Opinion category, Page 475
Lori Falce: Failures in Afghanistan don’t erase service
Do not say the lives were wasted. As the U.S. military forces drew closer to the Aug. 31 deadline that was drawn for pullout from 20 years of presence in Afghanistan, the Taliban advanced, gaining momentum as villages and cities fell like dominoes. It was a messy wreck of an...
Letter to the editor: Will Shell really trigger growth?
In his op-ed “The Shell cracker plant is a boon for business” (Aug. 9, TribLIVE), Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco said the “science of economics” shows that Shell’s massive plastics factory in Beaver County is going to “trigger a period of regional economic growth unrivaled by any industrial project since...
Laurels & lances: Slippery Rock, rats and guns
Laurel: To a new school. There is nothing like a global medical crisis to make everyone realize exactly how crucial careers in medicine are. Thus it isn’t surprising to see Slippery Rock University taking the opportunity to better augment the workforce needs in those areas that were increasing even before...
Paul Kengor: Pa.’s forgotten and canceled governor
Gov. George Earle. Have you heard of him? Born in Devon, Pa., Earle was governor of Pennsylvania from 1935 to 1939, one of only two Democrats to be elected to that spot between the Civil War and World War II, and a respected and popular politician, featured on the cover...
Letter to the editor: Leslie Rossi deserves medal of honor
Regarding the letter “Time to repurpose the Trump House” (July 25, TribLIVE): The Trump House and Leslie Rossi are more important to this country right now than the White House. They stand for freedom and the American way. It is up to people like Rossi who are not afraid to...
Editorial: Foster care makes the key difference in a kid’s life
People have certain basic needs. A roof overhead. Clothes on their bodies. Food and water to fill their stomachs. These are the things that keep us alive. There is a comprehensive word for what brings this together: “home.” It’s both a place and a state of being. And for children,...
Letter to the editor: Frelick will go far in MLB
The Major League Baseball draft has come and gone, and once again top prospects from around the country have made their decisions to go on to the next level of their profession. I have followed the career of Sal Frelick, who signed as the No. 1 prospect with the Milwaukee...
Letter to the editor: Democratic regime killing our principles, values
President Trump was a bit unpolished but a great, patriotic leader and a powerful advocate for our country and its citizens. This statement will undoubtedly ignite a dumpster fire in the minds of the brainwashed hordes, but it’s demonstrably true. Trump kicked down the door of the establishment’s country club,...
Jonah Goldberg: Afghanistan withdrawal shows allies that U.S. isn’t a reliable partner
When Joe Biden came into office, we were told that the “adults are back in charge” because he immediately set to work undoing as much of Donald Trump’s legacy as he could. “The new president in his first week issued more than three dozen executive actions on a wide range...
Letter to the editor: Mountain View Amphitheater recipe for disaster
With barely a month before show time, local residents are only now being informed of the Mountain View Amphitheater’s opening (“New outdoor concert venue in Harmar set to hold 1st act next month,” Aug. 8, TribLIVE). Funny, I never heard it was even being planned. It is an open-air venue...
Editorial: School mask policies should be careful and consistent
Hopscotch is a game for recess and school playgrounds. It is a fun way for kids to test balance and skill and work out some wiggles in the middle of the day. It is not, however, a great way to run public health policy during a pandemic. Yet as the...
Letter to the editor: Reason to be concerned about Amazon in Churchill
Letter-writer Eric Grotzinger believes that we all should “trust the process and the professionals” (“On Amazon in Churchill, trust the process, professionals,” Aug. 4, TribLIVE). I actually trust neither. The professionals and expert witnesses (traffic engineer, air quality expert, etc.) are not independent contractors but bought and paid for by...
Letter to the editor: Aren’t we all allowed to peacefully protest?
Regarding the article “2 Seattle cops who were at U.S. Capitol in January are fired” (Aug. 13, TribLIVE): I thought that in America, people are allowed to peacefully protest. If the officers were violent or destroyed property, they should be reprimanded and possibly fired. However, if they were just “there”...
Pat Buchanan: Is diversity making U.S. stronger?
The first returns from the delayed census of 2020 are in, and they have made for celebratory headlines in the mainstream media. Big takeaway: Between 2010 and 2021, the white American population declined in real and relative terms, with more deaths than live births, as the white share of the...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Skepticism can make you blind
They told them they had bad blood. What they actually had was syphilis, but the U.S. Public Health Service never shared that diagnosis with the almost 400 African American men, most of them poor and under-educated sharecroppers, they recruited for a secret study at Tuskegee Institute in 1932. Indeed, health...
Sen. Devlin Robinson: Abandonment of Afghanistan shameful
Watching as Afghans clung to the sides of American transports during takeoff only to plummet to their deaths as their allies flew off Monday is a spectacle beyond bearing. I once fought on the very ground their falling bodies struck. I fought in Afghanistan, and many of my comrades did...
Letter to the editor: Democrats not building trust with other countries
The Democrats have again reduced our ability to get countries to trust us. They knew or should have known exactly what would happen when the U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan. The Taliban would walk down and take over. It’s not like they haven’t done this before. Have they forgotten...
Letter to the editor: Republicans, do the right thing
We are in serious existential danger from within. Tragically, our democracy would probably collapse soon if Donald Trump as our president — or someone like him who is cleverer — continues to act like Hitler did in Germany during the 1930s. I believe that over the past seven years, Trump...
Editorial: Shine a spotlight on hazing that harms
On Friday, former Greater Latrobe Area Junior High wrestling coach Cary Lydic was acquitted of child endangerment and failure to report abuse in suspected hazing. The verdict was issued without explanation. There was no statement to say whether Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger felt the prosecution hadn’t met...
Letter to the editor: Wondering about the left
Some things I wonder about: Why would anyone want to defund the police? Why would anyone want to turn their backs while the national anthem is being played? Why would anyone want to burn our flag, tear down our statues or set fire to buildings before they loot them? Why...
Tom Purcell: Three cheers for us ‘middles’
You ignored Aug. 12 didn’t you? That’s when the world celebrates National Middle Child Day every year, but you ignored it just as you have ignored us “middles” our entire lives! I’m the third-born child in a family of six — an only boy with five sisters. As a tyke,...
Jay Sefton: Pa. lawmakers must stop denying justice to abuse victims
Had I been sexually abused by Father Thomas Smith 20 miles east in New Jersey, 20 miles south in Delaware or 80 miles north in New York, I would have had the opportunity to seek justice. I could have held Catholic Church officials accountable for protecting a known pedophile instead...
Gov. Bill Lee: Collaborating to improve lives in Tennessee
Supporting Tennessee’s rural citizens has been a top priority of mine since I signed my very first executive order. Executive Order 1 required each state department to examine its impact on our rural communities and make recommendations on how to better serve rural Tennesseans. As a result, we have implemented...
Letter to the editor: Time for Nancy to go
OK, I know … covid, inflation, civil unrest, critical race theory, global warming — we have so many important things to worry about. But may I suggest a little thought-diversion? Let’s finally dump “Nancy” from the cartoon page. Not only is it now poorly drawn, but Nancy also has become...
Letter to the editor: Protecting Palestinian children
One of the difficult things to do in these trying times is come together. The politicalization of our daily lives leads us to often forget that sometimes issues can be broken down simply into wrong and right. We must come together for the protection of children. On April 15, Rep....
