Opinion category, Page 550
Laurels & lances: Good taste, goodbye, good sense
Laurel: To a recognition in good taste. Tessaro’s in Bloomfield is well known for burgers as big in flavor as they are in size. J&J’s Family Restaurant in Mt. Washington is the kind of diner that feels like visiting a favorite aunt’s house, sipping coffee from mismatched mugs. The two...
Letter to the editor: We don’t get to pick and choose laws we obey
In her letter “Business owners standing up to Gov. Tom Wolf are patriots,” Shelia Hanson claims restaurant owners who defied Gov. Tom Wolf’s order suspending indoor dining are “patriots.” She bases this on the assertion that the orders are unconstitutional. First, some real patriots, our Founding Fathers, put a court...
Caleb Verbois: The Constitution, a demagogue and a coup
Every semester in my introductory American Government class, I have my students read a short speech written by a 28-year-old over 150 years ago. It turned into one of the most important speeches in American history, even though many people have forgotten it today. The speaker, a relatively unknown Midwestern...
Letter to the editor: Confused by voting procedures
Voting this year for our president has been very confusing. I received a mail-in ballot that I did not request. I wanted to vote in person. At my polling place, I gave the poll worker my driver’s license and voter registration card, and I was told to sign the registration...
Letter to the editor: Register for organ donation on PA Donor Day
On Jan. 8, Pennsylvania will host its second annual PA Donor Day, a chance to galvanize our friends and neighbors to rally behind the nearly 7,000 Pennsylvanians who are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Why Jan. 8? Because one registered donor has the power to save 8 lives. My...
Letter to the editor: Biden will be called illegitimate, too
President-elect Joe Biden reaches out and asks for unity within government parties while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Washington Post writer and others suggested creating blacklists so supporters of President Trump are identified and prevented from “profiting” from their actions in support of the Trump administration. To me, that means preventing...
Letter to the editor: AG Shapiro should investigate election fraud allegations
Josh Shapiro, as the attorney general of Pennsylvania, has the power, authority and responsibility to shut down this whole voter fraud allegation. As per the Pennsylvania Election Code, Act of June 3, 1937, P.L. 1333, No. 320, Section 1642, on enforcement: (a) The Attorney General shall have prosecutorial jurisdiction over...
Editorial: An assault on the American system
The U.S. Capitol is the cathedral of government in the United States. Since 1793, it has been where the laws that shape our nation were baptized. Where treaties were blessed. Where solemn acts of war were confirmed. While we separate our churches from the state, the Capitol with its awe-inspiring...
Steve Johnson: It wasn’t all bad, was it? 9 things to keep from 2020
I think most of us would gladly erase 2020 from our memories, in the same way that certain tall buildings fail to acknowledge the 13th floor. By almost any measure, it’s been a trash fire of a year. I could list what makes this true — the various fuels feeding...
Letter to the editor: Nurses as valuable as doctors
Regarding Dr. Jacob Appel’s op-ed “Why call anyone ‘Dr.’?” (Dec. 29, TribLIVE): As a professor who calls her students by their first names and asks them to reciprocate, I agree that professional titles should be eschewed. But why does Appel find it “distressing” that female doctors are sometimes mistaken for...
Letter to the editor: Biden in; time for Trump to be out
The Electoral College has spoken: Joe Biden was confirmed to be the winner of the 2020 presidential election. It’s time for his followers to rip down the Trump banners and signs and accept the Democratic process of a presidential election, just as when President Trump won in 2016. Trump promised...
Editorial: Another Harrisburg mudfest that didn’t have to happen
What happened in Harrisburg on Tuesday didn’t have to happen. The question of who exactly won the 45th District seat in the Pennsylvania Senate is not a question that just came up. It was not a surprise. It has been an ongoing issue since the Nov. 3 election, when incumbent...
Letter to the editor: We should each act according to tolerance of unknown
Various governors, officials and network anchors pontificated that we should not have met for the holidays in family groups larger than 10 or two family units, and that we certainly should have avoided eating with strangers. Let’s examine the logic behind these pronouncements. Say you have N family members living...
Pat Buchanan: Family brawl in the house of Trump
A week from today, Joe Biden will still be on his inexorable course to become the 46th president of the United States. Why, then, the hysteria that has suddenly gripped this city? The triggering event was the announcement by GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Despite a plea by Senate...
Letter to the editor: McConnell should be investigated
So they are investigating Hunter Biden. The one they should be investigating is Sen. Mitch McConnell. When he took office in 1985, he was worth $3 million. Last year, he was worth over $34 million, not a bad return on a salary of $193,000. He is married to Secretary of...
Letter to the editor: Export festival a success despite pandemic
The Tribune-Review’s “Best of the Best” awards listed Fort Ligonier Days as Westmoreland County’s best “Festival/Fair” category winner, followed by the Delmont Apple ’n Arts Festival and the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival as finalists. None of these events, however, took place in 2020. The Export Ethnic Food & Music...
Letter to the editor: GOP’s desperate actions
From the time of the Three-fifths Compromise in 1787 to determine federal representation, we have been a nation that increased the political power of a white minority while devaluing the power of minorities of color. The current Republican leadership is now doubling down on their intent to achieve minority rule...
Editorial: Mourning the loss of Rep. Mike Reese, a dedicated public servant
If you drive around Westmoreland County, you might think that Mike Reese was running for the state House of Representatives again. The green-and-white signs promoting support for him have popped up again like mushrooms. This time they aren’t about swaying a vote in the November election, which he won for...
Jonah Goldberg: Veep gambit puts some GOP legislators on stupid side of history
A lot of stupid things are said about history. For example, there is no “right side” of history, if by that you mean events are destined to play out in some sort of preordained way. But there is such a thing as being on the stupid side of history —...
Tom Purcell: Companion animals bringing more joy than ever
My new puppy entered the world on Christmas, and he’s already bringing incredible joy into my family — just as many dogs, cats and other bundles of joy are doing for millions during these unusual times. I drove to Punxsutawney over the weekend to choose a Labrador puppy. Sunny, the...
Letter to the editor: Google lawsuit could hurt small businesses
The article “38 states, including Pennsylvania, file anti-trust lawsuit against Google” (Dec. 17, TribLIVE) outlines how elected officials are filing another antitrust lawsuit against Google. It is the job of the government to promote a competitive marketplace, but this lawsuit could have unintended consequences for small businesses. One of the...
Letter to the editor: Mail-in ballot problems
Thank you, Ken Mowl, for your letter regarding the Westmoreland County Election Bureau (“Provisional vote not counted,” Dec. 21, TribLIVE). I and two of my neighbors requested mail-in ballots, and none of us ever received them, though the Election Bureau did find time to enter our requests in its computer...
Editorial: Is turnpike toll increase gap unfair?
January is here. It’s time for that special ritual of the new year. Not the swearing in of new elected officials. Not signing up for a gym or diet plan to pursue a resolution that could wither by February. No, in the Keystone State, there is something that happens every...
Letter to the editor: Masks and ‘good citizens’
Delmont Council Vice President Bill Marx’s feigned outrage is pure political grandstanding (“Everyone should follow the rules”). Elected officials define a “good citizen” as someone wearing a mask and a “dangerous citizen” as someone not wearing a mask. Marx’s obtuse argument endangers the health and welfare of himself and the...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 4
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 4....
