Opinion category, Page 34
Paul Kengor: 100 years ago, when the KKK was dominant in Western Pa.
This summer marks the centenary of the landmark Supreme Court case, Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The case dealt with a ballot initiative in the state of Oregon that required all parents to send their children to public schools. The actual intended...
Druta Bhatt: Black homeownership still unequal, even when you beat the odds
The American Dream has long promised that homeownership is the gateway to stability, security and wealth. But a newly released report from the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG), “Black Homeownership and Wealth Building in Allegheny County,” shows that promise is far from reality — especially for Black residents. After eight...
Salewa Ogunmefun: 60 years after the Voting Rights Act, voting rights under attack
This month we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the single most influential pieces of legislation in American history. The policy that finally, almost 200 years after our nation’s inception, brought us to the cusp of living up to our founding truth that...
Letter to the editor: Epstein matters
We know the game. MAGA says something outrageous — racist, sexist or whatever — and has a belly laugh when normal people take offense. Owning the libs, they say. Surely, this is what the writer of the letter “Who cares about Jeffrey Epstein” (Aug. 5, TribLive) was trying to do....
Letter to the editor: Attorneys are officers of the court
As a retired attorney, I feel the article “Botched bail hearing sparks memo to judges in wake of homicide” (Aug. 4, TribLive), although well written, overlooked a key concept; specifically, the concept that every attorney is an officer of the court. Being an officer of the court means that an...
Letter to the editor: Legal questions for those hiring immigrants
Reading the letter “Serving the poor, suffering and strangers” (Aug. 9, Triblive), I conclude that only Democrat Catholics — in that order — will gain admittance to the kingdom to come. The article “More than $100K raised to help 16 snared in ICE raids at Emiliano’s” (Aug. 8, TribLive) raises...
Editorial: Money’s role in American politics could get even worse
Our nation’s campaign finance laws are a mess. Money has never been so influential in American politics, and it could get worse. The Supreme Court is set to hear a case about how much money political parties can spend on campaigns in coordination with candidates. The National Republican Senatorial Committee,...
Jonah Goldberg: Tariff ‘Mission Accomplished’ hype is just that
On May 1, 2003, George W. Bush announced, “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” He was standing below a giant banner that read, “Mission Accomplished.” At the risk of inviting charges of understatement, subsequent events didn’t cooperate. But it took a while for that to be widely accepted. We’re...
Mark DeSantis: How Pittsburgh’s economic garden can grow
“Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt I have vivid memories as a 10-year-old helping my Italian-immigrant grandfather in his one-acre garden of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and I forget what else. I remember the smell of ripe vegetables, soil and how everything seemed...
Cal Thomas: Back to safer schools
As President Trump prepares to head to Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop the killing” in Russia and Ukraine, what is being done to stop school shootings in America as millions of children begin returning to their schools this week? In my school days we had...
Letter to the editor: Employers who hire the undocumented should be fined, jailed
While all the liberals are crying about the raids on the two Emiliano’s restaurants last week, my question is, why weren’t the owners arrested and thrown in jail for harboring known criminals and for human trafficking? My guess is they knew when they hired these people that they were illegal...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh has other forces assisting police
The news of a steady erosion in the ranks of Pittsburgh’s police force is sobering. Your editorial “Pittsburgh needs more police” (Aug. 7, TribLive) points up the plight and rightfully serves as a call to action. However, the extent to which a reversal is needed should have been couched in...
Editorial: Is it finally time for legal marijuana in Pennsylvania?
President Donald Trump is mulling a move on marijuana. The president said Monday his administration was considering rescheduling the substance, moving it from Schedule I to a Schedule III. Scheduled drugs are medications or other substances classified based on their impacts. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, meaning it has...
Letter to the editor: Trump is destroying America
President Trump’s tariffs are the downfall of American and international economies. I predict they will wreak more havoc domestic and abroad than the Smoot-Hawley tariffs ever did, and the six-time bankrupt Trump will add a seventh and eighth to his belt. Trump tariffs will go beyond the “asinine,” the “economic...
James Fogarty: Getting to more inclusive and supportive schools for our kids in Pittsburgh
As we look to the future of our city, we all have a responsibility to ask, “how are the children”? Data from 2023-24 shows challenges in our schools: • Few complete post-secondary education: 343 out of 1,614 Pittsburgh Public Schools freshmen in 2014 finished college or trade school by 2024....
Commentary: How postsecondary opportunities for students are changing for the better
Americans are losing faith in higher education. Nearly half of adults believe a college degree is less important to get a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago, and only a quarter believe a four-year degree is a very important part of getting a job that pays well. The...
LZ Granderson: Vance is right to call out warped partisan representation
Believe it or not, Vice President JD Vance has said a number of things over the years that I agree with. For example, when he suggested “the American people will not tolerate another endless war” with regards to sending aid to Ukraine, I felt seen. When Vance told podcaster Theo...
Letter to the editor: Jail is not a 5-star hotel
OK, now I know we have gone nuts! Mommy wants her son to be served kosher food while in prison (“Westmoreland inmate accused of stabbing mother should have kosher meals, she says,” July 28, TribLive). Does she think “Prison” is the name of a 5-star hotel? This is not a...
Letter to the editor: Don’t be bamboozled by the enemy within
The MAGA GOP under President Trump is great at blaming others for what they are doing: weaponizing government and indoctrinating radically. What about MAGA’s antagonistic relationship with the mainstream and public news media? What about pardoning criminals? What about abuse of power and lawlessness? Who would ever think that the...
Editorial: Clairton Coke Works explosion is moment of calm in partisan storm
Partisanship is what happens in the quiet spaces between calamity. When trains are derailing or cars are crashing, there is no question of affiliation. When a building is burning, no one asks how the firefighters voted. When a hurricane smashes against the shore, Democrats and Republicans and those who have...
Letter to the editor: Save the ink — Pirates will keep losing
Most companies in the world have employees whose job is to cut cost. I have a suggestion for TribLive on that matter. At the beginning of each baseball season on the first day of the regular season, print in big bold print on top of the sports page PIRATES LOSE...
Joanne Kilgour: Allegheny County’s $1 million must jumpstart a bigger housing fix
When it comes to local government, every dollar counts. Smart investments are essential to make precious public resources go further and improve as many lives as possible. The goal is always finding ways to stretch taxpayer dollars while delivering better services and stronger communities. But now, a new budget challenge...
Jamil Bey: Reimagining public safety through planning and evidence-based innovation
For too long, public safety in American cities has been shaped more by tradition, politics and perception than by evidence and innovation. Policing practices often evolved from institutional culture and community expectations — frequently without a strong foundation in research or data. As a result, the science of safety has...
Mary Ellen Klas: The DOJ’s push to collect your data is a fishing expedition
With his approval rating sinking lower and lower, and facing the prospect of losing control of the House to Democrats, President Donald Trump is engaged in an unprecedented attempt to manipulate the midterm elections. He’s now got Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice embarking on another insidious...
Letter to the editor: True Pirates fans not ‘stupid’
Mark Madden states we are ” stupid” if we support the Pirates, buy merchandise or go to PNC Park (“Stop supporting the Pittsburgh Pirates,” Aug. 4, TribLive). He also states that we are “stupid” if we even think Paul Skenes would sign with the Pirates, and if he did sign...
