Opinion category, Page 683
Letter to the editor: Voters wanted Hillary Clinton as president
The writer of the letter “Dem candidates, impeachment” (Dec. 5, TribLIVE) stated that “Hillary just can’t accept the fact that voters don’t want her for president.” If the writer had an open mind and checked some facts, he would see that his statement is not true. In 2016, 2.87 million...
Letter to the editor: Why spend on special election?
Can someone explain to me why there will be a special election six weeks prior to the primary election instead of just making the race part of the primary (“March 17 special election set to fill Justin Walsh’s former state House seat,” Jan. 7, TribLIVE)? Why must the extra expense...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland County should support vocational training
Student debt is increasing, and over 10,000 manufacturing jobs remain vacant in Westmoreland County. We should increase our support for vocational training. For example, Westmoreland County Community College’s welding program takes two years to complete and costs $7,980 for county residents. Graduates in 2019 earned an average starting salary of...
Letter to the editor: Impeachment & misinterpretation of facts
Out with the old, in with the new is the mantra for ushering in a new year. So it was that an activity of clearing out old files led me to discover an article from 1997 about a 14-year-old boy named Nathan Zohner who got 43 out of 50 ninth-graders...
Donald Boudreaux: Remembering not-so-noble Prohibition experiment
A century ago — on Jan. 17, 1920, one year after ratification of the 18th Amendment — the United States began its so-called “noble experiment” with nationwide alcohol prohibition. For the next nearly 14 years — until the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th — the force of the federal government...
Lori Falce: ‘Little Women’ and boys who don’t read
I am an equal opportunity story lover. I love books and movies and television shows that are a chocolate box of options. I like rom-coms and chick lit and sweeping Jane Austen-esque tales of love and duty and sacrifice. I love action movies and comic book heroes. I embrace science...
Laurels & lances: Develop, restart, honor
Laurel: To realizing big change can start small. Pittsburgh is looking beyond big development projects and placing emphasis on rebuilding neighborhoods and modeling transformation with its own blighted properties. Mayor Bill Peduto made the announcement Wednesday, pointing to the potential impact that rehabilitating neighborhood business districts and the city-owned buildings...
Letter to the editor: Hostage to turnpike rate hike
If you drive the Pennsylvania Turnpike, then you are being held hostage with the new rate increases. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says rates are going up 6%. Think again! The rates were conveniently adjusted so the tolls will be rounded up to the nearest dime after the 6% hike is...
Letter to the editor: Time to let time stop running our lives
I guess it’s time to join a gym for a year membership, only to go for the first month and find out that it’s real hard work to try to get into shape. It is time to check our credit card balances, for we may have overspent and hiked up...
Letter to the editor: Hollywood, science & clean water
Regarding the review “Ominous ‘Dark Waters’ is like ‘Chernobyl’ for America” (Nov. 27, TribLIVE): I have spent my career ensuring that Americans have clean water. Regulations must be grounded in science. Increasingly, facts are being disregarded or misinterpreted in order to manipulate public perception. These dynamics are evident in the...
Editorial: Small businesses are tariff casualties
Not every company that uses steel is a global giant. They aren’t all traded on the stock exchange. They don’t all employ thousands. Sometimes it’s a small company with small margins. But manufacturing matters whether it’s a major power or a minor one. That is why many buckled in for...
Colin McNickle: Pittsburgh, by the financial numbers
While Pittsburgh’s financial situation has made significant and positive strides, there remain substantial concerns about the city’s economic and financial structure, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Debt outstanding is down but retirement benefit problems remain,” says Jake Haulk, president-emeritus of the Pittsburgh think tank. “Revenue...
Letter to the editor: Both left, right clueless
This holiday season allowed me to spend time with people on the left and right who have no clue what’s happening in this country. I’m not sure where they get their information. I’ve listened to conversations that show the liberal left and conservative right are misinformed and clueless. I’m not...
Letter to the editor: More people should learn to play chess
More Pennsylvanians should consider learning to play the fascinating game of chess. Chess stimulates one’s mental discourse and thought processes. It is widely believed that it also kick-starts the nerve endings in the brain. I recollect playing my grandfather when I was 10 years old. This was when I first...
Letter to the editor: Gun owner Jack Wilson is a hero
Many remarkable things happened in the last 10 years involving many good people, with the election of President Trump at the top. But I think 2019 ended on a high note due to one man who deserves special recognition. That would be Jack Wilson, the Christian gun owner who killed...
Pat Buchanan: Culture war comes to Virginia
Since 1969, “Virginia Is for Lovers” has been the tourism and travel slogan of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Advertising Age called it “one of the most iconic ad campaigns in the past 50 years.” But the Virginia of 2020 seems to be another country than the friendly commonwealth to which...
Randall Rutta: Discrimination against people with rare diseases
FDA officials approved a record number of rare disease treatments in 2018. One groundbreaking medicine treats an inherited bone condition that causes intense pain and immobility. Another treats Fabry disease, a genetic condition that can lead to kidney failure or stroke. Breakthroughs like these offer hope to 30 million Americans...
Editorial: Cut through sticky red tape
It was supposed to signal something that was important. In a pile of government documents — decimated forests of paper and ink — ribbons of red tape would signal that one sheaf was more weighty than the others. But red tape spreads like weeds and it wasn’t long before everything...
Letter to the editor: Dick’s gun hypocrisy
So Dick’s Sporting Goods claims to have destroyed $5 million worth of firearms in its attempt to appease the liberal gun control agenda. In turn it has sold some of its Field & Stream locations to Sportsman’s Warehouse, and will sublet the space so that company can sell firearms. What...
Letter to the editor: Michael Vick should not be honored
Thank you, Kristin Buccigrossi, for your commentary “NFL, how could you honor Michael Vick?” (Dec. 31, TribLIVE). I couldn’t agree with you more. In the NFL, it seems the more you do wrong, the more publicity you get. I believe 99.9 % of NFL players are good people who care...
Letter to the editor: Addressing speed on highways
Whenever there is a crash and/or traffic fatalities, the blame is always put on anything and everything other than “driving too fast for conditions” or increased speed limits. People will blame the weather, the road or a mistake a driver made, but speed is one sacred demon you don’t dare...
Tom Purcell: George Washington’s ignored example
Have I benefited from nepotism and cronyism? Sure. But at least I feel guilty about it. Nepotism, says Dictionary.com, is “patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics.” The concept is alive and well in Washington, D.C. Barron’s reports that Chelsea Clinton...
Jonah Goldberg: As with everything else, Trump is following his gut on Iran
President Trump often talks about leaving the Middle East, getting out of “endless wars” and spending our resources here at home under a policy of “America First.” So it was quite a moment when he threatened to impose “very big sanctions” on Iraq if the Iraqi parliament follows through on...
Editorial: Clean air takes hard work
Before you do anything hard — anything that might be painful or take great effort — you are often advised to do something to steel and steady yourself to do what needs to be done. Take a deep breath, you are told. But how do you do that when the...
Letter to the editor: Sheriff Albert’s faith & patriotism refreshing
Sheriff Albert’s faith & patriotism refreshing I had the honor of attending the swearing-in ceremony of Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert. It started with the singing of the national anthem, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by all 175-plus people in attendance. We finished by bowing our heads in prayer...
