Featured Commentary category, Page 64
Amit Sevak: Learning another language is more than a game
You may think you’re proficient in another language, but are you really? People are using their phones more and more to learn new languages. I see folks glued to their devices, answering multiple-choice questions on their commute, in the office or at coffee shops — all to keep their streaks...
Ayushma Neopaney: Belonging and becoming American
On a recent evening, 30 students from my high school gathered to share a meal of traditional Nepali foods like momos and chow mein noodles. We’re a pretty diverse mix — American born, immigrant, white and students of color. And we’re all members of Global Minds, a youth-led after-school program...
Guy Ciarrocchi: PA’s Primary Revealed Two Democratic Parties
Pennsylvania’s primary reinforced recent trends, but it also showcased two very different faces of the Democratic Party — courtesy of the mayor’s race in Philadelphia and the county executive and district attorney’s race in Allegheny County. Openly progressive candidates won both races in Allegheny County — as has been the...
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis: An opportunity to address gun violence
Firearms are now the No. 1 cause of death for young people in Pennsylvania. Not car accidents. Not cancer. Guns. As someone who is looking forward to becoming a father later this year, I think about that statistic a lot. Truthfully, I sometimes worry about what kind of world we’re...
Ari Mittleman: Models for combating antisemitism
Last week, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff released the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. This is an acknowledgement by the entire federal government that the global rise in hatred against Jews is a fundamental challenge to the principles of American democracy. The national strategy details 100 concrete new actions the...
Roger Thomas: Reforming jury compensation
Pennsylvania adopted “42 PaCSA § 4561(a).Compensation of and travel allowance for jurors” in 1959, when minimum wage was $1/hr. Eight hours of jury service, plus one hour of travel time, equaled $9/day paid by the local county. The Act provided neither a sunset provision nor a cost-of-living allowance. This -well-intentioned-...
Hunter Tower: SEIU resorts to more influence-peddling in Pittsburgh
Two years ago, hell-bent on getting its hooks into the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) — the largest private workforce in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania effectively bought the Pittsburgh mayor’s office. In November, the union intends to pay more than twice as much to consolidate...
Matt Harris: House approval of debt ceiling deal a triumph of the political center
Talking with a friend about the debt ceiling negotiations, I mentioned that there were incentives for centrists in Congress to cobble together a deal. My friend said, incredulously, “Do we actually have centrists in Congress?” Certainly, it is true that the country’s two major parties have sorted and separated over...
Gary Pezzano: Time is right to build a national model for senior care in Pa.
As the new governor and new state Legislature take the reins on their first budget, there is a sense of anticipation of what their leadership will bring to the commonwealth. While the Shapiro administration and General Assembly have developed their priorities, we urge them to seize this opportunity to build...
Peter Morici: Biden’s bid to create U.S. semiconductor jobs may do more harm than good
President Joe Biden’s industrial policies aim to make America a world leader in semiconductor manufacturing, but the effort could do more harm than good. Post-World War II U.S. foreign-trade policies promoted trade based on comparative advantages, but too often America’s trading partners put up import barriers and subsidized domestic industries...
Hans Zeiger: Employing 1st-person sources can re-humanize history
The field of American history is in crisis. Earlier this month, the Department of Education released troubling data indicating that only 13% of eighth-graders met proficiency standards in history. Students are failing to understand the American story and our shared values — and the consequences are severe. To those of...
Cal Thomas: No will, no way in Washington
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way” is an old and familiar quotation, often attributed to Albert Einstein, who was on to something almost as significant as E=MC2. What if there is no will, is there still a way? It doesn’t seem likely. In Washington, will has come to die,...
Kristen Rotz: We can help Pa. families who are falling through the cracks
Working a full-time job is no longer enough to keep a family from struggling financially. Take child care teachers, who tirelessly care for our children, or home care workers, who support our elderly loved ones. They are like so many Pennsylvanians, treading water just to stay afloat financially. This is...
Rep. Eric Nelson: Why is Shapiro so quiet on Pa.’s energy policy?
We all believe that promises made should correlate to promises kept, especially when those promises are made by government leaders. When it comes to Pennsylvania’s energy policy and our newest governor, however, promises made have not been kept — at least, not yet. One hundred-some days ago, I joined the...
Marina Lagattuta: We must make it more affordable to become a teacher in Pa.
It’s not easy becoming a teacher in Pennsylvania. I should know. I’ve been working on becoming one for three years. I’ve seen fellow education majors come and go, some lured to other job prospects with more earning potential, others deterred by cynical political efforts to turn parents and communities against...
Gary D. Alexander and Elizabeth Stelle: Medicaid eligibility matters
Should a health-care program for low-income seniors, the disabled, kids and pregnant mothers be co-opted by hundreds of thousands of healthy adults? Adults not even eligible for assistance? Since March 2020, that’s been the reality for the Medicaid program. But this spring, states regained their ability — for the first...
Barb Warwick: E-scooters are fun, but they aren’t a meaningful transit solution
On April 12, Pittsburgh City Council held a post agenda and public hearing on the Spin e-scooter pilot, which launched in 2021, to hear how the program is affecting city residents. The contrast in testimony was notable. People who use the scooters love them as a fun and convenient way...
Reps. Jason Ortitay and Justin Fleming: Early literacy legislation must be advanced
The human brain is hard-wired for spoken language, but we are not born with the natural ability to read. The skills that lead students to become competent, lifelong readers must be explicitly and systematically taught at a young age with ample opportunity for practice and improvement. Nearly half of Pennsylvania’s...
Elwood Watson: Marjorie Taylor Greene is at it again
The Jezebel of the Republican Party is at it again. Just when you thought that she could not get any more disingenuous and despicable, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene engaged in some wild intellectual dishonesty by accusing New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of calling her the equivalent of the N-word....
Cal Thomas: Tim Scott — the new Reagan
It’s been a while since we’ve heard the kind of optimism contained in Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s announcement of a presidential run. Usually, it is gloom and doom, racism, white supremacy, claims that Republicans want to eliminate Social Security and the rest of the left’s depressing litany. Scott...
Angela Liddle: Protecting kids on social media requires all of us to be digitally diligent
Policymakers across the country this year have been laser focused on reining in social media companies, especially as it relates to their impact on children. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN that he believes 13 is “too early” for kids to join social media websites and apps, and U.S....
Danitra Sherman: Addressing root causes of crime good policy, good politics
For decades, many American politicians saw a path to electoral victory through a combination of racist fear-mongering and harsh, punitive criminal law policies. From the infamous Willie Horton ad to “super-predators” to three strikes laws and the prison-industrial complex, this political strategy by both Democrats and Republicans fueled a multi-generational...
Jonah Goldberg: Can Republicans be persuaded to vote for someone other than Trump?
It’s official. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is running for president. The first thing you should know is that Scott is one of the nicest guys in Washington. Capitol Hill Republicans and just about anybody who knows him likes him. Sincerely patriotic and devoutly Christian, Scott is most comfortable preaching,...
Rep. Chris Deluzio and Molly Parzen: Time for Pa. to clean up abandoned mines
Pennsylvania has long been the economic engine that has powered our nation’s prosperity. However, we still see some of the effects of bygone practices from a lack of environmental and health regulations in communities across our commonwealth today. The commonwealth leads the nation in abandoned mine lands (AML). These are...
Jeffrey Fuller: Pa. budget must support children who need help
May is Mental Health Awareness Month — and Pennsylvania’s children need support now more than ever. Taking care of their physical health is one of the very first things we teach children. We all remember our parents telling us, or telling our own children, to look both ways before crossing...
