Opinion category, Page 652
Letter to the editor: Covid-19 numbers don’t add up
I don’t pretend to be a statistician, and I understand the numbers I’m using are just raw data, but I’m concerned about the numbers being discussed during the covid-19 White House and state briefings. With our country having only 4% of the world’s population, we have 31% of the confirmed...
Letter to the editor: Destruction of life, liberty, happiness
Sun Tzu wrote “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” The Chinese military strategist is long dead but like-minded people of power still exist. America and the world are fighting an invisible enemy, and it’s not just the microscopic virus that we can’t see. We...
Editorial: Could PSU cuts show cost correction possibility?
Maybe the coronavirus pandemic can do something in Pennsylvania nothing else has been able to do. Maybe it will lead to reducing budgets at universities. On Friday, Penn State announced a series of moves to make the books balance in the face of a $100 million loss. The state’s largest...
Letter to the editor: Using tax money to pick winners, losers
When the government decides the coronavirus crisis is over, rest assured that the politicians will review their response, find minor areas of improvement and ultimately pronounce a job well done. Our parents and grandparents gave the governor the authority to close businesses — and to choose which businesses must close....
Letter to the editor: Freedom & rallies to reopen
Well, President Trump is agitating against his own government. His tweets, with the help of Russian trolls, bring out people who do not understand “self-interest.” They are the usual set of “freedom lovers” who use “freedom” as a mask for their warped ideology. The “rallies” expose the people who care...
Letter to the editor: Conor Lamb, Joe Biden & fracking
As a resident of District 17 represented by U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, I’m troubled by his continued support of Joe Biden for president when he’s clearly against the shale industry here in Pennsylvania. I’m a natural gas industry employee, and we are an energy family in Lamb’s district. To hear...
Letter to the editor: Too early to reopen Pa.
Amid a pandemic, where social distancing is crucial to our survival, Pittsburghers are gathering outside to demand that Gov. Tom Wolf reopen businesses (“Protesters in Pittsburgh demand Gov. Wolf to reopen businesses amid coronavirus pandemic,” April 20, TribLIVE). This would be a tragic decision, as there are, as of April...
Letter to the editor: Nowhere to buy shoes
I have for two weeks been trying to find soccer shoes — not to play soccer, but for grass cutting. No stores that are open have them, and I have no internet to do online shopping. Because of covid-19 I can’t even get through when I try to call stores,...
Letter to the editor: How about a moratorium on income tax?
Left-wing politicians advocate using the pandemic to shape the country with liberal ideology. What would happen if right-wing politicians used the pandemic to shape the country with conservative ideology? Imagine if in addition to spending $2 trillion on a coronavirus emergency response bill, we also placed a one-year moratorium on...
John Stossel: Government goes too far
I’m “social distancing.” I stay away from people. I do it voluntarily. There’s a big difference between voluntary — and force. Government is force. The media want more of that. “Ten states have no stay-at-home orders!” complains Don Lemon on CNN. “Some governors are still refusing to take action!” Fox...
Sounding off: School taxes should be reduced during pandemic
Since Gov. Tom Wolf has made the decision to close all schools for the remaining school year and with school taxes coming due, we taxpayers should be contacting the governor and our school districts asking for a reduction in our school taxes. Understanding that the teachers are still working and...
Cheri Rinehart: Community health centers on covid-19 front lines
Amid all the uncertainty in our nation as we face and fight the covid-19 pandemic, one thing is certain: Community health centers (also known as federally qualified health centers, FQHCs) will continue to care for all regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. The most vulnerable Americans in urban...
Letter to the editor: Get rid of Squirrel Hill Tunnel
I saw on the news that they want to build a new Commercial Street Bridge, which is part of Parkway East just before the Squirrel Hill Tunnel. What will that accomplish? It will just give you a nicer road to get stuck on before you get into the tunnel. This...
Letter to the editor: Use your stimulus money to help others
The government stimulus checks are out. This raises the question, “How many of us really need the money?” Western Pennsylvania is basically a working-class community both historically and currently. Most of us know what it means to live from paycheck to paycheck and feel nobody really cares. With so many...
Letter to the editor: Taxes, regulations, shutdown push people out of Pa.
I have 11 brothers and sisters. All of them except one have moved out of Pennsylvania. Four of my children have moved out of state. Many people I know have moved away. A family I have known for 40 years said they are moving out as soon as their house...
Letter to the editor: Federal government doing great job
In Michael DiVittorio’s article “6 employees at Smithfield Foods plant in Arnold test positive for coronavirus” (April 13, TribLIVE), union president Wendell Young was quoted as saying, “We wish we had better guidance out of the federal government.” Where have you been, Wendell? The federal government created the Coronavirus Task...
Letter to the editor: The Trump circus
I read letters stating how President Trump restricted travel in January. It was Jan. 31, and he never stopped flights. He stopped people in China from flying here, but Americans, dual citizens and permanent residents still could fly here. Travel from Europe was not restricted until mid-March, even though Italy...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The leader we need
Mr. President, people need your help right now. This is not the time for you to remind us how you “cut off” China at the end of January or how “people are surprised” that you understand the medical issues surrounding the pandemic. You are constantly trying to play catch-up, instead...
Letter to the editor: Parties should join together, not blame
The editorial page often includes opposing “pro Trump” letters that approve the president’s policies and results and “blame Trump” letters that attack him but offer few solutions. Many hate what he says, not what he has done. Some letter-writers twist the president’s words out of context and echo the Democratic...
Walter Williams: Benefits vs. costs & covid-19
One of the first lessons in an economics class is everything has a cost. That’s in stark contrast to lessons in the political arena where politicians talk about free stuff. In our personal lives, decision-making involves weighing costs against benefits. Businessmen make the same calculation if they want to stay...
Editorial: Is cutting polls smart in pandemic?
As a nation, we spend a lot of time telling people to get out and vote. As a news organization, we do, too. We want people to be informed about issues, aware of implications and prepared for the decisions they are about to make. But more than anything, we want...
Drs. Terence S. Dermody & Mark Gladwin: Thanks to Pittsburgh for leadership in covid-19 crisis
Terence S. Dermody, M.D., is the Vira I. Heinz Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and physician-in-chief and scientific director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Mark Gladwin, M.D., is the Jack D. Myers Distinguished Professor and chair of...
Kelly Dickey: Covid-19 & the USPS
Our country is facing an unprecedented situation. We are all anxious to see what awaits us in the next weeks and months, and what life after will be like. It is the essential workers who are trying to bring normality to our lives, ensuring our hospitals stay open and we...
Letter to the editor: Find the good & uplifiting during difficult time
If you want a mental pick-me-up in these trying times, take a drive or a walk and view all that “Mom Nature” has done to cheer us up this spring. The flowers, trees and shrubs are all in bloom and gorgeous to behold. Another thing to keep yourself less stressed:...
Letter to the editor: Keep the free press free
As if we don’t have enough laws and regulations limiting our freedom and open-ended society, along come some politicians seeking to further erode the precious constitutional right to a free press. Although its premise describes a change in the manner in which we receive our news, the change is no...
