Opinion category, Page 400
Letter to the editor: Ending our violent reality show
Decades ago, horror movies were fun. Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman were our friends. These monsters had families. Not long after one of them did his worst and was killed, the sons and spouses came of age and engaged in evil against the public. The mass shootings that have been...
Letter to the editor: Fracking under parks should be banned
Allegheny County Council is considering an ordinance that would ban fracking on or under county parks property. I hope Allegheny County residents will join me in supporting this ordinance. Here’s why. Fracking cannot be done safely. According to the the eighth edition of the Compendium of Fracking, fracking negatively impacts...
Tom Purcell: What my father wants most
My dad isn’t doing so well. His wife of 65 years and six kids could be doing better, too. He’ll be 89 in July and his body is showing its age. His legs don’t work so well due to stenosis of the spine, plus he’s been in and out of...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Donald Trump LOST the 2020 election!
It comes at the end. After his supporters march on the U.S. Capitol chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!” after they breach police barricades, after they smash windows and climb through, after they chant “Hang Mike Pence” and erect a gallows for that purpose, after one of them yells, “White power!”...
Earl Baker: Pa. natural gas will save our European allies
The impacts of Putin’s bungled war in Ukraine have been severe and reach far beyond the borders of Eastern Europe. The world’s economy, energy supply and food markets have been upended by a conflict that has snowballed into a humanitarian disaster. For too long, our European allies have relied on...
Letter to the editor: As long it’s party over people, gun reform won’t happen
Here we go again: talks about gun reform. It would mean something if our lawmakers really cared about trying to make things better and doing the things that the people (taxpayers) want. Seems to me that all the do-nothing Republicans in the Senate want to do is go against anything...
Letter to the editor: Jesus never approved of abortion
I couldn’t help agreeing somewhat with letter-writer Dave Ninehouser’s declaration that Jesus, nowhere, specifically calls out the evil of abortion (“Jesus never preached about abortion,” May 20, TribLIVE). There are many words that are missing in the records as coming from the mouth of Jesus. But Jesus called abortion evil...
Letter to the editor: Plant-based dairy products better for all
June is National Dairy Month, a time to reflect on the ethical, financial and nutritional burden that is the dairy industry. NPR reported in April that America’s dairy consumption has been rising for decades and so has the carbon footprint. The country’s dairy habit accounts for about 2% of U.S....
Editorial: Westmoreland commissioners did right delaying meeting but could have done better
Is 48 minutes a big deal? It is when it comes to the letter of the law. On Thursday, Westmoreland County commissioners started their public voting session at 1:30 p.m. as publicized on the county’s website. The problem? The agenda for the meeting was posted there at 2:18 p.m. Wednesday,...
Letter to the editor: Flawed reassessment system
Pennsylvania state law permits counties to reassess whenever they want. In most cases, counties go decades without updates. Allegheny County Common Pleas judge once opined in open court that the base year system was “a figment of the General Assembly’s imagination.” The last time a county reassessed is known as...
Letter to the editor: On guns, what about the rights of others?
The letter from Karla Thomas spoke volumes (“Where is our decency and common sense?” May 29, TribLIVE). Her statement that commonsense gun laws are perceived as the evil Democrats coming for your guns has been the radical Republican Party’s and the NRA’s false narrative for years. The NRA has two...
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 13
Editorial cartoons for the week of June 13....
Mona Charen: Liz Cheney’s star turn
The House Jan. 6 Committee began a series of prime-time hearings last week. For the past 11 months, Rep. Liz Cheney has been the face and the voice of the committee. Like the Greek goddess of retribution, Nemesis, she has brought down her hammer on former President Trump and the...
Letter to the editor: The Bible is fantasy
Just read the letter “Bible really ought to be banned, too” (June 6, TribLIVE). It’s disgusting that school boards and other organizations can decide what people can and cannot read. Sounds like Nazi Germany. I’m a Christian, but the Bible cannot be taken seriously. You tell a joke, and it...
Letter to the editor: Privatizing schools not a bad idea
Regarding the letter “Charles Koch’s plan for public education” (June 3, TribLIVE): I don’t understand the concern for the privatization of public schools. It’s not like our public schools are doing such a great job. We spend more per student than any other country in the world, and yet 25%...
Letter to the editor: Children suffer when we cater to minority of gun owners
The horrifying murder of small children is not the worst of it. The worst of it is catering to a minority of paranoid gun owners, who do not represent a majority of gun owners, to force millions of small children to endure drills and the presence of armed guards. They...
Letter to the editor: Are we OK with child sacrifice?
As a 70-year-old female, I vividly remember growing up during the Cold War and the school drills where we cowered under desks to prepare for nuclear bombs. I was 11 when President Kennedy avoided a nuclear crisis with Russia shortly before his assassination. Those years scarred me, as I have...
Editorial: What is the fix for gas price increases?
The price of gas is rising faster than almost anything — except the profits of oil companies. The average price per gallon in the greater Pittsburgh area topped $5 for the first time last week, with Somerset up to $5.08. The national average is over $5, too. It’s a 35%...
Letter to the editor: Commissioners should make meetings convenient, and known
Westmoreland County residents: What does a typical Thursday at 10 a.m. look like for you? Many of you would probably be at your job. Perhaps you’d be attending class or taking your kids to soccer practice. I’d wager few of you would say 10 a.m. on a Thursday would be...
Letter to the editor: We’re all Americans first
I don’t care if you identify yourself politically, right or left, conservative or progressive, by your national heritage, race or skin color. If you are a citizen of the United States of America, you are an American first over other identification types. If you are a visitor of this great...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: It’s possible to combine fighting crime, reforming system
When San Francisco’s reform- minded District Attorney Chesa Boudin was recalled by the voters in an election last week, he lost more than his job. He lost the chance to carry forward his reform agenda. It turns out, the people will give you room to be a reformer, but you better...
Sounding off: Require military service for weapons
In the early 1980s, I purchased a 12-gauge shotgun at Sears in the Westmoreland Mall, and I walked through the mall to carry it out to my car. Unthinkable today, as society’s views on weapons have changed in the last decades. In reflecting on those changing societal views, I think...
William Hartung: Ending the war in Ukraine is a key to crafting a foreign policy for the middle class
The Biden administration has responded forcefully to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both in terms of the attention paid to the conflict and the resources devoted to supporting that nation. This was evidenced most recently by the passage of the administration’s proposal for a massive $40 billion aid package for...
James Stavridis: Climate change is a military problem for the U.S.
The U.S. military has its hands full at the moment with a vicious war in Ukraine and U.S.-China tensions over issues from human rights to sovereignty over the South China Sea. But it cannot delay taking action to address climate change, the most persistent strategic threat we face. As a...
Letter to the editor: Government propaganda
Most hard-working Americans probably have never even heard of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948. Which would comport with not knowing about the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012. Both these laws are critically important. Basically, they repealed the law to use propaganda on the American people. Look it up. So now...
