Opinion category, Page 36
Counterpoint: America needs affordable energy — coal doesn’t fit the bill
For a decade now, coal has been on the way out. The industry’s future was considered mainly dead and buried — until the Trump administration decided to pull out every stop to dig it out of the grave. And this wasn’t caused by any “Green New Deal” boogeyman stuff: The...
Letter to the editor: Say no to solar farms in Buffalo Township
SolEnergy is attempting to install two solar farms in beautiful Buffalo Township. It’s pretty clear from the last two public meetings that residents do not want solar farms infringing on the beauty and serenity we have here. It’s not all about the property values going down, which they will. We...
Letter to the editor: Serving the poor, suffering and strangers
Jesus literally warns us (Matthew 25:31-46) that if we ignore the needs of the poor, deny aid to the suffering and dehumanize the strangers among us, we are going straight to Hell. Bon voyage to the politicians who voted in favor of the “Big Beautiful Bill” benefiting the rich at...
Editorial: Will Mark Cuban partnership be the right prescription for pharmacy ills?
A company has to make a profit to stay in business. Everything has a cost, and those costs go up. To stay ahead of that curve, and to make sure the owner or investors are also getting a pay day, a company needs to make more money than it pays...
Letter to the editor: Eliminate GOP’s early endorsement process
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania (PA GOP) committee endorsement of candidates in Pennsylvania is a traditional practice, where individuals elected to committee positions decide what candidates will be endorsed and which of them will be rejected. Before you say this is the way it has always been done, that doesn’t...
S.E. Cupp: To Trump, ‘truth’ is only what he wants it be
You know the old philosophical question: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well, in President Trump’s America, the answer would depend on whether or not he wanted it to. In a world where the only “truth”...
Cal Thomas: Why fixate on 2028?
August is usually downtime in Washington. Congress is in recess, the heat and humidity contribute to the desire to escape town for cooler weather, the president is normally somewhere else, and cable news is focused on shark attacks. Not this August. Cable news, especially, along with some newspapers, seem to...
Jason Jedlinski: At WQED, we’re fighting for the long haul
Joseph Sabino Mistick’s column “Local radio stations show how to fight back in tough times” (Aug. 2, TribLive) raises a critical issue: how public media organizations respond to the unprecedented elimination of federal funding. We welcome healthy debate about the future of public broadcasting and believe it’s important to set...
Letter to the editor: Recalling short-lived Club Cafe jazz club
Just a short, belated comment on the article “Club Cafe to reopen in Pittsburgh under new management” (April 29, TribLive). The article gave a brief history of the club but failed to mention that, as a music venue, it was originally opened as a jazz club by the excellent jazz...
Letter to the editor: Chief’s sentence shows playing field not equal
Attention young people: Considering a career in the “criminal arts”? Perhaps you plan to specialize in drug trafficking. Based on the sentencing for former Greensburg police Chief Shawn Denning (“Former Greensburg police chief pleads guilty to evidence tampering charges,” Aug. 4, TribLive), your career path should begin at the police...
Lori Falce: Texas redistricting rips up the rules
To play a game, you have to have rules. Even children know you can’t change where base is in the middle of a game of tag. You don’t change the number of spaces a pawn can move in chess. You don’t push back the chains for a first down after...
Laurels & lances: Policy & pension
Laurel: To appropriate action. Allegheny County President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente has taken the right steps to address a problem in the courtrooms, and she did it with a two-line email. “Dear Judges, I write to remind you all that you only have authority to adjudicate cases and enter orders...
Letter to the editor: Tariff result predictions
President Donald Trump’s stated purpose for his tariffs belies the facts and the intended outcome. My career was in manufacturing for 40 years, and I predict a different result. Tariffs will increase production costs for many domestic manufacturers. Following are some of my reasons. As reported in a news article,...
Adrian Wooldridge: What if the U.S. isn’t the world’s most innovative country?
One of the barriers to understanding the world is our fixation on sports thinking: Who is winning and who is catching up? This has long been true of politics — we focus obsessively on the race for the White House while ignoring the debt mountain that may bring the whole...
Letter to the editor: Hazardous dump — enough is enough
After 50 years of living in the shadows of currently the only Resource Conservation Recovery Act subtitle C hazardous waste dump in Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County deserves better. This Yukon area waste dump has been a source of environmental pollution since 1963. For decades, local residents have lamented horrific health problems....
Editorial: Pittsburgh needs more police
Problems exist nationwide in recruiting and retention of police. There are almost 18,000 police agencies in the United States, and many have been seeing their ranks thin since 2019. The International Association of Chiefs of Police surveyed departments in 2024 and found, on average, departments operating at about 91% capacity....
Letter to the editor: Congress must lower drug prices for Americans
I applaud the executive order President Trump signed in May aimed at balancing the scales for the cost of prescription medications here vs. what others pay abroad. As the executive order points out, “The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population and yet funds around three quarters...
Jonah Goldberg: Kamala Harris won’t cure what ails the Democratic Party
William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, was the last commander in chief born a British subject and the first member of the Whig Party to win the White House. He delivered the longest inaugural address in history, nearly two hours, and had the shortest presidency, being...
Bill Dudley: The Fed’s under siege. It’ll be just fine.
In the media, the U.S. Federal Reserve is under siege. President Donald Trump constantly threatens to fire Chair Jerome Powell. Others hurl criticism in hopes of becoming Powell’s successor. Two Fed governors opposed last week’s decision to hold interest rates steady, the first multiple dissent since 1993. Don’t be fooled...
Letter to the editor: We need leaders who stand for something
An appeal to our elected officials: What do you believe? I don’t want to hear what your party leaders told you to say. They have no power over you except what you decide to give them. You have a choice. I want to know what you stand for. We, your...
Rich Harwood: It’s time for a new American agenda
America is once again gripped by multiple political and societal crises. Most days in our local communities and in our wider public lives it can feel like we’re living through dizzying confusion, chaos and division. Acrimonious partisanship only deepens in Washington, D.C., and our state capitols. Renewed calls for a...
Letter to the editor: God’s plan for Trump
Maybe those heel spurs that got Donald Trump out of the draft on five or six occasions are causing his feet to swell up. His daddy can’t help him this time. I’m sure God has a plan for him, just like he has for everyone else. This is one problem...
Editorial: Denning’s plea acknowledges responsibility for Pennsylvania crimes
On Monday, a man in a dark blue prison jumpsuit stepped out of a Westmoreland County Sheriff’s van at the courthouse. His wrists were circled in handcuffs and bound to a chain around his waist. His ankles were similarly shackled. He looked like what he is: a criminal. He looked...
Letter to the editor: What the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ means for average family
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly tried to put a positive spin on Trump’s Reconciliation Bill in his op-ed “One Big Beautiful Bill a gamechanger for Western Pa.” (July 5, TribLive). I think Americans know this bill will take revenue from the average American and redistribute it upwards. There is no trickle...
Ira Helfand: After 80 years, nuclear threat remains grave
As we approach the 80th anniversary of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this month, on Aug. 6 and 9, respectively, the danger of nuclear war is great and growing. So far this year, five of the nine nations that possess nuclear weapons have been engaged in active military...
