Opinion category, Page 162
Laurels & lances: Fire and EMS
Laurel: To pulling together. A fire can can devastate a residence. Even when there is no loss of life, it can upend a family and send people scrambling to find shelter and replace the necessities they have lost. But what happens when the residence lost is the place people go...
Letter to the editor: Respecting our judicial system
The partisan responses to the Trump hush money verdict make clear the stark choices voters have this November (“Experts laud legal system for withstanding pressures of Trump trial,” June 2, TribLive). We can either elect an unrepentant scoundrel or a sanctimonious hypocrite. President Biden is calling for respect of the...
Paul Kengor: Our cursing culture
This week, I came across a profanity-laced tirade from the singer Adele aimed at an audience member she sharply disagreed with. I’ll try to sanitize her statement for this community-friendly publication, which isn’t easy and which, well, underscores the point of this column: “Are you (expletive) stupid?” shouted Adele. “Don’t...
Jonah Goldberg: Could the guilty verdict cost Donald Trump the election? Sure it could.
How much will Donald Trump’s conviction in the New York hush money case matter come November? The obvious answer is that nobody knows. Still, I suspect the verdict will matter, just not in ways that are easy or even possible to predict. A lot of the instant reaction revolves around...
Greg Fulton: Recognizing one last hero from D-Day
“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” These are the first lines of a short message from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower...
Letter to the editor: Trump, Biden and the justice system
The family of President Joe Biden is known to be close-knit and loving. It is difficult to imagine the pain the president feels in having to deal with the trial of son Hunter, which could conceivably land him in prison. It is notable that the president has not condemned the...
Letter to the editor: Destruction of women’s sports
Well, the Biden administration has allowed girls and women’s sports to be ruined. I wonder what they’re dreaming of destroying next. I recently watched a trans girl destroy the dreams of the girls in a state title championship track meet. Those girls should’ve grabbed their belongings and left the track,...
Editorial: More mental health treatment options are start to solving many social problems
The former Inn at Lenape Heights Event Center and Golf Resort was sold in January for $2.5 million. It prompted a flurry of questions as people in the Manor Township community were left wondering about the impact. The closing took away a hotel, restaurant and location for weddings and other...
Letter to the editor: Do we really want Trump leading us?
Donald Trump reportedly referred to the 1,800 Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood, a place venerated by the Marine Corps where the German advance toward Paris was stopped in 1918, as “suckers” because “there is nothing in it for them.” One report said he refused to go to...
Hal Brands: Putin’s shadow war against Europe is intensifying
Russian nationals have been arrested in Germany on charges of planning to attack military facilities. English prosecutors claim that Russian agents set fire to a warehouse containing aid for Ukraine. Sweden is investigating alleged Russian-sponsored acts of sabotage. The Czech government accuses Moscow of sabotaging its railways. Estonia, meanwhile, has...
Elizabeth Kopple: What volunteering as a poll worker taught me about politics
LOS ANGELES — When I used to complain about the divisiveness of American politics, my son, Henry, would often suggest I do something about it. Henry had been a poll worker during the 2020 elections, when he was 17. It was his first official job and he loved the experience....
Letter to the editor: Message to Madden on Negro League stats
To Mark Madden: If you don’t want to include Negro League stats for Major League Baseball players, then don’t count any of Wayne Gretzky’s WHA stats, as they are counted in his NHL stats (“Adding Negro League stats to MLB is dishonest, factually incorrect,” May 31, TribLive). Bob Davidson Carnegie...
Letter to the editor: Trump years preferred
Those celebrating the “guilty” verdict against Donald Trump smugly state “no one is above the law” while ignoring the millions of foreigners who are entering the U.S. illegally. By contrast, it seems to me that Trump and his supporters are below the law, as will be proven if this kangaroo...
Editorial: The sad history of Pennsylvania’s inability to pass a budget
The three branches of government can each do or not do their jobs independent of each other most of the time. The governor of Pennsylvania never has to ask permission for staying inside the lines of his executive tasks. The Legislature doesn’t need the governor’s OK to introduce bills or...
Letter to the editor: Law and order party?
What ever happened to the law and order party? They refuse to support the police with commonsense gun safety regulations that could save their lives. They refused to convict the twice-impeached former President Trump over his criminal extortion scheme of Ukraine’s president and when he refused to admit election defeat....
Megan Zeigler: Help available to make schools safer, cooler
Like hundreds of local families, I have been left scrambling last month after finding out my child’s school — one of 39 in the city — would switch to remote learning due to extreme heat. Days with a dangerously high heat index are happening earlier and earlier, and so many...
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler: Bringing Bryan Hagerich home
Many in southwestern Pennsylvania were horrified by the recent gut-wrenching treatment of U.S. tourists in Turks and Caicos, including Somerset County resident Bryan Hagerich. His family’s vacation started out normally, but when he tried to leave the islands, their beach getaway suddenly turned into a nightmarish reality. As Hagerich describes,...
Danny Tyree: Ready for Pat Sajak’s final spin of the wheel?
June 7 will be a bittersweet day in TV history, as the final “Wheel of Fortune” hosted by Pat Sajak airs. Sajak announced his retirement plans a year ago, allowing himself time for a VICT_RY L_P, naming of a successor and cleaning all the spare bullion out of the sofa...
Letter to the editor: We must pay down our debt
Save America and make it great again? Most people don’t have a clue. Nobody, no politician, is willing to do it. To save America, we need a 25% flat tax to pay down our national debt. Does anyone believe Donald Trump would raise taxes on himself? For the good of...
Letter to the editor: Our hero veterans deserve real buglers
Given the recent articles about honoring our heroes by playing Taps, I feel compelled to set the record straight. The photos accompanying these articles depict “buglers” holding instruments, suggesting they are playing Taps. However, these individuals are holding bugles with visible digital playback devices in the bell, and they are...
Letter to the editor: How much is enough for Allegheny Valley?
In a time of great economic hardship, the Allegheny Valley School Board intends to pass a budget with an unnecessary tax increase (“Proposed budget would raise taxes 2.65% in Allegheny Valley School District,” May 24, TribLive). The board seems to be blind to realities facing taxpayers today. The district has...
Editorial: Pride is a colorful celebration of acceptance
A rainbow is just a trick of the light. There isn’t really a ribbon of color stretched across the sky. It’s just the way the sun falls through a mist of water suspended in the air after precipitation. The water acts like a cut-glass crystal, slicing through the light to...
Lorraine Ali: The jury has spoken. What happens next will be a great test of American democracy
The verdict is in. Former President Donald Trump was found guilty Thursday of all 34 felony counts against him in the New York hush money case in connection with falsifying records around a payment made to silence porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Now the real test...
Dan DeBone: Reforming NOL provisions crucial for Pa.’s economic future
As Pennsylvania’s budget discussions and negotiations continue, there is an urgent issue that needs immediate attention: the state’s outdated and restrictive net operating loss (NOL) carryforward provisions. For too long, Pennsylvania has lagged behind the rest of the country in providing a fair and supportive tax environment for businesses, particularly...
Letter to the editor: Worrisome things about dictators
To me, the worrisome thing isn’t that one man is planning to trash our laws and become a dictator. The worrisome thing is how many people are on board with this. I guess they think those laws would just get in the way, and the dictator will do what they...
