Opinion category, Page 444
Laurels & lances: Brain drain, Black Friday, bald eagles
Laurel: To looking for answers. For years, Pennsylvania communities have suffered from a problem called “brain drain.” It’s the unfortunate tendency of state students to graduate from high school and go to Pitt or Penn State or another local college and learn valuable skills only to move away and take...
Cal Thomas: Thanks for giving
For some, this Thanksgiving — like last year — is a more difficult occasion than previous ones. Perhaps a loved one has died from covid-19, or you feel isolated from relatives and friends due to lockdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions, vaccinations (or not), masks and “distancing” and might think you have...
Letter to the editor: More volunteering, less letter writing
In response to recent letters to the editor reflecting opinions on a tangle of political differences, I’d like to suggest more time be spent volunteering within communities and less time be spent writing letters to the editor. This way, their letters will stop clogging my Google news feed. Shawn Roberts...
Mona Charen: Family, Pfizer, Zoom and other things I’m grateful for
Each year at Thanksgiving, before tucking into the feast, we go around the table and express gratitude for something. My husband often advises that mentioning family is off limits — he thinks it goes without saying that we are most grateful for our families — but this rule is flouted...
Letter to the editor: Bob Brooks’ generosity far-reaching
Letter-writer David K. Camblin (“Why didn’t Bob Brooks pay for parade permit?,” Nov. 16, TribLIVE) should have done his homework before embarrassing himself. Rep. Bob Brooks donates his salary to various charities throughout the areas he serves, and the list is long. Here are some of the organizations and programs...
Editorial: And for this, we give thanks
Despite what the Norman Rockwell images have taught us, the fourth Thursday in November is not about perfectly roasted turkeys and gathering around a perfectly set table laid out with white linens and pristine porcelain. It is not about football. Not about Christmas music. Not about dog shows or parades...
Letter to the editor: Medicare Advantage critical for seniors
When I retired, I was worried that I would no longer be able to access quality health care, as I had to transition away from the coverage provided by my employer. Thanks to the recommendation of a friend, I looked into the coverage options through Medicare Advantage. For seniors on...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to health care heroes
As we get closer to two years of fighting this pandemic, I would like to extend my thanks to all the doctors, nurses and EMTs who have fought so hard to save so many lives throughout Western Pennsylvania. You will always be heroes to me and my family for putting...
Paul Kengor: Raising turkeys
“Oh my gosh, Daddy, they’re killing each other!” So said my son John in a plea of desperation. He was referring not to his siblings, mercifully, but to our turkeys. I was at the office when John telephoned. His voice was so loud that the student in my office could...
Jim Gluch: Scrutinizing Pa.’s stake in infrastructure deal
The local politics of the bipartisan infrastructure bill is worthy of scrutiny as we contend with our 21st-century issues and endeavor to make that future happen. The breakdown of Pennsylvania’s stake in the so-called BID (Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal) was made after its passage in the Senate this summer. It bears...
David Greineder: Increased taxes harm workers and hinder American competitiveness
In Pennsylvania, our recovery from the pandemic depends upon a pro-business environment both enacted and maintained statewide. Our workers and businesses have been hit hard by the economic fallout of the pandemic — we cannot increase taxes, regulations and other financial burdens from the government at a time when so...
Letter to the editor: Ziccarelli is a GOP token
The article “DA-elect Nicole Ziccarelli burst onto scene, but her rise should not come as a surprise” was appalling. Ziccarelli is nothing more than a token of the Republican Party. When she ran against state Sen. Jim Brewster in 2020, too much of the district was in Allegheny County, and...
Letter to the editor: UPMC workers need better wages, better treatment
I’m a housekeeper at UPMC Presbyterian. It’s a backbreaking job. I’m in my 60s and spend my days lifting bags full of wet garbage and linens. I’ve been here 10 years, and I’m only paid $16.16 an hour. Meanwhile, the staffing crisis means UPMC expects us to do three times...
Editorial: Franklin Regional’s vaccine clinic ban seems disingenuous
If kids need to get covid-19 vaccines, they will not be getting them at Franklin Regional locations. The school board Monday voted to prohibit the use of the district’s property for vaccine clinics. “We’re not a medical facility,” board member Deb Wohlin said. “Why would we want to take this...
Letter to the editor: Brooks provides quick aid for veteran
On Nov. 11, we celebrated veterans for serving to protect our freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution. One veteran I know served in the Army during the war in Afghanistan. Fortunately, he survived his tour of duty, however, not without scars. He suffers from PTSD, hearing loss, anxiety, depression...
Pat Buchanan: Playing with fire on Russia’s borders
Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko has cleared out the encampment at his border crossing into Poland, where thousands of Middle Eastern migrants had been living in squalor. Last week, that border crossing was the site of clashes between asylum-seekers trying to push through the razor wire and Polish troops resisting with...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Are we not entertained?
It’s like something out of middle school. Rep. Paul Gosar posts video of an asinine anime that depicts him violently murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Facing censure in the House, he is defended by Rep. Lauren Boebert, who in the process slags Rep. Ilhan Omar as a member of something she...
Ron Perkins: College degree should not be lifetime barricade to a good-paying job
Over the last decades, the education to workforce ecosystem has myopically evolved into a standardized pipeline, where graduates are not necessarily set up to succeed. The standard high school diploma now offers 50% fewer opportunities for family-sustaining careers versus 30 years ago, and 40% of recent college graduates are underemployed...
Cal Thomas: The Rittenhouse verdict
Before the right to keep and bear arms is stated in the Second Amendment, the Founders wrote why they believed it necessary for people to arm themselves as part of a “militia.” They said it is a “necessity to the security of a free state.” The Founders knew that liberty...
Letter to the editor: Please remember the victim
I am writing about the brutal beating and stabbing death of Joseph Williams (“Police charge suspect with killing 70-year-old found on train tracks in Scott,” Nov. 12, TribLIVE). A 70-year-old man, quietly living his life. The suspect in this crime, Vendell Nasir III, was literally found with blood on his...
Letter to the editor: Levin should keep industry in industrial setting
The recent front-page article about Robert Levin using solar power at the distribution center in Smithton makes him sound like a great environmentalist (“Levin installs 1-megawatt solar array atop Smithton distribution facility,” Nov. 10, TribLIVE). But let’s look at what it really is: The Smithton complex was built on flat...
Editorial: Why redact the forensic audit contract?
An out-of-state consulting firm will be receiving $270,000 over the next six months as part of a review of the 2020 election. Envoy Sage of Dubuque, Iowa, is a crisis and risk management company that has been in business since August 2020. It will be working with Pennsylvania Senate Republicans...
Letter to the editor: Where’s compensation for abortion, military?
Which version can you believe? When asked by a reporter about his intention to pay $450,000 lawsuit settlements to those illegal immigrants who were perhaps separated from their children, President Biden suggested the story was “garbage,” and then said that dollar amount was too high. A day later he seemed...
Tom Purcell: A tradition to be thankful for
I love pumpkin pie — but not just any pumpkin pie. It has to be my mother’s pumpkin pie, made with her unique thick and dry crust, and it has to be enjoyed only on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a Purcell family tradition, after all, and tradition is the reason Thanksgiving...
Rep. Joanna McClinton: Federal bill invests in Pa.; state legislative leaders need to do the same
After four years of false starts and one year of hard work and compromise, there’s finally a federal bill that mirrors what we’ve been fighting for here in Pennsylvania. A bill that brings real money to our communities and creates jobs that cannot be outsourced. It includes investments to connect...
