Opinion category, Page 352
Letter to the editor: Here’s why FBI ‘raided’ Trump’s home
To answer letter-writer Ken Bearer’s query, “Why the Trump raid?” (Aug. 17, TribLIVE): Donald Trump took a large cache of sensitive government records and hid them in an unsecure area at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The documents were the property of the American people and were supposed to be securely stored...
Editorial: Common sense solutions for housing are great idea
People frustrated by government often cite one troubling factor: a lack of common sense. That can look like a committee spending months debating a solution to a problem your regular person on the street finds fairly obvious. The length of time it takes to decide to put a stop sign...
Letter to the editor: Abortion ‘rights’ will destroy our families
The right to choose was given to us by God, not by woman or man (Garden of Eden). Choice requires an understanding between right and wrong. If we choose wrong, serious consequences often jeopardize our relationships. Choice allows us to “freely” respond to God’s enormous love for us. God does...
Letter to the editor: Legislators working for themselves
One can only stare in disbelief at the editorial “Lawmakers’ big raises are an affront to Pa. taxpayers” (Aug. 21, TribLIVE). The audacity of our Pennsylvania legislators is breathtaking. At a time when many of us are struggling, our lawmakers give themselves a 14% raise in a two-year period. But...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Good luck getting a glass of water in Jackson
There is no water in Jackson, Miss. Not at this writing, at least. At this writing, the nearly 150,000 residents of the state capital have been advised that even if they are able to coax some of the precious liquid from their taps — water pressure is feeble — it...
Sen. Ryan Aument: To curb student debt, reduce college costs
Opponents of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan are missing the mark on why it’s a bad idea. Complaining that it is unfair to those who paid their loans, or to those who didn’t attend college, while correct, merely empowers the other side to slap back with a major dose...
Letter to the editor: What’s become of our honored FBI?
The tearful request “Say it ain’t so, Joe!” rang in the hearts of American baseball fans and non-fans alike back in the last century. Maybe it would be enough of a concern today for most of the folks who heard of yet another case of malpractice, not in baseball but...
Letter to the editor: Continuing to protecting our aging citizens
I couldn’t agree more with Garry Pezzano’s op-ed “Let’s continue to support long-term care in Pa.” (Aug. 24, TribLIVE), on the need to continue Pennsylvania’s efforts to strengthen its long-term care system for our most vulnerable citizens. The bipartisan efforts of our leaders in Harrisburg to include $600 million in...
Editorial: Freeport mayor vacancy shows need for involvement
Freeport needs a mayor. James Swartz Jr. served as mayor for 38 years. He stepped down in June. About three months later, the borough’s executive office is still empty. Why? According to Council President Clint Warnick, there haven’t been any qualified applicants. One could say council needs to be a...
Letter to the editor: Questions remain about Dorothy Patch flooding
It has been a month since the flooding of Dorothy Patch in Unity Township. This occurred when only 1.5 inches of rain were recorded at Latrobe — less than a mile away. There have been many higher levels of rain recorded in years past without any flooding. So why now?...
Letter to the editor: Representatives don’t represent us
When our Harrisburg representatives run for office, they tell voters that they will represent us. But they don’t. In fact, they willingly agree not to. As every new session begins, legislators vote on procedural rules. Currently, those rules allow only majority party leaders and committee chairs to bring bills out...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 6
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 6....
Tom Purcell: Health insurance perplexity
I’m confused. I got the flu a few months ago, the worst flu I’d ever had. It wasn’t covid — I have never tested positive for covid — but it was a humdinger. For more than a week, I was a lump on a bed, completely unable to move or...
Nathan Benefield: Government unions are outsized bullies holding workers, taxpayers hostage
As we enter election season, it’s time we address the elephant in the room. It’s an elephant with an outsized influence on Pennsylvania politics — and few people realize who holds the purse strings and the puppet strings behind the scenes. Government union executives. These union executives enjoy a host...
Paul F. Clark: Today’s workers want a voice at work
It has been a very eventful 12 months for American workers since last Labor Day. At that point in time, the “Great Resignation” was well underway. Spurred by covid, millions of American workers had quit their jobs in the months before Labor Day and millions more would resign in the...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 5
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 5....
Letter to the editor: Reasons to be an independent
Republicans say I’m a chump for believing that the candidate who wins an election in a certified, judicially reviewed process gets to hold the office. Democrats say I’m a chump for paying off my college loan. That’s why I’m an independent voter. Jay Lynch Upper St. Clair...
Kenneth J. Broadbent, David Callahan and Jim Snell: Pa. natural gas and labor, forging a reliable, sustainable energy future
While President Grover Cleveland did not make it a federal holiday until June of 1894, Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on Sept. 5, 1882. Nearly 400 miles away that same year, natural gas from the historic Haymaker No. 1 well in Murrysville was delivered to consumers...
Letter to the editor: Hollow words from Pirates leadership
Next year! That’s the battle cry from the Pirates’ general manager and owner. I think it’s now time to put up or shut up! If the Pirates’ owner is not ready to turn loose of some of his money to pay key players, it’s all hollow words. We don’t need...
Letter to the editor: Diabetic seniors need help now, not in 2026
In the Inflation Reduction Act, a section was included for Medicare to negotiate prescription prices for diabetics. What senior citizens don’t realize is that, if you read the fine print, those negotiations will not take effect until 2026, which the administration has failed to point out to the general public....
Editorial: More people in the workforce is good news
On Labor Day, we don’t honor the work that people do. We celebrate the people who do the work. It is a day off at the end of summer, as kids go back to school and schedules revert back to the norm after three months of vacations and heat and...
Letter to the editor: Someone’s always paying for that ‘something for nothing’
Let’s look back to the start of the Pennsylvania Lottery … one game once a day. Today, 16 daily drawings! When it started, it was touted to be strictly as a benefit to the elderly. Just where is all this money going? I’ll bet that we the people will never...
Letter to the editor: Kindness keeps us connected
Whenever my family visits our relatives, we drive past people in need who live under the overpasses on the North Shore. Living outside must be scary and lonely. I felt so bad when I thought about what their lives must be like, and I wanted to try to do something...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Pair’s industrial art a love letter to steelworkers
An accidental discovery on social media led to a partnership between New Castle businessman Chip Barletto and Pittsburgh industrial artist Cory Bonnet, and, because of that, our community will always have permanent reminders of why we celebrate Labor Day. Barletto has been visiting old steel mills for 50 years, starting...
Point: Unions have a stake in ending minority rule in the United States
In 2021, just 10.3% of American workers were members of unions, less than half the proportion we had four decades prior. This collapse in union membership didn’t happen in Canada; it occurred in the United States for reasons specific to this country, including unpleasant changes in labor law and the...
