Opinion category, Page 283
Timothy J. Kunselman: We can handle the truth
“You can’t handle the truth” is the famous line from the movie “A Few Good Men.” In real life, we can’t handle the lies anymore. We must have the truth to move forward. It strikes me that many of our representatives and those who want to be representatives really do...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh Mills roads are dangerous
Will somebody tell me who is responsible for the roads at the Pittsburgh Mills mall? I don’t think there is 100 feet of road in that complex that is free from potholes and patch jobs. When traveling the roads trying to get to stores to shop and spend money, all...
Letter to the editor: Action, or inaction, will determine country’s future
Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany, penned these words: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then...
Editorial: If Marc Fogel is not wrongfully detained, why was Griner designated so for same crime?
Brittney Griner was harassed in an airport Saturday. The Phoenix Mercury player was in Dallas and heading to Indianapolis when she and her WNBA teammates were targeted by people filming them and shouting what one player called “wild remarks,” including that Griner hates America. For the team and the WNBA,...
Letter to the editor: Good financial stewards in Norwin
Thank you, Norwin School Board. We do have those who are good fiscal stewards of our money at Norwin, but it is not the district administration. Through job reduction via attrition and something called “unassigned fund balance,” the budget was balanced with no tax increase. At a recent meeting, school...
Tom Purcell: Lucky to be my father’s son
Modern dads are portrayed as fools in television sitcoms and commercials. Lucky for me, they are the polar opposite of the loving, strong and decisive father who raised me. Over the years, as I clogged a toilet with an apple core, shattered a picture window with a baseball and hit...
Karen I. Shragg: Environmentalist movement needs to get back to its roots
Americans celebrated the 53rd anniversary of Earth Day in April. The holiday has changed drastically over the past half century — and so has the natural environment that activists are seeking to protect. Today’s green activists tend to mark Earth Day by focusing on ways to minimize their personal impact...
Abbey Haslam: Cutting red tape on Pa.’s nurse practitioners
Expanding health care access has been a major political issue in recent decades — first, during the Clinton health care plan of the 1990s, and then through Obamacare and the subsequent rapid expansion of Medicaid. Yet, despite the major focus on expanding access to care, millions of Americans live in...
Letter to the editor: Focus on candidates’ skills, not physical traits
The writer of the letter “Biden and Kennedy are the best Democrats have?” (June 7, TribLIVE) is critical of the Democratic Party for considering Robert Kennedy Jr. to be its candidate to be our next president because, in his words, Kennedy “has a terrible speaking voice.” I’d encourage him not...
Letter to the editor: Communication, legislation can help gun violence crisis
Better communication and transparency can help alleviate our country’s gun violence crisis, especially actions by local municipalities that bridge the gap between police and citizens. Police officers should know the people they are policing in their communities in a positive way to make people feel safer. In addition, several passed...
Editorial: ‘Protection’ still core of DEP’s job
Farcically claiming that the state Department of Environmental Protection is an intimidating regulatory bully, state Senate Republicans have decided to promote a culture change at the agency by renaming it the Department of Environmental Services. On a strictly party-line 28-22 vote, the Senate passed the name-change bill Wednesday. “The word...
Letter to the editor: Honoring those who protected our democracy
There were many emotional Memorial Day celebrations across the country on May 31. Close to home at Westmoreland County Memorial Park was a day of remembrance for those who sacrificed. The organizers did a beautiful presentation of reading veterans’ names and a 21-gun salute. These programs made me think of...
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 12
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 12....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 12
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of June 12....
Sloane Davidson: Pittsburgh’s population decline can be improved by retaining, not just recruiting, newcomers
Pittsburgh’s population has been steadily declining since the collapse of the steel industry nearly 50 years ago. We now have one of the oldest populations in the entire United States, and deaths outpace births every year. Migration out of urban areas is seen throughout the country, but no metropolitan area...
Susan Crabtree: Christie’s high-risk spoiler run
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might be best known — at least on the presidential debate stage — for tearing down rivals rather than building up fellow Republicans. In a 2016 GOP primary debate, he famously roughed up Marco Rubio in a debate at Saint Anselm College in New...
Letter to the editor: Juror who caused mistrial should pay
According to the article “Mistrial declared as jury weighs assault, strangulation charges against Greensburg man” (June 7, TribLIVE), Judge Christopher Feliciani declared a mistrial in a criminal case after jurors were prepped to deliberate when “it was discovered that a juror had communicated with another about the case via Facebook.”...
Letter to the editor: Mental health days help students succeed
As a recent high school graduate, I can wholeheartedly say that our schools need more mental health support. Across Western Pennsylvania, the recommended ratios of guidance counselors to students are not being met, workloads are increasing and students are suffering. If “mental health day” legislation was passed in Pennsylvania, students...
Editorial: The cost of consideration for school construction
Everyone knows inflation has been difficult for the past couple of years. Gas was up. Eggs were up. It’s probably easier to list what didn’t go up dramatically since 2019. That’s definitely a shorter list. The rising prices have made plenty of people think twice about purchases. So what if...
Letter to the editor: Parable of the Good Samaritan for 2023
There was a cable news anchor who obtained an exclusive interview with Jesus Christ. Wanting to boost his station’s ratings, he asked Jesus, “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength,...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: America learns from tough times
On June 5, much of the media covered the 55th anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for the Democratic nomination for president when he was killed. If you were around then, it was the latest bad news in a decade of bad news....
John Tamny: There’s no such thing as ‘government stimulus’
Money has no purpose absent production first. Say it over and over again. Money is abundant in the United States not because the Fed decreed it so, but because productivity is a magnet for investment. If ever there comes a time when Americans cease their productive ways, the money will...
Noah Feldman: With Trump’s federal prosecution, timing is everything
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges, catapulting the U.S. into new legal and constitutional territory. What this means for democracy and for the 2024 presidential race I’ll leave for others to explore. Legally, the two key issues for Trump’s future are, obviously, whether Trump is convicted...
Shannon Bow O’Brien: Pence vs. Trump race breaks new ground
Former Vice President Mike Pence launched his campaign bid for president on June 7, placing him in unusual ranks. While 18 of the 49 former vice presidents have gone on to run for president, it’s rare for vice presidents to run against their former bosses. Six of these former vice...
Letter to the editor: If Trump wins GOP nomination …
If President Trump would win the GOP nod for the election and lose, what would the Trumpers do? See insurrection, payoffs, etc. Would he be able to serve from behind bars? See jail sentences for his puppets. Maybe destroy the Statue of Liberty, Lincoln Memorial? He lost. Face it Kirk...
