Opinion category, Page 581
Letter to the editor: America’s greatness lies in expertise, truth
In his column “The fight for free speech” (Oct. 9, TribLIVE), Walter Williams suggests that America is great because of “Western values.” I disagree. America is great because of our dedication to experts and the truth. We have succeeded where other democracies have spiraled down into fascism because our politicians...
Letter to the editor: Air regulations can’t be abandoned
In his op-ed “We’ve got enough environmental regulations” (Nov. 28, TribLIVE), Robert Smith states, “The environment has never been cleaner in my lifetime than now.” He compares environmental regulations to scraping the bowl for that last bite of chip dip, stating, “We continue to expend ever more effect to pick...
Letter to the editor: Vaccine questions must be answered
As the time approaches for us to get our covid-19 immunization shots, there are reasonable questions the medical and political community need to prepare for. Given the novelty of this particular pandemic, it is understandable that not every question is simple and easy, or even possible to answer in advance....
Editorial: Transit workers are front-line soldiers in covid war
Much of the language surrounding the coronavirus pandemic is comparable to that of warfare. We talk about fighting the disease. Having a battle plan. Deploying assets. And more than anything, we talk about the front lines. As in any war, that is where things get real. With covid-19, the front...
Eugene Robinson: Trump, GOP causing crisis of faith in our democracy
WASHINGTON Democracy requires faith. President Trump and his unscrupulous enablers — including most Republican elected officials — are cynically destroying that faith for millions of Americans, and I fear the nation will pay a terrible price. I’m talking to you, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and most of your...
Sheldon Jacobson: Effective treatments, not vaccines, are light at end of covid-19 tunnel
We are nine months into the covid-19 pandemic, with many succumbing to face covering and physical distancing fatigue, and pockets of pervasive skepticism about the virus threat and its risk. No one is happy, and everyone has someone to blame for their anger, grief and malcontent. The question people are...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Public ‘referees’ there to protect us
In Joyce Carol Oates’ 1985 New York Times essay “On Boxing,” she described the role of the referee as “our intermediary in the fight … our moral conscience.” The referee is there to make the tough calls, often stopping a fight before someone gets maimed or worse, all while the...
David Dausey: Keep holiday festivities smaller to prevent covid-19 from getting bigger
Americans need to change their behaviors in advance of the holidays unless they want a very grim start to the new year. If we don’t, cases of covid-19 could overwhelm the health care systems in many regions in the country and deaths will continue to escalate. Without significant changes to...
Ron Klink: When addressing drug prices, there’s a right way and a wrong way
In what may have been the last significant action of his presidency, President Trump recently issued two executive orders designed to lower prescription drug spending in Medicare. The first order would eliminate the current system of “rebates” for prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D. The second order, dubbed the...
Letter to the editor: Electric cars should have meters
I agree that Volkswagens shouldn’t pay an additional road tax — as long as they aren’t used on public roads. Not necessarily a flat fee; I think they should have a separate electric meter, just as internal combustion cars pay for roads by the taxes on fuel usage. And electricity...
Letter to the editor: We need representatives who’ll look out for our interests
I read in disbelief the article “Western Pa. congressmen join rebuke of U.S. Attorney General William Barr” (Dec. 3, TribLIVE). Five Pennsylvania Republicans, including John Joyce and Guy Reschenthaler, expressed dismay because Barr is not supporting President Trump’s election fraud conspiracy. Certainly these Republicans know it has been reported that...
Editorial: Food banks filling holiday need
Certain reminders come to us every holiday season. Red kettles and ringing bells at shopping center doors urge us to drop in a few coins to help those in need. A box waits to collect toys for kids who won’t get any otherwise. And perhaps most ubiquitous is the food...
Letter to the editor: Trump lost because of Trump
Well, the Trump supporters brought out the crying towels! I have no doubt these were not used because of children taken from their parents at our southern border; nor were they used because of the nearly 300,000 American deaths from covid-19. They were used because of Trump’s loss to Joe...
John Stossel: Investment con
Want to make money and help the world, too? Wall Street says you can! If you invest in “socially responsible” funds, say big investment funds like BlackRock, Parnassus, TIAA-CREF, etc., then they’ll do good things for the world, and your retirement funds will grow. These funds obsess about what they...
Walter Williams: Costs must be weighed against benefits
Editor’s note: Walter Williams passed away Dec. 2. This is his final column. One of the first lessons in an economics class is every action has a cost. That is in stark contrast to lessons in the political arena, where politicians virtually ignore cost and talk about benefits and free...
Jonah Goldberg: Texas AG’s lawsuit is a shameful display of hypocrisy
I’m angry. I have been defending the Electoral College and the larger Madisonian vision behind it — often called “federalism” — for decades. As a pointed critic of the president, this put me in the awkward position of defending the legitimacy of his presidency — Donald Trump lost the popular...
Letter to the editor: Where were calls for togetherness during Trump’s term?
Regarding Joseph Sabino Mistick’s column “Now it’s time to come back together” (Nov. 15, TribLIVE): In the past four years, every word he has written about President Trump was dripping with hatred. He wouldn’t have given him a break if his life depended on it. Well, what do you know,...
Letter to the editor: Covid vaccine must be people’s vaccine
A safe, effective and accessible covid-19 vaccine can help bring an end to today’s economic and health crisis — so our families are safe, so we can get back to work and live our lives again. But only if everyone has access to it. Despite largely being funded by public...
Lori Falce: The point of giving is handing over your best
The box sat in the entry of the school like something someone had started to fill and then forgotten. It was big — about the size of a refrigerator but half as tall. Inside, it was scattered with various boxes, bags and cans. There were a few brightly colored rectangles...
Letter to the editor: Mueller investigation, impeachment not ‘hoaxes’
In her letter “Republicans don’t need to ‘get over it’ ” (Dec. 3, TribLIVE), Suzanne Wehrli calls the Mueller investigation and impeachment hoaxes, as do many President Trump supporters, who try to justify what Trump is doing now. It is disturbing to me to read this blatant untruth. The Mueller...
Paul Kengor: Truth and the 2020 presidential vote
“Where has the truth gone?” asks my Grove City College colleague Jim Thrasher. “Truth and reality, have they gone away? Most journalists in the media seem to ignore the facts and create and advance myths and fables. They have become propaganda machines.” And yet, notes Thrasher: “God-given truth has not...
Laurels & lances: Corks for a cause, bad behavior over masks
Laurel: To passing along good cheer. While working under pandemic restrictions this year, a lot of people have turned to hobbies and crafts. For 16-year-old Noah Long and his mom, Wendy, of West Deer, one outlet has been turning wine corks into Christmas tree ornaments. There’s so much about this...
Colin McNickle: The continuing case for regular property reassessments
The coronavirus pandemic should be teaching us many things about inappropriate government action. But it also should be teaching us about equally arbitrary and capricious government inaction, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. As the Pittsburgh think tank reminds, the Allegheny County Board of Property...
Letter to the editor: Trump is not ‘dangerous’
President Obama called my president, Donald Trump, “dangerous.” Trump created so many jobs, the unemployment rate was at an all-time low for Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. Dangerous. He got corporations to return to the United States, enabling more manufacturing jobs. What was it Obama said? Manufacturing jobs will never come...
Letter to the editor: Charge electric cars their fair share
Regarding the letter “We must oppose Pa. electric car fee bill” (Dec. 2, TribLIVE): Why not tax electric cars for using the road? If the next president kills the gas and oil industry, there will be no gas tax to fix the roads. Do you think the roads fix themselves?...
