Opinion category, Page 202
Laurels & lances: Looking out and letting down
Laurel: To recycling. Everyone knows it’s better to reuse than to let something go to waste. That’s not just true of paper and plastic. It also applies to technology. On a visit to Acrisure Stadium, Leechburg Area School District security guard Mike Kapustik noticed there were unused metal detectors in...
Letter to the editor: Our support of Israel will be disastrous
No group I have encountered has been more generous than Jews. This is a deep part of Jewish culture. So I have long been mystified at Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, especially in this current war. Benjamin Netanyahu has answered Hamas’ barbaric act of war with a barbaric act of war...
Paul Kengor: Japan’s Nippon Steel acquires US Steel: Who cares?
It has been about a month since United States Steel (USS) announced it’s being acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. I’ve watched curiously for reactions. I find it interesting that local reaction has seemed somewhat subdued, even underwhelming. To the contrary, I’ve heard from older, relocated Pittsburghers who greeted the...
Christine Flowers: Not even the death of a mother is off limits in today’s politics
There are two things that should be completely off limits: a person’s children and a person’s grief. You do not mock a child, something that we often forget when that child happens to belong to a politician we despise, and you do not make fun of someone in the depths...
Letter to the editor: An idea for easing Parkway congestion
Regarding the article “$142M in federal funding to address congestion, transit along Pittsburgh’s Parkway East,” (Dec. 19, TribLive): Congestion on the Parkway is caused by drivers trying to switch lanes. Install a divider guard rail to divide the lanes so once you are on the Parkway, you cannot switch lanes....
Letter to the editor: What will be cure for deadly ‘Disease X’?
I don’t know much about the newest pandemic on the horizon, “Disease X,” other than the trusted World Health Organization says it will be 20 times more deadly than covid. I do, on the other hand, have a clear understanding of what the cure will be: mail-in ballots. Stay healthy,...
Editorial: Mike Tomlin should punt the pettiness and petulance
A coach is someone who gives instruction. Coaches train. They teach. They help make people better. The simple arithmetic of wins and losses shows the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin is a good coach. He joined the organization in 2007. In that time, he has amassed two Super Bowl appearances with...
Letter to the editor: How would we deal with extraterrestrials?
As I read through all the ideas as to how best to be prepared for the next catastrophe, I note that all the suggestions being made are excellent and, if adopted, will certainly have a marked influence on how effective our efforts will be no matter which one of the...
Letter to the editor: MAGAs, respect and patriotism
I for one was glad to see a “MAGA conservative” opine on the differences between conservatives and liberals and help clear the air (“Conservatives respectful, liberals destructive,” Jan. 11, TribLive). Most people think the MAGA group is not respectful of life (unless you consider state abortion bans that are rendering...
Jonah Goldberg: Biden is late but right to strike against Yemen’s Houthis
With the possible exception of fights over the national debt and Supreme Court nominations, there is no topic that arouses more partisan hypocrisy than presidential use of military force. And, globally, there is no issue that arouses more hypocrisy than Israel. Put them together, and you have a perfect storm...
Peter Morici: How to help American families afford child care? Give parents money directly
Last September, covid-era federal subsidies to child-care providers ended. Despite apocalyptic warnings that 70,000 daycare centers would shutter, compelling at least one parent, usually mothers, to stay-at-home, American families have so far muddled through. The female labor force participation rate, which has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, did not collapse. Importantly,...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Haley still has a chance in New Hampshire
Though Donald Trump scored a historically large victory, Nikki Haley’s close third in the Iowa caucuses keeps alive her scenario of how the Republican primaries might shift in her favor, starting next week in New Hampshire. “You know Iowa starts it,” the former South Carolina governor told Granite State supporters...
Letter to the editor: Reasons to root for Cleveland
I had to smile reading the letter from Mike Stehney (“Steelers fan rooting for the Browns,” Jan. 5, TribLive). I was in Cleveland the day after Art Modell and the whole Browns team packed up in the middle of the night and left for Baltimore. Having been born and raised...
Letter to the editor: New year, same tax hikes
It’s a new year, but clearly nothing has changed as far as the continuation of raising taxes. This year not only has inflation and high energy costs, but add to that the over 30% property tax hike in Westmoreland County, a 3.5% pay raise for our commissioners and 4.7% for...
Editorial: Are passengers, airports served by JetBlue-Spirit ruling?
In April 2022, JetBlue Airways decided to make a bid for Spirit Airlines. The move came after Frontier Airlines attempted a merger. Three months later, Frontier walked away, leaving JetBlue as the only remaining suitor. This was a big deal, but it left some worried about what it meant going...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s actions keep Iran a threat to U.S.
On July 14, 2015, Barack Obama, with then-Vice President Joe Biden standing behind him, smiling like a Cheshire cat, naïvely claimed to the American people, “… the United States … has achieved something that decades of animosity has not, a comprehensive long term deal with Iran that will prevent (them)...
Cal Thomas: GOP, where is the noble rhetoric?
“Donald, you’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency. That’s not going to happen.” — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush during a 2016 debate with Trump. After watching too many of the Republican non-debates and the insults each of the candidates (and former candidates) have...
Sally C. Pipes: Medicaid should not be for middle class
America is aging. Between now and 2050, the number of people older than 64 will increase by more than half, to 86 million. Nineteen million of those seniors will be older than 84. That means demand for long-term care will grow. Residential care with nursing coverage can cost more than...
Letter to the editor: Accountability is a 2-way street
I agree with the letter “Biden should be impeached over immigration” (Jan. 3, TribLive), but it leads to another question: Didn’t former President Trump break his presidential oath to the Constitution and cause an insurrection? By doing so, should he be on any states’ ballots? Or is this just a...
Letter to the editor: Counseling needed at Allegheny County Jail
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care mandates that individual counseling be provided to residents at a county jail. This last year, there were eight therapists in our jail’s budget to provide individual counseling, but only one was hired, and recently. Many residents in our jail are in a state...
Editorial: Pittsburgh’s Sports Facility Usage tax needs to be fair
Pittsburgh’s sports arenas can be expensive to visit. Average ticket price at Acrisure Stadium to see the Steelers play? About $120. Want to see the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena? Average there is around $224, depending on where you buy your tickets. The Pirates are downright cheap; while the lowest...
Letter to the editor: How will GOP replace Dunbar?
Seven-term state Rep. George Dunbar, R-Penn Township, has announced he won’t seek an eighth term; there is a God, thank-you. County Republican Party Chair Bill Bretz and all the local RINOs praised his service and said he will be missed. I say, missed by the Dems. I’m sure Bretz will...
Tom Purcell: Our over-coddled kids need some tough love
Get this: Gen Z job applicants are bringing their parents to job interviews, reports the New York Post. As it goes, for several decades America’s children have been over-coddled by their “helicopter parents” — parents who zoom in to resolve any challenge their children may face, even as they become...
Willie Wilson: Black elected leaders have an obligation to fulfill the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream
As we honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday today with a federal holiday, there will be programs, pageantry and celebrations for a man who expressed a powerful dream in 1963. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial But that dream remains largely unfulfilled. King’s dream was one of...
Michael Reagan: Stop debating with yourselves, Republicans
I heard there was another Republican presidential debate. I didn’t watch it — I’ve suffered enough, thanks. I don’t care how few political masochists tuned in to CNN last Wednesday night to watch Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis engage in another meaningless debate. I don’t care who the big-shot media...
