Opinion category, Page 396
Point: The legislative filibuster is destroying Congress
Close your eyes and let your imagination transport you back to the ninth grade. Do you remember a teacher standing at the front of a classroom explaining the three branches of government? Division of power? Checks and balances? Me, too! But I’m increasingly concerned that many of our elected officials...
Counterpoint: The filibuster is not the problem
President Biden’s agenda has stalled on Capitol Hill, where Democrats have been unable to overcome Republican opposition in the Senate to pass bills such as the Build Back Better Act and voting rights reform. Democrats are increasingly concerned that failure to pass more of their legislative agenda before November’s midterm...
Colin McNickle: Serious public education questions in Pa.
New research from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy documents how poor PSSA scores presage poor Keystone Exam scores in Pennsylvania. But it also prompts two critical questions: Do such achievement test results point to a massive failure of the commonwealth’s educational establishment and/or are the tests too difficult and...
Letter to the editor: Obama, Biden responsible for war in Ukraine
Presidents Obama and Biden must share responsibility for the war in Ukraine. In 2014, Putin walked into Crimea without a shot being fired. This came after Obama told Russia’s president at the time to tell Putin (then prime minister) he would have “more flexibility” after he won the 2012 election....
Letter to the editor: Attacks on thought, free speech
I have read a number of Trib stories recently outlining controversies over local school districts’ curricula. There has been criticism of parents’ efforts to prevent the use of materials deemed by them as not appropriate for their children. This has been decried as “censorship” equivalent to book burnings by liberals...
Editorial: What should be regulated with Airbnb rentals?
In the early hours of Easter Sunday, a party at an Airbnb rental in Pittsburgh’s North Side turned from a noisy nuisance into a bloody gunfight with hundreds of people running for their lives. Two 17-year-olds died. Nine others suffered gunshots. Five more were injured as they fled. By Tuesday,...
Letter to the editor: Voice of Westmoreland works to improve lives
In his letter “Actions speak louder than words”, Bill Herald suggests that Voice of Westmoreland, a nonpartisan grassroots group, should bring the homeless and mentally ill into their homes instead of writing letters. Herald glosses over the security and liability issues involved in individuals attempting to take on this responsibility....
Gary Franks: Jackie Robinson broke a long tradition, and not just in baseball
Last week we all witnessed the 75th anniversary of the breaking of the color barrier in sports by Jackie Robinson. This was one of the most momentous events in American history as it changed — via sports — the lives of all Americans. There was a time when Black participation...
S.E. Cupp: Is the New York I used to know gone for good?
As a 20- and 30-something young woman living in Manhattan some years ago, the city felt like my playground. Virtually nowhere was off-limits, too unfriendly or unsafe to visit. The Theater District for plays. The Lower East Side for live music. Harlem for soul food. The Bronx for Italian. Queens...
Nathan Benefield: Stagnant Pa. economy requires real business-tax reform
In his final annual budget address, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a major reduction in the state’s corporate income tax. Wolf’s tax-cut plan may come as a surprise to some, considering his liberal bona fides, and has been lauded by business groups desperate for relief from the second-highest business tax...
Tom Hogan: Cities must respond to dirt-bike crisis
In recent years, big cities have been plagued by roving packs of young men on dirt bikes and ATVs who ignore traffic laws and terrorize the streets. Residents are asking how to fix this problem — but they are asking the wrong question. They need to ask, rather, if controlling...
Bruce Cooper and Harry Hochheiser: For Earth Day, put a price on carbon
Last year, during his Earth Day Summit, President Joe Biden said, “The United States sets out on the road to cut greenhouse gasses in half by the end of this decade. That’s where we’re headed as a nation, and that’s what we can do, if we take action to build...
Letter to the editor: Democrats’ answer to high gas prices
To all you fine working-class folks having trouble with the skyrocketing price of gas, your “compassionate” Democrats have a friendly message for you: Quit whining and buy a $60,000 electric car already. Jeff Novotny Mesa, Ariz....
Letter to the editor: North Park no place for speeders
I ride Lake Shore Drive in North Park almost daily from Ingomar Road to the boathouse and back. I do two trips. It’s a great place to ride, well maintained, and even the restrooms and portable toilets are meticulously clean. The problem is traffic exceeding the speed limit, even with...
Letter to the editor: Presidential guessing game
Who doesn’t love guessing games? So, guess which silver-tongued orator said this: “Inflation doesn’t exist. Inflation is temporary. Inflation is transitory. Inflation will be going away. Inflation is Trump’s fault. Inflation is the greedy oil companies’ fault. Inflation is Putin’s fault.” Stumped? OK, maybe this will help. Who has criticized...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland’s public housing needs attention
“Home is where the heart is.” “There is no place like home.” “Home sweet home.” There are hundreds of quotes and song lyrics expressing the importance of “home.” However, if my home was in one of Westmoreland County’s public housing buildings, I don’t think I would feel “there is no...
Lori Falce: We could all be these parents
Where are the parents? Since Sunday, when Jaiden Za’mar Brown of North Braddock and Mathew Steffy-Ross of Pitcairn were shot and killed at a party on Pittsburgh’s North Side, I have heard that phrase repeated several times. I feel it each time like a punch I see coming and have...
Letter to the editor: Nurses deserve better
Think about this: You take a job as a nurse and you work one day afternoon shift, then the next day daylight shift, then the third day you work the midnight shift (not the same 8-hour shift all week). Either you have little time to rest between shifts or twice...
Letter to the editor: We must learn from history so we’re not doomed
Regarding the article “Small-dollar donors fuel Trump’s $19M haul in first quarter” (April 17): The Republicans’ only message lately seems to be looking in the rearview mirror. For decades, they have been trying to snatch away our rights (voting, civil, human, environmental) with nothing to replace them. They seem to...
Laurels & lances: Football and fumbles
Laurel: To the best return in football. After two seasons away, the Pittsburgh Steelers gave fans a return to normalcy with an announcement Wednesday. The team plans to return to its longtime training camp location at Saint Vincent College near Latrobe. It was welcome news for the community, too. For...
Letter to the editor: Philadelphia masks an election ploy?
Why is Philadelphia requiring masks again when other cities aren’t? The midterms are coming up and without Philly, the state could turn conservative. They know their liberal base will stay home because a lot are not vaccinated and fear the virus and the mask will make them feel safe to...
Letter to the editor: Conservatives have reason to be skeptical of media
The print edition headline on Leonard Pitts Jr.’s column “No more common national identity” is correct, but his conclusions are wrong. Not one for introspection, he of course blames conservatives. Apparently with a straight face he states, “The average Republican trusts almost no mainstream source of information.“ With mainstream media...
Editorial: Earth Day is no time for politics
Happy Earth Day to you — all of you. On Friday, we will celebrate the annual event that brings attention to the planet and the way people impact it. It’s a holiday born on April 22, 1970. For more than 50 years, the day has served to spotlight the many...
Letter to the editor: PSEA serves its members, students well
I write to voice my strong support for my union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). I was troubled to read Joseph P. Ferguson’s letter criticizing PSEA (“PSEA leadership should be challenged,” April 2) based on vague claims that the union wasn’t aggressive enough. The PSEA I know has always...
Letter to the editor: Americans gullible when it comes to Bidens
It’s amazing how gullible the American people are, especially when it comes to believing everything that a group pretending to be the Democratic Party says and does. These people seem to be the new means to end this country as we know it, led by “the big man.” Oh, don’t...
