Opinion category, Page 230
Letter to the editor: Path to peace in Middle East
The path to peace in the Middle East can be achieved in the same way that peace was achieved after World War II. Peace was achieved by the defeat of Japan and Germany after their surrender and demilitarization. Hamas must also surrender to Israel and release the hostages, and the...
Letter to the editor: Junk mail, grocery prices, liars — we’re in critical condition
I used to be upset by junk mail. Well, I still am, but how about everyone expecting the consumer to have a computer or cellphone and have an app for every store to find prices or location of stock? How about people begging on the street with help wanted signs...
Editorial: Could pension increase prompt a new pension crisis for Pennsylvania?
Pensions for state employees and teachers have been a wrench in the gears of Pennsylvania government for decades. In 2001, Gov. Tom Ridge signed a law that expanded pensions for those employees by 25% — and even more for state lawmakers. He was thrilled to do it, saying it was...
Letter to the editor: What does ‘draining the swamp’ really mean?
What do MAGA Republicans mean by “Drain the swamp”? Is Justice Clarence Thomas’ lavish gifts or the huge contributions that candidates take in included? Are the Supreme Court and Sen. Mitch McConnell swamp creatures for encouraging both practices? Republicans oppose the hordes of lobbyists infesting the Capitol, but does the...
Jonah Goldberg: After a week of mostly bad reelection news, Biden has only 1 choice
One of Joe Biden’s favorite campaign lines is “don’t compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.” In the wake of a series of polls earlier this month, Democrats were thrown into a panic because voters in key battleground states did exactly that and chose Donald Trump as...
Cal Thomas: Attitudes of gratitude and ingratitude
We have again entered the season of gratitude. You remember gratitude, don’t you? It was what we expressed before we became entitled. Last Saturday was the observance of Veterans Day, during which many thanked those who served in the military and have protected our freedoms. Next week is Thanksgiving, when...
Ari Mittleman: Pa. must work harder to combat antisemitism
Last week a 69-year-old Jewish man was killed on the streets of Los Angeles. Paul Kessler suffered blunt force head trauma when an anti-Israel protestor deliberately struck him with a megaphone. This homicide was preventable. It did not happen in a vacuum. The primary contributing factor was the increasingly normalized...
Letter to the editor: Do DAs’ duties go beyond prosecuting lawbreakers?
Where in the list of duties of district attorneys in Pennsylvania is the right to condemn the operations of private enterprise, shutting down liquor establishments as nuances, threating Kennywood Park because it doesn’t meet their thoughts and beliefs on proper security? I thought the job of DA was to prosecute...
Letter to the editor: We all need reliable energy
Regarding the letter “Hydrogen blending not the answer” (Nov. 4, TribLIVE): It is a simple fact that our homes, businesses and industries rely on a dependable supply of energy to satisfy basic needs, drive economic growth and advance our society. That is why, as we plan our path forward, we...
Editorial: Why say intimate partner violence?
Sometimes the names of things have to change because they just don’t fit the information anymore. The term “shell shock” was created during World War I to explain the symptoms of soldiers suffering from a constellation of symptoms suffered in the wake of battle. As more became known about the...
Letter to the editor: Consequences of electing Biden
Elections have consequences. So said a famous political figure of recent times. The 2020 presidential election has resulted in numerous consequences, mostly bad, none more disturbing than those resulting from the incomprehensible border policy. After the election, President Biden wasted no time reversing the border policies of the previous administration,...
Erika Strassburger: Region at center of clean energy economy
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently visited Greensburg and hosted a town hall in Pittsburgh to talk about how Western Pennsylvania can benefit from a clean energy economy. It makes sense that Pittsburgh, long a hub for industry and innovation, would be a focus of clean energy investment. We’ve been...
Elwood Watson: Israel and free speech at our nation’s universities
Debates over free speech have deeply immersed themselves into the fabric of our culture over the past few years. Wild and sharp finger-pointing has gone in both directions. Last week, a Cornell University junior accused of posting violently threatening statements against Jewish people on campus was held without bail after...
Letter to the editor: College demonstrators clueless
The multitudinous demonstrations by the college types marching for the Palestine butchers reminds me of the Occupy morons from years ago. Essentially without clue. It’s like they get together and say, “Hey, you wanna march?” “What are we marching for?” “Uh, not sure, something about something. But all our profs...
Letter to the editor: Biden not ‘destroying America’
I take most letters to the editor with a grain of salt, but “Biden destroying America” (Nov. 6, TribLIVE) was so off the grid I decided to look up the writer’s “facts” Regarding “opening our borders to millions”: There have been a lot of mistakes made, that I can’t deny;...
Editorial: Joe Manchin’s decision could mean more political ads in Pennsylvania
It is exhausting to be politically important. Pennsylvanians have barely recovered from the 2022 U.S. Senate campaign between then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on the Democratic side and Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz. That was followed by Fetterman’s post-inaugural hospitalization for depression. Then there was the controversy over his penchant for...
Letter to the editor: Time to end apartheid in Israel
It is with sadness and frustration that I witness my country’s role in supporting the apartheid government of Israel. It seems that we champion human rights everywhere on the planet except for the Palestinian people. Their plight over the last 75 years is like no other group. They were displaced...
Tom Purcell: Footing a fast-growing debt-service bill
Well, that didn’t take as long as expected. In case you missed it, our federal government is now paying more than $1 trillion a year to service just the interest on our national debt — $200 billion more than we spend on our military. Why are we suddenly paying so...
Rep. Bryan Cutler: RGGI decision and executive overreach
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rightly recently rejected an effort by prior Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to unlawfully impose an energy tax on Pennsylvanians by entering the state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI is a multi-state compact that would ultimately lead to higher energy taxes on Pennsylvania consumers...
Aaron Moore: Too many pardons? No — way too few.
You may have seen the news last January that outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf had granted 2,540 pardons over his two terms. They were recommended by the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, which you’ve probably never heard of. This past week, that board recommended 114 more people for pardons, bringing their total...
Rick Santorum: My point on Election Night
On Newsmax last week, I commented on the passage of the Ohio initiatives that created constitutional rights to recreational marijuana and abortion. I stated that “pure democracies are not the way to run a country.” Columnist Lori Falce posited that I am “not a fan of letting people make decisions...
Bruce Ledewitz: I sent $1,000 to the Dean Phillips’ Democratic presidential campaign — here’s why
Joe Biden has done a very good job as president. I want to see his record vigorously and effectively defended in the 2024 presidential election. Because of his age, I don’t think Biden is the right candidate to do that. That is why I sent a campaign contribution to U.S....
Letter to the editor: Focus on effects, not causes, of DUI
In the op-ed “Commercial pot push comes with great risks to public safety” (Nov. 6, TribLIVE), Edward Wood conflates cause and effect. There are many causes of DUI, all equally bad. Marijuana isn’t better or worse; it is just a cause. People currently drive under the influence of illegal drugs....
Letter to the editor: Our country needs a leader
After recently watching a political commercial I found out I am a radical extremest for being pro-life. Then while reading your opinion page, I see that Ray Epps was forced to stand with the so-called insurgents by the Republicans (“We must stop hate and fearmongering,” Nov. 4, TribLIVE). I am...
Editorial: Major’s bill isn’t ‘see you later, alligator’
State Rep. Abby Major isn’t looking to make exotic pets illegal in Pennsylvania. She knows people like their boa constrictors and tarantulas and potentially enormous reptiles. But the 60th District legislator would like to enforce a little more responsibility. She has introduced legislation to make the law have a little...
