Opinion category, Page 292
Editorial: Shapiro hears Gideon’s trumpet
State capitals from Honolulu to Augusta, Maine, heard Gideon’s trumpet when the U.S. Supreme Court sounded it in 1963. But Harrisburg has remained deaf for 60 years to the clarion call to provide lawyers for indigent criminal defendants. The court ruled on March 18, 1963, in Gideon v. Wainwright. A...
Letter to the editor: UPMC shouldn’t wait to raise wages
Recently, UPMC announced it would increase its minimum wage to $18 by 2026. While I agree wages should be raised, we can’t wait three years for it to happen. We are in the middle of a critical hospital staffing shortage. Many of my co-workers who’ve left say they’re leaving because...
Letter to the editor: Government must do more on domestic terrorism
The Center for Strategic and International Studies has reported that the incidence of domestic terrorism attacks are on the rise. These attacks come from the far right and the far left. The center emphasized that the words right and left do not refer to the Republican or Democratic parties but...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 20
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 20....
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 20
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 20....
Michael Reagan: Banking up next for Biden destruction
Banking must have been next on the to-do list of the things the Biden administration is planning to destroy. In two years, President Biden and the wrecking crew of crazies, wokesters and career incompetents he has put into his government have screwed up every corner of America. Everything from the...
Letter to the editor: Americans need help affording medication
Millions of people in the United States have died due to not being able to afford needed medications. The “pill bill” passed last year by Congress does nothing to stop most of these deaths. Oh yes, it helps lower insulin prices, but only for people on government programs, Medicare and...
Letter to the editor: Casino workers should be protected from smokers
I am writing on behalf of Pennsylvania casino workers who are working in secondhand smoke on a daily basis . I lost my mother in 2015 due to COPD. I am also pushing this cause in her honor to save others from this terrible lung condition. Casino workers love their...
Editorial: The educational insanity of March Madness
“It’s the best three weeks in basketball, Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted. It seems like just about everyone has caught the rabid athletic bug that sweeps across the country every year as winter turns to spring. Welcome to the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. The brackets come out with people...
Letter to the editor: ‘Woke’ lends itself to weaponization
One reads with interest the column “The problem with the word woke” (March 10, TribLIVE). Lori Falce decries how a word supposedly “meant to be about opening eyes turned into a club.” Such linguistic weaponization, however, might be implicit in the term “woke” itself. Merriam-Webster defines “woke” as “aware of...
Letter to the editor: Time to move deer hunting opener back to Monday
State Rep. Brian Smith, R-Punxsutawney, and Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Bethlehem, have both announced plans to introduce legislation to move the opening day of Pennsylvania’s rifle deer season back to its traditional Monday after Thanksgiving. These legislators and others have recognized through considerable constituent contacts from hunters and businesses that moving...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: DeSantis is no Reagan
Why are so many big politicians acting so small? There are plenty of opportunities for them to think big and act big, but lately some politicians are stuck on those things that will grab some headlines but have little to do with the future of America. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis...
Christopher Decker: Inflation is proving particularly stubborn
The Federal Reserve is facing a rather sticky problem. Despite its best efforts over the past year, inflation is stubbornly refusing to head south with any urgency to a target of 2%. Rather, the inflation report released on March 14, 2023, shows consumer prices rose 0.4% in February, meaning the...
Heidi Zinzow: 54% of firearm deaths in the US are from suicide — and easy access to a gun is a key risk factor
More than half — 54% — of all firearm deaths in the United States in 2021 were attributable to suicide, according to February 2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide deaths involving firearms — the most common means of suicide in the U.S. — have increased...
Letter to the editor: Ending daylight saving time
I agree with Tom Purcell (“Still time to save us from DST,” March 6, TribLIVE): This back and forth with the time is all wrong. Instead of moving back and forth one hour, just move a half-hour and leave it be. We’re all tired of moving back and forth. William...
Sounding off: On marijuana, Norfolk Southern, Bushy Run, covid origins, Doug Mastriano, student debt
‘What-ifs’ regarding legal marijuana and workers I have a few questions and thoughts for all those people who want to make marijuana legal. Has anyone mentioned anything about those who employ someone on marijuana? What happens to the employer if this employee injures himself or someone else? Do you want...
Editorial: Will Norfolk Southern CEO’s response leave a bad taste?
“I said at the very beginning, ‘I want to do this and do things right today, tomorrow, a year from now, five years from now and 10 years from now,’ ” said Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw. Apparently part of doing things right is chugging a glass of tap water...
Letter to the editor: Vote out legislators who won’t end property tax
Gov. Josh Shapiro recently outlined his first budget proposal. He mentioned raising the qualification income bracket to $45,000 from $35,000 for the homeowner/rent rebate program. For homeowners, that’s like putting a Band-Aid on something that requires surgery. Stop paying your property taxes and see who really owns your house and...
Letter to the editor: Politics has tainted science
I question the assertion in the letter “Vote out climate change deniers” (March 3, TribLIVE) claiming that “Every scientific organization in the world that conducts climate research has determined the planet is heating up and fossil fuels are the cause” and “every nation in the world … accepts that global...
Gary Franks: Politicians need constitutionally enforced age limits
If elections were held today the biggest and best-known two names would be paired against each other again. One would win, and I believe America would lose. President Joe Biden is 80 years old. He will be 82 in 2024, and, if reelected, would complete a second term at the...
S.E. Cupp: Are Trump’s attacks hurting or helping DeSantis?
As the 2024 presidential election gets underway, Donald Trump is testing out a risky strategy. He’s swinging hard and often at a competitor who hasn’t even gotten in the race yet. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has given every indication he likely will run, — hosting donor retreats, visiting swing states...
David Galluch: Coming soon — the Shapiro energy tax
In a sleight of hand worthy of a card shark, Gov. Josh Shapiro quietly acted to raise home heating and electricity costs for Pennsylvania families. It’s officially termed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. It should be called the “Shapiro Energy Tax.” Little noticed until recently, the governor tucked...
Letter to the editor: The wealthy already pay enough
Looking for votes and money in one act, President Joe Biden declares the wealthy ought to shoulder a heavier tax burden to help fund Medicare (“Biden says new taxes on the rich can help save Medicare,” March 8, TribLIVE). His “pay their fair share” plea makes a good headline. It...
Letter to the editor: Parks Township should merge with other police departments
I believe that since November, Parks Township supervisors have been ambivalent regarding the welfare and safety of our community. The supervisors have had multiple closed meetings with three local township police departments, including Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department (SARPD). SARPD consists of Freeport, Gilpin Township and now Ford City. Ford...
Lori Falce: St. Patrick’s Day and the legacy of Ireland
Ireland has given the world a lot. There’s whiskey, which is probably enough of a reason for many to celebrate all on its own. But it also was an Irishman who was credited with introducing to Europe the idea of hot chocolate. For Catholics, there’s the sacrament of confession, which...
