Opinion category, Page 569
Letter to the editor: Finding energy solutions that work
The birthplace of America’s oil industry was Titusville in 1859. Today, Pennsylvania is again an energy powerhouse as the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale basins. We have the primary building block of all successful economies — abundant and inexpensive energy. We have a...
Letter to the editor: Gaslighting America
Postmodern theory, the concept that nothing is verifiably true, simply doesn’t work for everyone. For many, truths of religion and science still undergird their worldview. Today’s progressive ideology seeks to reshape all belief systems to fit its cultural vision. This deconstructionist exercise is occurring in part through psychological manipulation known...
Editorial: Pennsylvanians, a keystone in this election, can continue to lead the way
When big things happen in the world, the job of hometown papers is often to find a way to connect it to the local community. The 2020 election turned that on its head. The battle for the presidency may have been a national story, but that was in large part...
Javier Miyares and Jim Rosapepe: Virtual learning was better option for some even before pandemic
As educators are well into the school year, the national debate about the efficacy of online learning continues. Now, though, the stakes are higher. As the economy emerges from the current health crisis, an educated and motivated workforce will be needed to fuel its recovery. Education is not one-size-fits-all, and...
Raghu Sangwan: Analyses offer look into voters’ minds
As Americans went to bed Tuesday night, many wondered if they would wake up to a new president, much like they did four years ago. But by 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, CNN’s Don Lemon put it best: “If anyone tells you they know, they don’t.” At that time several so-called...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Pennsylvania perfect site for election battle
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision,” Abraham Lincoln said. That simple principle has been tested before and may be again. This time, the stakes could not be higher, for both the nation and the highest court in the land. By all appearances, it seems like we hold one...
Sounding off: Schools should stay open
Everyone is familiar with the joke about the drunk looking for his keys under the streetlight, because that is where the light is best, even though he dropped his keys elsewhere. I feel there is something similar going on with the notion that closing schools will somehow affect the spread...
Letter to the editor: Mall walkers seek earlier hours during cold weather
The mall walkers who have been walking at Pittsburgh Mills for years would like to see the mall open a littler earlier in these colder months. It is such a wonderful, well-maintained mall where we all have made such great friendships. Florence Henderson Fox Chapel...
Letter to the editor: Triumph, tragedy, Trump and Biden
As we led up to the election Tuesday, we all “worried and wondered” what it would be, triumph or tragedy? For those who wanted President Trump to win, they saw a win for Joe Biden as a tragedy and vice versa. Voters saw a vast difference between what the two...
Letter to the editor: Pipeline safety is in the spotlight
A recent series by Spotlight PA detailed pipeline safety in the commonwealth through the eyes of the statewide Mariner East pipeline system, which cuts through this region (“Along Mariner East pipelines, secrecy and a patchwork of emergency plans leave many at risk and in the dark”). So often with this...
Editorial: Toomey and Santorum are right about voting
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is the kind of Republican that needs to be heard right now. Toomey has been a reliably conservative Republican his entire political life. He has advocated for the Constitution and hewn close to the party’s bones when it comes to foreign policy, small government and fiscal...
Walter Williams: Blacks of yesteryear and today
I was a teenager, growing up in the Richard Allen housing project of North Philadelphia, when Emmett Till was lynched in Money, Miss., on Aug. 28, 1955, and his brutalized, unrecognizable body later recovered from the Tallahatchie River. From 1882-1968, 4,743 lynchings occurred in the United States. Roughly 73%, or...
Chad Forcey: Community solar offers bright spot of revenue opportunity
With Pennsylvania staring down a pandemic- induced $4.5 billion budget deficit, and just a few short weeks before our current budget expires on Nov. 30, the commonwealth is short on options. Without new revenues, Harrisburg lawmakers will need to enact painful cuts that will make our covid-19 recovery longer and...
Letter to the editor: Why the media can’t be believed
In a recent news clip about protesters, a reporter said at 2 a.m. that “the protesters were out but not as many as earlier in the day.” After watching them smash windows, take items and run, he said, “It looks like the protesters are going to have a long night.”...
Letter to the editor: IUP’s changes will hurt students
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has announced plans to restructure academic programs. Part of the plan is to eliminate 128 faculty positions, nearly one-quarter of current faculty. Eighty-one faculty members were notified last week that their jobs would be eliminated (“Indiana University of Pennsylvania notifies 81 faculty members of pending job...
Lori Falce: The virtual voodoo of political polls
So when do we decide polling is just the 21st-century version of witchcraft? Regardless of what happens with the ballots and counts and final tallies of the 2020 general election, one thing is clear. The way it ended up doesn’t look that much like what the predictions were. There were...
Letter to the editor: Enough is enough with political ads
I’m so glad that this election is over. I’m fed up with getting at least five political ads a day in the mail — wish I could put “return to sender” and mail them all back, plus the annoying phone calls and TV ads. Enough is enough. Keith J. Piecka...
Letter to the editor: Babies’ lives don’t seem to matter
Life is precious. God is the creator of life. Black lives matter. Absolutely. Blue lives matter. Absolutely. Handicapped lives matter. Absolutely. White lives matter. Absolutely. Baby lives matter. Well, not really. God creates lives, but politicians decide which babies live and which babies die. Insane! Francis P. Murrman Sr. Greensburg...
Jonah Goldberg: De-emphasizing politics may be the best way to mend fences
The day before Election Day, Reuters ran a story about the personal toll politics has taken on some peoples’ lives. Mayra Gomez told her 21-year-old son she’d be voting for Trump. He essentially disowned his mother in response. Gomez says he told her: “You are no longer my mother.” Gayle...
Laurels & lances: Duty, responsibility and generosity
Laurel: To doing your duty. Some people plan to vote but don’t get around to it because they get busy or they don’t feel well or the weather isn’t nice. But some people really put in the effort. Megan Walker of Tarentum is one of those committed voters who doesn’t...
Letter to the editor: Will we eliminate Columbus Day holiday pay, too?
I agree with taking down Columbus’ statue because the taxpayers will be saved millions of dollars. No city or county or federal employee will be off that day, right? I mean, surely we wouldn’t give a day off to government employees to celebrate a mass murderer, right? Peter A. Mamula...
Letter to the editor: License plate cost confusion
In 2017, my wife and I purchased a new car. The dealer gave us a new license plate. Within the next year, we noticed that the plate was starting to peel in strips. In August, the service manager at the dealer told us the car did not pass the yearly...
Letter to the editor: Appreciating animal shelters
The first full week in November is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Animal shelters provide much-needed services to keep our communities healthy and safe. Animal shelters provide a bridge between homeless animals and people wanting to share their lives with an animal. We are very fortunate in the Alle-Kiski Valley...
Editorial: Pennsylvania is more than 20 electoral votes
Late night humor is often political, frequently gleeful and generally a fluid blend of accurate and exaggerated. That’s comedy. Stephen Colbert may be the reigning king of the savage political snark, but Tuesday, he took a Twitter stab at the Keystone State that might have seemed like humor but could...
Brandon Arnold: Trump drug rebate gambit rests on shaky legal authority
$7.9 billion might not seem like much money when measured against the trillions of dollars the federal government has spent in response to covid-19 — and the trillions more it might soon spend. But President Trump has a $7.9 billion drug rebate proposal that almost certainly violates his administration’s authority...
