Opinion category, Page 296
Letter to the editor: Scare tactics on Medicare
The writer of the letter “Let’s cut Congress’ expenses instead” (Feb. 23, TribLIVE) states President Biden used “his usual scare tactics: ‘Do we cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ programs?’ ” Biden has always stood for protecting these programs. Check his record, and you will see. The source of this...
Letter to the editor: Fetterman should resign
Let’s talk elephant in the room: Sen. John Fetterman. I would guess that Fetterman’s mental disorder/clinical depression has been known to his wife, handlers and Democrats close to him for a long time. Those who pushed him should be ashamed, including the media. People suffering from this disorder have difficulty...
Tom Purcell: Still time to save us from DST
I dread the coming of Sunday, March 12. At 2 a.m. that morning, our clocks will “spring forward.” That means my yellow Labrador, Thurber, who wakes me at exactly 6 every morning, will begin waking me at exactly 5 every morning. He’ll do so because that’s when his Labradorian clock...
Letter to the editor: Concerned about police treatment of women
Regarding the article “DA: Police justified in killing man who ambushed Brackenridge Chief Justin McIntire” (Feb. 24, TribLIVE): When District Attorney Steven Zappala said “there’s too much violence in the community and they are directing it toward the police,” his words were the truth for the dangers a police officer...
Letter to the editor: Medicare profiteering robs us of care
As a former social worker and public interest lawyer, I worked on issues related to access to medical care by the disenfranchised. In the 1970s, I co-wrote a 100-page report about inhumane conditions at Kane Hospital. It resulted in two Senate Committee on Aging hearings. I helped form a citizens...
Editorial: Air and water testing is not just for disasters
When it comes to the environment, things can be a lot like the Reagan era saying about nuclear disarmament: trust but verify. Or sometimes distrust and verify. You cannot always see the particles in the air that make taking a breath a danger. You cannot always taste what makes the...
Letter to the editor: Social Security mess
There are several misconceptions about Social Security. It was never meant to be the sole income of retired workers. It was intended as a supplement to workers’ savings. In most cases, Social Security benefits come not from what the worker paid into the system. Everything they paid in Social Security...
Letter to the editor: Under left-wing attack
What to believe … President Biden’s recent State of the Union speech, or Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders’ rebuttal speech? Is our country doing amazingly well, as Biden kept repeating, or is the economy hanging by a thread with raging inflation, record debt, an unprecedented crisis on the Mexican border, out-of-control...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 6
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 6....
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 6
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 6....
Letter to the editor: What exactly did Don Lemon mean by women in their ‘prime’?
Regarding the article “Don Lemon to return to ‘CNN This Morning’ after training” (Feb. 21, TribLIVE), about Lemon’s unfortunate comments about former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and women in general: As a woman in her 70s, I was particularly interested in his statement that “A woman is considered to...
Letter to the editor: Ending Pa.’s teacher shortage
The State System of Higher Education’s plan to provide up to $6,500 to students studying education at its 10 universities (“State System universities propose $56.5M in scholarships to ease Pa. teacher shortage,” Feb. 28, TribLIVE) is only a starting point to try to fill the teacher shortage in Pennsylvania. In...
Letter to the editor: UPMC doesn’t seem like a charity
I was excited to see Mayor Ed Gainey’s announcement that the city will be conducting a review of its tax-exempt properties (“Gainey orders review of Pittsburgh’s ‘purely public charities’ to see if they meet tax-exempt requirements” (Jan. 24, TribLIVE). As an employee of our region’s largest nonprofit, I hope the...
Editorial: New rules spell out obvious miss in House ethics
If Pennsylvania legislators ever wonder why they might not be seen as completely trustworthy, they need only to look to their track record of how they govern others versus how they govern themselves. The most infamous example is always the 2005 pay increase — passed at 2 a.m. without any...
Letter to the editor: Bring back the caboose
The Railway Safety Act of 2023 will be introduced in the Senate. It has a provision requiring two “well-trained, two-person crews aboard every train.” The “hot box technology” used every 20 miles on a railroad track is insufficient because it cannot distinguish whether the temperature of a wheel bearing is...
Letter to the editor: Jail staffing crisis affecting mental health services
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s recent report on suicide prevention at Allegheny County Jail stated the following: “Staff shortages are a major challenge at the Allegheny County Jail. The jail has 148 health care positions budgeted, 43% of these positions were vacant as of Sept. 19, 2022, 69.5...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Poland knows about freedom
In the 1950s, the Allegheny County Democratic Party held summer picnics at Pulaski Grove, a long-forgotten wooded patch that carried the name of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish freedom fighter and hero of the American Revolution. The Democratic Party represented everybody, and the picnics were rare and treasured outings for blue-collar...
S.E. Cupp: Can Paul Ryan save what’s left of conservatism?
“Toxic sludge, racism, disinformation and attacks on democracy.” This is how Charlie Sykes, a conservative commentator and editor of The Bulwark, recently described the Fox News diet to his longtime friend — and Fox News board member — former House Speaker Paul Ryan. It was a stunning interview between two...
James Steiner-Dillon: Why can’t Americans agree on, well, nearly anything? Philosophy has some answers.
Does wearing a mask stop the spread of covid-19? Is climate change driven primarily by human-made emissions? With these kinds of issues dividing the public, it sometimes feels as if Americans are losing our ability to agree about basic facts of the world. There have been widespread disagreements about matters...
Art Jipson and Paul J. Becker: 30 years later, Waco siege still resonates — especially among anti-government extremists
It’s been 30 years since the beginning of the Waco siege, the confrontation at a Texas compound that killed around 80 members of the Branch Davidian religious community and four federal agents. Part of the siege’s legacy in popular culture is tied to sensational coverage that has presented the Branch...
Letter to the editor: Death penalty warranted for killers
Regarding the article “Shapiro calls for ban of death penalty in Pennsylvania” (Feb. 16, TribLIVE): Gov. Josh Shapiro must never have lost someone to gun violence. Every life has meaning; when you take a life, your life should not be spared. Why should taxpayers pay for someone who will never...
Sounding off: Shootings, Bushy Run, Fetterman, Ziccarelli among week’s topics
Why can’t we stop the mass shootings? I always read the editorials and letters on the opinion page. The column by Jason Park, “A 3-part strategy to reduce mass shootings” (Feb. 14, TribLIVE), was wonderful. It is indeed a clear and knowledgeable read on the subject and was quite apropos...
Letter to the editor: Burning regulations should be updated
The recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has illuminated the health risks associated with burning polyvinyl chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is a component of plastics manufacturing and an extremely common part of our household waste. According to data from stopburning.org, Pennsylvania is one of 26 states that do not have...
Editorial: Transparency isn’t just valuable for bad government actions
A push for transparency is often associated with something people don’t like or don’t want. Something they would protest. Something that feels like a trick. It shouldn’t be. Transparency is just as important when it is something everyone agrees is the proper course of action. In fact, it might be...
Letter to the editor: Reimagining our food system
Our food system is broken. Giant corporations continue to rake in astronomical profits from industrial livestock, poultry and feed production at the expense of our communities, animals, farmers, workers and the environment. Fortunately, there is a growing movement to steer our food system away from the production of grains to...
