Opinion category, Page 145
Virginia Postrel: Tipping culture is out of control. Trump and Harris would make it worse.
If you left the U.S. for a summer vacation, you may have encountered a strange and refreshing custom: not tipping. Or at least not tipping everyone in sight. Americans have long been among the world’s most profligate tippers. “We tip more occupations than any other country, and we tend to...
Letter to the editor: Trump haters need new material
The writer of the letter “Whose head should be examined?” (Aug. 20, TribLive) insinuated that Donald Trump is anti-Jewish by citing the remark he made in Charlottesville that “there are very fine people on both sides.” That talking point has long been debunked because it was taken out of context....
Sounding off: Election, gun safety, taxes among week’s topics
Women’s rights may determine presidential election The lyrics to an old movement song, “Pass It On,” carry the warning that freedom “doesn’t come like a bird on the wing” and “doesn’t come down like the falling rain,” then advise that “freedom is a hard won thing” and “every generation has...
Letter to the editor: Natural gas is critical for U.S.
Living in Penn Hills for most of my life, I’ve seen a lot over the years, and one thing that stands out is how often the natural gas and oil industry gets misunderstood. Many folks might not realize the true impact it has on our daily lives and families like...
Letter to the editor: Thank you for your service, Gov. Walz
If Gov. Tim Walz retired from the National Guard in 2005 to avoid deployment to Iraq and to run successfully for Congress on an anti-Iraq war platform — bravo, Mr. Walz! It was a known fact in 2005 and as early as late 2003 that George W. Bush’s invasion of...
Editorial: The promise and the threat of Nippon Steel’s investment announcement
On Wednesday, Nippon Steel made a promise. The Japanese giant would invest “no less than $1 billion” into the U.S. Steel operations in the Greater Pittsburgh area. “Nippon Steel believes that a transformed Mon Valley Works will expand U. S. Steel’s ability to serve a broader range of markets and...
Letter to the editor: Are Trump and his followers weird?
Are Donald Trump and his followers WEIRD? Is it WEIRD to believe in a multiple adulterer, sexual assaulter, pathological liar, habitual swindler and charitable “giver” (Trump Foundation) whose only charity is himself? Is it WEIRD for a prez wannabe to “dignify the office” by shilling low quality/high-priced Bibles and Air...
Letter to the editor: Our democratic process is broken
The definition of democracy is “a rule by the people by which the people vote for their elected representatives.” Where was democracy in choosing the next Democratic candidate for president ? No one had a choice; Vice President Kamala Harris was thrust onto us like a bad cold. So much...
Jessica E. Martinez: Workers are bearing the brunt of extreme heat
Ronald Silver II, a sanitation worker in Baltimore, won’t be spending this Labor Day weekend with his family. On Aug. 2, during a sweltering 100-degree heatwave, Silver died while working a shift in a city garbage truck. His death was preventable. In July, following worker complaints, Baltimore’s inspector general reviewed...
Dan DeBone: Small businesses can’t afford experimental changes to credit and debit cards
The commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a well-earned heritage of economic resiliency and strength. And despite setbacks in recent years, western Pennsylvania is on the path toward recovery. An important part of that recovery is being driven by our local small businesses. As the president of an organization charged with ensuring...
Charles Bolden: Honoring our promise and commitment to military families
Supporting our military and their families is a sacred obligation of our nation and each of us as citizens — a debt we can never fully repay. This commitment unites all Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike. Vice President Kamala Harris has been by President Biden’s side in the...
Letter to the editor: Pray for stranded astronauts
We, as a nation, need to bow our heads in prayer. We have two astronauts “stuck” in space. They will not be able to be retrieved until sometime in February! Their first attempt to transfer the astronauts to safety failed. They need our help. Pray for divine guidance that our...
Letter to the editor: Trump is clearly the best choice
I watched Kamala Harris’ recent Raleigh economic speech online. Two Harris observations: 1. She believes policy problems are solved with government spending. 2. She is economically illiterate with limited leadership skills, characteristics that disqualifies her from presidential consideration. Take, for example, fighting inflation with price controls. When inflation started raging,...
Taleen Mardirossian: How lies on paper enabled Azerbaijan’s destruction of an Armenian community
My mother has two birth dates: the one on her passport, and then the real one. She was born in January in the late ’60s in Beirut, Lebanon. But because her birth was not registered for another 10 weeks, official documents give a date in March. With every phone call...
Lori Falce: What is the darkest corner of social media?
People are concerned about the creeping scourge of social media ruining society. They fear the walls of Facebook news. They fear the ugliness of X. They fear the unattainably curated beauty of Instagram. And then there’s the “is it spyware?” suspicion of a Chinese-owned TikTok. There are valid reasons to...
Laurels & lances: Potholes & potshots
Laurel: To demanding action. The bare minimum that should be expected of a shopping area is accessibility. Long before there were food courts and anchor stores, marketplaces realized that, to serve their purpose, they had to be easily traversed. In the modern era, that means they should have good roads...
Letter to the editor: Vote for leaders who support commonsense gun safety
Before the late 1990s, laws regulating firearms were in place and American citizens did not feel threatened by gun violence. During the George W. Bush administration, gun regulations were allowed to lapse. Gun manufacturers and the NRA were responsible for lobbying members of Congress to vote for gun legislation that...
Paul Kengor: Kennedy family values
The Kennedys have dominated American politics unlike any other family. And that’s no small statement. First, there was the Adams family — that is, John and John Quincy, and the brilliant Abigail. Then there were the Roosevelts. More recently, the Bushes. But it’s hard to surpass the Kennedy longevity, given...
Jonah Goldberg: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both call for unity. Here’s why they’re wrong.
The single most abused, misused and misunderstood word in American politics is “unity.” All presidential candidates vow to unite Americans. Nearly every pundit and public intellectual laments the lack of unity. “When America is united, America is totally unstoppable,” Donald Trump declared in his inaugural address. “With unity, we can...
Peter Morici: College has to offer a better return on investment than students are getting
With students heading back to campuses, America’s universities need a reality check — and American business could provide it. Even before recent demonstrations disrupted campuses and forced embarrassing confrontations between university presidents and congressional leaders, Americans’ confidence in higher education was declining. A recent Gallup poll found that just 36%...
Cal Thomas: Questions to ask Kamala Harris
CNN has won the “privilege” of conducting the first interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday night, beating the promised “end of the month” deadline she had set. The Harris team had reportedly been “shopping” networks to assess what they believe would be...
Letter to the editor: Solar power can keep us cool
I was deeply concerned by your article “Blackouts in extreme weather drive demand for cleaner backup power” (Aug. 22, TribLive). Challenges faced by families such as Kenna Ofoegbu’s are real, but the suggestion to revert to fossil-fuel generators is like taking a step backward when we should be racing ahead...
Letter to the editor: Harris will stand up to Trump, world leaders
The article “Path to the presidency: Keys to victory for Harris and Trump” (Aug. 25, TribLive) stated, “To sway voters, Harris will need to detail her policy positions, nail the debate with Trump scheduled for next month and continue her momentum.” But there has been far too much said by...
Editorial: Juries, not judges, decide death penalty. That means judges must seat death penalty juries
Judges can’t pick and choose when it comes to death penalty cases. That’s the ruling of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. The case in question started with the Bellevue killing of Rachel Dowden in January 2022. Prosecutors say the crime was committed by her ex-boyfriend, Deangelo Zieglar, 28. The Allegheny County...
Letter to the editor: Biden-Walz will be a disaster
Regarding the letter “Comparing Trump, Biden-Harris” (Aug. 7, TribLive): Under President Biden and Vice President Harris, gas prices went through the roof along with food prices. Interest rates went up, also. As far as the infrastructure is concerned, taxpayers are on the hook for the money spent, as the federal...
