Opinion category, Page 344
Letter to the editor: Grateful for librarians
Some feel brick-and-mortar libraries are no longer necessary with all the internet has to offer. But libraries provide much more than what can be found online. The internet doesn’t provide the same assistance as a knowledgeable librarian when it comes to identifying legitimate, quality sources for a school project or...
Editorial: How will we handle schooling in the next emergency?
There was little question that the coronavirus pandemic would have widespread ramifications. It would hit the economy. It would hit social services. It would hit government and retail, and let’s not forget hospitals. But from the beginning, one of the main concerns was how it would impact education. The answer...
Letter to the editor: Pa. needs ‘good neighbor’ employers
Republican Sen. Joe Pittman’s op-ed “You can’t have family-sustaining jobs without employers” (Aug 13, TribLIVE) is typical Republican doublespeak and a race to the bottom. Tax give-aways to big corporations and failure to increase the minimum wage are what got us into the situation we are in today. Our middle-class...
Letter to the editor: We must all come together on gun violence
The article “Survey: Many at-risk youths in Allegheny Co. lose family to gun violence” (Aug. 17, TribLIVE) is a heartbreaking read. I am the parent of three young children in the Mt. Lebanon School District, and while the children in our district may not face the same hard realities of...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Women uniting in Iran and worldwide
“The world is going backwards. Women are whole human beings, but government is still trying to control us, even here in the U.S.,” according to Fayezeh Haji Hassan. The Pittsburgh lawyer was barely a teenager when her family fled Iran for Afghanistan to escape the political persecution of her activist...
Lt. Col. Michal Polidor: Air Force set for another 75 years of air domination
“PROCEED DIRECTLY TO KEATING. IT IS BEING OVERRUN.” Those were the first words we heard over the radio on the morning of Oct. 3, 2009. In response, 1st Lt. Aaron “Finch” Dove and I, who were the lead aircraft in a formation of two F-15E Strike Eagles, positioned ourselves for...
Letter to the editor: Any regrets after 63 million abortions?
We can’t believe that over 60% of Americans think that abortion should continue as before. Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, more than 63 million God-created babies in the United States have been killed. We wonder how many mothers, years later, regret having an abortion? Lou and Peg...
Sounding off: Borders, elections, abortion, turnpike among week’s letter topics
Our borders are not ‘open’ I’m sick and tired of all this “open borders” claptrap. Our borders haven’t been open since 1883. Instead, there is a mess at the border, and it’s been that way for decades. In 2006, a bipartisan group in the Senate drew up a reform plan,...
Letter to the editor: Oz’s changing views on abortion
Dr. Mehmet Oz has questioned John Fetterman’s physical health once again (“Oz releases health records to spotlight Fetterman’s stroke,” Sept. 23, TribLIVE), as if a person must have a perfect health record to serve in the Senate. But moral health is more of an issue, and that’s a real problem...
Editorial: Is this the right year to cut ballot drop boxes, Westmoreland County?
If you are a Westmoreland County voter who uses the drop box at the courthouse to cast your ballot, you are out of luck. On Wednesday, a plan to provide that option again died. It wasn’t that it was voted down. Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher put it on the table....
Letter to the editor: Republicans are the threat?
President Biden has defined MAGA Republicans as semi-fascists who “do not respect the Constitution … do not believe in the rule of law … refuse to accept the results of a free election … fan the flames of political violence … (and) threaten the very foundations of our republic.” So,...
Gary Franks: Fear vs. reality — which one will prevail in November?
Democratic leaders have failed to do their basic job of passing a budget and spending/appropriations bills via regular order or for that matter even as a continuing resolution once again. It is quite apparent that Democrats are just too busy with other pressing matters, like producing the “Trump Reality Show.”...
S.E. Cupp: Empty offices as housing could save cities across U.S.
As any New Yorker can easily remember, Midtown — the Manhattan neighborhood stretching from 34th Street to 59th Street and from Third Avenue to Eighth Avenue — was once a bustling beehive of corporate activity and commerce. On a typical weekday, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.,...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Are we different from them?
We are different from them. Instinctively, that’s what you’re thinking, right? Not that you don’t have reason. The news out of Iran that a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini mysteriously died in custody after the nation’s “morality police” hauled her in for some violation of their oppressive dress code for...
Dr. Andrew Smolar: Does your party represent your moral foundation?
We are divided by our different belief systems. Roughly half of the population believes that our institutions are fair and that everyone is responsible for the outcome of his/her chosen pathway. The other half believe that the playing field is lopsided and that outcomes are not primarily determined by the...
Letter to the editor: Vote for politicians who follow Constitution
We should be grateful for President Trump. He laid bare the ineptitude, corruption, propaganda and authoritarian leanings of government, collusion with such things by Big Tech, and the general stupidity and authoritarian inclination in a large portion of the public. Don’t forget the 81 million votes for Joe Biden. The...
Letter to the editor: Dietary Supplement Listing Act is nonsense
There is less than a week left to stop S4090, the Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022 (DSLA), which will regulate supplements out of existence. Right now, DSLA is still attached to S4348, the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), because Congress knows this is a bad bill that can’t...
Lori Falce: Iranian woman’s death latest in list of human rights abuses
I get lists and rankings in my inbox every day. They tell me what states or cities or schools or businesses are the best and worst according to a myriad of factors. Most money. Least education. Highest unemployment. Lowest cost of living. Best quality of life. Worst opportunity for advancement....
Letter to the editor: Where’s the outrage over Republican smears?
Ray Schratz’s letter “Biden’s uncivilized discourse” (Sept. 13, TribLIVE) would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. He says President Biden “smeared” 50% of Americans by calling them fascists and racists. Schratz must have missed the smearing of over 50% of Americans by Republicans at all levels calling us pedophiles,...
Paul Kengor: Tearing down Columbus — and Western civilization
I have fond memories of my first days at Pitt. I began attending in the summer semester of 1987 as a transfer student. I remember sunny afternoons sitting under the giant statue of Christopher Columbus at Schenley Park reading my various books for my first-semester course on Western civilization. That...
Laurels & lances: Growing, going, giving
Laurel: To a grand gourd. Westmoreland County made a good showing with a super squash. Eric Gunstrom of Harrison City was awarded first place in the 58th annual Barnesville, Ohio, Pumpkin Festival with a monster vegetable weighing in at 2,405 pounds. It took an investment of about 30 hours per...
Peter Morici: Biden’s student-debt forgiveness encourages universities to raise tuition
Present Joe Biden’s student-loan forgiveness has attracted wide criticism, but few express the menace it poses to the Federal Reserve and congressional powers. Federal student loans create more equal access to quality higher education for working- and middle-class students, and the average college graduate earns more, lives longer and expresses...
Greg Fulton: It’s inflation, stupid
When Bill Clinton was running for president in 1992, his chief political strategist was James Carville. Carville presented himself as a good old country boy from Louisiana, but really was one of the sharpest and best political minds in the country. Carville understood politics and had the pulse of the...
Letter to the editor: Who’s blindly loyal to who?
Just read Rob Grasser’s letter “What if Fetterman wins and resigns?” (Sept. 19, TribLIVE). I almost choked on my toast. In it, he says “… it shows a dangerous political trend: blind loyalty to a political party instead of loyalty to constituents and the Constitution.” Well, now, he perfectly describes...
Letter to the editor: McCarthy coverage not balanced
In your 15-paragraph article covering Kevin McCarthy’s speech in Monongahela (“Kevin McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, others visit Monongahela to unveil House GOP’s midterm agenda,” Sept. 23, TribLIVE), five paragraphs concerned former President Trump and five paragraphs were devoted to President Biden, leaving 5 paragraphs to McCarthy’s message. Is this what...
