Opinion category, Page 519
Jonah Goldberg: Culture wars a convenient distraction from spending
You know what you get for spending trillions of dollars you don’t have? More fights over Dr. Seuss, cancel culture and identity politics. By any measure, the federal government has been on a spending spree for decades. Without getting bogged down in the green eyeshade stuff, suffice it to say...
Ken Regal: Extending the power of the American Rescue Plan
Editor’s note: The following text was delivered at a March 30 press conference alongside Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. The American Rescue Plan is powerful. It makes major improvements to the public food safety net to protect our neighbors from hunger — particularly in boosting food stamp (SNAP) benefits — so...
John Crisp: Have we lost the battle on climate change?
I pay moderate attention to my carbon footprint. You probably do, too. It just seems like the right thing to do. I recycle. I drive a Prius. My house has solar panels. My yard is xeriscaped. I support green energy. I never vote for politicians who, head in the sand,...
Letter to the editor: Doug Chew doesn’t speak for all
I write to strongly disagree with Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew’s comments regarding mail-in voting (“Westmoreland commissioner says county voters want end to no-excuse mail-in ballots, another disputes that”). Chew does not speak for all his constituency. I wager to guess he speaks for only a select few of his followers...
Letter to the editor: Decades of marijuana use haven’t harmed health
In response to letter-writer John L. Petrancosta Sr. (“Smoking marijuana detrimental to health,” March 14, TribLIVE): I have no idea where you people get this, that research shows marijuana is a gateway drug and affects your health. I’m 70 years old. I’ve been smoking weed since I was 16, and I...
Letter to the editor: Why are teachers vaccine priority?
In regard to teachers being moved to the front of the line for receiving covid-19 vaccines regardless of age: Others in Phase 1A still are trying to get vaccinated, often driving many miles, or being put on a waiting list. Teachers may be considered essential workers, but so are grocery...
Lori Falce: Medical research has to see people
“At least you have your health.” It’s the phrase that gets used when something goes wrong, reminding you to look for the silver lining in that storm cloud. But what about when the cloud is medical? What do you do when your health is the issue? That is what many...
Sabrina Fu: We must go deeper than our differences to heal our nation
As an American who has heard about thousands of shootings by now, I have never been asked about how I felt about any particular shooting — until a few days after the shootings at three massage businesses in Atlanta, dominated by women of Asian descent. Yes, I am an Asian...
Paul Kengor: Winston Churchill vs. the cancel culture
It was 89 years ago, on March 7, 1932, that Winston Churchill spoke in Pittsburgh. He spoke at Oakland’s Carnegie Music Hall. This wasn’t the Churchill of the “Iron Curtain” speech (delivered March 1946), or even the Churchill who became prime minister eight years later. This wasn’t yet the Churchill...
Laurels & lances: Building and rebuilding
Laurel: To a timely restoration. Spring is the season of rebirth. Easter is a holiday of resurrection. That makes this the perfect time to announce a construction project. In 2018, St. Mary of Czestochowa in New Kensington celebrated 125 years of worship and fellowship in the largely Polish parish. It...
Steve Samara: Investing in rural broadband
Legislation that will help bridge the digital divide, which in the last legislative session gained strong bipartisan support in Harrisburg, has been reintroduced this session by one of the state’s leading rural broadband advocates, Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York. Senate Bill 341 would modernize regulations adopted decades ago for rural phone...
James Reston Jr.: A Jan. 6 commission can answer our questions
The Jan. 6 attack on Congress takes its place next to the other terrible national traumas of the past 60 years — the JFK assassination, the race riots of 1967-68, the Challenger space shuttle crash and 9/11. Like those other shocks to our national consciousness, Jan. 6 demands a seminal,...
Richard Chin: Which superhero should we call if the Suez Canal gets plugged again?
They finally got that giant cargo ship unstuck from the Suez Canal after nearly of week of trying and a fleet of tugboats. But the next time the Suez gets jammed by a beached supership, why not do the global economy a favor and call a superhero to get the...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: A model of policing we too seldom get to see
We need to talk about what happened last month when police confronted a mentally disturbed man at a convenience store near Washington, D.C. They helped him. Yes, that was a bait-and-switch. But it wouldn’t have worked if you weren’t primed to expect something worse. Certainly, you’d be justified, given some...
Letter to the editor: Giannulli, Loughlin should help others
Mossimo Giannulli, convicted with wife, Lori Loughlin, in the college admissions scandal, has a lot of nerve to ask to leave prison early. His term is short, and he was protected from covid for a short time in a solitary atmosphere for his own good. I have an idea for...
Letter to the editor: Monitor reps’ votes before casting yours
Please pay attention to the votes for and against legislation by our Pennsylvania representatives before you vote in 2022. For instance, the same eight GOP representatives — John Joyce, Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, Lloyd Schmucker, Scott Perry, Guy Reschenthaler and Glenn Thompson — voted “no” on the Violence Against Women...
Letter to the editor: Making voting easier the right thing to do
State Rep. Michael J. Puskaric, R-Washington/Allegheny, has introduced House Bill 25, “Abolishing the No Excuse Mail in Vote former HB 2971.” This appears to be the same modus operandi used by the Republican party — create confusion regarding no-excuse absentee ballots, followed by legislation to repeal no-excuse absentee ballots as...
Editorial: Sensible infrastructure investment can bring the nation together
Infrastructure is a crutch. A crutch can be something helpful — the sturdy tool you lean on to steady yourself when you need help getting to your feet. A crutch can also be a detriment — the tether that keeps you from standing on your own. Politically, there may be...
Letter to the editor: Pa. needs a change in government
There were two items in the March 13 Trib that caught my attention. First was the front-page story about our illustrious governor saying that he wants to further increase our taxes (”Gov. Wolf seeks to phase out Pennsylvania’s gas tax,” March 12, TribLIVE). No news here, folks — that is...
Letter to the editor: Un-American covid rules must end
Regarding the editorial “A smart, phased-in return to more restaurant and bar service” (March 17, TribLIVE): Cautious optimism? Enough mumbo jumbo! It’s been over a year. We’ve got covid protocols, testing, vaccines, quarantine and Dr. Fauci rules … and so many hard-working, law- abiding small business owner remain financially wounded or...
Dahleen Glanton: Testimony ensures Floyd’s death was not in vain
Many of us did not want to watch George Floyd suffer. Not again. In nearly a year since Floyd’s death, those who mourn for him have tried to move on. Some have marched, protested and held vigils in his memory. We have spoken out as loud as we could. We...
Jonah Goldberg: Bipartisanship can be a lethal weapon against political foes
American politics is caught in a perverse paradox. The bases of both parties would like nothing more than to destroy the other party. But it is precisely this animus that prevents them from accomplishing their goal. That’s because the best strategy for partisans to wreak havoc in the other party...
Letter to the editor: What would the flowers do?
They are up in my yard, and I hope the crocuses and daffodils are up in yours, too. Unfortunately, I’ve seen a few “Peduto for Mayor” signs. Imagine if flowers had a school board and union. Would they lock down kids and parents or open the schools? Heck, even the...
Letter to the editor: VA Pittsburgh proud to serve veterans
I am proud to report VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System is the provider of choice for more than 63,000 veterans in our region. Our providers and staff work hard to maintain veterans’ trust, using advanced technology to deliver the best care, often with shorter wait times than veterans see in the...
Editorial: Public school pension headaches on horizon?
If you get — or will get — a pension, it is something to count on. It trades today’s loyalty for tomorrow’s stability in retirement. If you don’t get a pension — and that’s most of us, in the era of the 401(k) — your association with them might only...
