Opinion category, Page 270
Editorial: Pennsylvania should streamline unclaimed property process
Sto Rox Community Federal Credit Union was holding a share of money for a woman named Genevieve. Genevieve didn’t withdraw it. We don’t know why. She could have moved. She might have forgotten about it. Maybe a parent opened the account for her and she never even knew about it....
Gary Franks: Happy 100th birthday to Henry Kissinger
As I sat down to write a tribute to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who turns 100 this week, I was distracted by “very disturbing” news I will address at the end of this article (it’s not about Kissinger). It would be difficult to find any living American who...
S.E. Cupp: Can DeSantis — or any Republican — win?
Way back in 2015, we all got to see then-candidate Donald Trump lay out his vision for America after he descended that infamous golden escalator in Trump Tower. It was, in a word, bleak. It included “beating” China, Japan and Mexico, the latter of which was sending drugs, crime and...
Gary D. Alexander and Elizabeth Stelle: Medicaid eligibility matters
Should a health-care program for low-income seniors, the disabled, kids and pregnant mothers be co-opted by hundreds of thousands of healthy adults? Adults not even eligible for assistance? Since March 2020, that’s been the reality for the Medicaid program. But this spring, states regained their ability — for the first...
Barb Warwick: E-scooters are fun, but they aren’t a meaningful transit solution
On April 12, Pittsburgh City Council held a post agenda and public hearing on the Spin e-scooter pilot, which launched in 2021, to hear how the program is affecting city residents. The contrast in testimony was notable. People who use the scooters love them as a fun and convenient way...
Reps. Jason Ortitay and Justin Fleming: Early literacy legislation must be advanced
The human brain is hard-wired for spoken language, but we are not born with the natural ability to read. The skills that lead students to become competent, lifelong readers must be explicitly and systematically taught at a young age with ample opportunity for practice and improvement. Nearly half of Pennsylvania’s...
Lori Falce: PTSD, kids and the schools where tragedy happens
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that arises for people who have been through events that are a tragic shock to the system. Just like an old injury to a bone can flare up when a wrong move or the right weather tweaks the spot and makes the...
Letter to the editor: Predictions for future of girls wrestling
Regarding the article “PIAA will sponsor high school girls wrestling after unanimous approval” (May 17, TribLIVE): Today, 14 “boys” declared their transgender status to challenge for capturing all of the first-place medals in the newly franchised PIAA “girls” wrestling. Dante “Killer” Kowalski, a 240-pound sophomore, spoke for the entire group:...
Letter to the editor: What is an ‘assault weapon’?
I am tired of people calling AR-15s “assault weapons.” In the case of a rifle, an assault weapon has a selective rate of fire … semiautomatic (one shot fired for each time you pull the trigger), to fully automatic (many shots fired with a single pull of the trigger). Some...
Letter to the editor: Steelers shouldn’t put up with Tomlin’s losses
When will the Steelers wake up and fire Coach Mike Tomlin?? Tomlin continually gets out-coached in the playoffs as evidenced by now going six years without a playoff win. Under Tomlin, the Steelers have only had three playoff wins in 12 years. I am so sick of hearing the mantra...
Paul Kengor: Fossil fuels are a blessing
I marvel at fossil fuels. I really do. Fossil fuels are found in the earth’s crust, the natural byproduct of decomposed plants and animals. The best examples are coal, oil and natural gas. Leftist environmentalists have a curious hate relationship with fossil fuels, even as these fuels are produced naturally,...
Elwood Watson: Marjorie Taylor Greene is at it again
The Jezebel of the Republican Party is at it again. Just when you thought that she could not get any more disingenuous and despicable, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene engaged in some wild intellectual dishonesty by accusing New York Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of calling her the equivalent of the N-word....
Cal Thomas: Tim Scott — the new Reagan
It’s been a while since we’ve heard the kind of optimism contained in Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s announcement of a presidential run. Usually, it is gloom and doom, racism, white supremacy, claims that Republicans want to eliminate Social Security and the rest of the left’s depressing litany. Scott...
Angela Liddle: Protecting kids on social media requires all of us to be digitally diligent
Policymakers across the country this year have been laser focused on reining in social media companies, especially as it relates to their impact on children. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN that he believes 13 is “too early” for kids to join social media websites and apps, and U.S....
Danitra Sherman: Addressing root causes of crime good policy, good politics
For decades, many American politicians saw a path to electoral victory through a combination of racist fear-mongering and harsh, punitive criminal law policies. From the infamous Willie Horton ad to “super-predators” to three strikes laws and the prison-industrial complex, this political strategy by both Democrats and Republicans fueled a multi-generational...
Letter to the editor: Biden should be impeached, arrested for treason
I believe President Biden is in direct violation of his oath of office by allowing practically unfettered access to our southern border; by not better protecting the border , he has opened a path for criminals, terrorists and agents of foreign countries who want to destroy the United States and...
Letter to the editor: Questioning Westmoreland County Republicans
After 48 years as a Republican, I’m really questioning who they are. I know who I am and what I believe. The local Republican Party finally “grew a set” and took me on for exposing them. Should I have had to battle Westmoreland County Republican Committee Chair Bill Bretz all...
Editorial: Harrison should have been more transparent with new chief vote
It is not hard to tell people what’s going on. Seriously. It’s not. Government can make it seem like swimming through neck-deep mud, but transparency is really pretty easy. All they have to do is make the information accessible, not force anyone to read it. Not every state decision is...
Letter to the editor: Why Trump was not a great president
The writer of the letter “Why Trump was a great president” (March 7, TribLIVE) asked writers who argue that Donald Trump was the worst president need to be more specific in their reasoning. Here are some facts on why he wasn’t a great president. Putin and Ukraine: Putin was clearly...
Jonah Goldberg: Can Republicans be persuaded to vote for someone other than Trump?
It’s official. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is running for president. The first thing you should know is that Scott is one of the nicest guys in Washington. Capitol Hill Republicans and just about anybody who knows him likes him. Sincerely patriotic and devoutly Christian, Scott is most comfortable preaching,...
Rep. Chris Deluzio and Molly Parzen: Time for Pa. to clean up abandoned mines
Pennsylvania has long been the economic engine that has powered our nation’s prosperity. However, we still see some of the effects of bygone practices from a lack of environmental and health regulations in communities across our commonwealth today. The commonwealth leads the nation in abandoned mine lands (AML). These are...
Jeffrey Fuller: Pa. budget must support children who need help
May is Mental Health Awareness Month — and Pennsylvania’s children need support now more than ever. Taking care of their physical health is one of the very first things we teach children. We all remember our parents telling us, or telling our own children, to look both ways before crossing...
Letter to the editor: Biden not the traitor
The letter “Biden a traitor?” (May 15, TribLIVE) was a disgrace. To call President Biden a traitor is the writings of an uneducated person. If you want to call someone a traitor, look to Donald Trump. He called for an attack on our capitol. He and his followers should have...
Letter to the editor: No kindness, compassion in Biden
President Carter, now in the twilight of his life, will be remembered as a bad president but a good man. His presidency will be remembered for record inflation, high interest rates, high unemployment, the humiliating embassy takeover in Iran and subsequent failed rescue attempt resulting in eight dead servicemen and...
Letter to the editor: Good fiscal stewards in Norwin
Did you know that the Norwin School District has one of the lowest tax rates in Western Pennsylvania? Probably not, as the squeaky wheel doesn’t like to make the general public aware of this. Did you also know that Norwin has the lowest cost per student in Westmoreland County, let...
