Opinion category, Page 83
Letter to the editor: It’s about time government tightens its belt
Isn’t it crazy that people are so upset about federal employees losing their jobs because of downsizing? The government has needed to be downsized for quite some time, and we finally have a president exercising his powers to do just that. Every business at some time will go through an...
Sounding off: Government waste, Trump, gift ban, taxes among week’s topics
It’s about time government tightens its belt Isn’t it crazy that people are so upset about federal employees losing their jobs because of downsizing? The government has needed to be downsized for quite some time, and we finally have a president exercising his powers to do just that. Every business...
Letter to the editor: Per capita taxes no longer relevant
Has anyone taken the time to question the per capita (head) tax that we have to pay every year? Per capita is Latin meaning “for each head.” This tax’s initial purpose was on the heads of southern slaves. This tax is also a direct tax on adults 18 and older...
Editorial: Police silence about shootings speaks volumes
How long can police remain silent about a shooting? Quite a while, it seems. On Feb. 14, yellow crime scene tape went up around McKinley Avenue in East Vandergrift. It happened after a raid on an apartment above the post office. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force was leading the...
Letter to the editor: Trump not focusing on important issues
The price of eggs continues to rise and gas and grocery prices continue to be high, yet President Trump is not addressing these issues as he promised. Instead of focusing on lowering costs for health care and education and fixing our broken immigration policy, a member of the Republican- controlled Congress...
Ian Kelly: Has America first become America alone?
Article 5 of the NATO treaty is the bedrock of the alliance: It is the pledge that an attack on one is an attack on all. It created a single security space among the democratic nations in North America and Europe. The concept of a one-for-all, indivisible security across the...
S.E. Cupp: Welcome to the Musk era of unchecked conflicts
When the computers arrived at City Hall in January 2002, they were the talk of the town. Known as “The Bloomberg,” the system of flat-screen terminals used to crunch real-time market data made famous by their namesake mogul Mike Bloomberg, were sent to populate the new mayor of New York...
Marc A. Levin and Khalil Cumberbatch: Common ground in Pa. on criminal justice
Polarized politics have led many Pennsylvanians to dark places, but could a common vision of justice for all illuminate the path to unity? A beacon of hope is a new declaration of principles endorsed by many of the nation’s most respected conservative and liberal groups. It encapsulates our shared aspirations...
Letter to the editor: Older people want paper tax receipts
There you go again, government — you cut off the ability for us to get a paper receipt after we pay our house taxes. The elderly don’t have a way to print out a receipt, and many cannot use a computer. I need a receipt for my company’s accounting department....
Letter to the editor: Progressivism nothing new in Pittsburgh
I attended the District 5 community meeting for Greenfield hosted by Pittsburgh City Council Member Barbara Warwick. In his column “Progressivism killing the party, the city” (Feb. 22, TribLive), Joseph Sabino Mistick sets up two false dichotomies: incompetent progressives versus competent moderate traditionalists and “new” progressive residents versus deep-rooted residents...
Lori Falce: America was built with a dollar and a dream, not $5 million gold cards
My mother’s grandmother Karolina was born in Austria in 1899. She came to Philadelphia in 1906 with her mother, an unmarried woman who had a romantic story about Karolina’s unnamed father but who rewrote her life in America claiming to be a widow. Karolina was not wealthy. Neither was her...
Laurels & lances: Learning experiences
Laurel: To getting into education. A good book can put a reader into the story. Virtual reality video gaming can put a player in a new world. But how can that happen for a whole classroom? On Tuesday, East Allegheny School District became the first K-12 public school setting to...
Letter to the editor: Pa. legislators need to pass gift ban
As a union member in Pennsylvania, I understand if I failed to meet my employer’s expectations I would be fired. Our state legislators, however, face no such accountability when it comes to accepting gifts from lobbyists. Pennsylvania is one of only three states without a gift ban, allowing unlimited perks,...
Paul Kengor: Is Trump the next Neville Chamberlain?
“This is really scary,” writes a conservative friend of mine. “Putin is the new Hitler. It appears Trump is the new Neville Chamberlain. I’m guessing Trump is not a big fan of studying history, since he’s probably doomed to repeat it.” My friend is neither Never Trump nor certainly Always...
Letter to the editor: With layoffs, why is Starbucks expanding?
I heard that Starbucks is laying off 1,100 employees. Here is a question for the CEO of Starbucks: Why are you laying off people when you just built and opened a new Starbucks in Lower Burrell and are building a new store in Leechburg? What, are you nuts? If you...
Letter to the editor: Christians and Trump
“Away from me! I never knew you.” — Jesus. One thing we learned from this election is that America is certainly not a Christian nation. Christians know Jesus and hear his voice. They obey. Christians welcome the stranger, feed the poor, heal the sick, are meek, turn the other cheek,...
Editorial: Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow settlement filing is hard to swallow
Doing something audaciously bold is said to take gall. The saying comes from the word “gall,” referring to bile — in reality, secretions of the liver but generally any bitter, caustic, hard-to-swallow substance produced by the body. It “takes gall” to take some actions because, like swallowing bile, you have...
Letter to the editor: Zoning in Hempfield
Regarding the article “Rural property owners concerned that housing developments will alter Hempfield lifestyle” (Feb. 15, TribLive): Westmoreland County, and in particular Hempfield Township, are growing faster than their infrastructure can keep up with. The Republican-led local politicians appear to not want to represent the people. I have been to...
Jonah Goldberg: Whether Russia invaded Ukraine is not a ‘complicated’ question. Why say it is?
On the day before the third anniversary of the brutal, lawless invasion of Ukraine, “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on whether it’s “fair to say” that Russia’s attack was unprovoked. Hegseth responded that it’s “fair to say it’s a very complicated situation.” This is...
William Cooper: The American government’s people problem
The president of the United States should be competent, ethical and full of vigor. This is obvious given the demands of the job. Yet former President Joe Biden, who’s 82 years old, didn’t run for reelection over concerns about his mental facilities. And current president Donald Trump, himself 78, actively...
Cal Thomas: A ‘constitutional crisis’?
Democrats are raising an alarm about what they call a “constitutional crisis.” If there is one, they should know because they are to blame for it. That’s because their party, since the days of Franklin Roosevelt, have been violating the boundaries and restrictions on government set forth in our founding...
Tatsiana Kulakevich: Trump’s move to closer ties with Russia does not mean betrayal of Ukraine, yet
The United States’ steadfast allegiance to Ukraine during that country’s three-year war against Russia appears to be quickly disintegrating under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump on Feb. 19, 2025, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator” and falsely blamed him for the war that Russia initiated as part of...
Letter to the editor: Proud of Penn State and Thon
This past weekend I attended Thon, the 46-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon at Penn State that raises money for pediatric cancer. My grandson, a Highlands High School graduate, is a senior there and has worked for Thon throughout his college years. It is hard to describe Thon and its impact...
Letter to the editor: We don’t need a ‘businessman’ as president
The writer of the letter “Trump is a businessman, not a politician” (Feb. 18, TribLive) must have failed Civics and American History when she was in school. First, let’s establish the purpose of a business. A business is created to provide goods or a service with the intent to make...
Editorial: Penn State must fulfill its land grant mission
On Sunday afternoon, after 46 hours of dancing and months of fundraising, Penn State celebrated what is the university’s proudest moment each year. The total of money pulled in for Thon, an event billed as the largest student-run charity in the world, to fight cancer broke records at $17.7 million....
