Opinion category, Page 597
Letter to the editor: Election choice — none of the above
As a consistently registered independent since 1967, it is extremely disheartening to witness how we have permitted the deterioration of our government and legal system. This is, arguably, one of the lowest periods in our country’s development: deceit, lies, fraud, illegal actions, etc. All talk show hosts and radio/ TV...
Letter to the editor: What the Republican Party believes
Apparently, the Republican Party: • Detests democracy, for in states where it controls the legislature (including Pennsylvania), it is considering voiding allocation of Electoral College votes according to the popular vote so instead to disenfranchise voters so that the legislature alone can select electors (as reported by Barton Gellman in...
Letter to the editor: Fettermans set good example
I was so sad to read of our lieutenant govenor’s wife, Gisele Fetterman, being verbally accosted while merely shopping (Oct. 12, TribLIVE). No one should be treated that badly. We in the Pittsburgh area especially appreciate how she and her husband John have worked hard to help those in need....
Letter to the editor: Where are the adults?
Peter, Paul & Mary had a hit with “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” in 1962. Today a new hit song might be “Where Have All the Adults Gone?” I have exercised my right to vote since I was 18. I knew the date of the election and voted, and...
Letter to the editor: Let’s talk politics
Don’t they say “never talk about religion or politics”? That adage has been around since before our Civil War, but shouldn’t it rather be the reverse ― that we should talk about politics? This has been a busy season for talking about all those things that go along with governing...
Editorial: Restaurant industry deserves real help from the state
Gov. Tom Wolf tried to give a gift to Pennsylvania bars and restaurants that serve alcohol last week. In a Thursday announcement held at LeMont Restaurant on Mt. Washington, the governor proposed giving the businesses — many of which have faced struggles because of the social distancing and restrictions during...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Defending our right to vote
In our history, the mix of guns and voting has only been associated with the goal of suppressing the votes of certain Americans. In the 1850s, the Know-Nothing Party, nativists who resented the Catholic immigrant population in Baltimore, used election violence to move the state’s electoral votes to Millard Fillmore....
Sounding off: Trump is easy to dislike
“I never met a man I didn’t like.” — Will Rogers Born in Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma), part Cherokee, the former cowpoke and humorist died in a plane crash in 1935; thus he never met Donald Trump. Trump is easy to dislike, and had the two met, I’m...
Letter to the editor: Wordsmithing, religion and abortion
When the Trib reprints articles from the Associated Press, I often have noticed what I see as implicit bias and slanted wording when comparing President Trump and Joe Biden. For example, the article “Trump, Biden go on offense in states they’re trying to flip” (Oct. 18, TribLIVE) begins “Trump began...
Letter to the editor: Trump failed to protect inner circle, and Americans
The primary responsibility of the president of the United States is to protect the country and its citizens. In the week and a half following the Sept. 26 Supreme Court nomination event for Amy Coney Barrett held in the White House Rose Garden, many within the inner circle of President...
Letter to the editor: Questions about Pa. covid-19 rates
Using Pennsylvania Department of Health data, the covid-19 death rate is around 120 per 100,000 residents in Pennsylvania’s southeast counties. That is nearly four times the rate of 33 in Allegheny County. Westmoreland County at 23 is nearly five times less, and the McKean/Potter/Warren area, with about 4 per 100,000,...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s expensive plans
Joe Biden’s proposed spending is estimated to cost an additional $5.4 trillion. It includes two years of free community college, college loan forgiveness, and $1.6 trillion for infrastructure and research and development for clean energy. According to Wharton’s analysis of Biden’s tax plan, it will cover only $3.4 trillion of...
Letter to the editor: Message to Trump on energy in Pa.
Dear President Trump: The residents of Pennsylvania recognize your recent repeated visits to our state for what they are: a last-ditch attempt to use energy issues to sow division among us for your own election. Betting our economic future on petrochemicals and production of plastics would send us back to...
John Stossel: Betting on the chances of Trump, Biden
Donald Trump probably will lose the election. As I write, The Economist says he has only an 8% chance of winning. Nate Silver’s FiveThirty Eight, which came closest to predicting Trump’s win in 2016 and has the best track record among modelers, gives Trump just a 12% chance. But people who...
Walter Williams: Disgusting professorial teachings
The ugliness that we have recently witnessed including rioting, billions of dollars of property destruction, assaults, murders and grossly stupid claims about our nation has its origins on college campuses. Two websites, Campus Reform and The College Fix, report on the despicable teachings on college campuses across the nation. Let...
Kim Anderson: Reducing methane is morally right
“Honey, should we fix the natural gas leaks in our home?” “No, sweetheart, we just won’t light any matches and put up signs saying, NO SMOKING ALLOWED.” Does this conversation between spouses sound like a responsible course of action? This is exactly the course of action that our commonwealth has...
Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Scott Hutchinson: Could a 20-year state contract sink efforts to close Pennsylvania’s digital divide?
In 2019, the commonwealth entered into a 20-year contract with an Ohio-based company to help expand access to broadband in underserved areas of Pennsylvania. Although this contract was originally billed as a way to help deploy high-speed internet throughout the state, it now appears that this contract is more of...
Letter to the editor: U.S. and state constitutions are clear on election laws
As per the Supreme Court in Ex parte Milligan and American Jurisprudence 2d, Volume 16, the U.S. Constitution is in full force at all times — even during health scares. The Pennsylvania Constitution mandates: “No power of suspending laws shall be exercised unless by the Legislature or by its authority.”...
Letter to the editor: Happy memories of Maz and Pirates
I commend you for featuring the famous Bill Mazeroski photo on the 60th anniversary of the Pirates’ fabulous win over the Yankees (“60 years later, 1960 Pirates legends recall ‘amazing’ home run that won World Series,” Oct. 10, TribLIVE). I grew up in the small Clearfield County town of Curwensville....
Letter to the editor: We can put an end to Trump virus Nov. 3
Talk about being fed Kool-Aid. President Trump has been feeding it to the American citizens about the coronavirus. His downplaying of the pandemic, revealed through Bob Woodward’s interviews, says it all. Trump misled the country and failed to protect American citizens, and I hold him responsible for many thousands of...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s opponents media, big tech
Negative press coverage of President Trump, a Christian, began before he took the oath of office and has only worsened. According to analysts at the Media Research Center, coverage of Trump on major broadcast networks is 95% negative. I can only say that God has to be on his side....
Lori Falce: Polls, elections and fantasy football
Polls seem like the worst measure of politics. Randomly questioning people to see how they feel about issues and how they feel about candidates, how they would vote and if they are likely to do so. They are a hodgepodge of numbers that puff themselves up and try hard to...
Laurels & lances: Talk, ticks, signs and sweets
Laurel: To expanding reach. KDKA Radio has been one of the voices of Pittsburgh longer than most people can remember — even if they were alive back when the Harding/Cox presidential election returns were broadcast in 1920. But after 100 years on the AM dial, KDKA is finally making the...
Jonah Goldberg: Liberals panicking over possibility of a 2016 repeat
The 2016 election lives loudly in everybody right now. On the Trumpian right, “the polls were wrong before” isn’t merely an observation, it’s a catechism. And on the anti-Trumpian left, it’s a constant source of anxiety bordering on panic. It’s making a lot of folks a little crazy. My friend...
Letter to the editor: 2 ways to see Trump’s town hall performance
During the NBC Town Hall on Oct. 15, I saw President Trump do a great job answering questions from a combative Savannah Guthrie. She constantly interrupted him, argued with him and questioned him as if she were a Democratic rival. He was polite and engaging. After reading the Trib’s front-page...
