Opinion category, Page 480
Letter to the editor: Infrastructure bills must be approved quickly
Residents of Westmoreland County deserve swift approval of the infrastructure bills. Build Back Better will provide good-paying union jobs to spur our local economies, benefit small business owners and increase local tax revenues. The Senate has a $1.2 trillion bipartisan deal that will invest in roads, bridges, transit and broadband....
Editorial: Workers keep economic machine going
In 2020, Labor Day was celebrated with a kind of asterisk. Sure, there could be relaxation, but amid a pandemic, it was a little tense. There could be picnics, but with masks and social distancing, they weren’t quite the same. There could be an honoring of the workforce, but it...
Letter to the editor: People are fearful of vaccine, not just defiant
Letter-writer Christopher Morelli (“No vaccine, no treatment,” Aug. 20, TribLIVE) says if people refuse to vaccinate and develop covid, they should not receive hospital treatment. Who gave Morelli the authority to play God and decide who lives or dies? Let me educate Morelli on why individuals are fearful of the...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 6
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 6....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 6
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 6....
Mona Charen: The party of violence
A Republican running for Northampton County executive in Pennsylvania gave a heated address on Aug. 29 about mask mandates in schools. Steve Lynch is tired, he said, of providing his school board arguments and data (he apparently thinks the data support letting kids go maskless), but the important thing about...
Letter to the editor: Beware ‘Trojan Horse’ when taking in refugees
I am not against helping anyone who is seeking refuge (I am not supporting an open southern border), but I am concerned that we could actually wake up one morning and find a “Trojan Horse” in our midst. Hannelore Miller Hempfield...
Letter to the editor: America already intimidated
The Aug. 27 front-page headline “ ‘AMERICA WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED’ ” was nauseating. President Biden said America will not be intimidated. A statement from the weakest, most incoherent president in my lifetime. We’ve already been intimidated because of Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Thirteen U.S. military service members lost their...
Letter to the editor: Responsible spending of Westmoreland’s ARP funds
I’m glad that the Westmoreland County commissioners are taking a responsible, adult position on how best to spend the $105 million in American Rescue Plan funds. Everyone in the county has a different idea on where to spend it once the guidelines are confirmed. And the “nonprofits” are licking their...
Letter to the editor: Sen. Kim Ward denying victims justice
The argument Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward used in her op-ed (“Retroactive window for victims is no quick fix,” Aug. 24, TribLIVE) to justify her opposition to House Bill 951 — a bill that would create a two-year civil liability window for child sex abuse survivors — is an incredulous...
Editorial: No-excuse mail-in voting is the law of the land
Fourteen Pennsylvania lawmakers are taking a stand against the law that let voters cast ballots by mail without providing an excuse. The legislators claim it is unconstitutional and needs to be wiped off the books. The Republican state representatives come from all across the commonwealth and include Bob Brooks of...
Letter to the editor: Vaccination is our moral duty
We have been dealing with the covid pandemic for nearly two years now, and it is becoming part of everyday life. When it first spread out over the country, schools closed and parents were responsible to teach their children or make it possible for remote learning. Before too long came...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Doing better by our troops
It is sure to be an enduring image of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, with his weapon in hand, bathed in the green light of night vision, was photographed climbing the ramp of a C-17 cargo plane. Behind Donahue is the empty tarmac of...
Sounding off: Different perspective on Afghanistan
Recent commentaries and letters have tried to place blame on what’s happening in Afghanistan on the current or past presidents, or even the military. Perhaps a different perspective is in order. Afghanistan is not so much a nation as it is mostly tribal, tribes trying to rule their own regions....
Letter to the editor: Police, not terrorists, should have weapons
When Democrats gained power Nov. 3, one of the demands of President Biden was to limit the 1033 program, which allows the military to transfer surplus military equipment to U.S. police departments to help keep them and innocent civilians safe during dangerous situations. Had Biden not ordered a hasty Vietnam-style...
Letter to the editor: Biden administration is destructive
It must be obvious to all non-cognitive challenged citizens that the Biden administration is the most incompetent and destructive in our history. The policy choices made on serious matters have been horrendous. A few examples among many: the southern border debacle, destroying energy independence, economic policies that retard growth, the...
Editorial: Westmoreland serves its residents with Open Meetings compliance
A lot of attention is given to the availability of public information through open records. Government has to be open to scrutiny to be fair and accountable. Open records are one of the best examples of that. Government agencies are built on paper trails that show relationships, agreements, obligations and...
Letter to the editor: ‘Build Back Better’ bill best for all citizens
The proposed “Build Back Better” bill may be the most visionary piece of legislation in our lifetime. Issues addressed include: • reestablishing workers protections through labor law and promoting labor unions • adding dental, hearing and vision benefits through Medicare expansion • free preschool and community college • major investments...
John Stossel: We should get vaccinated, but not by force
Politicians love force. The idea of leaving us alone to make our own decisions goes against their nature. To be sure, civilized society sometimes needs government force: police to punish killers, soldiers to protect us from foreign invaders, environmental police to stop my smoke from flowing to your lungs …...
S.E. Cupp: Biden’s epic Afghanistan miscalculation
Like many fellow Americans, I know a number of men and women who served in Afghanistan. And whatever you think of the imprudence of the Afghan war, there is no doubt our U.S. service members were doing an important job there, and have more than earned our respect and gratitude....
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Right-wing radicals have stated their aims. We better believe them.
It’s been five years since I first speculated in this space about the end of American democracy. In doing so, I felt like a man climbing out on an especially creaky limb. But as hyperpartisanship rose to ever more bizarre extremes, as the misinformation crisis left ever more people babbling...
Letter to the editor: We don’t know what’s in our ketchup, either
I can’t understand how minority neighborhoods are being called underserved when clinics are set up in them and the residents don’t come. A recurring excuse is “they did not come for the vaccine because they don’t know what is in it.” Would they come if an ingredient list was published...
Letter to the editor: We need answers from Bush, Cheney
If people think the exodus from President G.W. Bush’s 20-year Afghanistan war is bad, wait until they see our exodus from Bush’s 18-year, multitrillion-dollar Iraq debacle. Everyone is pointing fingers. Why are not the real guilty parties (GWB and Cheney) put on the witness stand and answers demanded from them?...
Lori Falce: No gatekeeping, please
Gatekeeping is one of those terms that gets a lot of play these days, like cancel culture or safe spaces. It’s a term that means people in one area decide what the criteria for admission will be. It generally refers to something like a “fandom,” like comic book enthusiasts or...
Letter to the editor: Biden supporters share blame for Afghanistan
President Biden supporters, from mainstream media to die-hard Democrats, and those who found some of Trump’s tweets upsetting, have betrayed our troops and allies around the world. All now share responsibility for the debacle and loss of life in Afghanistan. More lives will be lost because terrorists are now emboldened....
