Opinion category, Page 301
Editorial: Calls for Marc Fogel’s release must continue until Russia sends him home
WNBA star Brittney Griner has been home for 10 weeks. It was Dec. 8 that she was released from a Russian prison after months in custody for possession of a small amount of medically prescribed cannabis. It took a concerted effort from the highest levels of the federal government. A...
Letter to the editor: Dismayed by Bushy Run battle ruling
I would like to express my dismay and utter disappointment with the state’s stoppage of the Battle of Bushy Run reenactments (“Bushy Run Battlefield reenactment canceled amid new state guidelines,” Jan. 28, TribLIVE). It’s inconceivable that some frivolous state “commission,” without actually voting on the issue, can unilaterally stop a...
Letter to the editor: ‘We can’t handle the truth’
“La La Land” was once a reference to Los Angeles and Hollywood because of the frivolous lifestyle and attitudes of those living there. A case can be made that the La La Land mentality has spread across the entirety of America. It’s much easier to keep your head in the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Armstrong County welcome mat rolled up
When Chuck Pascal and the Armstrong County Democratic Committee decided to place a billboard with a welcoming message along one of the main roads into the county, they chose words that they hoped would reach and comfort as many people as possible. Pascal, the county Democratic chairman and a prominent...
Austin Sarat: Prisoners donating organs to get time off raises thorny ethical questions
In January 2023 two Democratic representatives, Judith Garcia and Carlos Gonzalez, proposed a bill that would offer prisoners in Massachusetts a new way to win reduction in their sentences: by donating their bone marrow or vital organs. The bill stated that the commissioner of the Department of Corrections should establish...
Brian Lawrence: Blight is a wicked problem
Regarding the editorial “Addressing blight requires planning and action” (Feb. 7, TribLIVE): The roots of blight are nuanced, varied and complex. Systemic factors like abuse of the federal tax code and individual factors, like the death of a loved one, contribute to the problem. Compounding the issue, 40,000 fewer people...
Letter to the editor: You still have the right to say what you want
When I was a child, I heard a popular saying: “I may not agree with what you’re saying, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.” Nowadays, with the prevalence of the woke mob in the Democratic Party, the saying seems to be, “I don’t...
Sounding off: On Trump and Biden, Bushy Run, Giant Eagle, Rozzi, gun violence, bridge safety
Trump, Biden make for poor presidential choices Both the Democratic and Republican parties are presently in a quandary regarding the 2024 president election. The Democrats are saddled with an 80-year-old President Biden, who I believe is mentally and physically feeble. In addition, Kamala Harris has bombed as vice president. No...
Letter to the editor: Great job, Youngwood
I know this letter is a little late, but I still want it to be said that Youngwood Borough’s workers did a great job decorating the borough building and playground for Christmas. It was great seeing the playground being put to good use, and all the lights and reindeer animations,...
Editorial: Was Westmoreland DA Ziccarelli’s crash really minor?
“Minor car accident” is one of those terms everyone has heard and yet is difficult to quantify. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department doesn’t have a measure for what makes a crash minor or major. An insurance company only deals in monetary amounts. There is no sliding scale. And so, when Westmoreland...
Letter to the editor: Celebrating Black History Month
The Pennsylvania State Education Association proudly joins educators and support professionals across the nation in celebrating Black History Month. Throughout February, Pennsylvania educators will put a special focus on the sizable contributions and achievements of Black Americans in a variety of subjects, including history, literature, science, music and the arts....
Letter to the editor: Compromise is best for America
I watched President Biden’s State of the Union address and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ response. OK, majority House Republicans, where is the platform you’ll use to make great changes? We are coming back from a major issue that almost left our country undone. You complain and yell “We have...
Gary Franks: The real cost of racism? Nearly a trillion dollars every year.
Racists and those who perpetuate unfair employment practices participate in and are an integral part of costing the United States trillions of dollars yearly. Yes, that’s more than what we spend on the entire defense budget. With this money, we could in 10 years approach eliminating our $31 trillion debt,...
S.E. Cupp: In Nikki Haley, Trump gets first real challenger for nomination
Nearly three months after former President Donald Trump announced he was running again for president, he has his first major competitor (with apologies to Steve Laffey) in former South Carolina Gov. and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. In her video announcement Tuesday, Haley boasted of the need for “generational change,”...
Jane Hoffman: With Big Tech making billions off our personal data, it’s time for the U.S. to pull in the reins
Every day, the $6.7 trillion Big Tech industry affects our lives in ways that empower and harm. Despite recent hits in earnings, current layoffs and Google getting slapped with yet another lawsuit from the Justice Department, the tech giants are still all-powerful in our society, economy and daily lives. These...
Letter to the editor: Residents should voice opinions on Harrold school’s future
On Feb. 21, the Hempfield Area School Board will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. at Harrold Middle School to determine whether or not to close the school. I sincerely hope residents will show up and voice their opinions. Some of the school board members feel there is no money...
Letter to the editor: Keep saving lives with AIDS relief
At 20 years, PEPFAR counts 25 million lives saved from HIV/AIDS. Congress must keep up the fight! Everyone around the world deserves a life of dignity and opportunity. As President Biden noted in his State of the Union address, Congress can move us closer to that reality — and a...
Lori Falce: Why can’t Hollywood find real fat people?
I love Brendan Fraser. Throughout the 1990s, I loved him in good movies like “School Ties” and “Gods and Monsters.” I loved him in bad movies like “Encino Man” and “Dudley Do-Right.” I flat out adored him in “The Mummy.” And so I was thrilled with the resurgence of his...
Laurels & lances: Loss, objection and dropped charges
Laurel: To a bittersweet farewell. On Tuesday, the community turned out to line the roads along a a twisting path from Baldwin to McKeesport, ending at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery on Curry Hollow Road. They were there to say goodbye to McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski, who was killed in the...
Letter to the editor: Does Reschenthaler know what socialism is?
“Fascism is anti-Marxism which seeks to destroy the enemy by the evolvement of a radically opposed and yet related ideology and by the use of almost identical and yet typically modified methods, always, however within the unyielding framework of national self-assertion and autonomy.” — Ernst Nolte Rep. Guy Reschenthaler recently...
Paul Kengor: Remembering one of Pittsburgh’s and America’s most influential Black columnists, George Schuyler
“Why does Black History Month ignore the author of ‘the most talked about column in Negro America?’” asks a column by Mary Grabar in The American Spectator. Grabar is certainly qualified to ask. For years she has worked on a major biography of George Schuyler. Who was Schuyler, and why...
Letter to the editor: Divided states of America
Reading your newspaper, I fear for this country. I’m no psychic, but you cannot say that we live in a United States any longer, but a divided states. I predict the dismantling of our union: If Texas breaks away first, other states will follow. As Europe joins together and America...
Letter to the editor: Reflecting on ATI’s storied history
Allegheny Technologies (ATI) has been a steady footprint in the area since 1924 with its first patent to commercialize stainless steel. The company started as Allegheny Steel & Iron in Brackenridge, then, in 1938, merged with Ludlum Steel in Watervliet, N.Y., and became Allegheny Ludlum. Headquarters stayed in Pittsburgh for...
Editorial: Our children are under fire, and it’s time something gives
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey was stretched thin. Events called him in two directions. The funeral for slain McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski was scheduled for noon at St. Albert the Great Church in Baldwin. It was just a few hours later that he was speaking with media in...
Letter to the editor: Trump should make way for new America-first leader
I think former President Trump’s policies were beneficial for the vast majority of American citizens, but I also think he is unelectable in 2024 because his constant Twitter rants and name-calling have turned off a majority of voters. He should step aside and let a new conservative candidate lead the...
