Opinion category, Page 163
Letter to the editor: Teach children hard work, love of country
Memorial Day is a time to reflect. As I remember my late father, a Marine who served in the island-hopping campaign of World War II, I can’t help but compare our nation then to our nation now. I am proud to say my parents were part of the Greatest Generation....
Editorial: Biden is changing U.S. stances on marijuana. He should bring Marc Fogel home from Russia for medical marijuana use.
On Thursday, Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel spoke to TribLive about his time in a Russian penal colony, where he has been sentenced to 14 years. His alleged crime: possession of medical marijuana legally prescribed in Pennsylvania. He had a simple and heartfelt plea to President Joe Biden: “Just please, bring...
Letter to the editor: PBMs crucial in fight against costly health care
Like most in the Keystone State, I am deeply concerned about the escalating costs of health care, particularly prescription drugs. A recent government study revealed that Pennsylvania residents spend a yearly average of $13,557 on health care, exceeding the national average by over $2,000. With health care costs already burdensome...
Gary Franks: And the Oscar goes to … DEI participants
I never “wanted” to get anything because I was Black, but I never wanted to be “denied” anything because I was Black, either. All I’ve wanted is fairness — to have a fair opportunity to compete, fair evaluations and fair enforcement of our laws. This is what all Americans should...
S.E. Cupp: Does Trump really have any policy on abortion?
The day was Aug. 18, 1988. New Orleans. President Ronald Reagan’s vice president, George H.W. Bush took the stage at the Republican National Convention to accept the nomination for president. He’d been lagging in the polls behind Massachusetts Gov. Mike Dukakis, and Jack Kemp suggested an idea that could save...
Athan Koutsiouroumbas: In Pa., cost of American dream is out of reach
The American dream in Pennsylvania has a price tag: $230,464. That’s the cost for a family of four to live “comfortably” in the Keystone State. The tally is based on the “50/30/20 Rule,” which holds that half of a household’s income should be spent on housing and necessities, a third...
Letter to the editor: Transparency needed on ARPA funds
The American Rescue Plan (ARPA) report issued by Westmoreland County for the third quarter of 2023 accounts for only about $58 million of the $105 million in allocations for those funds. At the commissioners’ meeting in January, Commissioner Doug Chew said the remaining funds were used as “replacement” funds for...
Lori Falce: Uvalde settlement is offensively inadequate
The City of Uvalde, Texas settled a lawsuit with the families of 17 children killed and two who were wounded in the 2022 massacre of Robb Elementary School. The city is paying out $2 million. That may sound like a large number. In some cases, it might be. In this,...
Laurels & lances: New hire, new housing
Laurel: To a new hire. The first president of Pennsylvania Western University announced her departure on Valentine’s Day 2023. That was followed by interim president Lorraine Bernotsky being named the new leader of West Chester University. She will depart PennWest June 30. It has taken more than 15 months to...
Letter to the editor: Driving energy leadership
The busy summer travel season is upon us, meaning increased demand for transportation fuel. According to AAA, nearly 44 million travelers are expected to head 50 miles or more from home over the Memorial Day travel period – an increase of 4% over last year. As demand for affordable, reliable...
Paul Kengor: Pearl Harbor and the vanishing WWII vet
I think often of my late friend Charles Wiley. My colleague David Ayers and I plotted to bring Charlie to Grove City College every spring semester for years. Students were enthralled by this extraordinarily colorful old guy holding forth with stories from his incredible life, beginning as a childhood actor...
Michael Puskaric: Regional partnering key to ending opioid crisis
The opioid epidemic has left a trail of devastation across the United States, claiming countless lives and tearing apart communities. In 2022 alone more than 110,000 Americans succumbed to a drug overdose with opioids accounting for nearly 70% of those deaths. Meanwhile, fentanyl and counterfeit pills continue to flood America...
Letter to the editor: Biden should institute freeze on prices, wages, benefits
President Nixon instituted a 90-day wage and price freeze in August 1971. Inflation was rampant, and people were suffering financial difficulties. My husband and I lived through that period. Most workers’ wages were frozen. Most prices were frozen. Wage and price controls did not work perfectly, but they did cool...
Letter to the editor: Veterans follow orders on safety precautions
The writer of the letter “Veteran won’t vote for Biden” (May 16, TribLive), who says he is an Air Force veteran, regurgitates numerous right-wing conspiracy theories about the erosion of “freedoms, values and individual responsibilities” by the left as reasons not to vote for President Biden and extolling the years...
Editorial: Is the NFL Draft or a Super Bowl better for Pittsburgh?
Is the NFL Draft coming to Pittsburgh in 2026 really that big a deal? From a financial perspective, it definitely could be. It seems unlikely Pittsburgh will see a Super Bowl on the North Shore anytime soon. The February weather in Southwestern Pennsylvania is too changeable for 120 million eyes...
Letter to the editor: Abortion should not be an issue
Election Day is racing at us with what seems like breakneck speed. To me, it seems the big issues the candidates will be clashing about are abortion, inflation and millions of immigrants living off the American taxpayer. How many of them are here to do harm to our country? Of...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump and Biden agreed to debates. That’s a lot less important than it was made out to be.
The Biden and Trump campaigns agreed to two presidential debates last week. Who among us can contain our excitement? Well, it depends on what you mean by “us.” In my corner of the professional world — pundits, commentators, political junkies — there was much rejoicing. Watching the Sunday shows, you...
Jennifer Huddleston: AI and privacy rules meant for Big Tech could hurt small businesses most
As lawmakers and regulators in the U.S. consider policy born of their Big Tech concerns such as data privacy and artificial intelligence, they should carefully consider how such changes could end up trampling the small and midsize businesses that drive innovation and competition. While policymakers may have Google and Facebook...
Cal Thomas: 2 contrasting congressional days
Last Friday in Washington, there was evidence of why only 16% of the public approve of the job Congress is doing, according to a Gallup poll. During a House Oversight Committee hearing on whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a...
Letter to the editor: Border crisis is costing us
The letter “Tired of the whining about the border” (May 18, TribLive) stating that the southern border is a nonexistent crisis has flaws. Taxpayers are being told we must provide food, lodging and medical treatment for many of these immigrants — the real “free lunch.” Our national debt goes up...
Letter to the editor: Allegheny County’s voter rolls should be cleaned up
The election of November 2024 is going to be a historic one. Pennsylvania will be a pivotal state. Allegheny County should be prepared for close scrutiny and have its voter rolls in order. Right now, they aren’t. The county reported 900,464 on the rolls in the November 2023 election. Over...
Editorial: Elected official shouldn’t require babysitting to do her job
The drama in the Westmoreland County Register of Wills office continues. It started with judges ordering Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton to comply with certain timelines. She didn’t. There was a hearing that revealed more of the dysfunction in the office, including a large backlog of uncompleted work delaying...
Letter to the editor: Improving mental health services for correctional officers
The National Institute of Justice has found the very debilitating effects of working as a correctional officer “stem from two primary sources: the demands of responding to critical incidents within the correctional facility (and) organizational stressors ranging from understaffing shifts to toxic environments.” The study found the suicide rate of...
Jen Mizell: UPMC must show moral leadership
I started my career as a nurse at UPMC almost two decades ago because I wanted to make a real difference in people’s lives. That’s what has kept me going all these years, especially through the trauma of the pandemic. But as UPMC has consolidated more and more power, staffing...
Rob Richie: Ranked-choice voting for presidential elections?
Imagine it’s election night 2024. A few close swing states will decide the presidency — and test the health of our democracy. In that scenario, we can be certain of two facts: Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump will win a majority of the vote, and votes for independent and...
