Opinion category, Page 167
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Cyril Wecht’s unforgettable life
For as long as any of us around here can remember, Dr. Cyril Wecht made headlines everywhere. The renowned forensic pathologist, physician and lawyer died at 93 last week. But he lived a life that we will never forget. Dr. Wecht invented the role of the celebrity forensic pathologist. He...
Colin McNickle: Higher office vacancy rates not confined to City of Pittsburgh
The City of Pittsburgh is not alone in its struggles with chronically high office vacancy rates. So, too, are Pittsburgh’s suburbs. And the same deleterious domino effect of the pandemic-fueled changed work habits, coupled with a lack of regular property assessments, could lead to the same serious challenges for suburban...
Daniel DePetris: Vladimir Putin has much to celebrate. But not the Russian people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, the man who plunged Russia into a war that has proved far costlier than he anticipated, is riding high at the moment. Last week, Putin formally took office for a fifth term after a presidential election that the United States, Europe and international monitors widely regarded...
Brooke D. Anderson: Put women in the rooms where it happens
Before I became the president of Pivotal Ventures, I spent most of my career in national security. In my roles at the United Nations, the White House and the State Department, I had the chance to work on big, audacious challenges with teams I deeply respected and admired. But as...
Rep. Emily Kinkead: Justice, compassion and Ezra Bozeman
Lady Justice may be blind, but she is not heartless. When I was in law school, I read a passage in my Criminal Procedure textbook that has defined my understanding of the practice of law in a criminal setting. What it said was that the role of a prosecutor is...
Letter to the editor: Trump is no savior
I read daily from Trump supporters who seem to believe lies and ignore the lengths this man will go to to succeed. Sadly, the person with no moral character and a liar continues his quest to be a sovereign and has a constituency of citizens who believe he is the...
Sounding off: Trump, Biden top week’s letters
Criticizing Trump doesn’t equate to support of Biden I am compelled to respond to those letter-writers who think criticism of Donald Trump automatically means the person criticizing must love and support President Biden. How nice to be able to see the world is such black and white terms! No need...
Letter to the editor: Tired of the whining about the border
I’m really tired of hearing and reading the whining from grown adults (particularly aged 50+) about the southern border. If we rallied together the retirees, the armchair pundits and the people who use religion to mask their blatant racism, we could have at least four or five squadrons ready to...
Editorial: Is paying former city employee with credit card an ethics problem?
Do we really need to keep explaining ethics to government officials? Looks like it. OK, one more time. Ethics are the moral principles governing what we do. They apply in a variety of arenas. There are business ethics, medical ethics, educational ethics, legal ethics. What we’re talking about here is...
Letter to the editor: We’re a republic, not a democracy
Recent articles and cartoons have opined that our national government is a democracy and not a republic. Unfortunately they are wrong. Article IV, Section 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and...
Gary Franks: Having student loan debt is almost like being a sharecropper — really!
History would show that debt and interest payments have impeded the progress of the common man. This would be true for post-slavery American Blacks and to a lesser degree, for those today with student loan debt. “Following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, most freed people lacked land...
S.E. Cupp: Biden attacking polls and press isn’t how to win
Denial is a river in Egypt, as the saying goes. Well, it’s also making itself quite at home at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. President Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump in five swing states, all of which Biden won in 2020, according to a new set of polls. While these...
Cal Thomas: Warren Buffet is wrong on taxes
Many people have made money by following the advice of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. His recommendations about which stocks to buy, which to sell and where to invest (or not) have earned him the “Oracle of Omaha” title. I prefer a modern cultural version: “the Taylor Swift of Capitalism.”...
Elizabeth Massa Hoiem: Talk to children — addiction info provides emergency first aid
Recent government support to aid families impacted by substance use is heartening. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $28 million in grants to assist pregnant people and families, while Oregon lawmakers approved $27 million to fund education and drug prevention programs. But government funds are slow to...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s small gesture shows his character
As a speech teacher, I told my students about a boss who was hiring new employees. He deliberately left a book on the floor and waited to see who would stop to pick it up. Then he planned to hire that candidate. Recently, Donald Trump was about to board Marine...
Letter to the editor: State retirees need a COLA
Our Pennsylvania state House passed a bill in June 2023 to grant the pre-Act 9 (2001) retirees a cost of living adjustment (COLA). These retirees, most of them in their 80s and older, have not received a COLA for nearly two decades. They have been existing on the same income...
Lori Falce: Graduation speech ignites debate on gender roles
Harrison Butker, the Kansas City Chiefs player who kicked the longest field goal in Super Bowl history, has become a pariah for many after a graduation speech at Benedictine College. A devout and very conservative Catholic, Butker gave a speech not about taking the lessons from the Atchison, Kan., school...
Laurels & lances: Superintendents and cyclones
Laurel: To the next step. First Hempfield Area School District got an architect for the high school renovation. Then it got a project manager. Then it got an owner’s representative. Then it asked for bids, which went way over budget. Then it threw the bids out and went back to...
Letter to the editor: Criticizing Trump doesn’t equate to support of Biden
I am compelled to respond to those letter-writers who think criticism of Donald Trump automatically means the person criticizing must love and support President Biden. How nice to be able to see the world is such black and white terms! No need for any critical thinking. This lack of critical...
Raymond Offenheiser: Here’s what’s going wrong with Gaza relief
Amid persistent calls from the United States and other countries that Israel needs to make it easier for life-saving aid to reach Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military closed two of the region’s few operating border crossings in Rafah, a southern Gazan city, on May 7. Responding to...
Trudy Rubin: The biggest story last week was not Stormy Daniels or campus protests
While TV news was glued last week to Stormy Daniels’ tell-all testimony and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, scant attention was paid to Vladimir Putin’s tsar-like coronation for a fifth term. Nor to his bellicose parade of Russia’s nuclear-capable missiles through Red Square last Thursday, the annual Victory Day commemoration of World War...
Letter to the editor: Dangerous times
Regarding the letter “Conservative talking points don’t ring true” (May 9, TribLive): Famous scientist Carl Sagan once said, and I quote, “You can’t convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it’s based on a deep seated need to believe.” Facts don’t seem to matter...
Letter to the editor: Lawmakers should be keeping us safe
It is difficult to understand how women and mothers can be against safeguarding our families. Two of our legislators, who happen to be women, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and Senate Judiciary Chair Lisa Baker, are obstructing sensible gun-safety legislation. Protecting its citizens is the first responsibility of government....
Editorial: Does quadriplegic inmate deserve compassionate release after 49 years?
Ezra Bozeman was convicted of second-degree murder in 1975. The jury came to that decision 10 months after the crime occurred, when Morris Weitz was shot and killed during a robbery at a dry cleaner’s shop in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood. Bozeman was sentenced to life in prison. He has...
Letter to the editor: Veteran won’t vote for Biden
The writer of the letter “Veteran stands for democracy, not Trump” (May 7, TribLive) stated that as a veteran, he pledged to defend our freedoms. I say, amen. Also as a veteran, I find it very difficult to stay silent when I see freedoms, values and individual responsibilities being regularly...
