Opinion category, Page 77
Letter to the editor: Consequences of USAID shutdown
One of the first actions of the Trump/Musk regime was to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. “Heck yeah!” says MAGA. The decrease to the federal budget is estimated at about $36 per American. But the impacts are extreme: tens of thousands of middle-class Americans losing their jobs,...
Letter to the editor: Trump evokes memories of Chamberlain
President Trump’s shameful performance at the Feb. 28 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lack of support for Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine conflict remind me of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s performance at the Munich Agreement in 1938, at which Chamberlain...
Letter to the editor: Increase permit fees to curb county pollution
Dr. Iulia Vann, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, cites 50 department vacancies which limit her capacity to control the air pollution that makes this one of the unhealthiest places to live in America. In September 2024, the Allegheny County Board of Health recommended increasing air quality operating permit...
Editorial: Audit results make argument for clearer rules on credit card purchasing
Things can be broken and functional at the same time. It’s not ideal, but it’s true. Boiled down to its basics, that’s the message of Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler’s report on the audit of use of city purchasing credit cards by the parks department. The audit was prompted by concerns...
Letter to the editor: Time to find common ground with Trump
My letter was originally intended to show support for President Trump’s harsh dealings with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but 48 hours later my defense became unnecessary since the truth became obvious and Zelenskyy recanted his position. Such is the rapidity of Trump’s successes. After watching Trump’s joint address to Congress,...
Letter to the editor: When did decorum disappear?
In 1964 if you sat at the family dinner table with a ball cap on, you were told to remove it. In 2004 Howard Dean on the campaign trail yelled “YEAH!” and that one action doomed his presidential campaign. Today we have a president who constantly wears a baseball hat...
S.E. Cupp: Trump’s Fifth Avenue scenario has finally arrived
It was January 2016, with just two weeks before the Iowa caucus. Then candidate Donald Trump delivered to a Christian college audience what would become the line of his political career: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters, OK?” Since...
Letter to the editor: Bravo to Pine-Richland performers, staff
I recently attended a performance of Pine-Richland High School’s musical “42nd Street.” What an enjoyable evening. Professionals couldn’t have staged a better show. The set decorations and scenery rivaled what you see in major cultural sites. The cast was no less amazing. Vocals and dance routines were top notch, especially...
Letter to the editor: This Land is MAGA Land
MAGA Land: This once was your land But now it’s MAGA land From Panama’s canal To the Greenland island From Canadian forests To a strip called Gaza Your land, it now belongs to me. This song, thankfully, has yet to be written. But it’s easy to imagine that MAGA songwriters...
Lori Falce: Calling everything ‘fraud’ doesn’t make it so
My favorite part of “The Princess Bride” is when Vizzini, a sly criminal mastermind who is not that sly nor much of a mastermind, responds over and over to events with a shout of “Inconceivable!” The swordsman Inigo Montoya — brilliantly played by Mandy Patinkin — eventually looks at his...
Laurels & lances: Birds, cheese & QBs
Laurel: To flying high. The Fox Chapel Parks Commission has been singled out for its efforts in education. The borough has set the gold standard in environmental preservation and educating people about birds, according to a statewide grassroots program. Bird Town Pennsylvania works with communities and organizations such as the...
Letter to the editor: Trump is getting results
Despite his occasional off-putting communication style, President Donald Trump’s actions are proving the adults are now in the federal government room. He has almost totally secured the southern and northern borders against the flow of illegal immigrants and deadly fentanyl, a complete reversal of what people saw on TV as...
Paul Kengor: Slow down and move over for tow-truck drivers
“How many tows have you done today?” I asked the guy rigging up my vehicle. “Three so far,” he said. “More to come.” “How late is your shift?” I followed. “Midnight,” he replied. “I like the shift, but my wife hates it. She really worries about my safety. It’s a...
Jason Kavulich: Pa. is protecting its seniors
Regarding the editorial “Pennsylvania must be more diligent in monitoring protective service for seniors” (March 11, TribLive): As the former director of the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging (AAA), I couldn’t agree more that improvements were needed in Pennsylvania’s oversight of protective services at the local level — which...
Letter to the editor: I voted for Trump — why would they come for me?
First they came for the immigrants and DEI, and I did not speak out — because I was not a minority. Then they came for government workers, the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Justice and U.S. Postal Service, and I did not speak out — because I did not work...
Letter to the editor: Fixing Biden’s mess will cost money
The American people spoke in November. They want something done to solve the illegal immigration problem. President Trump is trying, but it will take time and lots of money. In my opinion, we have President Biden to thank for the situation. Trump needs to finish the southern border wall. Biden...
Editorial: 5 years after covid, scars linger
What a difference five years can make. Although the global story of the coronavirus pandemic began in December 2019, it would not be confirmed in America until Jan. 20, 2020. In Pennsylvania, covid began its takeover six weeks later. Until March 6, the pandemic was like Brexit or a terrorist...
Letter to the editor: National debt our biggest problem
What’s left but to fire people and rip the government apart? I’m laughing because the biggest problem is our national debt. It’s $36 trillion and trillions in interest paid per year. President Trump talked, all talk, about a flat tax. I had hope, but it probably won’t happen. Declare corruption,...
Letter to the editor: We must stand with Ukraine
Last week, Pittsburghers gathered downtown for a We Stand with Ukraine demonstration, making clear that our city refuses to abandon Ukraine in its fight for survival. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance mock President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, block critical military aid and treat Vladimir Putin’s war as a...
Jonah Goldberg: The Homer Simpson gloss on Trump’s tariff philosophy
There’s a classic episode of The Simpsons in which Homer gets a gun. He thinks his awesome gun is great for everything: home defense, opening beer bottles, whatever. When Marge says she doesn’t want a weapon in the house, Homer replies, “A gun is not a weapon, Marge, it’s a...
Reps. Leslie Rossi, Jamie Barton and Martin Causer: You deserve affordable electricity
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s energy taxes won’t work. How do we know? The proof is right in front of you. Look at your energy bills. Talk to any Pennsylvanian. Unaffordable energy is a kitchen table topic for Pennsylvania households and a conference table topic for Pennsylvania businesses. And if you think...
Letter to the editor: Why no lawsuits for laid-off Volkswagen workers?
When Volkswagen of America laid off all its employees and moved its plant from New Stanton to Mexico, I don’t remember any lawsuits being filed for us to keep our jobs. Evidently our government employees are more important. Tim Scheeren Hempfield...
Letter to the editor: Musk does have security clearance
The writer of the letter “Speak up to stop Musk’s coup” (Feb. 15, TribLive) claims Elon Musk is a billionaire with no security clearance. That is false. Musk holds a top secret security clearance for his work with SpaceX. It is time to think with your head instead of your...
Letter to the editor: No one elected Fauci, either
2020 was the year that the world changed. A pandemic spread across this country and over a million people died. I mention that because in the middle of it, Dr. Anthony Fauci took over the handling of it. He was unelected but with the help of the Centers for Disease...
Letter to the editor: Saving horses from slaughter
I was shocked and horrified to learn that for decades, our nation’s horses have been shuttled into the horse slaughter pipelines, delivered to Canada and Mexico and killed for food. I am so grateful to Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Mary Gay Scanlon and Madeleine Dean for sponsoring the Save America’s Forgotten...
