Opinion category, Page 641
Letter to the editor: Long hair, pot smoking prevail
The slugs, the nonconformist, wasted potheads of the ’60s, appear to have won. Now in 2020 thanks mostly to the liberal states, it is OK to smoke pot but against the law to get a haircut. Was this the objective all along? One has to wonder. Oh and by the...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s hydroxychloroquine
As the late President Ronald Reagan might have said, “There you go again, Mr. Trump!” The president began touting the benefits he believes would ensue to fight the coronavirus from the widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria. We have since learned from doctors, including the esteemed...
Letter to the editor: Gov. Wolf, give us back our rights
Gov. Wolf: On March 16, you ordered us to close our businesses and schools and to stay at home. You told us that this was necessary to “flatten the curve” so our hospitals wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Not only have Pittsburgh’s covid-19 ICUs never been overwhelmed, they’ve never even been full....
Letter to the editor: Heroes Act, jobs and cannabis
The U.S. House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi passed a $3 trillion package to help save the economy during the covid-19 pandemic. It is titled the Heroes Act. Certainly there are many still suffering, and we can acknowledge there have been heroes all around us. But in a bill to help...
Letter to the editor: Polling location consolidation is a bad plan
Allegheny County has announced that polling locations are being consolidated due to coronavirus (“Allegheny County votes to consolidate primary polling locations”). Monroeville’s one polling location will be at the Monroeville Convention Center. I believe the proposed consolidation plan is counterproductive from the perspective of both public health and voters’ rights....
Joseph Sabino Mistick: On Memorial Day, honor all by providing care for all
Since just after the Civil War, Americans have set aside one day to honor the men and women who died while serving in the military. As our country fought new wars, newly fallen soldiers were added to the day of remembrance, starting with World War I and then World War...
Editorial: Sports are more than a game
Pennsylvania is a state with a lot of sports history. There is no major sport that doesn’t happen in the Keystone State. Whether you want your games as all-American as baseball or as global as soccer, it happens here. As grassroots as NASCAR or as high class as horse racing....
Sounding off: Courageous leaders make hard decisions
The criticism of Gov. Tom Wolf by legislators, district attorneys and state representatives exposes the hypocrisy behind their “live free or die” recommendations that counties open businesses earlier than considered safe. We need to support leaders of courage who risk threats when they make unpopular, necessarily restrictive decisions. This virus...
Letter to the editor: No desire for Tom Wolf’s ‘pep talk’
Fellow taxpayers: I find it particularly insensitive and even downright vulgar to allow our exalted ruler of the state, Gov. Tom Wolf, to be able to give a “pep talk” in TV ads. He talks about the resolve of the people of Pennsylvania, and yadda, yadda, yadda, during this crisis....
Letter to the editor: Just wear the mask
What is the big deal about wearing a mask when you are out in public? No one is asking you to storm the beaches of Normandy, or fight in southeast Asia or the Middle East. All that is being asked of you is to wear a mask in public because...
Letter to the editor: Franklin Regional implosion imminent
The Franklin Regional budget for 2020-21 confirms the coming school district’s financial implosion, to be precipitated by the Sloan campus debt. Current operations and growing debt payments are producing massive deficits that will consume all general funds within four years, even with annual Pennsylvania maximum tax increases. This follows the...
Walter Williams: Alternatives key to solving education crisis for black students
Black politicians, civil rights leaders and their white liberal advocates have little or no interest in doing anything effective to deal with what’s no less than an education crisis among black students. In city after city with large black populations, such as Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.,...
John Stossel: Parents learning about schooling options during pandemic
The government has closed most schools. So more parents are teaching kids at home. That upsets the government school monopoly. Education “experts” say parents lack the expertise to teach their kids. Without state schooling, “learning losses … could well be catastrophic,” says The New York Times. Home-schooling “will set back...
Editorial: Celebrating the quarantine grads
Well, you did it, Class of 2020. Whether you finished grad school or picked up your bachelor’s degree, made it through high school or just figured your way out of kindergarten, you got it done. Congratulations. But yes, it might be hard to believe. Is it really over? It doesn’t...
Jonah Goldberg: Face coverings aren’t a symbol of tyranny
One of the things I love about America — and there are many — is her deeply ingrained rebelliousness. When the government tells us to do something, we instinctively question it. Of course, all principles can be taken too far. It’s good to question authority, but if a sign says,...
Charlie Melancon: Pennsylvania on forefront of energy technology, development
History is being made in the energy industry. But that history has been both positive and negative. The latter, of course, is best showcased by the recent “contango” in the crude oil industry that pushed futures prices well into the negatives as reported by outlets worldwide. Those prices have since...
Letter to the editor: Living on love in time of coronavirus
The produce stands, roadside fruit markets and grocery stores both large and small are now open for business. But I thought we could live on love alone. John Greco Cheswick...
Letter to the editor: Decency in the White House
Not all Trump supporters are moonshine-swilling hillbillies or white evangelicals who have left their consciences in the vestibule. They are joined by those who are simply satisfied with full bellies and crammed wallets. Add to their number the spineless Republican senators, who, after the president was impeached — and, yes,...
Letter to the editor: The real ‘Crossfire Hurricane’
With the dismissal of the “perjury trap” prosecution of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the real “Crossfire Hurricane” has landed. Let the destruction begin. The unfiltered data just declassified by the acting director of national intelligence seems to support my personal opinion that Barack Obama was a heinously corrupt president. It’s...
First lady Frances Wolf: Let’s be kind, grateful on 143 Day
Fred Rogers called upon us to look for the helpers during dark times. And right now, our helpers are everywhere. They’re in our hospitals, driving our buses, stocking our shelves, delivering our packages and so much more. They’re keeping us safe and healthy while we get through this pandemic. Last...
Lori Falce: Trolleys, Star Trek and a pandemic
They call it “the trolley problem.” It’s a question that I first encountered in my very favorite course at Penn State — a small philosophy class with a professor who cared much less about the grade you earned than the things you thought and what they motivated you to do....
Laurels & lances: Checks and balances
Laurel: To small gestures. Six weeks might not seem like a big deal with some things. It’s less than the timeline from Halloween to Christmas, which seems to pass in a blink. But when you’re waiting for money, it can feel like a lifetime, especially when belts are tight and...
Nathan Benefield: Pennsylvanians deserve an apology
Insults. Threats. Bullying. Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf’s video statement featured all three. Wolf launched these salvos against his fellow Pennsylvanians — local elected officials, job creators, and workers in eight counties — seeking to provide for themselves and their families. He called them “cowards” and “deserters” for assessing local...
Jennifer Christman: Mental Health Awareness Month critical for covid-19 front-line workers
Prior to covid-19, our nation was silently witnessing another growing epidemic — suicide. Specifically, among first responders. Many members of this at-risk population are now on the front lines of the pandemic, working in high-stress professions where the nature of their work leads to experiencing trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder....
Letter to the editor: Back to normal at warp speed
“Operation Warp Speed” could be the new Trumpian slogan that ought to do the trick. That will show the pesky covid-19 who’s boss. We’ll simply ignore the raging pandemic and go back to normal. Vaccine by year’s end? Sure! It has been ordered. Miracle cures, silver bullets, magical thinking …...
