Opinion category, Page 406
Letter to the editor: Pirates need a new script
Recent articles and fan comments in the Tribune-Review pretty well reflect people’s loss of interest in attending any Pirates games. I think most people in the Pittsburgh area are fed up with what the owner’s acumen reflects. No interest in developing a winning, or competitive, team, as long as he...
Letter to the editor: Addressing probation reform
Gene Barr’s op-ed supporting probation “reform” is not only misleading but absurd in its suggestion that it would increase employment for people with convictions (“Probation reform a solution to Pa.’s workforce crisis,” March 24, TribLIVE). Barr points to a real issue of onerous probation regulations that keep people from seeking...
Letter to the editor: If we respect life, we must end death penalty
On April 29, Richard Bernard Moore, a man on South Carolina’s death row, will be executed by firing squad. That’s right. Firing squad! As an ordained Roman Catholic deacon, serving as a chaplain to our incarcerated sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, I most strongly urge my fellow...
Editorial: Debates are chance to minimize money’s role in elections
Pennsylvania is one of the most important states in national politics — even in a year when only state races are on the top of the ticket. With less than a month until the primary election, the contests for governor and U.S. senator are heating up, both in rhetoric and...
Editorial cartoons for the week of April 25
Editorial cartoons for the week of April 25....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of April 25
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of April 25...
Mona Charen: Tucker Carlson and the crisis of masculinity
Tucker Carlson’s foray into testicle toasting is only the latest (and possibly most amusing) example of the right wing’s masculinity obsession. The manliness theme keeps reappearing. Donald Trump’s strutting tough talk was imbibed greedily by fans eager for affirmation of the manly virtues. Trump and his acolytes didn’t invent this;...
Letter to the editor: The curative powers of hot cross buns
I loved the article “Saint Vincent monks hit sweet spot with handmade hot cross buns” (April 13, TribLIVE). I’ve been making them for ages but always only on Good Friday. Made on that special day, the buns are to have curative powers. I have tried several traditional recipes but never...
Letter to the editor: Saint Vincent College’s intolerance is sad
So, Saint Vincent College invited a speaker that made the liberal-leaning administration “cringe” (“Saint Vincent College responds to racism claims following weekend lecture,” April 14, TribLIVE)? Their response — to make sure that it never happens again. I guess they just don’t want to hear something that may offend their...
Letter to the editor: How would Skybus have changed Pittsburgh?
I wonder … . I wonder what Pittsburgh would have been like today if the innovative Skybus had been passed by the Allegheny County commissioners in the 1960s. Back then, steel was all that mattered to Pittsburgh. Population drain? With steel mills going 24/7? What need was there for Skybus?...
Letter to the editor: Leaders must address border crisis
The Trib recently reported 168 drug overdose deaths in Westmoreland County in 2021, up 37% from the prior year (“Coroner’s report shows 168 accidental overdose deaths in 2021 in Westmoreland County”). What a senseless tragedy this is for families that have needlessly lost loved ones. Sadly, addiction is an illness,...
Letter to the editor: Whistleblowers are key to recouping covid fraud losses
The letter “Pandemic fraud is an eye-opener” referenced the Associated Press article “Fraud overwhelms pandemic-related unemployment programs” spotlighting a tidal wave of fraud. Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the fraud iceberg. Two years ago, lawmakers passed a series of spending bills to provide pandemic relief and shore up...
Editorial: Indoctrination, controversy and education
Norwin School District has new guidelines when it comes to teaching about controversial subjects. It’s the kind of thing that has been growing in the district and others like it for months while meetings have been taken up with criticism of classes and books. But exactly what is controversial? It’s...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Stopping the shootings
In a scene that is far too familiar, over 100 citizens and community leaders gathered at Allegheny Center Alliance Church last week to pray for an end to the gun violence that is robbing us of our youth and putting our community in peril. Three days earlier, two 17-year-old boys,...
Sounding off: On racism, we’ve come a long way
The author of the letter “Let’s tell the truth about racism” states that systemic racism “has and continues to be prevalent in all facets of our society.” From my perspective, our country has arguably been more successful at eradicating all forms of racism than perhaps any other. Just look at...
Point: The legislative filibuster is destroying Congress
Close your eyes and let your imagination transport you back to the ninth grade. Do you remember a teacher standing at the front of a classroom explaining the three branches of government? Division of power? Checks and balances? Me, too! But I’m increasingly concerned that many of our elected officials...
Counterpoint: The filibuster is not the problem
President Biden’s agenda has stalled on Capitol Hill, where Democrats have been unable to overcome Republican opposition in the Senate to pass bills such as the Build Back Better Act and voting rights reform. Democrats are increasingly concerned that failure to pass more of their legislative agenda before November’s midterm...
Colin McNickle: Serious public education questions in Pa.
New research from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy documents how poor PSSA scores presage poor Keystone Exam scores in Pennsylvania. But it also prompts two critical questions: Do such achievement test results point to a massive failure of the commonwealth’s educational establishment and/or are the tests too difficult and...
Letter to the editor: Obama, Biden responsible for war in Ukraine
Presidents Obama and Biden must share responsibility for the war in Ukraine. In 2014, Putin walked into Crimea without a shot being fired. This came after Obama told Russia’s president at the time to tell Putin (then prime minister) he would have “more flexibility” after he won the 2012 election....
Letter to the editor: Attacks on thought, free speech
I have read a number of Trib stories recently outlining controversies over local school districts’ curricula. There has been criticism of parents’ efforts to prevent the use of materials deemed by them as not appropriate for their children. This has been decried as “censorship” equivalent to book burnings by liberals...
Editorial: What should be regulated with Airbnb rentals?
In the early hours of Easter Sunday, a party at an Airbnb rental in Pittsburgh’s North Side turned from a noisy nuisance into a bloody gunfight with hundreds of people running for their lives. Two 17-year-olds died. Nine others suffered gunshots. Five more were injured as they fled. By Tuesday,...
Letter to the editor: Voice of Westmoreland works to improve lives
In his letter “Actions speak louder than words”, Bill Herald suggests that Voice of Westmoreland, a nonpartisan grassroots group, should bring the homeless and mentally ill into their homes instead of writing letters. Herald glosses over the security and liability issues involved in individuals attempting to take on this responsibility....
Gary Franks: Jackie Robinson broke a long tradition, and not just in baseball
Last week we all witnessed the 75th anniversary of the breaking of the color barrier in sports by Jackie Robinson. This was one of the most momentous events in American history as it changed — via sports — the lives of all Americans. There was a time when Black participation...
S.E. Cupp: Is the New York I used to know gone for good?
As a 20- and 30-something young woman living in Manhattan some years ago, the city felt like my playground. Virtually nowhere was off-limits, too unfriendly or unsafe to visit. The Theater District for plays. The Lower East Side for live music. Harlem for soul food. The Bronx for Italian. Queens...
Nathan Benefield: Stagnant Pa. economy requires real business-tax reform
In his final annual budget address, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a major reduction in the state’s corporate income tax. Wolf’s tax-cut plan may come as a surprise to some, considering his liberal bona fides, and has been lauded by business groups desperate for relief from the second-highest business tax...
