Opinion category, Page 477
Letter to the editor: Health secretary, not school boards, should be making mask rulings
State law provides school boards authority to make reasonable and necessary rules governing students in school. Using this authority, many schools choose to keep masks optional. Gov. Tom Wolf disagreed with the rules made by most school boards and had his health secretary issue an order requiring masks. This order...
Editorial: A commissioner’s 60% promise should be paid in full
Campaign promises can be an oxymoron. They are something that a candidate swears he or she will do while shaking hands and making speeches, stumping for the job. Campaign promises are as famous for being broken as they are for being made. That doesn’t make it any less disappointing when...
Letter to the editor: Comparing presidents’ honor of fallen soldiers
It was a damp, dark night on the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base on Feb. 11, 2020. President Trump, along with his vice president, had scurried away from a raucous campaign rally in New Hampshire to make a last-minute flight to the air base. The president wanted to be...
Pat Buchanan: Who and what is tearing the U.S. apart?
In Shanksville on Saturday, former President George W. Bush’s theme was national unity — and how it has been lost over these past 20 years. “In the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks,” said Bush, “I was proud to lead an amazing, resilient, united people. When it comes to...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: America has always run from the truth of itself
Robert E. Lee has retreated from Richmond. Again. The first time, you will recall, was in April of 1865, when he and his tattered army abandoned the city, fleeing east before finally surrendering at Appomattox Courthouse to federal forces commanded by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. This latest — and, one...
Chuck Cooper III and Sean Gibson: Making equity and education a mission
When we established foundations in honor of Chuck Cooper, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and the first African American drafted into the National Basketball Association, and Josh Gibson, catcher for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays and the second Negro Leagues player to be inducted into the National Baseball...
Letter to the editor: What’s happened since Biden took office
On Jan. 20 of this year, a new president took office. I have noticed that gas prices are soaring, illegal immigrants are somehow entering our country in record numbers (illegal is not legal), and nobody wants to work for a living while collecting free money and benefits from our government...
Letter to the editor: What’s a living wage?
The editorial “PNC Bank shows how market forces drive minimum-wage growth” (Sept. 1, TribLIVE) raises some questions: What number is considered a “living wage”? Is a living wage for a family of four to be more than that of a single person? Are fast-food workers entitled to the same wage...
Editorial: State waivers let Pa. health care function in the pandemic
A worker shortage in the pandemic economy has been troubling employers for months. But if you think scaled-back hours at your favorite pizza shop are difficult to handle, try staffing a long-term care home without enough nursing assistants. A short-staffed restaurant can cause irate customers. Not enough nurses for the...
Letter to the editor: Suppressing our votes
In 2019, landmark bipartisan voting reforms became law in Pennsylvania, including “no excuse” mail-in voting: a rare instance of giving the people what they wanted. The measure was timely as a pandemic overtook the commonwealth and the nation the following year, impacting the ability of individuals to vote safely in...
Tom Purcell: Save water, shower with a bureaucrat?
If you’re like me, you enjoy few things more than a long, hot shower. Nothing loosens the muscles or washes your worries away better than gradually turning up the hot knob until you’re red as a boiled lobster. Unfortunately, the Biden administration intends to reenact a federal regulation that will...
Tina Doose: A modern Civilian Conservation Corps could transform Pa., beyond
Braddock has never recovered from deindustrialization, a phenomena that led to mass blight, unemployment and the drug epidemic. In addition, we have been targeted by large companies for our rail, river and road access without much thought or consideration for the long-lasting and life-changing effects such industries would have on...
Letter to the editor: Why didn’t we kill the Taliban?
I agree with the letter-writer Howard Schmitt (“Lots of blame for Afghanistan,” Aug. 31, TribLIVE) that there is a lot of blame to go around for the debacle in Afghanistan, starting with the invasion by Russia in 1979. My question is: Why didn’t we kill the Taliban? We had 20...
Letter to the editor: Scooter plan has some flaws
Spin, an enterprise that makes motorized scooters available for rent to those who do not have cars or choose not to use them, is delighted with the early returns in its Pittsburgh program (“Taking a spin in Pittsburgh on an e-scooter,” Aug. 29, TribLIVE). One of Spin’s chief goals is...
Letter to the editor: First hydroxychloroquine, now ivermectin
First, it was hydroxychloroquine, and now it is ivermectin. People all over this country, particularly those in red states, are taking the livestock version of this medicine to ward off covid-19 and poisoning themselves in the process. Thousands of our fellow Americans, acting on the advice of right-wing media and...
Letter to the editor: Taxes on the wealthy, corporations
In her letter “Corporations, wealthy should pay fair share” (Aug. 14, TribLIVE), Sandy Kremer refers to an AP article claiming that the richest 25 people in the U.S. have paid very little income tax. Wikipedia says the total worth of the 25 richest Americans is approximately $1.774 trillion. Even if...
Editorial: Westmoreland commissioners take right steps on American Rescue Plan funds
Thank you for doing the right thing, Westmoreland County commissioners. It was more than a month ago that a Tribune-Review editorial took the leaders to task over an apparent lack of planning for how to spend the unexpected windfall of $105.3 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. While...
Letter to the editor: Mandates vs. freedoms
I recently heard a friend say that company owners should have the freedom to mandate vaccines for their employees; after all, it is their company. This means that they should have the right to fire employees who are not vaccinated. If you agree with this, you should also agree that...
Gov. Tate Reeves: ARC partnership leads to economic growth in Mississippi
Mississippians are hard-working and constantly seeking opportunities to better themselves, their families and their communities. One of my priorities is making Mississippi the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family, so I am committed to increasing economic development, improving infrastructure and investing in workforce training....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 13
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 13....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 13
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 13....
Mona Charen: Pro-life cause deserves better than Texas law
The Supreme Court’s fateful step of judicializing abortion in 1973 effectively removed it from the political process for nearly a half-century. Americans’ passionate feelings on the matter were displaced from legislative disputes (where they belonged) to the composition of the Supreme Court, resulting in crude, openly political, circuslike nomination battles...
Letter to the editor: Gambling not a good path
Record lottery profits: a common headline anymore. Table games, slots, scratch-off tickets, online betting, sports betting, more ways to win, Powerball, double play win today, payoffs within 24 hours … I see a daily barrage of gambling advertisements on TV. When we pass away, how many of our children will...
Letter to the editor: Need answers from Amazon
Two questions need to be answered about the Amazon project that may be in Churchill (“Debate continues over possible Amazon site in Churchill”). Why does Amazon need this place so badly? Is Amazon not doing fine in the Pittsburgh area with its current facilities? The other question is, what if...
Letter to the editor: There’s no ‘choice’ when others are threatened
“Covid is not fatal to children.” Let the shamefulness of that statement, which appeared in the letter “Penn Hills mask ruling decried” sink in for a moment. To back this claim up, the writer noted that deaths among children aged 0-18 were 423 as of late August (it’s now 470,...
