Opinion category, Page 448
Mona Charen: Is inflation Biden’s fault?
President Biden’s standing with voters has taken a beating on multiple fronts. He is perceived as not focusing on issues they care about, particularly inflation. Inflation is a president slayer. Richard Nixon imposed wage and price controls. When they were lifted, prices soared even higher. Would Nixon have been removed...
Letter to the editor: We don’t behave in a Christian manner
I get fed up with people who call America a Christian nation, because from the very start of people landing in this new land, they have never behaved in the manner of Jesus’ words in Matthew 22: 37-39: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and...
Letter to the editor: Trump can be trusted?
So, the voters can’t be trusted The poll workers can’t be trusted. The voting machines can’t be trusted. The media can’t be trusted. Bill Barr can’t be trusted. The guy in charge of election security can’t be trusted. The lower courts can’t be trusted. The appellate courts can’t be trusted....
Letter to the editor: Biden hasn’t kept word on covid
Letter-writer Dale Vukovich (“Vaccines and gas prices,” Jan. 19, TribLIVE) must have missed President Biden, Vice President Harris and many of their Democratic friends last October saying they wouldn’t “trust or take the vaccine that was developed under Trump.” He must have missed Biden during the second presidential debate saying...
Letter to the editor: Strong Republicans need to come forward
I wonder where letter-writer A.J. Abate was on Jan. 6, 2021 (“Differing views of Jan. 6,” Jan. 12, TribLIVE). He couldn’t have been sitting in front of his TV, as I was, watching with disbelief and sorrow, as there was an attempted coup by domestic terrorists. Yes, call them what...
Editorial: Truth is kids need to be safe from gun violence
Marquis Campbell should not be dead. Campbell, 15, of Pittsburgh was shot at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday in a school van where he sat, waiting to go home from Oliver Citywide Academy in Marshall-Shadeland. As a society, there is often an attempt to make sense of tragedies by blaming the victims....
Letter to the editor: Emergency housing in Westmoreland County woefully inadequate
Westmoreland County is in dire need of emergency housing. Currently, there are only 69 emergency beds in the county for those with mental health issues, homeless juveniles and women dealing with domestic violence, in a county with a population of approximately 365,000. These beds are only available for 30 days,...
Letter to the editor: Outraged by group home reactions
I feel compelled to respond to the article “Community Options plan for 2nd group home in Unity draws concern from residents” (Jan. 15, TribLIVE). My reactions ranged from outrage to disappointment to sadness and finally returned to outrage. It is inconceivable to me that any law-abiding, contributing member of society...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Larry Lagattuta’s bread lessons
For Larry Lagattuta, Pittsburgh’s biscotti baron and owner of Enrico Biscotti and Cafe in the Strip District, baking bread is a ritual that has served him and his family well through good times and bad. “I can’t remember ever not doing it. In my family, it ties us to the...
Sounding off: Election needn’t be immaculate, just accurate
Every NFL playoff season I see replays of the “Immaculate Reception.” I’m looking forward to the 50th anniversary of that defining play Dec. 23. No, I wasn’t one of the 650,000 people who claim to have been in attendance at Three Rivers Stadium that day, but I remember where I...
Andrew Cuff: State legislators as college administrators? It would be an improvement.
Last year, it became public knowledge that the state college system in Pennsylvania had dropped to its lowest enrollment in over 30 years. A statement from the state system’s spokesperson , Cody Jones, called the historic tumble the “covid effect on enrollment.” If so, covid’s effect on enrollment is consistent...
Lisa Fox: Raising awareness of human trafficking can save lives
“Never has a parent wished they would have been less protective of their missing child.” Those are the words of my colleague, Bill Hickman, CEO of CSI Corporate Security and Investigations . Bill often works with families whose children have gone missing in human trafficking schemes. With January being named...
Letter to the editor: Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver more than food
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to the people involved in Meals on Wheels. It isn’t just the food they deliver. Some seniors spend their days never seeing or speaking to another person. That tap on the door, a “hi” or a wave, knowing someone cares enough to...
Letter to the editor: Comparing presidential competence
If you voted for the guy who: 1. Used a Sharpie to change the path of a hurricane 2. Autographed Bibles 3. Saluted a North Korean general 4. Stared directly into the sun during a solar eclipse 5. Kissed the behind of Putin and disparaged his own law enforcement agencies...
Letter to the editor: Better under Trump
In answer to Patty Satalia’s letter “Republicans are not planning for our well-being” (Dec. 20, TribLIVE): This is a much better thing than the Democrats have. When President Trump left office, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.39. Meat was selling at a fair price. Today you...
Editorial: Judge Mariani’s murder verdict dismissal in Club Erotica case is all drama
There are things that happen in television courtrooms with regularity that don’t pop up the same way in real life. The Perry Mason moments when a lawyer gets a witness to admit she really committed the crime. Surprise evidence admitted at the last possible minute. Cases heading in front of...
Letter to the editor: More mental health resources needed in Westmoreland
Residents with mental health issues and disabilities need more health resources in Westmoreland County. The American Rescue Act gives Westmoreland County a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address this issue, but decisions on the allocation of these funds must be made by Jan. 31. Establishing a 24/7 mental health drop-in crisis center...
Robert Smith: The American game of Three-card Monte
Three-card Monte is a con game where the shill pretends to conspire with the mark to cheat the dealer, while in fact the shill is conspiring with the dealer to cheat the mark. In America’s game of Three-card Monte, the citizen-taxpayer is the unfortunate mark. While many of the issues...
S.E. Cupp: The dead-end doomsday cult of Donald J. Trump
Last weekend in Florence, Ariz., supporters of former President Trump gathered to attend one of his infamous rallies, to bond with like-minded MAGA cohorts and bathe in Trump’s ill-fated promises and unhinged conspiracy theories. They got their money’s worth. Trump pushed the debunked theory that the FBI had plants among...
Gary Franks: The woes of Biden, caused by Biden
President Biden has taken the Democratic Party to new lows. The Dems have lost 14 points in 12 months in a recent Gallup poll on who the American people want to run the country. Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ polling numbers are at historic lows for this time in...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Sometimes you can’t help but grow weary
In the Bible, in the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul issues this admonition: “Let us not grow weary in well-doing.” Talk about things that are easier said than done. For some of us, after all, this is a weary season, a season of exhausted hope and worn expectation that...
Ryan Shafik: Time to end corrupt endorsement process
Every year in Pennsylvania Republican politics, there is a dog-and-pony show that occurs mostly unseen by the average voter. Known simply in Keystone State political parlance as “the endorsement,” it’s a protracted process of wannabe candidates cloyingly ingratiating themselves to the few hundred apparatchiks comprising the Republican State Committee (RSC),...
Letter to the editor: S.E. Cupp not credible
I agree with Frances Olyarnik’s letter “Why run S.E. Cupp’s bitter diatribes?” (Dec. 21, TribLIVE). In her column “Fox News is selling toxic snake oil” (Dec. 17, TribLIVE), Cupp calls Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson “liars” and “snake oil salesmen.” This is after more than...
Letter to the editor: Domestic violence shelters need share of covid relief funds
Westmoreland County has a serious problem with emergency housing and services for women and children in abusive relationships. Beds for emergency use in the county are limited to 65, and the maximum stay is 30 days. This means that if an abused woman cannot find alternate housing and a permanent...
Lori Falce: Helping hands and the art of snow shoveling
I talked to Bob on Tuesday. It was the day after snow fell for almost 24 hours, piling up around the area to the delight of kids who got to build snowmen and go sledding. The problem for Bob was that he isn’t a kid anymore. He’s a senior who...
