Opinion category, Page 681
Letter to the editor: Jesus, Democrats & Republicans
In his clever letter “Jesus wouldn’t have a shot for president” (Jan. 12, TribLIVE), James Cataldi asserts that Christ’s opposition to abortion and “acknowledging and depending on (shudder) God” would make it impossible for him to win the Democratic nomination. The writer does a fine job of looking at but...
Letter to the editor: Real ID experience no horror story
After reading about Real ID horror stories, my wife and I were ecstatic to find how easy it was to obtain our Real ID Pennsylvania driver’s licenses with the required gold star. We took our information to the New Kensington Driver’s License Center: birth certificates with raised seals (we had...
Walter Williams: Diversity & inclusion insanity
It’s nearly impossible to have even a short conversation with a college administrator, politician or chief executive without the words diversity and inclusion dropping from their lips. Diversity and inclusion appear to be the end-all and be-all of their existence. So, I thought I’d begin this discussion by first looking...
John Stossel: We complain, but businesses make our lives better
Reporters complain about business. We overlook the constant improvements in our lives made possible by greedy businesses competing for your money. Think about how our access to entertainment has improved. “When I was a kid,” says Sean Malone in a new video for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), “my...
Editorial: Learning about campus sex assault
There are things you need to go to college to learn. How to design a skyscraper. How to perform brain surgery. How to split atoms. There are things you shouldn’t have to learn in college. Like how to keep your hands to yourself. That’s more of a kindergarten thing. Nonetheless,...
Letter to the editor: New Stanton council’s path
I appreciate all the New Stanton residents who supported me, but I chose not to run for reelection to borough council because of the road council is taking. No one seems to want to hear any other views but their own. I think that when council does anything, all the...
Letter to the editor: More on capitalism
In response to letter-writer Gabrielle Kitchen’s comments (“Capitalism is a sin,” Jan. 4, TribLIVE) on my letter about capitalism and the Ten Commandments (“Socialism & religious values,” Nov. 9, TribLIVE): She believes “capitalism can be truly evil,” implying that capitalists worship money over God. Capitalism is merely the acquisition of...
Letter to the editor: Why is climate a crisis?
A Dec. 9 article in The Washington Post, “Americans broadly accept climate science, but many are fuzzy on the details,” indicates that, while most Americans are concerned about human activity warming the planet, they don’t understand why that’s happening and what to do about it. Those of us who are...
Paul Kengor: God & Andy Warhol
What’s up with Andy Warhol lately? Last week The New York Times reported on the photography of the renowned Pittsburgh-born artist. This week, Crisis Magazine, a Catholic publication, published “The Warhol Effect,” focused on his unappreciated faith. And last month, just before Christmas, John Miller of National Review did a...
Lori Falce: Stop believing campaign promises
It is a time-honored staple of sitcoms and school-set movies that kids are gullible, especially when it comes to elections. There has never been a television or film representation of a student body presidential race that didn’t include the most outlandish of campaign promises. Perhaps the best comes from the...
Laurels & lances: Cookies, phishing, kidney and overtime
Laurel: To aiming high. The 2.36 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold each year averages out to about 150 boxes per scout. But Stella VanWhy, 6, of Arnold thought she could sell 2,020 boxes this year. Her leader suggested something more realistic, so the Daisy Scout came up with...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s offenses
A while back, Donald Trump was asked to attend an impeachment proceeding. He ignored the request and ordered others in his administration to do the same. Is this the expected behavior of an innocent man? Trump recently celebrated the country’s 3.5% unemployment rate. Is it 3.5% among the 18-25 age...
Letter to the editor: Government should investigate dangerous substances
Letter-writer Robert H. Poppenga (“ ‘Dark Waters’ perpetuates falsehoods,” Jan. 5, TribLIVE) wrote about test results on cattle owned by West Virginia farmer Wilbur Tennant which found that the herd suffered from poor nutrition and subpar veterinary care. I recall that being said in the film as the reason Tennant...
Letter to the editor: Impeachment dangerous
For the past three years, President Trump and his family have been verbally attacked, ridiculed, castigated and lied about by the Democrats, the biased mainstream media and the entertainment industry. And the Democrats have tried every way they know how, ethical or not, to remove him from the office he...
Letter to the editor: No tax breaks for polluters
The state Senate has a major decision to make: allow the plastics and fossil fuel industries to get a massive tax break or improve the environment for years to come. Pennsylvania needs clean air and water, something with which we have struggled for too long. At a time when environmental...
Editorial: Hempfield still has issues to address
Hempfield Area School District’s residential tax assessment appeals program will be ending. Eventually. On Monday, the board voted 7-2 to discontinue the broadly criticized program that served as a back-door reassessment for properties with a $250,000 difference between fair market value and selling price, as calculated by district-hired law firm...
Letter to the editor: We must replace Donald Trump
If you are an adult of voting age, the 2020 election could be the most important one of your life. If we don’t replace Donald Trump as president, I believe this country is headed toward becoming an authoritarian dictatorship. This is not the time for moderation. Without a really big...
Leroy Renninger: Mitch McConnell and a fair trial
Was the rule of law meant to apply equally to everyone in our republic? Or is it permissible that it apply to only the “little people” while the wealthy and well-connected may cast it aside? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has made up his mind that President Trump...
Letter to the editor: Scheme behind impeachment’s pace
The Senate trial on the two articles of impeachment against President Trump has begun, some 34 days after the House vote. There is a lot of clamor from the left for witnesses and documents, the stated purpose of which is to present even more evidence than what is already characterized...
Pat Buchanan: Trump’s in-kind contribution to Bernie Sanders
The directed killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s blood-soaked field marshal in the “forever war” of the Middle East, has begun to roil the politics of both the region and the USA. A stunned and shaken Iran retaliated by firing a dozen missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq. Yet,...
Colin McNickle: Past time to fix property assessment/appeals mess
Much of the angst and legal wrangling over property assessments in Allegheny County and statewide could be eliminated by instituting mandatory regular reassessments that incorporate standardized norms, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The state should just end, or curtail appeals, by bringing Pennsylvania’s assessment practices...
Editorial: The black and white of guns
It is easy to paint any issue in pure, unyielding black and white. Abortion. Environment. Poverty. Health care. Energy. Immigration. Taxes. Everything can boil down to pro or con. But is that accurate? Almost never. Let’s look at guns. Pennsylvania is often tagged as a gun-friendly state. It’s hard to...
Letter to the editor: Think about Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg, Biden
Think about it: Elizabeth Warren, commander in chief Bernie Sanders, commander in chief Pete Buttigieg, commander in chief Joe Biden, commander in chief Think about it — please! Catherine F. Fike Ruffs Dale...
Letter to the editor: March to end property tax
At 8 a.m. Feb. 3, the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition (PTCC), consisting of Pennsylvania residents, will hold a march at the steps of the capitol in Harrisburg to urge legislators to begin the process of reforming the archaic unfair method of funding schools. A number of legislators supporting school tax...
Letter to the editor: Our incivility & disunity
Some may believe the causes of the anger, distrust and infighting experienced in America today are solely the result of social media or some other singular cause. I propose that what we are experiencing (regardless of political persuasion) involves a multifaceted, long-term and complex set of circumstances. The question may...
