Letters to the Editor category, Page 42
Letter to the editor: Transform Western Pen for the homeless
Maybe state, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh officials could convene talks to turn Western Penitentiary into a homeless shelter, and then expand into affordable housing. This would require all three government bodies to work together. Might be a better idea than demolishing these buildings Tim Waibel McCandless...
Letter to the editor: Setting record straight on Seton Hill newspaper
A pause. The Seton Hill University student paper is on what my English department colleagues described in a recent email as “indefinite hiatus.” At the time, we didn’t know for how long. I was surprised by the creatively phrased Trib headline “Seton Hill University shutters student newspaper indefinitely” (Jan. 27, TribLive)....
Letter to the editor: Trump’s executive orders an unconstitutional power grab
Donald Trump’s executive orders make one thing clear to me: He is trying to grab power the Constitution does not give him. One order declares that as of Feb. 19, 2025, some babies born in the United States will not be American citizens under circumstances Trump himself has determined. The...
Letter to the editor: Reining in Trump’s inappropriateness
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay becomes so involved in the game that he often wanders into the area where the side judge is to have clear passage or sometimes even onto the field. To address this problem, the Rams have employed a “get back coach” who follows McVay...
Letter to the editor: A rundown of the last 8 years
Many Americans are conflicted about what significant events actually happened politically in, and to, our great country, over the past eight years. Both sides accuse each other of continually lying. As a political junkie of many years, here is my summary of the essential, pertinent, verifiable facts of the last...
Letter to the editor: Sheriff is right about dangers of society
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert is correct that society is becoming more dangerous (“Keeping Westmoreland County safe,” Dec. 10, TribLive). Millions of people coming across our southern border illegally is an invasion. No other country on earth would allow this. President Biden’s handlers made it worse by flying them to...
Letter to the editor: Why no conservative outcry over executive orders?
When Barack Obama was president he signed a few executive orders. Conservatives went ape, accusing him of being a dictator, carrying protest signs showing a Hitler mustache on Obama’s face, and demanding his removal from office for over-using executive orders. Now look what we have with Trump. In a few...
Letter to the editor: Why fund an air show with no air performances?
In the article “Westmoreland commissioners approve $1.7M tourism plan” (Jan. 17, TribLive) was this little nugget: “… nearly $94,000 was earmarked for the county air show at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.” The article then said that the air show was expected to be scaled down, a one-day event … with...
Letter to the editor: Looking forward to fair coverage
A few recent items in this newspaper gave me some hope that political events would be covered more fairly in the coming year. The letter “Fact-checking censorship” (Jan. 15, TribLive) was an excellent rebuttal to Lori Falce’s column “Meta is wrong about abandoning fact-checking”, (Jan. 10, TribLive) which stated that...
Letter to the editor: Costs of deportation
First off, I have no problem deporting illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes. As for the remainder: Immigration is using C17s to fly illegals out of the country. The passenger capacity of a C17 is 130 passengers. And it costs approximately $30,000 per hour to operate one. Assume...
Letter to the editor: Tyranny should always be opposed
If Donald Trump sends forces to seize Greenland, Denmark is politically and morally justified in stopping them. If American troops threaten Danish forces, the Danes should defend themselves. If Americans fire at them, the Danes should shoot back — however many young American soldiers, sailors and pilots might die or...
Letter to the editor: Fiscal ineptness in Westmoreland
It seems to me that an unyielding virus of fiscal ineptness has developed in the Great Land of Westmoreland (GLOW). It started when two of the three county commissioners — the regular one and the bald one — went scorched earth on taxpayers a year or so ago after they...
Letter to the editor: Our tax dollars shouldn’t fund war crimes
As a Jewish resident of Pittsburgh, I support the Not on Our Dime campaign to demand accountability in city policies and ensure our public resources reflect our shared values. Not on Our Dime is gathering signatures for a referendum to align Pittsburgh finances with residents’ moral standards by divesting from...
Letter to the editor: Pa. gas improves air quality
Using the devastating California wildfires in an attempt to score political points about Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry is a new low — even for Alison Steele and the Environmental Health Project (“Linking Pa.’s shale gas industry to Calif. wildfires,” Jan. 20, Triblive), a group that has received nearly $2 million...
Letter to the editor: Is American exceptionalism gone?
The sound you hear is the illusion of American exceptionalism going pop. Turns out, we are as easily seduced by the allure of strongman populism as countless countries before us. It feels fresh but this is an old tired recipe. The promise of protection against the “other.” A self-righteous but...
Letter to the editor: Recent pardons signal trouble ahead
On Jan. 20, two presidents set a troubling precedent by each issuing broad pardons in the span of a few hours. President Biden preemptively pardoned family members and government officials to prevent hypothetical future prosecution. In a much more troubling move, President Trump pardoned over 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, including...
Letter to the editor: Secure your guns to save lives
In a Jan. 23 shooting in Hempfield, three innocent lives were ended far too soon, resulting in part from easy access to a gun (“4 found dead in suspected Hempfield murder-suicide; victims include children ages 1, 5,” Jan. 24, TribLive). Karen Swarner and her two beautiful children, Evelyn and Connor,...
Sounding off: Politics, Steelers among week’s letter topics
Our leaders used to deserve respect There was once a time when public officials earned and deserved respect. A time when those with policy differences were political opponents, not enemies. A time when public service was honored. Divorce was once considered to be a negative for candidates seeking the presidency....
Letter to the editor: Lamenting the loss of our champion teams
The letter “City of Champions no more” (Jan. 26, TribLive) hits the nail on the head in every aspect of our professional Pittsburgh teams, especially the Pirates and Steelers. Kudos to the writer. Ray Martin Penn Hills...
Letter to the editor: GOP’s greed
In my opinion, greed overcame the Republican Party; they only care what’s in their pockets, and when in office they have done nothing for the working class. Now a convicted felon is in office with unqualified billionaires running our country, reaping more wealth in their pockets. Donna Keefe Greensburg...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s to-do list moving at warp speed
President Donald Trump brought civics lessons back into style. Only it’s not book-learnin’, but doing the actual experiments. Isn’t (political) science wonderful? Fourteenth Amendment and birthright-citizens resurrected from the 1860s. Greenland — is that even in the northern hemisphere? After just a few days of him being president, I haven’t...
Letter to the editor: Shapiro needs to ban fracking
Regarding the article “Rundown of President Trump’s executive orders on Day 1 — from pardons to TikTok” (Jan. 21, TribLive): In his inaugural address, Donald Trump made his foolish anti-environment and anti-health priorities clear. It is more critical than ever that Gov. Josh Shapiro stand up to Trump’s reckless “Drill...
Letter to the editor: A return to common sense with Trump
A president who wants to bring common sense to government. I wish he would bring common sense to the Trump haters of this opinion page. Hitler, threat to democracy, oligarchy, dictator, etc., etc. What do you think you just had? I don’t even know who was giving the orders for...
Letter to the editor: McCormick’s Hegseth vote is telling
One of the first tests of new Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick was how he would vote on the flawed nomination of the unqualified, immoral Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. McCormick failed his constituents, providing the deciding vote to install Hegseth. Throughout his campaign, McCormick cited his military experience and...
Letter to the editor: Our leaders used to deserve respect
There was once a time when public officials earned and deserved respect. A time when those with policy differences were political opponents, not enemies. A time when public service was honored. Divorce was once considered to be a negative for candidates seeking the presidency. Today’s White House occupant is a...
