Featured Commentary category, Page 97
Robin Abcarian: Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones learns the laws aren’t just for the little people
Every once in a while, we get a bracing reminder that free speech has its limits. Alex Jones, the barking far-right conspiracy theorist, suffered a sweeping legal loss recently when judges in two states ruled against him in defamation lawsuits brought by the families of victims of a mass shooting...
Nicholas Goldberg: Are the school districts that ‘defunded the police’ already regretting it?
The idea of “abolishing” or “defunding” the police has always struck me as risky, to say the least, and not very well thought through. It has the potential to cause at least as many problems as it solves. So when some school districts actually decided give it a try, I...
Galit Atlas: 1 in 4 adults are estranged from family and paying a psychological price
Search “toxic parents” on Instagram, and you’ll find more than 38,000 posts, largely urging young adults to cut ties with their families. The idea is to protect one’s mental health from abusive parents. However, as a psychoanalyst, I’ve seen that trend in recent years become a way to manage conflicts...
Linda Fowler and Chris Fowler: How to make voting districts fair to voters, not parties
Should fairness to political parties be the standard for evaluating legislative redistricting? Across the nation, state lawmakers are jockeying to advantage their party — be it Republican or Democratic — while drawing boundaries for legislative and congressional districts. If the Freedom to Vote Act currently before Congress passes, many state...
David Thornburgh: Redistricting maps must be released now
Pennsylvania needs to have new congressional redistricting maps in place by Jan. 24. To make the deadline, legislative leaders need to release preliminary maps now. It is the only way to meet the deadline and give the public an opportunity to provide input on the maps. We’re running out of...
John Crisp: Breaking even against American vigilantism
The subtext of two prominent trials in recent weeks is vigilantism, the questionable notion that the institutions that we depend on — the police, especially — have declined into such impotence that ordinary citizens are called upon to maintain peace and order on their own. In both trials, justice prevailed,...
Jonah Goldberg: The tax-cut hypocrisy of Democrats’ ‘Build Back Better’ bill
For the first five years, the single most expensive item in the House version of the Democrats’ “Build Back Better,” or “human” infrastructure, bill is a gigantic tax cut for millionaires and billionaires. This provision would lift the cap from $10,000 to $80,000 on income tax deductions for state and...
Peter Morici: Republicans should force Biden to spend less in coming debt-ceiling showdown
As Congress returns from Thanksgiving fresh from carving turkeys, eating pumpkin pie and serving up polemics about the manifest blessings of America, it will be wrangling about raising the federal debt ceiling — again. The federal government collects too little in taxes to pay its bills, and most months it...
Cal Thomas: Isn’t it rich? Thank you, Stephen Sondheim.
The death of composer Stephen Sondheim at 91 is more than the end of an era. It is the end of a chain of great Broadway musicals dating back to the 1920s when Jerome Kern’s “Showboat” first dazzled theater audiences. I met him only once. It was at Barbara Cook’s...
David Wassel: Reapportionment means never having to say you’re sorry
Following every census, legislative districts are redrawn to reflect population changes, preserving the idea of “equal representation.” Districts are currently being drawn for state legislative elections next year. This process is already generating debate, with concern over gerrymandering, misrepresentation of the 2020 presidential election results and attempts to curtail voting...
Andrew Chew: In Pa., civic engagement is a critical challenge
Northeastern Pennsylvania is defined by its culturally distinct communities, from dense small cities and coal-region boroughs to bucolic townships and newer suburbs. From the beginning, the area has been shaped by a deep tradition of civic engagement — an unseen force defined by volunteerism, pride, community ties and showing up...
Rabbi Barbara AB Symons and Rabbi Aaron Bisno: Shining a light on fair representation
Today, Jews throughout the Pittsburgh region, and around the world, gather to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. On this night, we light the Shamash, or the helper candle, to light every candle on the menorah, adding one every night to honor the eight days that a little vial of...
Lucille and Clyde Bittner: Put aside differences and help people
As a married couple of 27 years, where one of us identifies as a Republican and the other as a Democrat, we understand better than most the idea that politics shouldn’t make it to the dinner table. During the last election, we were a split Trump and Biden household — and...
Janet Swim and Nathaniel Geiger: Americans support climate change policies, especially those that give them incentives, clean up energy supply
As the Biden administration tries to build support for new climate and energy policies, a set of studies offers some insights that could help them appeal to the widest audience. We are social scientists who examine how people think about climate change solutions. In the studies, we explored how the...
Greg Fulton: In honor of James Harrison, the ultimate grinder
If there were a Grinder Hall of Fame, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison would be in it. In fact, his statue might be in front of it. Grinder is a term in sports that refers to a player who may not have been born with great natural skills or physical...
Gene Barr: ‘Shop small’ takes on new meaning this year
Small businesses — the backbone of the American economy and the heart of many Main Street communities in Pennsylvania — have experienced unprecedented setbacks due to the covid-19 pandemic. Those challenges, combined with workforce shortages, labor market issues and supply-chain disruptions, have left small businesses struggling to survive. In fact,...
Cal Thomas: Thanks for giving
For some, this Thanksgiving — like last year — is a more difficult occasion than previous ones. Perhaps a loved one has died from covid-19, or you feel isolated from relatives and friends due to lockdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions, vaccinations (or not), masks and “distancing” and might think you have...
Jim Gluch: Scrutinizing Pa.’s stake in infrastructure deal
The local politics of the bipartisan infrastructure bill is worthy of scrutiny as we contend with our 21st-century issues and endeavor to make that future happen. The breakdown of Pennsylvania’s stake in the so-called BID (Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal) was made after its passage in the Senate this summer. It bears...
David Greineder: Increased taxes harm workers and hinder American competitiveness
In Pennsylvania, our recovery from the pandemic depends upon a pro-business environment both enacted and maintained statewide. Our workers and businesses have been hit hard by the economic fallout of the pandemic — we cannot increase taxes, regulations and other financial burdens from the government at a time when so...
Ron Perkins: College degree should not be lifetime barricade to a good-paying job
Over the last decades, the education to workforce ecosystem has myopically evolved into a standardized pipeline, where graduates are not necessarily set up to succeed. The standard high school diploma now offers 50% fewer opportunities for family-sustaining careers versus 30 years ago, and 40% of recent college graduates are underemployed...
Cal Thomas: The Rittenhouse verdict
Before the right to keep and bear arms is stated in the Second Amendment, the Founders wrote why they believed it necessary for people to arm themselves as part of a “militia.” They said it is a “necessity to the security of a free state.” The Founders knew that liberty...
Rep. Joanna McClinton: Federal bill invests in Pa.; state legislative leaders need to do the same
After four years of false starts and one year of hard work and compromise, there’s finally a federal bill that mirrors what we’ve been fighting for here in Pennsylvania. A bill that brings real money to our communities and creates jobs that cannot be outsourced. It includes investments to connect...
Ryan Shafik: Jake Corman runs for governor, Josh Shapiro rejoices
Dynastic career politician Jake Corman, president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania State Senate, is the latest Republican to toss his hat in the ring for governor of this great commonwealth. Given Corman’s insatiable ambition, his decision to enter the fray isn’t necessarily surprising. What is shocking is that someone with...
James Knights: We’re not learning — genocides on rise
On Veterans Day, I was asked to give a few remarks at an exhibition hosted by the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. The focus of the exhibition was a collection of my father’s wartime photographs of the little-known German massacre of 1016, mostly...
Kirk Allen and John Kraft: Fauci warned about coronaviruses in 2003 — but didn’t act on it
Few would argue the United States, or any country for that matter, was prepared for the covid-19 pandemic, even though, starting in 2003, the U.S. devoted $5.6 billion to fund Project Bioshield, running through 2013, and another $2.8 billion of funding through 2018. Project Bioshield was designed to prepare the...
