Opinion category, Page 725
Carl Hiaasen: Jeffrey Epstein’s wealth, power gave him protection that his victims never got
The more we learn about the late Jeffrey Epstein’s 13 months in so-called custody at the Palm Beach County Stockade, the clearer is the lesson: It definitely helped to be rich, even if you were a monstrous sexual predator. It didn’t help Epstein that much at the Metropolitan Correction Center...
S.E. Cupp: We’re all culpable in the culture of political hate
It feels like we’re all actors on a movie set. In the face of yet another tragic and horrifying mass shooting — two, actually — it’s like the director yelled “Action!” and we all assumed our positions. The responses to two hate-inspired shootings last weekend, one in El Paso, Texas,...
Editorial: Jailhouse suicides aren’t theories
Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide has prompted a rash of conspiracy theories about how a wealthy man in an infamous criminal case could have been left to kill himself. There are the theories that the government had him killed. Or maybe it was the Clintons. Or maybe it was the even...
Letter to the editor: Parking passes & tickets
You would think that having a parking pass for the Brownsville-Sankey parking lot would exempt you from tickets. Apparently not. I forgot to display my pass one day and received a ticket. Now keep in mind that I have parked in the same spot with the same vehicle for seven...
Letter to the editor: Lawmakers must work to end immigration lawlessness
I believe “white anger” lays solely at the feet of Congress. For many years, since President Reagan’s time, little or nothing has been done to control our borders and visa overstays. We Americans, of whatever color, etc., are expected to obey our laws; and yet total lawlessness is allowed to...
Letter to the editor: Gays, blacks, reparations
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has added to her platform a proposal to “pay reparations to gays” on the grounds that, prior to being allowed to marry, LGBT couples had to file separate tax returns and thus pay more in taxes. Democrat presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten,...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 12
Editorial cartoons for the week of Aug. 12....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 12
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Aug. 12....
Letter to the editor: James Comey should have been prosecuted
Why wasn’t James Come(D)y prosecuted? I will give you three guess and the first two don’t count. John Newhouse Shaler...
Harry Hochheiser & Ray Roberts: Let’s talk about carbon fee & dividend
The doldrums of late summer may usually be sleepy times for our congressional representatives, with the August recess bringing a lull in legislative activity and fundraising trips back home. This year in Pittsburgh might be different, as U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, has scheduled a town hall session Aug....
Editorial: Crime is nothing new
It’s enough to make you afraid to go … well, anywhere. Even though, statistically, we know that the places we go every day are no more dangerous than they have ever been. Violent crime rates have dropped 49% since 1993, according to the FBI. But the Pew Research Center says...
Letter to the editor: Project SEED feeds hungry kids
Many families are busy preparing their children for “back to school” by buying new clothes and supplies. Unfortunately, not every child has the opportunity to start the school year, and each school week, with that same level of preparation. Right here in the Alle-Kiski Valley, hundreds of children live in...
Letter to the editor: Liberals’ plan to defeat Trump
Liberal cities and states raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which causes businesses to cut people’s hours or lay them off. Now the liberals will say Trump’s economy is not good — just look at these people losing their jobs. They will hurt hard-working people to get back...
Letter to the editor: Let’s try posting the Ten Commandments
The recent rash of mass shootings once again stimulates the knee-jerk reaction to ban semiautomatic and other guns without any observation of the moral breakdown in our society that may be contributing to such violent behavior. There are signs posted in schools and government buildings banning guns and noting gun-free...
Cal Thomas: Mass murders are a symptom
Politicians and pundits are promoting familiar explanations, excuses and demands following the tragic mass murders in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. From more gun laws to blaming President Trump, conservative talk radio and Fox News, we’ve heard it all before. A manifesto thought to be linked to the El...
George Will: ‘National conservatism’ is ‘Elizabeth Warren conservatism’
WASHINGTON Regimes, however intellectually disreputable, rarely are unable to attract intellectuals eager to rationalize the regimes’ behavior. America’s current administration has “national conservatives.” They advocate unprecedented expansion of government in order to purge America of excessive respect for market forces, and to affirm robust confidence in government as a social...
Jonah Goldberg: Neither left nor right has proper remedy for America’s illness
America is sick. Just about everybody recognizes it, and we didn’t need two more mass shootings to convince anybody of anything. Most Americans think the country is on the wrong track, despite a roaring economy. You can blame Donald Trump, but Americans have been unsatisfied with the country’s direction for...
Peter Morici: Our cultural wars offer no value to newcomers
Mass immigration, low birth rates and China’s rise pose challenges our political and economic institutions appear ill-equipped to address. Rising to these challenges, however, will prove critical to sustaining our economy in the near term and ultimately the viability of our democracy. Some 750 million people would like to migrate...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: El Paso, Dayton shootings & reckless words
When English King Henry II wondered aloud, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” he knew that some of his followers would be eager to please him. Accounts of Henry’s words differ slightly, but the gist is always the same. Henry was upset with Thomas Becket, the Archbishop...
Dan Warner: Extreme risk protection orders can save lives
Larry (not his real name) and his father hunted together his entire life, and he knew how much his father’s firearms meant to him. A firm “Second Amendment voter,” his father strongly believed in gun rights and would never easily part with these symbols of his individuality and freedom. This...
Editorial: Gun control isn’t just red or blue
When you think about guns and legislation, there’s a tendency to default to red and blue battlegrounds. It’s easy to reduce to stereotypes: Democrats want to restrict them and Republicans want to hand them out like bobbleheads at a baseball game. But Pennsylvania offers a lesson in the rainbow of...
Sounding off: It’s getting harder to determine truth, reality
A wise man once said, “Our problems are many, while our solutions are few.” I think a wise man said it? Or did I just make that up? Truthfully, I’m not sure. I’ve read and viewed so much on TV, social media, newspapers, books and magazines, etc., over the past...
Letter to the editor: How about a new amendment to protect all life?
I begin by pointing out what common sense tells us — that even after the tragedies of last weekend, a constitutional repeal of the Second Amendment would never pass. Too many conservatives would oppose it. It would have the same chance of passing as a constitutional amendment to reverse Roe...
Letter to the editor: Overdose task force has saved taxpayers’ money
Regarding the letter “Will grant pay for drug awareness?” (Aug. 5, TribLIVE): Overdose deaths in Westmoreland County decreased significantly in the last 19 months due to the Drug Overdose Task Force and its director, Tim Phillips. We have estimated that it costs the county $3,000 for each drug overdose investigation...
Letter to the editor: What if migrants were in your house?
In Ron Slabe’s letter “Inhumane treatment of migrants” (Aug. 5, TribLIVE), he asserts that government policy promotes horrid treatment of migrants. What would his position be if he returned home to find them in his house, refusing to leave? Days of reckoning are reserved for those who break the law...
