Opinion category, Page 517
Letter to the editor: Save the bees; we depend on them
Humans are smart. We’ve learned how to transplant organs, pack millions of books worth of data into a microchip and travel through outer space. And yet our lives still depend on little buzzing bugs to grow our food. Seventy-five percent of food crops require pollinators like bees, but bees are...
Editorial: Exotic pets call for logical local regulation
Pennsylvania has rules about animals. There’s a whole Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. Many others fall under the Department of Agriculture’s umbrella. State law can be brought to bear in cases of neglect or cruelty. Local ordinances can come into play, too. They regulate how people are required to handle...
Letter to the editor: Church should clean its own house first
The Catholic Church has some nerve (“U.S. Catholic bishops OK steps toward possible rebuke of Biden,” June 18, TribLIVE). Some priests have relations with women in their parishes, and others abuse children. Maybe they made babies and told the women it’s a sin to get an abortion. They are the...
Letter to the editor: Biden administration not putting Americans first
President Biden and America’s checkbook were greeted with open arms at the G-7 Conference. Boris Johnson embraced Biden like he was his long-lost brother. French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Biden to “The Club,” aka the global swamp. Our current administration declared that America and its people are not first and...
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 28
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 28....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 28
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 28....
Mona Charen: The difference a father makes
There was a Father’s Day parade in Washington, D.C., that warmed my family-obsessed heart. It was called the Black Fathers Matter motorcade, and it featured silver and black balloons, a band serenading the crowd aboard a flatbed truck, kids singing their dads’ praises, community leaders, politicians and at the end,...
Jonah Goldberg: Parties, politicians don’t really represent ‘the American people’
What if elected politicians actually did what the American people want them to do? Now, you might respond: “Isn’t that what they already do?” or “Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work in a democracy?” The answer to both of these questions is: “No.” Let me explain. “The American people”...
Letter to the editor: Babies have right to being born
As we recently rejoiced with our country in celebrating Juneteenth and the end of enslaving human beings against their will, I have a question: What about our unwanted “enslaved” unborn babies whose mothers do not choose to give them the freedom to be born alive? What about the most vulnerable...
Letter to the editor: Not all Democrats want socialism
My dictionary defines socialism as “an economic system in which the government owns and controls the means of production and operates it for the good of the people.” As a lifelong Democrat, I do not agree with socialism. And I don’t know any Democrat who does. We Democrats vigorously support...
Letter to the editor: Republicans’ history will repeat itself
I was taught during my history classes in high school and political science classes in college that history repeats itself. During President Barack Obama’s administration, he negotiated with Republicans concerning two key issues: the Affordable Care Act and an economic stimulus program. He tried to achieve bipartisan support, considering that...
Letter to the editor: Why does Fetterman feel he is above law?
According to the article “Wolf, Pa. Democrats again push for passage of LGBTQ discrimination protections,” “The GOP-controlled Legislature banned all but the U.S., Pennsylvania and POW MIA flags from being flown on Capitol grounds. … (Lt. Gov. John) Fetterman, however, has continued to fly Pride flags, including one removed by...
Editorial: Another sweet, but legal, perk for state legislators
A per diem is an amount of money that an employer will give someone to cover expenses for a business-related trip. Unless you have a very specific job where travel is required, it’s not usually the kind of thing that becomes a big part of your paycheck. But then there...
Letter to the editor: Recent lessons learned
Here are some lessons I’ve learned in today’s troubled world: Jobs and free market opportunities, not big government programs and subsidies, are the answers to poverty. CNN and MSNBC provide mostly partial, biased, misleading news. Excessive government spending and the resulting higher taxes often lead to higher prices, uncontrolled inflation,...
Letter to the editor: Ready-to-drink cocktails good for Pa.
Expanding the sale of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails to additional retail outlets that already sell beverage alcohol is a commonsense way to increase consumer convenience and generate millions of dollars for the commonwealth (“Pa. Senate passes bill to legalize cocktails-to-go, sends to House with modifications”). In fact, allowing spirits-based RTDs to...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Balancing tough policing and reform
It’s been decades since an off-duty Pittsburgh beat cop shared a few beers and some stories at the neighborhood bar on the eve of his retirement. When a kid asked if he ever shot anyone during his 30 years walking a beat, the cop said, “I only drew my weapon...
Sen. Lindsey Williams and Josh McNeil: Harrisburg and Washington must step up to save Pittsburgh transit options
One thing that the covid-19 pandemic has taught us is the importance of public transit. The Port Authority of Allegheny County has kept our city and region running. While businesses were shuttered to curb the spread of the virus, brave bus drivers and light rail engineers, conductors, mechanics and operators...
Sounding off: Responsible gun owners don’t ‘forget’
For the 12th time this year, a loaded handgun was confiscated by TSA at Pittsburgh International Airport from a passenger’s carry-on bag (“Man faces charges after being stopped for gun at Pittsburgh International Airport,” June 7, TribLIVE). He used the same excuse as the others: “I forgot it was there.”...
Letter to the editor: Biden must put America first
Dear Mr. President, There are several concerning issues right now. On your first day of office, you canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. Recently you approved of the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2, and this monthyou suspended the oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Gas prices are...
Letter to the editor: Media’s manipulation
Just how dishonest and manipulative has the mainstream media become? Incredibly so, as evidenced by the recent journalistic indiscretions related to Communist China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. When it was first proposed by Donald Trump, some in his administration and Republican Sen. Tom Cotton that the covid-19 virus had originated...
Editorial: Trust (but verify) local police with speed radar
You’re cruising down the interstate. Maybe you’re going a little bit faster than you should be. Maybe not. But if you catch a glimpse of a state trooper’s cruiser, you probably ease up on the gas, just in case. It might be that you know the Pennsylvania state police use...
Letter to the editor: Learning from Tulsa massacre, Capitol riots
In the news recently was the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre. I had never heard of it until now. I am concerned with what happened afterward, which was nothing. Hundreds of lives lost, hundreds of homes and businesses lost, and nothing was done. No one was ever imprisoned or...
John Stossel: Capitalism makes us better off
Last week, I debunked three myths about capitalism. Here are four more: Myth No. 4: Capitalism creates unsafe workspaces. “Greedy capitalists” will risk workers’ lives to increase production if government, through agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), doesn’t stop that. It’s logical to assume that government...
S.E. Cupp: Why it matters that the first active NFL player just came out as gay
My best friend James reminds me every year of the day he came out to me. It was in November 2006. It wasn’t a shock to me — we’d known each other for nearly 10 years by that point, through college and our early 20s, when all the good stuff...
Benjamin V. Allison: How the 2-party system could self-destruct and save American democracy
Legally, Donald Trump can run for reelection in 2024. That’s bad. But it could break up the two-party system. That’s good. Since the election, talk of a Republican split has waxed and waned, with rumors that Trump or moderate Republicans might break from the GOP to create a new party....
