Opinion category, Page 524
Editorial: Enhancing high school graduations with a virtual touch
The Class of 2020 didn’t graduate the way the classes that came before them did. For most graduates, the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic stole the pomp and circumstance from their commencements. There were no auditoriums packed with parents and grandparents snapping pictures and cheering when names were called and...
Colin McNickle: Pittsburgh’s office vacancy trend discouraging
The trend is not good for the prime office vacancy rate in Pittsburgh’s central business district (CBD). And it is difficult to see things changing, given the marketplace and government policies, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Unfortunately, if the past is prologue, there appears to...
Letter to the editor: About the Keystone XL pipeline …
Regarding Ben Day’s letter “What about the Keystone XL pipeline?” (May 19, TribLIVE): Mr. Day, that pipeline was never intended to supply finished petroleum products. In fact, it was an interface to move a third-rate oil sand crude to port from Canada. Nothing more. Lenny Mucci Derry Township...
Letter to the editor: Problems with ‘alternative’ sources
Producing carbon fiber is a very polluting process, almost as bad as lithium for batteries or ethanol for gas, not quite as bad as solar cells. (Look it up, but don’t Google it: Check DuckDuckGo for a partial list of Google’s data partners.) All four of these “alternative” sources depend...
Letter to the editor: Republican liars and deniers
The former president has turned the GOP into a party of liars and deniers who are trying to rewrite history. I watched the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6. No way did it appear to be a “normal tourist visit” of the Capitol. Normal tourists don’t usually arrive armed...
Letter to the editor: Ranking quarterbacks
Mark Madden’s column “Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Famer and a giant diva” (May 8, TribLIVE) was a mostly successful attempt to demonstrate how Rodgers’ media profile is generally shaped to his benefit. Unfortunately, he then took the usual Pittsburgh route of blaming Rashard Mendenhall for depriving Ben Roethlisberger...
Letter to the editor: Right to vote shall not be denied or abridged
The author of the letter “Citizens right to vote” (April 22, TribLIVE) incorrectly states that the “the Constitution of the United States does not make any reference to the individual citizens’ ‘right to vote.’ ” Article 1, Section 2 states “(t)he House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen...
Letter to the editor: Biden will ruin country
Regarding Frank Flori’s laughable, hogwash letter “Biden’s work refreshing” (May 13, TribLIVE): Let’s review what is so refreshing: • Keystone XL pipeline canceled, putting thousands out of work. Good job — that’s refreshing! • Thousands of illegal immigrants flooding in through our southern border, causing devastation. Good job — that’s...
David Kennedy: Gov. Wolf, you owe Pennsylvania law enforcement an apology
Pennsylvania State Police troopers go to work every day protecting the people of this commonwealth, understanding that we could lose our lives to save others. We accept that risk — and our families are forced to live with it. They lie in bed listening for the Velcro rip of our...
Letter to the editor: What about the Keystone XL pipeline?
Strange, with all the uproar and panic over the Colonial pipeline shutdown, I’ve yet to see a word mentioned about the Keystone XL pipeline cancellation. Ben Day Homer City...
Letter to the editor: Sad state of today’s politics
Thank you for two excellent but disturbing articles in recent editions. The Associated Press’ description of the tension between Rep. Liz Cheney and House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy couldn’t better illustrate the tension within the Republican Party (“No. 2 House Republican backs Cheney ouster over Trump barbs,” May 5,...
Editorial: The mask mish-mash goes away with mass vaccination
Do you wear the mask or not? For more than a year, the issue has been out there. At first the recommendations were to stay home and not bother with face coverings, because only the medical-grade masks did any good and health care workers needed them. A few weeks into...
Letter to the editor: Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘truth’
In his letter “False portrayals of fascism” (April 21, TribLIVE), Joel Last, in my opinion, portrays fascism falsely, but this time shows his cards. Dinesh D’Souza, really? The far right-wing provocateur and QAnon-minded felon who saw vast material rewards in the new fringe conservative media? D’Souza is universally rejected by...
Letter to the editor: Guns and suicide
For developed countries, life expectancy has been increasing, with one exception: the American white male. In studying this phenomenon, researchers found a correlation between their decrease in life expectancy and an increase in suicide rates. In the U.S., suicides outnumber homicides almost 2 to 1. The increase in suicide rate...
Pat Buchanan: Bibi, Hamas only winners in Gaza war
“Israel is Winning Battles, Hamas is Winning the War.” So ran the headline in the Jerusalem Post atop an analysis of the Gaza war, which began, “The IDF is registering great achievements in Operation Guardian of the Walls, but meanwhile the house appears to be collapsing from within.” Hard to...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: Sometimes you wonder what they’re so afraid of
Not that the subject has ever been easy. No, as has often been noted in this space, this country has been positively Herculean in its effort to remain ignorant of African American history. From schools trying to ban it to state laws restricting it, to textbooks telling lies about it,...
Jonah Goldberg: Independents are part of the partisan problem
If you’re the kind of person who boasts about being a political independent, this may be hard to hear: You’re part of the problem. This no doubt will come as a shock, in part because independents get such fantastic press. That in itself is odd, given that independents have no...
Mark Schweiker: It’s time for America to put 9/11 mastermind on trial
Two decades ago, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was plotting the terrorist attacks that would murder thousands of Americans on Sept. 11, 2001. Terrorist cells were inside our country. America had no idea what was to come when they boarded airplanes that morning. These terrorists would become possibly the most hated criminals...
Letter to the editor: Straight shooting on guns
Letter-writer Al Duerig (“More guns means more shootings,” March 28, TribLIVE) states that gun advocates fabricate “specious arguments.” With simple math he states that 40,000 people are killed by guns each year, a planeload a day, he says. But how conveniently he leaves out the fact that 25,000 of those...
Letter to the editor: Teachers not to blame for potential Penn-Trafford tax hike
I take offense to Dallas Leonard’s blaming the proposed tax increase on Penn-Trafford’s teachers’ contract (“Penn-Trafford proposes 2-mill tax hike for next year,” May 3, TribLIVE). First, this contract was signed three years ago. Penn-Trafford has an ample tax base, and obviously had time to plan ahead to pay for...
Letter to the editor: Lies about Ga. voting rules
It is heartbreaking and frightening that some folks believe the despicable misinformation and outright lies being told by those promoting socialism. I’d like to address the letter “Georgia voting rule not Christian” (April 21, TribLIVE) and the “drink of water” lie about the Georgia voting law and the connection to...
Editorial: More than one reason for unfilled job openings
After a major upheaval, there is often a period of reflection. If your house burns down, you probably put some thought into the electrical system or the heating before you rebuild. The same thing happens after an epic event on a larger scale. Hurricanes like Andrew in Miami and Katrina...
Letter to the editor: Racism toward Asians disturbing
As a white-passing Asian American, in the past months and year, seeing the racism toward Asians in the U.S., in my town and even in my school has been difficult to understand and hard to watch. Ever since the covid-19 pandemic started, Asians have been verbally and physically abused by...
Letter to the editor: GOP’s self-destruction is sad
As a longtime, former member of the Republican Party, it embarrasses and saddens me to see the Grand Old Party self-destruct. The Honorable Liz Cheney, U.S. House member from Wyoming, is now a voice in the wilderness, that rare current Republican elected official who is sufficiently honest, decent and patriotic...
Tom Purcell: Fighting off the digital scam artists
Everyone is at risk of being scammed now. The recent ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline was a wake-up call for everyone in America. Ransomware is malicious software that cyberscammers use to encrypt a company’s or individual’s data and block access to it — until a hefty sum of money is...
