Opinion category, Page 21
Letter to the editor: We all should think about our political cognitive distortion
When politicians resort to insult and name calling, it is a sign that they have nothing convincing to say. No data, no logic and no insights to support their position. It is a desperate ploy to win by emotional intimidation or threats of physical harm. Referring to President Trump as...
Laurels & lances: Food & fear
Laurel: To more on the menu. Western Pennsylvania shoppers will have more grocery options with Wegmans and Meijer coming in. Despite the ubiquitous presence of Giant Eagle plus Walmart, Shop ’n Save and Aldi locations, the area has “one of the most acute shortages of supermarket chains anywhere in the...
Letter to the editor: We need our comic relief
The Prez, assuming himself the funniest human being in the whole world along with the greatest president ever, apparently never considered that trying to purge someone actually funny from TV-space, Jimmy Kimmel, would have given an early bum’s rush to the deification-of-you-know-who news cycle. Like a hard rain sweeping smoke...
Alexander Ciccone: Congress should not turn a temporary handout into a permanent burden
Pennsylvania families already face some of the steepest health care costs in the nation, with premiums and deductibles eating up bigger chunks of household budgets every year. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has warned that premiums are expected to rise by nearly one-fifth in the year ahead, putting even greater pressure...
Reps. Eric Nelson and Mike Schlossberg: Funding school mental health should be a top priority
Mental health is often discussed in whispers; we all must confront the growing reality that many of our young people are struggling. A recent survey of Pennsylvania youth found that 41.5% of students reported feeling sad or depressed most days in the past year. Students of all ages are struggling...
Jonah Goldberg: Why everyone is rushing to label themselves an ‘independent’
Independents are so hot right now — and will be for the foreseeable future. According to a major survey commissioned by CNN, nearly half of all Americans — 44% — call themselves independents while only 28% and 27%, respectively, identify as Republicans or Democrats. I have a theory as to...
Letter to the editor: Ballot curing ensures all votes count
Contrary to the opinions of Westmoreland County Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, the county is woefully out of step compared with practices in other Southwestern Pennsylvania counties regarding “ballot curing” — the notification and correction of minor errors on mail-in or absentee ballots before certification (“Westmoreland commissioners decline to...
Letter to the editor: Penn Township must find Rowe Road solution
On Aug. 4, a house fire occurred in Penn Township’s Meadow Wood Plan off Rowe Road (“Girl, dog rescued from fire at Penn Township home,” Aug. 4, TribLive). Firefighters were called and responded in seven minutes. Due to the closure of Rowe Road from Route 130 and the alternate route...
Letter to the editor: Incompetent Pa. leaders
It is said “everyone eventually reaches their level of incompetency in their occupation.” Some of our state representatives have reached that level. They’re like a group of kids that can’t seem to get their act together, holding Pennsylvanians hostage over budget issues. They have no idea how difficult it is...
Editorial: County meetings canceled, latest casualty of Pennsylvania budget battle
The Pennsylvania budget impasse isn’t the gift that keeps on giving. It’s the thief that keeps on taking. The three-month-long delay in a state spending plan is a dammed-up financial river that has rippling repercussions throughout the agencies downstream. Counties are conduits for money from the state to put into...
Greg Fulton: The magic of Three Rivers Stadium and Willie Stargell
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Pirates’ last game in Three Rivers Stadium — Oct. 1, 2000. It would also be the last time the fans would see Pirate great Willie Stargell. The ballpark and Stargell were intertwined, and their time together represented some of the most remarkable years...
Sen. Kim Ward and Pat Halpin-Murphy: Ensuring no-cost diagnostic breast imaging for Pa. women
Two years ago, when Act 1 of 2023 was passed unanimously, Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to require insurers to cover supplemental breast cancer screenings such as MRIs and ultrasounds, as well as BRCA-related genetic testing and counseling for high-risk individuals — all at no cost. The...
Letter to the editor: Powerball and government assistance
The Powerball lottery game recently went up to $1.8 billion. Thank goodness; I felt obligated to play it, but only bought three $2 tickets. Only two lucky or maybe unlucky people got all the winning numbers. I wasn’t that surprised or unhappy that I didn’t win. I have a little...
Letter to the editor: Teach kids about good and evil
Charlie Kirk was a good man. I don’t think his assassination was political. I think it was about good vs. evil. People don’t realize we’re in a war between good and evil. Evil can enter our homes through our computers. According to the FBI, the suspect spent a lot of...
Editorial: Efficient, convenient police blood draws are a good tool in fighting DUI
When a police officer pulls over a driver, it can be the start of a process that costs that driver a lot of time and money. What can be missed is how much it costs the law enforcement agency, too. A suspected drunken driving stop takes longer than a simple...
Letter to the editor: Political theater is necessary
To Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew, When you call civic engagement “political theater” “Nothing to see: Westmoreland commissioners debate streaming of public meetings,” Sept. 28, TribLive), you may not realize how right you are, and how proud that should make all of us. Western theater was born as civic engagement....
Bill Johnson: Universities must lead the way on freedom of speech
Freedom of speech has always demanded courage, and courage is the one virtue universities cannot delegate. When free speech becomes fatal speech — as it did recently with the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus — Americans demand — and deserve — a change. I believe our nation’s...
Panini A. Chowdhury: Southwestern Pa. must plan smarter for data centers
Artificial intelligence is changing nearly everything about the way we live, work and — before long — govern. We see the headlines about breakthroughs in generative models and predictive engines, but what we don’t see as easily is the physical backbone powering all of this: data centers. Every AI application...
Letter to the editor: Labeling all Democrats as ‘evil’ is wrong, divisive
A recent letter attacking the Democratic Party was false, dangerous and self-serving (“Democrats have become party of evil,” Sept. 20, TribLive). Claiming Democrats “hate America” or reject “God-given freedoms” is simply untrue. Millions of Democrats are veterans, first responders, union members, small-business owners, parents and church-going Americans who love this...
Letter to the editor: Spread pain around instead of county layoffs
Westmoreland County has 1,700 government employees. Beginning Oct. 13, 125 workers will be furloughed because of the Pennsylvania budget impasse. Would it have been both legal and fair to cut everyone’s wages by 5% to spread the pain around instead of 125 workers losing all their wages and having to...
Letter to the editor: Pollution coming to creeks near you
A warning to all anglers, conservationists and nature lovers: Stay out of Dawson Run, Deer Creek and Bull Creek moving forward. And keep your pets and children out of there, too, because those waterways are about to suffer the impact of yet another natural gas well. On Aug. 6, the...
Editorial: Irish trip during budget impasse is tone-deaf for lawmakers
On Sunday, Pennsylvania leaders were overseas. A certain amount of business travel is to be expected for elected officials. Legislators regularly traverse the state for in-person events and hearings in various areas, as well as moving to and from their home seats to Harrisburg. They may have to go to...
Editorial: A chance to save Ukraine: Trump’s sudden Ukraine support is worth capitalizing on
Now that Donald Trump has come around to publicly stating that besieged Ukraine could use military support from the U.S. and the European Union to fully recover all of the territory taken over by Russia, the world should lock in the president’s U-turn, which stunned policymakers everywhere. Trump has clearly...
Cory Franklin: The dark reality behind the Chinese president’s hot mic moment about transplanted organs
During a recent military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin was caught on a hot mic saying to Xi Jinping, his Communist Chinese counterpart, “Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and (you can) even achieve immortality.” Xi responded:...
Elizabeth Shackelford: Why we need dissent
This month I began teaching a new undergraduate course on Dissent and Democracy in the World. I started developing the course over a year ago, convinced that the subject is not only essential to well-functioning communities, but also not well understood or appreciated in American society today. When the class...
