Opinion category, Page 423
Editorial: The common problem of Pennsylvania bridges
Pennsylvania’s bridges need work. It isn’t just the ones with obvious problems — the ones with crumbling concrete or decaying superstructure. It’s not a question of which. It’s a question of when. The Fern Hollow Bridge spanning a Frick Park ravine collapsed on the morning of Jan. 28, while people were...
Letter to the editor: Will and Toomey’s Ex-Im Bank myth
I read, with disgust, the March 31 George Will opinion piece “Toomey rightly wants to rein in Boeing’s bank.” Sen. Pat Toomey and Will have used only the barest of facts as a matrix upon which they weave a complete myth. I had firsthand experience in obtaining an EX-IM loan...
Letter to the editor: Peace plan could save Putin’s soul
An open letter to Vladimir Putin: Dear President Putin: When first you became president, there were a few of us Americans who may have thought, privately, “Finally, a Russian leader who knows how to get things done.” Frankly, sir, we were wrong about your judgment when it comes to foreign...
Tom Purcell: We must fix the nursing shortage
Where did all the nurses go? One of my family members ended up in the ER for a week after a bad fall. The hospital we chose and its staff were wonderful in every way, but this time, one important thing was missing: an appropriate number of nurses to deliver...
Mark Hendrickson: What is the proper policy response to today’s inflation?
If you get depressed easily, you may wish to skip this op-ed. Our country has suffered inflationary bouts to various degrees throughout our history, with perhaps the most severe having occurred during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the 1970s. Sadly, we have never found a quick, clean way...
Letter to the editor: Bills should be shorter — and read — in Congress
I would love to see a bill proposed by Congress to limit the amount of pages each new proposed bill could contain — no more than five pages, front and back. In addition, before a vote is taken on the bill, each member of Congress must sign a statement that...
Letter to the editor: Putin won’t go nuclear
Regarding letter-writer Rodger Henderson’s remarks about good buddies Putin and Trump and about the situation in Ukraine (“Peacemakers will restore order,” March 14, TribLIVE). To everyone who is afraid of it, I’d like to assure them that this war will not lead to nuclear war mainly because Putin, while damn-straight...
Letter to the editor: America’s greatness threatened
The names folks who desire to destroy America use to describe those of us who disagree with them are not fit to print, so I’ll be considerate and refer to them as dipwads. Once upon a time, I registered as a Republican because I felt the Republicans were more in...
Editorial: Nalani Johnson Rule could save lives
Nalani Johnson deserved a long, long life. She deserved birthday parties and Halloween costumes. A prom dress and a graduation ceremony. She should have gotten married and had kids of her own. Instead she got less than two years. The little girl whose family said she had a clever head...
Letter to the editor: Putin’s evil
What will dictators do to hold on to power? Such evilness by all means to hold on to power. Vladimir Putin jails or kills his political opposition. He has changed Russia’s Constitution and rigged the voting system to stay in power. The countless conjured-up reasons to invade Ukraine are just...
Letter to the editor: Sex and gender absurdities
The greatest asset of any comedian is to deliver a line with an unsmiling, deadpan expression. I recently witnessed Rachel Levine unabashedly state that she is the first woman appointed as an admiral to the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. How did we get here? In 1972, Congress passed...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of April 4
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of April 4....
Editorial cartoons for the week of April 4
Editorial cartoons for the week of April 4....
Mona Charen: Is it racist to help Ukraine?
“Many in Mideast See Hypocrisy in Western Embrace of Ukraine,” read an Associated Press headline last week. Salon asked: “Whose Lives Really Matter?” and answered its own question in the next breath — “How Racism Colors Coverage of the Crisis in Ukraine.” On social media, a tweet by Ayo Sogunro,...
Letter to the editor: Commissioners must address mental health care needs
Thank you, Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew, for working with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) to prioritize improving mental health care in Pennsylvania. The economic, physical and emotional suffering related to covid-19 have led to a crisis situation. Westmoreland County lacks adequate mental health care services. The covid-19...
Letter to the editor: We should be giving Ukraine the military help they need
“For God’s sake, this man (Putin) cannot remain in power.” A completely correct and inspiring statement by President Biden, this made me proud to be an American. For God’s sake, let us give Ukraine the military equipment immediately that they are requesting — the fighter jets, the tanks, air defense...
Letter to the editor: Republicans need saving
Given recent history, Pennsylvania Republicans should make their official motto “Save Us From Ourselves.” First, 14 Republican lawmakers joined a lawsuit asking the state’s Supreme Court to rule that mail-in-balloting is unconstitutional. Republicans trying to limit access to the ballot wouldn’t be shocking, as voter repression seems to be part...
Editorial: Law doesn’t demand transparency. People should.
The state is getting just a little bit closer to requiring more transparency on the part of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. On Tuesday, the House State Government Committee approved the bill that would make legislative expense reports more easily accessible to the public online. “How can anyone be against it?”...
Letter to the editor: Consider lifesaving organ donation
April is Donate Life Month. This is a perfect time to encourage organ donation. I was introduced to the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) early in my nursing career. I told my family to donate my organs if ever there was an opportunity to do so. I have...
Letter to the editor: Cyber charter funding reform needed
Despite ads on TV, cybercharter schools are not free. Your school district property taxes fund them. That funding needs to change because it continues to drive your taxes up. Pennsylvania has 500 school districts. By law, each district must pay a different tuition per student for attendance at a cybercharter....
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Troubles on the Supreme Court
When it was disclosed that Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, had been communicating with Trump White House officials and advising them to overturn the lawful election of Joe Biden in the run-up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Supreme Court’s impartiality took another hit. Ginni Thomas is not...
Sounding off: Hide your Bibles, the book banners are back
With a nod to Meredith Wilson’s “Music Man”: Trouble, oh we’ve got trouble, Right here in Westmoreland County! With a capital “T” That rhymes with “B” And that stands for Books. The book banners are back (with book burners a half-step behind), never really having gone away. They would have...
Letter to the editor: Crosswalk signs is what Jeannette needs?
The article “Jeannette officials continue discussion about use of federal covid relief cash,” March 24, TribLIVE) is Jeannette in a nutshell. Our mayor wants to install crosswalk signs. Seriously? This might also explain why the old Monsour hospital site is still an empty lot. Crosswalk signs. SMH. Dale Parker Jeannette...
Letter to the editor: Hempfield book complaints are about responsibility
Regarding the recent reporting on the challenged books in the Hempfield Area School District (“Hempfield is latest district to face book ban challenge”): This is not an issue of censorship or banning. The media and those few individuals who oppose policy change for resource selection in the school have made...
Editorial: Wheelchair restrictions could be more than Latrobe expects
It should go without saying that a wheelchair is not a bicycle. Sure, they have features in common. Wheels, obviously. Tires. There is a seat, and there are handles. Stripped down, they perform the same function: moving someone from one place to another. But use these kind of very elementary...
