Letter to the editor: Trump continues to show his cruel side
Rather than promoting compassion like other presidents, President Donald Trump chose to post an ugly rant regarding the murders of Rob and Michele Reiner as being caused by “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” illustrating his self-obsessed persona. Nothing is sacred with this guy. Nobody should have respect for him because it seems...
Letter to the editor: Deluzio ‘doesn’t get it’ on Venezuela
In his Jan. 3 statement concerning our two-hour military/justice action in Venezuela, Congressman Chris Deluzio touts his Navy and Iraq experience as the lead-in sentence. He also states that “young people” should not participate in our actions in Venezuela. And that our military action is unconstitutional. Then he states that...
Editorial: The cost and value of regional EMS
It takes time to move from an idea to implementation. It also takes discipline to recognize when the time for that shift has arrived. Two years ago, the conversation about the future of emergency medical services in the Alle-Kiski Valley was still largely theoretical. Communities were talking about sustainability, staffing...
Letter to the editor: Democrats need to put Americans first
When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. When you find yourself out of money, stop spending. That is common sense. The government is out of funds, yet Democrats want massive spending commitments before approving funding. Affordable Care Act health benefits and subsidies for immigrants is the major issue....
Mark Z. Barabak: Democrats are on a roll. So why not fight one another?
Democrats are starting the new year on a high. A series of 2025 victories, in red and blue states alike, was marked by a striking improvement over the party’s 2024 showing. That over-performance, to use the political term of art, means candidates — including even some who lost — received...
Cal Thomas: Maduro’s downfall
Venezuelans are celebrating in the streets of Caracas and around the world after U.S. forces staged a flawless removal of brutal dictator and narco-trafficker Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Not celebrating are most congressional Democrats, a few Republicans and the new mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, whose foreign...
Letter to the editor: Trump must prove that Venezuela action justified
Last time I checked, kidnappings by military force were contrary to international law. Can anyone credibly say that this wreckless unilateral action reflects anything more than presidential ego? That America’s reputation and world trust are improved by it? The Senate must demand proof from President Trump that this action in...
Letter to the editor: 2025 was a success
The Dec. 30 political cartoon stated that the year 2025 was “defective.” Well, our border was finally put in control (after four years of basically ignoring American laws and allowing chaos). The two years of “major” conflict in Gaza has ceased. The amount of illicit drugs smuggled into our country...
Editorial: Health insurance costs drive benefit cut in Westmoreland County
The rising cost of health insurance — and how to pay for it — is a question many families are debating around kitchen tables, strained checkbooks close at hand. Westmoreland County leaders are confronting that same reality. The county salary board, composed of the three commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer,...
Letter to the editor: Vulgarities unfortunately now the norm
When my grandma would hear words she thought to be inappropriate for the age of the speaker, she would always say, “They don’t suck that out of their thumbs.” To her it mattered not whether it was profanity, a racial slur or a lie, nor who said it. Grandma wouldn’t...
Peter Morici: New Year’s resolutions for Washington policymakers
President Trump is the most activist president since Franklin D.
Roosevelt. No institution is safe from his scrutiny, but entering his final three years, we should consider the global challenges that confront the nation, no matter who controls Washington. Regardless of its origins, climate change is here. Whether Americans employ...
Letter to the editor: Moving the A-K Valley forward
As 2026 begins, the Alle-Kiski Valley faces a choice. We can continue managing aging systems, stretching them, patching them and hoping they hold, or we can decide, deliberately, what kind of region we want to be going forward. For generations, our communities carried the weight of industry and adapted when...
Editorial: Pittsburgh turns the page — with work still to do
On Monday, Pittsburgh started a new story. Corey O’Connor was sworn in as the city’s 62nd mayor. As with so many such moments, it came with optimism about what comes next. It also has to come with realism. There is much that must be examined with clear eyes and honest...
Letter to the editor: Be mindful of seniors’ mental health
Thank you for highlighting the issue of senior citizens and suicide, loneliness and depression in the editorial “High suicide rate among seniors is a tragedy for entire community”
(Dec. 15, TribLive). Southwestern Pennsylvania has a large senior citizen population. In 2024, 20% of Allegheny County residents were 65 or older....
Roman Martinez: The Postal Service can’t deliver without financial reforms
The United States Postal Service has reached a pivotal moment. Challenged by technological disruptions and constrained by outdated regulations, it is in the midst of a major restructuring plan to modernize operations, achieve service excellence and survive financially. But to enable its transformation, the Postal Service urgently needs legislative and...
Craig Haney: Prison methods are as bad as you’ve heard, and spilling onto the streets
I was one of the researchers in the well-known Stanford prison experiment in 1971, demonstrating the destructive dynamics that are generated when one group of people — randomly assigned as “guards” — is given near-total power over a group of “prisoners.” In six short days, inside a simulated prison environment,...
Letter to the editor: Ditch Tomlin and his defenders
Looks like George Pickens is having a Pro Bowl season in Dallas. What kind of genius brings in a Hall of Fame quarterback and at the same time trades away the most talented receiver on the team? We all understand Pickens was a problem child and disruptive influence. But there...
Editorial: Why is Secret Service dropping the ball on protecting president?
President Donald Trump’s Secret Service detail has one job: protect the president. Yet even after a 2024 assassination attempt in which then-candidate Trump was shot in the ear while campaigning in Butler, there are appalling lapses in security. In September, the president went to dinner with Secretary of State Marco...
Letter to the editor: Since when do we root for the powerful?
Look what they’ve done to us. Look at how they’ve turned us on each other. Where Americans once would have stood together and done anything for their country, they are now willing to go to war against other Americans for an idea we’ve been sold — the idea that we...
Daniel DePetris: The foreign policy moves Donald Trump got right in 2025
For President Donald Trump’s supporters, 2025 has been a year of transformation. For his opponents, it’s been nothing short of a long nightmare. The holiday season is a perfect time to look back, reflect and remember the consequential moments of the past year. As human beings, we generally fixate on...
Kevin Frazier: Beware of panic policies
“As far as human nature is concerned, with panic comes irrationality.” This simple statement by Steve Calandrillo, law professor at the University of Washington, and Nolan Anderson, a research specialist at the Eastern Illinois University, has profound implications for public policy. When panic is highest, and demand for reactive policy...
Letter to the editor: Suggested reading for Hegseth
Open letter to Pete Haggis, I mean Pete Hegseth: Hey, Pete. I know you like shooting boats in the water and also the survivors in the water. I suggest you read about Franz Stigler. He is best known for his role in a December 1943 incident in which he spared...
Letter to the editor: Too many politicians
It is my opinion that we have far too many politicians. They don’t play well together and are continually fighting or suing each other rather than doing their jobs. President Trump is spending unnecessary millions foolishly. Italian marble bathroom, extravagant addition for his gala parties and golf trips to Florida...
Editorial: AI is changing the job hunt
Artificial intelligence is everywhere. The technology is being used to refine medicine, science, business and industry. At the same time, concerns about how fast AI is evolving — and what that means for jobs, the environment and daily life — are growing. In Springdale and other communities, those concerns are...
Letter to the editor: Why does Shapiro need a raise?
One thing that I cannot understand is why Gov. Josh Shapiro gets a 3.3% raise, $8,000, when he was already making almost $250,000 (“Shapiro poised to become nation’s highest-paid governor,” Dec. 26, TribLive). But the people that are on Social Security that make maybe $18,000 to $20,000 get a 2.8%...
