Opinion category, Page 287
Letter to the editor: Reschenthaler should be glad justice system works
I was sorry to read Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s comment about the indictment of Donald Trump (“Western Pa. political leaders react to Trump indictment,” March 30, TribLIVE). Considering that it was a grand jury of ordinary citizens that made the decision to indict, he should be happy that the justice system...
Letter to the editor: Humans have changed the climate cycle
The writer of the letter “Climate change is cyclical” (March 27, TribLIVE) rehashes the faulty reasoning that still leads some to deny climate change. He wrongly states that “experts” predicted a coming ice age in the 1970s. In fact, even in those early days of climate modeling, the published record...
Editorial: Is there another solution for Medicaid and CHIP enrollment?
On April 1, the continuous enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP programs came to an end. Continuous enrollment came from the Families First Coronavirus Act, a federal measure passed in March 2020 to help Americans cope with the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic. A major factor was making sure people who...
Letter to the editor: Allegheny County Jail has a staffing crisis
The Allegheny County Jail has 88 vacancies for medical and mental health staff. In 2019 the number was 37. Why have so many people left employment at ACJ? Are their licenses threatened by doing work they should not be doing? Is there too much forced overtime affecting their family life?...
Jonah Goldberg: Why Trump’s indictment is filling ‘never again’ Trumpers with dread and despair
Now is a time of woe, not just for “Never Trump” conservatives, but also for the much larger group of Republicans who made peace with Trump once but dread having to do it again. In fact, just going by my unscientific survey, the melancholy is worse for those Republicans who...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: This is just the beginning for Trump
Here’s an important thing to remember: This is probably just the beginning. The end is unforeseeable. That’s because the unprecedented indictment of Donald Trump by a New York County grand jury on charges of paying “hush money” to a former porn star is almost certainly the first of several criminal...
Peter Morici: ‘Greedy’ corporations don’t make us feel poorer; it’s government spending and meddling in marketplace
U.S. wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, and this could become a big issue in the 2024 presidential election. Until the covid pandemic in 2020, President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation had boosted GDP growth well-above the rates accomplished by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Americans’ real...
Luke Conway: Reducing political polarization through disagreement
In case you hadn’t noticed, America is a bit of a mess right now. The country is as polarized as it has been for a long, long time. In most scientific studies of worldwide increases in polarization, the United States ranks at or near the top. Americans have taken note:...
Letter to the editor: Don’t give IRS any more personal info
Identity thieves steal Americans’ personal data daily. Instead of going after these criminals or helping victims, the IRS is similarly falling victim to these hackers, failing to protect hundreds of thousands of taxpayers. Last year, the IRS inadvertently released the private information of 112,000 taxpayers, including Social Security numbers and...
Letter to the editor: It’s guns, and we must fix the problem
Well over 100 mass shootings so far in 2023. Watching the aftermath brings tears to most of us, whether it happened in a church, at a concert or in a classroom of 6-year-olds. Can you even imagine? Yet nothing changes legislatively. These horrific tragedies may not have affected us all,...
Letter to the editor: Help get PIAA changed back to what works
Congratulations to the Deer Lakes Lancers on their recent public school boys’ basketball championship. Unfortunately, they only received silver medals for their efforts because of the archaic (1972) legislation that allows public, private and charter school to participate in the same state tournament. The reason why this legislation was passed...
Letter to the editor: Putting profit over people results in disaster
The Norfolk Southern train derailment at the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio brought national/world attention to a disaster that could happen in any community along the railroad’s path. Greensburg, Latrobe, West Newton and Irwin could have exchanged places with East Palestine. The findings of the investigation will go on for...
Editorial: Campaign finance reform is part of election security
Tightening rules on elections has been a hot topic in recent years. It’s an idea that has gotten top-down attention. Donald Trump brought heat to it with questions about the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. It has been picked up by leaders in state governments, including state Sen. Doug Mastriano,...
Scott R. Hammond: Regressive firing squad move should shock us all
Last month, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a retrogressive bill that would allow the state’s death-row prisoners to be executed by firing squad. The bill’s proponents believe that a firing squad is a humane method to end a person’s life. Dr. Guillotine once said his procedure should be but a...
Cal Thomas: For Trump, character matters
Leaving aside all the sometimes legitimate and sometimes illegitimate responses from defenders of former President Donald Trump following his indictment by a New York grand jury, there is something that would have made all the difference for the 45th president had he focused on it as his top priority, rather...
Letter to the editor: Aren’t we all equal under the law?
A question I’ve been thinking about lately. What would exonerate a person from prosecution for crimes committed, regardless of past, present or future positions? Think about it: Is the rule of law equal … in all cases? Leonard Mucci Derry Township...
Letter to the editor: Move deer opener back to Monday
If the Pennsylvania Game Commission wants to extend buck season, they should open up both the middle and last Sundays, and get back to opening day on Monday. The commission doesn’t listen to the majority of true hunters. I think their polls and news briefings are fake. They make many...
Letter to the editor: Tomlin not the one to lead Steelers
The NFLDraft is nearing and it is time to evaluate the shortcomings of coach Mike Tomlin. Is he the reincarnation of Bill Austin (he preceded Chuck Noll ) or the captain of the Titanic? Shuffling chairs or players will not change the outcome. We’re going down … again. Steady as...
Editorial: Fetterman’s depression care should lead to more mental health openness
“And that was the start of a downward spiral,” U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said. The Braddock Democrat was speaking to CBS journalist Jane Pauley in a “Sunday Morning” interview. The nationally televised interview was just two days after Fetterman’s discharge from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he spent...
Letter to the editor: Thoughts and prayers not enough to stop shootings
Once again there is a school shooting. Once again the people who vote against sane gun laws offer their thoughts and prayers. Well, guess what? That is not enough. When the Founding Fathers gave citizens the right to bear arms they couldn’t have imagined the guns of today. At that...
Tom Purcell: Hey, Medicare, I’m counting on you
I will qualify for Medicare coverage in five years and, much to my surprise, I can’t wait to get government health coverage — because my current coverage is pricey. I recently finished a consulting assignment, which provided me full health benefits. To maintain my health insurance policy through COBRA, I...
Philip Wegmann: With assist from Manhattan DA, Trump once again enjoys united GOP support
Donald Trump again made history Thursday evening, this time by becoming the first former president of the United States to be indicted, stemming from charges related to illegal hush money payments made to a porn star in 2016. And yet even while in legal jeopardy, blindsided by an indictment he...
Dr. David Macpherson: ‘I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.’
It’s hard to write an opinion piece about artificial intelligence without sounding a little kooky. The line between reasonable thinking and paranoia is a little blurred, I fear. A few days ago, many schools in Pennsylvania and other states were hit by a robocall misinforming the listener that an active...
Zainab Balogun: Mammograms are essential, and so are self-exams
This past year I was fortunate to be chosen as an Albert Schweitzer fellow and was tasked with continuing an established project dedicated to improving the health literacy of underserved women at our city’s prominent free clinic. This project is aimed at not only educating women on the basic aspects...
Letter to the editor: License plate replacement — it’s about time
Regarding the article “Replace hard-to-read license plates at event in Harrison” (March 26, TribLIVE): It’s about time! It’s a shame that people pay a high price for their license plate every year and pay extremely high gas taxes and have to wait so long to get the attention of Harrisburg...
