Opinion category, Page 194
Letter to the editor: Lingg a true conservative
Let us be honest. Every time the conservatives extend an olive branch to the so-called moderates in Harrisburg, the moderates respond with machetes. There should be no concessions given to Democrats. I am talking about the Republicans collaborating with the enemy by meeting in the middle. The uni-party needs crushed,...
Editorial: Westmoreland County needs to learn more lessons about pay
Westmoreland County has realized that employees are valuable. What was it that drove this home to the commissioners and the salary board — and other departments within the county government? Was it the critical shortages among essential areas like the jail and Westmoreland Manor nursing home? Was it the challenges...
Letter to the editor: We deserve better than Biden
Most of the media coverage of President Biden’s recent State of the Union speech focused on his prepared speech. Little attention was given to what was said in those rare moments when he went off-script. However, these moments provide insight into his true character. They are not written in advance...
Tom Purcell: Still living the American dream
A growing number of Americans think the American dream is out of reach, but I think they are wrong. According to a recent Wall Street Journal poll, only 36% of voters said the American dream still exists, way fewer than the 53% who believed so in 2012. Half of the...
Laila El-Haddad: My family in Gaza faces starvation. How do I find solace this Ramadan?
Ordinarily, the days leading up to Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims give up food and drink from dawn to dusk, are exuberant. My younger children and I would prepare “iftar jars” and food baskets with Ramadan staples, such as dates, nuts and apricot paste, to hand out to neighbors....
Ben Harris: Inflation isn’t the real problem for U.S. economy. The housing shortage is.
Recently released government data hammered home what we have known for at least a year: A national housing shortage, not broad-based price increases, is driving inflation. Inflation over the past year was 3.1% — far less than in 2021 but still high enough for the Federal Reserve to keep interest...
Letter to the editor: Steelers thoughts
We need to make dunce caps for Art Rooney, Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin. They are an embarrassment. Six years to figure Mason Rudolph is their best quarterback. His league-leading play at the end of last season wasn’t enough to list him as No. 1, let alone make a contract...
Editorial: No waiting line for vets’ care
Plastics. Paint. Petroleum. Metals. Munitions. Medical waste. All of these and more were set aflame and disposed of in open-air pits used by the U.S. military in its Iraq and Afghanistan operations. Too often, members of the armed services served downwind of the airborne hazards created by this wartime waste...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland County taxpayers deserve accountability
The article “Property owners get sticker shock from Westmoreland hike” (March 7, TribLive) focuses on reaction but provides no information about money spent. Residents are rightfully outraged; they are being asked to cover ever-increasing costs with little or nothing to show for it. There needs to be accountability for county...
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 18
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 18....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 18
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 18....
Letter to the editor: Don’t vote as a ‘fan’
In this forum, people write that they either favor President Trump and bash President Biden, or favor Biden and bash Trump. Whomever you vote for, I ask that you not vote if you are a fan. Fans vote for their favorite regardless of the candidate’s credentials. Fan voting is voting...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s mental fitness
Consider President Biden’s stamina, his schedule so full, reporters traveling with him — some half his age — worn out. Others describe him as “vigorous intellectually,” “an intellectual firepower,” “his mastery of the geopolitical world astounding.” Research shows two-thirds of Americans over 85 do not have dementia. That reality is...
Editorial: Westmoreland overdose deaths show changing numbers, familiar problem
Accidental overdose fatalities are down in Westmoreland County. On Thursday, Coroner Tim Carson released the data for deaths in 2023. The news overall is good. The number of people who died due to accidentally ingesting too many drugs fell from 118 to just 95. That’s an almost 20% drop, and...
Brian Clancy: Can St. Patrick and green beer save American democracy?
Let’s make a few things crystal clear right up front. First and foremost, green beer has always been a bad choice and is without any saving grace. I also doubt that even St. Patrick in his prime could drive all the political snakes out of today’s Washington. The history of...
Letter to the editor: Recalling Italian immigrants
Recently, I saw the movie “Cabrini” because I was raised Catholic, had Italian relatives and married an Italian. I highly recommend the movie for what it shows of the life of the heroic Mother Cabrini and her nuns. But more than that, I want people introduced to the discrimination and...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Remembering Roddey’s political gusto
It is not often that we are surprised when someone dies at age 91, but it seemed like Jim Roddey would live forever. When Jim arrived in Pittsburgh in 1979, he was a Republican businessman with a Southern accent. When he died this month, he was a true Pittsburgher, a...
Peter Morici: Biden gets blame for high inflation, but he shouldn’t
Inflation has come down, but not enough for voters to stop complaining about high prices. Since President Joe Biden took office, the economy has recovered from the covid-19 pandemic shutdowns and is now advancing, just as economists expected in 2019 before the pandemic was on the horizon. The rub is...
Autumn Brewington: Kate Middleton messed up. But the royal family has bigger problems than one photo.
The Kate Middleton photo debacle is an unforced error from a person usually seen as picture, and princess, perfect. Yes, Catherine, Princess of Wales, apologized on social media Monday for “any confusion” over the image manipulation that led five major news agencies to recall the family photo the royals had...
Letter to the editor: Vote smart to end stupidity
Stupidity is a cruel word which means lack of intelligence, and I like to think that nobody is stupid. Well, our politicians have proven me wrong again. When Donald Trump tells Republicans to nix a bipartisan immigration bill, I guess because it’ll be an election issue and they listen to...
Sounding off: Politics, border top letter topics for week
Vote out county commissioners Taxes paid by Westmoreland County homeowners are monies we entrust to our commissioners to spend wisely. County commissioners are stewards of our money. Unfortunately, commissioners Sean Kertes, Doug Chew and Ted Kopas have not done their jobs. They have, along with previous commissioners, squandered our money...
Letter to the editor: Republicans shouldn’t compromise on abortion
In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled a person may choose an abortion until a fetus (genetically complete human being) becomes viable. “Viability” is an arbitrary term used to determine when it is legal to terminate human life. Factors such as fetal lung development, heartbeat and the ability to...
Editorial: The dollars and sense of the Mon Incline
There are certain fixtures that simply define their city. For Paris, it’s the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. For Washington, there are the White House and the Capitol and the monuments on the mall. For Philadelphia, it’s the Liberty Bell, the LOVE sculpture and the steps of the...
Letter to the editor: Congress must rein in pharmacy benefit managers
As a clinical pharmacist, it’s difficult to sit by and watch as policies and practices put in place by insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, continue to have such a negative impact on patient access to care, affordability and the future of local, independent pharmacies here in Pennsylvania and...
Gary Franks: Have we lowered the bar for Biden?
Press conferences? “No, we’re good,” implies the Biden administration. And the liberal media allows President Joe Biden to get away with it. No president in recorded history has done fewer. It is a basic part of his job. But he insists he is ready for four more years in office....
