Opinion category, Page 356
Jonah Goldberg: A GOP that can’t grow with Trump, but also can’t grow without him
Well, I was wrong again. For much of the summer, I’d been writing that Donald Trump’s hold on the GOP was shrinking. I thought I was right at the time. But the times changed. Right now, his hold appears to be growing. That’s at least in part because it is...
Garry Pezzano: Let’s continue to support long-term care in Pa.
Thanks to the bipartisan leadership of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Tom Wolf in the last state budget, Pennsylvania took a good first step in support of Pennsylvania’s long-term care industry. In total, Pennsylvania’s 2022-23 budget invests more than $600 million in state and federal funds so that it...
Letter to the editor: Where will Oz live if he loses?
I have a question. If Mehmet Oz loses the election in November, would he remain a committed resident of Pennsylvania, or would he move elsewhere? Richard Patton Franklin Township, Beaver County...
Letter to the editor: Justifying Hempfield’s renovations
It’s interesting that Jeannette’s mayor wants the Jeannette City School District to merge with the Hempfield Area School District now as the Hempfield Area School Board and its out-of-state contractor need to justify spending over $100 million on a school district with a declining population. Does anyone really believe that...
Editorial: Why won’t GOP lawmakers fix the voting law they don’t like?
You can’t get a Democrat and a Republican to agree on much of anything in Pennsylvania — especially when it comes to elections. But, on Friday, a Republican state judge sided with Democrats, including Gov. Tom Wolf, about a pile of contested ballots in three counties. Are they the heavily...
Letter to the editor: Pay legislators what they are worth
Maybe Rep. Eric Davanzo and Sen. Kim Ward like inflation. Their checking accounts sure do: $100,000 a year for what? Our Founding Fathers didn’t envision full-time legislatures. We pay them to fundraise and campaign half the time. Why? We don’t need to reduce the size of the Legislature. We need...
Letter to the editor: Biden destroying our nation
I disagree with letter-writer Leonard Mucci (“Biden has done much good,” Aug. 17, TribLIVE), who wrote that President Joe Biden has done more good than 45 could do in a lifetime as president but never gave examples of Biden’s achievements. In the 19 months since Biden’s inauguration, our country has...
Nathan Picarsic: Time for Taiwan to be called Taiwan
It’s August in Pennsylvania. That means kids across the commonwealth are getting ready to return to school. But a talented few from Hollidaysburg are too busy to sharpen their pencils just yet: They’re in Williamsport chasing dreams in the Little League World Series. Unfortunately, one of their potential competitors, a...
Doug Sprankle: Skill games mean health insurance for my employees
I could tell hundreds of stories I’ve heard of how businesses, along with fraternal clubs and veterans organizations, have benefited in tremendous ways from legal skill games. Instead, I will just tell my story. Sprankle’s Neighborhood Markets is a small family business run by my father, brother and I with...
Mary Sanchez: Every vote in America is now about abortion
The pro-choice jubilation that overtook the state of Kansas is beginning to subside, as all victorious celebrations eventually do. What’s less clear is if the revelers fully grasp that they’re still running against howling headwinds. This is despite the overwhelming support Kansans showed for reproductive rights in the Aug. 2...
Letter to the editor: Is pope giving Biden a free pass?
I am not now or will I ever be a Biden Catholic. The Catholic Church has laws; the government at different levels has laws. No one is above the law, not even President Biden. The pope is supposed to be the guiding light for the days of our lives. I...
Editorial: Schools should walk line with pros and cons of cellphones
Cellphones are a great tool. They are the Swiss Army knife of electronics. If you have a smartphone in your pocket, you have more than just a way to call home. You can take a picture or make a video. You can send an email or read a book. A...
Letter to the editor: Jeannette school merger would benefit students
I had a conference call with the state Department of Education some time ago, and the only way a merger between Jeannette City and Hempfield Area school districts can happen is if the Jeannette City School Board has five votes in favor of a merger. When five votes are received,...
Letter to the editor: Some actions climate change zealots can take
To all climate change zealots: If climate change is such an emergency, why waste time writing letters to the editor trying to convince us “deniers” that immediate action is required? Here are several immediate actions you can take, without our involvement. 1. Stop flying in airplanes. Except, of course, for...
Tom Purcell: When it comes to boys, schools are flunking
I trekked to St. Germaine School every morning in my sturdy Buster Brown shoes. Designed for rough-and-tumble boys, these heavy-duty shoes could take a scuffing and, with a good polishing, keep on shining — pretty much the way rambunctious kids like me were able to do in our elementary school...
Rich Askey: Mastriano’s school funding cut would mean lost jobs, lost opportunities for Pa. students
It isn’t every day you hear a candidate for office say, “Hey, let’s cut public school funding by billions, lay off a ton of teachers, and send class sizes through the roof.” Yet that’s what state Sen. Doug Mastriano wants to do if elected governor in November, even if he...
Letter to the editor: Vasectomies for all men?
This is in response to all the men writing letters about abortion and how wrong it is: All men should have vasectomies, then they would not have to worry about abortions. Shirley Kohn White Oak...
Letter to the editor: Republicans aim to control everything
Poor Gary Franks! He paints Democrats as all being socialists without knowing anything about either group (“Socialists/Democrats — is there a difference?,” Aug. 12, TribLIVE). He’s just trying to accuse Democrats of doing the very things his own GOP is doing. The GOP tries to control every state government and...
Letter to the editor: Man has little power to change climate
In the letter “Denial won’t stop climate change destruction” (Aug. 8, TribLIVE) responding to my letter “Climate change hysteria destroying economy” (July 25, TribLIVE), the writer outlined evidence of climate change. I don’t disagree that weather patterns are changing. I do believe, and historical data shows, that this is a...
Editorial: The lesson of the ‘Kids for Cash’ judgment
Some debts simply can’t be paid in money. From 2003 to 2008, two Luzerne County judges used children as a commodity. When juveniles appeared before Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, a large number were quickly found to be delinquent and handed over to facilities that made their money through such...
Letter to the editor: Media no longer fair and balanced
Recently, I saw a Gallup poll that only 36% of Americans trust the media. The poll went even further in its breakdown, relating that 68% of Democrats, 11% of Republicans and 31% of independents trust the media “a great deal or a fair amount.” To me that seemed like a...
Letter to the editor: Wasting tax dollars on audits
An “audit” done on the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Ariz., by Cyber Ninjas found an estimated 282 dead people submitted ballots. In its report, the company recommended “the Attorney General further investigate this finding to confirm the validity of their findings.” Arizona’s attorney general, Republican Mark Brnovich, did investigate...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 22
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 22....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 22
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 22....
William Behre: Higher ed must transform to match needs of 21st century
As a university president, I am all too familiar with the headlines and stories that paint a grim future for higher education. The demise of traditional four-year universities. An end to their relevance in a rapidly evolving world. The crumbling of higher education as we know it. In early August,...
