Opinion category, Page 297
Letter to the editor: Many hunters like Saturday opener
I am appalled that your paper would post the article “Opponents of Saturday deer opener cite negative economic, social impacts” (March 20, TribLIVE) without having opinions from both sides. Myself and a bunch of other hunters are all for the Saturday opener and want it to continue. Not only do...
Editorial: Pa. Legislature should see Tennessee expulsions as cautionary tale
The Pennsylvania Legislature is no stranger to dissension. The state isn’t Democratic or Republican, after all. It isn’t even a muddled, muted purple. It is a patchwork of red and blue by county and city. That pattern is repeated in the House and Senate chambers. And that can lead to...
Letter to the editor: ‘City on a hill’ struggling
Whether a conservative Republican or a left-wing Democrat, you must now realize that our 250-year, uniquely successful American experiment, our “shining city on a hill,” is now struggling mightily. You are probably aware of how poorly most of our institutions have been doing recently. Our economy is struggling; inflation and...
Gary Franks: The crew of the Titanic was also distracted and used poor judgment
Next week marks the 111th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. That tragedy did not just happen by chance. Arrogant people who boasted that the ship was invincible played a major role. The “best engineers” determined that even if the “unsinkable” ship were to start sinking, it would take...
Guy Ciarrocchi: Democrats are now the ‘cool kids table’
“How come the suburbs used to be so Republican, and now they’re Democrat?” I’ve lived in Chester County in suburban Philadelphia since 1995. I was raised in South Philly and started out in politics campaigning for President Ronald Reagan. If I had a dime for every time I’ve been asked...
Letter to the editor: Our leaders should focus on drug problems, not deer season
I would like to call out some of our local politicians here in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania communities are being overtaken with illegal drugs, particularly opioids. I’m sure everyone reading this knows someone or has been affected by an opioid overdose. The overdose death rate in some of these communities is almost...
Letter to the editor: Change deer opener back to Monday
This is in response to the letter “Saturday opener best for families” (April 1, TribLIVE). I understand this opinion, but I would like to point out part of the argument for changing the opener back to the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Yes, I am a camp hunter, and I agree...
Lori Falce: Is the law one size fits all or not?
Covering court gives you a unique perspective on how the criminal justice system works. More specifically, it gives real insight on how it does work versus how it should work. Those might seem like the same thing. They are not. It’s a topic that is getting a lot of attention...
Letter to the editor: Reasons for Pittsburgh population loss
So the city of Pittsburgh has lost over 12,000 people and is 10th in the country for population drop (“Allegheny County had nation’s 10th biggest population loss, census estimates show,” March 31, TribLIVE). This is not rocket science, and here is why: • The city has become very unsafe, and...
Laurels & lances: Hot dogs, high fees and hoaxes
Laurel: To responding to the faithful. This year, two important events coincide for Catholic sports fans in the Greater Pittsburgh area: The Pirates’ home opener falls on Good Friday. This left a dilemma. Do you observe the papal direction to not eat meat on the holy day of obligation? Or...
Letter to the editor: Schools need armed resource officers
The government is a joke and an embarrassment. They are not “for the people.” The No. 1 reason our children and others are being killed due to such heinous violence is because politics are killing our children. They think nothing of sending billions to Ukraine, but do not fund every...
Elizabeth Stelle: Medicaid needs a better ‘normal’ in Pa.
This month, Medicaid is finally returning to normal — but “normal” was never that great. Currently, an estimated 600,000 ineligible Pennsylvanians — many of whom are able-bodied, working-age adults — receive taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits. Temporary pandemic provisions that prohibited states from regularly reviewing Medicaid eligibility expired this month, giving Pennsylvania...
Lee Trepanier: How AI could save liberal education
There have been discussions about AI writing programs like ChatGPT in the academy. The past few months have seen a flurry of activity with college administrators calling emergency meetings, professors changing their assignments and educators writing essays (some perhaps written by AI?) that range in reaction from the nonchalant to...
Carla Sofronski: Time is now to allow statewide syringe services programs
Drug overdose deaths and other harms related to the overdose crisis continue to ravage Pennsylvania families and communities. Pennsylvania has the fourth highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the nation. We have the ninth highest number of new HIV infections in the country. Our most vulnerable communities are seeing...
Daniel F. Stone: Your political rivals aren’t as bad as you think — here’s how misunderstandings amplify hostility
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene drew raised eyebrows when she suggested on Presidents Day that the United States pursue a “national divorce.” Even in an era of seemingly ever-growing political polarization — and despite Taylor Greene’s record of making controversial statements — the proposal shocked members of both political parties....
Letter to the editor: Reschenthaler should be glad justice system works
I was sorry to read Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s comment about the indictment of Donald Trump (“Western Pa. political leaders react to Trump indictment,” March 30, TribLIVE). Considering that it was a grand jury of ordinary citizens that made the decision to indict, he should be happy that the justice system...
Letter to the editor: Humans have changed the climate cycle
The writer of the letter “Climate change is cyclical” (March 27, TribLIVE) rehashes the faulty reasoning that still leads some to deny climate change. He wrongly states that “experts” predicted a coming ice age in the 1970s. In fact, even in those early days of climate modeling, the published record...
Editorial: Is there another solution for Medicaid and CHIP enrollment?
On April 1, the continuous enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP programs came to an end. Continuous enrollment came from the Families First Coronavirus Act, a federal measure passed in March 2020 to help Americans cope with the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic. A major factor was making sure people who...
Letter to the editor: Allegheny County Jail has a staffing crisis
The Allegheny County Jail has 88 vacancies for medical and mental health staff. In 2019 the number was 37. Why have so many people left employment at ACJ? Are their licenses threatened by doing work they should not be doing? Is there too much forced overtime affecting their family life?...
Jonah Goldberg: Why Trump’s indictment is filling ‘never again’ Trumpers with dread and despair
Now is a time of woe, not just for “Never Trump” conservatives, but also for the much larger group of Republicans who made peace with Trump once but dread having to do it again. In fact, just going by my unscientific survey, the melancholy is worse for those Republicans who...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: This is just the beginning for Trump
Here’s an important thing to remember: This is probably just the beginning. The end is unforeseeable. That’s because the unprecedented indictment of Donald Trump by a New York County grand jury on charges of paying “hush money” to a former porn star is almost certainly the first of several criminal...
Peter Morici: ‘Greedy’ corporations don’t make us feel poorer; it’s government spending and meddling in marketplace
U.S. wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, and this could become a big issue in the 2024 presidential election. Until the covid pandemic in 2020, President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation had boosted GDP growth well-above the rates accomplished by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Americans’ real...
Luke Conway: Reducing political polarization through disagreement
In case you hadn’t noticed, America is a bit of a mess right now. The country is as polarized as it has been for a long, long time. In most scientific studies of worldwide increases in polarization, the United States ranks at or near the top. Americans have taken note:...
Letter to the editor: Don’t give IRS any more personal info
Identity thieves steal Americans’ personal data daily. Instead of going after these criminals or helping victims, the IRS is similarly falling victim to these hackers, failing to protect hundreds of thousands of taxpayers. Last year, the IRS inadvertently released the private information of 112,000 taxpayers, including Social Security numbers and...
Letter to the editor: It’s guns, and we must fix the problem
Well over 100 mass shootings so far in 2023. Watching the aftermath brings tears to most of us, whether it happened in a church, at a concert or in a classroom of 6-year-olds. Can you even imagine? Yet nothing changes legislatively. These horrific tragedies may not have affected us all,...
