Featured Commentary category, Page 27
Smitha Vishveshwara: What connects us in this polarizing moment through space and time and humanity
Reeling from a divisive and turbulent election season, many of us seek spaces of solace, light, unity and worship as we turn toward the winter holidays. The cosmos and its reflection within us harbor such spaces. By viewing and embracing scientific insights through the lens of humanity, you form a...
Dan Rodricks: Luigi Mangione and where we are now
In February 1992, chicken magnate Frank Perdue received a pie in the face from a protester in a chicken costume during a meeting of the University of Maryland Board of Regents in Baltimore. Perdue was founder, president and CEO of one of the nation’s largest poultry processors. More than that,...
Cal Thomas: Biden-Trump, the worst transition ever
The soon-to-expire Biden administration is behaving as if an invading foreign power is about to take over and the house must be burned down to keep the “invaders” from succeeding. In the past few weeks, the cynicism meter has ticked up several notches because of the decisions made by the...
Kathryn Anne Edwards: The influencer economy exposes a 70-year problem for women
The holidays are upon us, and more than ever the burgeoning influencer economy is having an impact on what consumers buy. Few reliable statistics can be found concerning the influencer profession, but several studies suggest the industry is dominated by women in their homes selling products related to the personal...
James Densley, Jillian Peterson and David Riedman: Here’s what is so unusual about the Wisconsin school shooting — and what isn’t
The Dec. 16 shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., shocked the nation, not only for its horror but for its unique profile. This time, a teenage girl opened fire inside her school, killing a teacher, another student and apparently herself, and injuring six others. Although female school...
Rep. Jesse Topper: We can stop the pinch who stole Christmas
It is a few days before Christmas and across the commonwealth, Pennsylvania families are busy looking for last-minute holiday gifts, planning for family gatherings and engaging in charitable efforts to help those in their communities during the holiday season. However, this season is another stark reminder that every Pennsylvanian is...
Stephen Lind: People thought ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ would fail. Sincerity powered its success.
It’s hard to imagine the holidays without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple of the season for many generations. But this beloved TV special almost didn’t make it to air. CBS executives thought the 25-minute program was too slow, too serious and too different from...
Cheryl Towers and Nancy Weinstein: Time to add ERA to Constitution
History is watching and equality is on the line in the United States. Women and men all over the country are working hard to request that President Joe Biden contact the National Archives for publication of the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution, but this movement has received little coverage...
Adriane N. Irwin: 28 miles to the nearest pharmacy? For many, that’s the only option
Pharmacies in the United States are closing at an alarming rate. The ACT Pharmacy Collaborative, a partnership between community pharmacy networks and academia, reported that 244 pharmacies closed in just the first six weeks of 2024. Rite-Aid has closed 500 stores, CVS will close another 300 stores by the end...
Elias Wondimu: Not another revival of Band Aid’s ‘Do they know it’s Christmas?’
On Nov. 25, Band Aid released the “ultimate remix” of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” the rock charity single from 40 years ago that, in addition to whatever good it has done, also broadcasts a narrative that undermines an entire continent’s dignity and agency. The recording has raised millions for...
Evan Ramstad: Anger and debate over health care will continue after Thompson’s killer is sent away
The arrest in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was the first step to putting his killer behind bars, though it won’t end the power struggle in health care illuminated by public reaction afterward. Another wave of criticism rose against Minnesota- based UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, and the...
Stephen Mihm: Nixon set the stage for Trump’s plan to control the budget
As pundits imagine the coming Donald Trump presidency, much of the attention has focused on the most extreme measures he has promised to implement, from mass deportations to abolishing the Department of Education. Yet these may pale in significance next to his promise to use something less showy but ultimately...
Kerry Ann Knapp: I’m a longtime family caregiver. It makes me a better person.
Thirty-one years ago, my husband, Bruce, and I took on the role of a lifetime. I became the legal guardian, and Bruce the caregiver, for my nephew Dan Bivins, who was 7 at the time and born with Down syndrome. That still stands as one of the luckiest days of...
Point: Time to get real about renewables
The debate over fossil fuels has produced a narrative that is long on rhetoric and short on realism. Those who argue for a complete transition from coal, natural gas and oil ask us to do what John Lennon suggested: “Imagine.” Imagine the world they want and not engage with the...
Counterpoint: Trump’s big oil cronies poised to prop up fossil fuels
Why in the world should the public provide giant subsidies to the giant corporations that are rushing us to climate catastrophe? Showered with tens of millions of dollars in oil and gas campaign contributions, President-elect Donald Trump is poised to pay back the favor thousands of times over — at...
William Farrier, Jim Johnston and Dave Morgan: We’ll keep fighting U.S. Steel and Nippon to save our jobs
Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) went to the bargaining table with U.S. Steel in 2018 seeking a fair contract that recognized our hard work in steering the company back to profitability. The company, true to form, just demanded additional sacrifices. As negotiations wore on, U.S. Steel tried to divide...
Jane Hillstrom: Why aren’t more people talking about America’s alcoholism?
I come from a family of alcoholics. Sarah, my cousin, was the most recent to die of complications from alcoholism, at 41. Before her, seven people in our extended family, including her father, my father and our grandfather, died from alcohol-related problems. At one Thanksgiving, my grandfather passed out drunk...
Peter Morici: Trump’s tariffs are the opening rounds of Trade War II
China, along with the rest of Asia and Europe are bracing for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened steep trade tariffs. But Trump should consider how much the world has changed since he first campaigned on a protectionist platform, as well as make the connection between trade and U.S. national security....
Vanessa Stine: Close the Moshannon Valley immigration prison, Mr. President
Just over a year ago, Frankline Okpu, a Cameroonian national who was being detained at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, was found dead in a solitary confinement cell. Okpu was a father and a husband, and his immigration case had just been resolved favorably. He won what’s known...
Jonah Goldberg: The headlines said Amnesty International accused Israel of genocide. Here’s what they missed.
In a shocking development last week, Amnesty International effectively exonerated Israel of genocide. This was easy to miss, and not just because of the recent crush of news. Amnesty’s report, titled “ ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza,” buried the lede, as journalists say....
Dave Anderson: Independents, tripartisanship and America’s future
The key for independents to gain a voice in American politics over and above influencing a race between a Democrat and a Republican is to find a way to be a player in Washington without creating a war with either of the two major parties, which are basically at war...
Cal Thomas: Pardoning the unpardonable
Media reports say President Biden is about to issue a slew of blanket preemptive pardons for people associated with his administration to thwart any “revenge” the incoming Trump administration might take against them. While the Founders intended presidential power to be nearly unlimited (there is an exception for a president...
Trudy Rubin: Assad’s fall deals a blow to Russia and Iran, but leaves Syria’s future uncertain
Syrians are dancing in the streets of Damascus and other cities to celebrate the collapse of the hideous regime of Bashar al-Assad, the man responsible for an estimated 600,000 dead in a 13-year-long civil war — including tens of thousands viciously tortured to death in his dungeons. Those still alive...
Tyler Cowen: The sad decline of the public hangout
You can learn something about a city by just walking through it. Most of New York City’s Manhattan core feels bustling, whereas a San Francisco block can seem dormant. In Rome, it is common to see groups of men standing around, chatting or arguing. We are all familiar with such...
Athan Koutsiouroumbas: What can Pa. learn from California’s minimum wage proposition?
Confounding pundits and pollsters alike, Californians voted against increasing the minimum wage in November. Buried in the headlines of the 2024 presidential election, the shocking failure of a minimum wage hike in a blue state may epitomize the type of policymaking that Americans are choosing to reject. It likewise serves...
