Opinion category, Page 171
Letter to the editor: Waving of Ukraine flags in Congress treasonous
I am writing to display my dismay at the scene on the floor of Congress with the waving of Ukraine flags by our elected representatives. I ask, how much aid do we have to give before it is too much? While the infrastructure of America is crumbling and our national...
Editorial: Giving district judge probation from doing arraignment is right sentence
Arraignment is the first step in the journey of a criminal case through the court system. While arrest might kick off the process, it is arraignment that sets a case on its path. It’s where a defendant is formally charged. It’s also the first time that person might plead guilty...
Letter to the editor: The new education era
I find the observations in the letter “Which generation started our disrespect for family, country?” (April 21, TribLive) somewhat misplaced. The World War II heroes, upon return from war, wanted a better way of life for their children. Many found the GI Bill for education and homes the answer. What...
Gary Franks: Border crisis solution — forget Biden and Johnson
It is becoming increasingly obvious that we are turning to the wrong people to solve our invasion problem at our southern border. President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats have little to zero interest in stopping the invasion. And unfortunately, the competency level of some Republicans...
S.E. Cupp: The GOP is actually relieved Trump is on trial
Imagine your party’s presumptive nominee for president is about to stand trial for paying off a porn star he allegedly slept with just months after his wife gave birth to their son. The allegations alone are seedy enough. Then throw in witnesses like the unfortunately named former National Enquirer publisher...
Stephen L. Carter: Should Donald Trump’s jury really remain anonymous?
What are we to make of the anonymous jury in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York? The practice has long had its critics. First, let’s get technical: Trump’s jury is not actually anonymous. Unlike the practice in some organized crime cases, the parties and their lawyers know...
Colin McNickle: The vicious cycle of Greater Pittsburgh’s population loss
Pittsburgh cannot thrive without a growing population, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “As population falls, so does the number of people available for the labor force,” says Frank Gamrat, executive director the Pittsburgh think tank. “Without a growing and strong labor force, the economy is...
Letter to the editor: Conspiracy among countries at war
The primaries are now over. Do any federal elected officials and appointed high-level employees see any underlying collusion or conspiracy among the countries engaged in ongoing warfare? Russia-Ukraine, Palestine-Israel, Iran-Israel? Are they conspiring to have the U.S. extend military support, ammunitions and equipment and financial support to set the U.S....
Letter to the editor: Student loan debt and worthless diplomas
Those students seeking taxpayer relief for student loan debts should instead sue universities for a refund on worthless diplomas. Dr. Joel I. Last Greensburg...
Letter to the editor: PBMs support Pa. pharmacies
Unfortunately, the article “Pharmacists open up to state Senate committee about financial struggles at hearing” (April 15, TribLive) omitted any perspective from pharmacy benefit managers themselves. That type of journalism is harmful and can have unintended consequences. What was not in the article? The core mission of PBMs is to...
Letter to the editor: Pa. Republicans try to solve a problem that doesn’t exist
State Republicans have again proposed a solution to the nonexistent issue of voter fraud. HB 891 is their most recent effort to disenfranchise Pennsylvania voters. HB 891 would amend the state Constitution, requiring voters to provide “unexpired government-issued identification” every time they voted. The bill does not make provisions for...
Lori Falce: Supreme Court decision is 50 years overdue
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case that needed to be heard. The issue was presidential immunity. Donald Trump wanted the court to weigh in on whether a president can be held criminally responsible for his actions. The former president obviously has a vested interest as he faces...
Laurels & lances: Passover, primary and Kennywood Park
Laurel: To a celebration of faith. Across the region and around the world, Passover is being celebrated. The commemoration of the end of Hebrew slavery in Egypt connects the Jewish people with their faith and their history. The holiday has a poignant feeling this year amid the Israel-Hamas war —...
Paul Kengor: Things that aren’t there anymore
Remember as a kid listening to old people reminisce about this or that thing that isn’t there anymore? You figured you’d probably be doing the same someday. Increasingly nowadays, I’m surprised at how often I’m doing that, and just how many places are disappearing. I do wonder if that’s unique...
Sen. Scott Martin and Rep. Jesse Topper: Grow PA plan helps solve economic, higher education challenges
Young people graduating from high school face tough choices about what to do next. For many, college costs too much. But that problem is just one among many that threaten the future of our commonwealth. Higher education is expensive. College enrollment is declining. Kindergarten classes are shrinking. Our population is...
Tom Croner: Conservation funding helps keep family farms viable
I’m an 81-year-old, seventh-generation farmer working with my son T. Richard on a multigenerational grain and hay farm in Somerset County. We grow corn, soybeans, wheat, rye and hay. I’m proud to see him out there by himself at night, and regret that I can’t always join him. As the...
Letter to the editor: Are we repeating past hatred of Jews?
We are all aware of the deep-rooted hatred the Nazis had for the Jews. “Never again” was the call to never let the Holocaust happen again. If we do not learn from the misdeeds of our past, we are all doomed to repeat it. It appears that we have not...
Letter to the editor: Improper language usage on local TV news
Most are aware that the local evening news is presented at the comprehension level of a seventh-grader. However, that should not preclude proper usage of the English language. Case in point: On April 17, two local news anchors utilized the word “busted” to relate a story of an alleged home...
Editorial: Biden administration rule is no substitute for congressional action
The environmental disaster caused by a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last year should have spurred federal lawmakers to take seriously the need to improve rail safety. But a measure passed by the Senate languishes in a House that struggles to accomplish anything of consequence. A Biden administration rule...
Letter to the editor: Corporate greed and economic inequality
Our economic inequality is being fueled by two disastrous decisions. One is the 1982 SEC ruling to lessen Wall Street rules and regulations, including one on stock buybacks. Between 2015 and 2017 more than half of the total profits earned by PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Archer Daniels Midland and Tyson Foods...
Jonah Goldberg: Republican Party can still do what’s rational and right. Here’s the proof.
There’s no record of Edmund Burke — the great Irish-born British statesman and father of modern conservatism — actually saying what is often attributed to him: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” But it does capture his worldview well enough....
Mark Gongloff: Wildfire smoke is coming for the U.S. again. We’re not ready.
Many Americans were surprised last year when smoke from wildfires hundreds of miles away turned their air toxic. There’s no excuse for anybody to be surprised when it happens again — possibly in just a couple of months. Canada’s emergency preparedness minister has warned repeatedly that an unusually dry and...
Reps. Lindsay Powell and Aerion A. Abney: Bridging Pa.’s digital divide
Covid-19 not only resulted in immeasurable loss of life, it also permanently altered life as we knew it. The base of operations that is home shed its more proverbial association and became the place where business in all its forms got done. Computers and internet access represented a lifeline for...
Letter to the editor: Ukrainians political pawns
Ukrainian lives are being wasted every day while we use them as political pawns. Ukrainian resources are running out while we sit on stockpiles of the equipment and supplies they need to survive. We didn’t build 80,000 M113 armored personnel carriers during the Cold War to let them rot in...
Letter to the editor: Dishonest Westmoreland County leadership
A year ago, Westmoreland County Republican Committee Chair Bill Bretz held an unauthorized endorsement meeting to not allow residents to choose their commissioner in the primary. I called out county Commissioner Doug Chew four times at the meeting as dishonest. Bretz proceeded to sue me and candidate Paul Kosko three...
