Opinion category, Page 536
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Saying goodbye to Phil Coyne, the Prince of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh buried its own Prince Phillip last week. But Phillip A. Coyne Jr. was simply called Phil or Philly by everybody around here. Phil Coyne had seen a lot, laughed a lot and put a lot of smiles on other people’s faces. And his life was a master class in...
Joe Nocera: Bernie Madoff left behind only misery and heartache
Bernie Madoff is dead, and it is unlikely that even the people who once were closest to him will shed a tear. Not his wife, Ruth, whose life was destroyed when Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was revealed in December 2008. Not his brother, Peter, Madoff’s former chief compliance officer, who spent...
Robert Lysek: Public charter schools want real reform
It might surprise those listening to Gov. Tom Wolf constantly attacking public charter schools that the charter school leaders in Pennsylvania support comprehensive education reform and have supported it for years. What we don’t support are the arbitrary funding cuts the governor and anti-charter activists seek to prevent Pennsylvania families...
Sounding off: We don’t deserve the wealthy’s money
President Biden’s new plan to fund American public programs is by taxing the wealthiest Americans. It’s not a question of if they should, but how much. Yet the question that is never asked is, “Why do we deserve their money?” The seemingly overlooked answer is we do not. Elon Musk,...
UPMC’s efforts to eliminate health care inequities, racism
As Black obstetrician-gynecologists, midwives and members of the UPMC family, we have come together to highlight the current state of affairs for pregnant women of color. The U.S., a developed nation, has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with Black women affected disproportionately in comparison with...
Letter to the editor: Urge leaders to work to prevent another pandemic
I can’t believe that a year ago this month my university sent me home because of the “new virus.” I remember thinking, “This won’t last long; in a couple weeks I’ll be back in school and everything will be back to normal.” Now here we are, a year later, with...
Letter to the editor: Mail-in voting good enough for Trump
Kudos to Commissioner Doug Chew. When I saw the headline “Westmoreland commissioner says county voters want end to no-excuse mail-in ballots, another disputes that” (March 23, TribLIVE), I wrote a blunt, acerbic email to the commissioner that emphatically indicated that I wanted to retain the mail-in ballot option. The commissioner...
Letter to the editor: Republicans making sacrifice by refusing vaccine
Republicans who refuse to get the covid vaccine are to be commended for making the ultimate sacrifice. Some Republicans are good people, of course, but clearly that doesn’t apply to Republicans in Congress. When they weaken American democracy, deny climate change and reject science, they create a menace to human...
Mona Charen: Not every tragedy is a racial lesson
Reliving the awful details of George Floyd’s slow suffocation is brutal and emotionally draining. As always in matters touching on race, the thrum of ethnic hostilities is the background noise. Some have been eager, since the trial began, to cite George Floyd’s drug use or heart trouble as the true...
John Stossel: Steven Crowder calls out censorship
The most viewed conservative commentator on YouTube is Steven Crowder with his channel, Louder with Crowder. His fans love his politically incorrect jokes. He also sets up a table at college campuses, invites people to debate and airs the debate unedited. One such video, titled, “There Are Two Genders: Change...
Leonard Pitts Jr.: It takes 2 parties to be bipartisan
There is nothing sacred about nine. The number was not carried down from a mountain on stone tablets, nor did it appear in a burning bush. In fact, before the Supreme Court contained nine justices, it contained six, the number fixed when the tribunal was established in 1789. Then, in...
Jonah Goldberg: Biden citing wrong reasons for Afghanistan withdrawal
President Biden has decided to end the war in Afghanistan. He feels it’s time, and so do a lot of Americans. I feel it too. I’m just not sure feelings should win the day. In his televised address announcing the decision, Biden reiterated that American withdrawal can’t be “tied to...
Laurels & lances: Efficient vaccine clinics and not-transparent leasing
Laurel: To a well-oiled machine. When it comes to large gatherings of people for a specific purpose, sometimes the operation can function perfectly. Sometimes it turns into chaos. Anyone who has tried to get out of a parking lot after a big concert can attest to best laid plans going...
Letter to the editor: Writer belittled our land, president, intelligence and hope
It is rare that a liberal hater can besmirch, demean and insult as broadly as Al Scovern did in his letter “Loyalty to Trump has gotten Allegheny Valley nowhere” (April 8, TribLIVE). He belittled our beautiful Western Pennsylvania countryside, our former president, our intelligence and our hope in one fell...
Lori Falce: Risks of not researching women’s health
It seems like just a couple of weeks since I was writing a column where I said we need to pay more attention to the way diseases and treatments affect the bodies of women. Oh, wait. It was. Now, here we are, with one of the three vaccines meant to...
Letter to the editor: Tell Chew, other leaders how you feel about voting process
I am thankful to Rich Cholodofsky for writing the article “Westmoreland commissioner says county voters want end to no-excuse mail-in ballots, another disputes that” (March 23, TribLIVE). Sadly, Doug Chew is certainly not adequately representing all Westmoreland County residents. I disagree with the assertion that constituents do not want “mail-in...
Letter to the editor: Totalitarianism frightening — and coming
Coming soon to a theater near you: the frightening blockbuster with the unforgettable catchphrase, “Show me your papers, please.” It’s the request for your internal passport: the vaccine documentation necessary for any travel, social gatherings, purchases and so much more. We’ve seen this movie before, and it never ends well....
Paul Kengor: Will MLB boycott the Pirates — and the Phillies?
“Georgia has 17 days of in-person early voting, including two optional Sundays. Colorado has 15. … They also have a photo ID requirement. So, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.” So puzzled Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over the decision by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred...
Dave Kitzinger: Gupta should be confirmed as associate attorney general
Bipartisanship is often invoked but rarely practiced in politics these days. Unfortunately, the confirmation fight over President Biden’s nominee for associate attorney general, Vanita Gupta, has become the latest example of partisanship crowding out substance in Washington. Fair-minded senators like Sen. Pat Toomey have a reputation for rising above the...
Colin McNickle: Government-mandated sick leave bad idea
Allegheny County Council could not muster enough votes to override the county executive’s veto of a mandatory paid sick-leave ordinance for private businesses. Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald said that while he supports paid sick leave, the legislation did not originate where it should have — with the county health board...
Editorial: Pandemic rent relief is welcome, but a band-aid
Fixing the coronavirus pandemic might start with a covid-19 vaccine, but the shot isn’t a light switch that turns back the dark with a flick. By the same token, the progress toward correcting the economic impact of the pandemic isn’t going to respond to the push of a button either....
Letter to the editor: Self-denial seen in Trump signs
In response to Rick Tatano’s letter “Keep Trump signs up” (April 11, TribLIVE): Yes, please do keep them up. Show Americans how you are self-denying. Show real Americans how you still follow a man who would try to do anything to be president — as far as suggesting a coup....
Stephanie Catarino Wissman: Pennsylvanians could pay more under Wolf’s proposed severance tax plan
For the seventh straight year, Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing a new tax on the state’s natural gas producers — and ultimately on Pennsylvanians. This year’s severance tax plan, like the others before it, could undermine the production of natural gas — which about half of American households rely on...
Letter to the editor: Morality of gun control vs. abortion
In his letter “Gun violence prevention laws effective and a moral imperative”, Rev. Vincent Kolb laments mass shootings and states “anyone with compassion who values human life should be morally outraged by our society’s refusal to prevent this slaughter.” Someone should ask him about the morality of the 60 million...
Letter to the editor: Misconceptions on vaccines, Biden, voter rights
Recent letters to the editor have blamed the poor inoculation progress in Westmoreland County on not having a health department and the county commissioners. I believe the fault lies solely at the state level. It doesn’t matter whether a county had a health department; none knew when, or how much,...
