Opinion category, Page 279
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 1
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 1....
Counterpoint: Judicial decisions, not judicial ethics, are the real target
Calls for a “formal” or “enforceable” code of ethics for the Supreme Court imply that no ethics rules or guidelines exist, that Congress has the authority to impose such a code, and that a genuine concern about ethics is the real motivation. None of these is true. Every discussion of...
Letter to the editor: Foreign languages useful to students
Outstanding article about French classes returning to Penn-Trafford (“No ‘au revoir’ just yet: Penn-Trafford to keep French program, for now,” April 23, TribLIVE), c’est bon! And good job including the chart about which languages are taught at other are schools. Very sad to see Latin posted only once. Medical terminology,...
Letter to the editor: Guardianship protection
The editorial “Revamp laws for legal guardians” (April 24, TribLIVE) supporting Pennsylvania Senate Bill 506 inaccurately states that the bill requires steps to preclude guardians’ conflicts of interest like those highlighted by Spotlight PA. In fact, nothing in the bill prevents nursing homes from nominating specific professional guardians. The bill...
Letter to the editor: Change needed to end cycle of failing banks
When it comes to banks, it appears we are in a vicious cycle (“Army of lobbyists helped water down banking regulations,” March 21, TribLIVE). Due to mismanagement, banks fail, the taxpaying middle class bails them out, Congress enacts regulations, over time the regulations get watered down, banks fail and the...
Editorial: Promising bipartisan start to House’s work
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has done something that seems like a throwback to a quaint time we can barely remember. It did its job. More than that, after coming back into session following a lengthy break, the lawmakers got down to the business of making laws and not just...
Letter to the editor: Deadly combo of xylazine, fentanyl fuels opioid crisis
Pittsburgh is grappling with a surge in overdoses related to the misuse of xylazine, a veterinary sedative. The drug is often mixed with fentanyl, amplifying its potency and contributing to the ongoing opioid crisis in the region. While Pennsylvania has taken steps to address the issue by up-scheduling xylazine to...
Letter to the editor: Government should default on national debt
The national debt is rapidly approaching $32 trillion. This number was inconceivable a decade prior, and even today we still have trouble picturing what it looks like. For the individual, the issue appears insoluble. What must be done? We must unconditionally default on the national debt. In other words, the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Dishonoring America’s heroes
“They’re slitting their own throats and throwing themselves overboard” is how an old pal and management consultant once described the self-destructive actions of an organization he was asked to evaluate. The nonprofit was imploding, turning in on itself, like a ship full of mad pirates. If you ask the nation’s...
Point: Should the Supreme Court justices have a code of ethics?
Our nation’s highest court — the Supreme Court — should live by the highest ethical standards. Right now, no transparent code of conduct governs its nine members like there is for all other federal judges — one that requires judges to “avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all...
Letter to the editor: Yakopec generous with her help
I support reelecting Judge Cheryl Yakopec. For over 20 years, Yakopec has generously helped me in my work to beautify Memorial Park. She assigns her students to help with planting, weeding, raking, building birdhouses and more. I supervise them, and she comes to check on them. It is beneficial because...
Sounding off: Politics, books, guns, Fox News on readers’ minds
We’re not ‘good or evil’ based on our political views A recent letter to the editor claims that America has devolved into a battleground of good vs. evil (“Pick a side, good or evil,” April 10, TribLIVE). The view(s) of the author insinuate that conservatives (Republicans) are good, God-fearing Christian...
Letter to the editor: Leuba for Allegheny County controller
As a local parent and resident of Allegheny County for 17 years, I’m excited to vote for Darwin Leuba for county controller in the Democratic primary election May 16. This office carries crucial responsibilities long neglected by our electeds. The county controller serves as auditor for Allegheny County, which controls...
Editorial: Pittsburgh Pirates season start shows possibility
On Thursday, Pittsburgh Pirates legend Dick Groat died at 92. It was a loss for his family and friends, but it also was a sad moment for Pirates fans. Groat, who swung a wicked bat and won National League MVP for the 1960 World Series champions, was not just a...
Letter to the editor: Vote for new Westmoreland County commissioners
In the article “Westmoreland DA says forensics lab will speed investigations” (April 14, TribLIVE), the Tribune-Review reported that District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli and county commissioners plan to spend: $497,000 for lab equipment; a new salary of $84,000; and $250,000 for training and accreditation. The goal is to have it “be...
Gary Franks: We need a constitutional amendment on age limits
Political power is in the hands of the people. Our democracy responds to the cries of the people. And the people would like to prevent America from having 5½ more years of octogenarian governance, whether it’s President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump again. Here is a very idealistic...
Naomi Cahn and Sonia: Two conflicting federal court decisions led to mifepristone ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling on April 21 that allows continued access to the abortion pill mifepristone in states where abortion is legal. The court’s decision, which included few details and only indicated that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito did not concur, follows a whirlwind legal...
S.E. Cupp: Little hope that Fox after Carlson will change
“Will a network that has decided to recklessly traffic in and promote lies, junk science and unfounded conspiracy theories, and purposefully omit and distort the truth to keep its viewers rabidly tuned in, feel at all chastened by what can only be described as an unequivocal and unprecedented smackdown?” That...
Elwood Watson: In America, knocking on the wrong door will get you shot
A spate of recent shootings serve as a depressing reminder that accidentally ringing the wrong doorbell, driving to an incorrect residence, or mistakenly getting into the incorrect vehicle can be deadly. In Kansas City, 16-year-old honors student Ralph Yarl mistakenly arrived at the wrong home while looking for his younger...
Mark Nicastre: Shapiro’s impressive first 100 days
What can you reasonably expect to achieve in 3% of the time you have a job? For reporters and other observers, the 3% milestone is an important inflection point for assessing the performance of elected officials, especially executives like governors. One hundred days into his tenure as Pennsylvania governor, Josh...
Letter to the editor: Election wishes
Before I die, I have two wishes regarding elections: 1. I’d like to vote for someone rather than against someone, and 2. I can be confident that the political candidate I vote for has the people’s interest at heart rather than their own. Richard Herd Hempfield...
Letter to the editor: How about a book burning?
To expand on Tara Gandy’s comments in the article “Greensburg Salem parent calls for change after teacher caught reading racial slur aloud in classroom,” regarding John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” (April 13, TribLIVE): Perhaps we ought to have a good old-fashioned book burning — maybe this week, during National...
Lori Falce: Emmett Till accuser has died, but her legacy should live on as a cautionary tale
Carolyn Bryant Donham died on Tuesday at 88. It was possible for Donham to live a simple, respectful and respectable life in the Mississippi Delta area where she was born. She could have gone about her world with no one ever knowing her name. Instead, her name will forever be...
Letter to the editor: Young people should change the name of ‘Assassins’ game
Dear Assassins game players: Do you really mean to play a game called “Assassins?” Please, change the name that has brought our country so much pain and shame. Give the game a new name, like “Tag,” and don’t dishonor our flag. Do you wonder why schools won’t affiliate with a...
Laurels & lances: School buses and school boards
Laurel: To law enforcement. When it comes to keeping people safe or making things work properly, the first thing people think is often “someone should pass a law.” Often, however, what really needs to be done is to pay attention to a law that has already been passed. That’s particularly...
