Opinion category, Page 343
Rev. Erik Hoeke: What we mean when we pray for Damar Hamlin
It seems the whole country is praying for a football player this week. In the midst of Damar Hamlin’s terrifying medical emergency Monday night in Cincinnati, players and coaches gathered to pray on the field. By the time he was taken off the field by ambulance, prayers for Damar were...
Letter to the editor: Spotlight the integrity of our elections
With the article “Vote totals from recounted precincts certified in Westmoreland County” (Dec. 16, TribLIVE), which appeared on page 3 in the print edition, the Trib missed a prime opportunity to emphasize to voters the validity of the integrity of our election process. Considering the number of voters spreading rumors...
Letter to the editor: Still tampering with democracy
From the results of the November election, one can conclude that a stable democracy is important to the people of Pennsylvania. We do not want our Legislature to be able to nullify our votes, or Republican lawmakers claiming the 2020 election was stolen, or representatives going to court to oppose...
Editorial: The surprising resolution of Pennsylvania’s House leadership vote
The Pennsylvania Legislature is as polarized as a car battery. Almost nothing can happen in the hallowed halls of Harrisburg without boiling down to positive and negative, pro and con and, above all, Democrat and Republican. Until Tuesday. On the same day the U.S. House of Representatives was paralyzed with...
Letter to the editor: Legislators must address elevator concerns
Many older residents are able to stay in their homes even when they develop mobility challenges. For those of us who can no longer do that, retirement communities are available. In places like Florida, these tend to be low-rise buildings or single-story apartment homes. In older cities like Pittsburgh, many...
Peter Morici: The darkness before America’s bright new economy
Holiday parties were tough for economists. People asked: Is a recession coming? How bad will it be? The impolite reminded us of what we got wrong last year. The soothsayers at the Federal Reserve may be getting smarter. Having been burned by terrible forecasts when inflation was too low during...
Jonah Goldberg: So Congress is a mess. It’s supposed to be messy.
It’s not exactly a blistering insight into how Washington works, but nothing will get you more praise and respect than being powerful and wielding that power effectively. So, it should be no surprise that Nancy Pelosi finished her tenure as speaker of the House to lavish applause. Many dubbed her...
Athan Koutsiouroumbas: How Kim Ward helped Pa. GOP hold Senate
This past midterm, Pennsylvania state Senate Republicans managed to meet electoral expectations while the remainder of the commonwealth’s GOP suffered stunning losses — many of them unanticipated. Why? The story begins 99 weeks before Election Day, when state Senate Republicans elected Kim Ward as the legislative chamber’s majority leader. Much...
Letter to the editor: Thanks for the right votes, Pa.
Thank you Pennsylvania. This past November you went to the polls and voted for democracy, for the rule of law, for action on the climate crisis, for bodily autonomy, for good-paying union jobs, for the right to have clean air and water, for affordable health care, for quality public education,...
Letter to the editor: The whole of our society is less than the sum of its parts
Whenever I interact with individuals, I find that they are for the most part decent, caring, kind and generous. And yet, I find that our culture as a whole has become more and more mean-spirited, violent and vile. Why is this so? Why is it that our society is so...
Editorial: Shared grief and the tragedies of McIntire shooting, Hamlin injury
There is a difference between sorrow and grief. Sorrow is the emotional state we feel when confronted by great loss or devastating disappointment. It isn’t depression, but it might lead there. Grief is different. It is a process that one goes through while experiencing the crushing blows of a trauma....
Letter to the editor: Protecting our people, planet
This past election, voters turned out in extraordinary numbers to protect our families and our planet. The Shapiro administration begins at a time of opportunity to help Pennsylvanians take full advantage of federal resources that could help cut energy costs and keep our families healthy. But we know the old...
Mathew Schmalz: Pope Benedict XVI leaves legacy of intellectual brilliance, controversy
Benedict XVI leaves behind a complex legacy as a pope and theologian. To many observers, Benedict, who died Dec. 31 at 95, was known for criticizing what he saw as the modern world’s rejection of God and Christianity’s timeless truths. But as a scholar of the diversity of global Catholicism,...
Elwood Watson: Can the Miss America pageant survive in today’s culture?
Earlier this month, Grace Stanke, a 23-year-old nuclear engineering student from Wausau, Wis., was crowned Miss America 2023. Stanke is a beautiful, blond-haired woman who is obviously gifted in math and science. She was crowned by her predecessor, Emma Broyles, Miss Alaska, who became the first woman from her state...
Letter to the editor: We’re being gaslighted on Biden’s ‘success’
The false narrative that the Biden presidency has been a great success for Americans and America is possibly the biggest lie ever invented by a political party in U.S. history. From the contracting economy, rampant inflation, poor job and wage growth, foreign policy debacles, massive numbers of illegals, soaring crime...
Letter to the editor: Homeowner’s obscenity contrasts with neighbor’s generosity
I visited a super light display on Bernice Drive in North Huntingdon. Kudos to the folks who spend the time and effort to present this display each year and provide an opportunity to raise funds for a great cause. While enjoying the light show, my curiosity drew my eyes to...
Editorial: The bubble of higher education costs
Education is not just a building block of society. It is more than a public good and a public right. It is also a commodity. Like a new car or a house or a dozen eggs, a quality education above and beyond high school graduation is something many people pay...
Letter to the editor: Lest we forget — Apollo Police Officer Leonard C. Miller
Apollo police Officer Leonard C. Miller was a distinguished graduate of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Police Academy. He began his full-time tour of duty Jan. 1, 1980. Miller, the first Black police officer for Apollo, was killed at age 21 in the line of duty on Jan. 3, 1980....
Tom Purcell: The regrettable return of earmarks
Earmarks are back and they’re costing American taxpayers a bundle. In case you’ve forgotten, earmarks, says FactCheck.org, “are government funds that are allocated by a legislator for a particular pet project, often without proper review.” Often attached to the 12 large appropriation bills that Congress by law is supposed to...
Dick Polman: George Santos and the normalization of bald-faced lies
Decades ago, Holocaust scholar Hannah Arendt warned: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, i.e., the reality of experience and the distinction between true and false, i.e., the standards of thought, no...
Cal Thomas: A new year but nothing new
People speak of a new year as turning the page, or starting out fresh, or forgetting the past. At the start of a new year, I like to look back a century ago to see what has changed and what hasn’t. In 1923, America had finally recovered from the Spanish...
Letter to the editor: Look in the mirror and make a change
To whomever cares to read and adhere: In order to make this world a better place, we all have to change in some form. It has to be an individual’s change before it can become corporate. It can be hate, selfishness, envy, pride or just plain meanness. I say that...
Letter to the editor: Where are the workers? They’re gone.
The writer of the letter “Where are all the workers?” (Nov. 28, TribLIVE) suggested Americans don’t want to work. The simple answer is that the pool of eligible workers is maxed out. As of November 2022, the number of people employed was approximately 160 million, which is at or above...
Editorial: Address suicide by respecting mental health
It is always hard to lose a loved one. Whether it happens because of disease or accident or criminal act, death is a gut punch. It hits hard and deep. It is aching and empty. When the loss is self-inflicted, it leaves something else behind. Families and friends can struggle...
Letter to the editor: Two-party system failing
Our two-party democracy is not working! The U.S. economy for middle-income Americans is hanging by a thread with the rate of inflation of food, housing, utilities and fuels at 42-year highs. Stock market retirement savings are down about 25%, and federal spending and debt are at massive high levels. The...
