Joseph Sabino Mistick stories, Page 3
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Pittsburgh mayor’s race is about change
The best part of American government and politics is that the people get a do-over every two to four years. The voters of Pittsburgh will have that chance in the upcoming election for mayor. Their rejection of Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration in 2021 was historic — the first ousting of...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Standing up for our system of justice
The voters of Wisconsin stood up last week and showed the Elon Musks and Donald Trumps of the world the judicial branch of government is not as easily conquered as the executive and legislative branches. In the high-stakes race for a seat on the Wisconsin state supreme court, the Musk-backed...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The dignity of the American worker
As Donald Trump’s hatchet man, Elon Musk has embraced his assignment to fire government employees with gusto and bravado, even brandishing a chain saw for the media, as if this is somehow fun and entertaining. Musk’s utter coldness should surprise no one, since he has said, “The fundamental weakness of...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: How do we define American greatness?
Millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump because he promised to make America great again. It is already clear that the definition of American greatness has somehow changed for some Americans. We know how American greatness has looked and sounded in the past. During his inaugural address in 1961, President...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Don’t mess with the Strip
Pittsburgh’s Strip District is a treasure. This uniquely Pittsburgh neighborhood has flourished without government planning and is beloved by generations of Pittsburghers and hundreds of thousands of annual visitors. Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration is about to permit the ruin of all that. You may have seen the billboards that say...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Ignoring concerns of the middle not working for Gainey
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey held a newss conference last week that Grant Street scuttlebutt had billed as a game changer for his struggling campaign for reelection. It did not go as Gainey had hoped. Gainey accused his Democratic primary election opponent Corey O’Connor of taking campaign contributions from Republican donors...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The power of faith, family and pierogi
Next week, as they have done nearly every week for decades, the women of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in McKeesport will gather around long tables in the church basement to make pierogi. Their fingers will move quickly and precisely, shaping small balls of potato and cheese, a...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Progressivism killing the party, the city
My late friend Jim Roddey always said that he moved to Pittsburgh because most big things arrive here years after they arrived everyplace else. That being the case, Jim joked, “I figure that I can live at least 10 years longer in Pittsburgh.” And it has been that way with...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Pennies, straws distract from Trump’s big news
I don’t use straws much, but I have to say President Donald Trump hit a home run last week with his executive order banning paper straws at all federal government facilities. Trump was right when he said they “don’t work.” “It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws,”...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Strategies for Democrats to stay in the fight
Anyone who follows boxing has seen the guy who charges out of his corner at the sound of the first bell, arms flailing, fists flying wildly, striking his opponent everywhere at once. Think of what Donald Trump has done in the first weeks since his inauguration and you’ll get the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Gainey’s inclusionary zoning plan may hinder development
When Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey spoke at a planning commission hearing last week, he emphasized his “get tough on developers” version of an inclusionary zoning ordinance to develop affordable housing. Gainey wants to shift the responsibility for providing affordable housing away from his government — where it belongs — and...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: We should respect the police, not make their job harder
Some people think that teachers have the toughest job in America. Others think that nurses have the toughest job. Or psychiatric social workers. But I think that police officers have the toughest job in America because they have to do all of those jobs and enforce the law. And Donald...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: We can all do better being good neighbors
Last week, as Americans mourned the destruction and death caused by raging fires in Los Angeles, both Canada and Mexico sent firefighters and equipment to California. It is what good neighbors do. They help each other as best they can when help is needed, without being asked and without keeping...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The value of the truth
The truth was center stage at two very different public events last week. One was an announcement by Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire, and the other was the funeral of President Jimmy Carter. Together they showed us two distinct views of the value of truth in our lives. Zuckerberg is...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: President and Mrs. Carter made America better
Jimmy Carter became larger in defeat. That’s not easy to do, but it is especially rare in politics. For many politicians, losing the big one is enough to push them into the background forever. For Carter, his one-term presidency was just one step along the way to greatness. Carter’s presidential...
