handle cases of abused or neglected animals. But some cases are bigger and more challenging than others — like the St. Patrick’s Day 2021...
Rep. Emily Kinkead: As governor, Shapiro will protect our democracy
Attacks on our democracy are only getting worse, and our next governor must be committed to defending our democracy and protecting our right to vote. On Jan. 5, 2021, I was sworn into my first term in office. It was an awe-inspiring day that I was able to share with...
John Sparks: Supreme Court renders mixed decisions on vaccine mandates
The U. S. Supreme Court has rejected President Joe Biden’s OSHA vaccination overreach for private sector employees, but has upheld the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate for healthcare workers. The decisions are important for their immediate effects. The OSHA-related opinion, NFIB v. Department of Labor, bars the president, through...
Joshua Windham and Daryl James: Get Pa. agents off private land
Hunter Jon Mikesell and his friends thought they were alone when they reserved a clubhouse on private land in rural Pennsylvania for a Fourth of July retreat. But somebody was watching them the whole time. A man dressed in camouflage tracked the group’s activities from a hidden spot in the...
Letter to the editor: Other forms of indoctrination in schools
Reagarding Cheri Blum’s letter “Indoctrination in schools”: If schools aren’t supposed to be used for indoctrination, why do students say the Pledge of Allegiance? And why do Catholics have their own schools? Kris Weinschenker Unity...
Letter to the editor: Volunteers seem to care more than commissioners
Westmoreland County residents should thank Diana Steck, Bob Mason and Michael Pardus for their leadership and advocacy around the American Rescue Plan funds ("Westmoreland County needs a people’s American Rescue Plan," Jan. 9, TribLIVE). For almost a year, these three concerned citizens, alongside the many volunteers at Voice of Westmoreland,...
Editorial: Rallying around missing monkeys and a curious canine
Monkeys on the loose during a pandemic? It was a little too perfect — too deliciously ironic. When the news broke about the Friday crash near Danville, it seemed like just the latest in the never-ending series of jokes about the new and different variety of apocalypses on the horizon....
Letter to the editor: Vaxxed and unvaxxed divisions
We are at a tipping point in this country. Around the world, countries are locking in the unvaccinated and forcing vaccinations on citizens, with some putting the unvaccinated or those with covid in “quarantine camps” for their, and society’s, safety. Here in the United States, we are being divided into...
John Stossel: San Francisco, Sick City
San Francisco’s liberal mayor declared a “state of emergency” to try to deal with the city’s “nasty streets.” How did it get so bad? Journalist Michael Shellenberger’s new book, “San Fransicko,” argues that it happened because of progressive ideas. “The town I love is sick,” says Shellenberger. He came to...
