Opinion category, Page 85
Editorial: Mayor Gainey needs to own his mistakes instead of being defensive
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey didn’t need to be defensive Thursday. He was speaking at an event celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Wood Street police substation. “I want to thank our officers,” Gainey said. That’s the way things should have gone: appreciation for the Pittsburgh police officers,...
Letter to the editor: Pa. OPM storage facility important to record-keeping
In 69 years of living, I’ve learned that when someone tries to feed me hogwash, it’s wise to just write them off as dishonest and dishonorable. The other day Elon Musk falsely described the Boyers, Pa., U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Records Center as a “mine shaft elevator,” bringing...
Cal Thomas: No substitute for victory
In his 1951 farewell address to Congress and the American public (known as the “old soldiers never die, they just fade away” speech), Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur said something the Trump administration should recall as it seeks to end the war between Russia and Ukraine: “… once war is forced...
David Rullo: Wanted for being Jewish
“Complicity In Genocide.” I would love to tell you I was shocked by the charge on the wanted poster with my face on it, but I wasn’t. It’s not the first time a radicalized, anti-Zionist, anti-Israel or antisemitic group has targeted me online. In fact, the same group — or...
Commentary: Here’s how the Trump administration can curb housing costs
One reason American voters handed the country’s reins back to President Donald Trump was the extreme inflation in housing prices that took place under his predecessor. The federal government has less influence over this issue than, say, California mayors and legislators — but whoever is in the White House can...
Letter to the editor: Meat consumption linked to dementia
Eating meat is no longer just about heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. It’s about dementia, too. A study of 133,000 U.S. men and women tracked for more than 40 years concluded consumption of processed meat products leads to increased risk of dementia and reduced cognition. The study was published...
Letter to the editor: Trump obsessed with expansionism
I am so happy that our megalomaniac president is so obsessed with American expansionism. I own my home in West Leechburg and a condo in Deep Creek, Md., and I just paid my down payment on a condo overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the Gaza Strip, which Trump intends to...
Lori Falce: Congress should take 2 aspirin and defend its trademark authority in the morning
In 1900, German drug company Bayer filed a patent in the U.S. for a tiny white pill that would be the foundation of future success: Aspirin. The company also filed a trademark for the name. It held, for a while. There were complications. As a German company, Bayer faced challenges...
Laurels & lances: Saying goodbye to the legendary Mike Lange
Laurel: To a defining voice. Mike Lange died Wednesday. He was 76 years old. That seems impossible. How could all of those marvelous Mike-isms come in so little time? Lange was a native Californian who came to the Steel City in 1974. From 1976 until his retirement in 2021, his...
Letter to the editor: Democrats keep digging their hole
You may have heard the old adage, “When you are in a hole, stop digging.” I guess the Democrats, however, are either too dumb to understand it, or they are worried that their golden goose, the administrative state, is about to be cooked. I think it’s the latter. Dems are...
Mary Ellen Smith Glasgow: Addressing Pa.’s nursing shortage requires bold solutions
Pennsylvania is facing an urgent nursing shortage that threatens the foundation of our health care system. The numbers are staggering — by 2026, the state is projected to be short 20,000 nurses, exacerbating an already strained workforce. Without decisive action, hospitals and health care facilities across the commonwealth will struggle...
Letter to the editor: Speak up about administration’s intrusion
If you see something, say something. The well-used phrase coined after 9/11 is a good example of the thing that must be done if one thinks this present administration is off the rails. Everyone who disagrees with the intrusion it is causing must begin by writing their congressmen and senators...
Letter to the editor: Trump Express will Make America Great Again
On Jan. 20, the Trump Express began a nationwide trip to fulfill Donald Trump’s campaign promises while Making America Great Again. We will see the promises made become the promises kept with our own eyes. As the Express rolls on, Democrats and RINO Republicans will have two choices: Get on...
Letter to the editor: Pa. attorney general failed us
I read with relief then deep disappointment that billions of dollars in federal grants and loans abruptly and illegally frozen by the Trump-Musk administration would now be released (“Appeals court won’t halt judge’s order requiring Trump administration to unfreeze all federal cash,” Feb. 11, TribLive). Why disappointment? Dismayingly, Pennsylvania’s recently...
Editorial: Esplanade has potential for splashy development
Pittsburgh needs developers. The city has real challenges that require solutions only found through the swing of a hammer. Empty, unused buildings can become warrens for criminal activity. Derelict areas don’t generate tax money, but they do use it up. There are all manner of businesses in need of space...
Trudy Rubin: At Munich Security Conference, Trump makes it clear that Europe and Ukraine are on their own
MUNICH, Germany — Last weekend will be remembered as the historic moment when the Trump administration broke America’s historic bonds with fellow democracies in Europe to pursue alliances with far-right extremist governments that admire Russia more than they do the United States. The drama took place at the annual Munich...
Jonah Goldberg: Is Trump’s Napoleon quote just idle trolling? This context suggests otherwise
The president of the United States posted a possibly apocryphal quote often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte on social media Saturday: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” This is an indefensibly stupid thing for a president to say — at least absent the sort of situation in...
David L. Nevins: Just words, or did Trump mean it: ‘He who saves his country violates no Law’
Last week, President Donald Trump shared this quote on Truth Social and X: “He who saves his country violates no Law.” I’ve learned with Trump not always to take him literally but to take him seriously. In this case, I am taking his comment very seriously. It appears that this...
Letter to the editor: Consumer Finance Protection Bureau protects us
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) has helped American consumers to the tune of $21 billion, protecting them from predatory lending, junk fees and the like. In 2023 alone, over 1.3 million Americans filed complaints with the bureau. These included credit card and identity theft complaints. This agency was built...
Letter to the editor: McCormick owes us an explanation on his votes
Sen. Dave McCormick owes the people of Pennsylvania a real explanation of his recent votes. He voted to install Pete Hegseth at the head of the Department of Defense, even though Hegseth’s only prior organizational leadership — running two veterans’ charities — ended after he was accused of draining their...
Editorial: What will the impact of carving DEI out of schools be?
During the pandemic, we directed a lot of criticism at Tom Wolf. As governor, he was taking a lot of steps to deal with the coronavirus and its impact on Pennsylvanians. Much of the criticism was directed at his handling of education orders and how districts should execute them. Even...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ plan is sad
Has anyone considered the utter irony of our modern populist movement being led by billionaires? Historically these movements involve the common man rising up against the wealthy elite as the middle class got poorer and the rich took all the money (or worse, didn’t care how impoverished their actions left...
Kathryn Anne Edwards: Americans would pay higher taxes to save Social Security
Social Security’s deep popularity among voters has earned it a reputation as the third rail of politics, meaning Congress is afraid to touch it. But the program’s finances require reform, and soon. The trust fund set up to fill a shortfall between what the government takes in for Social Security...
Catherine Coleman Flowers: Poverty, the seemingly intractable problem that the U.S. can actually solve
Even as incomes rose in 2023, the number of Americans living in poverty went up. More and more people are struggling to afford their basic needs. But this is a problem we can actually solve. With a fully mobilized, multidimensional effort, the U.S. can slash the poverty rate — especially...
Letter to the editor: Trump is a businessman, not a politician
President Trump is a businessman, not a politician. He is working our country as he would a business, looking out as how to make it better and safer for all. He is not running it as a politician would, taking care of friends who can do something for him and...
