Opinion category, Page 431
Editorial: Addressing Pennsylvania’s unseen blight of abandoned mines
While a large part of the nation’s infrastructure — especially its older construction — involves steel that was born in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the process started earlier with another industry. None of that steel was made without coal. The steel industry is a large part of the reason that about 5,000...
Letter to the editor: Support climate through Build Back Better
The White House has recognized our country faces a climate crisis and that time is running out to act. Its Build Back Better Act (BBBA) was passed by the U.S. House and is now in the Senate, where it faces a difficult road to passage. With a proposed $550 billion in...
John Stossel: Groveling to China
Companies tell us they support justice. “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” says former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a Nike ad. “Speak for the people who may not be able to be heard,” says the NBA. “Corporate PR hogwash,” says journalist Melissa Chen. “Hogwash,” she says,...
Jonah Goldberg: RNC’s idea of ‘legitimate political discourse’ shows how far gone it is
My first question: What about the feces? I don’t mean figuratively, as in “Wow, the Republican National Committee really stepped in (fill in the blank)” or other colorful idioms. I mean it literally, what about the poop? I should back up. The RNC, the greatest agglomeration of hacks ever seen...
Sheldon Jacobson: Nilan firing at TSN places vaccine misinformation on full display
A radio personality refuses to be vaccinated and ends up losing his job. This is something that may occur in some parts of the U.S. But in Canada, where getting fired for anything is exceedingly more difficult? This occurred last week with TSN radio commentator Chris Nilan, a former NHL...
Letter to the editor: Why no coverage of St. Joseph High School basketball?
I saw with interest the basketball headline Jan. 29 heralding the “Freeport boys win on last-second 3” (“Last-second 3-pointer lifts Freeport over Burrell,” Jan. 28, TribLIVE). A great win and a fine article supporting the efforts. What I didn’t understand, however, was the lack of a similar story about St....
Letter to the editor: Inaccurate headline on Biden’s accomplishments
Spotlight PA is doing a wonderful job discovering and highlighting issues that need to be addressed — for example, the recent articles on taxpayers paying legislators’ lawyer fees and housing for aging sex offenders. On the other hand, I notice the Trib headlines on articles often do not adequately reflect...
Letter to the editor: Boycott Olympics
I urge you to join me in a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics by not watching on TV or following the events taking place in Communist China. China is the site of numerous human rights violations, and the world and especially the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has turned a...
Editorial: Wolf’s last budget address leans on familiar ideas
Gov. Tom Wolf has given his last budget address. In many ways, it played like a greatest hits album. His farewell concert included old standards that have defined his campaigns and budgets of the past — items like increasing the minimum wage and his signature song about increasing education funding....
Letter to the editor: Why the big lie continues
Dec. 7, Sept. 11 and Jan. 6 will go down as three days of infamy. On the first date, the United States was attacked by a foreign power. On 9/11 we were attacked by foreign terrorists. On Jan. 6, we were attacked by our own citizens, an angry mob intent...
Letter to the editor: Covid confusion and returning to ‘normal’
Imagine if you will … an America paralyzed in fear. Consider covid: • Virus: Was it developed in a lab or not? Transmitted by breathing or touching or both? • Hand and surface cleaning: Two years ago, often; now, seldom. • Shutdowns: Close small businesses and churches, but large box...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Let teachers teach!
I have a modest proposal. We’ll get to it in a moment but, first, let’s talk about “Maus.” That, of course, is Art Spiegelman’s two-part graphic novel of his father’s experience in the Holocaust, which was banned last month by the school board in McMinn County, Tenn. Sadly, that in...
Letter to the editor: Why did God give us fossil fuels if he didn’t want us to use them?
I am a Christian, and I believe if God thought we could destroy his planet with the use of fossil fuels, he would not have given them for us to use in the first place. Only God can destroy his planet, like the time Noah had to build an ark....
Letter to the editor: Why are noncitizens voting?
I was shocked to read in Mona Charen’s column “Are Democrats trying to lose elections?” (Jan. 16, TribLIVE) that mayors in the United States apparently have the power to allow noncitizens to vote in elections in their cities and towns. Charen noted that New York City’s new mayor, Eric Adams,...
Letter to the editor: On covid, do what’s right for everyone
What have we done? What are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? In the last two years, we have watched over 900,000 Americans lose their lives, over a small virus that has deadly consequences. Mostly because some doubting Thomases just can’t or will not see the necessity to vaccinate....
Letter to the editor: Candidates should recognize importance of technology
As we continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, now is the time to set our city on a path that will meet our reputation as the most livable city while maintaining the innovative drive that has created jobs and fostered innovation over the last decade. As mayor, Ed Gainey...
Letter to the editor: The nuances of socialism
The right likes to demonize the word socialism and conflate ordinary public policies with authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Cuba or Nazi Germany, which are socialist in name only. But a detailed look at some of our democratic socialist policies paint a more nuanced picture. Social Security, Medicare, roads and bridges,...
Tom Purcell: The scandalous silence about China
It’s possibly the only scandal we are allowed to discuss. In 2015, the peaceful and tiny world of competitive curling was rocked by a broom kerfuffle that sent the ancient sport reeling. Curling — which is currently getting its quadrennial global TV exposure at the Winter Olympics in Beijing —...
Editorial: Pittsburgh City Council salary vote was poorly timed
What difference can two days make? In the great scheme of government, two days is usually not a big deal. Government generally moves at a sloth-like speed with the number of committee meetings and debates and questions and sending things back to the start before decisions are made. It’s like...
Cal Thomas: The real cause behind the rise in crime
While President Biden and local officials keep talking about causes for the rise in crime in our major cities, proposing “solutions” that have failed in the past, like former President Bill Clinton’s Midnight Basketball idea, the real reason for its escalation is deeper than what we see on the surface....
Letter to the editor: Wendel residents lost more than convenience when post office closed
It has been nearly a year since the Wendel post office was closed. Wendel residents on our side of town now must go to Manor to pick up our mail. A two-minute trip has turned into a 20-minute expedition. In a letter dated Jan. 20, 2021, Curtis Williams, manager of...
Letter to the editor: Consolidation sorely needed in Allegheny County
Regardless of what happens with the proposed merger of Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh, the need to consolidate the number of government entities within Allegheny County endures. At present, the townships and boroughs of Allegheny County more closely resemble the Kleinstaaterei of the Holy Roman Empire than the government structure of a...
Letter to the editor: Alzheimer’s patients entitled to treatment
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its draft decision on coverage for monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. This draft proposes a coverage decision that is so restrictive, it can hardly be considered coverage at all. It effectively denies access to all current...
Editorial: Constables have to follow law to enforce it
Why does Westmoreland County have so much trouble with the people enforcing the rules playing by them? For years, it was the sheriff’s office that was the problem. There were times that multiple leaders in the department were charged with crimes or on suspension or both all at the same...
Letter to the editor: End covid reimbursement policies
Throughout the covid-19 crisis, there has been intense debate about the course of action that policymakers should take to fight the disease. However, the common goal across the spectrum has been unwaveringly consistent: Minimize the number of deaths and severe outcomes. Early on, state and federal subsidies were offered to...
