Opinion category, Page 746
Letter to the editor: Franklin Regional building costs
With Franklin Regional elementary schools’ capacity of 1,800 students, and enrollment at 1,483, how was it necessary to launch a new building program? Clearly, there exists sufficient space for classroom reconfiguration for collaborative learning in the existing three elementary buildings. Franklin Regional’s plans for a $58 million elementary campus have...
Vince Mercuri: The dynamics of hope
Artists, marketing experts, campaign strategists and spiritual leaders all utilize hope as a means to promote their respective messages to influence their audiences. Definitions of hope can be quite abstract. Is it optimism? Is it a wish? Is it a goal? Is it a belief? Is it motivation? The definition...
Pat Buchanan: Are we on the ramp to Impeachment Road?
After a stroke felled Woodrow Wilson during his national tour to save his League of Nations, an old rival, Sen. Albert Fall, went to the White House to tell the president, “I have been praying for you, Sir.” To which Wilson is said to have replied, “Which way, Senator?” Historians...
Editorial: Disaster aid should be non-partisan
A lot of attention goes to partisanship and bipartisanship. What do these groups agree on? What can bring both sides together? What drives them apart? There is less attention paid to the things that don’t have a side. Regardless of party affiliation, Pittsburghers can be depended upon to agree that...
Letter to the editor: Mueller report vindicates journalists
The Mueller report has done many things, but one of the most important, it has vindicated the journalists in this country. In numerous incidents, Robert Mueller’s comments have confirmed what the press has written and cast doubt on the president’s allegations of fake news. Only Laura Ingraham, who must have...
Letter to the editor: Peduto & the Pennsylvania Senate gun bill
A few things stand out in Mayors Bill Peduto and Jim Kenney’s op-ed “Bill Peduto, Philly mayor: Why we oppose Pa. Senate gun bill.” One, it states incorrectly that Senate Bill 531 would pre-empt local jurisdictions from enacting firearms laws. Current state law already pre-empts local jurisdictions from enacting firearms...
Letter to the editor: ‘Taking care of’ the babies
Letter-writer Robin Hammonds (“With abortion outlawed, who will take care of the babies?” asks, “… who’s going to take care of all the unwanted babies?” Apparently her answer, like the others who advocate aborting perfectly normal fetuses, is to “take care” of them by killing them. I pose five questions...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s plans for farmers
The article “Western Pa. farmers prefer free market trade to tariff-compensation handout” makes one dramatically aware of one of the domestic economic problems caused by our chaotic Trump tariff “policy.” Our United States agricultual export business has grown successfuly for many years with China as our largest customer for the...
Letter to the editor: Clarifying Hempfield property tax issues
There is so much misinformation about property taxes, it warrants a response. Many seek to scare Hempfield Area School District residents by saying the district is going to appeal their property, but that is absurd. The school board voted to appeal properties with a difference between fair market value (estimated...
Paul Waldman: Mike Pence predicts war everywhere in the next few yearsVideo
Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the West Point graduating class on Saturday, and amid the standard congratulations and tributes to the graduates, he said something truly shocking: “It is a virtual certainty that you will fight on a battlefield for America at some point in your life. You will...
Tom Purcell: Time to retire Social Security numbers
Like most people, I didn’t think much about my Social Security number — until I got a bizarre call from a total stranger. “Hello?” I answered suspiciously, because I saw “restricted” on my smartphone screen. “Hello, Tom.” “Who is this? What do you want?” “Who I am isn’t important. I...
Editorial: Does Pittsburgh view have too many signs?
Pittsburgh has always been a city pulled in opposite directions. It’s built around the natural wonder of two rivers coming together to birth a new waterway, but it was built by vital industries that obscured the sky and belched pollution for decades. It’s the home of ground-breaking, enviable medical treatment...
Letter to the editor: New lows for campaigning politicians
Politicking reached new lows during this election cycle. Candidates stooped to robocalls and texts. This is an invasion of privacy and demeaning to voters who politicians believe can be swayed by sound bites inflicted upon us. I received three robocalls, six texts and one obnoxious door-knocker who wouldn’t go away...
Letter to the editor: Border invasion
There is an invasion going on at our southern border. The Democrats are acting like conscientious objectors in this war that is affecting our national decurity and our national debt. It won’t go away by just ignoring it and saying we should have open borders. This is an outright dereliction...
Letter to the editor: Ideas on Social Security/Medicare
I tire of Congress referring to Social Security and Medicare as “entitlement” programs. If you review your paycheck, you will see that FICA is your ongoing payments to Social Security. This is matched by your employer but not shown on your paycheck. You can also see the withholding for Medicare...
Editorial cartoons for the week of May 27
Editorial cartoons for the week of May 27....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 27
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 27....
Elizabeth Cobbs: Harriet Tubman, America’s foremost female patriot, belongs on the $20 bill now
Harriet Tubman won an internet vote in 2015 to decide which American woman should appear on the nation’s currency by 2020. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump denounced the choice as “political correctness.” Now, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has canceled the plan’s implementation, at least until President Trump leaves office....
Jonah Goldberg: Abortion debate leaves no room between extremes
“Democrats are aggressively pushing late-term abortion, allowing children to be ripped from their mother’s womb right up until the moment of birth,” President Trump said at a Florida rally earlier this month. “The baby is born and you wrap the baby beautifully and you talk to the mother about the...
Editorial: Lest we forget
For Memorial Day, a classic Trib editorial: On this Memorial Day, be grateful that Americans’ willingness to sacrifice for freedom’s sake, instilled by each generation in the next, remains as strong as ever. Today, Americans honor those most worthy of such gratitude — those who gave their lives in our...
Letter to the editor: Obama vs. Trump
To better understand how we descended into this era of hate politics and partisan warfare, it is telling to compare the last two American presidents. One was likable, charismatic; the other outspoken, abrasive. One, a smooth-talking politician; the other, a direct-speaking businessman. One, the media’s darling; the other, the media’s...
Letter to the editor: Wolf, Obama & clemency
Gov. Tom Wolf has commuted the life sentences of more convicted murderers than any other governor in the last 25 years (“Wolf commutes life sentences of 3 more Pennsylvania inmates,” May 7, TribLIVE). That article reminded me of one I read two years ago, about President Obama using his clemency...
Letter to the editor: Christian leaders & Trump
Wherefore art thou, Christian leaders? Who are these wolves in sheep’s clothing that are pretending to be you? Our president has committed multiple acts of adultery, yet you say, “He gets a mulligan!” He has lied thousands of times (and counting) to the American people, yet your voices are silent....
Ted Kopas: We need to care for our caregivers
There is a looming crisis in Pennsylvania. Who will care for our aged family members and loved ones? It’s difficult to find a family who does not have older members in need of some long-term services and supports (LTSS). Pennsylvania’s changing demographics pose significant challenges, as approximately 70 percent of...
George Will: Trump, Obama and Congress to blame for disturbing Iranian policy
WASHINGTON Difficulties with Iran will recur regularly, like the oscillations of a sine wave, and the recent crisis — if such it was, or is — illustrates persistent U.S. intellectual and institutional failures, starting with this: The Trump administration’s assumption, and that of many in Congress, is that if the...
