Opinion category, Page 292
Anne M. Litz: Celebrating National Library Week
April 23-29 is National Library Week! But maybe you haven’t been to the local library in a while. Quite a while. Your library card expired, say, a couple of decades ago. Maybe you remember having to pay for a card back then. Maybe you’re not “into” books that much. Maybe...
Letter to the editor: Don’t vote for incumbents for Westmoreland County commissioner
No incumbent Westmoreland County commissioners deserve your vote. They are the ones who sent millions of dollars back to the federal government because they could not find the time to figure out how to award the money — money that was needed by small businesses and the needy. No incumbent...
Letter to the editor: Censorship not the way to prioritize students’ well-being
My first Hempfield School Board meeting concerned the policy for challenging school library books. Points from both sides were presented, along with those of a sexual abuse survivor who identified being “triggered” by scenes described in a book. As a licensed counselor and survivor of sexual assault myself, I am...
Letter to the editor: Reasons for Methodist disaffiliation
Regarding Natalie Frydryck’s op-ed “Young Methodists concerned about disaffiliation, too” (April 9, TribLIVE): I’m a member of a former United Methodist church that chose to disaffiliate. I’ve heard and read opinions about the disaffiliation and have not heard one that told the entire truth. Our church chose to join the...
Editorial: The solemn duty of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting jury
On Monday, the trial of Robert Bowers will begin with jury selection. The 12 people in the jury box — and the alternates who will back them up — will comprise the backbone of one of the most important trials Pittsburgh may ever see. It will decide whether Bowers is...
Letter to the editor: God didn’t give us guns
I’m not opposed to gun ownership, but like an overwhelming majority of Americans I support commonsense gun legislation. Neither the Christian Bible nor the U.S. Constitution forbids reasonable limits on gun ownership. Based on this, I am intrigued by politicians and recent letter-writers who proclaim that unbridled gun ownership is...
Letter to the editor: We’re not ‘good or evil’ based on our political views
A recent letter to the editor claims that America has devolved into a battleground of good vs. evil (“Pick a side, good or evil,” April 10, TribLIVE). The view(s) of the author insinuate that conservatives (Republicans) are good, God-fearing Christian people who know exactly what God wants in our country....
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Will Fox’s big payout bring any changes?
If you were looking for Fox News to beat its chest and say “mea culpa” as part of the settlement last week with Dominion Voting Systems, you were probably disappointed. But for many people, there is some comfort in the $787.5 million that Fox agreed to pay Dominion. Dominion’s lawyers...
Michael Zoosman: The Tree of Life — and a plea for life
Editor’s note: Many family members of victims of the Tree of Life shooting have advocated for prosecutors seeking the death penalty. Robert Bowers faces 63 federal charges in the case; jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday. We, the thousands of members of L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty, are...
Letter to the editor: Girardi for Springdale district judge
As a Springdale resident voting for district judge, I strongly support Michael Girardi. My family has had political ties in the past, and I still have family here. I was born and raised in Springdale and attended Springdale High School, now retired. My father Jack was the chief of police...
Sounding off: Discriminatory church, Narcan, ‘assault weapons,’ climate among week’s topics
Does Catholic Church discriminate, demonize? Regarding the letter “Pick a side, good or evil” (April 10, TribLIVE): How dare the writer declare “you cannot be Catholic and vote Democrat.” Who made him pope? According to him, you can discriminate against God’s children who he made LBGT, and still be Catholic....
Letter to the editor: Celebrate with a meat-free Earth Day
Today, Earth Day, is a good day for a simple action we can take to benefit the planet: going meat-free for the day. The Ecological Society’s academic journal declared “animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change,” producing 57% of global greenhouse gas emissions, not including deforestation costs. A...
Editorial: Why did Fitzgerald pick Doven-Hallam race for endorsement?
With just over three weeks until the primary elections, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald weighed in with his first endorsement of 2023. You might think he was prepared to recommend his pick to replace him. Fitzgerald is finishing his third term. He is just the third person to have that...
Letter to the editor: The latest targeting of Trump
During Josef Stalin’s purges of anyone he considered a threat, the ruthless chief of the Soviet secret police, Lavrentiy Beria, stated, “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.” The Democratic Party has been employing this strategy against Donald Trump for over six years. The indictment of Trump...
Gary Franks: The root causes of mass shootings and inner-city homicides
Democrats should stop demagoguing the gun issue on “how” people are dying and focus instead on “why” people are dying. When guns are involved, there is a 84% homicide rate for Black youths under the age of 18, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. The use of guns...
S.E. Cupp: Fox News admits now it lied, but can it stop?
Tuesday’s historic 11th hour settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems for a whopping $787.5 million for defamation was justice for Dominion, which Fox hosts had baselessly smeared to sow doubt in the 2020 presidential election results. “Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election...
Zach Shamberg: Access to long-term care depends on workforce solutions
It seems like every industry is struggling with workforce challenges. In the industry of long-term care — nursing homes, personal care homes and assisted living communities — staffing challenges are nothing new. Long-term-care providers were battling a shortage of caregivers well before the covid-19 pandemic. But the last three years...
Letter to the editor: Tax not doubled for couples
I had occasion to read the letter “Reasons for Pittsburgh population loss” (April 7, TribLIVE). I wanted to draw your readership’s attention to this argument: “People who live in the city pay a 3% wage tax. So, if you and your spouse work, you now lose 6% of your total...
Letter to the editor: Many things can be called ‘assault weapons’
The term “assault weapon” can be applied to anything that is used to kill, injure or maim another person The FBI statistics show that more people are attacked and murdered with kitchen knives than by AR semi-automatic rifles and pistols every year. If the far-left Democrats have their way, then...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland GOP needs new leader
Bill Bretz, Westmoreland County’s GOP chairman, is causing voters to call for his immediate resignation due to seemingly politicized, unethical behaviors. Recently, he discriminately kicked off certain elected committee members for collecting signatures for the most qualified candidates instead of the GOP’s endorsed candidates, while keeping on selected members who...
Laurels & lances: Civic duty and illegal drugs
Laurel: To a valuable education. If there’s one thing our divided political landscape proves, there are a lot of people out there who could have used a civics class. Civics is the study of what it takes to be a citizen. It teaches the mechanism of the governments that govern...
Letter to the editor: Free Narcan will always be available
The article “Western Pa. recovery experts celebrate over-the-counter naloxone, voice concern about cost” (April 6, TribLIVE) discusses how free distribution of naloxone will still be important even when it becomes available over the counter. However, it did not mention where agencies obtain their free Narcan, or how any Westmoreland County...
Lori Falce: The truth about surviving childhood
Almost every day on Facebook or Twitter or some other social media outlet, I see a version of it. Sometimes it’s just a quick one-liner from a friend. Sometimes it is dressed in a funny meme. Often it is a long passage shared by a relative who I know does...
Colin McNickle: PIT’s misleading stats, rose-colored glasses
The Allegheny County Airport Authority used a misleading comparison to make it appear that passenger and operations numbers at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) have improved more than they have, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. As it happens, the PIT decline in passengers from February...
Letter to the editor: Owners to blame for underperforming teams
Regarding the letter “Time for Mark Madden to go” (April 17, TribLIVE): Madden is usually spot on with his observations of teams that have poor management, planning for the future and coaching and poor performing players. He is pointing the finger at team owners, not the fans. If the Steelers...
