Opinion category, Page 277
Editorial: Will minimum wage bill set up a new veto showdown in Allegheny County?
Just 11 months ago, Allegheny County was facing a veto showdown with County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. It’s not something that happens often in a county where one party dominates — although the Democratic-heavy county council is not always on the same page as their fellow party member with the veto...
Letter to the editor: Rejecting today’s ‘reality’
At 67 years old, I recently discovered that my entire reality is based upon misinformation. I have been living a lie. I was told that my masculinity is toxic. Doing the things that a traditional man has always done is now considered harmful. I thought that strength, courage and assertiveness...
Jonah Goldberg: Why Trump’s childish bullying of his Republican opponents works
“Congratulations to Nikki Haley for following President Trump’s lead and doing a CNN town hall. Ron DeSanctimonious is too chicken to ever do something like this.” — @TrumpWarRoom Here, in microcosm, is the dysfunction plaguing the GOP presidential field, thanks to the Trumpian captivity. As with most Trumpian pronouncements, there’s...
Stephen L. Carter: The Supreme Court’s confusing water ruling, explained
The Supreme Court’s recent decision on the limits of federal authority under the Clean Water Act has been celebrated or condemned, depending on the ideological predilections of the observer. Everyone agrees, however, that the opinions themselves make for rather rough reading. They boil down to a squabble over the words...
John Kleindienst: With volunteering, you get more than you give
Most of us have heard people say something along the lines of “I get more out of it than they do” when talking about the volunteer experience. Some will even couch that statement with “I know it sounds cliché, but …” as if others may not believe the genuine feeling...
Letter to the editor: Biden and Kennedy are the best Democrats have?
On May 25, Laura Ingraham had on her program this guy Robert F. Kennedy, who is running to be the Democratic pick for president in 2024. To say this guy has a terrible speaking voice would be an understatement. When he speaks, I can only understand every 25th word out...
Letter to the editor: Let’s work together for our children’s future
This graduation season, I reflect on the roller coaster this last decade has been. In 2009, I graduated — a child psychiatrist, a medical doctor, ready to serve my community and raise my children in Westmoreland County. In 2007 and 2010, I was fortunate to become a mother. I was...
Letter to the editor: Rep. Eric Nelson a pro-life advocate
John Ventre’s letter “Questioning Westmoreland County Republicans” (May 25, TribLIVE) claimed state Rep. Eric Nelson “voted for fetal tissue research.” This is 100% inaccurate. This issue is very near and dear to my heart. As a Life PAC of Southwestern Pennsylvania board member and an active pro-life volunteer for years,...
Editorial: Senate needs to follow House example with rent, property tax rebate bill
On Monday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 1100. It doesn’t sound that important when you list it like that. Most legislation starts out like that, numbered like a tag to pick up dry cleaning. Try to grasp what passes as a title and it gets worse —...
Matthew Yglesias: The debt-limit crisis is over. Now on to the debt crisis
Maybe the most surprising aspect of the debt-ceiling increase President Joe Biden signed into law last week is that, once all the kicking and screaming was done, it not only passed Congress but passed easily. And maybe the most intriguing question raised by this whole debate is whether we should...
Christine Sarteschi: No sympathy for anti-government extremists
A movie titled “Sovereign,” starring Nick Offerman, Dennis Quaid and Jacob Tremblay, is in the planning stages. It is based on a real-world event involving two sovereign citizens, Jerry Kane and his 16-year-old son, Joseph. They shot and killed two West Memphis, Ark., police officers during a traffic stop. Sovereign...
Cal Thomas: Trump never changes
It wasn’t a difficult choice to watch the first of the NBA playoff games between Miami and Denver instead of Donald Trump’s appearance on “Hannity,” but when Denver built a 12-point lead, I switched channels to see if Trump might say something new? Nope, same old denouncing of opponents and...
Greg Fulton: When college football was still a sport …
Several years from now, we might wistfully be speaking about when college football was an amateur sport rather than a minor league for professional football. We might reminisce about when players chose to play for the love of the game and the pride of representing their school while obtaining a...
Bernie Hall: Investing in steel will secure Pa.’s future
Workers at U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works make steel for the smart homes, energy-efficient appliances and high-tech vehicles in ever-greater demand as America exits the pandemic and charts a new course for prosperity. Their counterparts at other mills across Pennsylvania build steel for the military and for the modern roads...
Letter to the editor: Math and white supremacy
To those of you in the intellectual elite who argue that math is now a form of white supremacy, here is an experiment for you: design a building using construction calculations based on your belief that getting the correct answer is some kind of white microagression. Now, construct the building...
Letter to the editor: Biblical advice for voting wisely
Most Christians read the Bible and try to live by it. Read Matthew 23: Does it parallel today’s politics? A new broom sweeps clean. Don’t use a worn-out broom. We have a choice in 2024. Vote wisely. God bless America, we need it! Regis Farrell Greensburg...
Letter to the editor: We’ll go to war or go broke
The U.S. has the largest debt burden of all the countries in the world, over $31 trillion and growing. We have the largest military budget in the world. The U.S. spends more than the next 10 countries combined on its military. We have borrowed and spent all this money, but...
Editorial: Was smokestack demolition blast a failure of planning or communication?
“Control” is the goal with controlled demolition. It’s all about using the physics of the explosion and gravity, the understanding of the architecture and terrain and the art of experience to bring down the house — or skyscraper or ballpark or other structures. But control is not always possible. Just...
Letter to the editor: Gender insanity
Let’s be honest. You can only be a male or female. Or so I thought. With how society is becoming, forms you fill out will change from “What’s your sex?” to “How do you identify?” Or my new favorite, “Are you binary or nonbinary?” I also have never heard of...
Letter to the editor: America at a crossroads
A generation ago, I had great hopes for the world following the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. The nations there seemed on the road to prosperity and freedom for their people. Many of us (including me) went to teach modern manufacturing and management principles. It seemed socialism and communism...
Tom Purcell: A personal salute to Flag Day
It’s long past time for me to put a flagpole in the center of my front yard — one that holds a large American flag that dances proudly in the summer breeze. We bought such a flagpole for my father on his 70th birthday, shortly after he and my mother...
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...
Letter to the editor: Debt, taxes and the unfairness of life
Congress could enact laws to solve our border and other problems, but it seems they would rather blame the president, so they can get more votes. Why would any politician solve any problem when it makes them millions in tax-free political donations? Congress wants spending cuts because it costs more...
Letter to the editor: We need strong EPA standards
It feels like each Pennsylvania summer gets hotter. With more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from fossil-fuel industries, consequences such as droughts, torrential rains and pollution-based health issues will become even more concerning and common. Fortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new limits on carbon pollution from coal- and gas-burning...
