Joseph Sabino Mistick: Resolutions 2026
We often make New Year’s resolutions to help us reach our personal goals for the coming year, but our nation’s founders set their sights on a bigger proposition at the beginning of January in 1776. The Continental Congress passed the Tory Act on Jan. 2. The act was composed of...
Counterpoint: Meet the AI agents of 2026 — ambitious, overhyped and still in training
If 2025 was the year artificial intelligence became unavoidable, 2026 will be the year everyone starts talking seriously about AI agents. An AI agent is a software system designed to plan and execute tasks autonomously, make decisions and interact with digital tools or environments with minimal human oversight in pursuit...
Point: Get ready, 2026 is going to be great
Americans should treasure their time with family and friends during the too-busy and too-short holiday season and be excited for what’s in store for next year. Although my predictions for 2026 come with an asterisk because it is impossible to forecast the future accurately, and black swan events can throw...
Letter to the editor: Pittsburgh residents who vote Democrat get what they want
I do not understand why reporter Julia Burdelski is so concerned about increased levels of taxation faced by Pittsburgh property owners (“Tax trifecta: Pittsburgh property owners take it on the chin,” Dec. 22, TribLive). The vast majority of Pittsburgh property owners either vote Democrat or do not vote. As a...
Editorial: Penn State trustees still aren’t talking enough in public
Penn State’s Board of Trustees deserves credit for spending more time in public discussion this year than it has in the recent past. After years in which outcomes often were treated as foregone conclusions, more conversation is a welcome change. But more is not the same as enough. The measure...
Letter to the editor: Lest we forget — Apollo Patrolman Leonard C. Miller
“Kill for Thrill: The Crime Spree That Rocked Western Pennsylvania” by Michael W. Sheetz details the fatal crimes involving four victims in late 1979, early 1980. The families and friends of the victims will always remember those who lost their lives under heartbreaking circumstances. Apollo Patrolman Leonard C. Miller, the...
Jonah Goldberg: Republicans face some big questions entering 2026
“Are the Republicans going the way of the Whigs?” During President Trump’s first term, this question was asked a lot. The answer then: No. But one year into his second term it’s worth revisiting the question, not so much because the answer is different this time, but because the question...
Letter to the editor: Tomlin lacks fire, passion — it’s time for him to go
I’ve been a lifetime Steelers fan since 1974. Back then, we had three channels and rabbit ears on the 12-inch screen. My grandfather and father introduced me to football and the Steelers. They loved Joe, L.C., Franco and Mr. Noll. Not only because they won, but because of the way...
Letter to the editor: Ukraine’s execution
In my letter “Ukrainians political pawns” (April 24, 2024, TribLive) I stated that we should either save Ukraine or abandon them to their fate. We appear to finally be making that choice. President Barack Obama watched as Russia seized Crimea in 2014, 11 years ago. His administration signed Ukraine’s execution...
Laurels & lances: Safety & honor
Laurel: To being prepared. Two Philadelphia lawmakers introduced legislation in October to require school districts to stock naloxone — a medication that reverses an opioid overdose and can save lives. A TribLive story revealed that many Southwestern Pennsylvania districts didn’t need a law passed. They already have naloxone on hand...
Lori Falce: The convoluted costs of college don’t add up
There is no shortage of conversation about the high cost of college, and for good reason. State universities today cost more than Harvard did in 1990. Harvard, meanwhile, now runs close to $60,000 a year before room and board — and still did not make Business Insider’s 2025 list of...
Letter to the editor: Family key to joy and goodness
This past Sunday was the Feast of the Holy Family. The following is from the Magis Center’s daily reflection: “Jesus, Emmanuel, ‘God with us,’ chose to be born as a member of the human family. More than this, however, He chose to have a mother and a father, and He...
Paul Kengor: Remembering Rob Reiner
Every year at this time the outstanding movie channel, Turner Classic Movies, does a short feature called “TCM Remembers,” in which it sets to music a montage of film clips of actors and actresses who died during the past year. It’s always beautifully done and chokes me up. I’m struck...
Maureen Flatley and Taylor Barkley: AI can help fix what’s broken in foster care
President Donald Trump’s executive order directing states to deploy artificial intelligence in foster care isn’t just welcome — it’s overdue. The provision calling for “predictive analytics and tools powered by artificial intelligence, to increase caregiver recruitment and retention rates, improve caregiver and child matching, and deploy Federal child-welfare funding to...
Cal Thomas: Wrong predictions? Never mind.
End of the year predictions about the future have been around at least since the days of Nostradamus, but what about past predictions? There were plenty of predictions that electing Donald Trump the first time, and then reelecting him, would cause economic Armageddon. Democrats and their media mouthpieces have consistently...
Letter to the editor: Who cried for Israel?
The writer of the letter “Who cried for the children of Gaza?” (Dec. 3, TribLive) uses the metaphor of the shedding of tears to accuse various individuals and organizations of callousness and complicity in the destruction and suffering of the people of Gaza. I cannot help but notice that the...
Letter to the editor: Trump Derangement Syndrome
The term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is not examined properly. A more accurate definition might be demonstrated in the opinion of Jared Whitely (“Counterpoint: It’s real, and it’s spectacular,” Dec. 20, TribLive), who believes that the opponents of President Trump are allergic to facts. It’s no secret that the president and...
Editorial: Preparing for the politics of 2026
There is something clarifying about opening a fresh calendar. The pages are clean, the boxes empty, the year ahead undefined. It invites planning even as experience reminds us that no year ever unfolds exactly as written. This will be another year when Pennsylvania finds itself under a political spotlight. Presidential...
Letter to the editor: Why would anyone support Reschenthaler?
I want to understand why a voter in Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District would support an incumbent who consistently backs policies — and a president — that appear to conflict with their economic self-interest. Most voters in the district are middle class, earning roughly $45,000 to $135,000 a year. What explains...
F.D. Flam: Experimenting on dogs is getting harder to defend
Medical experiments on research dogs could be phased out soon — a change that’s based as much on science as ethics. Pressure is coming from within the scientific community as well as from activists, following a string of scandals involving inhumane living conditions. It follows a similar phase-out in the...
Allison Schrager: The economy needs a little bit of unfairness
There are a lot of reasons, some deserved and some not, for Americans’ distrust of their institutions. Lately I have been thinking about one of the more counterintuitive ones: Our schools, governments and even employers are trying too hard to make things fair. In so doing, they are not only...
Letter to the editor: Steelers need some creativity
I was born in Irwin and am still an avid Steelers fan. I must weigh in on the team. Their performance of late is someone’s fault, and thought it may be complicated, I think Mike Tomlin should look for a more creative, more imaginative and perhaps more competent offensive coordinator....
Letter to the editor: End the hate and vote for what works
Today much of the media and far too many individuals are spewing largely unsubstantiated hate for one political party or the other, while at the same time, many millions the world over celebrate the birth of a child in Bethlehem, thousands of years ago, as a symbol of love and...
Editorial: What most-read letters say about 2025
A newspaper can sometimes feel like a fire hose, delivering a steady stream of information to the reader. This person was arrested. This tax is being levied. That politician did something controversial — depending on your point of view. But the opinion page is different. It’s not a speech. It’s...
Letter to the editor: Game commission destroying hunting traditions
I am disheartened by the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s actions that have destroyed the tradition of “deer camp” for many. Adding Sunday hunts, combining doe and buck seasons, and the inexplicable changing of the first day have robbed future generations of fond memories of family and friends sharing a yearly trip...
