Opinion category, Page 529
Sounding off: More guns means more shootings
As people are tiring of covid, the mass gatherings are resuming, and so are the mass shootings. No other country has this problem, and no other country is so saturated with guns. Coincidence? I hear all the gun advocates’ arguments and scoff, like guns don’t kill, people do. It’s as...
Letter to the editor: Local soldier’s story lifts spirits
I sincerely want to thank the Tribune-Review for the article “New book chronicles North Huntingdon soldier’s recovery from life-altering accident” (Nov. 5, TribLIVE). The book, “A Noble Knight: Dan Priatko’s Story of Faith and Courage,” is definitely a must read. During this pandemic, a lot of us have had our...
Letter to the editor: Looking to Jesus in difficult times
Easter is upon us. We may look at life from different perspectives, but in times of heartache we have the option to reflect on what Jesus endured for us. Many of us judge; however, like Jesus said, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. We are not...
Letter to the editor: Illuminated cross a beacon of hope
I am writing to say thank you to the wonderful parishioners of Logan’s Ferry Presbyterian Church (Parnassus). I was told they are responsible for lighting the beautiful cross that sits high on the hilltop above the bottom of Coxcomb Hill (Route 909) for all to see, from dusk till dawn....
Letter to the editor: Zero Waste legislation will help stop plastic pollution
I recently explored my school’s campus woods for the first time in a year, and I saw some disturbing sights. There was plastic waste everywhere. Even after a year without students on campus, the trees, the soil, the water — it was all contaminated with plastic trash. PennEnvironment just published...
Letter to the editor: Mariah Fisher ready to represent
Mariah Fisher, a Democrat, is already effective as an elected official and now offers voters a real choice for Pennsylvania’s 59th District. Have you seen the beautiful new Diamond in Ligonier? Through Ligonier Borough Council, Fisher chaired the parks and recreation committee that guided that project. In the past year,...
Letter to the editor: Abolishing the death penalty
At a recent virtual event on Catholicism and capital punishment, people with personal experience with the death penalty shared powerful stories. Vickie and Syl Schieber’s daughter, Shannon, a 23-year-old Wharton School doctoral student, was raped and murdered in Philadelphia. Kirk Bloodsworth, an honorably discharged Marine, was wrongfully convicted and sentenced...
Faye Flam: Don’t believe the doomsayers. Vaccines will end the pandemic.
Following pandemic news too closely can be an emotional roller coaster, with dire public health warnings immediately followed by hopeful new studies. The latest soaring discovery: a new CDC study showing vaccines sharply cut all covid-19 infections — not just symptoms. That news puts to rest one worst-case-scenario: that vaccines...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Georgia’s assault on democracy
Of all the low-down dirty deeds you can do to anyone, denying them a drink of water when they are thirsty is among the lowest and dirtiest. And that tells you everything you will ever need to know about the politicians running Georgia. Among recent election law changes, the Georgia...
Letter to the editor: Pa. lawmakers’ undocumented expenses disgraceful
It’s an absolute disgrace that, as you reported, the Pennsylvania state representatives and senators are collectively charging the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for “per diem” expense without supporting receipts (“State lawmakers need daily expenses accountability,” March 21, TribLIVE). Any company or organization that I’ve ever been...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to Trump for vaccines
Thank you, President Trump: Thanks to you and your staff my wife and I received our first dose of the Moderna vaccine. Fortunately you were in office when this non-American virus was let loose on the world. Had a Democrat been in the White House, I bet we would still...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s world
I believe in President Trump’s world, truth is a foreign word. Lies rule the day. He is a self-appointed king, minus the crown (his coiffure would be disturbed). It seems a perfect day for Trump is when he flaunts himself onstage before a highly motivated audience. More clapping and enthusiasm...
Letter to the editor: Second Amendment is absolute
I must disagree with David Millstein’s letter “Commissioners misguided on gun-rights resolution” (March 21, TribLIVE). He wrote that the Second Amendment’s language is not absolute. That is incorrect. The intended scope and reach are binding forever. Absolute means total and complete, not diminished in any way. The Second Amendment is...
John Stossel: Woke colleges want to eliminate tests
Did you take the SATs to try to get into college? Your kids may not have to. More than 1,300 schools have become “test optional,” meaning students need not submit SAT scores. Some, like the entire University of California system, now won’t even look at scores. There are seemingly legitimate...
Mona Charen: What we can learn from Asian Americans
This much can be said without fear of contradiction: There has been a spike in disgusting crimes against Asian Americans during the past year. One analysis of 16 of the country’s largest cities found that acts of anti-Asian bias, not just crimes, increased by 145% between 2019 and 2020, even...
Jonah Goldberg: Culture wars a convenient distraction from spending
You know what you get for spending trillions of dollars you don’t have? More fights over Dr. Seuss, cancel culture and identity politics. By any measure, the federal government has been on a spending spree for decades. Without getting bogged down in the green eyeshade stuff, suffice it to say...
Ken Regal: Extending the power of the American Rescue Plan
Editor’s note: The following text was delivered at a March 30 press conference alongside Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. The American Rescue Plan is powerful. It makes major improvements to the public food safety net to protect our neighbors from hunger — particularly in boosting food stamp (SNAP) benefits — so...
John Crisp: Have we lost the battle on climate change?
I pay moderate attention to my carbon footprint. You probably do, too. It just seems like the right thing to do. I recycle. I drive a Prius. My house has solar panels. My yard is xeriscaped. I support green energy. I never vote for politicians who, head in the sand,...
Letter to the editor: Doug Chew doesn’t speak for all
I write to strongly disagree with Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew’s comments regarding mail-in voting (“Westmoreland commissioner says county voters want end to no-excuse mail-in ballots, another disputes that”). Chew does not speak for all his constituency. I wager to guess he speaks for only a select few of his followers...
Letter to the editor: Decades of marijuana use haven’t harmed health
In response to letter-writer John L. Petrancosta Sr. (“Smoking marijuana detrimental to health,” March 14, TribLIVE): I have no idea where you people get this, that research shows marijuana is a gateway drug and affects your health. I’m 70 years old. I’ve been smoking weed since I was 16, and I...
Letter to the editor: Why are teachers vaccine priority?
In regard to teachers being moved to the front of the line for receiving covid-19 vaccines regardless of age: Others in Phase 1A still are trying to get vaccinated, often driving many miles, or being put on a waiting list. Teachers may be considered essential workers, but so are grocery...
Lori Falce: Medical research has to see people
“At least you have your health.” It’s the phrase that gets used when something goes wrong, reminding you to look for the silver lining in that storm cloud. But what about when the cloud is medical? What do you do when your health is the issue? That is what many...
Sabrina Fu: We must go deeper than our differences to heal our nation
As an American who has heard about thousands of shootings by now, I have never been asked about how I felt about any particular shooting — until a few days after the shootings at three massage businesses in Atlanta, dominated by women of Asian descent. Yes, I am an Asian...
Paul Kengor: Winston Churchill vs. the cancel culture
It was 89 years ago, on March 7, 1932, that Winston Churchill spoke in Pittsburgh. He spoke at Oakland’s Carnegie Music Hall. This wasn’t the Churchill of the “Iron Curtain” speech (delivered March 1946), or even the Churchill who became prime minister eight years later. This wasn’t yet the Churchill...
Laurels & lances: Building and rebuilding
Laurel: To a timely restoration. Spring is the season of rebirth. Easter is a holiday of resurrection. That makes this the perfect time to announce a construction project. In 2018, St. Mary of Czestochowa in New Kensington celebrated 125 years of worship and fellowship in the largely Polish parish. It...
