Opinion category, Page 399
Letter to the editor: Biden failing us on the border
Has President Biden fallen asleep? Does he not realize that he is failing the American people regarding the border? Our government calls for hearings for Supreme Court nominees, and hearings regarding gas companies reaping profits, so why not call for the president of the United States to appear at a...
Paul Kengor: Since when are GOATS the greatest?
One of the weirdest things to hit the sports and pop-culture lexicon is this strange acronym GOAT. It’s a real headscratcher. Frankly, it’s dumb, and it needs to go away. You probably know what I’m talking about, given the sad saturation of social media. This GOAT thing stands for Greatest...
Laurels & lances: Clean woods, dirty mouths
Laurel: To cleaning up. Boy Scouts learn a lot about how to interact with the environment. One of their top priorities is to “leave no trace.” But when Troop 284 of Irwin spent some time in a wooded area of North Huntingdon, it was obvious they had been there —...
William Haupt III: Biden hides border moves behind Russia-Ukraine crisis
“The best way to conceal the truth is to hide it behind something of less significance.” – Confucius In 2008 during the Great Recession, Barack Obama hammered an $800 billion stimulus bill though Congress. Those who actually read it found it was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It had little...
Letter to the editor: Why the green energy rush?
I don’t understand this headlong rush into green energy even before the country has the ability to manufacture components of renewable energy. Nine of 10 of the largest makers of solar panels and six of 10 of the largest windmill makers in the world are Chinese. Europe has three of...
Letter to the editor: Residents not to blame for poor housing conditions
I believe the Westmoreland County Housing Authority continues to blame residents of subsidized housing for deteriorating facilities while sweeping growing complaints under the rug. Issues reported include accessible elevators that do not work, mold, poor water and sewage systems, bug infestations, old, malfunctioning appliances and broken HVAC systems that can...
Letter to the editor: Take a stand for freedom
Regarding Kathleen Bollinger’s letter “Let Ukraine, Russia duke it out”: In 1992, Ukraine signed the Lisbon Protocol, part of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Ukraine (along with Belarus and Kazakhstan) agreed to give up the Soviet-era nuclear weapons on its territory, making them a threat to no...
Jonah Goldberg: France’s election shows how political parties can fade away
Perhaps the most interesting thing about last weekend’s French election isn’t who won, but who lost — and what it might mean for America. French President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party won enough of the vote — 27.8% and 23.2% respectively — to head...
Christopher Redding, Allison Gilmour, Elizabeth Bettini and Tuan Nguyen: Why most teachers won’t leave the profession
Every spring, school and district leaders ask teachers about their plans to return to teaching in the fall. They need to know how many teachers to begin recruiting for the next school year. These career conversations are currently taking place under the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the covid-19 pandemic....
Eric Pauley: Mismanaged cloud services put user data at risk
Organizations’ failure to properly manage the servers they lease from cloud service providers can allow attackers to receive private data, research my colleagues and I conducted has shown. Cloud computing allows businesses to lease servers the same way they lease office space. It’s easier for companies to build and maintain...
Letter to the editor: Examining behavior of world leaders
Microbes have it rough. People kill them with disinfectants, remorselessly, as if their little lives were of no importance. Some of them are really warm, special, talented creatures. Open your heart. Using an electron microscope, I’ve been keeping company with some scintillating bacteria. Who would have thought spirochetes and streptococci...
Letter to the editor: Obligations to fellow citizens, not government
Regarding the letter “Government a virtue, not a burden” (March 27, TribLIVE): “Government is a virtue” might apply to Marx or Engels, but not lovers of liberty. We understand that it’s a necessary evil. But our obligations to our country are to our fellow citizens. Our obligations to government are...
Editorial: Does Pittsburgh’s plastic bag ban steal other municipalities’ choices?
The good thing about living near a big city is you get the benefits of events like concerts that would never come to a town of 2,000 people or sports teams that provide a reason to cheer on a Sunday afternoon. The down side can be that proximity can take...
Letter to the editor: Politicians can, but don’t, do something about gas prices
I’m getting a little tired of politicians telling us Americans that they’re doing all they can to solve a problem, knowing they’re not, or just lying. Example: Gas prices have skyrocketed. I don’t care why, I just know the president/governor/politicians most definitely can do more, such as an executive order...
Letter to the editor: Energy choice means progress on environment, economy
The op-ed “Pa. communities should be allowed to choose clean energy” (April 7, TribLIVE) neglected to mention just why the United States has led the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and fails to mention the costs of burdensome government mandates and mischaracterized legislative proposals. First, Pennsylvania’s embrace of competitive...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Americans have lost the willingness, ability to share a common national identity
We don’t need more unity. Apologies to Sean Penn, who last week made an earnest case for that virtue in an appearance with — of all people — Sean Hannity on Fox “News.” The actor was discussing “what I experienced emotionally” in Ukraine, where he had been filming a documentary...
Rebecca Oyler: Truck drivers are vital and deserve respect
A couple of years ago, it was toilet paper. But now, it’s more sporadic — maybe you’ve had to buy a different brand of coffee or forgo your favorite candy. But as supply chain disruptions continue, imagine what it would be like with no options on the shelves: no fresh...
David Thornburgh: High stakes in Pa.’s primary races
Pennsylvania, where deep-blue and deep-red politics collide, is in the midst of an unprecedented primary election season. The May primary is the first one in the commonwealth’s 235-year history in which voters — except registered independents — will have the chance to vote for candidates in open gubernatorial and U.S....
Letter to the editor: Tackling Pa.’s litter problem
A 2018-19 survey found that there are approximately 502.5 million pieces of litter in Pennsylvania, much of it single-use items such as plastic water bottles and cigarette butts. Litter affects Pennsylvania’s property values, meaning less people are choosing to live in Pennsylvania. Here are some ways to help solve our...
Letter to the editor: Shapiro will continue to help Pennsylvanians
With so many global issues impacting household expenses, I am grateful for the real solutions recently introduced by Attorney General Josh Shapiro that will bring real relief to my family. As a mom of five, I have watched meat, milk and fruit, our staples, skyrocket over the last two years....
Editorial: Elected officials need to work civilly
Elected officials are only human. They make mistakes. They have disagreements. They can get angry, just like anybody else. But representing their communities is a job they all sign up to do and, like any job, it should be done with respect for co-workers. So the proposed censure of Allegheny...
Letter to the editor: Let’s discuss gun violence instead of Will Smith
For two weeks, America has been scandalized by the violent smack at the Academy Awards. A plethora of news articles, opinion pieces and Twitter comments have been unleashed. We are shocked to the core by this violent act. Since the March 27 event, there have been 18 mass shootings in...
Tom Purcell: Learning to appreciate the regular flu
I recommend the seasonal flu — but please allow me to explain. About a week ago, I felt suddenly rundown and weak. I just wanted to lie down. I thought nothing of it at the time. My family is facing some difficulties at the moment, difficulties we all must face...
Jennifer Miller and Heather Taylor: Congress must continue work to feed hungry children
Late last summer, the dedicated staff and volunteers who run church food pantries across our region noticed something was missing: families with kids. The parents and grandparents who had relied on these pantries to feed their children throughout the pandemic had disappeared. They weren’t dropping in for bags of macaroni...
Robert Peacock: Lessons from Ukraine on cyberattacks
In 2014, as Russia launched a proxy war in Eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea, and in the years that followed, Russian hackers hammered Ukraine. The cyberattacks went so far as to knock out the power grid in parts of the country in 2015. Russian hackers stepped up their efforts against...
