Opinion category, Page 620
Letter to the editor: A vote for Biden is vote against unborn
Simply put, any vote for Joe Biden is a vote against unborn children and a vote for your pocketbook. The rest doesn’t matter. Susan Keyser East Huntingdon...
Letter to the editor: No reason to cancel fall college sports
Mark Madden is, in my opinion, 100% incorrect about playing college sports (“College sports need to tap out for fall season,” July 10, TribLIVE). I believe there is zero reason for colleges to be canceling seasons, or to be holding classes online. (The same argument applies to K-12 even more...
Letter to the editor: Wolf’s severance tax would hurt Pa.’s pandemic recovery
So many Westmoreland County residents are more than ready to return to work. While we need to continue observing public health guidelines, we also need to make sure our leaders are putting smart policies in place. These policies need to ensure that businesses will have access to reliable, affordable energy...
Letter to the editor: If Joe Biden wins, USA will never be the same
To put this upcoming election in perspective, one only need go back to 2016 when President Obama dismissed Joe Biden, his vice president, as the Democrats’ endorsed candidate for president, and instead christened Hillary Clinton. So this is what we have as the left’s best to offer in 2020, an...
Letter to the editor: Reschenthaler’s kumbaya moment over
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s op-ed “Trump built greatest American economy before. He’ll do it again” (June 22, TribLIVE), intended as a kumbaya moment for unity, was actually a commercial for Donald Trump, as noted by letter-writers Leonard Mucci (“Reschenthaler drank the Kool-Aid,” July 6, TribLIVE) and Joanne Garing (“Reschenthaler’s Trump view...
John M. Crisp: Ominous days ahead for post office
A strange thing happened last week. The mail didn’t arrive. In a world beset by climate change, racial injustice and a pandemic, the failure of my letter carrier to swiftly complete his appointed rounds is a minor disappointment. Besides, like most Americans, I communicate largely via email. It’s immediate. Messages...
Editorial: Harrison Point project should stay prepared to roll with the changes
Planning for the future is always important. That doesn’t stop just because of economic upheaval and a global pandemic. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is putting $3 million into a road modification for Route 366 (Bull Creek Road) just off Route 28’s Tarentum exit. It would support a 162-acre business...
Tom Purcell: Perpetual anger no help in pandemic
Good grief: Apparently, America has yet to move past the anger phase regarding covid-19. In 1969 the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, in her book “On Death and Dying,” described five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. According to Fast Company, researchers from Singapore, China, Australia and Switzerland analyzed...
Chadwick Dolgos: Mandatory mask mandates conflict with going back to school
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., argued in a recent tweet that the mandatory mask mandates issued by many state governors directly conflict with the Trump administration’s bold plan to return children back to school by fall. Massie’s tweet echoes the concerns of his constituents who do not believe that children are...
Alyssa Lenhoff Brigg, Alison Slinskey Legg and Veronica Gonzales: Pre-college STEM programs can inform equitable college admissions
As with all sectors of society, the education world has been upended and we are all searching for ways to make sense of what is, what was and what will be. The pandemic, the postponement of college board tests and the growing trend of test results becoming optional for college...
Letter to the editor: Will law-abiding, God-fearing citizens prevail?
Never in my almost 65 years have I seen our nation in such an absurd and perilous state. We are nothing less than an empire in the final stages of collapse. We have replaced common sense with nonsense. Politics and news media are discredited beyond redemption. I believe we have...
Letter to the editor: Veterans should always count
Regarding the article “Veterans left out of census count” (July 12, TribLIVE): Yes, veterans should be considered, included and counted in every aspect of our country. One problem is there are veterans and there are others who are not really veterans. A veteran who was drafted (years back) was asked...
Letter to the editor: Businesses should respect rules, customers
Many businesses follow the state rules, although not easy, and Pennsylvania has shown a decrease in covid-19 positives and deaths. Responsible businesses have even gone beyond state requirements. Unfortunately, a few businesses choose to disregard guidelines. As the saying goes, a bad apple spoils the whole bunch. Recently I stopped...
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 20
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 20....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 20
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 20....
Editorial: Elected officials should wear masks in public meetings, or stay home
Masks have been a hot-button issue in these pandemic days. Whether it is an online video of a confrontation over wearing a mask in a private business or something closer to home, some people rebel against wearing masks in public settings. Wearing cloth masks, especially indoors, is widely regarded by...
Paul Petrick: Name change would dishonor the original Cleveland Indian
As Northeast Ohio baseball fans anticipate the start of a truncated season of Cleveland Indians baseball, they are suddenly faced with the possible end of their beloved ball club as they know it. On July 3, the Indians released a statement explaining how the team was “committed to engaging our...
Scott Martelle: Federal agents deployed by Trump spirit away protesters. What country is this?
Taking a page from the playbooks of autocrats around the globe, President Donald Trump has deployed federal agents to patrol the streets of Portland, Oregon, where, dressed in camouflage uniforms that identified them only as “police,” they have reportedly used tear gas to dispel protesters — and more darkly, cruised...
Letter to the editor: How about extra payment for essential workers?
I’m writing to find out where the talk about the essential workers’ hazard pay went. I have worked through this whole pandemic and put my family at risk every time I walk into my home after work. There are people who don’t have jobs who got a stimulus check, and...
Letter to the editor: Student success barometer for country’s health
If you are wondering what is wrong with America lately, just look at “education.” Annually we pay over $600 billion to educate more than 50 million students. So what do we get for our money? Half of our students are not proficient in either mathematics or science and 40% are...
Letter to the editor: Pay cut may help politicians find solutions
As a sign of solidarity and an exercise in empathy and understanding, I propose our elected officials take a 100% pay cut until the current heath and economic crisis is brought under control. The money could be redirected to patients with mounting bills, small businesses and essential workers. Perhaps our...
Letter to the editor: There should be only one ‘race’
Do Black lives matter? Such a question/concern should never even have to be raised. Can hope exist for real social justice and achievable joyful life, unencumbered by divisions innumerable when people have to declare that their lives matter? Yet, there may be hope if we accept that race is a...
Letter to the editor: Pa.’s natural gas industry follows rigorous rules
Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s report on natural gas, as described in the editorial “Grand jury report on fracking indicts the state” (July 7, TribLIVE), is “factually and legally inaccurate.” Those aren’t my words; those are the words from the dedicated Department of Environmental Protection professionals who also described the report...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: We need more than tweets to solve our issues
Presidential campaigns are complicated. Election Day comes after years of political maneuvering, primary elections scattered across the land, late summer nominating conventions and televised debates that are part policy and part showbiz — all ending in November after months of media coverage. While some of that will be different this...
Bryan Iams: To keep America competitive, we must prioritize infrastructure funding
It is more important than ever for our country to invest in areas that help get more people back to work. Lawmakers should prioritize the passage and implementation of a comprehensive infrastructure program that would immediately provide employment opportunities for many Americans. The U.S. was in dire need of these...
