Letters to the Editor category, Page 393
Letter to the editor: 2 cheers for Gov. Tom Wolf
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, www.rggi.org) was established several years ago by Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont “to support the development and implementation of each RGGI State’s CO2 Budget Trading Program” using a cap-and-trade mechanism to lower greenhouse gas emissions. In...
Letter to the editor: Border crisis manufactured by past administrations
Yes, border security is a manufactured crisis. It was manufactured by past administrations and supported by President Obama and his administration’s policies. June Morrison Zelienople...
Letter to the editor: Noncitizens & taxes
Regarding the editorial “Everyone counts in census” (Jan. 15, TribLIVE): How many of these noncitizens have real Social Security number to pay income taxes? Why should they have any say on how it is spent through the extra politicians their numbers would allow to be elected? Clem Zahrobsky Delmont...
Letter to the editor: Let’s move forward on methane
The commitment by Peoples Gas on Jan. 8 to cut 50 percent of its methane emissions in the city of Pittsburgh is welcome news in the fight against climate change (“Peoples pledges to plug leaking methane from Pittsburgh gas lines,” Jan. 9, TribLIVE). Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, far...
Letter to the editor: Why build the wall?
Some of those who don’t want to build a wall say it’s too expensive. Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and others on the left say we could use drones and electronic devices to do the same thing cheaper. Their thinking is shortsighted. If illegal aliens are detected crossing the border, they...
Letter to the editor: Dog verdict disgusting
I absolutely cannot believe the “not guilty” verdict in the case of the UPS driver attacked by three German shepherds trained as attack dogs (“Penn Township man found not guilty of dog law citations in UPS driver mauling,” Jan. 9, TribLIVE). It was weird that those dogs were not euthanized...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh crime will increase
Gun ban = more crime Regarding George Karpacs’ letter “Address gun issue now” (Jan. 6, TribLIVE): Do you do any thinking on your own? Pittsburgh’s mayor and Pennsylvania’s governor don’t. If they are successful with their gun-ban legislation, Pittsburgh will become like Chicago and other cities with high murder rates,...
Letter to the editor: Op-ed missed mark on pro-life goals
Tara Murtha & Susan Frietsche’s op-ed “Nothing ‘pro-life’ about overturning Roe v. Wade” (Jan. 12, TribLIVE) misses the mark on anti-abortion goals. It begins with the subtle rhetorical move of “pro-life” in scare quotes that is often used to assert the absurd idea that the very people attempting to save...
Letter to the editor: Poor choice of headline word
Your Jan. 16 edition included the headline, “New pack of migrants heads north,” on a wire story. I would like to know who chose the term “pack” to refer to a group of people. Whatever your views on immigration, can’t we at least agree that we are talking about human...
Letter to the editor: Tomlin should go
I agree with the letter-writer who suggested firing Steelers coach Mike Tomlin (“Fire Steelers coaches,” Dec. 29, TribLIVE). After the fourth-down call in New Orleans, giving the ball to the Aints, they scored. This showed he didn’t know how to preserve a lead. Why would Tomlin go for a “fake...
Letter to the editor: Fanning flames of Russian hysteria
“Without presenting any evidence, President Trump said … .” This is how the media covers the Trump administration, with additional commentary accusing him of lying. The New York Times on Jan. 11 published a piece about the FBI’s inquiry into the possibility that Trump was working on behalf of Russia....
Letter to the editor: Do math on wall
I do not understand why politics is taking such a toll on the government shutdown. Do the math: Estimates put the cost of illegal immigration at $130 billion per year. The president is asking for $5.7 billion for a border wall. If the wall proves to be over 80 percent...
Letter to the editor: Progressive coup
It’s a shame that the letter-writers fraught with anxiety and seething rage concerning President Trump are wasting so much energy and happiness when most of their stated reasons are, I believe, without basis in truth and fact. It’s also a shame that so many intelligent, reasonable people have been convinced...
Letter to the editor: Preventing gerrymandering
With news of the Supreme Court open to hearing gerrymandering cases from North Carolina and Maryland, it’s time to fan the inferno about Pennsylvania’s own redistricting reform. For a long time, I believed that promoting an independent, nonpartisan citizens’ commission on redistricting that is proposed by Fair Districts PA was...
Letter to the editor: Medicare for all? It’s not free
Certain politicians have been proposing the idea of Medicare for all. Sounds great, right? What they are not telling the public is that Medicare is not free. Consider Original Medicare 2019 : Part A: Premiums: Less than 30 quarters working (Medicare taxes paid), $437 per month; 30-39 quarters working, $240...
Letter to the editor: Divisive politics dangerous
As a decades-long independent, I find the behavior of the Republican and Democratic Party leadership in Washington disgraceful, embarrassing, unpatriotic and dangerous. They, along with their respective cronies in the media, have successfully divided the country into opposing factions who disregard the Constitution, precedent and common sense, whenever convenient. Extremists...
Letter to the editor: What if Native Americans built walls?
Although I recognize the need for border controls, I wonder how many of us would be here if the Native Americans had constructed walls around our country … . Jim Blahovec Penn Township, Westmoreland County...
Letter to the editor: Hempfield needs police
Another year has passed, and Hempfield Township continues to mooch off Pennsylvania taxpayers to pay for its police services. Added revenue from the new mall casino could allow Hempfield to fund its own department or “kick in” to support the Pennsylvania State Police. Is it fair that Pennsylvania’s largest township,...
Letter to the editor: Government waste is immoral
Our president is asking Congress for less than 1 percent of the federal budget to ensure security on our southern border. However, the Democrats have decided to hold federal workers hostage during the negotiations to deny the president his sworn duty to protect this nation. In an October 2009 article,...
Letter to the editor: No surveillance on Hillary
The last few days I have suspected that I was under surveillance, most likely by the FBI. So I put a “Hillary for President” sign in my front yard. Wow … the surveillance is now gone. And, I didn’t have to pay anything for the sign; I found it in...
Letter to the editor: Cosmic luck
If you were born in America, you didn’t earn your citizenship. Your good fortune originates from random cosmic luck. In fact, your chances of hitting the “billion dollar lottery” are better than the odds that placed your life in this nation at this moment in time. You could have been...
Letter to the editor: Shutdown will reveal truths
There are two things this government shutdown will reveal. One is how not well-off things are for the average American, and that a large percentage of people live paycheck to paycheck, with a thin line between comfort and poverty. Less than 50 percent of Americans have more than $1,000 in...
Letter to the editor: TEACH bait & switch
Letter-writer Jeanne Snyder (“TEACH grants should be paid back,” Jan. 1, TribLIVE) should be proud of her son’s accomplishment of graduating from Penn State using grants, scholarships and loans. He found a job and started making payments toward the loans. Snyder states that education majors should pay for their education...
Letter to the editor: Peduto’s plans won’t make us safer
Regarding Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and his efforts to confront the gun problem(s) as he perceives them (“What’s next for Pittsburgh’s controversial gun-regulation proposals,” Jan. 8, TribLIVE), I think his heart is in the right place. Unfortunately, his brain seems unable to find that place. Additional legislation in cities throughout...
Letter to the editor: Fairness & civility in local politics
When retired executive John Ventre announced his decision to run for Westmoreland County Commissioner on Jan. 11, he was stunned to see that his extensive resume of work and board and charitable service, and his creative plan to help the county, was reduced to negativism regarding his former hobby and...
