Opinion category, Page 169
Letter to the editor: Questions about protests
Here are some questions about the recent outbreak of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at universities and on city streets to consider: 1. Who are these demonstrators — students, other sympathizers, foreign visitors, and/or outside agitators? 2. What percentage of the demonstrators are professional and being paid? 3. Who is funding these demonstrations?...
Editorial: Difference between Brittney Griner and Marc Fogel? One came home
On Wednesday, WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner was featured in a “20/20” interview ahead of the release of her new book, “Coming Home.” It was a powerful interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts. The 6-foot-9-inch athlete was generally quiet and subdued as she spoke in her deep, gentle voice about the basketball...
Letter to the editor: Dysfunction in Harrisburg
Our dysfunctional Pennsylvania Legislature is back in session and both chambers are crowing their passage of bills on issues long unaddressed. Trouble is, both are also refusing to take up the other’s bills. Three-fourths of the way through our current two-year term, our “full-time” Legislature has written over 3,200 bills...
Gary Franks: Silent majority being ignored is the true threat to our democracy
President Joe Biden has his focus on this election being about preserving our democracy. He may be right on that point but for different reasons. The true threat to a democracy is when the will of the people is ignored. When the will of a small fraction of the people...
S.E. Cupp: Violent campus protests are not about freedom
There’s a grand and important tradition of anti-war protest in America. And, when peaceful, these can be a useful and impactful mechanism to advocate for change. Sadly, what’s happening on our college campuses right now is making a mockery of that grand tradition and civil right. Over the past few...
Patrice Tomcik: New protections will save lives and slash climate pollution from coal plants
In Southwestern Pennsylvania where I live with my family, the Keystone and Conemaugh power plants have been burning coal for more than 50 years, filling the air with potentially life-altering pollution and fouling the region’s water and soil with mercury-laced waste. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency took action that...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: If inflation is down, why are so many people unhappy?
The Federal Reserve reports inflation is down, though it continues to remain above its 2% target level. The most recent report showed inflation was hovering around 3.5% (year-to-year), from a high of 9.1% in June 2022. Yet many people do not feel good about their financial situation, with inflation one...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s vitality
I listened to an hourlong interview of President Joe Biden by Howard Stern. Stern is one of the finest interviewers around, with a way to bring the subject to a personal perspective similar to Barbara Walters at her best. Biden was on top of his game, illustrating what a humane,...
Letter to the editor: An equitable school funding alternative to property tax
Public schools in this state face any number of problems, from student discipline to staff retention. But, as per usual in the public sphere, the most pressing problem is posed by money. Pennsylvania school districts fund most of their operations with the often onerous and always unpopular local property tax....
Lori Falce: Men growling over bear question are missing the point
There is a question that is dividing the internet, and it has nothing to do with anyone running for office. It’s a gut feeling kind of question. The idea is this: Ask a woman if she would rather be in the woods confronted by a bear or a man. At...
Laurels & lances: Education and resistance
Laurel: To recognizing worth. The cost of a college education has skyrocketed in the past decades. Pennsylvania’s college costs, in particular, are higher than in many other states. Auditor General Timothy DeFoor visited Westmoreland County Community College on Tuesday to talk about opportunities in his office. The department is expanding...
Letter to the editor: What can Israel do when faced with Hamas threats?
What would you have Israel do? Hamas brutally attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,200 Israelis, concertgoers, old men, women (raping many before killing them), children and babies. A proportional number of Americans would be over 30,000 Americans killed. Hamas has promised more attacks into Israel. Hamas’ stated goal...
Oliver Schilke: Trust in the shadows — how loyalty fuels illicit economic transactions
When you think about economic activities that society tends to frown on — like offering bribes, paying for the services of a sex worker or even selling human organs — “trust” and “loyalty” might not be the first things that come to mind. But these seemingly positive characteristics play a...
Lauren Lassabe Shepherd: College administrators falling into tried and true trap laid by the right
Interrogations of university leaders spearheaded by conservative congressional representatives. Calls from right-wing senators for troops to intervene in campus demonstrations. Hundreds of student and faculty arrests, with nonviolent dissenters thrown to the ground, tear-gassed and tased. We’ve been here before. In my book “Resistance from the Right: Conservatives and the...
Letter to the editor: National Day of Prayer
Today is the National Day of Prayer. We should be going to our war rooms in prayer daily, but let us make this day special. Visit a local church celebration and fellowship in prayer. Visit www.nationaldayofprayer.org to learn about the National Day of Prayer Task Force and a beautiful prayer...
Letter to the editor: Saddened by Trump revelations
The trial of former President Donald Trump saddens me. It is unlike any other in our nation’s history. Outcomes will be the subject of books, classroom studies and debate. A person being above the law will be argued. While I am saddened, I’m not sympathetic to Trump. I have been...
Editorial: For a change, state lawmakers put ethics at the fore. Now they should look in the mirror
Bryan Burhans has stepped down from his position as executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The move came suddenly after lawmakers and other commission members questioned a limited liability company he operated. “That’s not to suggest there were any ethical violations on his part, but there were questions about...
Letter to the editor: Realities on which both sides should agree
Your anti-Trump letter-writers most likely get their “facts” from CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times, while your anti-Biden letter writers, from Fox News, NEWSMAX and The Wall Street Journal. If you are confused as to which side to believe, it might make more sense to simply decide if our...
Jonah Goldberg: What we keep getting wrong about campus protests
The current campus demonstrations are a reminder that, of all the mossy clichés and puffed-up pieties of polite (and impolite) American discourse, the sanctity of protest is the hardest to question. Doubting the loftiness of protest invites elite scorn more than any other skepticism about a constitutional right. Proposing limits...
Mary M. McCarthy: Japan’s diplomatic charm offensive in U.S. aims to keep Washington in committed relationship
April 2024 proved to be a busy month in Japanese-U.S. diplomacy. The month saw a state visit to the U.S. by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that included a White House sit-down with President Joe Biden on April 10. The next day, both men were joined by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos...
Letter to the editor: Presidential immunity
Any president who can overturn an election can overturn the entire Constitution. I believe this was President Trump’s aim; he has practically said so. I listened to the Supreme Court arguments over whether he could do this legally with immunity. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said, if presidents weren’t protected...
Letter to the editor: Vote out Bob Casey
If you do not enjoy high prices at the gas pump and grocery store and you are sick of the endless parade of illegal immigrants invading our country each day, there is something you can do to help stop the madness. Be honest with yourself as to the cause of...
Editorial: Internet accessibility shouldn’t be a bait-and-switch
How is a new government program like a special rate from your cable company or cellphone provider? It can expire, leaving you with a bill you didn’t anticipate. For low-income households who were given access to broadband internet through federal investment, the special offer could be about to end. The...
Letter to the editor: Gun makers’ liability
The editorial “Will Mt. Pleasant boy’s death change federal law?” (April 16, TribLive) on the misuse of a firearm by teenagers resulting in a tragic death correctly states that federal law provides protection to the firearms industry from lawsuits for criminal use/misuse of their legal products and uses an analogy...
Ariel Kalil: Multigenerational households key to better support for kids of single mothers
Decades of research show, on average, children who grow up with parents who are not married and living together have worse achievement and behavioral and well-being outcomes than children of two-parent homes. Despite this evidence, rates of nonmarital childbearing have risen dramatically in the U.S., especially among the noncollege-educated. What...
