Opinion category, Page 43
Letter to the editor: Has our humanity disappeared?
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” This powerful line from Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus” is inscribed on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. The phrase is often cited as a core element of America’s identity, reflecting this country’s history...
Joseph Sabino Misick: Competitive authoritarianism trickling in
The phrase “death by a thousand cuts” has come to describe the accumulation of a number of seemingly minor actions that combine to cause the death of a thing. And when it comes to our traditional form of American democracy, those seemingly minor actions are starting to add up. As...
Mary Ellen Klas: Want students to thrive? Lock up their phones
There are few things most American politicians seem to agree upon, but banning mobile phones in classrooms seems to be one of them. Based on the experiences of some schools that have required students to prioritize learning over TikTok scrolling, there’s also a welcome side benefit: less conflict and more...
Desirée Cormier Smith, Kelly M. Fay Rodríguez and Beth Van Schaack: A plan to take human rights off the table at the State Department
What a difference eight years make. During President Trump’s first term, then-Sen. Marco Rubio pushed the president to expand his human rights diplomatic agenda. Rubio recognized that promoting human rights abroad is in the national interest. He urged the president to appoint an assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy,...
A. Robert Jaeger: Why sacred places still matter in Pa.
The oldest Catholic church in Scranton, the Nativity of Our Lord Church, recently held its final Mass. For 120 years, it stood as a cornerstone of city’s South Side, a space where generations gathered to worship, connect and create memories. But due to declining attendance and rising maintenance costs, the...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: You cannot ‘restore’ high scientific standards if they are already in place
President Donald Trump’s executive order “Restoring Gold Standard Science” provides a directive to restore a higher standard for scientific research and discovery. Yet despite the concerns it raises, the very standards that it describes already exist and are widely applied. Section one of the order describes why the administration believes...
Letter to the editor: Steelers’ Quiet Riot
The Pittsburgh Steelers will need to earn the respect from the NFL that they are a true contender by their 60 minute play and team synergy. Since we have already used the 60 Minute Men in the past, I am nicknaming the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers as “Quiet Riot!” Ed Heintz...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s version of socialism
Woe unto them who cry “socialism” when the poor are fed — but cheer when the rich grow fatter off government largesse. Donald Trump, self-proclaimed champion of capitalism, governed like Pharaoh: hoarding wealth, building monuments to himself and handing out borrowed treasure to his inner court. His new “Big, Beautiful...
Editorial: Should Pennsylvania eliminate sales tax exemptions?
When government needs more money, it has a few options. There are fees: a cost for a driver’s license or a hunting license or a copy of your birth certificate. There are fines, although this should never really be looked at as a revenue source. It’s more about enforcing the...
Letter to the editor: Republicans a sorry bunch
The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were well aware they were putting their very lives on the line by adding their signatures to that document. However, they believed so strongly in the path they were taking to be free from the oppression of King George III that they...
S.E. Cupp: Trump the pirate demands tribute from the media
Over the course of the last few months, a “No Kings” movement has coalesced to oppose the authoritarian policies of President Trump. Organized protests across all 50 states, coinciding with Trump’s military parade, were meant to draw attention to Trump’s anti-democratic and increasingly monarchical consolidation of power. In areas of...
Jen Mazzocco: Communities need help to cope with storms
This spring, Western and Central Pennsylvania were struck hard by thunderstorms that damaged homes, felled trees, flooded roadways, and overwhelmed local infrastructure and resources already stretched thin. At the storms’ peak, more than half a million businesses and households lost power — some for over a week. As a local...
Cal Thomas: Politics in the pulpit
The Internal Revenue Service announced on Monday it is overturning a restraint on churches and other houses of worship that was supposed to keep them from endorsing candidates for political office. The root of the ban extends back to 1954. Then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, D-Texas, was running for reelection and faced...
Letter to the editor: My choice — Trump
In 2020, electing President Biden was a mistake of choice. In 2024, electing President Trump was a mandate of choice. In May 2024, 64,000 illegal migrants crossed Biden’s southern border. This May, zero illegals crossed that same southern border. The people chose Trump’s border. In 2025, “America first” policy invests...
Letter to the editor: Is Trump confused on war powers?
President Trump ordered seven B-2 stealth bombers against Iran, dropping 14 30,000-pound “bunker busting bombs.” He claimed sole authority under the “executive power” of Article II of the Constitution. I think he is confused. Article II names the president “commander in chief” and states that “The executive Power shall be...
Lori Falce: The lessons of Abraham Lincoln and a house divided
In 1858, after winning the Republican nomination for the Senate against incumbent Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that has stood the test of time because of the truth it laid plain before a country ripping itself in two. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” the future president...
Laurels & lances: Awareness & animals
Laurel: To intervention. There is no tragedy greater than a loss of life — except a loss that could have been prevented. In Westmoreland County, an effort is being made to find ways to reduce the number of suicides. The county’s Suicide Fatality Review Team convened for the first time...
Letter to the editor: Natural gas benefits Pa.
Mary Jo Simmen-Gray’s op-ed “The real story behind the Marcellus impact fee windfall” (July 1, TribLive) highlights the significance of nearly $3 billion in impact fees paid by Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry, but her suggested narrative deviates from the facts. For example, stating fees were imposed “specifically to offset the...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Trump etches his place in history
Over the past three elections, President Donald Trump has redefined the United States politically, strengthening Republican support among blue collar workers and reducing traditional Democratic majorities among racial minorities. Now, with the enactment of his misleadingly titled “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Trump has — for better or worse — redefined...
Oliver Bateman: What Pa. Dems can learn from Zohran Mamdani
Thirty-three-year-old state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s triumph over aging dynast Andrew Cuomo in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary should have Pennsylvania Democrats taking notes. Not because the state’s voters will eagerly cast their ballots for a democratic socialist preaching about subsidized gender-affirming care — that dog won’t hunt in a purple...
Letter to the editor: Leaders should put more emphasis on bridge safety
Why are we getting another surprise major bridge risk now (“Corroded steel prompts closure of Jacks Run Road Bridge in Ross,” July 3, TribLive)? I thought “someone” was inspecting the major bridges after the failure of the Fern Hollow Bridge a couple of years ago. Maybe our leaders and mayors...
Letter to the editor: Does Trump enjoy causing pain, chaos?
How horrifying to read the article “UPMC to stop gender-affirming care for patients 18 and under by month’s end” (June 24, TribLive). This treatment can mean life or death (suicide). President Trump also ended the national LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline. Since ending USAID, some estimates say more than 300,000 people...
Editorial: Questioning how funds are spent is how oversight works
Oversight is important. One function of government is to decide how money is spent. Whether it’s the state, a municipality or a school board, government agencies take in tax money, grants or pass-through funds from a higher level of government and plan how best to distribute it. Another function is...
Letter to the editor: Medicaid cuts threaten lives
As CEO of Mental Health America of Southwestern PA, I see firsthand how mental illness, addiction and trauma affect lives in our community. Every day, we connect community residents with the lifesaving care they need to survive and heal. Now, that care is under threat. Mental health is not a...
Jonah Goldberg: Elon Musk’s America Party is a long shot
“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Elon Musk declared on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter). Another billionaire quickly replied on his social media platform, “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over...
