Opinion category, Page 414
Keith Oldewurtel: Setting record straight on Veolia’s work in Pittsburgh
In response to the outrageous and misguided op-ed “The story of Pittsburgh’s water” by Jennifer Rafanan Kennedy and Taifa Smith Butler “The Story of Pittsburgh’s Water,” Veolia North America would like to state that we wholeheartedly agree with the desire of the authors to put the interests and safety of...
Letter to the editor: Question candidates about election, Jan. 6
Journalists need to ask candidates two fundamental questions: 1. Was Joe Biden legitimately elected Nov. 3, 2020, in a free and fair election? 2. Were the events of Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol “legitimate political discourse,” or were they a violent insurrection aimed at preventing the peaceful transfer...
Letter to the editor: Pulling good books, but allowing TikTok
So, how dumb are we when we pull a book from the classrooms, and it flies off the shelves of Amazon and booksellers? What do we accomplish? The same scenario applies to Dr. Seuss. Seriously? Children are glued to their iPads and can pull up a host of unworthy materials...
Letter to the editor: Explanation needed on Hempfield firefighter future
I encourage the tax-paying citizens of Hempfield Township to contact the supervisors for a detailed explanation of the cost to taxpayers and what will be gained and lost, as I believe their plans are to move away from a volunteer fire department and establish a paid department. Public records report...
Editorial: State police shouldn’t be above scrutiny of outside investigations
The Pennsylvania State Police don’t believe they should be subject to anyone else’s interpretation of how they do their job. State Police Commissioner Robert Evanchick responded to a recommendation from the Pennsylvania State Law Enforcement Advisory Commission that an outside agency investigate when deaths or injuries caused by a state...
Letter to the editor: U.S. must follow lead of other countries in protecting our votes
For those who do not know how other democracies treat voting laws, here are the facts. Forty-six of 47 European countries require government-issued photo ID to vote. The United Kingdom is the exception, but the British Parliament is considering a nationwide voter ID requirement, which will make photo ID a...
Letter to the editor: ESG standards will hurt Americans
Recent trends of banking institutions and investment firms adopting ESG scoring should disturb small and medium-sized businesses and the public at large. ESG (environment, social, governance) scoring is a metric standard devised by the world’s largest banks and the World Economic Forum to determine how closely corporations are following the...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 28
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 28....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 28
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 28....
Mona Charen: How Democrats can save themselves
On Tuesday, President Biden will deliver his first State of the Union speech. He might want to consider some advice from two political analysts who have a track record of success. In 1989, William Galston (my esteemed colleague on the “Beg to Differ” podcast) and Elaine Kamarck, both of the...
Letter to the editor: ‘Believers’ should be our real concern
I was just thinkin’ … Do Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping want to die? Hell no! They are nonbelievers in an afterlife. They love exquisite food, top-shelf booze, fun times and, no doubt, women. Americans’ real concern should be very old men who are “believers” and can’t...
Letter to the editor: Ashamed of those who won’t face race reality
All my life I have seen, personally and by reading responsibly, how wrongly people of color are treated in this country, in spite of laws to the contrary. I am white, 89 years of age, but I can see, hear, and judge the hateful speech and actions of misguided white...
Letter to the editor: Brackenridge hero banners heartwarming
In August 2021, as we drove through the old stomping grounds of Brackenridge on our way to visit friends, we noticed the nice “Hometown Heroes” banners affixed to many telephone poles. This was very heartwarming, something our local military men and women deserve. Great job, Brackenridge! This made us explore...
Letter to the editor: Canceling Christ
Rather than blaming the amorphous “cancel culture” for undermining the message and mission of Christ, perhaps we Christians should do a little self-reflection on how we, ourselves, cancel Christ on a regular basis. We cancel Christ when we demonize immigrants and refugees seeking safe asylum. We cancel Christ when we...
Editorial: 95% vaccinated number seems absurdly high
It is hard to get 95% of Pennsylvanians to walk in step for anything. Pennsylvania is a perennial swing state because it is a state divided on almost everything. Steelers versus Eagles. Pitt versus Penn State. Sheetz versus Wawa. And there is no deeper divide than the political. It isn’t...
Letter to the editor: Bright headlights create hazards for other drivers
Driving at night is becoming so much more difficult because of vehicles being manufactured with LED headlights. When these lights are coming toward you, or if you are sitting at a stoplight with them facing you or behind you in your rearview mirror, you are blinded. Whoever came up with...
Letter to the editor: Supreme Court needs diversity
Negative tropes being used to critique President Biden’s decision to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Black woman, to the Supreme Court may be missing the point (“Biden demonstrating his racism again,” Feb. 19, TribLIVE). In these bitterly divisive times, when our self-serving legislative and executive branches are increasingly irrelevant, the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The path ahead for Mayor Gainey
Like most newly elected chief executives, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is entitled to a bit of a political honeymoon. But soon after his swearing-in, it became clear that there is no time for a grace period, because Gainey’s first two months have been full of surprises — none of them...
Sounding off: Founding Fathers may have anticipated turmoil of political parties
There must be a reason the Founding Fathers did not place any mention of political parties in the Constitution. Perhaps it was just something that never came up in their discussions. Perhaps in their wisdom, they anticipated that something like a political party might grow too powerful and become a...
Letter to the editor: Democrats, the party of lies
Letter-writer Oren Spiegler’s comments indicate to me that his brain is wired backwards (“Republicans, the party of lies,” Feb. 12, TribLIVE). The Party of Lies is the Democratic Party. The investigation of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol is a farce. The Republicans chose Reps. Jim Jordon and Jim...
Editorial: Redistricting map wasn’t court’s job, but someone had to do it
Politics once was like two people negotiating a real estate deal. The seller would present the house in its best light — baking cookies so it smelled homey, sprucing up the front porch and hiding the water damage from that leaky roof — all while asking for the highest price...
Letter to the editor: Virtual connections are vital for small businesses
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. We realize that many small businesses have experienced challenges over the past two years. However, working with small business owners every day, I see that they are quick to recover, too, when they utilize the right tools. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s...
Letter to the editor: Underground power lines can eliminate power outages
I worked as a planner in Florida for many years, where hurricanes caused major power outages. Although moving power lines underground couldn’t work everywhere (parts of Florida have very high groundwater areas that present challenges), even the small town of Winter Park (where Fred Rogers attended Rollins College) decided to...
S.E. Cupp: Conservatism is over. ‘Conservatives’ admit it.
The Conservative Political Action Conference, better known as CPAC, falls every year around my birthday. In fact, I turned many of my 20s and 30s while nerding out at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington at panels with people like Fred Barnes, Bill Kristol and Jonah Goldberg. I went because...
Gary Franks: With Russia, prevention beats sanctions
The best way to stop a war is to prevent it from starting. We are failing here. Prevention beats punishment anytime with the former saving lives and the latter doing the opposite. Terms of engagement in conflicts with nations that are formidable does not usually include punishment or sending a...
