Opinion category, Page 533
Letter to the editor: Toomey heading off liberal boycott
Regarding the article “Pennsylvania GOP may meet to discuss Toomey impeachment vote” (Feb. 15, TribLIVE): He is going into private business, and he does not want to be boycotted by the liberals like they are doing to others who supported President Trump. Clem Zahrobsky Delmont...
Letter to the editor: Right to keep Trump signs on display
Dear Rose Guerra (“Take down your Trump signs,” Feb. 8, TribLIVE): I don’t have my Trump sign anymore, but if I did, I would display it to let you and others know that it is my right to do so. If that embarrasses you and others, I’ll treasure that! Hannelore...
Editorial: Don’t bark at higher fees from state Bureau of Dog Law
Man’s best friend can be priceless — but isn’t always cheap. Dog food costs more than one might expect. So do rawhide bones and rabies shots, toys and treats. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the way all those chewed-on shoes add up. But the cost of a Pennsylvania...
Letter to the editor: State leaders must fight climate change
I became aware of climate change at a young age. The rising temperature of our planet has caused extreme weather in Pittsburgh. One winter we would get a foot of snow, the next we would get none. Heat waves have become more common. Seeing these changes made me passionate about...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 22
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 22....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 22
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 22....
S.E. Cupp: The new nihilism — actually, almost everything matters
“Nothing matters.” It’s a popular and versatile phrase that can be reassuring, a reminder that despite how overwhelmed you feel, nothing matters so go ahead and enjoy that fourth doughnut. It also can be discouraging, lamenting the feeling that while a precious few are attempting to keep order, the great...
Letter to the editor: Thankful for support of Salvation Army
2020 was a historically challenging and, for many people, devastating year. Families and households coped with the loss of jobs, income, homes and, in the worst cases, the lives of loved ones. But together, we did not lose hope. The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division is grateful for the support,...
Letter to the editor: Remembering, mourning Butterball
Butterball was a wild turkey who made her home in the town of Forbes Road (“Forbes Road residents shocked gobbler ‘Butterball’ shot by game warden,” Jan. 16, TribLIVE). The people of Forbes Road accepted her and took her in as one of their own; they fed her and looked after...
Editorial: The dollars and sense of toll bridges
Toll roads are not a new concept. There were tolls collected in Babylon. Aristotle spoke of them in the ancient world. During the Middle Ages, they were common tools of both official and criminal collection. But now PennDOT is planning to expand its network of toll roads with the Pathways...
Letter to the editor: In defense of Se. Pat Toomey
When I heard this on the news, I was stunned and had to see it in print: “We did not send him there to vote his conscience,” David Ball, chair of the Washington County Republican Party, told KDKA political editor Jon Delano. “We did not send him there to do...
Letter to the editor: Impeachment and the First Amendment
One reads with interest Jonah Goldberg’s essay “Impeachment trials aren’t about proving criminal behavior” decrying how lawyer pundits discuss impeachment, a political process, in terms of criminal proceedings. But one need not be a President Trump supporter to recognize the danger in asserting that, during impeachment, Congress merely plays a...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Our representatives must have room to do right
“We did not send him there to vote his conscience. We did not send him there to do the right thing or whatever he said he was doing. We sent him there to represent us.” That’s what David Ball, chair of Pennsylvania’s Washington County Republican Party, said to KDKA-TV’s Jon...
Sounding off: Teachers don’t need ‘immediate’ vaccination
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s letter to Gov. Tom Wolf calling for the “immediate” inoculation of teachers, although well-intentioned, looks only at the proposed benefits without the associated costs (“Peduto asks Gov. Wolf to vaccinate Pennsylvania teachers immediately”). This approach will have dire consequences. The covid-19 data shows a clear relationship...
Cal Thomas: The Rush Limbaugh I knew
The man who picked me up at an airport too many years ago to recall the date asked if I had ever heard of a guy named Rush Limbaugh. When I said I had not, he turned on the car radio and said, “listen.” After 15 minutes I was hooked....
Letter to the editor: Trump the only one to act on immigration reform
President Biden has gone against what recent presidents (and some congressmen) talked about on the subject of immigration reform. President Trump was the only one who did something about it. If you search “Where does Trump get his dumb ideas?” on YouTube, you will see Trump watching Sen. Dianne Feinstein...
Letter to the editor: Legitimize marijuana the right way
Regarding the article “Gov. Wolf seeks income tax hike to pay for big increase in school funding”: Anyone with a modicum of common sense can envision Gov. Tom Wolf’s MO in his proposal for a massive tax increase. There is no funding crisis simply because Tom Wolf proclaims it to...
Letter to the editor: We should all support pollution standards
The quality of our natural world and the health and well-being of human beings are inextricably linked. Climate change represents a threat to these at both a local and global level. Methane is the primary energy component in natural gas, used for everything from home heating to generating electricity, but...
Mona Charen: Will Trump face the music, finally?
There has been some cheering about the 10 House and seven Senate Republicans who voted for impeachment. All honor to those who took the difficult path. But, good God! The president attempted to steal the election. He launched an insurrection against Congress. That only a handful of Republicans could vote...
John Stossel: We should better guard our privacy
I love my digital devices, but people keep telling me to worry more about my privacy. “Encrypt your emails!” “Drop Google and use search engines like DuckDuckGo that don’t track us!” I probably should. But I don’t. I’m lazy, and I like that web companies know me and show me...
Editorial: Finding the next best thing to a health department for Westmoreland
There’s nothing like a disaster to show you what you have and what you need. Westmoreland County Commissioners said Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic has shown them what they don’t need: a county health department. For almost a year, the county has responded to the increasing challenges of covid-19 without...
Christopher Welch: Veterans’ role in U.S. economic rebound
With the dawn of a new year comes a fresh start. This is especially true for the servicemen and women returning from active duty. Approximately 2,500 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned home. These veterans will be returning to a country that looks very different than the...
Matthew Brouillette: It’s time to do right by kids
“Schools that teach” sounded great as Gov. Tom Wolf’s campaign slogan in 2014 and 2018. But two years into Wolf’s second term, many parents are just wishing for “schools that open.” About 40% of school districts across Pennsylvania aren’t physically open for businesses. So it’s hardly surprising that from fall...
Letter to the editor: Snowmobiles, ATVs desecrating our woods
How wonderful that the U.S. Forest Service and our so-called state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources have opened Pennsylvania woods to ever-increasing numbers of ATVs and snowmobiles (“ATV/snowmobile fever: Westmoreland, Allegheny lead Pennsylvania in registrations,” Feb. 14, TribLIVE). Ah yes — conservation through pollution and desecration. I wait for...
Letter to the editor: Where is the gambling money going?
I remember distinctly — before the infamous Nick Perry 666 Daily Number fix of the state lottery in 1980 — the promise that state-sanctioned gambling would benefit the elderly first and later eliminate or reduce school property taxes. Every expansion of gambling is announced with the pledge that the “new”...
