Featured Commentary category, Page 2
Talla Mountjoy: ‘This is the time the regime will fall.’ Iran’s protests as seen through my family’s group chat
A WhatsApp group serves as a lifeline for my maternal family, including my aunts and uncles, all still in Iran, and my cousins, who have left Iran. With the protests in Iran growing by the day, the conversations in our chats changed to signs of hope even amid grave concerns...
Joseph Pollino: With high deductibles, even the insured are functionally uninsured
I recently saw a patient complaining of shortness of breath and a persistent cough. Worried he was developing pneumonia, I ordered a chest X-ray — a standard diagnostic tool. He refused. He hadn’t met his $3,000 deductible yet, and so his insurance would have required him to pay much or...
Frederic J. Fransen: America’s ‘Common Sense’ revolution
While Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence turned the smoldering embers of rebellion into the glorious fireworks of independence and revolution, it was a short pamphlet published six months earlier, in January 1776, that ignited the colonies’ revolutionary zeal and crowded out any notion of rapprochement with Britain. Thomas Paine’s “Common...
Bill Dudley: Attacking Powell only undercuts Trump’s goals
If President Donald Trump thinks piling pressure on the Federal Reserve will further his goal of lowering interest rates and stimulating economic growth, he should think again. On the contrary, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. It’s hard to see the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome...
Aaron Riggleman: AI needs national guardrails
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming how Pennsylvanians work, learn and deliver essential, everyday services. From manufacturing shop floors and health care systems to small businesses and startups, AI tools are improving productivity and expanding opportunity. But the benefits of this technology depend on clear, consistent rules. Without federal leadership,...
Matt K. Lewis: The year’s new political fault lines are already forming
That escalated quickly. We’re barely into 2026, and events are already unfolding that could meaningfully reshape the political landscape. The death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis last week, has the potential...
Barbara McQuade: The DOJ suing for voter data is dangerous on many levels
Uncle Sam wants you. And now he wants your voting data, too. The law — and long-standing policy — say he shouldn’t get it. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed lawsuits in 23 states and the District of Columbia seeking access to detailed voter information for the purpose of...
Ruth Johnston: Assisted outpatient treatment is a gift
It’s the season for thank-you notes, as we contemplate gifts given and received. Allegheny County just gave a wonderful gift this year to me and families like mine. In 2026, the county is going to opt into the newest provision of the Mental Health Procedures Act: We’re going to try...
Colin McNickle: Follow this blueprint, Mayor O’Connor
New Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor must hit the ground running by spearheading five action items that represent the first steps to improve the city’s financial, economic and business climate situation to promote private-sector growth and healthy finances, says the research director of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “In order...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Trump’s action in Venezuela — gunboat diplomacy on steroids
Like his domestic policy that seeks to roll back the civil rights revolution and other 21st-century advances, President Donald Trump’s imperialist foreign policy is invoking the kind of unilateral approach that marked an earlier era. That’s the bottom line on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and his threats...
Russell Jeung: Deaths of Asian immigrants in ICE custody reveal a community under threat
More than 30 people died while being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2025, marking it as the deadliest year for those held in custody by the agency in two decades. At least five of the detainees who died were Asian nationals: Chaofeng Ge, Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, Tien Xuan...
Rep. Mandy Steele: Listen to teachers — restrict cellphones in schools
In a 2024 poll conducted by the National Education Association, 90% of teachers said students should be required to put their phones away during instructional time, while 75% believe phones should be off-limits for the entire school day. Teachers cited several concerns, including impacts on student learning, mental health, safety...
Philip Martell: The significance of Greenland
In American life, Greenland feels distant, an icy expanse far removed from daily routines in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the continental United States. But in national security terms, Greenland is anything but remote. It sits on the front line of America’s homeland defense, and how the United States approaches Greenland...
Sheldon Jacobson: Football teams that squander great start are the exception, not the rule
The NFL playoff picture has been set. Fourteen teams are preparing to battle for a spot in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara on Feb. 8. Then there are 18 teams that will have an early off-season, each hoping that this year could have been different. One tipped pass, one...
Andreas Kluth: Trump is tying his legacy to whatever happens in Venezuela
Possibly, just possibly, Donald Trump just scored a foreign-policy success that could define his legacy. By striking Venezuela and whisking away Nicolás Maduro (along with Maduro’s wife), the president removed a patently illegitimate dictator and, in theory, opened the door for a wretched nation to return to democracy and stability....
John S. Brenner: A call for civility
As we mark the fifth anniversary of the insurrection that took place Jan. 6, 2021, let us pause and reflect, not just on the unnecessary events which unfolded and included the worst kind of political violence, but also ask ourselves how we’ve grown from it. Our civil discourse has become...
Mark Z. Barabak: Democrats are on a roll. So why not fight one another?
Democrats are starting the new year on a high. A series of 2025 victories, in red and blue states alike, was marked by a striking improvement over the party’s 2024 showing. That over-performance, to use the political term of art, means candidates — including even some who lost — received...
Cal Thomas: Maduro’s downfall
Venezuelans are celebrating in the streets of Caracas and around the world after U.S. forces staged a flawless removal of brutal dictator and narco-trafficker Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Not celebrating are most congressional Democrats, a few Republicans and the new mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, whose foreign...
Peter Morici: New Year’s resolutions for Washington policymakers
President Trump is the most activist president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. No institution is safe from his scrutiny, but entering his final three years, we should consider the global challenges that confront the nation, no matter who controls Washington. Regardless of its origins, climate change is here. Whether Americans employ...
Roman Martinez: The Postal Service can’t deliver without financial reforms
The United States Postal Service has reached a pivotal moment. Challenged by technological disruptions and constrained by outdated regulations, it is in the midst of a major restructuring plan to modernize operations, achieve service excellence and survive financially. But to enable its transformation, the Postal Service urgently needs legislative and...
Craig Haney: Prison methods are as bad as you’ve heard, and spilling onto the streets
I was one of the researchers in the well-known Stanford prison experiment in 1971, demonstrating the destructive dynamics that are generated when one group of people — randomly assigned as “guards” — is given near-total power over a group of “prisoners.” In six short days, inside a simulated prison environment,...
Daniel DePetris: The foreign policy moves Donald Trump got right in 2025
For President Donald Trump’s supporters, 2025 has been a year of transformation. For his opponents, it’s been nothing short of a long nightmare. The holiday season is a perfect time to look back, reflect and remember the consequential moments of the past year. As human beings, we generally fixate on...
Kevin Frazier: Beware of panic policies
“As far as human nature is concerned, with panic comes irrationality.” This simple statement by Steve Calandrillo, law professor at the University of Washington, and Nolan Anderson, a research specialist at the Eastern Illinois University, has profound implications for public policy. When panic is highest, and demand for reactive policy...
Counterpoint: Meet the AI agents of 2026 — ambitious, overhyped and still in training
If 2025 was the year artificial intelligence became unavoidable, 2026 will be the year everyone starts talking seriously about AI agents. An AI agent is a software system designed to plan and execute tasks autonomously, make decisions and interact with digital tools or environments with minimal human oversight in pursuit...
Point: Get ready, 2026 is going to be great
Americans should treasure their time with family and friends during the too-busy and too-short holiday season and be excited for what’s in store for next year. Although my predictions for 2026 come with an asterisk because it is impossible to forecast the future accurately, and black swan events can throw...
