Opinion category, Page 152
Paul Kengor: The Founders, Trump-Biden, and our coarsening culture
Last week’s Trump-Biden debate was historic, unforgettable, immensely entertaining, at times even hilarious and yet sadly pathetic. It showed just how far our nation has fallen since July 4, 1776. If I had to pick one exchange from the evening that captured all of those adjectives in one outlandish fell...
Matthew Wilson: Supporting ‘democracy’ is hard for many who feel government and the economy are failing them
Americans, it seems, can both value the idea of democracy and not support it in practice. Since 2016, academics and journalists have expressed concerns that formerly secure democracies are becoming less democratic. Different measures of democracy, such as scores produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House and the Varieties...
Greg Fulton: Pirates need Roy Hobbs
It’s been a rough several years for the Pirates. Since 2015, the last time the Bucs were in the playoffs, they have had only one winning season. In two of those years, they lost more than 100 games. The Pirates are below .500, and it’s fairly likely that they won’t...
Editorial: America is derived from the consent of the governed
In the fall of 1774, 56 men from 12 of the 13 American colonies met in Philadelphia in the First Continental Congress. It included John Adams and his cousin Samuel, Patrick Henry, John Jay and George Washington. The purpose was to decide how to proceed after Great Britain’s harsh consequences...
Dr. David Macpherson: The president must step aside
Last week’s presidential debate left a very hollow feeling in my gut. I am a lifelong Democrat and have been an ardent supporter of President Biden. I believe he’s done a great job. But as much as I’d like to tout his past accomplishments, the focus must be on the...
Sarika Pruthi and Arushi Parnika Kharbanda: Mass consumerism and the hypocrisy of Gen Z
California lawmakers recently approved two bills banning grocery and convenience stores statewide from offering customers reusable plastic bags. These bills are the next step in combating plastic waste, but what about the waste from mass consumerism that has come to pervade our lives? Through the past decades, we have been...
Letter to the editor: Why do we callously accept abortion?
Callousness and despair. We can easily recognize the sad presence of both in our society. Solidarity and hope. How much more these correspond to who we really are! According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, 34,838 innocent children were killed through abortion in our state in 2022, the latest year...
Letter to the editor: Trump is a criminal
Donald Trump has been convicted on 34 felony counts. In our 250 years as a republic, we have never had a president who was a convicted criminal. Never! We should never have a president with such a low moral character. Never! Trump has been convicted of financial fraud and found...
Editorial: South Side, crime and the difference a year makes
In 2022, crime was a problem on the South Side of Pittsburgh. People were concerned about safety. So were businesses. The Fudge Farm closed its South Side location in June 2022, with the owners saying after yet another shooting: “We can no longer ask teenage children or (anyone) for that...
Letter to the editor: No question that Trump should be president
I never liked Joe Biden. It seemed like he was always angry and yelling as a politician. I guess he learned early that people naturally back down from confrontation. What I saw at last week’s debate was a pathetic shell of a man who was a terrible senator and an...
Colin McNickle: Throwing good money after bad at PRT
Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) could receive millions of dollars more in state funding for its fiscal 2024-25 budget. But scholars at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy say that would be imprudent. “PRT has been remarkably inefficient in the use of public dollars in comparison to transit agencies in other...
Claudine Schneider: Happy Birthday, America. Will it be happy in 2025?
When it comes to secular holidays in the United States, it’s hard to beat the Fourth of July. The country turns out for picnics, parades and mosquito bites at dusk as families await the fireworks. There is much to celebrate this week. We are 248 years old and the longest...
Letter to the editor: McCormick is from Pa., and is the leader we need
Here we go again. Sen. Bob Casey is accusing Dave McCormick of not being from Pennsylvania. Check your facts, Bob! McCormick was born in Washington, Pa., and attended Bloomsburg High School. This is the same thing the left said about Dr. Oz; look what we got from that. Hillary Clinton...
Letter to the editor: RCV is the solution to RFK
So — what does it really mean that RFK Jr. is on the Pennsylvania ballot? RFK Jr. is polling at 5.5% in Pennsylvania, and Democrats and Republicans alike are prepared that he’ll play the role of the “spoiler” candidate. We’ve been down this road many times before, whether it’s Ross...
Letter to the editor: The Democrats’ dilemma
The so-called “presidential debate” completely and totally exposed Joe Biden for what he is, which is a geezer ready for the home. I’m sure a lot of viewers actually felt sorry for the poor guy because after a full week of debate prep with 16 of his most trusted advisers,...
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 1
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 1....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 1
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 1....
Letter to the editor: Drivers should have freedom to choose vehicles
In the article “Thefts of charging cables pose yet another obstacle to appeal of electric vehicles” (June 12, TribLive), the author emphasizes the issues that consumers must weigh when purchasing electric vehicles (EVs), particularly concerning reliability and charging issues. But soon there will not be room for individual preferences. The...
Letter to the editor: Strip District should cater to pedestrians
I moved to Pittsburgh for work six years ago, and it was the Strip District that convinced me to stay. It’s a pleasant experience walking to work, walking to get groceries, walking to grab dinner. It’s definitely a massive improvement compared to getting stuck in traffic all day, every day...
Editorial: Six months is too long to wait for Hamilton’s resignation
The end of the year is too far away. Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton has had a bad year. She’s been held in contempt of court by two judges. Multiple orders have attempted to force her to do her job. There have been hearings. A conservator was...
Letter to the editor: Help with Pa. voter identification requirements
Pennsylvania requests ID the first time you vote in your precinct. This rule affects first-time voters and anyone who has moved and is voting at a new precinct. Pennsylvania voters also must provide ID information when requesting a mail-in or absentee ballot. The lists of what types of identification are...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Dry spell may be Gainey’s defining moment
There are moments in every big-city mayor’s administration that define the mayor’s performance and values better than anything else. For the administration of Pittsburgh’s Mayor Ed Gainey, the failure to turn on the city’s over 200 drinking fountains in this hot summer may be such a moment. As first reported...
Commentary: The great powers are itching for another nuclear arms race. Who will stop them?
In early June, the Biden administration announced a more “competitive” nuclear weapons strategy, after Moscow and Beijing reportedly spurned U.S. efforts to discuss arms control. The new approach includes the possibility of increasing America’s deployment of strategic nuclear weapons. The administration’s more muscular stance may be only a small down...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Expect another closely divided Congress
After two years of bitter congressional conflict, both parties are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in hopes of gaining working majorities in next year’s session. But it’s a long shot — for both. More probably, 2025 will again see divisions in both houses so slender that the party winning...
Nicole Molinaro and Josh Fleitman: Supreme Court gives Pa. way to stop domestic violence killings
Amid a deluge of decisions handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, one recent ruling stands out as good news for those seeking to protect domestic violence survivors and others from fatal shootings. And it also shines as a beacon of hope for even stronger safety protections in the future....
