Opinion category, Page 191
Colin McNickle: Behind Pa.’s 2023 gambling numbers
Pennsylvania’s gambling revenues reached nearly $5.7 billion by the end of 2023. It’s the highest yearly total to date, up 9.3% from 2022. And taxes on that gambling brought in $2.3 billion in 2023, up 10% from $2.12 billion in 2022. But a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public...
Letter to the editor: McDaniel and NBC’s agenda
Well, NBC news “journalists” have shown their true agenda in such a big way it can no longer be ignored. Ronna McDaniel was hired by NBC to hopefully balance their left-wing rhetoric. However, the talent on their shows threw a fit and demanded she be fired before she even started...
Letter to the editor: Jill Cooper committed to service
I highly recommend Jill Cooper for Murrysville, Export, Salem Township and Delmont (District 55) Pennsylvania state representative. She is not only smart, but her experience serving these communities spans many years. Cooper knows the business community well, and, for many years, coordinated and aided their growth strategies when she was...
Lori Falce: Stop being quiet on set when it comes to child actors
The easiest way to rally people to your cause can be to focus on the way it affects children. Hunger in a foreign country? Show starving children. War in a foreign country? Show the youngest victims. Everyone does it. Health care? How does it impact children? Education? Easy one. Show...
Laurels & lances: Recusal and responsibility
Laurel: To fair consideration. A Westmoreland County judge has agreed to consider removing himself from the case of a former police officer accused of lying. Ryan Matthew Clark, 33, of Buffalo Township is a former Arnold cop who was arrested in 2022 by county detectives and charged with filing a...
Letter to the editor: Should we secure our county’s borders?
Following their reelection, the Westmoreland County commissioners announced an unwelcome tax increase. They could have softened the blow by saying some tax receipts would be used to erect a razor-wire fence along our borders. Thus would end sanctuary county discussion. More importantly, we wouldn’t have to fear caravans of brown-skinned...
Letter to the editor: Don’t vote for more insanity
I was saddened to read the letter “Trump, ‘strong men’ and bloodbaths” (March 25, TribLive). Is the writer serious? I mean, is that his real opinion, or is it something being sold to us? Actually I would agree with the whole opinion if the names “Biden” and “Trump” were reversed....
Paul Kengor: On virtue, the Steelers and Kenny Pickett
Cicero insisted that what a citizenry needs above all is virtue, which he defined as prudence, practical wisdom, one that eschews vice. In his excellent 2009 book, “Politics for the Greatest Good: The Case for Prudence in the Public Square,” Clarke Forsythe notes that prudence is concerned with right action,...
Letter to the editor: Who’s above the law?
When it comes to talk about Donald Trump and presidential immunity, the mantra is “nobody is above the law.” Nobody — except the millions of illegal immigrants invading our border. Nobody — except every foreign diplomat in our country. Nobody — except every U.S. senator and representative who has immunity...
Letter to the editor: Commissioners hypocritical and deceitful
I believe all three Westmoreland County commissioners were well aware that they intended to slam property owners with a massive one-third tax hike before the November election, but they waited until two weeks after Election Day to announce it. Then to turn around and raise their own salaries to almost...
Editorial: The lessons of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Baltimore bridges
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is a twisted mass of metal in the Patapsco River today after a cargo vessel plowed into a support column. Video shows the incident in the dark hours of Tuesday morning like a slow motion scene in a disaster movie as the structure fell down...
Letter to the editor: Community input needed on hydrogen hubs
I recently attended the first of seven “listening sessions” on hydrogen hubs hosted by the Department of Energy (DOE) to hear how residents in other parts of the country felt about these projects. I did not find out. Only three people registered to speak — all members of the building...
Jonah Goldberg: Why Trump’s running mate is less likely to be Marco Rubio than Marjorie Taylor Greene
Now that Donald Trump is officially the presumptive Republican nominee, he’s getting ready for the general election. In just the last couple of weeks, he’s scratched a lot off his to-do list. He installed new leadership, including his daughter-in-law, at the Republican National Committee and negotiated a joint fundraising agreement...
Jason W. Park: Gun rights, gun control, gun violence
An Illinois federal judge recently ruled that the Constitution protects the gun rights of noncitizens who enter the U.S. illegally. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Coleman dropped firearm possession charges against Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, who was in possession of a handgun in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago on June 1,...
Letter to the editor: Excessive fine for Trump unconstitutional
Former President Donald Trump has been fined $454 million. The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” I wonder, in this economy today, how much should be considered to be an...
Letter to the editor: Trump, Greene a great ticket
Vice President Kamala Harris was like a jack-in-the-box during President Biden’s State of the Union address, standing and clapping wildly after almost every sentence he uttered. She looked like an idiot. In the audience sat Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conservative Republican representative from Georgia wearing a red MAGA baseball cap....
Letter to the editor: Biden, Trump — who to vote for?
Should our vote for president be for Joe Biden or Donald Trump, and who, and what media, should we believe? Should we vote: 1. For personality or job performance and policies? 2. For one who created and managed successful corporations, or one who is a lifetime employee of government? 3....
Editorial: Is the Regional Youth Services Center ready to open?
After eight months of closed doors, the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield is reopening. The Westmoreland County juvenile detention facility was shuttered after a series of troubling state inspections, including one involving a teenager’s attempted suicide. There was a near riot. There were poorly trained employees — in addition...
Letter to the editor: Seeking truth on tragedy in Gaza
Los Angeles journalist Laila El-Haddad’s op-ed “My family in Gaza faces starvation. How do I find solace this Ramadan?” (March 16, TribLive) could have been an insightful, sincere report on tragic circumstances in Gaza. But instead another dishonest, disingenuous report that leaves us more disappointed than informed, more frustrated than...
Letter to the editor: Foreign assistance works
Every year, the United States saves millions of lives and helps create a better, safer world for everyone — and we do it for a mere fraction of our federal budget. Development and humanitarian assistance make up less than 1% of the budget but support programs and policies that improve...
Nicole W. Luciano: Energy assistance available year-round
As we begin to thaw out from the cold winter months, Pennsylvania homeowners and renters who are having trouble paying their energy bills can still seek financial assistance and help with weatherizing their homes and apartments. There are programs available year-round for all income levels with additional assistance targeted at...
Cal Thomas: Moscow massacre — could it happen here?
A mass shooting at a concert hall in Moscow killed more than 130 people. With many others seriously or gravely wounded the number of dead is likely to rise. The Islamic state released a statement claiming “credit” for the incident. Eleven suspects have been arrested. Early reports suggested the U.S....
Robert Smith: Overregulation not helping economy or environment
A dramatic success story began in the 1970s when President Richard Nixon established the groundwork for many of the alphabet soup of major environmental laws: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), etc. In addition, he established the...
Letter to the editor: Appreciative of Dukes’ play, coverage
As a season ticketholder and Duquesne law graduate, I certainly appreciate the stellar coverage given to the Duquesne Dukes men’s basketball team during their NCAA “March Madness” run in the tournament. Like Duquesne University President Ken Gormley, I am feeling like a kid again. Having met all of the players...
Letter to the editor: Bizzarro’s lack of leadership
I believe Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Millcreek, is uniquely unqualified to hold public office because he lacks the ability to lead on any issue and does not possess the requisite skills, judgment, temperament or capacity for growth needed to represent our commonwealth. During Bizzarro’s tenure in Harrisburg, he has voted to...
