Opinion category, Page 552
Editorial: The scary year that was 2020
The Tribune-Review editorial from Jan. 1, 2020, could have been prophecy. The headline has proven to be an undeniable truth: “2020 promises wild ride.” “If 2019 seemed like a roller coaster, hurtling to the peak of one local, state, national or global event after another before veering wildly off in...
Letter to the editor: GOP comes full circle on Russia
It took the GOP 40 years, but they finally have come full circle concerning the Soviet Union. In the 1980s, it was President Reagan who “conquered the Commies” and “tore down the wall.” (Russia actually went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan for 11 years. We have fought there for nearly 20.)...
Letter to the editor: Municipalities disobeying governor’s orders
While I agree wholeheartedly with your editorial on the need for Westmoreland County to stop passing through funds to North Huntingdon for officials’ refusal to obey the governor’s covid-19 restrictions (“North Huntingdon hurts its residents by defying state covid mandates,” Dec. 19, TribLIVE), I am curious if you are willing...
Letter to the editor: Mail-in voting invites fraud
In his letter “Rep. Bob Brooks’ contempt for democracy” (Dec. 16, TribLIVE), Ray Ramondino stated “the only problem with mail-in voting is it allows more people to exercise their constitutional right to vote.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The real problem with mail-in voting is that there aren’t...
Letter to the editor: Easy to understand Trump’s defeat
After four years of experiencing the President Trump brand, American voters defeated him at the ballot box. Instead of building bridges to unite Americans, he built walls between families and friends. The other wall he promised never materialized. Americans were lied to, a lot, “believe me.” We were fed ludicrous...
Letter to the editor: Venting on vaccine, stimulus, career politicians
Thanks to the Tribune-Review for printing my 2020 opinions. Let me wrap up my 2020 venting with the following. For months we were promised the vaccine would be given to health care providers and elderly in nursing homes first. Then I see politicians and their spouses (Jill Biden) receiving it....
Chris Johnson: Beyond the pandemic — transforming health care operations
When covid-19 reached America early in 2020, the U.S. health care system mobilized like never before to anticipate and meet the demand for treatment and vaccines. Ten months later, health care providers today continue to work courageously and tirelessly to deliver patient care. Talented and dedicated medical researchers have spent...
Letter to the editor: Does Trump love America?
Donald Trump loves America? Why did he hold America hostage with failed lawsuits as he tries to overturn his election defeat with lies about a rigged election? I believe the rigged election was in 2016, and Trump won then with the help of Russia, WikiLeaks and emails. And he still...
Letter to the editor: Election deserves scrutiny
I’m a Westmoreland County precinct election judge. On Nov. 3, one honest voter turned in duplicate mail-in ballots to be voided and vote in person. I mentioned this to another election judge while standing in line to turn in results that night and discovered it wasn’t unusual. This may be...
Letter to the editor: People had the power on pandemic
We the people had the power on our own to prevent hospitalizations, deaths and state restrictions. Despite the fact that our leaders themselves stated that we the people had a personal and collective responsibility to curb the spread of covid-19 without the need of any state or local restrictions, we...
Editorial: Parks are needed. So is funding.
Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 on Monday to start collecting a new property tax in the coming year. It isn’t a tax that will be a surprise. Pittsburghers voted for the 0.5-mill dedicated increase in 2019. The council is simply moving forward with the plans to collect and then use...
Letter to the editor: Will Joyce and Reschenthaler need pardons?
Despite numerous federal and state courts having ruled that there are no specific credible allegations or supporting evidence associated with the allegations of widespread voter fraud in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, local congressional representatives John Joyce and Guy Reschenthaler found it necessary to sign onto the seditious abuse of judiciary submitted...
Pat Buchanan: 2020 America’s wake-up call
Who could have predicted how dreadful a year 2020 would be? By this New Year’s Eve, 19 million to 20 million Americans will have contracted a deadly virus in a pandemic that exploded out of China to carry off 333,000 Americans, one of every 1,000 of us. As 2021 begins,...
Mona Charen: Even Trump’s pardons are selfish
The list of President Donald Trump’s pardons and clemencies looks a lot like a supermarket tabloid: In other words, a lot like Trump’s life itself. There’s Rod Blagojevich with his saucy smile, and there’s smug Joe Arpaio. Every president’s pardon list contains some self-serving or controversial picks; think of then-President...
Letter to the editor: Business owners standing up to Gov. Tom Wolf are patriots
Regarding the article “Alle-Kiski Valley restaurants continue to defy governor’s order suspending indoor dining”: David’s Diner co-owner Lisa Speer is an example of a true patriot standing up against the tyrannical order of Gov. Tom Wolf to close down. This unconstitutional craziness is not going to end until the people...
Letter to the editor: Who can we trust?
As we near the end of 2020, a few things should be coming clear: • We can’t trust the federal government to spend prudently. • We can’t trust our state governors to govern wisely. • We can’t trust the Fed to protect our currency. • We can’t trust the United...
Editorial: The pandemic lesson of a Steelers game
Oh, the life lessons we can learn from football — even in a year when sports have been so up in the air. Football is just a game. Sometimes that’s true. But Hollywood seems to recognize the ability of sports to act as a kind of parable for the way...
Dr. Jacob Appel: Why call anyone ‘Dr.’?
The controversy over incoming first lady Jill Biden’s use of the title “Dr.” — spurred by essayist Joseph Epstein’s recent jeremiad in The Wall Street Journal against holders of nonmedical doctorates who embrace the label — largely has focused on the sexism confronted by female Ph.D.s and Ed.D.s (such as...
Letter to the editor: Restaurant owners’ ignorance
Thank you for the excellent article “Restaurants along Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell run the gamut of compliance with pandemic restrictions”. I was shocked to read that only a few restaurants are following restrictions and that so many owners seem to be willfully ignorant. One restaurant has a packed parking...
Jonah Goldberg: Listen to science — but listen carefully
Behold science, the sword and the shield of progressivism. Over the course of the pandemic (and before that, in debates over climate change, stem cells, etc.), liberals have insisted that we must listen to science and heed the scientists. It was a cornerstone of President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign and a...
Letter to the editor: North Huntingdon solicitor’s reckless comments
After reading that Westmoreland County reported 90 covid-related deaths in the first 12 days of December, I was appalled to read the North Huntingdon solicitor’s comments (“North Huntingdon says ‘no’ to Wolf’s limits on indoor crowds,” Dec. 11, TribLIVE). In response to an upcoming open township meeting, his comments that...
Letter to the editor: Calculating electric car fees
I believe letter-writer Kenneth Nath (“Electric car owners’ fair share,” Dec. 13, TribLIVE) has his math wrong. The state needs tax money to pay for road upkeep and maintenance. The gas tax of $0.587 a gallon is based on an average gasoline car. The average miles per gallon is between...
Editorial: Pittsburgh police leaders show serious commitment to reforms
Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert says he is committed to doing better. That is the place every improvement should start. Now seems to be the perfect time for such a commitment. After all, the new year is just days away. “We’re always evolving, always striving to be better,” Schubert said...
Letter to the editor: Election fraud? Get real, folks.
In science, there is something called “Occam’s razor,” a proposition which supposes that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the correct one. So I ask: Which is more believable, that President Trump has told one more lie after 20,000 already documented, or that there is a massive conspiracy...
Letter to the editor: Shut up and enjoy your $600
I got a message from Congress the other day. Funny that it was a coded message and needed a bit of decoding skill to translate. Here’s what my message said: “We are excited to inform you that at nearly midnight on the last day of our 2020 session, we were...
