Opinion category, Page 664
Laurels & lances: Pulling together
Laurel: To reaching out while staying in. Carla Chugani of Dormont isn’t letting social distancing keep her from helping people during the coronavirus pandemic. She’s doing it by creating her own free food pantry on her porch, in the style of Little Free Libraries. Stocked with things like nonperishable foods,...
Michael Krol: Amid covid-19 outbreak, don’t worry about your wealth
Cities began shutting down. Schools were closed. The government began limiting public activities to curtail the spread of the virus. That describes the atmosphere over the past few weeks as covid-19 spread rapidly across the globe, creating a multitude of fears that were seemingly unfathomable. But people had the same...
Philip Gasiewicz: 1918, when another pandemic struck close to home
In 1998, the 80th anniversary of the Spanish flu pandemic, I was fortunate to hear two survivors from Western Pennsylvania relate their indelible experiences. Marian McConkey and Lois Monahan were schoolgirls then, old enough to grasp the reach of the Reaper as the Spanish flu swept across the nation. It...
Letter to the editor: Politics & covid-19 pandemic decisions
I would guess that 35% of the people in the Tribune-Review readership fully, and I mean fully, support President Trump. Any information contrary to the president’s views is false or a hoax. Why would they believe that? Simple: The president told them it is so. If they need further assurance,...
Letter to the editor: Word of Life Church’s large gathering shocking
As a mother, a physician and a Christian woman, I was truly concerned to see the number of vehicles at Word of Life Church Sunday morning. Then I was shocked to read that 200 people had gathered for a service in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic (“About 200 attend...
Letter to the editor: Schools must go online
I am completely at a loss — am I the lone person to believe all school districts should go online ASAP? The excuse that because we can’t educate every student, we can’t educate any, is completely ridiculous to me. We are in a state of national emergency. In this situation,...
Letter to the editor: ‘Lion’ Fauci makes US a leader
There is a question regarding the origin of a quote about remaining silent and thought to be a fool versus speaking and removing all doubt. In his haste to discredit Donald Trump, letter-writer Robert J. Reiland (“Trump’s leadership not reassuring,” March 25, TribLIVE) displays his ignorance of virology and laboratory...
Editorial: Pennsylvania primary and coronavirus
Pennsylvania was so close to mattering in the presidential primary this year. Things were tight on the Democratic side nationwide, and maybe the Keystone State would be key in making a choice between putting former Vice President Joe Biden or Sen. Bernie Sanders on the ballot for the fall. And...
Abby Foster: Chemical manufacturers key in covid-19 fight
As many of us adjust to working from the couch, with daytime television in the background and a confused dog at our side, it’s business as usual or double-time for the majority of Pennsylvania’s manufacturers and their supply chains. Critical to our ability to contain covid-19, flatten the curve and...
Rep. Dan Frankel: Congratulations on your new gun. Now lock it up.
So many Pennsylvanians bought guns last week that our state background check system crashed. Twice. In fact, 4,342 of you bought or transferred a gun or applied for a license to carry a gun on March 17 alone, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania State Police. Of course,...
Letter to the editor: Why should we pay taxes if we can’t earn a living?
We now know that the government (both federal and state) thinks we, the proletariat, are “nonessential.” They showed us this by decreeing that some of us hold non-essential jobs and shut us out of those jobs, thus destroying our livelihoods. In my life, I’ve found that if someone hates me,...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s leadership not reassuring
President Trump has tried to reassure the public that everything possible is being done to contain the new coronavirus, but in the absence of extensive testing, this means nothing. The government’s slow response in developing accurate testing that can be used quickly is not excusable in a nation that spends...
Letter to the editor: Gov. Tom Wolf’s moves not an ‘attack’
I must disagree in the extreme with the tone of your editorial “Wolf’s excessive attack on the Pa. economy will hurt lives.” While many (including myself) disagree with the scope and execution of Gov. Tom Wolf’s rollout of measures to help stop the spread of covid-19, you can’t actually believe...
Letter to the editor: We need to offset China’s control
When Communist China was “opened up” by President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, American businesses salivated at the prospect of a brand-new, billion-person market. Fifty years later it has taken a coronavirus pandemic to make it apparent that we are totally dependent upon China to provide integral components of some...
Letter to the editor: Churches are not under attack
I would like to acknowledge Pastor Tom Walters of Word of Life Church for his willingness to graciously accept and respond to criticism for his decision to hold worship services this past Sunday (“Hempfield church pastor apologizes for open services on Sunday,” March 23, TribLIVE). He certainly does not deserve...
Scott Brady & Josh Shapiro: Task force targets covid-19 fraud
During these difficult times, the last thing the people of Pennsylvania need are individuals, retailers or wholesalers taking advantage of them. Gouging prices of household essentials or scamming people out of money for “at home” coronavirus kits that don’t exist isn’t just a disgusting practice — it is illegal. In...
Pat Buchanan: Are Americans all-in for a long coronavirus war?
“It’s a war,” says President Trump of his efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic, and likening his role to that of “wartime president.” Some measures already taken do call to mind actions in wartime. Commercial airline flights have been reduced or canceled. Schools have been closed. Universities have shut their...
Editorial: Listening and common sense with coronavirus
A worldwide medical crisis requires you to trust others and use common sense in a way that can sometimes be hard for us. Especially when the two ideas are at odds and it’s up to us all to make smart decisions. If we ignore the good advice — or exercise...
Letter to the editor: ‘Protection’ for frail elderly seems like punishment
The common narrative to endure social distancing measures is to protect the frail elderly. There are unintended consequences of the world we’ve imposed on them, based on my recent rounds in nursing facilities. Many elderly there are frail with debility and dementia. Usually an otherwise mundane existence is broken up...
Dr. David Dausey: America, brace for impact
David Dausey, Ph.D., an epidemiologist, is provost and vice president of academic affairs at Duquesne University and a professor in Duquesne’s John G. Rangos School of Health Science. He is also a distinguished service professor of health policy at Carnegie Mellon University. If Italy is any guide, in the upcoming...
Letter to the editor: Great time to clean up our littered roads
During this time of uncertainty, closures and orders to stay home, let’s do something productive. A lot of people are not at work and kids are off school, so get out with your kids and do a little spring cleaning along the roads. Litter is everywhere and looks disgusting. Dave...
Letter to the editor: For everyone’s sake, stay home!
I started this morning on my knees, praying that God would fill me with love, compassion and courage, and then I made my way to Westmoreland Hospital, where I am a physician. The mood at the hospital is tense. As of March 22, we still have limited capacity to perform...
Letter to the editor: Covid-19 & overpopulation
All the Earth’s environmental problems are a direct result of overpopulation. Any other consideration is a result of, and not in addition to, overpopulation. Overpopulation results in polluted water, air pollution, deforestation, rising crime rates, loss of wildlife leading to mass extinctions, widespread food shortages, vanishing fish in the oceans,...
Jonah Goldberg: Coronavirus more fodder for Chinese propaganda campaign
If there’s one thing worth knowing about China — in terms of geopolitics and American national security at least — it’s that its rulers are almost as afraid of the people as the people are afraid of them. Think about it. Why would a government place secret cameras everywhere? Censor...
Tom Purcell: Amid pandemic, cyber scams a growing threat
The dirty rotten crooks. While the rest of the world is doing its best to sacrifice to beat an unseen biological virus, cyberscammers are trying to attack us with a variety of digital viruses. Before the start of 2020, I warned about the rapid increase in cyberattacks. The more we...
