Opinion category, Page 52
S.E. Cupp: Democrats, Gavin Newsom is not your blueprint
Few in American politics are as desperate as California Gov. Gavin Newsom is right now. Newsom, long considered — by himself, anyway — a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president, has been positioning himself and repositioning himself to be next in line for years. And this week, through the...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: People like surprises, not uncertainty
No one likes uncertainty. For some, it carries with it a sense of doom and helplessness. Yet despite many people’s apparent aversion to uncertainty, some actively seek it out in many areas of their life. Uncertainty is all around us. It has been making headlines in the news this year,...
Jason Chobirko: Science funding saves lives
Science has brought humanity from tending flames in caves to launching satellites into space. Through science, we have developed incredible advancements like antibiotics, the internet and improved food crops. Each of these and so much more have improved the lives of billions of people and increased prosperity around the globe....
Letter to the editor: Nursing is a work of heart
The very act of nursing calls for compassion, which is a gift of the heart. Nurses serve on the front lines of our health care system. Today’s health care environment calls for tenaciousness and hard work. Nurses are able to wield both grace and grit in ever-changing conditions. My hat’s...
Letter to the editor: Battling antisemitism
I’m disappointed in the lack of broader context for quotes in the article “Allegheny County politician’s social media post on war in Gaza stokes divisions” (June 8, 2025). For example, Lauren Berry-Kagan, quoted toward the end, is an organizer and local leader for Jewish Voice for Peace, a national organization...
Lori Falce: Los Angeles confrontations are becoming less about immigration than First Amendment
The United States of America had barely taken its first breath as a nation governed by the Constitution when it was realized that changes were needed. While we will celebrate Independence Day on July 4 as the country’s 249th birthday, that’s a bit wrong. That was the day we declared...
Laurels & lances: Good sports & bad road
laurel: To being in the spotlight. Hey, not sure if you heard, but there’s big sports things happening in Allegheny County. No, it’s not baseball. It’s not hockey, although there are rumors of Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle looking to take back majority control of the Penguins. It’s not football...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s attacks on immigrants harm all of us
There can be no secret police in a free country — but in the U.S., masked ICE agents are pulling families off the street without warrants or badges. There is due process in a free country — but in the U.S., ICE is arresting and deporting ordinary working people based...
Sloane Davidson: Immigrants powering Pittsburgh
When we talk about Pittsburgh’s future, we often focus on attracting new talent. But one of the smartest investments we can make is in the neighbors who are already here, especially immigrants. Across Pennsylvania, nearly 1 million immigrants, which equates to around 7% of the population, are powering our economy...
SpearIt: 2025 — time to abandon ‘people of color’
In his column “Watch your language — a chronicle of today’s improper English” (June 2, TribLive), Cal Thomas describes maladies that plague English speech and writing. This opinion adds to that effort and tries to show why the term “of color” should be retired as a relic of racial subordination....
Letter to the editor: Magee nurses deserve union representation
I gave birth at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and am inspired by nurses calling for a union voice. I am so grateful to Magee nurses for helping me through the difficult birth of my son. I spent five days in the hospital after an emergency C-section and my son spent the...
Letter to the editor: Jewish people persevere despite persecution
Anti-Zionism is the same as antisemitism, and antisemitism is the hatred of Judaism (ref: “Why the Jews,” by Dennis Prager). Judaism is a monotheistic religion founded by Abraham and based on the belief that the land of Israel was designated by God as a homeland for his descendants (the Jewish...
Editorial: Senate should pass childhood sexual abuse bills
The Pennsylvania Senate has a job to do. The state House of Representatives passed two bills this week that would allow survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits past the previous lines drawn. One bill frames a two-year window that bypasses “sovereign and governmental immunity retroactively to permit these...
Letter to the editor: We continue to ignore reality
No one fools themselves like Americans do. We just keep living in the comfort of our normalcy bias, trying to rationalize our cognitive dissonance away. But clicking our ruby slippers together will never awaken us from this nightmare. We have an ever-increasing national debt of $37 trillion that can never...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump deploys, protesters respond. This will not end well.
“Here we go.” “I knew it would come.” “This won’t end well.” Those were my initial reactions to President Trump’s announcement that he had activated the California National Guard and to sources on Monday saying Marines would serve as backup. I’m not claiming much prescience. Like his breakup with Elon...
Frederic J. Fransen: George Washington, America’s reluctant leader, contrasts with today’s
From the beginning of the American experiment, one of its animating principles has been limited government overseen by citizen legislators. Contrast that with the “big, beautiful” spending bill being steered through Congress by today’s career politicians, who euphemistically refer to themselves as “public servants.” America’s founders would be appalled. One...
Betsy Cauble: Pa. needs more behavioral health professionals
Pennsylvania is facing a severe shortage of mental and behavioral health professionals. Over 50 of its 67 counties are designated as mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. Throughout the state, 1.8 million Pennsylvanian adults have a mental health condition, yet 1.7 million live in communities that don’t have enough mental health...
Beatrice Spadacini: Public health — ban first, study later? The growing assault on fluoridated water.
On May 15, Florida became the second state in the nation to ban fluoride from public drinking water. The bill, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is set to go into effect on July 1. Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox enacted a similar ban that went into effect this May. Five other...
Letter to the editor: Will Chinese terrorists get Trumped?
Re: United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Michigan, press release, June 3: “Chinese Nationals Charged with Conspiracy and Smuggling a Dangerous Biological Pathogen into the U.S. for their Work at a University of Michigan Laboratory.” How did the Chinese CP come to believe they can actually send bio-agro-terrorists across...
Letter to the editor: Sad for our country
As I was catching up on the news today, I started crying. Here’s why: The cruel ICE raids where the masked agents used smoke grenades, pepper spray and guns against immigrants and protestors; the mural defacing of Jackie Robinson and Minnie Minoso with racial slurs; the secretary of Defense renaming...
Editorial: What could Medicaid cuts mean for Pennsylvanians?
There is a great deal of attention on what proposed changes to Medicaid could mean. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. As it stands, it would cut $723 billion in Medicaid funding to states. The bill is currently in the hands of the...
Letter to the editor: A Catholic education is a blessing for many
Compliments to Jack Troy for the interesting and well-written article “Retirees live it up at retired school buildings” (June 1, TribLive). Except for the first paragraph — which is an inappropriate, unnecessary and offensive dig at Catholic education. I understand an author’s desire to lead into a story with an...
Mark Gongloff: Heat is bad for workers’ health. RFK Jr. doesn’t care
We’re on the verge of what will probably be one of the hottest Northern Hemisphere summers in human history. In early May, the water in the English Channel was already so hot that octopuses invaded it, inspiring Bloomberg News’ Joe Wertz to dub this “hot octopus summer,” and not in...
Noah Feldman: ‘Reverse discrimination’ ruling is a win for the rule of law
White individuals and straight people do not need to meet a higher burden of proof than members of minority groups to prevail in employment discrimination suits, the Supreme Court held Thursday. The immediate effect is to make so-called “reverse discrimination” claims easier to bring. However, the decision also solidifies the...
Letter to the editor: 2 sides to economy — spending and revenue
The common perception is that the right is better than the left at handling the economy and that conservatives tend to be cautious regarding spending. This opinion overlooks the fact that there are two sides to the economic equation: spending and revenue. When it comes to debt, we must consider...
