Opinion category, Page 642
Letter to the editor: Situation dire for Pa.’s unemployed
Thousands of tax-paying Pennsylvania workers have not received one cent of unemployment compensation due to them since March. Others have received just a few checks, while others have not received the additional weekly $600 from the feds. Is anyone addressing this dire situation? A $1,200 stimulus check is supposed to...
Letter to the editor: Gov. Wolf courageous in covid-19 battle
Each day 600-700 Americans die of covid-19. It is a little hard to wrap your head around that large a number of deaths. And still our federal government has no strategy to protect us. Their callousness is difficult to comprehend. The health professionals tell us this virus will be with...
Letter to the editor: Looting, defunding, protesting, dividing
Why we should not loot, burn and vandalize businesses: I have owned and operated a small business for 40 years. I have invested many long hours and years of hard work to provide for my family and employees. It matters because small business is the backbone of our economy. Why...
Letter to the editor: Nursing home problems not new
It is amazing to me each time I read that a politician is talking about changes that need to be done in nursing homes. They talk about getting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services involved in investigations especially due to the covid-19 virus situation. I’ve been wondering where these...
Letter to the editor: Can’t be ‘pro-life’ and not oppose execution
As an ordained Roman Catholic deacon, serving as a chaplain to our incarcerated sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, I most strongly urge Attorney General William Barr to immediately halt plans for the federal executions of Daniel Lee (July 13), Wesley Purkey (July 15), Dustin Honken (July 17)...
Letter to the editor: Give Jo Jorgensen consideration for president
Finally! I submit that we’ve had no truly presidential presidents for the past four administrations — two Democrats and two Republicans. Yes, we’ve had a whirlwind of hot air, but where are the men and women of stature in our political pantheon? How did we let Condoleezza Rice slip away?...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Ulysses S. Grant, American champion
This is a good time to talk about Ulysses S. Grant. As president of the United States and commanding general of the Union Army before that, Grant fought for freedom and equality and the end of slavery, giving it his all. That is why it was hard to understand, really...
Naiymah Sanchez and Mary Catherine Roper: What’s next in struggle to end LGBQ&T discrimination?
It is, finally, illegal to fire or refuse to hire someone because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or transgender, thanks to a June 15 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court affirmed what the ACLU has said for years. Discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation...
Victor Davis Hanson: 2020 election will be a contest of the angry
The old 2020 election was supposed to be about many familiar issues. It is not any more. Up until now, the candidates themselves would supposedly be the story in November. The left had cited Donald Trump’s tweets and erratic firings as windows into his dark soul. The right had replied...
Editorial: Food banks need your help
Getting back to normal doesn’t mean being back to normal. Being there is a goal. Getting there is a process. There may be no better example of that than food banks. During earlier days of the coronavirus pandemic, nonprofits that provided nutritional assistance were overwhelmed as some people were thrown...
Sounding off: Is our justice system racist?
The death of George Floyd brought this country as close to agreement as it will ever come on any issue. Then the race-baiters did what they do, and the mob took their cue. Remarkably, as of this writing, no evidence has been made public which would indicate the murder was...
Letter to the editor: Seeking financial disclosure on Franklin Regional’s Sloan campus
Beginning in May 2017, when the Franklin Regional School Board decided to build an elementary education campus, residents asked for a cash flow plan to prove that we could meet our financial and academic obligations. This request has been denied through June 1, 2020. New bonds for the Sloan campus...
Letter to the editor: Our leaders must speak out on racism
The letter “Kim Ward’s protest warning a disservice” (June 7, TribLIVE) called out state Sen. Kim Ward for suggesting that there would be violence at the Greensburg rally for George Floyd. Her words not only created an unfounded fear of a peaceful protest, but also demonstrated a real lack of...
Letter to the editor: Peoples position is Mike Turzai’s reward
Regarding the article “Former Speaker Mike Turzai starts as Peoples’ general counsel” (June 16, TribLIVE): While in the state Legislature, Turzai facilitated tax breaks for the energy industry. The tax money that he gave away was desperately needed for Pennsylvania infrastructure. After Turzai gave a sweetheart deal to the companies,...
Editorial: With fireworks fever running high, find the right social distance
Every year, as July comes into view, one thing starts popping up everywhere. Fireworks. Sparklers and firecrackers, smoke bombs and crackling fountains. Big and small, fireworks stands are to Independence Day what tree lots are to Christmas. They serve as both harbingers and centerpieces. But this year? Things are a...
Walter Williams: Insults to Black history
Many whites are ashamed, saddened and feel guilty about our history of slavery, Jim Crow and gross racial discrimination. Many Black people remain angry over the injustices of the past and what they see as injustices of the present. Both Blacks and whites can benefit from a better appreciation of...
John Stossel: Censoring our right to speak freely
Do you say what you think? That’s risky! You may get fired! You’ve probably heard about a New York Times editor resigning after approving an opinion piece by Sen. Tom Cotton that suggested the military should step in to end riots. Many Times reporters tweeted out the same alarmist wording,...
Letter to the editor: Masks are key to stopping covid-19 spread
The covid-19 pandemic has ravaged countries throughout the world, yet has become a political debate within our divided country. What infringements on our personal liberties are acceptable to protect the health of our society? Should we allow our country’s economy to collapse to save lives? The political party that you...
Matthew Brouillette: From political science to affective science
In April, Pennsylvanians got a lesson in “believing the science”— the political science, that is — driving Gov. Tom Wolf’s response to covid-19. From refusing to release data behind his shutdown order to ignoring requests for transparency on his business waiver process to closing Open Records offices to failing to...
Letter to the editor: Trump divine providence?
Was it divine providence that brought together, at the same place, at the same time in history, the Founding Fathers who gave us our great nation? I think so. Was it divine providence that gave us President Lincoln, the one who saved the nation when civil war threatened to tear...
Letter to the editor: Censorship and respect
No matter who you support politically, if we’re going to accuse one side of the political spectrum of spreading the virus for having a rally, or a peaceful protest, we’re censoring freedom of speech. We may not all agree on everything, but that is the beauty of this country, and...
Letter to the editor: Military leaders condemning Trump
Although those in military service must obey the (lawful) orders of their chain of command to include the president, they are not required to be loyal to the president. Their sworn oath is to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” I can understand why scores of retired...
Paul Kengor: Welcome back to normal
Looking back at my recent columns, I was taken aback at how many were about the pandemic that has controlled our lives since March. I’m not alone. This has been an ongoing focus and agony, as has the question for everyone: When will we get back to normal? That question...
Lori Falce: Adoption should be happily ever after
There is more than one way to create a family. None of them are easy. When I was little, I had a fairy-tale understanding of adoption. A woodcarver wanted a son so he carved Pinocchio. A swan egg ended up in a nest of ducklings. These things just happen. But...
Jonah Goldberg: Would we be better off with a President Pence in these turbulent times?
What would a President Pence do? It’s a question no one is asking, so I guess it falls to me. In January 2020 it was almost as if God, the universe or our Lizard People overlords were giving the Republicans one last chance to separate their fate from Trump’s. The...
