Opinion category, Page 100
Letter to the editor: America’s health care system is broken
United Healthcare alone reported profits in excess of $23 billion in 2023. Former CEO Brian Thompson’s salary for 2023 was $10.2 million. Despite taking billions from the “system” to administrate and often deny care, Thompson and company never treated a sick person and never cured anyone of anything. Citizens of Canada,...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Hope is alive for 2025
This last week of the year is all about hope — a short pause between the old and new year, a time when we can reflect on the past and ponder the future. Commerce has finally slowed, unused vacation days are being used up and there is even a break...
David M. Lantigua: At 88, Pope Francis dances the tango with the global Catholic Church amid its culture wars
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 17 years old when he first received his vocation to become a priest. It happened on Sept. 21, 1953 — the beginning of spring in Buenos Aires — during a spontaneous visit to the confessional, or what Catholics call the sacrament of reconciliation. This spiritual turning...
Point: The top 5 moments of 2024
For those on the right side of the political aisle, 2024 was a mixed bag. On the one hand, we had to trudge through the final year of Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency while fighting tooth and nail to prevent the administration from inflicting further economic carnage. On the other hand,...
Counterpoint: 5 signs our country isn’t lost
On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel at the close of 2024: rough. Donald Trump won back the White House with a campaign that was openly bigoted and fascist. And from President Joe Biden’s backing of Israel’s ghastly war in Gaza to his ill-fated decision to seek...
Letter to the editor: Tomlin should resign
Dear Mike Tomlin, Happy Holidays to you and your family. I have a problem only you can resolve. Please stop using the phrase “the standard is the standard.” I don’t think you know the standard. As a Christian man, you surely realize it is blasphemy. You are not Chuck Noll,...
Sounding off: On Tomlin, on Trump, on taxes
Tomlin should resign Dear Mike Tomlin, Happy Holidays to you and your family. I have a problem only you can resolve. Please stop using the phrase “the standard is the standard.” I don’t think you know the standard. As a Christian man, you surely realize it is blasphemy. You are...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s chaos
Donald Trump isn’t even in the White House yet but is already sowing the chaos he does so well. He and Elon Musk (who I believe should have no say in anything) tanked the bipartisan stopgap spending bill. Musk asked why “we” should give the Democrats everything they want. How...
Letter to the editor: State leaders should follow Innamorato’s lead
From her first day in office, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato has prioritized engaging directly with her constituents to identify and address their concerns and priorities. Innamorato’s 2025 budget proposal demonstrated the leadership we need to put the county in a stronger fiscal position while remaining focused on creating an...
Editorial: Marc Fogel’s wrongful detention designation is just the start
It took more than three years, but it finally happened: The State Department has deemed Marc Fogel wrongfully detained. In August 2021, the teacher from Oakmont was returning to Russia to teach at the Anglo-American School of Moscow. He was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport when he was found in possession...
Letter to the editor: Does hard work work pay off?
Does our hard work pay off? I ask because I’ve worked several full-time and part-time jobs. Some employers were fair, while others toxic. All employees have had the same experience at some level. Nevertheless, many of us work hard to make ends meet. Others work hard to be promoted or...
Gary Franks: Those we lost in 2024 — a governor, senator and congresswoman
As we close out 2024, there will be some folks who we will deeply miss. For me there is a special governor, senator and congresswoman who quickly come to mind — Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and my classmate at Yale, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee. Jodi, was placed...
John Wozniak: Seniors deserve alternatives to opioids for pain relief
In recent years, I have watched people I know try to navigate our health care system while seeking treatment for pain or recovering from surgery, and it has opened my eyes to the complexities and frustrations patients face when trying to access appropriate pain management. And it’s why I strongly...
Rachel Locke: Climate of fear is driving local officials to quit
Threats and harassment are pushing some politicians out of office, scaring off some would-be candidates and even compelling some elected officials to change their vote. Those are some of the conclusions of a new two-year study I led on political violence in Southern California. Rising threats against public officials is...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland sheriff spreading hatred
Sheriff James Albert’s letter “Keeping Westmoreland County safe” (Dec. 10, TribLive), regarding “society becoming more dangerous” and women purchasing guns for protection, in which he repeatedly mentions “illegal aliens,” is fearmongering under the auspices of law enforcement. Most women who are victims of violence are abused by known partners, not...
Letter to the editor: Let Trump’s destruction play out
Democrats need to stay out of Donald Trump’s way this time and let him do what he does well, which is destroy the country, so his low-info voters feel it in the only place they seem to have any nerve endings left, i.e., their pocketbooks. These folks, mired as they...
Lori Falce: It’s time to talk about aging and politics
It is hard to have conversations about aging. We can talk about how to deal with illness because most people are stubbornly optimistic. We can talk about disabilities because we think those are things that happen to other people. We can place limits on children because we have been 16...
Laurels & lances: Getting things done
Laurel: To a meaningful name. Congress is not known to get much done — especially not in the last few years when lawmakers have been paralyzed by partisanship. But this month something crawled across the finish line for Southwestern Pennsylvania. In July 2023, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, introduced a...
Letter to the editor: Hope for a better tomorrow with Trump
Although I am cautiously hopeful for our country during this holiday season, it’s hard to fully embrace an optimistic outlook when I consider the possibly irreversible damage done during our current presidential administration. A bungled, shameful Afghanistan pullout. A Chinese spy balloon permitted to fly the entire breadth of our...
Jonah Goldberg: This is the trouble with Elon Musk’s debut as a federal budget negotiator
In the wake of a successful effort to kill a year-end spending bill and replace is with more limited legislation to keep the government open, Elon Musk declared victory last week on X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform he owns: “Your actions turned a bill that weighed pounds into...
Jennifer Selin: What does the U.S. attorney general actually do?
Shortly after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to serve as U.S. attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pam Bondi for the position. A former Florida attorney general, Bondi also worked for Trump as a defense lawyer during the first of his two impeachment trials....
Letter to the editor: Freedom of speech, women and guns
Regarding the letter “Sheriff’s divisive letter tarnishes office” (Dec. 20, TribLive), about Sheriff James Albert’s opinion on women getting guns for their safety: Albert is a citizen of Westmoreland County and the USA and is entitled to his opinion, just as other public office-holders have written letters to the Trib....
Letter to the editor: The horror of NFL Christmas games
After reading Paul Kengor’s column “The NFL disses Christmas” you would think a Christmas NFL game is the worst thing to happen since someone walked on the grass at Grove City College! He proffers that Christmas NFL games on Sundays are OK, even though it causes him to fret about...
Editorial: The hope and light of Hanukkah
The symbol of Hanukkah is not what you might think it is. For many, the Jewish festival of lights is most identified with a menorah — a branch of flames atop candles or cups of oil. But what the uninitiated might mistake for a menorah is really a hanukkiah. A...
Letter to the editor: Thankful for Biden’s accomplishments
Throughout this Christmas season, when you attend church, be sure to say a special prayer for all the wonderful things that the great President Joe Biden has done for the American people. His humanitarian legacy will live forever in history. In my lifetime, only the legendary Franklin Delano Roosevelt and...
