Opinion category, Page 427
Lisa Fox: Raising awareness of human trafficking can save lives
“Never has a parent wished they would have been less protective of their missing child.” Those are the words of my colleague, Bill Hickman, CEO of CSI Corporate Security and Investigations . Bill often works with families whose children have gone missing in human trafficking schemes. With January being named...
Letter to the editor: Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver more than food
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to the people involved in Meals on Wheels. It isn’t just the food they deliver. Some seniors spend their days never seeing or speaking to another person. That tap on the door, a “hi” or a wave, knowing someone cares enough to...
Letter to the editor: Comparing presidential competence
If you voted for the guy who: 1. Used a Sharpie to change the path of a hurricane 2. Autographed Bibles 3. Saluted a North Korean general 4. Stared directly into the sun during a solar eclipse 5. Kissed the behind of Putin and disparaged his own law enforcement agencies...
Letter to the editor: Better under Trump
In answer to Patty Satalia’s letter “Republicans are not planning for our well-being” (Dec. 20, TribLIVE): This is a much better thing than the Democrats have. When President Trump left office, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.39. Meat was selling at a fair price. Today you...
Editorial: Judge Mariani’s murder verdict dismissal in Club Erotica case is all drama
There are things that happen in television courtrooms with regularity that don’t pop up the same way in real life. The Perry Mason moments when a lawyer gets a witness to admit she really committed the crime. Surprise evidence admitted at the last possible minute. Cases heading in front of...
Letter to the editor: More mental health resources needed in Westmoreland
Residents with mental health issues and disabilities need more health resources in Westmoreland County. The American Rescue Act gives Westmoreland County a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address this issue, but decisions on the allocation of these funds must be made by Jan. 31. Establishing a 24/7 mental health drop-in crisis center...
Robert Smith: The American game of Three-card Monte
Three-card Monte is a con game where the shill pretends to conspire with the mark to cheat the dealer, while in fact the shill is conspiring with the dealer to cheat the mark. In America’s game of Three-card Monte, the citizen-taxpayer is the unfortunate mark. While many of the issues...
S.E. Cupp: The dead-end doomsday cult of Donald J. Trump
Last weekend in Florence, Ariz., supporters of former President Trump gathered to attend one of his infamous rallies, to bond with like-minded MAGA cohorts and bathe in Trump’s ill-fated promises and unhinged conspiracy theories. They got their money’s worth. Trump pushed the debunked theory that the FBI had plants among...
Gary Franks: The woes of Biden, caused by Biden
President Biden has taken the Democratic Party to new lows. The Dems have lost 14 points in 12 months in a recent Gallup poll on who the American people want to run the country. Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ polling numbers are at historic lows for this time in...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Sometimes you can’t help but grow weary
In the Bible, in the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul issues this admonition: “Let us not grow weary in well-doing.” Talk about things that are easier said than done. For some of us, after all, this is a weary season, a season of exhausted hope and worn expectation that...
Ryan Shafik: Time to end corrupt endorsement process
Every year in Pennsylvania Republican politics, there is a dog-and-pony show that occurs mostly unseen by the average voter. Known simply in Keystone State political parlance as “the endorsement,” it’s a protracted process of wannabe candidates cloyingly ingratiating themselves to the few hundred apparatchiks comprising the Republican State Committee (RSC),...
Letter to the editor: S.E. Cupp not credible
I agree with Frances Olyarnik’s letter “Why run S.E. Cupp’s bitter diatribes?” (Dec. 21, TribLIVE). In her column “Fox News is selling toxic snake oil” (Dec. 17, TribLIVE), Cupp calls Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson “liars” and “snake oil salesmen.” This is after more than...
Letter to the editor: Domestic violence shelters need share of covid relief funds
Westmoreland County has a serious problem with emergency housing and services for women and children in abusive relationships. Beds for emergency use in the county are limited to 65, and the maximum stay is 30 days. This means that if an abused woman cannot find alternate housing and a permanent...
Lori Falce: Helping hands and the art of snow shoveling
I talked to Bob on Tuesday. It was the day after snow fell for almost 24 hours, piling up around the area to the delight of kids who got to build snowmen and go sledding. The problem for Bob was that he isn’t a kid anymore. He’s a senior who...
Letter to the editor: Right-wing rhetoric continues to divide
In his letter “Extremists on the Democratic side”, Dave Majernik attempted to compare Democratic and Republican extremists. His examples follow the rhetoric being spewed by right-wing media that is not only incorrect, but continue to cause divides at every level. The issue of defunding police was never a Democratic platform....
Paul Kengor: The big picture on Big Ben
As Steelers fans size up the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era, I suggest not words but an image. The image sticking with me came at the end of “Monday Night Football’s” extended coverage of Ben’s final home game in Pittsburgh Jan. 3. This may sound sentimental, but I think...
Laurels & lances: Donations, driveways and change
Laurel: To a great birthday present. When legendary comedic actress Betty White died on New Year’s Eve, it was both a crushing end to 2021 and the way everyone should go out — living 99 years and having the whole world agree it wasn’t long enough. But in celebration of...
Kelly Hunt: SBA helps entrepreneurs keep New Year’s resolutions
Taylor Bryner-Spaw and James Kunkel are having a busy January. Both are coaches for Fayette and Westmoreland County residents hoping to make good on New Year’s resolutions. Bryner-Spaw, 25, owner of the newly launched Spin Unlimited, is busy coaching cycling classes so attendees can achieve their fitness goals, while Kunkel...
Colin McNickle: Insane inaction on Pa. transportation mess
The tale has been oft told of an intellectually bereft Pennsylvania Legislature forcing the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to go into deep debt to help fund mass transit in this commonwealth. The result has been year-after-year toll increases to cover that debt. And though the annual obligation has been slashed as...
Letter to the editor: Avoiding abortion
I recently have read articles stating that pro-choice politicians are stepping forward to protect legal abortion When I was a young girl, my mother explained many things to me. The first was that going out on a date does not include sex, and she explained the reason why. You could...
Letter to the editor: What covid, Trump have cost us
The caveman mentality that “I’m the boss and I’ll do what I want” is how many people are thinking. Mask and social distancing requirements have made adults act like children. So many lies about the vaccines have frightened people. Bring on the death and suffering caused by the stupidity of...
Editorial: Open seats are chance to step up
It seems like every day brings a new announcement of the latest person running for governor or the U.S. Senate seat representing Pennsylvania. The ever-enlarging pool of possibilities comes on the heels of two presidential elections with fields of candidates so large they didn’t all fit on the debate stages...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s policies are not working
If you were president of the United States today, your State of the Union Address might well read like this: • Our southern border is overrun by illegal immigrants, with drug and child trafficking out of control. • Prices of basics like food, gas, homes and autos are shooting upward,...
John Stossel: Florida tackling covid with sensible rules
Omicron spreads. The media say, “Governments must act!” Many have, bringing back mask mandates and closing schools. Do these rules work? No. Florida’s approach is better. Gov. Ron DeSantis ended pandemic restrictions last spring and refuses to impose new ones. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over...
Sen. Ryan Aument: We’re No. 22 — and that’s bad news
It is almost surreal to look at numbers and rankings that show Pennsylvania floundering in comparison to other states, but this freakish economic landscape that puts us behind Ohio and Indiana speaks to a rock-solid reality. Our state’s reputation for high taxes, unfriendly regulatory climate and stagnant manufacturing growth quantifies...
