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Featured Commentary category, Page 91

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Robert Sroufe: Pa. can reap financial, health benefits from RGGI
In Pennsylvania, we see more extreme weather, more deaths from heat and respiratory ailments like asthma, and a disruption to agriculture, all attributable to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil contribute substantially to climate change in Pennsylvania and across the globe....
Andrew Swensen: Faith in one another should be our 2021 story
We are hardwired for story. It is our nature to weave the experiences of life into narrative, both as individuals and societies, and this storytelling nature is as intrinsic to our species as purring is to cats and singing to birds. Here we wrestle with the deepest questions of humanity,...
Nancy Patton Mills: We voted for Biden to begin rebuilding
On Wednesday — some 75 days after resoundingly defeating Donald Trump at the ballot box and two weeks after his election was certified by Congress — Joe Biden will take the oath of office and finally become the president of the United States of America. It can’t come soon enough....
Charles Mitchell: The last line of defense against executive overreach
In the face of an emerging crisis, swift and extraordinary action can be warranted. This was certainly true last March, when Gov. Tom Wolf — confronting a deadly, mysterious virus — issued a disaster declaration that granted him emergency powers. There was little time to debate details and build consensus....
Sheldon Jacobson and Janet Jokela: Airport security checkpoints are nation’s covid-19 canary
We welcome the new year with nearly 22 million confirmed covid-19 cases and 365,000 deaths. The U.S. leads the world in total confirmed cases and deaths, while also ranking second in confirmed cases per capita and seventh in deaths per capita (for countries with a population over 10 million). The...
Caleb Verbois: The Constitution, a demagogue and a coup
Every semester in my introductory American Government class, I have my students read a short speech written by a 28-year-old over 150 years ago. It turned into one of the most important speeches in American history, even though many people have forgotten it today. The speaker, a relatively unknown Midwestern...
Steve Johnson: It wasn’t all bad, was it? 9 things to keep from 2020
I think most of us would gladly erase 2020 from our memories, in the same way that certain tall buildings fail to acknowledge the 13th floor. By almost any measure, it’s been a trash fire of a year. I could list what makes this true — the various fuels feeding...
Teresa Miller: Thanks to the DHS heroes on the front lines
If I could speak with the version of myself who existed exactly one year ago today, I’d tell her a few things. First, buy extra rolls of toilet paper before March. While you’re at it, suggest to your mom she look up “face masks” online and start sewing them for...
Douglas Motter: Pa.’s nursing home residents must get vaccines first
When is Pennsylvania going to complete vaccinating its most vulnerable citizens — nursing home residents? The better question might be: When will many of our nursing homes even receive a date for vaccinations to begin? While some have begun vaccinating residents, others are hearing it might not be until late...
Peter Morici: Biden can bring nation together with bold infrastructure program
President-elect Joe Biden needs a large-scale project that will summon the political class and national imagination to rescue the country from another four years of partisan distrust. A bold infrastructure program to reshape the American economy for a more prosperous and greener future could be just the ticket. Congestion alone...
Dr. G. Richard Olds: Physicians educated abroad can fill covid-induced doctor shortage
The United States will be short nearly 140,000 doctors by 2033, according to the latest estimates from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Covid-19 may drive the number of doctor shortages up further. Large numbers of physicians are leaving the profession. Consequently, we must begin preparing now to rebuild the...
Ralph Reiland: Will Rogers’ commentary on American life timeless
“Read his remarks now, and you want to cry, because so little has changed” stated the Des Moines Register, referring to the wisdom, humor, wit, philosophy, power of observation, popularity, and political and cultural influence of Will Rogers, the chronicler of an age, serving, because he did it better than...
Chris Johnson: Beyond the pandemic — transforming health care operations
When covid-19 reached America early in 2020, the U.S. health care system mobilized like never before to anticipate and meet the demand for treatment and vaccines. Ten months later, health care providers today continue to work courageously and tirelessly to deliver patient care. Talented and dedicated medical researchers have spent...
Dr. Jacob Appel: Why call anyone ‘Dr.’?
The controversy over incoming first lady Jill Biden’s use of the title “Dr.” — spurred by essayist Joseph Epstein’s recent jeremiad in The Wall Street Journal against holders of nonmedical doctorates who embrace the label — largely has focused on the sexism confronted by female Ph.D.s and Ed.D.s (such as...
Mary Schmich: Light returns after dark year
And now the light comes back. On Monday the winter solstice arrived, marking the moment we begin the slow climb out of the darkness, like weary miners exiting the pit. This year more than ever, the shift feels psychological as well as astronomical, so it’s a good time to take...
Eric Epstein: Three Mile Island cleanup must be fully funded
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently granted approval for the transfer of the license of Three Mile Island Unit-2 (TMI-2) from FirstEnergy, a public utility, to TMI-2 Solutions, a limited liability corporation based in Utah. The NRC approved the license transfer without holding a hearing. TMI-Alert speaks in opposition to...
Mary Carney: Vital rural access hospitals need support
As we brace ourselves for another wave in covid-19 cases, we are reminded of the gratitude and overwhelming need for health care professionals. The rollout of the vaccine is giving us a sense of hope for the future, but Pennsylvania is still grappling with the state’s confirmed 577,000-plus covid-19 cases...
Frasat Ahmad: Muslims don’t celebrate Christmas, but still commemorate Christ
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Christmas has come. The Christmas trees, filled stockings, mistletoe and bright lights are spectacular. What’s not to like? So how come Muhammad down the street is not soaking up the holiday joy? I don’t see his house decorated with lights, or...
Michael Carnahan: Mill 19 solar project step toward clean air — if expiring tax credit is renewed
When the switch flipped on for Mill 19 at Hazelwood Green last month, I felt a rush of gratitude for the union workers who had stood on netting hammocked between steel beams 85 feet off the ground. Slow, steady and with great skill, they’d clamped on each of the 4,968...
Glenn Marsch: Triumph of the vaccine — the swift rescue
In the first month or two of 2020, we had the first hint of a new, strange disease that originated in Wuhan, China. By March, we were locked down in our homes and have lived unprecedented disruptions of normal life since then. All along we have looked to science for...
Cole Schenley: Local government should decide minimum wage
Voting for President Trump while also supporting a law that raises the minimum wage? At first glance, you might think it impossible. Trump’s campaign platform made no mention of increasing the minimum wage. Though he often claims to be on the side of American workers, many of his trade and...
Nathan Lents and Dr. S. Joshua Swamidass: Science bridges divides for a better world
Fifteen years ago Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones delivered his landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District ruling: Intelligent design is not scientific, is religious in nature and therefore should not be taught as a scientific alternative to evolutionary theory in public schools. This was a big...
Steven Chanenson and Jordan Hyatt: Vaccine decisions for the incarcerated
After a powerful fall resurgence, covid-19 has left no aspect of life untouched, including in Pennsylvania’s state prisons and county jails. Now that the first shots have been given, doctors, ethicists and politicians have begun to consider who should be vaccinated next and in what order this should happen. One...
Robert Smith: The nature of environmental quality
We have all heard the ongoing allegations of toxic pollution spewing from big business destroying our environment and killing us, cancer rates and respiratory diseases on the increase because of big businesses polluting for profit. These are some of the many emotionally charged allegations leveled by environmental groups. These types...
Peter Morici: Once vaccines roll out, Biden must get millions back to work
President-elect Joe Biden ran on a platform to address climate change, remedy inequality, resurrect the economy, and implement a more focused covid-19 strategy but he faces some tough challenges delivering. It appears that Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna should be rolling out vaccines soon, but it will take months to...


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