Opinion category, Page 484
Letter to the editor: How will new airplanes be powered?
Regarding the article “United orders 270 jets to replace old ones, plan for growth” (June 29, TribLIVE): This is great news. However, the article did not mention how these new airplanes will be powered. Will they be powered by solar panels, windmills mounted on wings or some other kind of...
Letter to the editor: Don’t want Reschenthaler’s nonsense
I recently received an unsolicited email from Rep. Guy Reschenthaler accusing Democrats (I am registered as nonpartisan) of having far-left policies that hurt working people. This mail included the usual right-wing nonsense. But what stood out to me was his claim “Republicans Back the Blue.” It didn’t shock me that...
Letter to the editor: Conservatives want only impartial hearings of evidence
Regarding your editorial “Don’t fall for a phony ‘forensic audit’ of 2020 election” (June 24, TribLIVE): The two major papers in the former USSR were Izvestia (The News) and Pravda (The Truth). Noncommunist readers concluded that in news there was no truth and in truth there was no news. Conservatives...
Editorial: Suicide prevention that starts close to home
Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States. In 2019, 47,511 people lost their lives to whatever combination of pain or trauma or mental anguish made ending everything seem like the only solution. But as awful as that number is, there is another that might be worse....
Letter to the editor: Teaching critical race theory an issue for local districts, not NEA
I’ve been my association’s local union president for 18 years and a social studies teacher for 25 years. Many of my members (myself included) are angry and disappointed that the National Education Association would make a public statement supporting critical race theory. Did the NEA survey its membership to gauge...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 19
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 19....
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 19
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 19....
Veronique de Rugy: The return of the tax gap hype
Every policy wonk will tell you that after you live in Washington long enough, you start seeing the same issues reemerge on a regular basis. Common ones are praise for the magical ability of government spending to help pay for itself during recessions and hand-wringing over the myth of middle-class...
Gov. Roy Cooper: Building a stronger, healthier future for Appalachian region
With a low cost and high quality of living, it’s no surprise that more than 1.7 million North Carolinians call Appalachia home. The 29 North Carolina counties that are a part of it offer great opportunities to families living in the region — welcoming communities, a strong small business environment,...
Letter to the editor: Keep covid numbers in public’s view
Thank you for continuing to post covid-19 numbers. They are an important part of public health measures during an epidemic. As the numbers were rising, they alerted me to the need to continue to do what we were learning helped: masks, isolating then social distancing, hand-washing, testing and, eventually, getting...
Letter to the editor: TV’s influence on conspiracy theories
TV may be at fault with the problem we have today with QAnon and other conspiracy theories. Once upon a time, History and the Travel Channel were my favorites. Now they should be renamed Pseudoscience Channels 1 and 2, as they are filled with programs about UFOs, Bigfoot, ghosts, ancient...
Letter to the editor: Billionaires’ climate hypocrisy
So, billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are off to space! Wow! Isn’t that special! Or is it? I thought these two “philanthropists” were on the “cutting edge” of stopping man-made greenhouse gases with all their “foundations” and “initiatives.” But I guess getting your kicks by going to space is...
Letter to the editor: Priorities for Amtrak’s success
My recent trip/experience on Amtrak has led to these conclusions and concerns: lack of management insight, lack of federal government vision of transportation, and concern for security of rail travel. Every Amtrak employee I encountered was courteous, helpful and passionate about their job. But they were mostly apologetic for the...
Editorial: No masking the opioid epidemic that’s destroying lives
The coronavirus pandemic stole the spotlight in 2020, but it was not the only epidemic threatening lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the opioid crisis didn’t just fade into the background while people worried about masks, respirators and social distancing. The 2020 numbers hit a record...
Letter to the editor: Biden, not bishops, should make his Communion decision
I would like to ask the United States Catholic Bishops something concerning the possibility of denying President Biden Communion at a Catholic Mass. Section 1415 of the Second Edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic Communion must be in the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Thanks to vaccine, we’re making sauce again
It was a simple question on social media — and I weighed in with over 700,000 others — but it is a sure sign that many of us are breathing a little easier now that the covid-19 vaccines are taking hold. Here’s what triggered the great debate: Should sugar be...
Amanda Cylc: Pa. Legislature can save fitness industry
Like so many others, the fitness industry has been devastated by the covid-19 pandemic. Leaders on both sides of the aisle in Harrisburg introduced legislation to help, but no action was taken before they adjourned for the summer, leaving gyms and health clubs waiting for assistance. Action is needed to...
Ben Bear: Pittsburgh’s innovative spirit is making it a leader in car-free mobility
I grew up in the East End, steeped in Pittsburgh’s history of innovation and entrepreneurship from Carnegie Steel to Heinz Ketchup to Salk’s polio vaccine. Yet, more and more, I see my hometown innovating and transforming in ways that could make it a blueprint for cities around the world. When...
Sounding off: Who really benefits from Biden’s tax plans
Letter-writer Kathleen Bollinger (“Liberals’ class envy will cost Americans dearly”) tells only half of the story of higher taxes on the rich. President Biden says he will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year, and unless she makes that much, she will actually benefit. Even if...
Sheldon Jacobson: FAA weighing in on weighing air travelers
Air travel is surging as more passengers pack onto more airplanes. The month of June 2021 saw four times the number of air travelers compared to June 2020. With that, airplane weight is back in the news. The FAA is requiring all airlines to provide better methods to estimate the...
Letter to the editor: God, not Christians, should do the judging
In response to letter-writer Joseph Krill (“Church has right, duty to excommunicate Biden”): Let me qualify this, sir. I am a Roman Catholic who strongly disagrees with abortion. But I choose to let the Almighty judge and punish. Leonard Mucci Derry Township...
Letter to the editor: Nothing to see here
The letter “Questioning mental health of Trump, Greene” (June 17, TribLIVE), a pseudo-psychologist analysis of our former president and current Pelosi- shamed congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, which also reviles us knuckle-dragging Republicans, brings to mind the Bard’s coined phrase “methinks thou doth protest too much.” Or perhaps I misinterpreted the author’s...
Editorial: A reform that promotes and respects police professionalism
P olice departments across Pennsylvania have a new law to enforce. This law is a little different than most. It is one they will have to enforce against themselves. It requires police departments to participate in a database that keeps track of complaints and misconduct allegations against officers. The goal...
Letter to the editor: Doug Mastriano is no patriot
Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who represents four rural counties in Central Pennsylvania, has humiliated himself and our commonwealth on the national stage by meddling in the Arizona presidential election vote of Nov. 3, traveling to that state in efforts to secure yet another recount of the vote at the...
S.E. Cupp: Now right wing supports population control?
I’m old enough to remember when, along with lowering the debt and deficit, anti-protectionism and so-called “family values,” a strong opposition to population control was one of the bedrock principles of the conservative movement and Republican Party. But apparently, like lowering the debt and deficit, anti-protectionism, and so-called “family values,”...
