Opinion category, Page 405
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Putin reminds us of how we fight evil
It is a question as old as time, one for which there is no universally acceptable answer. Because of Vladimir Putin and his savage invasion of Ukraine, it is a question that is front and center again: How could there be such evil in this world? “Evil” is the only...
Sounding off: Book bans show that parents are concerned
The article “Hempfield is latest district to face book ban challenge” leads the reader to a conclusion that book challenges are wrong. The article states that 330 challenges were made in the last three months of 2021 compared with 156 in 2020, according to the American Library Association. What does...
Rep. Kerry Benninghoff: Pa. should take lead in hitting Russia in its budget
Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine has opened the eyes of the world to the true intentions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It has also demonstrated the economic impact that can be made when democratic nations come together against those who do not share a commitment to national sovereignty and individual...
Greg Fulton: Diversity visa ‘lottery’ shows that we’re all lottery winners
Many of us dream of winning the Powerball or Megamillions jackpots and fantasize what we would do with the money — quit our jobs, travel to foreign places, buy a new car, help out family and friends, support our favorite charities. Few of us, though, realize that we already have...
Kyle Herrig: Blame greed for rising prices
Americans paying more at the grocery store and gas pump are told that supply-chain issues related to the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian war against Ukraine are fully to blame. But, in truth, corporate executives are also exploiting these crises to make record profits and line their pockets. Take the...
Letter to the editor: George Will’s Trump bashing
George Will’s column “A stray orange hair to be flicked off the nation’s sleeve” (March 6) used the surname Trump 15 times, but no mention of the floundering current administration. Will is already working on 2024. I would rather be called a Trump poodle than a Biden basset hound. Donald...
Letter to the editor: Biden moving backwards on immigration efforts
Letter-writer John Meyer (“The border is not ‘open,’ ” March 20, TribLIVE) states “this administration has maintained the border policies of the previous administration.” This is false. President Biden, in his first hours in office, signed numerous immigration-related executive orders and administration policy changes, one of which was to end the...
Editorial: A nomination isn’t a political promise
There is a difference between an appointment and a nomination. In an appointment, a government leader is able to place someone in a position with nothing more than their own say-so. Pick a chief of staff or a press secretary? That’s completely up to a governor or senator. A nomination...
Letter to the editor: Invest federal funds in lands, waters to boost economy
It has been almost a year since the American Rescue Plan Act became law, providing federal funding to boost state economies and help people recover from the financial toll of covid lockdowns. Now, the General Assembly is considering legislation that would prioritize using a portion of that funding to invest...
Gary Franks: Republicans have traditionally supported Black SCOTUS candidates; are you surprised?
History shows that Republican senators have supported Black candidates for the Supreme Court at a far better rate than Democrats. The list is very short: Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas. President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, nominated the first Black to serve on the Supreme Court in 1967. The Democrats had...
S.E. Cupp: Putin’s American pals
A man is known by the company he keeps. The origin of that well-worn line is a fable by Aesop called, fittingly, “The Ass and His Purchaser.” As it goes, a man brings a new donkey home, and when he sees that it chooses to sidle up next to “the...
John Eckenrode: Staffing at Pa. state prisons creating dangerous conditions
Everywhere you turn, workers are in great demand. From restaurants and retail stores to manufacturing plants and hospitals, employers need more staff to make sure their operations run safely and efficiently. Nowhere is the need for more staff more critical than in our state prisons. Our corrections officers stand between...
Colin McNickle: Kill the ‘presence’ tax and economize Pittsburgh’s finances
Everything old suddenly appeared to be new again recently with a Pittsburgh City Council proposal to tax consumers of higher education and medical services. But although that measure now appears to be moot, the situation represents a golden opportunity for state legislators to amend the law that allows for such...
Letter to the editor: Book ban hypocrisy
It is curious that those who are most vocal about “parents’ rights” and keeping government out of parental decisions are the ones who want to ban books. They are asking government to do their job, abdicating their own responsibilities. If they don’t want their children to read something, why do...
Letter to the editor: Let’s tell the truth about racism
In the article “Norwin director claims assignment on racism was critical race theory teaching,” Shawna Illagan accused a district teacher of “political indoctrination” because she questioned students about whether or not systemic racism exists in America. She claimed the teacher’s interpretation of critical race theory was “one sided.” Systemic racism...
Lori Falce: ‘Woman’ transcends a simple definition
“Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman?’” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson this question Tuesday during the Senate judiciary committee confirmation hearings. There have been less obvious traps in Scooby Doo cartoons. Blackburn clearly wanted to coax Jackson to the edge...
Letter to the editor: Durham’s filings revealing
The current media drumbeat is that nothing new in the Russian collusion scandal can be learned from Special Counsel John Durham’s filings. That’s not true. In a recent filing, Durham says that a private contractor, Rodney Joffe of Neustar, collected internet data from surveillance of Trump Tower and the White...
Laurels & lances: Plays, rides and bugs
Laurel: To curtains going up. All over Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, things are a little dramatic right now. It is the height of spring musical season, and in middle schools and high schools across the region, kids are being nipped by the acting bug. This is the kind of contagion...
Gene Barr: Probation reform a solution to Pa.’s workforce crisis
For over a century the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry has advocated for policies that help make Pennsylvania a first-rate state, attract investment and strengthen our communities. Today, we are focused particularly on policies to address workforce shortages that are holding back our economy and preventing employers from recovering....
Peter Harris: Madeleine Albright saw US as an ‘indispensable nation’ and NATO expansion eastward as essential
Madeleine Albright may have not coined the phrase “indispensable nation,” but she will always be associated with the concept. By the time she became secretary of state in 1997, the United States had become a beached superpower. During the Cold War, its forces had been deployed across the world for...
Jennie Sweet-Cushman: Women are worthy of your votes
This week, America watched while Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced the Senate Judiciary Committee’s questioning in a confirmation hearing that could lead to her being named the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson brings with her a wealth of judicial experience, having...
Jonah Goldberg: In today’s media, attacks from the left benefit its right-wing targets — and vice versa
You know who benefits the most from liberal media bias? Conservatives. I spent much of the last 25 years writing about liberal media bias. Heck, I grew up on the stuff. My father, a longtime editor, used to joke that he “worked behind enemy lines.” He’d often tutor me about...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s integrity
Thank you, President Biden, for having the honor and integrity to nix making military aid to beleaguered Ukraine contingent on the heroic President Volodymyr Zelensky providing dirt on a political opponent. Oren Spiegler Peters...
Letter to the editor: Bradshaw the greatest quarterback?
The writer of the letter “Bradshaw, not Roethlisberger, the greatest quarterback” (Feb. 22, TribLIVE) said people forget that Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls. The writer needs to be informed that Bradshaw was only one of nine Hall of Fame players who played in their prime the same time the...
Letter to the editor: Banning books leads to burning books
On the recent St. Patrick’s Day, the sun warmed the winter ground as the brown grass started to turn green. It reminded me of the centuries-old love of literature and poetry and books. In Armagh, Ireland, above the door of the 1771 library, an inscription reads “The healing place of...
