Opinion category, Page 299
Letter to the editor: What’s freedom without morals?
About 10 years ago, I tried to engage our representatives to do something about weapons. Newtown, Conn., is very close to where my grandchildren were raised. After a few letters — which Sen. Tim Murphy actually answered and blamed mental health — things returned to status quo. Here we are...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Facing the truth about our dead children
When 14-year-old Emmett Till was savagely beaten and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after rumors spread that he had whistled at a white woman, his death would have been little noticed but for his mother’s decision to show the world what had been done to her son. Mamie Till Mobley...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: Would a JetBlue and Spirit merger be all that bad for travelers?
JetBlue is seeking permission to merge with Spirit Airlines. The U.S. Department of Justice is working to block the purchase. Does this make sense for air travelers? JetBlue sells itself as an upscale low-cost airline, with 34 inches of seat pitch and no-cost amenities for which other airlines charge a...
Lucas Berenbrok, Janice L. Pringle and Joni Carroll: FDA approval of over-the-counter Narcan important step in combating opioid crisis
On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan for over-the-counter sale. Narcan is the 4-milligram nasal spray version of naloxone, a medication that can quickly counteract an opioid overdose. This means that Narcan will be available for purchase without a prescription at more than 60,000 pharmacies nationwide. For...
Dan DeBone: Addressing Pa.’s child-care crisis
Any family will tell you that balancing work and parenting is challenging in the best of times. With the parents of most young children in Pennsylvania working, child care is critical to supporting the commonwealth’s labor force and employers. When parents don’t get the child care they need, it diminishes...
Letter to the editor: Saturday opener best for families
I’m a strong supporter of having the Saturday after Thanksgiving as the opener for rifle deer season. It allows generations of my family to hunt together. I can hunt anytime, but my son is unable to get off weekdays to hunt. With a Saturday opener, my grandson doesn’t have to...
Sounding off: On DeSantis, deer opener, commissioners, plastics, gun lawsuits, senior housing, pollution
DeSantis would be better than Biden In response to Joseph Sabino Mistick’s commentary “DeSantis is no Reagan” (March 18, TribLIVE), I’d like to make a few comments. Mistick accuses DeSantis of flying Venezuelans to Martha’s Vineyard to show he’s tough on immigration. Not so. DeSantis did this to put illegal...
Letter to the editor: Let’s look at Trump’s accomplishments
The writer of the letter “We’ve gone from best president to worst” (March 24, TribLIVE) seems so enthralled with his hero from Mar-a-Lago, I’m surprised he didn’t cite any of Trump’s alleged wonders. Perhaps he was thinking of Trump’s attempted coup. Gee, most Americans call that treason! Let’s look at...
Editorial: Reporter arrested in Russia should remind White House of Marc Fogel
Evan Gershkovich has been arrested in Russia. A Wall Street Journal reporter, he is charged with espionage. It is the first time Russia, as the nation it is today, has arrested an American journalist. Many outlets point to the 1986 arrest of U.S. News & World Report journalist Nicholas Daniloff,...
Letter to the editor: Job success for workers with disabilities
A decades-old injustice impacting Pennsylvanians with disabilities ends today as Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities: Workers with Job Success takes effect. Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities is a state health insurance program for individuals working with disabilities or chronic health problems. MAWD provides comprehensive health insurance coverage at...
Gary Franks: Biden’s use of Vice President Kamala Harris
The good news for President Joe Biden is that his approval rating, as reported by a recent AP-NORC poll, stands at 38%. This is his second worst rating in his presidency, slightly better than his 36% in July 2022. Yes, that is his “good” news. It should be worse. Vice...
S.E. Cupp: Gun massacres and the collapse of American values
My phone buzzed with a news alert, which happens numerous times throughout the day. This one, at 1:45 p.m. on Monday, was yet another mass shooting. My stomach turned queasy anticipating the details. I knew they would be horrifying — they always are. But I feared the worst … and,...
Philip J. Lazarus: ‘Closure’ after a school shooting is a myth
Whenever a school shooting takes place, such as the one that claimed the lives of three adults and three children at a Christian school in Nashville March 27, school officials often arrange for grief counseling services to be made available for whoever needs them. But what exactly do those services...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: Why has this year’s men’s basketball tournament been so mad?
The Final Four is set, with San Diego State (No. 5 seed out of the Mountain West), Florida Atlantic (No. 9 seed out of Conference USA), Connecticut (No. 4 seed out of the Big East) and Miami (No. 5 seed out of the Atlantic Coast Conference) ready to battle for...
Letter to the editor: How about grocery and gas benefit managers, too?
Regarding the op-ed “Pharmacy benefit managers help keep drug costs down” (March 20, TribLIVE): If pharmacy benefit managers do keep the price of prescription drugs down, it would be good to understand examples of several specific actions that allow them to do that. Then we could add a layer of...
Letter to the editor: Jeannette seniors deserve better
After reading the article “Federal grant to pay for security upgrades in Westmoreland public housing” (March 24, TribLIVE), I wanted to give my perspective as a city council member. Yes, Jeannette is the only municipality that rejected payment for extra police patrols. These patrols would be overtime for our officers...
Lori Falce: In the game of life, we keep swinging and missing when it comes to gun violence
I wanted to write about the Pittsburgh Pirates today. That was the plan. I was going to take the opportunity to poke the management of the hometown team with a sharp stick as we prepare to embark on what I predict now, at the end of March, will be yet...
Laurels & lances: Service and sentencing
Laurel: To honoring the past. Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the last American troops leaving Vietnam. In Pittsburgh, that date was remembered with a Vietnam Veterans Day service at the memorial on the North Shore. It was a reminder of not just a date in the past but of...
Letter to the editor: Sheriffs, not DAs, chief law enforcement officers
Sheriffs are the chief law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania counties, not the district attorneys. We are constantly told (particularly by attorneys and judges) that the district attorney is the “chief law enforcement officer” in the county. But this statement is simply not true. The DA is the chief prosecutor in...
Paul Kengor: Cancel culture descends on Pitt
Readers of my column know how I detest cancel culture, especially its ugly spread to speakers on college campuses. Universities ought to be bastions of genuine diversity and the free exchange of ideas. In my days at Pitt, liberals and conservatives were united in supporting one another’s right to bring...
Letter to the editor: Sue over guns? Why not killer cars and food, too?
President Biden wants to let people who have had loved ones killed by guns be able to sue gun manufacturers and gun dealers because they should have known that the guns will kill people, rather than the buyer who is using them being responsible. What about those killed by cars...
Letter to the editor: We can all be ‘climate activists’
There is a disconnect between “regular people” and “climate activists.” I’ve heard far too many times that there’s no point in “regular people” trying to do anything to fight climate change, and this mentality isn’t all regular people’s fault. Climate activists are often very proud of what they’ve worked for,...
Editorial: Pain, panic and fear: the fallout of a faked school shooting report
How dare you? This short sentence — equal parts earnest question, alarmed utterance and angry interjection — is directed at the person or persons, organization or movement behind computer-generated “swatting” calls made Wednesday reporting active shooter situations. Allegheny County 911 received calls about Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic. Both schools...
Letter to the editor: Legislators urged to protect animals
I urge Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, to support Goldie’s Act, H.R. 6100, which would impose stricter professional practices on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to uphold the Animal Welfare Act, which has oversight on puppy mills. Generally, “puppy mill” is another term for a dog producing factory, where female...
David Magee: Fentanyl poisoning — coming to a middle school near you
The last six months have been brutal for the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District in Texas. Nearly a dozen students have overdosed on fentanyl between September and March. Three of them died. If you’re thinking, Texas has a problem, the truth is far more sobering. America has a problem, and...
