Opinion category, Page 150
Editorial: Should Pittsburgh voters decide to cut business ties with Israel?
The United States is a representative government rather than a direct democracy. Usually. There are times when we take the issues directly to the people rather than placing them in front of elected officials. It is called a referendum. Instead of picking the people who will make the decisions, we...
Letter to the editor: Tone-deaf plan for Downtown Pittsburgh
News that the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is seeking $5 million in Allegheny Regional Asset District funding to redevelop Pittsburgh’s Eighth Street block into a large lawn for festivals, performances and water play highlights a dismal understanding of Downtown’s security and economic positions. When unveiled as part of a larger Allegheny...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump turned politics into reality TV. Now Harris is the show to watch
Never has the GOP been more unified, and Donald Trump deserves all the credit. The issue uniting pundits, editorial boards, virtually all Republican politicians, GOP consultants, MAGA warriors and rallygoers: the need for Trump to lay aside personal gripes and grievances and to stick to the issues and attack Vice...
Rep. Dan Frankel: Pittsburgh BDS efforts won’t bring peace
Local activists made a mad dash effort this month to get enough support for a Pittsburgh ballot referendum that would punish local entities for any ties with Israel. Volunteers with clipboards could be found at dance parties and outside of local bars, seeking signatures from a population young enough that...
Justin Fox: Harris didn’t fail her border task. But did she succeed?
In March 2021, two months after she and President Joe Biden took office, Vice President Kamala Harris was assigned the task of addressing the “root causes” of illegal immigration from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, aka the Northern Triangle. This is the job that some...
Letter to the editor: Send Jeannette’s K9 officer to Tarentum
Tarentum needs a police dog for their K9 unit. Jeannette has one that they no longer use or want. What’s the dilemma? Francine Romeo New Kensington...
Letter to the editor: Don’t hide scrutiny of Walz’s military career
Regarding the article “With national spotlight comes intense scrutiny of Walz’s military career” (Aug. 9): Really. You put it in the Sports/Business Section B, Page 5? Why not “hide” it at the end on B8? With major questions about the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate and his previous assertions of...
Letter to the editor: Hate-filled letters by law enforcement alarming
Protect and serve? Editor, editor, editor … it’s terrifying to read letters that you publish, but it’s surprising to see how much racism and bigotry pervade this little area. More surprising is what happens when I look up the authors of these letters, particularly “Not going to take it anymore”...
Editorial: Education is a responsibility, not a political game
The Department of Education accounts for 4% of federal spending. That’s less than Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, the Treasury, Defense and Veterans Affairs. The 2024 federal education budget is about $79 billion. There are more than 54 million school-age children in the United States, according to the...
Letter to the editor: We don’t need perfection in a leader
The letter “Why do evangelicals support un-Christian Trump?” (Aug. 6, TribLive) really got me thinking: Am I voting for a person who I want to run the country, to keep me and my family safe, to keep the economy running such that I can afford to feed my family without...
Will Freeman: Maduro’s landslide defeat hasn’t dislodged him. Is there still hope for Venezuela?
The Latin American left has a decision to make about Venezuela: Oppose Nicolás Maduro’s totalitarian bid to remain in power indefinitely or enable it. Efforts to constrain Maduro may not succeed. But giving in to him will destabilize neighboring countries — with consequences for the United States — undermine the...
Kathryn Anne Edwards: America’s fertility policy gap is bad economics
Even if you didn’t care about or respect women’s choices when it comes to having children, the “childless cat ladies” comments from Donald Trump running mate J.D. Vance still are deeply problematic because they suggest a misunderstanding of a vital policy issue: fertility. In its most basic form, economists care...
Letter to the editor: Harris should work on inflation now
I just saw that Vice President Kamala Harris intends to work on reducing inflation as soon as she takes office as president. Just a thought — why don’t she and President Biden work on it now? In my opinion, they are the ones who caused the rise in inflation. Lou...
Letter to the editor: Doesn’t Trump care, or does he think we’re stupid?
Why does Donald Trump respond to issues the way he does … seemingly without thinking about the facts or those who might be affected? Or does he just not care? Is he continuing with the guidance his dad provided on how to “attack”? Does he lack compassion or understanding or...
Letter to the editor: Pa. must make a plan for methane
One important but overlooked cause of climate change is methane emissions. In Pennsylvania, oil and gas companies release over 1.1 million tons of methane every year. This contributes significantly to the state’s global warming pollution, as methane has 86 times the heating potential as carbon dioxide does within 20 years....
Editorial: Hard to run as a 3rd-party candidate, but it’s easy to challenge them when they try
George Washington was not a third-party candidate. He was a no-party candidate. He was adamantly opposed to the idea of political parties, believing them to be detrimental to the intent of the constitution. John Tyler started his political career as a Democrat, but it was the Whigs who nominated him...
Letter to the editor: Kamala Harris, DEI candidate?
At the recent National Association of Black Journalists convention, Donald Trump was asked if Kamala Harris was a DEI candidate. It was a “gotcha” question, but let’s look at Harris’ political history, and maybe we can answer it. When Joe Biden was choosing his VP, he pointedly announced that he...
Ted Kopas: Restoring trust in Westmoreland County government
Westmoreland County residents are losing faith in their government. A tax increase and the scandal in the register of wills office have rightfully garnered a lot of attention and anger, as have big paydays for elected officials. It’s time to restore the public trust. When I took office a year...
F.D. Flam: Olympic boxer’s gender is a manufactured controversy
When Italian boxer Angela Carini reported that she had “never felt a punch like that” after conceding to Algeria’s Imane Khelif 46 seconds after their Olympic match began, social media exploded with accusations. Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling chimed in, accusing Khelif of being a man posing as a woman...
Letter to the editor: Hard not to get down on the Pirates
Back in the ’70s, the Pirates had a team of heavy hitters and were nicknamed “The Lumber Company” by, I believe, announcer Bob Prince. A little later they had some very fast runners join the team and were renamed “The Lumber and Lighting Company.” It’s easy to get down on...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s gaffes a pattern, not coincidence
It is my opinion that news media disseminators are ever so quick to point out that many of Joe Biden’s words are just mistakes or he misspoke, misspoken words taken out of context, or they are just misinterpreted or just coincidences. They are forever defending him and making excuses. On...
Letter to the editor: Trump and threats to democracy
The writer of the letter “Trump not the threat to democracy” (July 31, TribLive) begins what I see as a diatribe of falsehoods by denying that Jan. 6 was an insurrection. They tried to hang the vice president. So what exactly was it? He continues with fictional government restrictions under...
Editorial page cartoons for the week of Aug. 12
Editorial page cartoons for the week of Aug. 12....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 12
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 12....
Letter to the editor: Trying to support local business, but …
I know this has probably been covered before, but … my pharmacy can’t get my insulin, which is Humalin 70/30 vials. That has been going on for about four months now. And now I receive a call telling me their wholesaler can’t get the blood thinner I use, as well....
