Opinion category, Page 743
G. Terry Madonna & Michael Young: Hamlet on the Potomac
The angst in Washington over impeaching President Trump is producing a “Hamlet on the Potomac” moment that even Shakespeare might appreciate. Democrats want to do it, but most Republicans don’t, and voters overall, while divided along party lines, are mostly opposed. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while fully occupied by her daily...
Editorial: Pennsylvania health exchange mousetrap
Everyone wants to build a better health care mousetrap. It’s a hot topic on the campaign trail. It’s a top concern for voters. In Pittsburgh, all eyes are on the UPMC-Highmark battle royale. People want to know how to stay healthy, how to get healthy and who is going to...
Sounding off: Risk of not vaccinating
Regarding Susan Gero’s letter “Vaccine curiosity”: Common sense is that you can Google the reasons vaccinated people are at risk and how dangerous this disease is. It’s not big pharma! In 2017 worldwide, 110,000 people died of measles. It is deadly. People with compromised immune systems — people with HIV,...
Letter to the editor: Count all people in census
Was not the Founding Fathers’ intent evidenced, concerning census counts to determine state populations and therefore legislative representation, by, of all things, the three-fifths rule? That rule stated that “all other persons”/slaves, other than free inhabitants, were to be counted in population counts as three-fifths of a person to determine...
Letter to the Editor: Supreme Court overstepped on abortion
We are seeing some turmoil in regard to the abortion ban in a couple of southern states in which a federal judge has granted an injunction to stop the law from taking effect. I am not offering an opinion on abortion. As a man, I know that many females believe...
Letter to the editor: Safety on Route 30
Regarding the editorial “Route 30 study needs to be realistic” (May 12, TribLIVE): I can give a recommendation that will help with a major safety problem on Route 30. And the only cost will be some signs and motorist education. Do not allow any left turns going on to or...
Walter Williams: Colleges committed to ideological diversity
When you send your youngster off to college, you might not mind that they will have to walk on eggshells, respect taboos, snitch on fellow students for politically incorrect jokes and learn to use ad hominem arguments as a means to attack ideas they find “disagreeable.” If that’s your preference,...
John Stossel: Paid time off for families not government’s business
Both Republican and Democratic politicians want government to “do more” to give parents paid time off. “This is not a women’s issue. It’s a family issue,” says Ivanka Trump. “(E)very worker in America should be guaranteed at least 12 weeks,” says Sen. Bernie Sanders. “That’s a very arbitrary number! Why...
Editorial: What pushed UPMC on prepay?
For months, the deadline has loomed. June 30. The day Highmark patients would have to start paying for medical care at UPMC hospitals up front instead of presenting an insurance card and letting the process play out the way it does with other companies. But for UPMC, a different deadline...
Letter to the editor: Buttigieg & Jefferson
Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg recently declared that removing Thomas Jefferson’s name from events such as the Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson dinners was “the right thing to do.” Before Buttigieg carries his cleansing campaign into public buildings or anywhere else named in Jefferson’s honor, I have a few questions. If...
Letter to the editor: Taxpayers can’t afford government’s raises
Once again the taxpayers of Pennsylvania have been played for suckers by our government. Why is there no rebellion when our governor feels it’s OK to give his cronies thousands of dollars in raises paid for by the taxpayers, and where does the line start to collect some of this...
Letter to the editor: $1 million for slide, not safety?
$1.1 million for giant slides, naught for public fire safety (“With $1 million park overhaul looming, Mammoth Fest set to begin,” May 30, TribLIVE). Want to bet on how many of the Westmoreland County commissioners or the department heads who report to them are volunteer firemen? Don Miller Mt. Pleasant...
Letter to the editor: Candidates’ shady tactics
Just before the May primary, what appeared to be a Republican ballot was sent to Murrysville, Export and Delmont residents. It was not the official Republican ballot. It had candidates’ names with red X’s through them, and the creators of this actually took it upon themselves to rate and evaluate...
Donald Boudreaux: Capitalism. Is. Working.
A Wayne State University student recently upbraided me by email for various offenses — each of which at bottom amounts to me using my blog, Café Hayek, to defend free markets. This livid young scholar ended his email by declaring that “Capitalism. Is. Not. Working.” His signature revealed that his...
Lori Falce: Trump, Dems can’t just preach to choir
I learned the best lesson about politics from a missionary. I was covering a church event. The missionary had come to town to promote a book. It didn’t go well, and she pegged me early on as someone who wasn’t there because I identified with her message. Maybe the notebook...
Laurels & lances: Reach out, reveal, redd up
Laurels: To showing true colors. Pittsburgh police vehicles are sporting rainbow-skylined decals in June to celebrate Pride Month, a focus on the LGBT+ community. This is one of several decals the department will be using over the year to “focus on inclusiveness, community police work and building bridges,” according to...
Letter to the editor: Democrats & secrecy
“The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. … Our way of life is under attack.” John F. Kennedy knew the extreme dangers of government agencies...
Letter to the editor: Credits for natural gas vehicles
Earlier this year, I traveled to Washington, D.C. with other members of the natural gas vehicle industry. We met with over 60 congressional offices, calling on Congress to immediately restore the alternative fuel tax credit (AFTC). The AFTC is crucial to deploying more clean-burning, domestically fueled natural gas vehicles. Deployment...
Letter to the editor: Thankful for Trump
I agree with letter-writer Ron Raymond (“Obama vs. Trump,” May 26, TribLIVE) on the differences between Obama and Trump differences. I also agree with the rest of his letter. I am thankful every day that we elected Donald Trump, though I wish he would stop tweeting and talking too much....
Brad Schiller: Trump could win again in 2020. Here’s how
President Donald Trump isn’t that worried about potential impeachment hearings. He even tries to goad Democrats into starting the process, knowing that will enliven his base and distract Democrats from their legislative agenda. And he has emerged from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation seemingly unscathed, despite serious evidence of obstruction...
George Will: America not made by flimsy people
WASHINGTON After the morning bloodshed on Lexington green, on the first day of what would become a 3,059-day war, there occurred the second of what would be eventually more than 1,300 mostly small military clashes. Rick Atkinson writes: “A peculiar quiet descended over what the poet James Russell Lowell would...
Cal Thomas: Virginia Hall, D-Day’s ‘forgotten’ woman
Observances of the 75th anniversary of D-Day are properly focusing on the troops and the architect of Operation Overlord, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who freed Europe from Hitler and his Nazi hordes. One person — a woman — has not received the credit she deserves for her efforts with the...
Editorial: A world bought with sacrifice
The tide has come in and gone out every day for 75 years. The cold water has washed away the hot blood spilled by so many Americans on the beaches of Normandy. It hasn’t washed away what that blood bought us. It didn’t buy us a peaceful nation. It bought...
Letter to the editor: Wolf’s climate plans must be followed by action
Gov. Tom Wolf continues to move apace on climate change: Pennsylvania’s Climate Action Plan was released last month, and the governor also made Pennsylvania a member of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a 24-state compact committed to the climate goals of the Paris agreement. These are exactly the signals we need,...
Letter to the editor: Women’s health choices should be their own
Robin Hammonds should be commended for her insightful letter “With abortion outlawed, who will take care of the babies?” She wrote, “No one religious group has the right to impose its religious beliefs on others.” This is manifestly true. Back in the day, I attended the wedding of one of...
