Opinion category, Page 789
Letter to the editor: No free ride on police protection
An open letter to Sen. Don White, Rep. Jeff Pyle and fiscally responsible legislators: I was pleased to read the letters “Hempfield should share casino wealth” (Dec. 23, TribLIVE) and “Hempfield needs police” (Jan. 18, TribLIVE). I request that you require the $25 per capita tax that Gov. Tom Wolf...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s wall plans
Illegals entering the country is at an all-time low. If President Trump really wanted his wall, wouldn’t it have been a sure thing to bring it up when his party controlled both houses of Congress? Why did he wait for the Democrats to take control of the House? He knew...
Letter to the editor: Fall of Roman Empire
The Roman Empire is said to have lasted from about 27 BC to 476 AD. There were many reasons why it fell, but three stand out: • Overspending and military expansion. Check. • Political instability. Check. • Migration of the Huns ( open borders ). Check. Tony Pittore Penn Township,...
Letter to the editor: Cheap shots at Hempfield supervisors
Regarding the article “Hempfield to review past votes, but supervisors balk at state audit” (Jan. 31, TribLIVE): It seems to me that this is nothing more than a cheap political attempt by upstart township supervisor Robert Ritson to discredit the previous township manager and the supervisors who hired him. With...
Paul Kengor: Democrats vs. democratic socialists
“President Trump has proved himself adroit at creating villains to serve as his political foils,” states The New York Times. “In his State of the Union address, he introduced a new one: socialists. … Mr. Trump chose to introduce the socialist menace in perhaps the highest-profile setting available.” “Yet,” sniffs...
Lori Falce: Can I still trust a priest? And do I want to?
I have known a lot of priests in my life. I went to Catholic school, where we were generally much more intimidated by the nuns. The priests were like visiting guest lecturers, celebrities who made appearances in the odd morning religion classes and were on hand for Friday Masses or...
Laurels & lances: Tax breaks, empty bowls, inmates and moving home
Laurel: To Irwin Council for giving borough residents who are active volunteers for the Irwin Volunteer Fire Department a break on their real estate and earned income taxes, if they meet certain criteria for the number of emergency calls they respond to and amount of training they undergo. Unfortunately, North...
Letter to the editor: Josh Shapiro and Medicare competition
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, appears on the front page taking UPMC to court to force it to permit Highmark Medicare recipients to forever be entitled to UPMC’s lower in-network rates for their physicians, services and hospitals, eliminating the inherent competition between the two firms (“AG Shapiro: UPMC’s...
Letter to the editor: Vandergrift’s problems
We moved to Vandergrift from another state, and although we were born in Pennsylvania, this is our first impression. Some of the borough employees appear to have the attitude that the citizens of Vandergrift work for them. Any Vandergrift employees with that mindset, please be advised that you work for...
Letter to the editor: Peduto’s gun wishes
Why are people so up in arms (pun intended) about Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto wishing for a gun ban? Little girls wish for ponies and to be princesses; little boys wish to be cowboys and astronauts. Parents don’t tell them that wishing is wrong, and that most wishes don’t come...
Doyle McManus: ‘America first’ increasingly looks like America alone
WASHINGTON — The annual Munich Security Conference is usually a somnolent affair, a ritual renewal of vows between the United States and its European allies. This year was different. Germany’s outgoing chancellor, Angela Merkel, finally said what she thinks of President Trump. Without using Trump’s name, she described his “America...
George Will: Republicans who abide Trump’s Constitution trashing should be expelled
ANNAPOLIS, Md. America’s most improbably popular governor, a Republican beginning his second term in perhaps the bluest state, resembles a beer keg with an attitude. Stocky and blunt, Larry Hogan, whose job approval is in the high 70s, has won twice in the state with the highest percentage of African- Americans...
Editorial: Highlands needs to let the Sunshine Act in
The people have the right to know. The people have the right to care. The people have the right to question. And in most cases, the government doesn’t have the right to say, no. Highlands School District does not have the right to shadowy decision-making. In January, the school board...
Letter to the editor: Voter ID a free fix
Riddle me this: In today’s paper it was reported that Westmoreland County may have to spend $7 million to upgrade its voting machines to make them more secure (“Commission recommends Pennsylvania security measures for elections,” Jan. 29, TribLIVE) — but not one word about doing something to help make the...
Letter to the editor: Hempfield supervisors do great job
The 2019 primary election season is fast approaching, and the spring always promises us daffodils, weeds and yard signs. Regardless of your party, you will be choosing between candidates for local positions. Our choices are not always clear, as many candidates are inexperienced and have no record, or experienced and...
Letter to the editor: What’s happening to our country?
Are politicians really working for us? Can there be no compromise? Is the revelation that a governor put on a black face or white sheet, more than 30 years ago, really more offensive than the bill he backs that legalizes the murder of an infant in the late third trimester?...
Pat Buchanan: Will diversity be death of Democrats?
Both of America’s great national parties are coalitions. But it is the Democratic Party that never ceases to celebrate diversity — racial, religious, ethnic, cultural — as its own and as America’s “greatest strength.” Understandably so, for the party is home to a multitude of minorities. It is the domain...
Editorial: Vaccines fears are going viral
Human beings have made a lot of progress over the years. We turned the wheel into the cart and then the car and then stuck it on rovers that went to Mars. (Rest in peace, Opportunity.) We set wood on fire, and then rocks, and then oil, and then we...
Letter to the editor: Pollution & our leaders
In the article, “Officials: Temperature swings cause poor air quality in Allegheny County” (Feb. 5, TribLIVE), Matt Mehalik of the Breathe Project says that Allegheny County’s air-quality issues may be exacerbated by a quick temperature warm-up, but the problem of air pollution comes from polluting sources in the county. I...
Letter to the editor: Ask Venezuelans about socialism
So you think socialism is the answer? As the Venezuelans who haven’t left their country yet what they think. They can’t afford toilet paper in the near-empty stores. Just sayin’. Joseph Marmo Cheswick...
Letter to the editor: Abortion & perfection
In a Jan. 30 radio interview, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a physician, said this about late-term abortions: “The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians...
Letter to the editor: Democratic Party is antithesis of what it once was
There must be something very mesmerizing and hypnotic about the letter “D.” It’s the only explanation. My once upstanding, compassionate Democratic “party of the working class” has become the party of trashing patriotism and promoting socialism, homosexual marriage, multiple gender recognitions and abortions up to the moment of birth. Good,...
Letter to the editor: Can we survive 2 more years of Trump?
Surviving Trump: Can we endure 2 more years? After promises of a great presidency surrounded by great people, it’s been just the opposite. Have we ever seen such a group of classless, know-nothing, inexperienced, cartoonish characters? With backgrounds in fashion/modeling, real estate development, oil, neurosurgery and, of course, reality shows,...
Robert Powelson: Misinformation campaign will prolong Pittsburgh’s water woes
Using unequivocal language including “ineptness,” “negligence” and a “lack of training and expertise,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed 161 criminal charges this month against the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA). The filings laid out how the drinking water provider that serves over 300,000 Pittsburghers was criminally liable under...
Nathan Benefield: Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget rhetoric meets reality
Last year, nearly 50 of our neighbors fled Pennsylvania every day. They moved to growing states like Texas, Florida and North Carolina, seeking opportunity. Meanwhile, we literally can’t pay businesses enough to come here. Recall that Amazon rejected $5 billion in taxpayer-funded bribes and set up “HQ2” elsewhere. It’s time...
