Opinion category, Page 575
Editorial: Life lessons from Lucy’s kitchen
We should all live like Lucy. Lucy Pollock, 98, of Latrobe spent the last months surrounded by the love of her family and friends. And how those friends grew in that time. During the coronavirus pandemic, when people stayed home in lockdown and baking bread became the closest thing many...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s ‘Star Wars’-like rise to power
Letter-writer Mark Gostkowski (“A ‘Star Wars’-like ending to Trump presidency,” Nov. 17, TribLIVE) opined that the coming end of Donald Trump’s presidency is similar to the destruction of the Sith lord Darth Sidious in “Return of the Jedi.” I contend that Sheev Palpatine, senator of Naboo and secretly Darth Sidious,...
Letter to the editor: Voting a precious duty
Being an American, and living in the greatest and freest nation in the history of the world, is a privilege and blessing often taken for granted. Contrary to lying anarchists and socialists intent on misrepresenting America’s founding and current events to instigate unrest in the short term — and destruction...
Letter to the editor: Dangerous popularity contest
Politics is one of the least trusted professions in America, yet politicians are constantly involved in popularity contests. The dichotomy is deliciously ironic. How do you become popular within such a play? Act out what the audience wants you to be, not what you really are. That type of character...
Editorial: Vaccines great but pandemic not done
The vaccines are coming. In the last two weeks, two major pharmaceutical companies have made announcements about their covid-19 vaccines. Pfizer’s testing is showing a 90% efficacy. Moderna’s is 94.5%. Both are in the homestretch of a race with a huge jackpot — potentially millions of lives in America alone...
Letter to the editor: Covid-19 testing useless without follow-up
According to Wikipedia, in 2017, there were 143.3 million taxpayers in the United States. Last year, the IRS audited one out of every 220 taxpayers. Everybody fears an IRS audit because auditors tend to find things that could cause you a hardship, such as a fine or jail time. Sometimes...
Letter to the editor: Let’s give Joe Biden a chance
President-elect Biden’s favorite phrase is “possibilities for a brighter future.” As the most enduring democracy in the entire world, we, as a nation, have opportunities to build a lasting pathway of progress toward many common goods. Of course, this won’t be easy as divisiveness among our people has become a...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Time for Trump to accept his loss
Most times when you lose an election, that’s all there is to it — you lost. You are not alone, because the arithmetic in a two-party system means that about half of the candidates in a general election lose, but it still catches some candidates by surprise to be a...
Peter Morici: Expanding pool of skilled labor key to Biden resurrecting economy
President-elect Joe Biden ran on a platform to address climate change, remedy inequality, resurrect the economy and implement a more focused covid-19 strategy. Preliminary tests indicate Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine could be as much as 95% effective, and others are on the way from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca. However, producing...
Nathan Benefield: Don’t raise taxes while Pa. families are hurting
Pennsylvanians have made tough decisions amid the profound economic costs of the covid-19 pandemic. Millions of Pennsylvanians lost their jobs temporarily or permanently this year. Sadly, families continue to struggle and sacrifice to stay afloat. In the coming state budget debate, lawmakers and the governor need to back them up...
Sheldon Jacobson: Food and consumer goods supply chains remain resilient
We can all remember the run on consumer goods like toilet paper and cleaning supplies back in March and April 2020. With an unknown, invisible virus circulating among us, any items or surface touched by a human hand were a target for disinfection. Groceries and other items delivered to our...
Letter to the editor: Why won’t Democrats take action?
I’m baffled by what I see and hear from the Democrats about this shameful, immoral Republican effort to steal the election from Joe Biden — nothing! Where are the protests? Where are the voices? I see and hear virtually nothing. Are we going to be mute for the next two...
Sounding off: With no evidence of voter fraud, let’s please move on
It is unfortunate that in these times anybody can throw out any sort of nonsense, and so many people will believe anything. Letter-writer Al Bianchini, offering no evidence, states that the election was “a fiasco” and “mail-in balloting is a disaster” (“U.S. voting system is a disaster,” Nov. 11, TribLIVE)....
Letter to the editor: What’s acceptable to the left
Every decade, the (Overton) window on what is acceptable gets opened a little further. A hundred years ago, women flirted by wearing a more provocative hat. Seventy years ago, smoking was marketed in movies. In the 1960s, people asked if God was dead. The ’80s saw an increase in porn,...
Editorial: PWSA plea needs to be clean start
The government has a problem with pollution. Some agencies just spew a lot of filth. Take the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady announced that PWSA had pleaded guilty to eight federal charges in connection with a pattern of bad behavior from 2010 to 2017....
Letter to the editor: Not all disabilities are visible
I have nothing but respect for veterans. I have several in my own family, and applaud stores that have designated parking spots for those who have served our country. But the letter “Veterans deserve ‘primo’ parking spots” (Nov. 9, TribLIVE) stating that handicapped spots should be given to those who...
Walter Williams: Correct diagnostics needed on racial problems
You present to a physician with severe abdominal pain. He examines you and concludes that your ingrown toenails are the cause of your abdominal distress. He prescribes that you soak your feet in warm water, but that does not bring relief to your abdominal pain. Then he suggests that you...
Local nurse leaders: Please be vigilant on covid-19
The recent rise in covid-19 cases across the United States is a serious reminder of the strength and longevity of this pandemic. Western Pennsylvania is not immune to the increased number of cases. There have been more than 1,000 deaths and over 45,000 in our 14-county region, and we continue...
Letter to the editor: Media playing part in kabuki dance
We are witnessing a kabuki dance. News outlets, including Fox News, are acting their part. Unless we are in a time warp, and missed it, no electoral votes have been cast, votes of the states certified or all legal challenges adjudicated. Now that the news media, including Fox, have been...
Letter to the editor: Health department must dodge U.S. Steel bullet
The Allegheny County Board of Health is proposing updates to coke oven gas emissions at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. Years ago, the corporation committed to upgrading those ovens but stopped partway through the job. Last year, U.S. Steel made another commitment, to invest $1.2 billion in its Mon Valley...
John Stossel: The climate hustle
I hear that climate change will destroy much of the world. “There will be irreversible damage to the planet!” warns a CNN anchor. Joe Biden says he’ll spend $500 billion a year to fight what his website calls an “existential threat to life.” Really? I’m a consumer reporter. Over the...
Lori Falce: Teachers need sick days, too
My friend was alone in her house. Her husband and daughters had taken refuge elsewhere because she hadn’t only tested positive for covid-19 — she was clearly sick with it. She couldn’t taste or smell anything. She coughed and coughed and felt kitten-like weakness. She was scared for herself and...
Letter to the editor: RGGI hikes energy costs
As over 1 million Pennsylvanians struggle to pay their utility bills, Gov. Tom Wolf pushes for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade policy that increases energy costs. In his letter “RGGI will help Pa. in post-coal world” (Oct. 20, TribLIVE), environmental activist Andrew Woomer challenged opponents of RGGI...
Laurels & lances: Neighbors, risks and connections
Laurel: To good neighbors. The Tree of Life Congregation still has no permanent home since the 2018 shooting at its synagogue, where two other congregations worshipped, as well. The attack killed 11 from the three congregations in the largest, deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. The synagogue in Squirrel Hill...
Kenneth Thorpe and Erik Paulsen: Superbugs will kill millions — unless Congress acts
We’re in the midst of the worst health crisis of the 21st century — and it’s not covid-19. The coronavirus is a terrible disease, of course. In just 10 months, it has killed more than 1 million people around the globe. But there’s a far more dangerous plague circulating through...
