Opinion category, Page 392
Colin McNickle: The jobs, Right-to-Work & public-sector union nexus
Recently released March 2022 private-sector employment data show the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has failed to recover to the pre-pandemic level of March 2019. And new research by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy shows that Right-to-Work MSAs have performed better than Non-Right-to-Work MSAs, those that compel workers...
Michael Torres: Pa.’s constitutional conundrum
Pennsylvania is experiencing a constitutional conundrum. State legislators, primarily Republicans, have proposed nearly 80 constitutional amendments in the last year, many on politically contentious issues ranging from abortion to voter identification. The allure of these amendments, which don’t need the governor’s signature, among Republicans is instigating growing distress among elected...
Peter Morici: The coming crisis in judicial appointments
The country is headed for a train wreck on judicial appointments. President Trump appointed 228 federal district and appellate judges and three Supreme Court justices, and with the help of the Federalist Society, pushed the judiciary harder to the right. Now, President Biden is taking the courts in the opposite...
Letter to the editor: Defending Fetterman
The depiction of John Fetterman in the April 28 political cartoon of the Democratic candidates is as close as we have ever come to canceling our subscription. In my opinion, it did not belong there, but since it was, you need to publish his side for balance. Had it been...
Letter to the editor: Putin going to hell
When Vladimir Putin dies, he will be rudely awakened that he has gone to hell. Mark Zink Youngwood...
Letter to the editor: What will Republicans do for us?
All I hear from the Republicans about taking over the majority after the midterms is what revenge they will take. They say they will fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, impeach President Biden, impose more voting restrictions, go after Hunter Biden, etc., etc. Maybe throw in Hillary again. They love that. What...
Letter to the editor: Save the middle class — don’t vote left
In just 14 months, President Biden, Democrats and the Marxist elites have taken our country from prosperity, security and economic boom to a disaster and a potential major recession and world war. Seldom in the history of the USA has the middle class accumulated so much wealth as we did...
Editorial: Is the Real ID deadline real this time?
You have to have a Real ID. You need to get one by May 3, 2023. No kidding this time. On Monday, PennDOT laid down the law about the federally required super-identification. “Although a year seems like a long time to get ready, the deadline will be upon us before...
John Stossel: Government is stealing homes
Did you know that in some states, if you miss one tax payment, local politicians will take your home, sell it and keep all the profits? Really. Tawanda Hall was behind on her taxes. She was on a payment plan but had missed $900. She didn’t expect Southfield, Mich., to...
Cal Thomas: The end of Roe, and what it could mean
Chief Justice John Roberts has confirmed the accuracy of a leaked document that revealed an initial majority vote to overturn Roe vs, Wade. In that memo, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the 1973 case overturning restrictive state abortion laws was “egregiously wrong from the start.” So where do the 64...
Jonah Goldberg: Twitter used to correct the narrative. Now it writes the narrative.
“What is the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?” the president of the United States asked 10 years ago at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. “A pit bull is delicious.” Of course, to echo E.B. White: Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it...
Letter to the editor: Remembering St. Xavier fire
I remember well the fire at St. Xavier Academy 50 years ago (“Former Catholic academy in Unity could see rebirth as nature preserve,” April 22, TribLIVE). As usual, I was leaving from home in New Alexandria to pick up my two young daughters at school there. As I came close,...
Letter to the editor: Can killers be reformed, forgiven?
To letter-writer Keith Kondrich (“If we respect life, we must end death penalty,” April 25, TribLIVE): Did you know that the U.S. has more prison inmates than China, Russia and Japan, just to name a few? How can you reform a personality that has no respect or compassion for life?...
Editorial: The decision that matters on Roe v. Wade
Every Pennsylvania voter will have his or her say if a leaked document from the U.S. Supreme Court, indeed, alters the landscape of abortion in this country. The document is a draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito, a George W. Bush appointee now in his 16th year and known as...
Letter to the editor: Radar about revenue, not safety
Regarding the letter “North Park no place for speeders” (April 22, TribLIVE): The public has been misinformed about radar and “speeding.” Radar should be banned in Pennsylvania and not extended to municipal police. There is no epidemic crisis of speeding. Speed is a cause of accidents 5% of the time,...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Right wing creates God in its own image
“I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in … .” — Matthew 25:43 A few words on creating God. Last week, Right Wing Watch, the liberal watchdog group, flagged online video of a recent interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene by one Michael Voris of Church Militant,...
Kristie Weiland Stagno: Building back for justice requires expanded Child Tax Credit
Who is most likely to be poor in America? Children. Their pre-pandemic poverty rate of 1 in 7 exceeds that of most developed nations. During the 2022 tax season that ended last month, many low-income families rejoiced over their refunds, but the celebration was bittersweet. A key tax break to...
Gordon Tomb: Disconnected politicians lose those who ‘vote their jobs’
After a protracted battle with lawmakers, Gov. Tom Wolf’s unilateral push to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) now moves forward. At risk are tens of thousands of jobs, including private union jobs held by people that contributed to his reelection in 2018. It’s a strange reality amid the...
Letter to the editor: How about a special day for families?
With this crazy world of special days, why can’t we have a special day for wives, husbands and especially families? R. Patrick Campbell Unity...
Letter to the editor: Strangled by green tape
In 2020, Nancy Pelosi blocked passage of a much-needed infrastructure bill to assure that President Trump would fail in its enactment. When President Biden took office, infrastructure spending suddenly became very important as Democrats stretched the “infrastructure” definition to include social programs and “green” projects rather than more typical spending...
Letter to the editor: The cost of fossil fuels
The Biden administration’s infrastructure plan that includes addressing the dangers of abandoned mines is great news for Pennsylvania. For too long we have had to deal with the negative aftermath of mines. Abandoned mine runoff is the primary cause of water quality issues in Pennsylvania. In Westmoreland County we have...
Editorial: Does bail work the way it should?
What is bail? You might think you know even if you have no experience with the criminal justice system because you have watched television and read mystery novels. You have heard the word. You’ve used the expression “bailed out.” But bail is not quite what “Law & Order” would have...
Tom Purcell: Let’s unleash the entrepreneur
I started my first business in the fifth grade when I convinced a neighbor to allow me to cut her grass with her electric lawn mower. That project ended in immediate failure. The mower was powered by a long extension cord — a cord I ran over and sliced in...
Sheldon Jacobson: The dark side of gerrymandering
Most states have already finalized their new congressional maps, with candidates jockeying to gain their party’s nomination, and hopefully win a seat in the 118th Congress during the upcoming November midterm election. Ohio is bucking this trend, with the first Republican supported map invalidated by the state’s Supreme Court back...
Alexander Motyl: U.S. never considered Ukraine a vital interest, until Putin’s ambitions changed that
President Joe Biden and NATO allies in Europe are trying to help Ukraine fight off Russian aggression — but not so much that Russia will retaliate militarily against them. These leaders’ deliberations and calibrations are all taking place against a fundamental background question: Is Ukraine a vital interest to my...
