Opinion category, Page 178
S.E. Cupp: Whose voters like RFK Jr. more? It’s very clear.
As you might have noticed, the political class is in a bit of a frenzy, trying to intuit exactly whom Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s quixotic campaign for president will hurt the most — President Biden or former President Donald Trump. I suppose it’s good news for the independent candidate and...
Commentary: Premature Alzheimer’s diagnosis using pseudoscience is dangerous
When I turned 60, my primary care physician said something profound: “There is no reason for someone to wake up in this day and age and find that they have advanced colon cancer.” It was a nudge in the right direction. Early detection and early intervention have been medicine’s mantra...
Letter to the editor: Did God send Trump?
I do not believe God sent Trump. It is against God’s nature to empower anyone to bring revenge or retribution. God sent Jesus to empower us to be reconciled to each other, to be merciful to each other and to love one another. So may it be. Rev. Howard Russell...
Letter to the editor: Know your voting details and deadlines
As the 2024 election season begins, several Westmoreland County residents have sent public comments to the Board of Commissioners regarding elections and voting rules. It’s important to recognize the upcoming state-set deadlines if you want to vote in the April 23 primary election. Corrections to your registration must be completed...
Letter to the editor: Abortion hypocrisy
On March 2, Pennsylvania State Police announced that a 52-year-old man from Corry was arrested in connection with the murder of a pregnant Amish woman. He has been charged with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass. Isn’t abortion “criminal homicide of an unborn child”?...
Letter to the editor: Alcohol awareness
April is Alcohol Awareness Month, a time to think about your alcohol consumption to ensure you are enjoying alcohol responsibly and in moderation. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, this means limiting alcohol to two drinks or less a day for men and one drink or less for women....
Lori Falce: Humanitarians fighting famine cannot be targeted in war
Famine is supposed to be like earthquakes and tidal waves — an unstoppable force that happens through no one’s fault. No one conjures a drought from thin air. No one causes a blight on crops. Other than that one time in the Bible, a plague of locusts was not a...
Letter to the editor: HB 1660 dangerous invitation to lynch mobs
Interesting read about House Bill 1660 (“Lower Burrell child predator sting by citizens raises safety, legal issues,” March 29, TribLive) allowing private citizens to engage in sting operations now in the domain of various law enforcement agencies. House Bill 1660 invites legally sanctioned “lynch mobs” every bit as frightening as...
Laurels & lances: Baseball and social media
Laurel: To kicking things off. It’s here. The start of the Major League Baseball season. All across the country — and Toronto — people are getting psyched for the boys of summer to start playing ball. Pittsburgh Pirates fans have an uncharacteristic reason to be enthusiastic. In a normal year,...
Letter to the editor: Ranking Biden and Trump
The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey was published in February. The ranking system is based on opinions of historians and political scientists, which focus on presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures and faults. The following are the top 10 presidents: No. 1 is Lincoln, followed by F.D. Roosevelt, Washington, T....
Jonah Goldberg: Voters wishing for an alternative to Trump and Biden got one. Unfortunately, it’s RFK Jr.
American politics is so intensely stupid and nasty that it sometimes seems as if somebody made a series of wishes with a monkey’s paw. The dark moral of “The Monkey’s Paw,” a 1902 short story by the English writer W.W. Jacobs that became a pop culture trope, is that you...
Al Schmidt: Be an astute consumer of election information
When I became secretary of the commonwealth, I vowed to visit all 67 county election offices to hear firsthand about the challenges they face when running elections. Although I ran elections in Philadelphia for 10 years as a city commissioner, I knew that other counties face far different challenges, and...
Colin McNickle: Cassotis’ ‘facts’ and PIT’s realities
“Facts are stubborn things,” Founding Father John Adams reminded. “And whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis would be wise to recall that astute axiom the next time...
Letter to the editor: The true threat to our democracy
In her op-ed “Westmoreland should be making it easier to vote, not more difficult” (March 22, TribLive), Marian Schneider claims “threats to our democracy are rife” without reasoning. One can safely infer that she means to draw a direct line between no-excuse mail-in voting and the safeguarding of democracy. This...
Letter to the editor: Q&A for Trump supporters
Did President Biden take out a full-page ad calling for the execution of five Black youths who were found to be innocent? No. Did Biden have to break up his charity because he was benefiting from it? No. Did Biden bankrupt an airline, a university and a vodka franchise in...
Editorial: Government meetings should be accessible
Public meetings are meant to be public. Government isn’t supposed to happen in offices away from the eyes of the people. Oh, sure, much of the execution of government has to happen that way, but the decision making and the discussions? That has to happen where people can see. That’s...
Letter to the editor: Americans need a real drug reform act
Don’t be fooled by the president and politicians touting the great drug reform act. Yes, it’s great that insulin is now cheaper, but only for the 20% of the population on Medicare. And not all of that 20% uses insulin. The bill only allows the government to negotiate with Big...
Simona Stan: Port of Baltimore bridge collapse rattles supply chains already rocked by troubles in Panama, Red Sea
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26 has put a spotlight on the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest harbors in the U.S., which paused shipping and immediately halted all vessel traffic in and out. The port remained open to trucks following the incident, but...
Charlie Hunt: Is this the least productive congress ever? Yes, but it’s not just because they’re lazy.
Congress has once again been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, with multiple news outlets in recent months touting the current 118th Congress as possibly the least productive in the institution’s history. In 2023, Congress only passed 34 bills into law, the lowest number in decades. Congress was only...
Letter to the editor: Commissioners should reverse ruling on drop boxes
Regarding the article “Westmoreland GOP commissioners again nix drop boxes for mail-in ballots” (March 28, TribLive): They need to reverse this ruling and provide free access to voting. I don’t believe that we the voters approved this! This ruling is way too political. Dave Bonazelli Unity...
Letter to the editor: Jill Cooper will continue to work hard for us
I have known state Rep. Jill Cooper for years, and the most important judgment I can make of her is she loves the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and our country in every way. Therefore, she works very hard to help the citizens of our community by steering our government toward making...
Letter to the editor: Steelers need to play as a team, not individuals
When the Pittsburgh Steelers from the ’70s were winning Super Bowls, it was because each team member bought into the fact that it would take each member changing his mindset. They drank the Kool-Aid, so to speak. They put the team ahead of themselves. They got rid of the “I...
Editorial: Railway Safety Act shouldn’t be derailed
The rules that make us safer always follow the examples of how safe we are not. In 1911, 146 people — 123 of them women and girls — died in Manhattan when the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned. It remains one of the deadliest industrial accidents in American history, but it...
Letter to the editor: Does Trump really want border secured?
The letter “America must come first” (March 9, TribLive) is another well written yet deceptive and disingenuous screed of pure MAGA propaganda. The writer attempts to argue that America can’t send aid to Ukraine until our southern border is entirely secured. Of course he says this is all the Democrats’...
Letter to the editor: Ramifications of illegal immigration
It is said that 10 million- plus illegal immigrants from over 100 countries (vast majority from Latin America) will have arrived at the end of President’s Biden’s term in office. Consequently, I will list the ramifications to America: • Most illegals pay $5,000-plus to the Mexican cartels to get here. Since...
