Letter to the editor: Help end online cat torture
Kittens and cats are being brutally tortured to death in online videos daily. In terms of sheer brutality, utter depravity, tremendous suffering and pure evil, this is the worst violence ever intentionally inflicted on animals — for “entertainment.” Methods include dismembering, skinning, crucifying, eviscerating, burning and mutilating, to name just...
Letter to the editor: Trump regime must be replaced
George Washington, in his farewell address, had two warnings. One was against a popular demagogue rising to the presidency and destroying liberty in his egotistical power quests. The other was this: “Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty and are to be regarded as particularly...
Letter to the editor: Pa. must ban live pigeon shoots
Bucks County is home to a cruel and primitive practice that most Pennsylvanians believe belongs in the past: live pigeon shoots, held at the Philadelphia Gun Club in Bensalem. While the vast majority of states have outlawed this cruelty, legislative loopholes and political maneuvering have allowed it to continue in...
Editorial: ‘The Pitt’ shows why representation includes place
“Did you see on ‘The Pitt’…?” It’s becoming a regular refrain after the HBO Max medical series airs Thursdays. Each episode, set in a fictional Pittsburgh hospital, becomes a scavenger hunt of familiar yinzer treasures. The most recent included references to the Pittsburgh synagogue shootings and Zambelli Fireworks. Others have...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Who will stand up to government by threat?
You are not alone if you are astonished that the United States of America has been at the threshold of war because of Donald Trump’s hurt feelings over not winning the Norway-based Nobel Peace Prize. Trump takes everything personally, which makes you wonder how he has any room in his...
Imran Khalid: America’s 2 economies — soaring stocks and slashed food stamps
The close of the 2025 holiday season has revealed a stark divide in the U.S. economy. As 2026 begins, the United States appears to be operating in two financial realities: record corporate profits and soaring stock values for the wealthy, alongside deepening hardship for millions of ordinary households. For many...
Letter to the editor: ‘Transgender law’ doesn’t supersede natural law
The transgender athlete ban case being considered by the Supreme Court reminds me of a phrase I read while in undergraduate school. The phrase, as I recall, was intended to describe or detect a sense of humor or understanding the “absurd and incongruous.” It was drawn on the writings of...
Letter to the editor: Volunteer fire companies need financial support
The New Stanton Volunteer Fire Department needs to replace its 74-year-old fire station and has been working since 2022 to get major financial support from community-based businesses. They mailed solicitation letters to 19 major national and international businesses, including Amazon, Dollar General, Marriott Corporation, McDonald’s, United Parcel Service and FedEx....
Letter to the editor: How much will rebuilding Venezuela cost us?
Paul Singer became a billionaire through his vulture hedge fund ($65.5 billion in assets). He is also a major Republican donor and has given President Trump and related PACs millions of dollars. In November 2025, at a mandated fire sale, Singer paid $5.9 billion for Citgo, Venezuela’s $18 billion oil...
Editorial: Filling Downtown is more than empty gesture
When hundreds of thousands of people descend on Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft in April, they should be greeted by a spruced-up Steel City. The landmark fountain at Point State Park has recently undergone a $3.4 million upgrade. Market Square is in the midst of a $15 million face-lift. And...
Letter to the editor: Phony protests
The constant anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis and other Democrat-controlled sanctuary cities are becoming mob riots. Democrats and their media sycophants try to tell the public that these are peaceful protests, but in my opinion, they have become illegal, violent actions against law enforcement personnel and against law-abiding citizens, including storming...
Letter to the editor: McCormick’s response to Good killing is ‘inappropriate’
Sen. Dave McCormick’s response to the murder of a 37-year-old mother of three on a residential street in Minneapolis, Minn., seems to have implications for every 13-year-old boy on playgrounds across the country. Apparently, it is now a crime punishable by death to “act inappropriately.” Wow! I, myself, should have...
S.E. Cupp: Trump’s Greenland folly hated by voters, GOP
“We cannot live our lives or govern our countries based on social media posts.” That’s what a European Union official, who was directly involved in negotiations between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland, said after President Trump’s announcement via Truth Social that we’ve “formed the framework of a future deal...
Llewellyn King: The rule of law is the foundation of civilization
The men you see in masks on your television savagely arresting people may not seem like your affair. But they are your affair and mine, and that of every other American. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates outside the law. It doesn’t disclose charges, and no one arrested sees a...
Letter to the editor: Stop legislators’ automatic pay raises
I was elated to see state Rep. Jeremy Shaffer introduce a bill to stop lawmakers’ automatic pay raises. As per the Pennsylvania Bulletin, their pay has gone up over $28,000 in the last 10 years. Who in the regular work force gets raises like that? To our state reps, please...
Letter to the editor: Madden calling Tomlin ‘fraud’ over the top
Mark Madden’s column “Assessing the Mike Tomlin era, where Steelers go from here” (Jan. 14, TribLive) is classless. Madden’s dislike of Tomlin has been evident in his columns over the years. His argument that some of Tomlin’s greatest achievements, i.e. winning a Super Bowl, were done with Coach Bill Cowher’s...
Letter to the editor: ICE, law enforcement gone rogue
In disbelief, I watched the video of the ICE agent shooting Renee Good on Jan. 7. This despair only deepened as I listened to President Trump and high-level members of his administration blatantly and deliberately lie to us. How could they state facts that were demonstrably false? They were gaslighting...
Lori Falce: An upside-down approach to public health
In 1992, the U.S. Department of Agriculture adopted a new way to look at what we eat. The food pyramid already had been in use for decades in Sweden, but now Americans were able to use the handy visual aid for prioritizing nutritional choices. The idea was simple: Put the...
Letter to the editor: Jail doctors need oversight
In the Allegheny County Jail’s 2025 correctional officer survey, an officer made the following observations: “We currently have two doctors employed for the mental health department who refuse to medicate sick individuals properly. Inmates who are lucky to be sent to Torrance State Hospital are placed on a medication routine...
Laurels & lances: Legacy & loss
Laurel: To a tradition of commitment. Communities function not only on the jobs done by employees but also on the work people volunteer to do. And that public service does not always end with a retirement date — or stop with one generation. Butch Michalowski officially stepped down as chief...
Letter to the editor: Impeach Trump
If Democrats want to take back the House and the Senate in 2026, they must stop lying to voters by omission. This is not a normal presidency, and it does not deserve a normal campaign. They should run on one platform — unapologetically: impeach Donald Trump. Trump’s approval rating is...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump’s globalist era is going to make everyone poorer
I’m not sure what to call the new era we seem to be entering. But I am sure it will make people poorer. Let’s start with some basics. Imagine you inherit a thriving department store chain. Rather than listen to experts on consumer trends, supply-chain logistics, human resources, etc., you...
Letter to the editor: Can Steelers follow River Hounds’ example?
Boo hoo, Steeler Nation. Was a big fan at one time. Huge Pirates fan also. Year
after year, lackluster seasons filled with disappointment. Steeler Nation is more like a third-world country. Riverhounds won their championship. Maybe the others will follow their example next season. I won’t hold my breath. Mike...
Letter to the editor: Who’s behind autocratic ideas?
Where are these autocratic ideas coming from? Better yet, who is pushing these ideas? President Trump leans toward being a “global dominator” with his administration’s policies. It’s interesting as to who is behind the scenes. I doubt that these ideas are coming from Trump. I don’t believe he understands the...
Editorial: Inmate transport carries costs, no matter who does it
The Westmoreland County sheriff is asking a judge to rescind a 2006 court order that requires sheriff’s deputies to transport county inmates to and from magisterial district courts, claiming it could save taxpayers more than $250,000 a year in overtime. Sheriff James Albert is not wrong in saying Westmoreland relies...
