Opinion category, Page 175
Letter to the editor: What would Reagan think?
President Ronald Reagan said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” If only he were alive today to see the extremes that his government is taking to become a totalitarian technocracy, usurping his beloved constitutional republic. Did the...
Editorial cartoons for the week of May 20
Editorial cartoons for the week of May 20....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 20
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 20....
Letter to the editor: County tax hike hurting ordinary citizens
I agree with the letter “Westmoreland County taxes could have been raised gradually” (April 21, TribLive) concerning the 32.5% raise in our property taxes. My township tax went up the first half of this year by $175.94. Maybe this doesn’t seem like much, but it is when your income isn’t...
Letter to the editor: Wilkinsburg annexation
Regarding the article “Wilkinsburg annexation failure reflects merger hurdles for Pa.’s 2,560 municipalities” (May 10, TribLive): Annexation, merger and consolidation are not interchangeable terms. Annexation is dead, only consolidation and merger remain. PA Statute Title 53, Part II, Chapter 7, Subchapter C on Consolidation and Merger, defines consolidation as “The...
Editorial: Body cameras can protect police but only if policies allow it
Body cameras for police have become expected. In January, a report from the Police Executive Research Forum — an independent research group focused on law enforcement issues — pointed to how the devices changed over a 10-year period. There were 200 policing experts pulled together in 2013 to discuss this...
Letter to the editor: Get our federal spending under control
We often complain about the costs of items we buy (inflation) or the taxes we pay (government spending). But are we doing our job to hold those who work for us in the government accountable? One problem is that our government obscures good comparative fiscal spending information. Here, I sum...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Cyril Wecht’s unforgettable life
For as long as any of us around here can remember, Dr. Cyril Wecht made headlines everywhere. The renowned forensic pathologist, physician and lawyer died at 93 last week. But he lived a life that we will never forget. Dr. Wecht invented the role of the celebrity forensic pathologist. He...
Colin McNickle: Higher office vacancy rates not confined to City of Pittsburgh
The City of Pittsburgh is not alone in its struggles with chronically high office vacancy rates. So, too, are Pittsburgh’s suburbs. And the same deleterious domino effect of the pandemic-fueled changed work habits, coupled with a lack of regular property assessments, could lead to the same serious challenges for suburban...
Daniel DePetris: Vladimir Putin has much to celebrate. But not the Russian people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, the man who plunged Russia into a war that has proved far costlier than he anticipated, is riding high at the moment. Last week, Putin formally took office for a fifth term after a presidential election that the United States, Europe and international monitors widely regarded...
Brooke D. Anderson: Put women in the rooms where it happens
Before I became the president of Pivotal Ventures, I spent most of my career in national security. In my roles at the United Nations, the White House and the State Department, I had the chance to work on big, audacious challenges with teams I deeply respected and admired. But as...
Rep. Emily Kinkead: Justice, compassion and Ezra Bozeman
Lady Justice may be blind, but she is not heartless. When I was in law school, I read a passage in my Criminal Procedure textbook that has defined my understanding of the practice of law in a criminal setting. What it said was that the role of a prosecutor is...
Letter to the editor: Trump is no savior
I read daily from Trump supporters who seem to believe lies and ignore the lengths this man will go to to succeed. Sadly, the person with no moral character and a liar continues his quest to be a sovereign and has a constituency of citizens who believe he is the...
Sounding off: Trump, Biden top week’s letters
Criticizing Trump doesn’t equate to support of Biden I am compelled to respond to those letter-writers who think criticism of Donald Trump automatically means the person criticizing must love and support President Biden. How nice to be able to see the world is such black and white terms! No need...
Letter to the editor: Tired of the whining about the border
I’m really tired of hearing and reading the whining from grown adults (particularly aged 50+) about the southern border. If we rallied together the retirees, the armchair pundits and the people who use religion to mask their blatant racism, we could have at least four or five squadrons ready to...
Editorial: Is paying former city employee with credit card an ethics problem?
Do we really need to keep explaining ethics to government officials? Looks like it. OK, one more time. Ethics are the moral principles governing what we do. They apply in a variety of arenas. There are business ethics, medical ethics, educational ethics, legal ethics. What we’re talking about here is...
Letter to the editor: We’re a republic, not a democracy
Recent articles and cartoons have opined that our national government is a democracy and not a republic. Unfortunately they are wrong. Article IV, Section 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and...
Gary Franks: Having student loan debt is almost like being a sharecropper — really!
History would show that debt and interest payments have impeded the progress of the common man. This would be true for post-slavery American Blacks and to a lesser degree, for those today with student loan debt. “Following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, most freed people lacked land...
S.E. Cupp: Biden attacking polls and press isn’t how to win
Denial is a river in Egypt, as the saying goes. Well, it’s also making itself quite at home at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. President Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump in five swing states, all of which Biden won in 2020, according to a new set of polls. While these...
Cal Thomas: Warren Buffet is wrong on taxes
Many people have made money by following the advice of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. His recommendations about which stocks to buy, which to sell and where to invest (or not) have earned him the “Oracle of Omaha” title. I prefer a modern cultural version: “the Taylor Swift of Capitalism.”...
Elizabeth Massa Hoiem: Talk to children — addiction info provides emergency first aid
Recent government support to aid families impacted by substance use is heartening. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $28 million in grants to assist pregnant people and families, while Oregon lawmakers approved $27 million to fund education and drug prevention programs. But government funds are slow to...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s small gesture shows his character
As a speech teacher, I told my students about a boss who was hiring new employees. He deliberately left a book on the floor and waited to see who would stop to pick it up. Then he planned to hire that candidate. Recently, Donald Trump was about to board Marine...
Letter to the editor: State retirees need a COLA
Our Pennsylvania state House passed a bill in June 2023 to grant the pre-Act 9 (2001) retirees a cost of living adjustment (COLA). These retirees, most of them in their 80s and older, have not received a COLA for nearly two decades. They have been existing on the same income...
Lori Falce: Graduation speech ignites debate on gender roles
Harrison Butker, the Kansas City Chiefs player who kicked the longest field goal in Super Bowl history, has become a pariah for many after a graduation speech at Benedictine College. A devout and very conservative Catholic, Butker gave a speech not about taking the lessons from the Atchison, Kan., school...
Laurels & lances: Superintendents and cyclones
Laurel: To the next step. First Hempfield Area School District got an architect for the high school renovation. Then it got a project manager. Then it got an owner’s representative. Then it asked for bids, which went way over budget. Then it threw the bids out and went back to...
