Opinion category, Page 311
Editorial: Shapiro’s NDAs miss chance for transparency
Nondisclosure is the enemy of freedom of information. Government of the people doesn’t just encourage transparency. It demands it. It is the responsibility of the people to be informed voters who then make informed decisions about who they want to represent them. That can’t occur if decisions happen behind a...
Letter to the editor: Dems can’t pick Biden as next presidential nominee
President Joe Biden just tossed a giant bone to the Democratic Party with the revelation that, like broadcasting confetti, he distributed classified top-secret government documents throughout his home, inside his Corvette, at the University of Pennsylvania and God only knows where else. I cannot imagine a political party would even...
Letter to the editor: GOP’s shameful special election plan
It is both utterly shameful and wholly predictable that the Pennsylvania House Republican leader, Brian Cutler, wants to leave 100,000 Pennsylvanians without House representation for as long as he possibly can, rather than holding special elections for two open state house seats as soon as possible (“Judges weigh GOP bid...
Tom Purcell: Stove debate a real gas
I love my gas stove — almost as much as I love my Weber gas grill. So I became curious this past week when I heard that a commissioner in one of our ever-expanding federal-government agencies discussed a possible ban on natural gas stoves. As the story goes, Richard Trumka...
Elwood Watson: What would Martin Luther King Jr. think of our America?
This month, as we celebrate Black history, millions of Americans will celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King was, without question, one of the greatest historical figures of the 20th century. He dedicated his life in an effort to ensure the ideals of life, liberty and the...
Aaron Smith: Pa.’s K-12 funding needs major reforms, not more money
On the campaign trail, Josh Shapiro championed more money for public schools. Now that Democrats control Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives for the first time in over a decade, the state’s governor-elect will likely find ample support for that goal. “Everyone knows that our schools are chronically underfunded,” said state Rep....
Letter to the editor: Immigrants can help fill jobs
Regarding the many opinions on the lack of blue-collar workers: Our area loses about 1,000-plus people per year to overdoses, plus the thousands who are addicted or imprisoned. Our schools and parents push young people away from the blue-collar lifestyle of getting up every morning, packing your lunch and going...
Letter to the editor: Let’s get over ourselves and work for good of America
I don’t often voice an opinion publicly on politics, but with that being said: It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or Republican; I think if we all stand back and look from a bird’s-eye view, which is the way the rest of the world is looking at us,...
Editorial: Pennsylvania must prepare to pay claims
The Pennsylvania Senate last week passed a bill tying together three unrelated proposed constitutional amendments that included compensation for sexual abuse victims, leaving in question whether any of those matters will appear on ballots this year as referendums. The Senate majority wants amendments to require mandatory voter identification, even for...
Letter to the editor: EPA’s new soot standards welcome
I appreciate the Trib’s consistent coverage of air quality events. As a Pittsburgh resident, I have grown all too familiar with the smell of “code orange” alerts. Stepping outside, I can often tell without checking the news that the air is thick with soot. This odor is not just an...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 16
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 16....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan.16
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 16....
Michael Reagan: Cleaning out Joe Biden’s dirty garage
Don’t worry, America. Big Media will never let Joe Biden get away with illegally taking classified documents from the White House in 2016 and stashing them at his office and in his garage next to his Corvette. The ace reporters at liberal places like The New York Times, CNN and...
Letter to the editor: Ban gas stoves? Never.
So the federal government is considering banning gas stoves. In RVs? BBQ grills? Furnaces? Hot water heaters? Where does this government overreach end? The federal government will have to take this iron skillet from my cold dead hands before it takes my gas stove. Diana Fredley West Deer...
Letter to the editor: Wreath money should go to help homeless vets
Every year when I see an article about Christmas wreaths being placed on our deceased veterans’ graves, it strikes a nerve in me. This is a nationwide event. All that money should be going to our homeless veterans who need help. Those wreaths do nothing for those veterans in the...
Letter to the editor: Proud of first responders
The one takeaway from the unfortunate Damar Hamlin hit on the football field was the timely action by the first responders and medical personnel who helped save his life. Very commendable! I can’t help but think how many lives my dad helped save during his role as a U.S. Army...
Editorial: Special elections are set now, right?
The special elections for three Pennsylvania state House of Representatives seats will be held Feb. 7. That’s what a three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said Friday. As of now, the three Allegheny County seats that are up for grabs will be put before their district voters on the same day. Rep....
Letter to the editor: DEP needs more resources
The article “Pa. gas drilling report criticizes industry for failing to report abandoned gas wells” (Jan. 5, TribLIVE) outlines a recent Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) report which found substantial noncompliance of state laws and regulations by the Pennsylvania conventional oil and gas industry with regard to the improper abandonment...
Letter to the editor: These Steelers are heroes, too
I agree with the writer of the letter “Essential workers, not football players, are heroes” (Dec. 29, TribLIVE) that workers who bear the burden of bitter cold temperatures should be applauded. He also said that football players, (who also endure the cold) should be ashamed and embarrassed as football is...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Kevin McCarthy and the GOP nihilists
The general public has not heard much about nihilists since “The Big Lebowski” was released in 1998, but during the recent GOP fight to pick a speaker of the House in Washington, D.C., we learned that nihilists now have their own caucus in the Republican Party. In the movie, three...
POINT: Racial shifts in voting — what’s in the future?
Through a phenomenon called “linked fate,” small or marginalized groups tend to vote more as a unit rather than as individuals, assuming that without doing so they may not have a loud enough voice in the political system. However, exhaustion from a series of broken promises is breaking up these...
COUNTERPOINT: Education, crime drive Black voters to GOP
As another Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday approaches, our nation has much to celebrate as we strive toward MLK’s dream of a colorblind society. Since King’s assassination in 1968, our nation has elected and reelected its first African American president. We’ve also recently sworn in our first African American...
Gary Bayne and Josh Fleitman: Brackenridge chief’s killing demands stronger Pa. gun laws
Amid an avalanche of horrific acts of violence across Allegheny County over the past year, the Jan. 2 killing of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire is yet another traumatic and high-profile reminder of the toll of gun violence on our communities. The chief’s family, the broader Brackenridge and law enforcement...
Sounding off: McIntire’s death, Steelers, Biden/Trump, speaker battle, Ziccarelli’s crash on readers’ minds
Rest in peace, Chief McIntire The horrific death of our beloved Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire has devastated our community. It brought to mind a song by James Taylor, “Fire and Rain.” The words “Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone” echo the stunned feelings of everyone...
Letter to the editor: Why Trump won’t get votes
When the time comes to vote for the next U.S. president, it certainly won’t be for the last one. His name has been in about every newspaper since he left office, he took classified documents to his home in Florida, where he does not have to declare state income tax,...
