Opinion category, Page 381
Leonard Pitts Jr.: The Janes thought it was over
It opens with a woman’s voice and a black screen. “I had no other options,” she says. “I wanted it over with.” Then you see her. White, gray-haired, maybe somewhere in her 70s. And she continues her story. “I didn’t care how it was done. I was that desperate.” Someone...
Letter to the editor: Fireworks violators should be charged
With July 4 just weeks away, we hope that Penn Hills gets the message out that serious violations of Pennsylvania’s fireworks law will not be tolerated and that fines up to $1,000 will be levied on adults or their unsupervised children who violate the law, in particular the fire hazard...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 13
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 13....
Letter to the editor: Honestly, how’s Biden doing?
How’s President Biden doing? This is the question Americans should be honestly asking themselves. I’ve recently read letters blasting Republicans and President Trump (who hasn’t been in office for 17 months). Trump’s policies benefited Americans. Under Biden’s watch, we had a disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal with 13 servicemen dead, record high drugs...
Lori Falce: The tarnished crown of being a princess
Like most little girls, I went through a phase where I wanted to be a princess. It lasted until my early 40s. You have to admit the position has a lot to recommend it. Castles. Plural — as if one castle wasn’t enough. A very real possibility of promotion to...
Letter to the editor: After Amazon, working for the best for Churchill
The proposal to build an Amazon distribution center in Churchill has finally come to an end. On May 31, Judge Joseph James signed an order ending the appeals filed against the Borough of Churchill. Churchill Future had appealed the borough council’s approval of a conditional use permit to build the...
Laurels & lances: Rodeo, resignation and graduation
Laurel: To a wild ride. Westmoreland Mall might not seem like the Wild West, but you wouldn’t have known it over the weekend. The Pro Bulls & Barrels Rodeo and Concert — coordinated by Live! Casino — took place in a makeshift arena in an empty parking lot at the...
Claire Leavitt: How a public hearing is different from an investigation — and what that means for the Jan. 6 committee
Today, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol holds the first of several public hearings. The committee aims to lay out the results of months of investigative work into the involvement of President Donald Trump and his political allies in the 2021...
Sally Pipes: A look under the hood of ‘Medicare for All’
“Medicare for All” is back. For the fifth time in the last decade-plus, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has introduced legislation that would launch a government takeover of the U.S. health insurance system. “Health care is a human right, not a privilege,” he insisted from the Senate floor May 12. But...
Letter to the editor: Taxpayers, not ‘cities,’ bear the costs
The opening paragraph of the story “Pittsburgh police scrap plans for leasing warehouse space in $1M deal” (June 1, TribLIVE) states that “Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Police has scrapped plans to lease new warehouse space in a deal that would have cost the city just more than $1 million through 2031.”...
Letter to the editor: Look to Ten Commandments for abortion answer
Joe Biden, are you familiar with the Ten Commandments? The fifth commandment is “Thou shall not murder” — translated loosely as “Respect human life.” Unborn babies are human lives. Abortion is the killing of another human being. The unborn baby must be recognized formally as a human life before birth,...
Editorial: Audits are where school districts have to show their work
Hear the word “audit,” and you tend to think about your taxes. It’s that process everyone dreads when filling out the annual return — having the Internal Revenue Service crawl through every number, line by line, to find mistakes. The personal fear makes it seem like a bad word. It...
Letter to the editor: Arming our schools
After the horrific Uvalde school shooting, Americans demand radical reform. The letter “Solution to school shootings” said, “Make every school a hard target with one entrance with an armed guard and a metal detector; keep all other doors locked. Protect a school like a Tiffany jewelry store. Allow teachers with...
John Stossel: Biden’s real deficit
The president now brags that he cut the deficit! “We’re on track,” he says, to have “the biggest decline in a single year ever in American history.” It’s actually true. But utterly deceitful. President Biden’s deficit will be down from last year, but that’s only because he spent such gargantuan...
Joshua Windham and Daryl James: Fight for right to work from home
Travelers shop online for short-term vacation rentals. They browse listings, compare rates and make inquiries on sites like Airbnb — sometimes from thousands of miles away. Nobody needs a brick-and-mortar office to close a deal. Sally Ladd, who managed five short-term rental properties in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, worked remotely without...
Jonah Goldberg: Jan. 6 committee a symptom of our democracy’s failure — and maybe a means of its salvation
On Thursday, the Jan. 6 committee will make its televised primetime debut, some 519 days after the event that gave the committee its name and purpose. For its ardent supporters, the committee’s mission is nothing less than an effort to save democracy. For its harshest critics, it’s both a waste...
Letter to the editor: Pa. should give us a 2-month income tax holiday
I recently read that Pennsylvania has $2 billion in American Rescue Plan funding sitting in a bank account. This is approximately two months of income taxes withheld by employers on their workers’ wages. I recommend that the state grant a two-month income tax-withholding holiday and instruct employers not to withhold...
Letter to the editor: A return to Christ would solve world’s problems
I am tired of listening to all the politicians from President Biden to local councilmen and commissioners stating what must be done to correct our country and the world. No man or woman has the answers to the sinful condition the world is in, from mass shootings to gang violence,...
Letter to the editor: PACT Act would provide care veterans need
I have the honor to serve as the commander of the Department of Pennsylvania, Veterans of Foreign Wars. In that position I have a duty to help educate our citizens regarding what is really needed for our veterans. I now ask everyone to contact their senators to support the PACT...
Editorial: Police and mayoral departures show public services needs
“They didn’t feel they were appreciated.” That’s what Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert told WESA in July 2021. He was talking about how his officers were retiring, resigning or otherwise leaving their jobs. He attributed it largely to taking other law enforcement jobs. On May 27, Schubert announced he was...
Letter to the editor: Pharmacists should be able to vaccinate
Our world has changed dramatically, and we must do everything we can to ensure Pennsylvania communities have quick and ample access to vaccinations. During the pandemic, the federal government estimates that pharmacies provided more than two of every three covid-19 vaccine doses to Americans. A recent study by the Journal...
Letter to the editor: Enough is enough — we need action on guns
Gun violence is now the leading cause of death in children (“Gunfire taking toll on children,” June 1). On May 24, 19 children were massacred in school — where we expect kids to be safe and cared for. Enough! We deserve to live in communities that are safe and secure,...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: ‘Real ’ conservatives are about 30 years too late
Where were you when we needed you? That’s my blanket response to a persistent trickle of emails from readers who keep asking me to, in effect, stop using the word “conservative” when I mean “crazy.” Or “fascist.” Or “mean.” Which is to say that these people, most of whom would...
Peter Morici: Draft decision banning abortion shouldn’t cheer conservatives or originalists
Much of what has been said about Justice Samuel Alito’s draft majority decision striking down the constitutional guarantee for abortion is simply false. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett did not lie during their confirmation hearings. They stated Roe (1973) and Casey (1992) — which established a...
Mike Butler: Pittsburgh International Airport model for how to ease emissions
If anyone wonders what the airport of the future might look like, the Pittsburgh International Airport is a great example. For that, we must applaud the imaginative Allegheny County Airport Authority. It is taking two related paths to showcase how Pennsylvania’s second-largest airport can protect the environment while also raising...
