Opinion category, Page 11
Letter to the editor: Renee Good had rights
The writer of the letter “Renee Good’s blood on Biden’s hands” (Jan. 15, TribLive) at first said it was all President Biden’s fault, or Kamala Harris’ responsibility. Then he concluded it was Good’s own fault. There are several problems with his facts, opinions and omissions. Biden did not fire three...
Editorial: On Barack Obama and the aliens
We got a kick out of an old chestnut among conspiracy theorists — whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe and whether any of those aliens have visited Earth — that rose to the surface this week thanks to the musings of none other than former President Barack Obama....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 23
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 23....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 23
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 23....
Daniel Depetris: Europe debates the bomb
Last weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Germany for the annual Munich Security Conference, where he delivered a speech that was both reassuring to the European dignitaries in the audience and nerve-wracking because of its references to the kind of MAGA culture-inspired war themes that Europe generally shivers...
David M. Drucker: All these new independents are making politics more partisan
Disenchanted voters are fleeing the Democratic and Republican parties in droves. Their exodus is perpetuating the skyrocketing partisanship they seek to escape. Gallup published polling in January showing that as of last year, 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents, a record high. The migration began around 2008, with...
Letter to the editor: Those not here legally must be deported
So, a branch of a local government (Allegheny County Council) is concerned about their employees working with another branch of government (ICE). Is that not the most insane thing we as citizens have ever heard? Yes, America is a nation of immigrants, and I have the Ellis Island certificate to...
Letter to the editor: RFK’s vaccine skepticism
Vaccines have been going on in this country since George Washington ordered the Continental Army to get inoculated against smallpox, which was crucial to winning the Revolutionary War. The editorial “RFK Jr.’s vaccine skepticism is entering a new phase,” Feb. 17, TribLive) fails to mention that Robert F. Kennedy’s Department...
Editorial: Let’s see the receipts on data centers
Pennsylvania lawmakers are embroiled in the annual dance in balancing our collective checkbook — the state budget. At the same time, the Keystone State is offering a tax exemption to data center developers that the Department of Revenue acknowledges it cannot fully track. It’s an odd thing to justify. Qualifying...
Letter to the editor: Harassment and sexual exploitation of female correctional officers
The following are two statements from the 2025 Allegheny Jail correctional officer survey: “Our female officers are not at all protected. From the moment they step in the door (as a new worker mostly and current) they are sexually harassed, asked to perform sexual acts or favors to work in...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Free and fair elections?
With Donald Trump’s declining popularity and the growing possibility it will lead to Republican defeats in the midterm elections, his campaign to discredit and destroy the way we elect our leaders is in high gear. Trump is accusing others of trying to fix the election, which is the very thing...
Faisal Kutty: We celebrate civil rights heroes only after they stop making us uncomfortable
Every February, Black History Month invites Americans to honor the giants of the civil rights movement. We commemorate them in speeches and street names, reassuring ourselves that their struggles belong safely to the past. But history tells a less comforting story. We tend to celebrate Black moral courage only after...
Athan Koutsiouroumbas: Raising a family in Pa. feels harder than it should
Wherever parents congregate, you hear the same thing. The refrain can be heard at school pickup lines, church basements, birthday parties, and at youth sports games. When it comes to the finances of raising kids, doing everything “right” no longer feels sustainable. The numbers explain why. According to recent cost...
Letter to the editor: Saving the Steelers
In a Moses-like manner, Mike Tomlin parted the three rivers. On either side lie the pro- and anti-Tomlin fans. Arriving at a confluence may be the greatest task for Mike McCarthy. Tomlin’s critics sought and got the long-awaited lifting of the malaise surrounding the team. Or did we? Art Rooney...
Editorial: Why does transparency have to be so partisan?
The City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee has called for an itemized ledger tracking how $12 million in private donations will be spent. Coming from a political party, it’s easy to read that as partisan. It very well might be. That doesn’t mean that should be the assumption — or the...
Letter to the editor: Cellphones should be allowed in schools
The Pennsylvania Legislature is about to pass a bill prohibiting cellphones in schools. This is another example of legislation punishing a large section of the population because of a few. In addition to teaching the three “R’s,” schools are supposed to be developing citizens of good character. A key component...
Christine Flowers: Antisemitism again, this time from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission
I thought I could abandon the topic of antisemitism for a few weeks. There was Pam Bondi to ridicule, ICE raids to criticize and an idiotic Super Bowl halftime show performed in Spanish by a guy who didn’t want us to know how misogynistic he really is. But then a...
Noah Feldman: Grok fakes are a digital assault. Make it a crime.
The horrifying episode in which Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot generated and posted millions of sexualized images of real people, including women and children, has a clear lesson: It should be illegal to use anyone’s photograph to create a fake image intended to depict that person. Last summer, Congress passed the...
Letter to the editor: Trump cleaning up Biden’s mess
While President Biden and the Democrats snoozed, we were invaded by an army — thousands, maybe millions — of illegal immigrants. Granted not all of them were rapists, murderers, drug runners or thieves, but they all were law-breakers. President Trump now is left to sort out the undesirables and the...
Lori Falce: Fairy tale. Ending.
Imagine knowing your whole life that your family has been touched by fate to follow a different set of rules. You can’t vote. You can’t have public displays of affection — unless they come with an entourage on a balcony. You must always travel with a black outfit in case...
Letter to the editor: When will it be enough?
I have had it! Republicans, Democrats, independents and nonvoters — have we not had enough yet? President Trump and his minions are not just hunting illegal immigrants. The administration is grabbing everyone by the pocketbook. Ballrooms, 250-foot arches, suing the IRS, ICE … who do you think is paying for...
Laurels & lances: Consequences & community
Laurel: To correcting mistakes. Greensburg’s police pension commission this week approved the forfeiture of pension benefits paid to a retired officer, Regina McAtee, convicted in federal court of drug conspiracy charges. That includes repayment of $75,400 already received. The process was deliberate, with a public hearing and submitted briefs. A...
Letter to the editor: Sheriff should not be cooperating with ICE
At the Feb. 12 Westmoreland County Commissioners meeting, 20 residents questioned Sheriff James Albert’s secretive, unilateral agreement to cooperate with ICE, violating public trust in local police and bypassing the authority of the commissioners. This strains resources the sheriff already claims are scarce. Commissioners initially stated they had no control...
Parmy Olson: The AI panic ignores something important — the evidence
Last week, a post written by tech entrepreneur and investor Matt Shumer went viral on social media. Titled “Something Big Is Happening,” it was a rundown of all the ways artificial intelligence would, in short order, decimate professional jobs. Tools like Claude Code and Claude Cowork from Anthropic PBC would...
Cal Thomas: Why so much faith in politics?
It’s only February and other than the almost nonstop coverage of the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping story, especially cable networks are obsessed with the November election, though it is more than eight months away. So much can — and likely will — change before then. Why all the attention? When I...
