Opinion category, Page 766
Letter to the editor: Highlands budget woes
Highlands School District has not released a budget. The school board’s public meeting failed to answer resident questions (“Seeking exceptions gives Highlands ‘options’ for budget, business manager says,” Feb. 18, TribLIVE). Our district requested a tax hike exceeding the maximum allowed by law. Highlands’ 2018 tax rate was eighth highest...
Tom Purcell: Erasing capitalism? Consider the pencil first
Socialism is back in vogue in some quarters. According to the website of dictionary maker Merriam-Webster, socialism is a political theory that advocates “governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” The concept is that government central planners can make really smart decisions to distribute...
Editorial: What do we expect from black boys, rich kids?
Former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld’s trial starts Tuesday. Barring a plea or other last-minute changes, a jury will decide if he is guilty of criminal homicide in the June 19th death of Antwon Rose II. Rose’s story is one in a long line of high-profile shootings of black...
Letter to the editor: Hatred irony
I found it ironic that the same day Robert Jedrzejewski’s letter “Trump ‘hate’ is justified” (March 6, TribLIVE) was published, the House of Representatives was to vote on a resolution condemning hatred. Regis Kruth Shaler...
Letter to the editor: Ski patrollers save day
In February, I sustained a significant and painful injury to my wrist in a skiing mishap at Seven Springs. I am on the mend after surgery. I wanted to thank the ski patroller who tended to me, kneeling in the snow and speaking volumes of comfort while taking care of...
Letter to the editor: Hempfield audit necessary
In response to Fred Francese’s letter “Cheap shots at Hempfield supervisors” (Feb. 22, TribLIVE): It appears agenda items were overlooked, then placed into effect without public review by the entire board. Learning that items were not voted on in public, Supervisor Rob Ritson requested an audit of the items in...
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 18
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 18....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 18
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 18....
Charles Mitchell: For union members, knowledge is power
Francisco Molina knows what it takes to overcome adversity. Raised by a single mother from just 3 years old, Molina endured severe abuse. He wore long-sleeved shirts to school to cover the scars from his mother’s beatings. Such experiences can make or break a person. Molina did not break. Instead,...
Michelle Malkin: Protect kids from Google predators
The father of the World Wide Web is right: It’s time to take back “complete control of your data.” Tim Berners-Lee, who conceived the first internet browser 30 years ago, warned of its increasing threats to “privacy, security and fundamental rights.” To mark the anniversary, he argued that demanding transparency...
Editorial: Mental health has to be prioritized
As the trial of former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld for the shooting of Antwon Rose is set to begin, another police shooting has happened. While the Rose shooting brings attention to the nationally felt tension between the black community and law enforcement, the death of Nina Adams, 47,...
Letter to the editor: Thank you, President Trump
Thank you President Trump: … for being the first president since Nixon to not release your tax returns (with the exception of Ford, who released a summary rather than a return). … for tweeting offensive names about those who disagree with the stand you take. … for bullying, name-calling and...
Letter to the editor: Advocating for white males
Regarding E. Nicklas’ letter “White American male will stand tall”: Why is it that white males don’t have an advocacy group? Women have NOW, blacks have the NAACP, Muslims have CAIR, but nothing for white men — especially the single (that means unmarried — unburdened) kind. Could it be that...
Letter to the editor: GOP, get behind Trump
Democratic leaders are urging Republican lawmakers to publicly air their displeasure with President Trump. I hope they are smarter than that. There are three political parties in this country — the Democrats, the Republicans and the true conservatives. The conservatives vote for Republican candidates. However, too many Republican candidates are...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Frank’s Barbershop offered more than a haircut
If you wonder why some Americans are divided and isolated these days, think about all the places like Frank’s Barbershop in New Kensington that are no longer there, places where folks got together for the sake of being together. Tony Buba, the great independent filmmaker from Braddock, shows us what...
David Urban: Trump’s Pa. popularity no accident
There’s a reason why President Trump is becoming more popular in important Midwestern battleground states like Pennsylvania: Voters don’t want to lose the ongoing economic renaissance that is transforming their lives. According to a recent opinion survey from The Wall Street Journal, the president “cumulatively leads a generic Democratic opponent,...
Daryl Austin: Trump’s presidency can change legacy of lies
Whether it’s President Clinton’s emphatic proclamation “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” or President Nixon’s Watergate defense “I am not a crook,” the lesson is the same: Politicians lie. The sad reality is that voters expect no better. Since 1976, Gallup has been polling Americans to rank...
Antony Davies & James Harrigan: Good policy, not posturing, can help poor
Politicians spend a lot of time talking about helping the poor. But the politicians who truly care about the poor are more concerned with policy outcomes than posturing for the cameras. Posturing might gain votes, but it often ends up doing more harm than good. It was thus a pleasant...
Editorial: Veto shows how Washington is supposed to work
President Trump has signed his name on a lot of things since taking office. Executive orders. Bills he signed into law. Bibles for fans in tornado-torn Alabama. But on Friday, he signed something new. A veto. For the first time in his presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives...
Letter to the editor: Lewis & Clark & Pittsburgh
Regarding Bob Bauder’s article “Pittsburgh recognized as starting point for Lewis and Clark expedition” (March 10, TribLIVE): Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal on May 14, 1804: “The mouth of the River Dubois is to be considered as the point of departure.” The River Dubois enters the Mississippi from the...
Letter to the editor: The left and our freedoms
In addition to the “Green New Deal,” the agendas of many of the progressive left’s presidential candidates for 2020 contain social justice programs packaged as rights due all Americans. They include health care, living wage, employment, college education, etc. The guarantor of these rights without any cost to the beneficiaries...
Letter to the editor: We don’t need self-driving cars
Can someone please tell me why on earth we need self-driving cars? This is one of the biggest wastes of time, money and technology I’ve ever seen. Not only that, but you still need to sit behind the wheel. What’s the advantage, and who gets sued when your so-called self-driving...
Walter Williams: Is income inequality fair?
Some Americans have much higher income and wealth than others. Former President Obama explained, “I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.” An adviser to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez who has a Twitter account called “Every Billionaire Is A Policy Failure” tweeted, “My goal for this...
John Stossel: How much is enough taxes?
Do you pay enough taxes? What is enough? When asked on “60 Minutes,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., didn’t seem to have a specific tax rate in mind, but then she said, “back in the ’60s … you see tax rates as high as 60 or 70 percent.” Suddenly, 70 percent...
Editorial: Shooting shows high cost of cheap hate
Words have a high price. Thoughts have a cost. We make a mistake terming these things “free” when we really mean “unrestricted.” Nothing valuable comes without cost. Like guns, ideas can be valuable tools or deadly weapons. Like bullets, words can hit with pinpoint accuracy or spray like a hose,...
