Opinion category, Page 223
Letter to the editor: Bag ban nonsense
Your “lance” about Pittsburgh’s plastic bag ban made me laugh (“Cold cases and bag bans,” Oct. 27, TribLIVE). Next time you go to the store, check out all that plastic packaging for everything. And let’s not forget all the plastic cups, forks, spoons, etc., plus soda bottles, signs … ....
Sounding off: Rep. Mike Johnson, bag bans, school bus safety
Johnson as speaker bad news for America Finally, and with so much turmoil in the world that needs to be addressed by Congress, U.S. House Republicans have elected a speaker. The elevation to this position of Rep. Mike Johnson is good news for him, for Donald Trump, whose approval was...
Letter to the editor: Green initiatives losers for U.S.
President Biden wants to scatter thousands of windmills throughout the ocean. I’m betting that salt water will eat away at these monsters, rendering them junk in a matter of years. Where is this junk going to go? People moan about steel mills and pollution; well, where do you think the...
Letter to the editor: Those were the days
It seems as though that dangerous, bigoted white nationalist, who spent much of his time in a worn-out easy chair smoking a cigar, was never more right than now. Fifty years ago, Archie Bunker and his wife Edith sang the theme song to “All In The Family”: “And you knew...
Editorial: Independence has rose-colored glasses for Excela’s red-ink report
The idea was to save money while still doing the job. That was what then-Excela Health CEO John Sphon, now retired, said in June 2022 when the Greensburg-based hospital network and Butler Health System announced their merger. “We believe strongly that our new partnership will extend our intellectual and financial...
Letter to the editor: Hydrogen blending not the answer
It is no surprise that Columbia Gas is testing hydrogen blending in gas appliances, despite the fact that scientists are warning legislators that hydrogen blending results in more warming emissions than if they were to just burn gas. In the second largest gas-producing state in the nation, Pennsylvania gas companies...
Letter to the editor: We must stop hate and fearmongering
Ray Epps was a true believer. He believed what former President Trump, Fox News and the right-wing media repeatedly told him about the 2020 election being stolen. So on Jan. 6, he stormed the Capitol. But then the conspiracy machine turned on him. They said Epps was an FBI plant...
Gary Franks: Can new speaker pass legislation? Putting God first can help
I wish newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson great success in what has turned out to be a difficult journey for the Republicans. For now, the speaker’s chair is no longer vacant. Did everyone get what they wanted? Or did everyone lose? Let’s review. The MAGA Republicans bullied their way...
Bruce Ledewitz: The rage of the essential worker
The other day, I did something most of my fellow liberals have never done — I had a serious conversation with an essential worker. He could have been a grocery clerk, a construction worker, a health care aide or innumerable other job classifications. He could have been female or male,...
Colin McNickle: 4 must-dos for next Allegheny County executive
Allegheny County voters go to the polls on Tuesday to choose the first new chief executive (ACE) in 12 years. Over the past year, the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy has made four key recommendations that the incoming ACE must entertain. In 2024, the county government will use the budget...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh should halt hunting in city parks
Concerning the killing of deer in Riverview Park (“Deer hunting to begin in 2 Pittsburgh parks,” Sept. 29, TribLIVE): Many years ago, someone shot a deer with a bow and arrow about a half-mile from my home. The deer died in agony in my front yard. I had to bury...
Letter to the editor: Nothing from government is ‘free’
The article “Here’s how to get your free covid-19 tests” (Sept. 25, TribLIVE) is inaccurate. The tests are not “free,” nor were they “free” when “the White House launched the program to allow Americans to request free at-home covid-19 tests in January 2022.” It costs money to pay for these...
Letter to the editor: Fracking is regulated
Regarding the letter “Fracking needs to stop” (Oct. 17, TribLIVE): There could not be a worse policy for Pennsylvania. The writer utilized a summary of a University of Pittsburgh health study which didn’t acknowledge other environmental factors and didn’t directly connect the oil and gas industry with health impacts. As...
Lori Falce: Time to fall back, but let’s move forward
We get the reminders around this time every year: Don’t forget to turn your clocks back. They come, of course, because Sunday is the end of daylight saving time, that effort to trick ourselves into having longer functional days. Benjamin Franklin first proposed it in 1784 as a way to...
Letter to the editor: IRA provisions help seniors with drug costs
I appreciate the background and personal stories in the article “Planned reduction of Medicare drug costs could ease burden on cash-strapped seniors” (Sept. 1, TribLIVE). I wanted to provide additional information on other prescription drug provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that may also ease the burden for Susie...
Laurels & lances: Giving back & letting go
Laurel: To a spirit of giving. Now that the Halloween candy has been eaten — what, you still have some left? — and the plastic skeletons put away, many people are turning their thoughts to the season of holidays that march from now until Jan. 1. One part of those...
Letter to the editor: Choose unity and tolerance
On Oct. 7, evil came. Hamas terrorists butchered hundreds of innocent civilians in Israel. Thirty-one lost were Americans. Evil done for evil’s sake. Brought on by the ideology Jewish people shall not exist and no land shall be theirs. The definition of intolerance. Babies were murdered in their beds. Babies....
Peter Morici: Fed’s quest for a soft landing is like hunting for unicorns
The Federal Reserve is hunting for a unicorn by holding U.S. interest rates steady and hoping that’s enough to bring inflation down to 2% without a recession. Historically, soft landings are terribly scarce and perhaps only exist in the eye of the beholder. The challenges policymakers face in the coming...
Letter to the editor: Republicans, does anybody really care?
With all of the chaos and confusion within the Republican caucus of the House of Representatives and more specifically, its poor leadership, as documented in numerous current issues of the Trib, I’d like to propose that the Republicans adopt, as their theme song, Chicago’s popular early 1970s hit “Does Anybody...
Letter to the editor: Respect teachers
I agree with the writer of the letter “Fixing the teacher shortage” (Sept. 22, TribLIVE) about freezing salary increases for “older” teachers. Instead, just reimburse these incredible profesionals for the money they spend out of their pockets to buy supplies for their students. I’m sure that amount would exceed any...
Letter to the editor: Who’s going to help senior citizens?
Regarding the letter “Westmoreland needs higher wages to grow population” (Oct. 22, TribLIVE): Thanks for the math. Do this math: Who helps us senior citizens? You double people’s wages, but senior citizens don’t get their checks doubled. We need to pay for the same items, but now we will pay...
Editorial: We must get the Americans out of Gaza
It’s a fundamental responsibility of government to come to the aid of American citizens in peril overseas. That’s why the U.S. traded the release from prison of the notorious Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, for the release from Russia of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who then revised her...
Letter to the editor: We should invest in school bus safety
Much has been said about school safety in the past few years, but not enough has been done regarding school bus safety. Unfortunately, as a retired Pennsylvania child care inspector for more than 18 years and a Pennsylvania school safety and security assessor, I can only say what must be...
Jonah Goldberg: Will the media get coverage of the crisis in Israel and Gaza right? It all depends on the editors
If you ask most people, including most journalists, what the job of the press is, they will reasonably respond with a number of high-minded cliches: “report the news,” “hold the powerful accountable,” “inform the public,” etc. That’s all well and good. But you almost never hear anyone say the job...
Robert T. Smith: Devotion to segregation
There is but one race, the human race. Divisions of this one race have occurred due to geographic ancestry, behaviors, activities and interests, and through all manner of other shared groupings. We humans seem prone to segregation that has been encoded into the human race’s psyche. We can see this...
