Opinion category, Page 99
Cal Thomas: Lessons of 1925 for 2025
Political and other prognosticators are busy as usual predicting the future. Never mind calculating how wrong they have been in the past, our desire to know what’s coming sometimes overcomes sound thinking, ignorance of history and an understanding of human nature. Recall the number of times climate alarmists predicted we...
Letter to the editor: Clowns come to town ahead of the Trump circus
The circus is not even in town yet, and the show has already begun. The last piece of legislative business for the House of Representatives of the 118th Congress is to fund the government. On Sept. 25, the Senate and the House voted to pass the bipartisan continuing resolution HR...
Letter to the editor: Trump-haters will be eating their words
I read with some sadness the letter “Let Trump’s destruction play out” (Dec. 27, TribLive). In his first sentence, the writer steals from the greatest talk show host and conservative commentator of all time, Rush Limbaugh, who coined the term “low information voter” years ago to describe people just like...
Editorial: What is Pennsylvania’s political future?
Where does Pennsylvania go from here politically? It can be hard to predict. That’s what makes Pennsylvania a swing state. The Democratic and Republican strongholds are well known, but the fuzzy purple edges where things blur are harder to pin down. Will that continue? Will Pennsylvania continue to be the...
Letter to the editor: Have we elected a king in Trump?
The headline “Judge rejects Trump’s bid to dismiss hush money conviction because of Supreme Court immunity ruling” (Dec. 16, TribLive) caught my eye. Reading the AP article raised my eyebrows, and I had to read and reread the last line of the first paragraph, “But the overall future of the...
Chip Minemyer: Tired Sandusky taunts further insult victims of abuse
Why does chirping about a scandal that broke more than 13 years ago still give fans of Penn State’s football opponents such glee? A grand jury indictment in November 2011 accused former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of sexually abusing young boys in his care. In 2012, he...
Marc Champion: Europe needs to swiftly fulfill its aid pledges to Ukraine
A note to Europe’s leaders: When it comes to sending sufficient aid to help Ukraine end Russia’s invasion, if not now, when? In October, I visited and wrote about a critical mine at Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which had become the primary focus of Russia’s efforts to maximize the territory...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: A look ahead to what might happen in 2025
My prediction that President Joe Biden would drop out was a rare bright spot among last year’s not totally serious predictions. Undaunted, I try again by looking ahead to 2025: January — House reelects Speaker Mike Johnson on third ballot after he agrees to make Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene assistant...
Letter to the editor: Biden is unfit and should be removed
In my opinion, President Biden has proven that he is unfit for office, but he is still there. There is a set process to remove him if he is unable to do his job. To me, the people trusted to protect the country are showing themselves just as unfit. Shouldn’t...
Letter to the editor: System is rigged for Trump and Musk
President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk are two peas in a pod. Both think they hit a home run, but in fact they were born on third base. Both came from extremely wealthy families and connived and plotted their way to become billionaires. Both are obsessed with money and will...
Editorial: Tissue donation is a gift of hope
Organ donations save lives. The story of medicine in Pittsburgh has included huge chapters on the growth of transplant surgery. Livers, hearts, kidneys and lungs — all of these are the critical organs people need to survive. They are not, however, the only donations that can be made when someone...
Letter to the editor: Destroying our foundations
Webster defines murder as an unlawful killing, and it should be condemned. The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, however, has been hailed by some and justified by others (such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who stated that “you can only push someone so far”) as though this murder were a...
Peter Morici: Biden’s gift to Trump — golden opportunity to supercharge the economy
President-elect Donald Trump returns to Washington with a golden opportunity to continue the country’s accelerated economic growth. Over the past eight years, U.S. GDP has increased 2.5% annually. This surpasses the 1.9% growth during the Bush-Obama years but trails the 3.2% performance of the Reagan-Bush-Clinton era. The current growth rate...
Allison Schrager: Make daylight saving time permanent? U.S. economy says yes
President-elect Donald Trump’s latest promise is to eliminate daylight saving time, which would mean putting the U.S. on standard time year-round. Billionaire DOGE bosses Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, seem to want to make daylight saving time permanent. Is this just a miscommunication? Or is the incoming administration as...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s promises and priorities
Is anyone registering what Donald Trump is now saying about the price of groceries and Social Security? I watched at least six times as he promised to lower prices of groceries “on Day 1.” Now he is saying it is complicated and won’t be easy (hint, it’s not going to...
Editorial: Obamacare is more popular and costlier than ever
A rude surprise could be in store for the millions of Americans who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. If Congress doesn’t act next year, enhanced premium subsidies will expire by December, causing enrollees’ payments to increase by more than 75% on average. Officials estimate more than 2...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 30
Editorial cartoons for the week of Dec. 30....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 30
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 30....
Lori Falce: The time I met Jimmy Carter
After almost two years in hospice care, former President Jimmy Carter died Sunday at the age of 100. I was born when Richard Nixon was in the White House. My first vote was a choice between George H.W. Bush or Bill Clinton. The first time I really paid attention to...
Letter to the editor: Money doesn’t equal meaningful
I am writing in response to Rep. Jesse Topper’s op-ed “We can stop the pinch who stole Christmas” (Dec. 20, TribLive). While I certainly agree that the current economic situation makes it difficult for us to purchase everything we would like to, I take exception to his statement that “the...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland tax hike also outrageous
Regarding the letter “Allegheny County tax hike outrageous” (Dec. 23, TribLive): I agree with the writer that no one likes their taxes raised. I would also like him to know that there was a recent Westmoreland County property tax hike voted in by Republican county Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to all who donated to support Pollard family
On behalf of myself and fellow Greensburg Walmart co-workers of Elizabeth Pollard, we would like to thank everyone who donated and supported the GoFundMe fundraiser for Liz, who tragically died after falling into a sinkhole in Marguerite. Liz was a beloved friend to so many who worked with her. She...
Editorial: 2024 was a year of questions and conversations
In 2024, our editorials asked questions and started conversations. Pittsburgh being Pittsburgh, our most read editorial came in January, asking why Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had to be so petulant when presented with a very predictable question at a news conference after losing a wild-card playoff game to Buffalo. Other...
Letter to the editor: America’s health care system is broken
United Healthcare alone reported profits in excess of $23 billion in 2023. Former CEO Brian Thompson’s salary for 2023 was $10.2 million. Despite taking billions from the “system” to administrate and often deny care, Thompson and company never treated a sick person and never cured anyone of anything. Citizens of Canada,...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Hope is alive for 2025
This last week of the year is all about hope — a short pause between the old and new year, a time when we can reflect on the past and ponder the future. Commerce has finally slowed, unused vacation days are being used up and there is even a break...
