Opinion category, Page 592
Editorial: The election’s over, and unfinished business beckons locally
Guess what? Not everything is about the election. It’s true. There are still things happening in the world that have nothing to do with who won the presidency — or attorney general or auditor or treasurer or one of the legislative seats. And maybe one of the best things about...
Letter to the editor: We should commend, not criticize, our teachers
I want to commend all teachers who have stepped up and adjusted their curriculum to provide their students with the best possible education during this pandemic. To members of the community who think teachers are working less and to disgruntled school board directors, please walk in their shoes. Teachers and...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 9
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Nov. 9....
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 9
Editorial cartoons for the week of Nov. 9....
Jim Nowlan: Election reveals there is space for a third political party
If the 2020 presidential election tells us anything, it’s that there appears to be space for a major new political party. Exceptions abound, but generally speaking, minorities and urban liberal white voters are comfortable with the Democratic Party. Rural voters are simpatico with Donald Trump’s brand of Republicanism. That leaves...
Robert T. Smith: The demise of Pa. wildlife management
Irreconcilable differences have existed for some time between Pennsylvania’s hunters and the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC). Due to socioeconomic conditions around the early to mid-1900s, there existed for a time a unique habitat situation (e.g., re-growth of logged areas, abandonment of small farms, etc.) that led to an abundance of...
Letter to the editor: We use ‘hatred’ too easily
If I read the word “hatred” one more time to describe a reaction to President Trump, I’ll scream! Admittedly, the media and critics have often been biased in their comments on him. However, using such an intense word to describe almost any disagreement in viewpoint is rampant and reflects a...
Letter to the editor: Won’t be listening to politicians’ holiday advice
Regarding Dr. Rachel Levine’s holiday advice (“Pa. health secretary urges that gatherings be limited to households”): Limit holiday gatherings to those within your own home? Will you be avoiding your elderly mother this holiday season, Dr. Levine? I will never forgive myself for following your advice this Easter. Many of...
Letter to the editor: Finding energy solutions that work
The birthplace of America’s oil industry was Titusville in 1859. Today, Pennsylvania is again an energy powerhouse as the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale basins. We have the primary building block of all successful economies — abundant and inexpensive energy. We have a...
Letter to the editor: Gaslighting America
Postmodern theory, the concept that nothing is verifiably true, simply doesn’t work for everyone. For many, truths of religion and science still undergird their worldview. Today’s progressive ideology seeks to reshape all belief systems to fit its cultural vision. This deconstructionist exercise is occurring in part through psychological manipulation known...
Editorial: Pennsylvanians, a keystone in this election, can continue to lead the way
When big things happen in the world, the job of hometown papers is often to find a way to connect it to the local community. The 2020 election turned that on its head. The battle for the presidency may have been a national story, but that was in large part...
Javier Miyares and Jim Rosapepe: Virtual learning was better option for some even before pandemic
As educators are well into the school year, the national debate about the efficacy of online learning continues. Now, though, the stakes are higher. As the economy emerges from the current health crisis, an educated and motivated workforce will be needed to fuel its recovery. Education is not one-size-fits-all, and...
Raghu Sangwan: Analyses offer look into voters’ minds
As Americans went to bed Tuesday night, many wondered if they would wake up to a new president, much like they did four years ago. But by 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, CNN’s Don Lemon put it best: “If anyone tells you they know, they don’t.” At that time several so-called...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Pennsylvania perfect site for election battle
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision,” Abraham Lincoln said. That simple principle has been tested before and may be again. This time, the stakes could not be higher, for both the nation and the highest court in the land. By all appearances, it seems like we hold one...
Sounding off: Schools should stay open
Everyone is familiar with the joke about the drunk looking for his keys under the streetlight, because that is where the light is best, even though he dropped his keys elsewhere. I feel there is something similar going on with the notion that closing schools will somehow affect the spread...
Letter to the editor: Mall walkers seek earlier hours during cold weather
The mall walkers who have been walking at Pittsburgh Mills for years would like to see the mall open a littler earlier in these colder months. It is such a wonderful, well-maintained mall where we all have made such great friendships. Florence Henderson Fox Chapel...
Letter to the editor: Triumph, tragedy, Trump and Biden
As we led up to the election Tuesday, we all “worried and wondered” what it would be, triumph or tragedy? For those who wanted President Trump to win, they saw a win for Joe Biden as a tragedy and vice versa. Voters saw a vast difference between what the two...
Letter to the editor: Pipeline safety is in the spotlight
A recent series by Spotlight PA detailed pipeline safety in the commonwealth through the eyes of the statewide Mariner East pipeline system, which cuts through this region (“Along Mariner East pipelines, secrecy and a patchwork of emergency plans leave many at risk and in the dark”). So often with this...
Editorial: Toomey and Santorum are right about voting
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is the kind of Republican that needs to be heard right now. Toomey has been a reliably conservative Republican his entire political life. He has advocated for the Constitution and hewn close to the party’s bones when it comes to foreign policy, small government and fiscal...
Walter Williams: Blacks of yesteryear and today
I was a teenager, growing up in the Richard Allen housing project of North Philadelphia, when Emmett Till was lynched in Money, Miss., on Aug. 28, 1955, and his brutalized, unrecognizable body later recovered from the Tallahatchie River. From 1882-1968, 4,743 lynchings occurred in the United States. Roughly 73%, or...
Chad Forcey: Community solar offers bright spot of revenue opportunity
With Pennsylvania staring down a pandemic- induced $4.5 billion budget deficit, and just a few short weeks before our current budget expires on Nov. 30, the commonwealth is short on options. Without new revenues, Harrisburg lawmakers will need to enact painful cuts that will make our covid-19 recovery longer and...
Letter to the editor: Why the media can’t be believed
In a recent news clip about protesters, a reporter said at 2 a.m. that “the protesters were out but not as many as earlier in the day.” After watching them smash windows, take items and run, he said, “It looks like the protesters are going to have a long night.”...
Letter to the editor: IUP’s changes will hurt students
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has announced plans to restructure academic programs. Part of the plan is to eliminate 128 faculty positions, nearly one-quarter of current faculty. Eighty-one faculty members were notified last week that their jobs would be eliminated (“Indiana University of Pennsylvania notifies 81 faculty members of pending job...
Lori Falce: The virtual voodoo of political polls
So when do we decide polling is just the 21st-century version of witchcraft? Regardless of what happens with the ballots and counts and final tallies of the 2020 general election, one thing is clear. The way it ended up doesn’t look that much like what the predictions were. There were...
Letter to the editor: Enough is enough with political ads
I’m so glad that this election is over. I’m fed up with getting at least five political ads a day in the mail — wish I could put “return to sender” and mail them all back, plus the annoying phone calls and TV ads. Enough is enough. Keith J. Piecka...
