Opinion category, Page 576
Peter Morici: With Biden, relations with Europe will only be cosmetically better
Many establishment foreign-policy experts blame Donald Trump for the poor state of relations with Europe. However, a Joe Biden presidency cannot resolve enduring differences and dysfunctions that stress trans-Atlantic cooperation. For example, Biden can stop blocking World Trade Organization dispute settlement, and rejoin the World Health Organization and the Paris...
Carol Ann Gregg: Farmers, consumers beware — natural gas foes have vision but no plan
Farmers in Pennsylvania and other states have good reason to be uneasy about future energy policies popularizing the political fringes. Unlike a sudden and unpredictable pandemic that threw the world into turmoil, differing paths on the use of America’s abundant fossil fuel resources could have predictably bad consequences for agriculture...
Letter to the editor: Playbook of political losers
So the election is over and since the 15th president of my lifetime is to be inaugurated on Jan. 20, does that mean the losing party will start the impeachment and collusion proceedings on Jan. 21? This is the recent history of our so-called political leaders, or should I say...
Letter to the editor: Election autopsy would clear the air
What’s the rush? We have had four years of investigations. Three (at least) on Russia. One impeachment. Probes on taxes, the FBI, foreign involvement, Department of Justice hearings, etc. Now with “dead time” before the electors meet Dec. 14, there is a call to pack up and move on. What...
Editorial: Tranquilli resignation is last judicious word
Nolle prosequi is one of those formal, Latin phrases that abounds in the law. Translated to English as “not to follow,” in court it refers to a charge that isn’t pursued, often because of a plea deal where other charges were completed. On Tuesday, Allegheny County Judge Mark V. Tranquilli...
Letter to the editor: No voter fraud; let’s 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)....
Sen.-elect Cris Dush: Confirming election results needed for public trust
Pennsylvania is an epicenter of the 2020 general election. Just 82,000 votes separate former Vice President Joe Biden from President Trump, but in the world we live in, whichever candidate ultimately wins, half the country — and half of Pennsylvania — may distrust the results. I represent Indiana and Jefferson...
Jonah Goldberg: To the end, Trump’s presidency is all about him
“Despite the Left’s attempts to undermine this Election, I will NEVER stop fighting for YOU,” President Trump assured me in a fundraising email. I don’t take campaign fundraising emails seriously (never mind literally). They’re all pretty stupid. But this one was obviously different, for the simple reason that the election...
Letter to the editor: Questioning Steelers’ helmet choice
I want to thank Bill Kute for his letter “Won’t watch NFL” (Nov. 14). I, too, don’t understand why the Steelers would put Antwon Rose’s name on their helmets, especially when he was involved in criminal activity. Hats off to Alejandro Villanueva. Marie Miller Derry Township...
Letter to the editor: Following Democrats’ protocol
Now that we have a Democrat as president, we should follow the Democrats’ protocol. To me, this means giving everyone free everything regardless of not having funding, making many unsubstantiated accusations for anything we can think of, filing as many frivolous lawsuits as we can dream up and, very importantly,...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s taxes
Before the election, I saw a small sign indicating that while President Trump paid $750 for two years in federal income taxes, registered nurses, firefighters and police officers, on average, paid $2,500 in federal income taxes. Remember what he said when asked prior to the 2016 election — that he...
Editorial: The commonwealth’s appeal to serious common sense on coronavirus safety
Is Pennsylvania doing what it should have been doing all along with the coronavirus pandemic? Secretary of Health Rachel Levine announced Tuesday “targeted efforts” to address rising covid-19 numbers. The measures include beefing up the mask mandate she issued in April. It will demand people be masked inside anytime they...
Letter to the editor: Left’s hypocrisy on display
The hypocrisy of the left revealed itself on Nov. 7 with the media’s proclamation that Joe Biden will be the country’s 46th president. Despite businesses boarding up their windows in preparation for mass chaos, there were no signs of violence or looting by the more than 70 million people who...
Sen. Jay Costa: Our election was fair and secure
I did not expect President Trump to take his loss gracefully, but I have to admit I did not expect to see my Republican colleagues in the General Assembly run to his aid and make bad-faith allegations about our election. Pennsylvania ran a methodical, secure and accurate election, and I...
Pat Buchanan: Beijing sends Biden a warning
Because of Donald Trump, Vice President Joe Biden thundered during the campaign, the U.S. “is more isolated in the world than we’ve ever been. … America First has made America alone.” Biden promised to repair relations with America’s allies. And he appears to have gone some distance to do so...
Letter to the editor: A ‘Star Wars’-like ending to Trump presidency
The post-election celebrations across the nation reminded me of the ending of the “Stars Wars” film “Return of the Jedi.” The second Death Star was destroyed. The Dark Sith (President Trump) and Evil Empire were vanquished. The galaxy celebrated joy, relief and a sense of new hope from tyranny. To...
Letter to the editor: Disrespected by Norwin board president
I have become very saddened and disheartened by the behavior of the Norwin School District’s school board president. As a concerned mother of three kids in our district, I have emailed our superintendent concerns about the asynchronous learning the school wants to put into place instead of bringing our kids...
Letter to the editor: Harris, Biden and Roethlisberger
I was all set to write a letter saying “Take that, Democrats” after the election, but alas, the outcome was very shocking and contrary to what I expected. As a supporter of President Trump, I realize he did it to himself; his big mouth and ego couldn’t be toned down,...
Editorial: The quest for clarity in state covid data and actions
On March 20, Pennsylvania had 20 diagnosed cases of covid-19. The state was at the very beginning of measures that Gov. Tom Wolf implemented to address the spread of the disease. Ten days later, Wolf was upping the response, issuing stay-at-home orders for 26 counties because the numbers were rising....
Tom Purcell: Covid-19 obscures so many ways 2020 is best year ever
As challenging a year as 2020 has been, we still should be thankful that it has been the best year in human history to be alive. Consider: In 1920, according to the book “Enlightenment Now,” the average person spent 11.5 hours each week doing laundry. By 2014, he or she...
Jonah Goldberg: Why Joe Manchin is more important to Democrats than AOC
Here’s something you probably won’t hear from either the left or the right: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is a much more important and influential Democrat than New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or “AOC” for marketing purposes). Manchin has done something far more consequential than anything AOC has done in...
Letter to the editor: About this pope
Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were revered as pope. I’m sick that a mere mortal who defines himself as pope dares to promote internationally the utter evil licentiousness of any sort in the Lord’s temple. Hell holds a special place for that soul. God have mercy on...
Letter to the editor: What’s the ‘threat’?
I was sadly surprised to see the Nov. 9 front-page headline “Red wave threatening 3 Western Pennsylvania state lawmakers.” Since when has any vote, any win, been considered a “threat”? Of course, it could be possible that the headline writer does not understand the concept of connotative language. So is...
Letter to the editor: Global pandemic requires global response
While I am extremely grateful that President Trump recovered from covid-19 in October, not everyone has had the opportunity to access care to fight this virus. Our leaders tried to come to an agreement on domestic financial aid for the effects of the pandemic and should keep trying. It’s threatening...
Letter to the editor: We should all want an honest election
It is a felony to tamper with election ballots. An online video showed a Republican poll watcher in Philadelphia illegally being prevented from entering a ballot counting center. (He was later admitted.) In Detroit, workers in a ballot counting center were seen on video putting up cardboard on windows to...
