Opinion category, Page 704
Editorial: Give gift of charity this holiday
It doesn’t matter what holiday you are celebrating. Knowing you have more people on your list than you can afford to gift is stressful. Now what if you weren’t looking at just your parents and your kids and your sister and your nieces and nephews and your friend at work?...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland bus proposal
I congratulate the Westmoreland County commissioners on proposing to run their own bus system. This will be at least a two-year journey to save money for the county taxpayers. Two years, to give them a chance to work out the inevitable bugs, since county government has never operated its own...
Letter to the editor: Term limits, impeachment & lobbyists
I thoroughly enjoyed Lori Falce’s column “Term limits are half the story” (Dec. 12, TribLIVE). There are a couple of things she did not include but are, I believe, important. Considering the brevity of term for a representative, how can the House logically be the initiator of impeachment? Secondly: Adapting...
Letter to the editor: Abortion least of evils?
It is apparent to me that letter-writer John Watson believes he is a prophet from God, called upon to deliver his message against abortion (“Wolf’s veto of abortion ban,” Dec. 9, TribLIVE). He seems to think that God has told us that all lives must be preserved. This is written,...
Baruch Stein: A world without American aid to Israel
Several Democratic presidential contenders have discussed cutting aid to Israel if their demands are not met. The latest confrontation in Gaza provides an opportunity to understand what that means. Approximately 450 rockets were fired at Israel between Nov. 12 and 14. More than half landed in open areas between towns....
Steve Bloom: Protect taxpayers to fix ‘brain drain’
It’s a lovely family reunion. Dad and Mom — now Grandpa and Grandma — sit facing their kids, and their kids’ kids, reminiscing about old times and laughing about the trials of parenting. Then, in mid-sentence, Grandpa stutters and freezes — his face replaced by an hourglass on a black...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Don’t mess with the Strip District
It is another wonderful Christmas in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, as thousands of daily shoppers pour into the mecca for ethnic food and sidewalk bargains. Whole families arrive together, as part of their holiday tradition. It should be a time of celebration for the merchants, too, but instead they have been...
Keith Williams: Contracts show fight for teachers’ rights isn’t over
Would you sign a contract you know is unconstitutional? How about one that violates teachers’ rights of free speech and free association? My guess is you wouldn’t. And that you’d be outraged if someone did. Well, that someone is in your backyard. More than 20 Pennsylvania school districts — including...
Sounding off: Impeachment hypnosis
The congressional impeachment hearings are the equivalent of the hypnotist’s shiny watch on a chain — going back and forth, while the not so calming voice of Adam Schiff hums in the background. Always making sure the attention of the wide-eyed, gullible citizenry is drawn away from the disastrous failings...
Editorial: Hanukkah lessons shine through
As darkness falls, lights shine to show the way. It happens every day. The headlights on cars. The streetlights along the road. The neon on a storefront. The light on your front porch that says, “This is home. This is where you belong.” Lights beckon us to come close. They...
Letter to the editor: Our politicians should all be independents
George Washington warned Americans about the evils of political parties and partisan politics in his Farewell Address to Congress. When I ran as a Libertarian candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, I did so because I saw how the two major parties and partisan politics were destroying our country,...
Letter to the editor: Holidays & homeless youth
The holidays are traditionally a time to socialize with family and friends, enjoy food and drinks, and celebrate the possibilities of the new year. However, for the 4.2 million young people who are homeless in the United States each year, the holidays may be challenging. At the National Runaway Safeline...
Letter to the editor: Inflation for Pa. officials vs. Pa. seniors
Seems members of our Pennsylvania Legislature and judges received a 1.9% cost of living adjustment but Social Security recipients only received 1.6%. Is inflation that much higher in Pennsylvania? Or do we have some clever mathematicians on the Pennsylvania payroll? Richard Herd Hempfield...
John Stossel: The case against socialism
Sen. Rand Paul just wrote a book, “The Case Against Socialism.” I thought that case was already decided, since socialist countries failed so spectacularly. But the idea hasn’t died, especially amongst the young. “Hitler’s socialism, Stalin’s socialism, Mao’s socialism. You would think people would have recognized it by now,” Paul...
Walter Williams: Gender battles corrupting our social norms
Here are several questions for biologists and medical professionals: If a person is found to have XY chromosomes (heterogametic sex), does a designation as female on his birth certificate, driver’s license or Social Security card override the chromosomal evidence? Similarly, if a person is found to have XX chromosomes (homogametic)...
Editorial: Giant Eagle’s plastic move challenging
Giant Eagle made a giant move this week, announcing a plan to eliminate single-use plastics by 2025. But is that even possible? Walk through a grocery store any day and see how much plastic you encounter as you wander from aisle to aisle. It’s a lot more than just the...
Letter to the editor: Trump supporters should see writing on wall
Let’s make America great again with help from Russia, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Ukraine. After listening to all of the testimony against President Trump over the past three years, the way I see it is, Trump had Russia interfere with our 2016 election, and now he owes...
Letter to the editor: Businessman Trump best at running country
Whether you like him or not, Donald Trump is our president. He is proving to me that a businessman can run this country better than any politician in spite of all of the resistance from the Democrats, RINOS, never-Trumpers and the Deep State. There were 266,000 jobs added in November...
Letter to the editor: Therapy dogs in order?
Letter-writer Oren Spiegler (“Attack on Yovanovitch cruel,” Nov. 30, TribLIVE) is probably a fine human being, but he really should let go of the impeachment hearings/Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch issue, which seems to have twisted his knickers greatly. In my 25 years with the State Department, I was microwaved by the...
Donald Boudreaux: Talk of global supremacy meaningless
Often in political discourse we encounter statements that initially seem to make sense but that, when examined, turn out to be silly. Here’s a recent example from a Chatham House Royal Institute of International Affairs paper: “The current dispute between the U.S. and China goes far beyond trade tariffs and...
Lori Falce: Impeachment strikes back
It is blockbusting. It is epic. It is the massive story years in the making that closes out the decade. And depending on the reviews you read, it’s a terrible failure or a stunning masterpiece. I might be talking about “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.” I might be talking about...
Laurels & lances: Giving, pleading and delivering
Laurel: To really giving back. For Trafford Borough Council President Kris Cardiff, the idea of giving back to the community is more than lip service. He is actually returning his $600 a year in pay for being a public official. It’s something he says he has been doing for a...
Letter to the editor: Impeachment is cartoonish
The ’toon seemed to begin two days after inauguration with Maxine, the Squad and the pack calling for the impeachment cannon on Road Runner Trump, but the “hidden” episode showed Brennan, Clapper and Comey coyotes used the “Hillary paid for” dossier to try to torpedo the candidate RR. Following “Stormy”...
Letter to the editor: Reparations for abuse are important
In his op-ed “Statute of limitations ‘window’ wrong path for past abuse cases” (Dec. 7, TribLIVE), Rep. Paul Schemel notes that “the growing cost of legal settlements relating to old claims of child sexual abuse by Scout leaders” is causing the Boy Scouts of America to increase its annual dues...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s ‘Crazy Train’
What more can be said about Donald Trump? Well, I can think of a few things. First of all, he promised to withdraw troops from Syria because he doesn’t seem to believe in intervention in other countries. Then he sends them to Iraq. Now he wants to take over Syria’s...
