Opinion category, Page 269
Cal Thomas: Court’s affirmative action ruling a step toward true equality
It may not have had the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation, or the civil rights legislation of the 1960s, but last week’s ruling by the Supreme Court that affirmative action in college admissions violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause is an important advancement toward equality for all. Reaction to...
Letter to the editor: Trump and Biden, who’s ‘above the law’?
In your two-page editorial section on June 18, I noticed that questions were asked about “above the law” and classified documents Donald Trump kept at Mar-a-Lago. President Biden’s keeping documents at his home in Delaware and elsewhere since his senatorial days, through his vice presidency and now were not mentioned....
Letter to the editor: Banning chocolate milk hurts farmers
Regarding the article “Federal rule could remove chocolate milk option in some Pa. schools” (May 25, TribLIVE): Here we go again. Under President Obama, the Department of Agriculture did the same thing, banning chocolate milk in schools. What happened? The price of milk went down. Then lots of farmers could...
Editorial: Late budgets are the norm in Pa., but 2023 is a little different
Yet again, Pennsylvania starts the fiscal year without a budget. Who could have predicted this? Almost anyone who has paid even grudging attention to the state’s woefully gridlocked government would have trouble missing it. Failing to have the legislative and executive branches agree on what the state will do and...
Letter to the editor: Don’t vote for obstructionists
It is encouraging to pick up the Trib these days and see the reporting of the increase in economic activity in our region. From the removing of dangerous and dilapidated buildings to the capping of abandoned oil and gas wells to the rebuilding of our roads, bridges, dams and airports...
Elwood Watson: Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling is very revealing
After decades of aggressive and strategic efforts from influential right-wing forces, the Supreme Court outlawed race-conscious admissions at universities throughout the nation, dismantling decades of progress and crippling the potential of racial diversity and pluralism at our nation’s institutions of higher education. Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking for the majority,...
Todd Eachus: Working together to connect all Pennsylvanians
In a world increasingly driven by digital connectivity, access to the internet is no longer a luxury — it is a fundamental necessity that allows Pennsylvanians to communicate, learn, work, socialize, and access essential services. The covid-19 pandemic only magnified the challenges faced by those in our state who still...
Letter to the editor: MLB should pick one, umpires or computerized box
It’s time MLB decides to use either the umpire behind the plate to call balls and strikes or the computerized box that shows balls or strikes. How about that job? The umpire has to make split-second decisions, and everyone watching knows if he just made another bad call. The other...
Letter to the editor: School retirees deserve COLA increase
As a music teacher, assistant principal and principal in the Pittsburgh area for 32 years, I dedicated my time to helping students untap their skills, expand their knowledge and continue to grow with curiosity. When I retired in 2012, I soon realized that the contributions I, along with my fellow...
Letter to the editor: Why we left England
On this, the upcoming 247th celebration of Independence Day, let’s take a quick review of why we broke away from England. It seems that Thomas Jefferson had a poor opinion of King George III, even all those many years ago. The main problem — poor customer service. We oftentimes seem...
Letter to the editor: Say ‘no’ to Lifeline Scholarships
Sen. Kim Ward wants to fast-track Lifeline Scholarships (vouchers) for students to attend private and religious schools. She claims schools need accountability and that it’s senseless to dump more dollars into schools with failing test scores. Here’s the question: Will she hold Lifeline Scholarship schools academically accountable? Her care about...
Letter to the editor: Unsung patriotic heroes
When we think of the Fourth of July, we think about people like the Founding Fathers, but it’s just as important to remember those who have helped preserve our freedom. Fifty years ago this month, Alexander Butterfield testified of the presence of a recording system in the Oval Office before...
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 3
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 3....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 3
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 3....
Letter to the editor: ‘Subtracting from the sum of human knowledge’
Thomas B. Reed of Maine was speaker of the House from 1890 to 1899. He ruled the House with an iron hand, partly through his acid wit. When one member said he would rather be right than president, Reed retorted, “The gentleman need not be disturbed; he will never be...
Letter to the editor: Not very Christian
For a nation claiming to follow the teachings of Christ, there seems to be large doses of hypocrisy. Complaints about high taxes, Medicaid recipients, illegal immigrants, the homeless and the poor taking advantage of “social systems” that give some relief, and how too many low- and middle-income (families making less...
Editorial: Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial spotlights importance of mental health
The jury hearing the case of Robert Bowers in the federal courthouse Downtown already has decided he is guilty of the hate-motivated murders of 11 people, members of the three congregations that met at the Tree of Life Or L’Simcha synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Oct. 27, 2018. Now they are...
Letter to the editor: What is a ‘public servant’?
In light of recent events surrounding Hunter Biden, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and others, we need a reset on what it means to be a public servant. Dictionary.com says a public servant is “a person holding a government office or job by election or appointment.” There are millions who...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Chris Christie, the truth-teller
The “Calumny of Apelles” is a famous 15th-century painting by Sandro Botticelli that depicts the isolation of a truth teller. The painting shows nine figures, with the unadorned Truth at the far left. On the far right is the king, the decider, seated on an elevated throne. And separating the...
Point: State of the republic — precarious
The state of the republic is precarious, but I am hopeful that democracy will prevail because it is resilient. We the people have faced serious threats in the past, including even a Civil War, and we have overcome them. We must continue to pass laws to strengthen our democracy in...
Counterpoint: Decline in religion doesn’t bode well for the republic
Over the past several decades, a growing number of Americans have abandoned their faith — usually Christianity — to join the ranks of the nonreligious. These “Nones” describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.” Some may shrug at this, but you don’t have to be religious to know...
Letter to the editor: Our kids are in peril
The Allegheny County detention facility at Shuman Center has been closed for some time, and now it’s Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center (“Westmoreland closes juvenile detention center amid state investigation, staffing shortages,” June 24, TribLIVE). Given that, there is no mystery in the spike of delinquent crime. I am well...
Sounding off: Trump’s charges, Supreme Court ethics, DEP name change, climate fight, next president among week’s topics
Trump violated law The writer of the letter “Trump deserves 4th Amendment protection” (June 22, TribLIVE) bases his argument on the Presidential Records Act. Before writing his letter, perhaps he should have actually read the act, which states in part that the official records of the president and his staff...
Letter to the editor: Why doesn’t Supreme Court have code of ethics?
Recent revelations of very expensive vacation trips enjoyed by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are shocking. None of these trips were disclosed on either of their financial report forms, despite having been paid for by wealthy Republican individuals having multiple cases brought before the Supreme Court. Neither justice ever...
Editorial: What do financial problems mean for future of Independence?
The merger of Butler Health System with Excela Health was supposed to take the local medical groups and forge them into a larger, stronger entity that would survive and serve. The two officially became one entity in January. In May, it adopted a new name: Independence Health System. A new...
