Opinion category, Page 47
Letter to the editor: First Amendment doesn’t protect criminal behavior
A student letter-writer recently lamented the sending of federal troops to Los Angeles and the brief detention of Sen. Alex Padilla (“Defending our right to protest,” June 20, TribLive). While I support his right to express his opinion, I feel the need to exercise my own right and call his...
Pamela Cole: Federal research fuels hope where once there was none
Decades before I was diagnosed with HR+/HER2 breast cancer in 2022, it was the norm for clinical trials to exclude women. Women were “messy”; they experienced hormone changes each month, they could become pregnant. I am grateful to the doctors and scientists who fought to include women, and ultimately, study...
Jennifer Morgan: Democrats’ proposed cyber charter funding cuts would hurt children
My two daughters are thriving in their public cyber charter school. The quality of their education is better than I could have ever imagined. The Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (PALCS) has been life-changing for my girls, who participate in a hybrid model that combines online and in-person learning. PALCS and...
Letter to the editor: Are immigrants lacking good work ethic?
When my dad, James Murko Sever, came over from Croatia, immigrants came to this country to make a good living. He was 16. He and my mother saved money to buy two farms. He worked third shift in the coal mines and came home and worked on the farms. They...
Letter to the editor: Lost fishing equipment harmful to animals
Regarding the article “Good for the gander: Wildlife Works heals goose injured by discarded fishing line” (June 17, TribLive): Fortunately, kind people worked to heal a Twin Lakes Park goose whose leg was caught in discarded fishing line. Many other animals aren’t so lucky. A study by the University of...
Editorial: Namdar needs to sell Pittsburgh Mills
Is there a big sale coming at the Pittsburgh Mills mall? Maybe, but at just 35% occupancy of the 900,000-square-foot building, don’t expect it at a store. No, the “everything must go!” moment appears to be for the property itself. Area Realtors have received an email from Namdar Realty Group...
Letter to the editor: Flag burning should be a crime
Questions that make you go hmmmm: On June 22, 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul unanimously ruled that “hate crime” laws banning cross burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free speech rights, and rightly so. How then is burning the United States...
Jonah Goldberg: Is bombing Iran deja vu all over again?
After a short and successful war with Iraq, President George H.W. Bush claimed in 1991 that “the ghosts of Vietnam have been laid to rest beneath the sands of the Arabian desert.” Bush was referring to what was commonly called the “Vietnam syndrome.” The idea was the Vietnam War had...
David L. Nevins: U.S. strikes Iran nuclear sites — Trump’s pivot amid Middle East crisis
In his televised address to the nation Saturday night regarding the U.S. strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump declared that the attacks targeted “the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.” He framed the...
Letter to the editor: Liberals are enablers, accomplices
To me, “No Kings” actually meant “No Matter” that illegal immigrants kill Americans. Liberal Democrats do not seem to care about the victims of crime. Period. And in their unconcern they are enablers and accomplices. Hank Baughman Latrobe...
Letter to the editor: McCormick’s vote on reconciliation bill could cost lives … and votes
Sen. Dave McCormick ran on the promise of serving the interests of all Pennsylvanians. His upcoming vote on the House-passed reconciliation bill will define where he stands and the weight of his word when it comes to our families’ health, dignity and futures. The commonwealth is watching and come Election...
Editorial: Mayor’s spokesperson does disservice by denying violence, injuries
Disregarding people’s concerns doesn’t make them go away. Over the weekend, the city of Pittsburgh had several violent altercations, including three shootings. The most prominent happened late Sunday in East Liberty. ShotSpotter recorded 14 rounds fired. Five people were shot. Two adult males were transported by ambulance in critical/serious condition,...
Letter to the editor: Democrats gave Trump his second term
As Democrats across the country go bat spit crazy rioting against the Trump administration’s deportation policies, I believe it is important to acknowledge how the Democratic Party is largely responsible for Trump’s return to the White House. First, the party backed one of the stupidest politicians in the country in...
Philip Martell: Cyber charter funding draining our schools
As a superintendent who has worked to rebuild a rural school district into a nationally recognized model, I’ve seen firsthand how Pennsylvania’s flawed cyber charter funding system undermines public education. From the outside, this may look like just another policy debate in Harrisburg. But in school districts like mine, the...
Letter to the editor: Trump has exposed waste, theft
Q. How can a company justify attacking an accountant that saved them over $500 billion in just its first quarter? A. Deny that he has saved anything and claim that he is actually hurting the company. In other words, lie through its teeth. To me, that’s the purpose of the...
Letter to the editor: Addressing moral corruption
Apparently many God-loving Christians who voted for President Trump love and respect him. Federal policies aside, when did church and other organizations’ members think it acceptable to mimic Trump by spewing hate, fear and chaos through retribution and retaliation whenever they don’t agree with someone? What messages is Trump sending...
Letter to the editor: Teachers don’t deserve bashing
I am so tired of people bashing teachers, as the writer of the letter “We must privatize public education” (June 16, TribLive) did. It seems from his letter that he got more than an eighth grade education. Bear in mind that a teacher tries to keep 180-plus students’ attention every...
Editorial: Sunday’s stance promises apolitical focus on AG’s job
The job of a state’s governor is to steer the executive ship. The governor takes the laws and budgets passed by the legislators and the departments of the government and finds a way to apply them. That can mean implementing policies. It can responding to changing circumstances. It can mean...
Letter to the editor: Leg restraints, hospital safety and social stigma
The Allegheny County Jail is the only jail in Pennsylvania in which officers cannot use leg restraints to secure individuals from jail on a visit to the hospital because of a 2022 referendum. Sheriffs and all other jurisdictions use leg restraints when accompanying individuals from the jail into the community....
Letter to the editor: Government works to improve our quality of life
The Trib has published several articles illustrating how our government works for us, including efforts to bring broadband to rural Westmoreland, plugging wells to stop methane leaks, upgrading sewer lines, improving bridges, addressing blight, responding to extreme weather disasters, filling abandoned coal mines and removing lead from water pipes. Other...
Letter to the editor: Library funding key for communities
In a time when individualism is at its height, local libraries act as a safe “third space” that offers many free resources and programs for their community. The current administration has been attacking libraries for months, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has been completely defunded in...
Colin McNickle: A misguided proposal to redirect liquor tax revenue
The stated intent of Pennsylvania House Bill 985 is to divert liquor tax revenue to provide grants to municipalities with tax- exempt property comprising 15% or more of total assessed value and with household median income of less than 115% of the state level. But, “While the intent appears to be...
Oliver Bateman: Make the most of Aaron Rodgers’ last run in Pittsburgh
This month, Aaron Rodgers finally signed with the Steelers, ending an exhausting offseason saga that directly impacted their draft. The 41-year-old quarterback’s arrival marks the beginning of what promises to be the weirdest chapter in franchise history. Good. Scouting reports paint a grim picture: diminished arm strength, slower processing speed,...
Letter to the editor: Trump draws a huge crowd — of protesters
The largest protest ever to take place against a United States president occurred June 14, the “No Kings” events which brought anti-Trump activists to cities and towns both small and large from East Coast to West. Despite his claim to the contrary, Donald Trump did not have the largest crowd...
Letter to the editor: Democrats are threat to democracy
It is said that President Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. Let’s look at some facts. The Biden administration refused to enforce immigration laws, letting in millions of people who illegally crossed the border. Even when individuals with criminal backgrounds and/or on terrorist watch lists were captured, some of...
