Opinion category, Page 29
Editorial: No redistricting in Pennsylvania
Every 10 years, America asks the people to stand up and be counted. This is not about statistics. It’s not keeping score. It is about representation. Congress’ two chambers are populated in different ways. In the Senate, every state is equal. From tiny Rhode Island to powerhouses like Florida and...
Letter to the editor: Republicans ‘following orders’
Hannah Arendt, philosopher turned political theorist, covered for the New Yorker the war crimes trial of Adolf Eichmann, the bureaucrat primarily responsible for organizing the Holocaust. Arendt’s assessment was that it was Eichmann’s lack of thought and his desire to be part of a movement that enabled his evil. During...
Jonah Goldberg: What makes Trump’s power grab different?
For many, the evidence is in: Donald Trump wants to be an autocrat. If you haven’t read an op-ed or heard a radio, TV or podcast commentator make that case, it’s probably because you’ve tried hard to avoid doing so. It would require virtually never watching cable news, including pro-Trump...
Jamil Bey: A Pittsburgh where everyone belongs — if we choose it
As Pittsburgh plans for 2050, our goal in the comprehensive planning process is clear: build a city where everyone belongs. That means welcoming new neighbors while ensuring the people who have built our communities can afford to stay, grow and thrive. The housing policy debate now before City Council isn’t...
Reps. Aerion Abney and Jessica Benham: A transit deal that doesn’t risk public safety
In response to state Sen. Devlin Robinson’s op-ed “Standing up for Pittsburgh transit — funding, safety and accountability” (Aug. 24, TribLive), we want to share our hard work in the House to get mass transit funded. In the last two years, the House has passed five bills to fund our...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s billions
President Donald Trump has always enjoyed living high off the hog, but not necessarily with his own money. History shows he is a notorious cheapskate when it comes to paying his illegal immigrant workers, his lawyers and his subcontractors. Looking at Trump’s finances, it is difficult to determine who pays...
Editorial: Health insurance cost spikes don’t just affect patients
The budget of most Americans is a delicate balancing act. You know what you have coming in and what should be going out. A decrease on one side or an increase on the other can throw it out of whack. There have been a lot of increases in recent years...
Letter to the editor: Did voters really want to ban hospital leg restraints on prisoners?
Here is what 308,784 voters saw on the November 2021 ballot, which banned the use of leg restraints in hospital emergency rooms: “Shall the Allegheny Code Chapter 205, Allegheny County Jail be amended and supplemented to include a new Article III which shall set forth standards governing conditions of confinement...
Jennifer Brooks: The tragedy of a mass shooting at a children’s Mass
It was a mass shooting at a children’s Mass. Last Wednesday was the first all-school Mass for the first week of classes at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Maybe the little ones prayed for the school year and the adventure ahead. Third grade. Fifth grade. The best year yet. Maybe...
Rachel Grezler: Fewer teens are working — and missing out on the skills needed to succeed
As an older millennial, my high school and college summers were defined largely by the jobs I held. Not many of today’s teens can say the same. Once a rite of passage, teen jobs are now endangered: Just 35% of 16- to 19-year-olds worked last summer, down from 54% in...
Letter to the editor: Let’s not humanize evil shooters; withhold their names
If you are sick of the amount of mass shootings in America, then we need to stop humanizing those who carry out mass shootings. These people are not human. They are monsters. When I say “humanizing,” I refer to feeding the shooter’s ego. These monsters are looking for their 15...
Letter to the editor: What’s next after Mexican restaurant ICE raid?
Thank goodness for the ICE raid in Cranberry Township that damaged a Mexican restaurant in search of dangerous MS-13 gang leaders who were selling drugs and raping women, yet still found time to refry beans. I can finally get a good night’s sleep knowing my next burrito won’t be laced...
Editorial: Biometric privacy laws must evolve with the times
Who should be held liable when a person’s biometric data — their facial features, voice or fingerprints — is misused? Illinois is home to some of the strongest consumer privacy regulations in the country, including its rules governing the use of biometric data. Perhaps you were one of the folks...
Letter to the editor: Moshannon should be shut down
After several protest events in Phillipsburg around the Moshannon ICE Detention Center, ICE chose to deny Rep. Summer Lee entry to do her job as a congresswomen to inspect federal facilities. The story of being told to wait and then being denied entry is a common occurrence for visitors to...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 1
Editorial cartoons for the week of Sept. 1....
Nathan McGrath: Labor Day rings hollow for these Pa. workers
This Labor Day, union officials will deliver speeches and march in parades, claiming to be champions of the little guy. But for too many public employees in Pennsylvania, there’s not much to celebrate when it comes to union representation. Certainly not for Mindy McFetridge, a PennDOT equipment operator in Venango...
Austin Davis: Making Pa. workplaces safer
The Labor Day parade is a beloved tradition in Pittsburgh, a celebration and recognition of the union workers who forge the steel in our skyscrapers, mine the coal that powers our factories, teach our children and care for our seniors. In my home, we always made a special point to...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 1
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Sept. 1....
Letter to the editor: Creating a distraction-free learning environment
Creating a distraction-free learning environment is critical for good mental health and academic success. Educators agree cellphones frequently distract students with social media, notifications and texts. Studies show “even having a phone nearby can reduce concentration, lower test scores and disrupt learning, while less screen time can improve focus, critical...
Editorial: Again with the mail-in ballot envelopes?
Here we are at the end of August, heading into familiar rituals. Kids are back in school. Football is in full swing. Pumpkin spice lattes are heralding the start of fall. And once more, the rules about mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania are being juggled — tossed in the air and...
Letter to the editor: Hines Ward belongs in Hall of Fame
In America’s four professional sports — NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL — you will find seven former athletes who were responsible for rule changes in their respective sports. Of them, five are Hall of Famers: Bob Gibson, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Martin Brodeur and Mel Blount, all first ballot except...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Trump shows he’s no fan of fair fights
In 2009, the late right-wing political radio host Rush Limbaugh wrote to President Barack Obama and urged him — in the interest of fairness — to oppose the adoption of an FCC regulation that Limbaugh said would be “the death knell of talk radio.” “I would encourage you not to...
Mary Ellen Klas: The GOP is inflating health care costs — for its own voters
Unless the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress act quickly, millions of working Americans could lose access to health insurance at the end of this year. Among the most affected will be small businesses and middle-income earners — many of whom, ironically, live in congressional districts that vote Republican. An...
Point: AI won’t take our jobs away
Read enough headlines about artificial intelligence and you can be excused for thinking that we’re headed for a dystopian future ruled by AI-powered robot overlords. Mass unemployment, including people being forced to train their robot replacements to get that last paycheck, seems to be a common theme in the latest...
Counterpoint: Trump’s extreme anti-labor policies could determine the effect of AI on jobs
What will be the effect of artificial intelligence on labor in the United States? The current government’s agenda for labor will undoubtedly have an influence here. Last year, President Donald Trump praised Elon Musk lavishly for telling his workers he would fire them if they went on strike. “You’re the...
