Letters to the Editor category
Letter to the editor: Pa. budget should focus on spending, not revenue
While I’m happy to see those people in Harrisburg start “early” on a budget, I have zero confidence. There is one fact that I have conspicuously noticed in recent years. All the talk about budgets in Pennsylvania has been around “additional revenue sources.” Not one word about spending. This is...
Letter to the editor: Analyzing Trump’s rhetoric
I often wince at the things President Trump says. Trump recently warned Iran that “… a whole civilization will die tonight” unless “something revolutionarily wonderful” occurs. I think he was bluffing in the hopes that he wouldn’t have to use any more conventional military attacks to get their cooperation. He...
Letter to the editor: Is 12-year term limit on county officials a joke?
Regarding the article “Voters to decide on placing term limits on Allegheny County officials” (April 17, TribLive): 12 years? At first, I thought this was a joke. Benjamin Franklin wrote the Pennsylvania Constitution and in it limited lawmakers to one year, with no pay. Oh, how things have changed. A...
Letter to the editor: Gas company transparency would help our environment
Pennsylvania’s orphan oil and gas wells and its brownfield properties are often treated as separate challenges, but they share the same root cause: Economic value was created without fully accounting for long‑term cleanup costs. Across the commonwealth, tens of thousands of abandoned wells remain from generations of energy development. At...
Letter to the editor: Why do people need trucks?
High gasoline prices continue to frustrate drivers, especially as global instability has constrained supply, a situation unlikely to resolve quickly. The solution is to conserve. If we use less, demand decreases, and the price with it. A few suggestions follow. Pass a law that if you want to buy a...
Letter to the editor: Congress is the problem
Whether you love or hate President Trump, he is not the problem. Congress is. How many of today’s problems are due to Congress? Here’s some examples: Congress has passed all required spending bills on time only four times in the last 50 years. That’s a 92% failure rate. Congress has...
Letter to the editor: Nonprofits need to step up and help Pittsburgh firefighters
This week, WTAE-TV aired a story regarding the Pittsburgh fire department’s vehicles and their condition (I should say their long-past-working condition). They need help. Thank you to the University of Pittsburgh for making a five-year commitment to the city of Pittsburgh. What happened to Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Allegheny...
Letter to the editor: A madman in the White House
In 14 months, President Trump has turned America into a country that people around the world hate, fear, feel sorry for, laugh at, are sickened by, no longer believe in and want absolutely nothing to do with. I suppose when you put a lawless, dishonest madman in the White House,...
Letter to the editor: Let’s make Westmoreland a safe haven for criminals
After seeing on the news that the Allegheny County commissioners voted to defy federal law enforcement agencies and grant foreign criminals a safe sanctuary, it occurred to me we should call on our commissioners to follow suit and declare Westmoreland County a safe haven for certain other types of criminals...
Letter to the editor: We should be able to trust ‘the news’
“Back in the day,” as the expression goes, when Walter Cronkite or Huntley-Brinkley delivered the news, the public had a high degree of confidence that they were telling the truth. Federal policies were in place to ensure that “news” was accurate. Until the 1980s, when the FCC started media deregulation....
Letter to the editor: Democrats need to put Americans first
When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. When you find yourself out of money, stop spending. That is common sense. The government is out of funds, yet Democrats want massive spending commitments before approving funding. Affordable Care Act health benefits and subsidies for immigrants is the major issue....
Letter to the editor: Executive vs. judiciary
In his column “Rogue judges or a rogue president?” (April 4, TribLive), Joseph Sabino Mistick told only one side of the story when characterizing the Trump administration as the true rogue in disputes between the executive and the judiciary. Earlier this year, Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh...
Letter to the editor: AI needs guardrails
The article “Southwestern Pa. is scouting the digital frontier” (March 31, TribLive) put a positive spin on advancing AI. For a different perspective, read TIME magazine’s April 6 article “The Most Disruptive Company in The World.” It tells of a company that is on the frontier of AI development and...
Letter to the editor: Bring back some form of the draft
Is it time for the draft? Not the meaningless NFL Draft where the quid pro quo has already been determined. The city and county will have a financial windfall, probably only to give it up to Steelers owner Art Rooney for facilities improvements. We’ve seen this movie. I’m referring to...
Letter to the editor: Better uses for billions than space travel, war
As I write another big check to the federal government I am wondering who benefits by Artemis, the $4.1 billion “trip around the moon”? At $250 per visit, $4.1 billion could send 2 million Americans to the dentist for a checkup/exam/cleaning, but that would be socialism. How many “socialist things”...
Letter to the editor: Does Trump understand what’s at stake?
Notwithstanding the Iran ceasefire, “President Donald Trump’s … threat that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,’ cannot and should not be forgotten.” The author of those words, Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham (retired, Air Force), is a professor of law and president emerita of...
Letter to the editor: No need for paper ballots
The voting system we currently use has a proven record of being the most effective at protecting our votes. The $7 million approved by our county commissioners was an investment to ensure our votes count. Thank you. Why do Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew want to switch back to...
Letter to the editor: Protect local farms
Pittsburgher Highland Farm is a 142-acre regenerative farm in Mt. Pleasant. We raise 100% grass-fed beef, lamb and pastured pork. When we bought the property, sections of it had been strip-mined. The soil was drained of nutrients. Our sheep and cattle restore the land to health through careful rotational grazing....
Letter to the editor: The sanctity of voting
The sanctity of voting lies in the promise that every eligible citizen has an equal voice. However, the proposed SAVE Act threatens this foundation by creating unnecessary, “show your papers” barriers that would disenfranchise millions of our fellow Americans. While proponents claim this bill secures our elections, it ignores a...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s excursion
Our too-clever-by-half commander in chief, President Donald Trump, has, with the change of one word, managed to flummox Republican members of Congress, rewrite the U.S. Constitution and likely have our nation’s Founders rolling over in their graves. Trump has said our war against Iran is just an “excursion.” Take that,...
Letter to the editor: What do protests accomplish?
After previous elections, the motto was “work together to improve the country.” Now the motto is “resist, vilify and protest. Our party must win.” Protesting must be fun. You get to blow whistles, chant, sing and dance (party?). You can vent frustrations by throwing rocks and fireworks at real people....
Letter to the editor: Where are the funny ‘I did that’ Trump stickers?
During the Joe Biden administration, when gasoline prices per gallon crossed $3.50, Donald Trump supporters gleefully defaced pumps with stickers of Biden saying, “I did that.” The price per gallon is now well over $4 and may soon top $5 or more. Trump has engaged in an ill-advised military action...
Letter to the editor: Shell plant is good for community
Behind the walls of Shell’s petrochemicals plant in Monaca, hundreds of hardworking members of our community keep the facility operating safely and efficiently. I grew up in a rural town with a smaller population, so I understand how families need good jobs like these to raise their families and maintain...
Letter to the editor: Clean energy will help us protect Earth
April is Earth Month — a time to savor the wonderful planet that gives us bright blue skies, breathtaking mountains, wide-open plains, serene river valleys and lakes, captivating forests, and an endless variety of plants and animals. Earth Month is also time for considering what more should be done to...
Letter to the editor: Bring integrity back to mayoral office in Aspinwall
Anyone who has been around Aspinwall for their entire life, like I have, knows that the Mount Rushmore of Aspinwall leadership includes men of honor and integrity like Art Esser, Ben Killian and Joe Noro. These fine gentlemen wanted to serve the community simply because they love(d) this town with...
