Opinion category, Page 747
Mitchel Nickols: Proper management true measure of school success
The school year is drawing to an end for most students, but school districts’ work continues throughout the year. As they prepare to submit final budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, districts focus on critical needs for educating youth effectively and efficiently. Discussion topics include teacher salaries and benefits, which...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Bill Burns knew the value of freedom
In 1868, Union General John A. Logan issued General Orders No. 11, establishing a day “for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” We still remember our war heroes that way. What is...
Sandip Shah: Baby boomers should be wary of Medicare changes
Baby boomers are aging rapidly. Around 10,000 Americans celebrate their 65th birthday every day. Unfortunately for these seniors, the government health care to which they’re entitled may put their lives at risk. That’s thanks to a new proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services that would impose price...
Editorial: CEO salaries, raises show wage gap
Pay raises: they’re not just for political employees anymore. Yes, it was just a week ago that we were questioning the salary bumps for members of Gov. Tom Wolf’s staff. Those annual numbers jumped from $9,000 to $33,000. But for some, that’s chump change. We all know the guys at...
Sounding off: If abortion is outlawed, who will take care of the babies?
“Heartbeat ban” is an attempt to outlaw abortion. At least 15 states to date are trying to enact laws that ban abortion as early as six weeks of gestation or when a heartbeat can be heard. Most women don’t even know they are pregnant six weeks into a pregnancy. My...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh sisters welcome immigrants
Pittsburgh’s templed hills have long provided refuge to persons of diverse heritages and faiths whose virtues tempered our city of steel. The Catholic Sisters Leadership Council of Western Pennsylvania wishes to join Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto in welcoming vulnerable migrants and refugees seeking asylum from violence, injustice and other life-threatening...
Letter to the editor: Keep arts in schools
Thanks to the Trib for the comprehensive coverage of local arts organizations and events and, particularly, your expanded coverage of local theater and Westmoreland County high school musicals. Bravo! As I see it, the collective arts community throughout our county is the envy of Western Pennsylvania. Yet, while interest in...
Letter to the editor: What’s Gov. Wolf’s take on abortion?
As more and more states are enacting laws to curb rampant abortions, where is Gov. Tom Wolf? Of course there is a “D” after his name, rhetorical as it may be. Surprisingly he has not yet attempted to enact horrific laws like those in Virginia and New York. Rene A....
John Stossel: In money we trust?
Look at the dollar bills in your wallet. They say they are “legal tender for all debts.” But are they? What makes them valuable? What makes them worth anything? Each bill says, “In God We Trust.” But God won’t guarantee their value. The $20 bill depicts the White House. Congress...
Walter Williams: Socialism’s utopia is unattainable
Presidential contenders are in a battle to out-give one another. Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposes a whopping $50,000 per student college loan forgiveness. Sen. Bernie Sanders proposes free health care for all Americans plus illegal aliens. Most Democratic presidential candidates promise free stuff that includes free college, universal income, “Medicare for...
Editorial: Impeachment isn’t the only I word
The “I” word. That’s what President Trump said derailed a meeting with Congressional Democrats Wednesday. He claimed that before that planned confab, House Dems gathered to discuss the “I” word. The “I” in this case stands for impeachment. Democrats, especially House members, have definitely been throwing around a lot of...
Letter to the editor: REAL ID requirements daunting for seniors
By Oct. 1, 2020, Pennsylvanians will need a REAL ID-compliant license, identification card or other federally acceptable identification to board domestic commercial flights or enter military bases and federal facilities (“Here’s what you need to know about Real ID”). First, you must prove identity with a certified, raised-seal birth certificate....
Letter to the editor: End emissions testing
Only 17 states require safety testing, and 33 states require emissions testing of automobiles. States like Florida told the federal government in the’90s they wouldn’t do the emissions, even in large cities like Orlando. They still don’t have it. I think it’s time to end both of them. Walter Parker...
Letter to the editor: Reschenthaler on Trump
For several weeks I’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to learn freshman Congressman Guy Reschenthaler’s view’s on Trump’s insults of the late Sen. John McCain, then on the president’s actions as found in the Mueller report, and recently on how he feels about the statement from more than 800 former federal that Trump...
Paul Kengor: Remembering World War II’s Bailey brothers
Several years ago, for Memorial Day 2013, I wrote in this space about the five Bailey brothers of World War II. This year, I’m probably writing about them for the last time. Yes, there were no less than five Baileys who served in the war. That fact is known to...
Lori Falce: Summer vacation spells new way to learn
Getting my kid out of bed for school requires an act of Congress and the jaws of life. Like a bull alligator, he will twist away, snarling, rolling deeper into the covers, ready to snap at anyone who dares disturb him. I am about to have a reprieve from my...
Laurels & lances: Good show, long loves and big heart
Laurel: To breaking records without breaking the law. Pittsburgh has seen plenty of packed country concerts end in arrests and drifts of debris that make local venues look more like landfills. It was nice to see Garth Brooks come to town and buck that trend. Not only did the Brooks...
Letter to the editor: Pirates’ pitching
It’s a shame that you don’t get to see a pitcher complete a great game he was pitching. On May 14, the Pirates’ Joe Musgrove was throwing a shut-out one-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks, seven innings, one hit, five strikeouts, two walks and … get this … 75 pitches. Manager...
Letter to the editor: Capitalism & taxes
Capitalism & taxes Letter-writer Joel I. Last (“Fairness in taxation,” May 2, TribLIVE) argues for “a more capitalistic view of fairness in taxation.” His suggested mechanism is to “calculate the amount of taxes needed and divide by the number of taxpayers, and tax everyone the same regardless of income.” Let’s...
Letter to the editor: Affirmative action, female politicians
What’s the big deal about some Hollywood types buying a college education for their kids who are unable to enter on their own? Affirmative action has been doing this for years. Where are the lawsuits about affirmative action? We need more Democrat/socialist candidates in the 2020 presidential race. Why doesn’t...
Nicolas Loris: What drives gas prices up — and how we can steer them down
As Memorial Day kicks off the summer season, hotdogs, cold beers and pool openings aren’t the only things on the minds of Americans. AAA expects a record 37.6 million Americans to hit the road and drive more than 50 miles for the long weekend, which means gas prices are also...
George Will: For Democratic candidates, winnowing is already at work
WASHINGTON “We’re cutting out some of this ear hair that you get when you get older,” said the 46-year-old manchild who is auditioning to be Skateboarder-in-Chief. Live-streaming his visit to an El Paso barbershop, Beto O’Rourke continued: “It grows out of your ears, and if you don’t get it cut,...
Ed Gainey: UPMC exploiting memory of Martin Luther King Jr.
On the evening before he was assassinated in Memphis, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” address to the city’s black community. King foresaw his own death and spoke about the need for others in the movement to carry on. “Like anybody, I...
Editorial: Not voting squanders basic birthright of America
Come on, people. You’ve got to do better. Everyone likes to complain about what the people in city hall are doing. Those SOBs in Harrisburg are screwing everything up. And Washington? Washington is full of cheats, liars and fools. But there’s a problem with that. We sent them there. “Well,...
Letter to the editor: Sombo was an asset to North Huntingdon
I find North Huntingdon Township to be a fine place to live and raise a family. One of the many reasons I feel this way is due to our police department. I have lived here since 1976 and have always felt comfortable and safe. It started when I met Officer...
