Opinion category, Page 691
Letter to the editor: Supreme Court’s peril
In response to Kathleen Bollinger’s letter “Supreme Court in peril”: I have to agree it is in peril. It is in peril because the Supreme Court lost its credibility due to the court packing done by Sen. Mitch McConnell starting in 2016. After Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13,...
Letter to the editor: We’ll never have a fair accounting of Trump’s actions
I read Bob McBride’s letter “Trump haters should be mindful of facts” (Jan. 18, TribLIVE) and had to smile. His claim of only hearsay, assumptions and accusations would be laughable if a fair hearing of facts were permitted. But because President Trump barred most eyewitnesses from testifying at congressional hearings,...
Tom Purcell: How to renew dying art of romance? Ask our elders
The day my mother and father met, he was arguing with some high school friends about whether a slice of lemon would corrode the coating on a porcelain sink. “I never came across any man quite like your father,” my mother says, still happily befuddled by the stubborn old fellow....
Jonah Goldberg: Iowa’s big bungle & dismantling of political parties
One of my favorite running jokes on the internet is, “You had one job.” It’s a staple of Twitter and YouTube, with images of signs reading, “Turn Left” with an arrow pointing right, or supermarket shelves demarcating where you can buy “Poop Tarts.” Well, the Iowa Democratic Party rolled out...
Editorial: Retire in Pittsburgh with $1 million?
Sometimes it isn’t how much money you’ve got. It’s how you’re going to spend it. Last week, SmartAsset released its third annual study showing how long a $1 million retirement nest egg would last in various U.S. cities. In Pittsburgh, you can stretch that pot of money to cover 23.14...
Letter to the editor: Sen. Pat Toomey’s cowardice
So Sen. Pat Toomey has admitted that his vote for acquittal was largely due to fear of “societal upheaval” if the president was convicted and removed from office. I hoped never to see the day when our leaders voted based on intimidation. That hope is now dashed, as the cowardice...
Letter to the editor: Hatred & the privilege of voting
Regarding Edward A. Svitek’s letter “Trump & hatred” (Feb. 3, TribLIVE): I find it hard to read such hatred spewed against one man who happens to be our standing president. Elections come and go, and as Americans, our privilege is to vote. I would encourage you to do whatever you...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 10
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 10....
Letter to the editor: Buyer’s remorse on Trump
I’m finally hearing from Trump supporters who express buyer’s remorse on their vote in 2016. Really! Trump made his ideas clear in the pathetic preelection rally stops. Constant name calling of those who disagreed with him. Encouraged violence at rallies when he said about a protester, “Try not to hurt...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 10
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 10....
Rob Shearer: Pot push lives in labor la-la-land
While Lt. Gov. John Fetterman crusades on legalizing recreational marijuana, one poll released last fall suggests Pennsylvanians may not be eager to jump on the bandwagon. They’re right to be cautious. Lost amid the legalization hullabaloo is the chaos unfettered pot will wreak on labor practices, workplace litigation, employer liability,...
S.E. Cupp: The America of Trump’s State of the Union
Allow me to take you back. The year is 1957 and “Leave it to Beaver” debuts in black and white on CBS. The earnest and playful family comedy offers up solvable moral dilemmas and a heaping spoonful of unvarnished optimism in the American dream for six years and remains for...
Editorial: Pick up after yourself, Pennsylvania
At home, if you don’t like how much your monthly bills are, you can cut back. Eat out less. Switch phone plans. Shut off unneeded lights and close the front door because, as parents say, you don’t have to heat the whole outdoors! But when it comes to taxes, that’s...
Letter to the editor: Chief Justice John Roberts’ legacy
Now that the trial of President Trump is over, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the rest of us can consider his legacy. The Constitution provides for a “trial” and “judge ” of the impeachment proceedings. We all know that endemic to the notion of a trial are...
Letter to the editor: Who is Mitt Romney?
Mitt Romney. What is he? Is he a conservative? Is he a RINO? Is he a liberal in disguise? What I do know about a person like him is that he is a lowlife, and that is why he did not even get close to becoming president. His identity was...
Letter to the editor: Nancy Pelosi’s act shows her character
We have had presidential candidates for whom I did not vote and some whom I do not respect much, but how rude was it for one of our high leaders to deliberately tear up President Trump’s speech in multiple sections behind the back of the president of the United States...
Letter to the editor: Common sense is biggest loser in impeachment
Near the beginning of President Trump’s impeachment trial, one of the House managers suggested that senators shouldn’t leave their common sense at the door. That message fell on the deaf ears of most Republicans. Common sense would have dictated that jurors hear witnesses and see documents. Common sense would have...
Susan Stuart: CORE sets record year for saving, healing lives
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education’s mission is to save and heal lives through organ, tissue and cornea donation. This mission guides CORE’s every step, every initiative and every interaction. And it was the driving force behind a record-breaking year in 2019 for donation in Western Pennsylvania and West...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Michael Bloomberg could have Trump on the ropes
“Hit him in the labonza!” As we gathered around the tiny black-and-white television for the “Friday Night Fights” in the 1950s, Pap and the uncles shouted at the smaller boxers to go inside and work the bellies of their much bigger opponents. Body punches — focused, repeated, unrelenting — take...
Jonah Goldberg: Age of impeachment & death of shame
As the impeachment trial fizzled out, I’m left wondering if the GOP has lost its mind, because the only other choice is that I have. I’m not referring to the Republican senators’ collective decision not to remove the president from office. I’ve always argued that this was a question reasonable...
Lou Weiss: Put me in, Queen, I’m ready to play
Dear Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, My mother has long threatened to disinherit me if I continue to vote Republican. You also have recent experience with noncompliant family members. I think that for a lad in my difficult circumstances, I see a way to satisfy both my mother and you. Now...
Editorial: Religion, speech free of fear
Sometimes it is the fear of something that causes more problems than the “something” itself. Anticipating a needle can be worse than the quick sting of a shot. And so it can be with prayer in schools. The First Amendment’s protections of religious freedom and the constitutional separation of church...
Sounding off: CTE is real, and it kills
Regarding John Steigerwald’s insensible and disheartening piece on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“It might be time to show skepticism about CTE research.”): To date, we have come to realize that 1) the world is not flat, 2) asbestos is bad, 3) cigarettes cause cancer and 4) lead will poison you. Humanity...
Letter to the editor: Thank an old vet for your freedom
If you like your freedom, thank an old man or woman — who served in the Marines, Air Force, Army, Navy, Merchant Marines or Coast Guard. If not, leave the country. Edward C. Shoemaker Hempfield The writer is a World War II Navy veteran....
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland’s dire budget situation
I was alarmed by the article about Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli’s square off with County Controller Jeffrey Balzer (“Westmoreland controller calls for bigger county tax increase,” Jan. 28, TribLIVE). Our county had to use $5.5 million from its surplus fund to balance this year’s budget, leaving only a projected...
