Opinion category, Page 12
Letter to the editor: FDA must reform to help adults quit cigarettes
Ryan Spak’s op-ed “FDA must do better for smokers trying to quit” (Sept. 16, TribLive) is a compelling and urgent call for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to rethink its approach to helping smokers leave cigarettes behind for good. As someone deeply concerned about public health, I wholeheartedly applaud...
Jonah Goldberg: Can socialism ever be more than just a fad in America?
Here we go again. Socialism is making a comeback, according to friend and foe alike. A new NBC poll now suggests that a majority of registered voters don’t like capitalism. A Gallup poll in September also found that support for capitalism was slipping. A Data for Progress poll around the...
Christine Flowers: The problem with unwanted ballrooms
“He did WHAT to the East Wing?” If someone called me up at work and said “I knocked down half of your house and will be installing a pool in your backyard as well as a gazebo at no charge to you,” I would be apoplectic. The idea a stranger...
Letter to the editor: North Huntingdon residents deserve transparency
As a resident of North Huntingdon Township, I am alarmed by the lack of transparency surrounding the July 7, 2024, crash on Clay Pike Road that left Kathleen Morcheid with a traumatic brain injury. The driver, Nolan Patrick Mullen, who was going 90 mph on Clay Pike, was charged but...
Letter to the editor: Springdale rightly pushing back against data center
I was pleased to read your article “Data center delay” (Oct. 28). Luckily, the residents of Springdale are coming together to question this proposed development. In southwest Pennsylvania we are all too familiar with the hazards of industries that exploit our resources and then leave us and the environment polluted,...
Letter to the editor: Shutdown is Democrats’ fault
I can accurately be described as a voracious reader; that said, I can honestly say I’ve never been as amazed as I am now at the blatantly false items I’ve been reading lately on these opinion pages. Of course I realize and respect everyone’s right to their opinions, but at...
Editorial: The common cents of planning ahead on eliminating the penny
Sometimes a decision is as easy as a coin toss. The stakes are low. The outcome is variable. Heads, you win. Tails, you lose. No big deal either way. Others may seem easy up front, but a little digging shows the process needs more care. Take, for instance, the penny....
Letter to the editor: Trump disgraceful
Here we are in the middle of a government shutdown, and President Trump has torn down the East Wing of the White House at a cost of $300 million to build his golden ballroom. Shameful. Those in Congress sit quietly and let him have his way. They should be doing...
Letter to the editor: Term limits the old-fashioned way
It’s pretty clear by now that the group of folks in office in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., have no intention of ever doing what they were sent there to do: To represent their district/state, keep the government open and properly administered. Instead they blindly follow the dictates of their party,...
Kellie Walenciak: How to stay informed without being consumed
My father had a simple ritual. At 6 a.m., he would read the New York Post and Daily News cover to cover. At 6 p.m., he tuned into the evening news — an hour of straightforward reporting, not commentary. He formed his own opinions, and then he moved on. The...
Rosa Prince: King Charles destroys his brother over Epstein. America dithers
Born into unimaginable luxury and showered with honors, the man formerly known as His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York will henceforth be addressed as plain old Mr. Mountbatten Windsor. It’s a stunning fall. The second, apparently favorite, son of Queen Elizabeth II has not only lost his many...
Letter to the editor: A businessman in the White House
I was angry when I saw the commercial from Canada showing President Reagan speaking for free trade and against tariffs. Reagan was president when the steel mills closed down in the 1980s. I think he could have saved the steel mills if he would have put tariffs on steel coming...
Letter to the editor: Enough of Trump’s lies, desecration and disdain
The president stood up and said quite explicitly that the White House would not be affected by the building of his monstrous, tasteless and gaudy ballroom, which I’m sure will bear his name. Once again he lied. No surprise there. I think if his lips are moving, he’s lying. I...
Letter to the editor: Unneccesary, punitive land ordinance in Murrysville
On Wednesday, Murrysville will be considering what is essentially a “land confiscation ordinance,” No. 1104-25. It requires property owners to register all property within the municipality that is vacant for more than 60 days or risk a fine of $1,000 per day. After you register, the municipality will have police...
Editorial: Duty doesn’t wait for big election years
An old Dutch story tells us the importance of doing what is necessary when duty demands. The Netherlands is a low-lying country prone to flooding. A system of earth and stone embankments makes up the defenses that hold back the water. The familiar tale speaks of a boy who noticed...
Matthew Yglesias: Doom-scrolling is a vice. Tax it like cigarettes
Americans are reading less, sleeping less and partying less. We have fewer marriages, fewer children and fewer friends than we used to. Our children are doing worse in school. These are complicated phenomena on some level, but on another level it’s pretty simple: Smartphones, social media and the internet are...
John T. Shaw: Johns Hopkins scholar shows that knowing history is invaluable to statesmanship
Winston Churchill, the towering British statesman who served as prime minister during World War II, was once asked by an American student how to become a successful leader. Churchill’s advice: “Study history, study history. In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.” Frank Gavin, a professor at the Johns Hopkins...
Letter to the editor: King George III and King Trump
Professor Paul Kengor thinks the No Kings rallies are silly (“Teaching ‘No Kings’ nonsense,” Oct. 23, TribLive). Let me remind him of some of the provisions of offense cited by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence against King George III that apply directly to King Trump. “For Quartering large bodies...
Letter to the editor: Name-calling goes both ways
The letter “Why I’ll never vote for a Democrat” (Oct. 25, TribLive) calls out writers who utilize personal insults over facts. He neglected to note that name-calling goes both ways and is the No. 1 method by which our president chooses to communicate. The author goes on to provide not...
Letter to the editor: Congress must help protect puppy mill dogs
Congress must pass Goldie’s Act (HR 349) to fix the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s persistent failure to protect dogs in puppy mills. The Animal Welfare Act already requires commercial breeders to provide basic care, but the USDA has largely stopped enforcing it. Inspections of licensed facilities are often infrequent, and...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 3
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 3....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 3
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 3....
Letter to the editor: Shutdown would end if legislators’ pay stopped
I was mentally going over the state of the “United States” at this present time, Congress not getting a budget passed at the top of the list. I had a thought that if all Congress members would not be paid or receive health insurance or any of the “allowances” they...
Letter to the editor: Do we no longer love thy neighbor?
This is an example of a person who came here to be safe. It now happens day after day. My name is No One. I am from a Hispanic country where we are ruled and subjected to cruelty, fear of death, hunger and illness. I wanted to escape this madness,...
Editorial: Two government crises face Pennsylvanians
Pennsylvania is feeling a pinch other states aren’t. Oh sure, everyone is embroiled in the now month-old federal government shutdown. As of Saturday, what started out bad, with federal employees either sent home or working without pay, got worse as important programs were set to shut down. The Supplemental Nutrition...
