Featured Commentary category, Page 96
Cal Thomas: Testing, testing
President Biden has attempted to tamp down the frustration many feel over his inability to crush the pandemic, as he promised he would do when campaigning for the office he now holds. In a Tuesday afternoon address from the White House, the president promised to ramp up testing sites and...
Ramesh Ponnaru: Democrats should blame themselves, not Joe Manchin
The Democrats should have listened to Joe Manchin. As their “Build Back Better” agenda assumed legislative shape, the Democratic senator from West Virginia kept telling them what he didn’t like about it. On Nov. 1, he decried the bill’s “shell games” and “budget gimmicks” and called it “a recipe for...
Teresa Ghilarducci: The perfect Christmas gift? Cash.
If you still haven’t gotten a holiday gift for someone — or anyone over the age of 12, for that matter — you’ve come to the right place. As an economist, I can assure you that not only have you done the responsible, even thoughtful, thing. It may also not...
Sally Pipes: Post-pandemic, fix scope-of-practice laws
Even health care answers to the law of supply and demand. Before the pandemic, demand for care was surging as our nation aged. Supply has not kept up. More than 83 million Americans live in areas where there’s a shortage of primary care health professionals, according to the federal government....
Dr. David Macpherson: ‘Anonymous homicide,’ part 2 — a message to local leaders
Most of us are tired of thinking about the pandemic. It’s ceased to be interesting news. It’s become fertile ground for politicians who increasingly seem to need a soapbox to stand on and shout from to attract votes. The more they shout, the less interesting it seems. Even reports of...
John Sparks: Vaccine mandate a case of federal overreach
Whether you have strong convictions against vaccines, or just about the covid vaccine, or you have no particular aversion to vaccines, understanding what is going on with President Joe Biden’s OSHA-enforced vaccine mandate is important. The OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) mandate is just one leg of a three-legged...
Gabe Kaminsky: GOP’s crowded Pa. gubernatorial field a help or hindrance?
With Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf term-limited in a state that narrowly went to Joe Biden in 2020, both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to best position themselves for the 2022 gubernatorial race. Democrats have rallied around Attorney General Josh Shapiro; on the Republican side, it remains unclear whether a...
Sean Hoffmann: Pa. has historic opportunity to restore quality of beloved rivers
Western Pennsylvania is known for its three rivers: the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio. These rivers and the surrounding region provide an ecological richness along with tremendous recreational opportunities. They are biologically diverse, picturesque and among the most historic tributaries in America. And because we cherish our three rivers,...
Andrew Cuff: Western Pennsylvania is dying – or is it?
To many Americans, the regions surrounding Pittsburgh have become a collection of “ghost towns” to avoid or a lost culture to elegize. Western Pennsylvania is now a socially acceptable target for stereotypes conjuring images of blighted vacant lots, shuttered mills and welfare recipients addicted to painkillers. Even the familiar term...
Tricia Cunningham: Corman, Mastriano act tough on election integrity, but they caused the problems
If you care about election integrity, there are a couple of Republican senators running for governor who you may want to scratch off your list. Both Sen. Jake Corman and Sen. Doug Mastriano are scurrying around the commonwealth claiming to want to get to the bottom of what happened in...
Sandy Fox: Amazon warehouses are sacrifice zones
An article published Dec. 9 in The Guardian has been circulating among Churchill residents. The title of the story rings true: “Warehouses in their backyards: When Amazon expands, these communities pay the price.” Churchill is a 2.5-square-mile suburban community of 3,000 people 10 miles east of Pittsburgh. Residents remain steadfast...
Dr. Andrew Smolar: The lost art of tolerating our mixed feelings
Recently, some of my patients have been saying some version of this: “I can’t believe they’re teaching critical race theory to my 8-year-old. She came home crying. She felt bad about herself because her skin is white. I’ve got to protect her.” These people are trying to promote their children’s...
Greg Fulton: A Christmas wish for Pirates fans
It’s almost Christmas, and on the wish list for many Pirates fans in western Pennsylvania and elsewhere is that the team makes it to the World Series in 2022. It’s the same thing they have asked of Santa for many years. Being a Pirates fan can be painful. Most of...
Samuel Royer: Hammered by housing prices, first responders, teachers seek relief
From armed battles on the other side of the globe to terror attacks on our own soil, America is no stranger to turbulent times. For over two centuries, we have counted on brave individuals that rise to the occasion to protect our country and our communities, whether overseas or at...
Mary Frances Cooper: Keep your library ‘free to the people’
When I assumed the role of president and director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Jan. 1, 2012, my goal was to become a champion for the ever-changing and increasingly important responsibility that public libraries have in our society. Now, as I prepare to leave this organization I’ve come to call...
Mark Hendrickson: The Biden administration’s ongoing ill-timed battle against fossil fuels
A few months ago, I wrote about President Biden’s anti-fossil fuel policies. Among other steps designed to restrict domestic production of oil and natural gas, the president canceled completion of the Keystone XL pipeline, banned drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and greatly curtailed the issuance of leases...
Cheri Gensel: Pa. union bills would give teachers back their voices
When I traveled to Harrisburg recently to testify at a public hearing on labor reform bills that are important to me as a teacher, I was nervous about some of the questions I might get from lawmakers who disagreed with me. What I didn’t expect was that they wouldn’t even...
Michael Torres: Pa. Democrats have a union problem
When Joe Biden kicked off his presidential campaign in April 2019 at the Teamsters Local 249 union hall in Pittsburgh, he declared himself a “union man,” sounding a theme that he repeated during his more than 25 campaign visits to the state. When Election Day came, however, Biden lost the...
Ari Mittleman: Jews need passionate allies
Gov. Tom Wolf visited the Tree of Life - Or L’Simcha in Pittsburgh on Dec. 6. Joined by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and state Sen. Jay Costa, he announced an investment of $6.6 million in state funding to transform the devastated synagogue into a place of hope, remembrance and education. For...
Brianna Amoscato: I took a moment in my classroom to learn tolerance
A poster with the word WEIRD written in purple ink hangs in my classroom, documenting one of the most important teachable moments of my career. At the beginning of the year, my third graders took part in a self-portrait project about the visible and invisible characteristics of ourselves. I showed...
Judith Bannon: Biden must end failed trade policy that has hurt Pennsylvanians
President Joe Biden recently made his first return to his hometown of Scranton since being elected president one year ago. This time, he came to tout legislative priorities that are focused on bolstering the nation’s infrastructure and continuing to create jobs as our nation emerges from the depths of the...
Molly Parzen: We must tackle climate change to truly Build Back Better
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden will make transformational investments in our nation’s outdated and failing infrastructure, benefiting Americans all over the country. We celebrate this bipartisan victory that will provide funding for clean energy research, grid modernization and electric vehicle infrastructure, but...
Dr. Michael Madden: Clearing the air about youth vaping
Recently, the CDC published overwhelmingly positive news: Youth vaping is down by 60% or more since the high watermark (in 2019) of kids using e-cigarettes. But you’d have to use your own calculator to figure that out if you only read the CDC’s report on the data. And the FDA...
Cal Thomas: With Oxford shooter, the signs weren’t missed — they were ignored
As has been the case with so many other school shootings over several years, last week’s murder spree at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit might have been avoided if actions had been taken in the face of several obvious warning signs. Ethan Crumbley, 15, is charged with murdering four...
Sen. John Yudichak: America’s energy future depends on Pa.
For decades, many of us in northeastern Pennsylvania have talked about knocking the rust off our regional economy and creating not only new jobs but also new industries. Diversifying our economic portfolio means creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurs that helps small businesses prosper in our downtowns through partnerships with the...
