Featured Commentary category, Page 31
Lainey Newman: The hidden risks of Trump’s anti-government agenda
There are a lot of reasons to complain about current political, economic and social realities in the U.S. But there are also reasons to protect the systems in place that work, which are many. One of the first things I noticed a couple years ago when I traveled to India,...
Cal Thomas: The dangerous marijuana campaign
MIAMI — As in most presidential election years, ballot measures are usually overlooked or downplayed by the national media. One is in Florida where a proposal to legalize cannabis to be administered by the state is on the ballot. Marijuana has been made legal in 24 states, three U.S. territories...
Julie Farnam: Tree of Life anniversary is reminder of dangers of hate
It’s been six years since the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue (L’Simcha Congregation), an attack that killed 11 and injured six others. It was the deadliest incident against Jews on American soil. To intentionally kill is a fundamentally hateful act, a white-hot rage whose flames were fanned by...
Tom Corbett and Conor Lamb: Our elections are safe and secure, so vote with confidence
America’s elections are the safest and most secure in the world. Bar none. And once again, Pennsylvania is leading the way. The world looks to our electoral system as a model of freedom and fairness, powered by a rigorous system of checks and balances that are viewed across the political...
Frank Donatelli: Trump has problems with democracy
Pennsylvania has always prided itself on electing leaders who are focused on governing and making democracy work to solve urgent problems. This has been true from the very beginnings of the American republic and the adoption of the Constitution in Philadelphia over 200 years ago. Pennsylvanians have put the public...
Jason Altmire: Will Harris appeal to Pa.’s independent business owners?
In a slew of mid-October campaign speeches in Pennsylvania, Vice President Kamala Harris pitched economic policies that she believes would boost the purchasing power and job opportunities of the working class. These calls follow the campaign pledge she made this summer to revitalize Pennsylvania’s manufacturing sector and reinvigorate its economy....
Peter Morici: 3 lessons of covid shockflation
Federal Reserve policymakers shouldn’t lower their guard. Inflation isn’t dead. September’s consumer price index was up just 2.4% over 12 months prior, but core inflation, which takes out volatile food and energy prices, hung stubbornly at 3.3%. Rents for apartments and homes increased 4.9%, while prices for other services, excluding...
Bishop Dwayne Royster: Black voters are not a monolith — break this misconception through data, genuine connection
As voters cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election, there’s still time to rethink the oversimplified strategies used to engage Black voters. Doing so starts with rejecting the false notion that Black voters are a monolith. This political convenience fails to acknowledge the rich diversity of perspectives, experiences and...
Candy Woodall: Trump vs. Harris polls — 5 warning signs for Democrats
Kamala Harris’ historic campaign, which launched with joy and once seemed destined for an inevitable victory, is now dogged by doubt. There are less than three weeks until the presidential election, but the postmortem analyses have already begun. One of the most prominent diagnoses came from former President Barack Obama...
Danny Tyree: What’s the lowdown on downtown?
My parents used to talk about the county’s farmers streaming into town on Saturday and shopping until midnight. From my own childhood, I still remember Petula Clark’s then-new song “Downtown” blaring from the radio at my hometown’s first Dollar General store, located about a block from the public square. During...
Counterpoint: A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for free speech
Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? The answer to the question of 2024 couldn’t be more straightforward: Trump. Even without the failures of the Biden-Harris administration, there are plenty of reasons to support a second Trump term. As one of the most successful businessmen in American history, Trump would be a...
Point: For Harris: Harris is the best choice to lead the United States
Voting is already underway in many places nationwide, and Election Day is only weeks away. While many people have decided whether they are voting for one candidate or perhaps just against another, some are still deciding whether they will vote. No matter where you are, I want to share why...
Featured Commentary: As Jews, we’re voting for Kamala Harris
As Jewish members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving others and bettering our community is not just a calling. It’s a commandment — one informed by our values, our faith and the legacies of our family members who survived pogroms and the Holocaust. These experiences move us to uphold...
Peter Morici: Whether you vote for Harris or Trump, it’s a sure bet the stock market will thrive
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have radically different views on how to manage the U.S. economy — but no matter who wins the presidential election in November, the U.S. stock market will thrive. Consider the growth potential of the U.S. technology sector alone. Bain & Co....
Tom Danjczek: Step up and save the U.S. Steel deal
I’ve spent more than five decades fighting for the U.S. steel industry. I started my career as a maintenance turn foreman, eventually working my way up to president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) before retiring nine years ago. Over the years, I’ve seen it all — the highs, the...
Jason Van Tatenhove: From extremism to advocacy — why we must protect our democracy
I am no stranger to the tactics employed by the Trump campaign: weaponizing fear, amplifying uncertainty and exploiting disillusionment. Their strategy relies on knee-jerk emotional reactions designed to manipulate and divide. These tactics are easily identifiable — if you know what to look for. Unfortunately, many Americans struggling under difficult...
Jonathan Katz and Joel Rubin: Trump is Putin’s Trojan horse hiding in plain sight
The recent disclosure that Donald Trump has allegedly been speaking to one of America’s most dangerous adversaries, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the lead-up to our presidential election raises serious questions again about his judgment and fitness to be commander in chief and the danger he would pose to America’s...
Deb Haaland and Joan Mooney: Plugging wells creates jobs and a healthier planet
Across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the country, millions of Americans live within just one mile of an orphaned oil and gas well. These legacy pollution sites are environmental hazards that jeopardize public health and safety by contaminating groundwater, emitting noxious gases like methane, littering the landscape with rusted and...
David Thornburgh: What would Dick Thornburgh do?
Since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, I have been frequently asked this question: What would your father (Pittsburgh native, former Republican governor and U.S. attorney general Dick Thornburgh) think about the state of the country, about the state of the Republican Party and about Donald Trump? These questions...
David Wassel: Swinging for the fence in Pa.’s swing counties
With Pennsylvania defined as “the Keystone” and 19 electoral votes in the balance, the presidential contest here could determine what happens in the rest of the republic. Critical to the fortunes of Vice President Kamala Harris are her performance in municipalities situated in “persuadable” counties. How might she incorporate such...
David Urban: Obama’s damage control for Harris won’t work
In the same week Kamala Harris claimed on “The View” she wouldn’t change a single action taken by the Biden-Harris administration in the past four years, Democrats scrambled and sent Barack Obama — a man who once called Pennsylvanians “bitter” and “xenophobic” — to do damage control. Unfortunately for the...
Michael S. Johnson: Political centrism has been getting a second look. Why?
Political centrism has a bad name. In fact, it has a lot of bad names. Centrists have been denigrated as squishy, weak in the knees, guilty of being sellouts — and worse, unpatriotic. However, the idea of centrism has been getting a second look recently. Americans are feeling like they...
Mitch Kates: Anniversary of Hamas slaughter reminds Jews of stakes in election
This week, Pennsylvania 434,00 Jewish residents are mourning the one-year anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust — by Hamas. Hamas murdered more than 1,200 Israelis during the attack, slaughtering babies, committing sexual violence, burning whole families alive and taking 240 civilians hostage. One year later, Hamas...
Dr. David Macpherson: Who will govern better during the next national crisis?
Over my lifetime, I’ve thought about the people I want around during an existential crisis — a world war, pandemic or whatever other disaster we might imagine. I can’t predict the nature of the crisis, but I can think of family, friends, colleagues and others who I imagine will perform...
Adam Forgie: We must build on, not kill, clean energy momentum
We are in the midst of an energy boom. Since 2019, America’s energy production has exceeded our consumption. Under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, America is producing more energy than any time in history, and Pennsylvania is at the heart of it. While we are producing more...
