Opinion category, Page 188
Letter to the editor: Income tax a penalty for success
An income tax, flat or otherwise, is not a tax on wealth. It is a tax on getting wealthy. With a graduated tax, the better job somebody does meeting customer needs, the more tax. Essentially, they are penalized for their success. I’ve come to like the Pennsylvania income tax. The...
Letter to the editor: What if we tried to live by Paul’s words?
I would never be so naive as to believe for a minute that the United States is a “Christian nation.” It is not, and I suppose that that’s as it should be. But what if we all tried, just tried, to heed the words of the apostle Paul, who said:...
Letter to the editor: Appreciating Penguin greats
I bought my first Penguins season tickets in 1978. They weren’t very good during those seasons, but I attended all of the games. In 1984, Mario Lemieux arrived, and everything changed. We got to watch the Penguins evolve into an NHL powerhouse. We got to watch some of the greatest...
Editorial: 10 years after Franklin Regional attack, school violence still needs treatment
On April 9, 2014, Franklin Regional High School became part of a club no one wants join: the locations of school violence. Alex Hribal was 16 that day. He showed up at school that Wednesday morning dressed in black. Minutes before classes began, the attack began. Like all such attacks,...
Letter to the editor: New report reveals impact of Alzheimer’s disease in Pa.
The Alzheimer’s Association’s 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report reveals alarming trends demanding urgent attention. With the number of Americans affected by Alzheimer’s steadily rising, the impact on individuals, families and the health care system is profound. An estimated 6.9 million Americans ages 65 and older have Alzheimer’s. In...
Letter to the editor: Senate must take action on gun violence
I read the essay Meredith Elizalde wrote about her son Nick, who was killed during a mass shooting at his school’s football game in September 2022 (“State leaders disdain gun victims,” Feb. 9, TribLive). The reaction of lawmakers in Harrisburg to this mother’s grief is disturbing. The “condolences” from the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: April in America
America’s leaders have often come through with fine words and excellent phrases to remind us that it is hard work to keep the promise of America. For some reason, many important speeches were delivered in the month of April. On April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated, Martin...
Sean Kim Butorac: How struggles over immigration echo conflict over slavery
In November, the Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 4 to empower state law enforcement to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants. First-time offenders face six months of imprisonment, while second-timers can be incarcerated for up to 20 years. Texas prisons are already overcrowded, inhumane spaces. During last year’s heat wave, more than...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Why both campaigns need all that cash
Money, the legendary California Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh said, “is the mother’s milk of politics.” Judging from the way cash is flowing into the Biden and Trump campaign coffers, each of the major 2024 presidential campaigns has no shortage of mothers. On March 28, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign raised...
Letter to the editor: Roadside trash mars beauty of our state
I would like to thank the writer of the letter “Doesn’t anyone care about roadside trash?” (March 19, TribLive) regarding roadside trash along Route 28. It’s a disgrace to see so much trash discarded along our roads. It’s an embarrassment. I was a Scout den leader for eight years with...
Sounding off: Presidents, abortion, drop boxes among week’s topics
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...
Letter to the editor: No honor to oaths of office
An oath is a solemn promise, usually sworn by an elected or appointed official, while raising their right hand up to God. At one time, I was a sworn officer. I took an oath to protect and defend people as well as to uphold the law. If I dishonored that...
Editorial: Can dual enrollment solve college cost problem?
All conversations about college tend to boil down to the same problem: It just costs too much. The average cost of one year in college is about $19,000. That puts Pitt and Penn State in that arena. As state related but not state run, they are high for public schools...
Letter to the editor: MAGA, patriotism and Christianity
I am so tired of the MAGA base claiming to be the only “patriots” in this country. Let me ask this question, from the American citizenship exam: What is the supreme law of the land? The Constitution. Yes, that document our Founding Fathers were adamant about — balance of power,...
Gary Franks: Joe Lieberman — America lost a giant of a man and I lost a friend
Last week my favorite former Democratic elected official passed away — my not-so-secret friend, Sen. Joe Lieberman. We were colleagues from the Connecticut delegation in Congress in the 1990s, but our friendship superseded that period. Just last May, I reached out by phone to Joe. As I grew accustomed to...
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....
