Opinion category, Page 716
Paul Kengor: Our vanishing World War II veterans
On Tuesday I picked up my kids from church youth group. “Dad, we had an amazing experience,” said my oldest daughter. “We went to a nursing home. We met two people who were almost 100 years old. They lived through World War II!” It was a nice experience for them....
Lori Falce: The politics of parties
Everyone loves a party, right? Not true. Sure, a party can be a lot of fun, if you are meeting new people, eating good food, listening to great music. A party can also be really stressful. It can feel like an obligation. It can make you tense and uncomfortable and...
Laurels & lances: Moving on, monuments and memorials
Laurel: To change when it needs to happen. The Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Department has had a rocky couple of years as it faced problems from the top-down. Sheriff Jonathan Held’s public corruption charges continue to hang in limbo after a December 2018 mistrial and subsequent appeals over a retrial. Other...
Carla Balakgie: Before Thanksgiving, vending industry commits to ‘better’ choices
With Thanksgiving just a fortnight away, tables across America will soon be teeming with turkey and all the trimmings — and the potential for Americans to overindulge. At the same time, millions of those same people are trying to be more mindful about their overall nutrition, including snacking. In fact,...
Letter to the editor: Remembering Oak Lake Golf Course
I wanted to add to Mary Ann Thomas’ article on the closure and sale of Oak Lake (“Auction at Oak Lake Golf Course in Upper Burrell draws hundreds,” Oct. 26, TribLIVE). The original 9-hole course was designed and built by brothers Bert and Judd Dunbar of Lower Burrell, along with...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s Syria decision
In his op-ed “In betrayal of Kurds, Trump was winging it — again” (Oct. 21, TribLIVE), Jonah Goldberg writes about his displeasure with President Trump pulling troops from Syria. He explains that on three other occasions, Trump’s predecessors had taken advice or out and out followed the advice of government...
Letter to the editor: Wind turbines kill birds
I’m glad someone finally published something about missing birds (“Missing: Nearly 3 billion birds that used to live in North America,” Sept. 19, TribLIVE). If you do your research, you will discover that wind turbines kill a year roughly 500,000 birds each year. It’s estimated that 900,000 bats are also...
Benjamin Allison: Killing Baghdadi not defeat of ISIS
On the night of Oct. 26-27, the caliph (commander) of the Islamic State (ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, died in a U.S. raid on his compound in Idlib, Syria. The leader of the deadliest terrorist group in history is dead. Now what? For months, experts have warned against the notion that...
Editorial: The toll of a cashless turnpike
Some things in life are inevitable. There’s death, obviously. Taxes, of course. And apparently there is also cashless tolling. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says that the state is just two years away from complete conversion to a system that demands you use an E-ZPass transponder or receive a bill via...
Ron Klink: Nancy Pelosi’s drug plan misses the mark
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has proposed one of the most ambitious health care reforms since the Affordable Care Act. She hopes her plan, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, will reduce the “out of control” prices that are “crushing Americans at the pharmacy counter.” I served four terms in Congress...
Letter to the editor: JCC support of Planned Parenthood
JCC & Planned Parenthood The Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh will host a Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania fundraiser Nov. 9 titled “Drag Bingo In Support of PPWP.” That the family-friendly JCC will host a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood is indicative of a general misunderstanding in the Jewish community about...
Letter to the editor: Facts are clear on climate change
Regarding the letter “Stick with evidence on climate change” (Oct. 28, TribLIVE), I wish writer Allen Clark had done so. As many as 99% of climate scientists are in agreement that human-caused warming is occurring (easily Googled), and if that isn’t enough for you, just look at the incontrovertible facts....
Letter to the editor: What’s so impeachable about Trump?
So what has President Trump done that’s so impeachable? His economic policies have made our economy great again. He’s been called the most pro-life president ever. He’s tried to protect our country from illegal immigration. And just recently, he eliminated a serious terrorist threat. Amongst other things, what has he...
Pat Buchanan: The day Nixon routed the establishment
What are the roots of our present disorder, of the hostilities and hatreds that so divide us? When did we become this us vs. them nation? Many trace the roots of our uncivil social conflict to the 1960s and the Johnson years when LBJ, victorious in a 61% landslide in...
Joel Pfeffer: ‘Public charge’ proposal could thwart hopes & dreams
Before Ellis Island was a museum that hosted tourists and middle-school field trips, it was a gateway to America for thousands upon thousands of hopeful immigrants — and the site of intense question-and-answer sessions. These early 1900s interviews included some fairly straightforward questions: What country are you from? What is...
Editorial: Marsy’s Law ruling is right
Kelsey Grammer will be disappointed. The former “Frasier” star lent his star power — and his understanding as someone who lost loved ones to violent crime — to the Marsy’s Law proposal that looks to give constitutional standing to victims. A referendum for the amendment was on Tuesday’s ballot. But...
Letters to the editor: Stand up for volunteer firefighters
I just read the article “Delmont firefighters say criticism from council hurts fundraising, recruitment.” First, take out the word Delmont and insert the name of just about any other Westmoreland County VFD — these witch hunts have been going on and getting worse. Yes, this department had, allegedly, some dishonesty/theft...
Letter to the editor: Did Pittsburgh teachers get day off for Trump, too?
Regarding the article “President Trump visit spurs road, school closures in Downtown Pittsburgh” (Oct. 21, TribLIVE): Could it be the union school teachers were also off work and available to protest Trump’s successes? Our tax dollars at work! Joe Turek Elizabeth...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s not perfect, but neither are we
Regarding the letter “What church would venerate Trump?” (Oct. 17, TribLIVE): I don’t consider President Trump as Jesus or my messiah. He is, though, president of the United States. In the Bible, David was an adulterer and murderer, but God forgave him and made him King of Israel. Moses was...
Letter to the editor: Politicians value votes over morals
Veterans are willing to give their lives for their country, but politicians are not willing to give up their jobs for their country. Trump has his party lackeys defending him on every issue, probably in morbid fear he will turn on them. It seems Trump will try to destroy anyone...
Jonah Goldberg: Apology is Trump’s best option for avoiding impeachment
In l’affaire Ukraine, the president is guilty as charged. And the best strategy for him to avoid impeachment by the House and perhaps even removal by the Senate is to admit it, apologize and let voters make their own judgment. It’s also the best way to fend off a disaster...
Tom Purcell: This Nov. 11, help stem tide of veteran suicides
The numbers are sobering, but we can do something about them. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report says nearly 6,200 veterans took their own lives in 2017 — and more than 6,000 took their lives every year from 2008 to 2017. “In 2017, the...
Editorial: Raise your voice, cast your vote
We were all born with a voice. We were not automatically granted the right to use it. That came by standing up and demanding it. When America was a colony, we had the rights that England gave us. We weren’t satisfied with that. We demanded a say in how we...
Letter to the editor: Fox hunting should be banned
Regarding Lynne Henry’s letter “Strange way to treat God`s creatures” (Oct. 18, TribLIVE) and the article “Fox hunting returns to Ligonier Township this weekend” (Oct. 3, TribLIVE) gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. To me, fox hunting is outright animal cruelty and should be banned,...
Letter to the editor: We don’t need RestorePA
Gov. Tom Wolf is persistent if nothing else. Wolf has proposed a severance tax for five consecutive years. The interesting part is that each year, the severance tax is to fund another program, project, line item. This year Wolf has spent a great deal of time selling his RestorePA program....
