Opinion category, Page 298
Letter to the editor: Vote for new Westmoreland County commissioners
In the article “Westmoreland DA says forensics lab will speed investigations” (April 14, TribLIVE), the Tribune-Review reported that District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli and county commissioners plan to spend: $497,000 for lab equipment; a new salary of $84,000; and $250,000 for training and accreditation. The goal is to have it “be...
Gary Franks: We need a constitutional amendment on age limits
Political power is in the hands of the people. Our democracy responds to the cries of the people. And the people would like to prevent America from having 5½ more years of octogenarian governance, whether it’s President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump again. Here is a very idealistic...
Naomi Cahn and Sonia: Two conflicting federal court decisions led to mifepristone ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling on April 21 that allows continued access to the abortion pill mifepristone in states where abortion is legal. The court’s decision, which included few details and only indicated that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito did not concur, follows a whirlwind legal...
S.E. Cupp: Little hope that Fox after Carlson will change
“Will a network that has decided to recklessly traffic in and promote lies, junk science and unfounded conspiracy theories, and purposefully omit and distort the truth to keep its viewers rabidly tuned in, feel at all chastened by what can only be described as an unequivocal and unprecedented smackdown?” That...
Elwood Watson: In America, knocking on the wrong door will get you shot
A spate of recent shootings serve as a depressing reminder that accidentally ringing the wrong doorbell, driving to an incorrect residence, or mistakenly getting into the incorrect vehicle can be deadly. In Kansas City, 16-year-old honors student Ralph Yarl mistakenly arrived at the wrong home while looking for his younger...
Mark Nicastre: Shapiro’s impressive first 100 days
What can you reasonably expect to achieve in 3% of the time you have a job? For reporters and other observers, the 3% milestone is an important inflection point for assessing the performance of elected officials, especially executives like governors. One hundred days into his tenure as Pennsylvania governor, Josh...
Letter to the editor: Election wishes
Before I die, I have two wishes regarding elections: 1. I’d like to vote for someone rather than against someone, and 2. I can be confident that the political candidate I vote for has the people’s interest at heart rather than their own. Richard Herd Hempfield...
Letter to the editor: How about a book burning?
To expand on Tara Gandy’s comments in the article “Greensburg Salem parent calls for change after teacher caught reading racial slur aloud in classroom,” regarding John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” (April 13, TribLIVE): Perhaps we ought to have a good old-fashioned book burning — maybe this week, during National...
Lori Falce: Emmett Till accuser has died, but her legacy should live on as a cautionary tale
Carolyn Bryant Donham died on Tuesday at 88. It was possible for Donham to live a simple, respectful and respectable life in the Mississippi Delta area where she was born. She could have gone about her world with no one ever knowing her name. Instead, her name will forever be...
Letter to the editor: Young people should change the name of ‘Assassins’ game
Dear Assassins game players: Do you really mean to play a game called “Assassins?” Please, change the name that has brought our country so much pain and shame. Give the game a new name, like “Tag,” and don’t dishonor our flag. Do you wonder why schools won’t affiliate with a...
Laurels & lances: School buses and school boards
Laurel: To law enforcement. When it comes to keeping people safe or making things work properly, the first thing people think is often “someone should pass a law.” Often, however, what really needs to be done is to pay attention to a law that has already been passed. That’s particularly...
Letter to the editor: Can we handle another Trump presidency?
An indictment is simply the bringing of charges against a defendant. It does not determine innocence or guilt. Its validity is decided by an impartial grand jury of 20-25 people chosen through a rigorous jury selection process. They (not the district attorney, in this case, Alvin Bragg) determine, by majority...
Paul Kengor: When cancelers cancel themselves
I wrote here recently about attempts to cancel three Pitt speakers sponsored by conservative organizations, including swimmer Riley Gaines and Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles. The effort was led by LGBTQ forces and Pennsylvania Democratic state Rep. La’Tasha Mayes, who threatened to cancel the university’s funding. Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher...
Hunter Tower: Is Pittsburgh a blueprint for other union-dominated blue cities?
In 2021, Ed Gainey was elected mayor of Pittsburgh. His campaign was funded in part by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, which made a generous $350,000 donation — more than all other contributors combined. SEIU Healthcare PA knew what it was paying for when it made this investment — a strong bargaining...
Kavvya Ravikumar: Will we leave legacy of shame for our children?
A year ago I was sitting at a desk staring at a blackboard when I heard my fellow classmates discussing how they had slept only three hours a night for two weeks straight. Just weeks ago I heard second-graders discussing how they were going to wait until the summer to...
Letter to the editor: Bengel best choice for judge
Regarding the mismatched race for district judge in East Deer, Tarentum, Brackenridge, Fawn and Harrison, there is only one legitimate choice: Judge Carolyn Bengel. Bengel has 30 years of proven and practiced experience as an impressive district judge, as well as continually engaging in beneficial off-duty service in our communities....
Letter to the editor: Doven for Allegheny County council
I would like to respond to the letter “Reelect Bethany Hallam” (April 17, TribLIVE): I will proudly be voting for Joanna Doven for Allegheny County Council. She stands strong as a single mother of three young children, a small-business owner and a voice of reason focused on delivering results that...
Editorial: The petty animosity of political ballot challenges
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court looked at the protestations of Westmoreland County Republican Committee Chairman Bill Bretz and shrugged. Bretz filed a lawsuit in March in the county Court of Common Pleas in an attempt to remove two of the three Republicans challenging incumbents Sean Kertes and Doug Chew...
Letter to the editor: Solving energy problems
Peoples Gas and West Penn (First Energy) are believed by the writer of the letter “Who’s profiting from our high utility bills?” (April 16, TribLIVE) to be resonsible for “price hikes and profiteering” identified in his letter. He asks why prices have “risen so dramatically in past two years, and...
Jonah Goldberg: Tucker Carlson, not just Trump, damaged conservatism
Tucker Carlson has left the building. That in itself was unusual because Carlson hadn’t been in the building most other days over the last couple years. He rarely went into the Washington or New York bureaus, preferring his own private studios in Maine and Florida — comfortable silos from which...
Rep. Joe D’Orsie: Shapiro should deliver on most popular, bipartisan campaign promise — school choice
Save his comments on accelerating the reduction of the corporate net income tax in Pennsylvania, the only statement that garnered undivided and emphatic applause at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s joint session budget address back in March were his remarks about protecting and promoting options for Pennsylvania’s grade schoolers. Few other topics...
Marie T. Reilly: What’s next for Boy Scouts after creating $2.4 billion fund to pay abuse claims?
On April 19, 2023, the Boy Scouts of America declared that it has exited its bankruptcy case after clearing one of the last legal hurdles in its way. Some insurance companies and sex abuse claimants objected to the Boy Scouts’ plan to pay claimants, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court...
Letter to the editor: Fetterman should have talked about his depression during campaign
John Fetterman, at best, looked dazed, confused and lost during the debate. He also never made one public mention of having depression. He withheld this important information from voters until it was convenient for him after the election. Now, allies have somehow turned this whole debacle into him being praised...
Letter to the editor: Klingensmith for magistrate
I am writing to endorse my friend and neighbor, Bob Klingensmith, for the office of district magistrate. I have lived five houses away from Bob and his wife, Suzy, and their three children since he built his house. I also live 10 houses from the house he was born and...
Letter to the editor: No one better than Yakopec for judge
I support the reelection of Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec. I think everybody knows how well qualified, experienced and evenly tempered Yakopec has been for the last 29 years. Clearly that is why no one has run against her in so long. Those of us who see her out in the...
