Opinion category, Page 214
Letter to the editor: Moving back to Monday hunting opener
I read with great interest the editorial “Lawmakers should pull trigger on hunting bills” (Nov. 28, TribLive), especially the last paragraph. Yes, there are valid reasons for and against moving the first day of hunting back to Monday. At least 75% of the hunters are in favor of moving opening...
Letter to the editor: Antisemitism misplaced
I am horrified by the monstrous outbreaks on prestigious campuses and big-city streets of antisemitic demonstrations, many of which terrorize Jews and have an anti-American tinge. Antisemitism has a centuries-old history in the Middle East and Europe, and the U.S. is not without fault, but these current quasi-militant protesters appear...
Editorial: Sandra Day O’Connor was a trailblazer and far more than ‘a good judge’
News that Sandra Day O’Connor, the Supreme Court’s first woman justice, had died Friday at 93 caused the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board to recall her visit a decade ago. Although retired since 2006, she politely disappointed the board by holding to the high court’s practice of refusing to comment on...
Letter to the editor: Would Jesus accept Mike Johnson’s conduct?
The writer of the letter “Mike Johnson and Democrats’ turmoil” (Nov. 22, TribLive) seems to believe that the only people who should be able to express their opinion are those who believe the way Johnson does. He should look up the rants Johnson makes, starting with Donald Trump’s threats to...
Jonathan Bernstein: What Congress can learn from George Santos
The George Santos fiasco is finally at an end, at least in Congress, with the U.S. House of Representatives — including 105 of his Republican colleagues — voting Friday to expel him. The 311-114 vote comfortably cleared the two-thirds majority needed to make him only the third House member to...
Zakiya Stewart: Helping our children learn to read
During my time as a first grade teacher, my greatest joy was watching my students begin to fall in love with reading. I watched them transition from sounding out words letter by letter to reading and composing sentences. They were beginning to discover the world around them and, on the...
Aaron Chapin: Pa. must adopt clear, sustainable plan to address unconstitutional school funding
Every morning, 1.7 million students wake up and head off to public schools across Pennsylvania, eager to learn and grow in classrooms that are supposed to provide them with a “thorough and efficient system of public education.” That’s what our state constitution guarantees to every student. But in February Pennsylvania’s...
Letter to the editor: Remembering Holy Trinity Church and Swedish Lutherans
Your article regarding the church on Chestnut Street in Greensburg was disappointing (“Former churches are finding new life after religious calling,” Nov. 26, TribLIVE). Although a small church, it once had a vibrant, active congregation of Swedish Lutherans. In fact, the service was performed in Swedish in the beginning. It...
Letter to the editor: Don’t write off Pickett, Steelers
Regarding the letter “Steelers set up for failure” (Nov. 25, TribLIVE): No, the Steelers organization is not rudderless and unrecognizable. The Rooneys pick good people, and they trust them. But how do you know if it’s a good person going through a rough patch, or you just have the wrong...
Editorial: Allegheny County Jail opioid treatment has positive potential
People incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail will receive medication for opioid use disorder. The move comes as a result of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and includes a $10,000 payment to an individual who was jailed in Allegheny County and denied the methadone he was receiving...
Letter to the editor: Staff retention critical at Allegheny County Jail
The staffing crisis at the Allegheny County Jail has paralyzed staff from being able to provide a safe and humane environment to the residents of our jail. The health care staff has had 94 vacancies, and many correctional officers have to work so much forced overtime that they have to...
Tom Purcell: Enjoying the gift of giving
Here’s an unpleasant holiday statistic: Average Americans are giving significantly less to their favorite charities this year than they did just four or five years ago. Average Americans have long been among the most generous people on Earth. But this year, thanks to an economy disrupted by covid, soaring interest...
Lou Barletta: Say no to Kooth in Pa. schools
Strangers talking to schoolchildren on the internet — what could possibly go wrong? If that’s not bad enough, how about parents having no idea that it’s even happening? The newest threat to parental rights is entering our school districts behind closed doors. Kooth is a for-profit business from the U.K....
Letter to the editor: Abortion, choices and free will
I’m always amazed when letter-writers cite the Constitution and twist it to support their topic (“Unborn Americans have right to life,” Nov. 28, TribLive). But I digress. This is tough for me to write, as I am pro-life and agree with this particular letter-writer. But not for the same reason....
Letter to the editor: How did terrorist chic become a thing?
Two decades after September 2001, the formerly ostracized Islamists have learned to speak the college hipster language of anti-colonization. They remind us of the not-uncommon forced evacuations of border villages almost 80 years ago, and they understandably gripe about many Palestinians living in a stateless “archipelago.” They go on about...
Colin McNickle: The (still) high cost of PRT bus service
The cost to operate Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) buses oftentimes exceeds seven other comparison transit agencies in the United States, except New York City, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. But in one key metric, and when the cost of living in the respective comparison...
Editorial: America’s high schoolers are running out of time
America’s high schools face a growing crisis: Millions of students who entered ninth grade in the fall of 2020, at the height of the covid-19 pandemic, are set to graduate this spring, with little hope of recovering from the learning loss incurred while schools were shut. Simply put, they’re running...
Letter to the editor: Say ‘no’ to speed cameras throughout Pa.
The truth has finally come out. In an amendment to House Bill 1284, the Legislature has laid its cards on the table: They want speed cameras all over Pennsylvania. Amendment 2956 directs the Local Government Commission to study the expansion of automated speed enforcement (speed cameras) on local highways and...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 4
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 4....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 4
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 4....
Letter to the editor: Faith is a force, not a farce
Regarding the letter “Religion and politics shouldn’t mix” (Nov. 11, TribLive): I appreciate the forum where opinions may be shared, even when multiple millions worldwide do not share the same views. The Bible to these people is not a “fantasy book” written by superstitious people. The early apostolic writers, disciples...
Editorial: Street crime team could be solution if Pittsburgh does it better than others
Violent crime in Pittsburgh has been a talking point in recent years. There have been businesses that have closed because of it. Far too many lives have been lost to it, from children sitting in cars to women waiting for buses. Gun crimes have even happened at the most unexpected...
Letter to the editor: We must fight for accessible recycling
The article “Fluctuating prices leave recycling industry at mercy of supply and demand” (Oct. 15, TribLive) reminded me of a harsh reality: While residents in other counties can simply place their recyclables outside their homes, most Westmoreland County residents do not have that luxury. As the value of recyclable material...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Celebrating the holidays in time of war
As many Americans struggle to find the holiday spirit this year in the midst of war abroad and turmoil at home, Henry Kissinger’s death last week is a reminder that we have been here before. When Vietnam War peace talks collapsed in December 1972, President Richard Nixon and Kissinger —...
Rosalie Metro: Palestinian and Israeli children are endangered by ‘us vs. them’ narratives
“What do you want to do when you grow up?” I asked Muhammad, an 8-year-old boy. “I want to kill Israeli soldiers!” he replied proudly. This was in 1998, when I was teaching English in Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. I’d come to Beirut to study abroad and...
