Opinion category, Page 119
Counterpoint: The battlefield requires individuals with STEM backgrounds
Only 1% of Americans serve in our nation’s military. It should be unsurprising that many don’t understand military service, the types of jobs it offers, the way of life and the long-term opportunities it provides. One common misconception is that there is no future in the military for individuals with...
Point: Young people aren’t joining the military — sky-high military spending is to blame
As Veterans Day approaches, the military is concerned about a growing recruitment crisis. Survey after survey reveals young people aren’t inspired by military service. Ironically, decades of sky-high military spending — and the endless war it enabled — may have much to do with that. And reversing that trend is...
Letter to the editor: 2024 election marked by bad candidates
As the 2024 campaign unfolded, media consensus acknowledged that no party had a decidedly popular candidate. The Dems wavered over the tottering incumbent and overlooked their high-profile maverick West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. The splintered GOP sat idly by as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to pick up...
Sounding off: Veterans, Mt. Pleasant, election among week’s topics
Our veterans deserve better There is an important day coming up that we should all reflect upon. It plays a significant role in our history and reminds us of where we came from and how we got here. I’m talking about Veterans Day. As the last members of the Greatest...
Letter to the editor: Beguiling coincidences
A coincidence can be beguiling. News viewers can be easily nudged into conjecture. And it can be so wrong to jump to conclusions, as might an unmindful blowhard. But please consider: I watched Martin Scorcese’s film “Casino” a few times before, and then again just the other day. It’s among...
Editorial: Court officers are not above the law or discipline
Law enforcement officers have been in the spotlight often in recent years for being on the wrong side of the handcuffs. Sheriffs, deputies, police chiefs, officers, state troopers and more have been arrested and charged, and followed the path through the justice system as defendants. Some have pleaded guilty or...
Letter to the editor: Shame on those who supported Harris charade
Now that the election is over, my mailbox and phone say, “Thank you, Jesus.” I’m reminded of the old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Donald Trump asked, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Asked and answered. My question...
Gary Franks: Hispanic Americans and Black men got the message, contributing to Trump’s victory
News flash! Politicians: If you work hard and treat all people as prospective supporters regardless of their color or community of origin, you may be surprised. Congratulations President-elect Donald Trump. Winning the popular vote and sweeping the battleground states in a landslide victory was a monumental achievement. For decades I...
S.E. Cupp: Trump election victory shows how Harris and Dems failed to reach voters on pocketbook issues
For millions of Americans, Wednesday was a very dark day. An incomprehensible day. A day many thought would never come. I’m deeply disappointed, too. After everything we know about Donald Trump, and everything he’s already put this country through, how is it possible we’re choosing to do this to ourselves...
Letter to the editor: Free speech denial in Norwin
This letter depicts my deep concern regarding the continued denial of free speech by the Norwin School District. The recent unilateral decision by the administration, sustained by the “no” vote of school board President Matt Thomas, has once again denied our students the opportunity to hear a nationally popular presentation...
Lori Falce: What makes America work is difference and unity
America has always relied heavily on the concept of union. It is literally what holds us together. The colonies would not have defeated the British if it was just Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and Virginia facing off individually. We would have been swarmed under the red-coated army of the 18th century...
Laurels & lances: Politics & taking chances
Laurel: To getting through it. The election is over, and Pennsylvania made it through. After months of candidates and journalists all but parachuting into the area to lobby for votes or cover the campaigning, it’s done. With the exception of a few races coming down to the wire with counting...
Letter to the editor: Mt. Pleasant’s reputation ruined
I was born in Mt. Pleasant. My great-grandfather established Mt. Pleasant Foundry. My grandfather and uncles served as volunteers in the fire department. I still have family living in the area, and I have maintained friendships established though my church, neighborhood and school. I have waited to write a letter...
Paul Kengor: Nominating likable presidential candidates
On the eve of Tuesday’s election, RealClearPolitics posted a striking number. Its composite average of presidential polls showed a literal tie between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Each candidate was at 48.5%. You couldn’t get more even. Still, as my editors here will attest, I predicted that Trump would thus...
Gary Blumenthal: All eyes on Shapiro for essential ID/A funding
As the dust settles from the 2024 election, Pennsylvania’s leaders must now prepare for the 2025 legislative session and the forthcoming fiscal year budget debate, as families, caregivers and individuals in the intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A) community look to Gov. Josh Shapiro to champion crucial funding needs. Last year’s...
Rabbi Michael Pollack: Pa. leaders must step up to fight foreign election interference
Senate Republican leaders decided to end our two-year legislative session without passing HB 2433 and banning foreign influenced corporations from political spending in Pennsylvania elections, and our Pennsylvania state Senate has now gone home until the new year. The editorial “Why would Pennsylvania elections need foreign money?” (Sept. 19, TribLive)...
Letter to the editor: Don’t miss Duquesne-Robert Morris game
This Saturday, Duquesne and Robert Morris renew their FCS Division 1 football rivalry with a noon kickoff at Rooney Field. If you are a college football fan, it doesn’t get much better than this, as both teams enter the contest undefeated in NEC conference play. The winner of the mythical...
Letter to the editor: Drill, baby, drill is a false promise
“Drill, baby, drill” is a rallying cry and a promise to lower prices and improve our lives. But is it really true? According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, we produce much more natural gas than we use, exporting about 75% of our output. We also produce more electricity than...
Editorial: Pennsylvania still has lessons in wake of election
Everyone knew Pennsylvania would be a key player in the 2024 presidential election. What was less certain was the state being a microcosm of the election as it played out across the country. On Tuesday, as ballots were counted, the areas that voted for the Democratic and Republican candidates were...
Letter to the editor: Allow ACHD to protect us
As Allegheny County Council votes this month on a fee increase for Title V operating permits, some are arguing that this will place an unfair burden on U.S. Steel, a company that earned $2.14 billion in 2023. Nonsense! The Allegheny County Health Department has been admonished by the Environmental Protection...
Jonah Goldberg: Amid a combative election, party realignment continued apace
The term “realignment” gets used and abused a lot, because people have agreed to use it without agreeing on a definition. Traditionally, realignments are said to have occurred when majority and minority parties switch places. Starting in 1932, FDR pulled Blacks and working class and immigrant whites into the Democratic...
Cal Thomas: Democracy lives in brightness
In the end, Kamala Harris was the wrong candidate with the wrong message at the wrong time. President-elect Donald Trump won the greatest comeback in American political history — bigger than Richard Nixon’s 1968 victory — by surviving two assassination attempts, a media that was shamelessly in the tank for...
James Stavridis: North Korea troop deal exposes Putin’s weakness
Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering grievous manpower losses as a result of his illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. He has lost about 200,000 killed, double that number wounded and at least 500,000 young men fleeing the Russian Federation to avoid the draft: a butcher’s bill of over a...
Ken Zapinski: Maintaining a robust economy is also a public health issue
Most of the major metro regions in the U.S., including Pittsburgh, would not meet the new Clean Air Act standard for tiny soot pollution, according to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Of the 50 largest metro areas, 26 would violate the new standard established by the EPA...
Letter to the editor: Use math to set well pad setbacks
The state of Pennsylvania is over 100 years a Keystone State. In the 1920s, Canonsburg was called the “most radioactive town in America.” Also in the past decade, the Canon-McMillan School District was studied for three years by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh for suspected...
