Opinion category, Page 66
S.E. Cupp: Hegseth ‘reform’ has the Pentagon in shambles
Pete Hegseth came in hot. The tatted-up warhawk who’d spent the past seven years as a “Fox & Friends” weekend host was on nobody’s short list for Defense secretary when incoming President Trump made him his pick to lead the largest organization in the world. His lack of experience running...
John Eckenrode: Closing jails a death sentence for communities
Last month, hundreds of members of Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) descended on Harrisburg to fight for the future of SCI-Rockview, SCI-Quehanna and the community corrections centers (CCC) of Progress and Wernersville — all of which are being targeted for closure by the Shapiro administration. The state Department of...
Staten Rector: Targeting international students puts America’s reputation at risk
Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk was on the way to see her friends when masked ICE agents in plainclothes cornered, handcuffed and forced her into an unmarked vehicle. She is now being detained over 1,500 miles away in Louisiana. Carnegie Mellon University student Jayson Ma had his visa suddenly revoked...
Letter to the editor: Trump is doing what he was elected to do
Regarding the letter “Message to Summer Lee — impeach Trump” (April 19, TribLive): It ain’t gonna happen! Lee’s and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s hatred for America and hypocrisy is clearly evident to me in their calling for “unprecedented unity” (“Gainey, Lee call for ‘unprecedented unity’ in battling Trump administration,” April...
Letter to the editor: Pecarchik deserves vote for register of wills
I don’t know about you, but I prefer to work together with co-workers/supervisors who know the work that needs to be done. Someone with experience, who knows every job and can jump in and help whenever needed. That person is Katie Pecarchik, running for register of wills in the May...
Lori Falce: Want women to have kids? Value motherhood more
If the Trump administration wants to encourage women to increase the birthrate in America, there are ways to do it. We could create a culture that values women’s decisions to have a family. That might be what proposals being bandied about are intended to do. A $5,000 cash bonus to...
Laurels & lances: AI and air
Laurel: To new technology. Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence and its impact on various industries. We know it can help write letters for offices and chat with customers on a website. It can help personalize marketing materials, automate manufacturing and protect information. But it also can help in public...
Letter to the editor: What Trump has done in 3 months
Attacking universities. Defying court orders. Extorting law firms. Threatening the free press. Telling you how you should think. Threatening your well-being and health. Destroying our standing and trust in the world. Cozying up to other known world leader authoritarian dictators. Threatening to take over other peaceful nations (our allies!). Asserting...
Paul Kengor: The pope of surprises
A popular expression of Pope Francis was his phrase “the God of surprises.” That phrase was often turned against Francis by critics. He was notorious for grabbing a microphone on an airplane and sloppily saying something off the cuff to reporters that seemed to instantly threaten two millennia of church...
Steve Catanese: It’s time to recognize 911 workers for what they are — first responders
What’s the first thing we do in an emergency? Dial 911. The very first person you speak to typically works long, irregular hours. Your call may be about a cat stuck in a tree or a downed power line. It could be for a life-endangering accident or even a shooting....
Erika Strassburger: Pa. must lead on renewable energy
With the potential repeal of clean energy tax credits looming in Congress and crucial decisions about our power grid’s future hanging in the balance in the next few months, Pennsylvania stands at a crossroads. Our choices today will determine not just the cost of powering our homes, but also the...
Letter to the editor: Cartoon misleads on ICE actions
Yet another misleading editorial cartoon in the Trib on April 18. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is going after illegals in our country. What is it about criminals that makes some, like Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, demand that we keep them here? William R. Iski Penn...
Letter to the editor: Wishful thinking on term limits
You editorial “Term limits return power to people” (April 11, TribLive) is a wonderful idea, but … impracticable. For what reason do the politicians have for giving back any power they possess? Look at their track record over the past 50 years of governing on behalf of we the people....
Letter to the editor: Stand up against tariff madness
Tariffs are paid by importers to the U.S. government. The U.S. government keeps the money. The price of goods sold will go up to cover this government levy. U.S. citizens will then pay higher prices on any and every item that has been tariffed. The U.S. government is setting you...
Letter to the editor: Protecting the least among us, and ourselves
Regarding recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions: This is kidnapping and in another time, in the USA, the perpetrators would be jailed, not the person being abducted. Immigration and visa violations are civil, not criminal, matters. ICE detention, according to its own guidelines, should be “non-punitive” (not intended as...
Editorial: Less participation in local government is a lost opportunity
Pennsylvania has 67 counties, 500 school districts and 2,560 municipalities. With each step down that ladder, there are more and more opportunities for people to step up and participate in their government. There are commissioners, controllers, registers and clerks at the county level. There are directors for school boards. There...
Goldberg: Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia a criminal? Great question.
Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia a good person? I don’t know. In 2021 his wife petitioned for, and received, an order of protection against him after she alleged domestic violence; she said last week that their marriage grew stronger after they worked through that low point and that Abrego Garcia “has...
Keith G. Kondrich: Today’s ‘traitors’ in good company
If it is treason to criticize U.S. health care policies based on pseudo-scientific half-truths and conspiracy theories promulgated by a charlatan, then I am a traitor and should be deported immediately to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. If it is treason to criticize the gutting of critical services...
Letter to the editor: Let’s be classy and support our Pirates
The chants of “sell the team” this past weekend at the Pirates games at PNC Park were disgraceful. Sure, the decisions of Bob Nutting over the years of trading or hiring players grates on many fans. But while players are trying to win ballgames, this kind of noise — “sell...
Letter to the editor: Norwin board’s stadium vote irresponsible
We attended the contentious Norwin School Board meeting April 14 and were very disappointed in the vote to spend $25 million on a stadium, press box and other enhancements. This extravagance will add more to Norwin’s $100 million debt. How will you/we ever pay that debt back servicing $1 million...
Editorial: Delay in announcing Penn State campus closures will impact student choices
Penn State is making decisions about which of 12 Commonwealth Campuses the university might close. The decision has been dangled since February. President Neeli Bendapudi announced then that she had a team compiling recommendations. The university has its flagship campus at University Park and 19 branches scattered across the state....
Letter to the editor: Trump administration’s cruelty
I suggest now is the time to stop the irresponsible, vindictive and basically cruel behaviors of this current administration. In my opinion, they are not working for seniors, women, legal immigrants, working poor, people of color, government workers, veterans or middle-class citizens. You know, just us regular old taxpaying citizens....
Letter to the editor: Tariffs will restore middle class
Donald Trump is our first president to have both publicly acknowledged the international trading system has badly failed America and has the insight and courage to pursue corrective policies. The failed policies over the last 30 years or so have produced middle class economic decline driven by hollowing out communities...
Kimberlee Josephson: The hidden costs of IRS Direct File for Pennsylvanians
Tax season just came and went, but one Pennsylvania congressman appears worried that thousands of commonwealth residents may have overpaid. Republican Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Kelly, chairman of the House of Representatives’ tax subcommittee, has been sounding the alarm about the IRS’s new Direct File program, a government-run tax filing tool....
Thomas C. Willcox: Don’t blame AI for Pa.’s high rent
Pennsylvanians might be more politically divided than ever before, but there’s one thing they can all agree on: the rent is too darn high. In the commonwealth, rents are expected to jump by more than 6% in 2025, well above the national average of 4.8%. This lack of affordability has...
