Opinion category, Page 550
Letter to the editor: Angry, sad and afraid after Capitol riot
I watched, angry at what I saw as domestic terrorists stormed the Capitol. Easily identified by their MAGA caps and flags as Trump supporters, many wore paramilitary gear and maneuvered as trained militia. The nearly all white invaders, neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, anti-Semites and white power group followers were called to...
Laurels & lances: Book, buses and banners
Laurel: To telling stories. Lots of kids can weave tall tales. Every parent asking about missing homework can attest to that. But Josh Ingram, 11, of Plum has really upped the game when it comes to childhood storytelling. The Holiday Park Elementary student doesn’t just tell stories. He wrote one....
Paul Kengor: Give Trump due credit for Operation Warp Speed
We’re full-throttle into mass distribution of covid-19 vaccines. And let there be no doubt, their rapid development is an extraordinary achievement. I want to underscore that by revisiting what I wrote here last spring, when I placed President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed into historical context — looking particularly at the...
Letter to the editor: You’re fired! Now Trump knows how it feels
Now Donald Trump knows how the contestants on his TV show felt when he told them his favorite phrase, “You’re fired!” Larry Howard Jr. Plum...
Letter to the editor: Questioning Biden’s jobs and energy plans
Dear Mr. President, I have a question about your jobs plan and your new clean energy policy. If I recall correctly, when this was implemented during the Obama presidency, it did not end well. Think Solyndra or “those shovel-ready jobs weren’t so shovel ready.” What makes you think that it...
Letter to the editor: Where has Toomey been?
Sen. Pat Toomey is still our senator? I thought he retired. I was surprised he was still our senator when he announced in October that he was retiring by not running for reelection in 2022. Where has he been? An online search found he’s been our senator since 2011! Over...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s covid ‘strategy’
Letter-writer Kathleen Bollinger (“Who will get the credit for defeating covid?,” Dec. 15) asked why President Trump should share his covid-19 strategy with President Biden when Biden would “get all the credit for defeating covid-19.” Let’s go over Trump’s strategy. First, at the beginning, he downplayed it and called Democrats’...
Editorial: Allegheny River locks have a good ripple effect
The Allegheny River is more than just a long ribbon of water. It’s part of what defines Southwestern Pennsylvania. It played a role in the settlement of the area and in its growth. It gave birth to our communities and our industries. Cleaning it has been the task of generations...
Letter to the editor: Biden buyer’s remorse
In the first two weeks of his presidency, Joe Biden has signed 42 executive actions affecting the lives of Americans. Forty-two in two weeks! President Trump signed six in his first two weeks. I know that whatever anyone says in support of Trump will inevitably fall on deaf ears. That...
Rick Stafford: What Dick Thornburgh meant to Pittsburgh
When I first met Dick Thornburgh in 1971, I was one of a small group of graduate students at Carnegie Mellon. We were working under a federal grant to develop a computer model for more effectively allocating law enforcement funds for Allegheny County. In our 20s, idealists about government, none...
David Henderson: Understaffing, underfunding risk health and safety of workers at 24/7 facilities
Front-line workers have never stopped serving the public and keeping society afloat throughout the devastating and difficult battle against covid-19, including those at 24/7 facilities like jails and prisons, nursing homes and hospitals, 911 centers, veterans centers, centers for the intellectually disabled, and emergency response services. Understaffing continues to be...
Letter to the editor: Biden will earn his disrespect
I urge everyone not to encourage disrespect for the new president. He will do enough on his own. John W. Newhouse Shaler...
Letter to the editor: Land trusts can help farmers
Only a few weeks into 2021 and we have seen it is just as bad as 2020 for local farms. Two prominent local farms, Kretschmann Farm near Rochester and Jamison Farm near Latrobe, have both announced they are shutting down operations. This is partly because of covid, but also due...
Editorial: The Department of State’s failure has many hands
Success is rarely something that happens alone. When the Steelers win a game, it’s not just because of the quarterback. When the jury returns a verdict, it’s not just because of the judge. When government makes a law, there is never just one guy who made that happen. And by...
Letter to the editor: How are people believing conspiracy theories?
I can accept that we all have our own opinions and emotions about our representatives and how our government should be handled, and we are all entitled to those emotions and opinions. But I am totally dumbfounded as to how anyone can be so gullible to buy into the conspiracy...
Letter to the editor: Smokers shouldn’t get vaccine priority
So smokers who choose to harm themselves and their loved ones, via secondhand smoke, take priority over first responders when it comes to receiving the covid vaccine. The first group chooses to smoke while the latter chose a career dedicated to helping others, including those who may be already infected...
Pat Buchanan: Who are the true ‘domestic terrorists’?
“Never allow a good crisis (to) go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do the things you once thought were impossible.” Thus did chief of staff Rahm Emanuel advise Barack Obama on the financial crisis he inherited in 2009. Following the Capitol riot by a mob of pro-Donald Trump protesters,...
Letter to the editor: Early detection key for addiction
Having read the article “2020 brings increase in Westmoreland overdose deaths” (Jan. 10, TribLIVE), I would like to provide the following information. The worst threat to the United States is not its political divisions or its economic crises or its health care policy. It is the brilliant minds and talent...
Jonah Goldberg: GOP is all too happy to accommodate QAnon
Warning: Disturbing stuff ahead. There’s a conspiracy theory called Frazzledrip. Even for QAnon types, it’s pretty fringe, which is saying something. Recall that the central belief in Q-world is that there’s a secret cabal of Satan-worshiping, sex-trafficking pedophiles running the government. Frazzledrip is worse. It’s the name of an imagined...
Rep. Greg Vitali: A realistic climate agenda
There are many things Pennsylvania state government should do this year to address climate change — but won’t, given the political composition of the state Legislature. But a few significant things are possible. Pennsylvania emitted about 215 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2017 (the most recent data available),...
Letter to the editor: Voters will remember Reschenthaler’s actions
Congressman Reschenthaler: Your military oath: I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the...
Letter to the editor: Missing Trump already
Hope you Biden voters are feeling good about your choice. So far, I see him making an aggressive run at sliding our country back to the dismal Obama days — miserable economy, growing unemployment, ban on drilling and fracking, inviting in illegal aliens, no deportation of criminal aliens, crushing free...
Editorial: Punxsutawney Phil, Western Pa.’s gift to perpetual news
It happens every year. All eyes turn toward a Western Pennsylvania hamlet to wait for a sleepy rodent to pop out of his burrow, look around for his shadow and make a prediction about when spring will start. Let’s be honest. No one really thinks Punxsutawney Phil — or any...
Letter to the editor: Election ushered in socialism
Exasperated and mournful, I am offering a few belated comments since America now suffers the throes of an election that has ushered socialism into a republic not being saved. Damn the liberal, subversive, progressive Democrat and RINO turncoat torpedoes, full speed ahead against tyranny and treason. The Washington swamp saved...
Chris Rosselot: Pittsburgh City Council should get more involved with city schools
The covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of our social and educational systems, and nowhere is this truer than with Pittsburgh Public Schools. From laptop distribution to district communication, it is an understatement to say intervention is needed. Last week, Pittsburgh Councilman Ricky Burgess introduced (and council passed unanimously) an...
