Opinion category, Page 330
Letter to the editor: Divided states of America
Reading your newspaper, I fear for this country. I’m no psychic, but you cannot say that we live in a United States any longer, but a divided states. I predict the dismantling of our union: If Texas breaks away first, other states will follow. As Europe joins together and America...
Letter to the editor: Reflecting on ATI’s storied history
Allegheny Technologies (ATI) has been a steady footprint in the area since 1924 with its first patent to commercialize stainless steel. The company started as Allegheny Steel & Iron in Brackenridge, then, in 1938, merged with Ludlum Steel in Watervliet, N.Y., and became Allegheny Ludlum. Headquarters stayed in Pittsburgh for...
Editorial: Our children are under fire, and it’s time something gives
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey was stretched thin. Events called him in two directions. The funeral for slain McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski was scheduled for noon at St. Albert the Great Church in Baldwin. It was just a few hours later that he was speaking with media in...
Letter to the editor: Trump should make way for new America-first leader
I think former President Trump’s policies were beneficial for the vast majority of American citizens, but I also think he is unelectable in 2024 because his constant Twitter rants and name-calling have turned off a majority of voters. He should step aside and let a new conservative candidate lead the...
Jonah Goldberg: ‘Buy American’ might sound good, but it’s bipartisan folly
You hear it all the time, including from me: Our politics is too partisan, too polarized, too divided. Why can’t both parties work together for the common good? But it’s worth pointing out that sometimes bipartisan consensus is awful. The worst form of elite agreement is usually the product of...
Colin McNickle: Points of order on Gainey’s tax-exempt review
A City of Pittsburgh perhaps already licking its chops that a review of current tax-exempt properties will yield enough new tax dollars to make up for exhausted federal bailout dollars would be wise to consider looking more inward, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “If...
Letter to the editor: Trump was not a great president
I am amazed that you would print the letter “Trump, like Reagan, was a great president” (Jan. 23, TribLIVE). He certainly was not! He said the covid was like a flu and would go away. He got it and so did his family and many in his office. You have...
Letter to the editor: Speaker Rozzi needs to get to work
Pennsylvanians should be outraged that the last time the gavel was used by House Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, the House was adjourned until Feb. 27. Unfortunately, the last time the House was in session was Jan. 3, when people were sworn into office. Get to work, Mark Rozzi! We are...
Editorial: Is Westmoreland Republicans’ endorsement too early?
Endorsement is the stamp of approval that an organization — or an individual — gives a candidate in an election. Unions do it. Professional associations do it. Other elected officials do it. News organizations can decide to do it. Although the Tribune-Review and some other news agencies don’t believe it...
Letter to the editor: Money won’t solve gun violence problem
Letter-writer Bhavini Patel “We must address our gun violence problem” (Feb. 8, TribLIVE) insists that throwing money at the problem in the form of afterschool, job training, educational, homeownership and other programs in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods is the answer. I would remind Patel that this nation has...
Elwood Watson: Underestimate Biden at your own political peril
Let’s face it, when Fox News gives a Democrat a B+, you know he or she really delivered an exceptional performance. That was the grade the rabidly right-wing media network gave President Biden on his State of the Union address. As someone who usually doesn’t watch these annual speeches to...
Makenzie White: Yukon hazardous waste facility expansion concerning for public health
In South Huntingdon Township — five miles west of New Stanton and overlooking the community of Yukon — MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. is applying to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the approval of a landfill expansion called Landfill No. 7. The facility accepts a variety of hazardous...
Cal Thomas: Monitoring the foreigners buying our farmland
While the military is focused on foreign objects flying over American and Canadian territory, a more disturbing threat to our national security is occurring on the ground. Federal, state and local governments are behind in their response to the acquisition of American land by people and companies associated with the...
Letter to the editor: Marjorie Taylor Greene, an asset to the Democrats
President Biden wiped the floor with the GOP during his State of the Union address. Being five steps ahead of the GOP by calling them out was on point, calm and focused. He actually appeared to be happy and enjoying himself. Also a shout-out goes to you, Marjorie Taylor Greene,...
Letter to the editor: Why not cancel WWI, WWII observances too?
So our (un)elected betters at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) have declared that we can’t have those pesky white (and Black) reenactors pretend to be Indians for the Battle of Bushy Run event. Even though a large contingent of our voting citizens attended the battle reenactment annually. Not...
Editorial: Food banks need more support in face of SNAP benefit changes
Since 2020, the number of people depending on SNAP benefits — the government program previously called food stamps — has grown. In 2019, the number of Pennsylvanians was 1.6 million. Today, it is 1.8 million. The amount of money spent on the program in Pennsylvania has grown from $2.4 billion...
Letter to the editor: Volunteers key to fighting Alzheimer’s
Recently, I was one of thousands of volunteers from across the country to join the Alzheimer’s Association for its annual Community Leadership Summit in San Diego. It was energizing to meet other volunteers and learn the various reasons and motivations that bring us together to actively support the mission of...
Tom Purcell: The mistruths of politics
There are no small number of accusations lately that — shocking as it may be — some of our politicians are lying to us. Some Republicans shouted the “L” word during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, when he said Republicans want to end Social Security and Medicare....
Rep. Russ Diamond: Pa. Republicans need a 3-point game
I loved basketball when I was a kid. I spent my free time shooting hoops in my parents’ driveway. I played on my elementary, junior high, freshman and junior varsity teams in school. I got cut from the varsity team in my junior year because despite my love of the...
Jason Park: A 3-part strategy to reduce mass shootings
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 60 mass shootings so far in 2023 — almost two a day. As a formerly untreated mentally ill person who angrily erupted into violence earlier in my life, I know the importance of keeping guns out of the wrong...
Letter to the editor: The facts on who pays income tax
The writer of the letter “High earners get tax breaks” (Jan. 31, TribLIVE) claims it is “simply not true” that 50% of wage earners pay no federal income tax at all. The writer then supports his claim by citing facts and figures, all of which pertain to Social Security withholding,...
Letter to the editor: Would anyone really ‘cross that bridge’?
Regarding the article “A year after Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, are Western Pa.’s bridges in better shape?” (Jan. 28, TribLIVE): Would anyone in their right mind cross a bridge with a sign posted and flashing the words “CAUTION — BRIDGE RATED IN POOR CONDITION”? I would like to think that...
Letter to the editor: Today’s ‘change’ is not for the better
I remember when, years ago, people thought of “change” as being for the greater good, the betterment of society as a whole. Well, times have “changed” since then, and, unfortunately, not for what I perceive as the betterment of our society. I am a retired scientist. Those of us in...
Editorial: Slamming shut the Medicaid and CHIP continuous enrollment door
The people who can least afford it are about to experience the blatant cruelty of a disappearing helping hand. The coronavirus pandemic prompted the Families First Coronavirus Act. In addition to things such as paid covid sick leave and testing, it also addressed additional SNAP benefits and continuous enrollment in...
Letter to the editor: Second Amendment, weapons and abortion
I believe Democrats must include in their support of the Second Amendment the right to possessing assault weapons and must concede to limiting abortions to a last-resort option. Republicans must not support total bans on abortions, nor prohibit access to birth control. Republicans must also acknowledge that not everyone should...
