Opinion category, Page 236
Klaus W. Larres: Ransom or realism? A closer look at Biden’s prisoner swap deal with Iran.
Five American detainees have been released from imprisonment in Iran as the terms of the swap that set them free is drawing criticism. The Biden administration’s agreement with Iran for the swap could be seen as a simple business transaction to free five Iranians from imprisonment in the U.S. and...
Letter to the editor: Shut the lights out on America
Front page: Hunter Biden’s “legal team” steps into fray: Hunter lies to get a gun (felony), attorney (attorneys, plural), challenge Second Amendment to Supreme Court. Page B8, sports section: Felon homeless man in Springdale in jail (lack of $20,000 cash bond) for possessing firearm while walking down a railroad track...
Sounding off: Biden’s dog, teacher shortage, politics among week’s topics
Biden’s dog looking out for him Recent news reports of President Biden’s German shepherd Commander biting Secret Service agents at least 10 times in the past year are troubling but not surprising. I have owned German shepherds for over 35 years and know them as a highly intelligent, loyal and...
Letter to the editor: 9/11 not a day for political fundraising
Last week, Republican Pennsylvania state representative and congressional hopeful Rob Mercuri sent out an exploitative fundraising email using the anniversary of 9/11 to ask for donations. He invoked the nearly 3,000 American victims and the later sacrifices of American service members in a pathetic attempt to fundraise off their deaths....
Letter to the editor: Karaica qualified as district judge
During the primary election, Mitchell Karaica’s opposition stated he was the “only” constitutionally eligible and qualified candidate for magisterial district judge in District 05-3-03. While that may have held some weight then, that is no longer the case. Karaica spent June in Harrisburg, where he completed the intensive certifying course...
Editorial: Pittsburgh Promise is one worth keeping, and worth mourning when money runs out
In 2008, a bargain was struck with students at Pittsburgh Public Schools. Stay in school. Get at least a 2.5 GPA. Graduate. And in return, get a scholarship toward education in a Pennsylvania post-secondary institution. The Pittsburgh Promise nonprofit made this pledge, using donated money including a $100 million commitment...
Gary Franks: Will ‘border crisis’ destroy America?
“Let me tell you something New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to — I don’t see an ending to this. This issue ( the influx of migrants crossing the Mexican border into the U.S.) will destroy New York...
S.E. Cupp: Romney is a good man who was always a good man
The heartfelt eulogies poured in from both sides of the aisle after Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced he would not seek reelection in 2024. Democrats and Republicans alike agreed that the Senate, the Republican Party and indeed the country are losing a good man, a decent man, one of the...
Russell Zerbo: EPA/DOE money should be wisely spent on plugging wells
Pennsylvania has an opportunity to receive $33,695,097 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to plug small, conventionally drilled oil and gas wells with known owners. This federal funding could significantly reduce climate-changing methane pollution as well as smog-causing volatile organic compounds (VOC) and...
Jason Killmeyer and Erin Koper: Which way, Western Pa.?
Walking through downtown Pittsburgh, the words “Reduced Rates” above so many “For Lease” signs catch our attention. Our downtown feels worse, and it is worse. Shootings, public drug use and vagrancy have surged. But so do other parts of the city and county: West End. Banksville. Duquesne. McKeesport. We’re not...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s dog looking out for him
Recent news reports of President Biden’s German shepherd Commander biting Secret Service agents at least 10 times in the past year are troubling but not surprising. I have owned German shepherds for over 35 years and know them as a highly intelligent, loyal and protective breed. I believe Commander was...
Letter to the editor: Fixing the teacher shortage
I have a few suggestions on how to fix the national teacher shortage, since the teachers union and the government won’t do it. Immediately raise the salaries of new teachers just out of college, $40,000 to $50,000 at least. I can hear the howls of school boards and taxpayers now....
William Enyart: Planned cut to VA funding for ambulances would harm our nation’s veterans
Unless stopped, the Department of Veterans Affairs is set to knock over a domino that might drastically harm veterans’ health care and then spread to the general community. In a cost-cutting measure on track to take effect early next year, the VA plans to sever a critical link between veterans...
Laurels & lances: Fires, speakers and votes
Laurel: To trying new things. Volunteer fire companies are having problems filling their ranks. They are addressing this with a combination of ideas. There are recruitment outreach programs and courting of teens who could grow in the departments. There are incentives for members, such as small stipends for taking calls...
Letter to the editor: We should support our public schools, unions and teachers
I had a hard time believing what I was reading in Nathan Benefield of the Commonwealth Foundation’s op-ed “Shapiro, lawmakers must choose — students or special interests?” (July 18, TribLIVE). The money that they accused the teachers unions of spending is chump change to the foundation and their ultra-wealthy contributors....
Rich Fitzgerald: Pa. leaders and presidential hopefuls should commit to aiding America’s caregivers
Pennsylvanians have a long tradition of taking care of our neighbors, all the way back to our founding. Today we continue that tradition, especially when it comes to caring for those who can’t take care of themselves. A little over a million Pennsylvanians act as caregivers for their friends and...
Cal Thomas: British to be forced to drive electric
LONDON — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejected appeals from the Conservative Party to extend the deadline for requiring all new car sales in the UK to be electric by 2030. The Tories say the goal is impossible to meet. Government ministers, who have embraced the “climate change” faith...
Elizabeth Kryder-Reid: The importance of shining a light on hidden toxic histories
Indianapolis proudly claims Elvis’ last concert, Robert Kennedy’s speech in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and the Indianapolis 500. There’s a 9/11 memorial, a Medal of Honor Memorial and a statue of former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. What few locals know, let alone tourists, is that the city...
Letter to the editor: Trump will go after lifetime politicians
I believe the main reason both parties do not want President Trump elected is there are many lifetime pols as guilty as President Biden in selling out the country to get rich. They know Trump will go after them for the way he has been treated. Clem Zahrobsky Delmont...
Letter to the editor: Obama’s transformation
An opinion formed by research, facts, observation, logic and common sense: President Obama promised to “fundamentally transform” our country. We elected him anyway! So, gradually, MLK’s dream of a colorblind society was replaced with reignited racial tension. The IRS, DOJ and FBI began to be politicized and weaponized against the...
Editorial: 5 former Pa. governors agree on open primaries
On Monday, five former governors came together to espouse a common cause. Tom Ridge, Mark Schweiker, Ed Rendell, Tom Corbett and Tom Wolf represent an unbroken chain of the Keystone State’s top executives that extends back to 1995. Three are Republicans. Two are Democrats. Wolf and Corbett were even adversaries...
Letter to the editor: Shapiro taking action for women’s health
In response to the letter “Defund Planned Parenthood” (Sept. 14, TribLIVE), we have several corrections. 1. Half of Pennsylvania is not anti-abortion. The latest polling shows that as much as 89% of Pennsylvanians support access to abortion. 2. The governor did not veto funding for Real Alternatives. His administration terminated...
Jonah Goldberg: Why the Republicans’ impeachment of Biden may be stupid enough to work
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to move ahead with impeachment proceedings — and the Democrats’ response — reminded me of something Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser reportedly once said: “The genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves, which make us wonder...
Nathan Benefield: Pennsylvanians deserve truth on education spending
Pennsylvania’s Basic Education Funding Commission has begun holding hearings on how to remake the state’s public schools funding formula after a state court determined that the existing formula violates the state constitution. To make informed decisions, the commission, lawmakers, parents and voters need accurate information. Unfortunately, misinformation about public education...
Letter to the editor: Consequences of electing liberal judges
What a surprise! A defendant with seven prior arrests, two misdemeanor convictions and two pending cases in New York — one for grand larceny and one for sexual assault — didn’t show up for a court hearing after he was released on nonmonetary bond thanks to District Judge Xander Orenstein,...
