Opinion category, Page 105
Barbara McQuade: Trump skipping FBI checks threatens national security
President-elect Donald Trump has been bypassing FBI background investigations for his cabinet appointees in favor of screening by private companies. The reasons? The normal process can be slow. And it can reveal embarrassing personal information. Of course, it can! But those are not reasons to scrap an important safeguard to...
Sheldon H. Jacobson and Dr. Janet A. Jokela: Is bird flu a risk yet to people?
You may have encountered the term “bird flu” increasingly online and in the media. It refers to a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A, classified as H5N1. Wild birds carry and transmit this flu, though most do not get sick from it. However, it has been detected in birds and...
Letter to the editor: Russell Wilson a blessing for Steelers
Since last March when the Steelers signed Russell Wilson, up until his recent success, the word in the ’Burgh and nationally was that Wilson is washed up like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away.” But unlike Hanks and his imaginary friend Wilson, this script Russell Wilson is writing defies odds and...
Letter to the editor: Money needed to prevent violence
Here in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, we all know how important it is to care for our neighbors. One way that our lawmakers help us care for one another is by funding programs that keep our neighbors safe. Right now, our county government is trying to decide whether to pass...
Editorial: With 5 words, Trump kills a free-press measure that had bipartisan support
The apparent death of the PRESS Act in Congress should alarm Americans on two levels. After this bill unanimously passed a Republican-controlled House — a testament to its commonsense defense of First Amendment principles that protect Americans of all political persuasions — all it took to ensure its demise in...
Letter to the editor: Hypocrisy about socialism
This Thanksgiving I was so grateful that this election cycle was over. No longer will I be assailed by diatribes from Social Security pensioners about the evils of socialism. OK, to be fair and honest, I only hear about 10 seconds of their “reasoning” before my ears involuntarily shut down...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 2
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 2....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 2
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 2....
Letter to the editor: Neo-Nazis in Columbus
The neo-Nazis have taken over Columbus! They are eating the dogs. They are eating the cats. They are murderers and rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. No, scratch that last part. John Meyer Cheverly, Md. The writer is formerly of Delmont....
Letter to the editor: Girls should be able to enjoy wrestling
I really like wrestling and I love reading about this topic and watching it with my friends. I love how fun it is to do with my team. I think people should look into girls wrestling and help us in any way they can so that we as females who...
Editorial: A month after election, still no answers on Marc Fogel’s detention
For three years, TribLive has periodically contacted the U.S. State Department. We ask the same questions, sometimes tweaked to reflect national or world events. We ask for the most recent information on Marc Fogel. The Butler native and Oakmont teacher has been held in a Russian prison since 2021, when...
Letter to the editor: Saving the monarch butterfly
I have not seen where the Hempfield Township supervisors, in their infinite collective wisdoms and forethoughts, saved the monarch caterpillars’ chrysalis and milkweed before leveling the ground for the new Weatherwood Park and municipal complex. Monarchs’ larvae/caterpillar only have milkweed as the host (to eat); adult monarchs feed on a...
Letter to the editor: National Popular Vote Law
There has been a lot of squabbling about whether the U.S. is a republic or a democracy. From what I understand, it has to do with the Electoral College. If you are a Republican, you want to keep the Electoral College and thus call the U.S. a republic. If you...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Giving thanks 2024
Here’s something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving weekend 2024: We had another free and fair election for president of the United States and the other federal, state and local offices on the ballot this year. You might be happy with the results or unhappy with the results, but with...
Cal Thomas: Fluoride — good or bad?
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo has joined Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in opposition to fluoride in the water supply. Ladapo cites controversial studies that claim the additive poses a risk to developing brains. I shall resist the temptation to draw a link between such studies and our politicians. The...
Kathryn Anne Edwards: The IRS shows what government efficiency really looks like
Between all the talk of fiscal commissions and efficiency agencies, it seems like the question of the day is how to make the U.S. government operate more proficiently. There is no shortage of ideas on what should be cut and by how much. Before any actions are taken, officials should...
Ernie Tedeschi: A better way to pay for extending the Trump tax cuts
One of the first orders of business in 2025 for Congress and the incoming administration will be the extension of President Donald Trump’s signature 2017 tax law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), most of whose individual provisions are set to expire late next year. There’s one problem: America’s...
Letter to the editor: We’re handing off too many problems to ‘the courts’
The Trib is correct in saying that the state needs an answer “once and for all” on mail-in ballots (“Courts need to decide election question on more than a race-by-race basis,” Nov. 20, TribLive). But we shouldn’t expect the courts to come up with the answer. Looking at the brief...
Letter to the editor: Make America God-fearing again
After the election, just let me say you honored the men and women who fought and died for your right to vote by your voting. Thank you. Next: Women’s rights should include more than killing your offspring. It should allow for female athletes to compete against women, not transgender people...
Letter to the editor: Steelers, Penn State fair-weather teams?
After this weekend of sports looks like the Steelers & Penn State are fair-weather teams. Carl Felton Columbus, Ohio The writer is a Seward native....
Editorial: When should Pennsylvania deer season start?
In Pennsylvania, the national holiday of Thanksgiving and the retail festivities of Black Friday are quickly followed by the state’s own seasonal celebration. Bust out your camouflage and fluorescent orange. It’s deer season. Since 2019, the first day of regular firearm hunting for antlered and antlerless deer has come on...
Letter to the editor: History validates concern for future under Trump
Community Engagement Editor Lori Falce’s column “The sweet justice of The Onion buying Infowars” (Nov. 15, TribLive) was an interesting, timely, insightful report about The Onion, an often very funny satirical news journal, taking over disgraced and disgraceful Alex Jones’ company (I can’t even use the name without an emesis,...
Gary Franks: Can the liberal cable news networks survive?
Post-Election Day, MSNBC viewership fell to a 25-year low and CNN fell to new lows as well. They had all their eggs in one basket. They clearly wanted and supported the Democratic candidate for president, Vice President Kamala Harris. Is that what we expect from our “news” media? They amplified...
Joanne Kilgour, Jeaneen Zappa and Lindsay Fraser: To keep Allegheny home for all, county council must pass Innamorato’s budget
Allegheny County residents are living through an ongoing housing crisis. Western Pennsylvania has some of the oldest housing stock in the nation and decades of disinvestment, and the climate crisis is driving increased costs for homeowners and renters through increased utility bills. Many of our homes lack insulation, are badly...
Dan DeBone: Avoid quick fixes for public transportation funding
As the Southeastern Public Transportation Association (SEPTA) recently announced a potential fare increase due to a lack of state funding, it is hard to ignore the familiar pattern that has plagued Pennsylvania’s public transportation system for years: short-term solutions, funding crises and finger-pointing. This time, the frustration comes after the...
