Featured Commentary category, Page 117

Remember back in early 2016 when Donald Trump, who was still regarded as something of a long shot for the presidency, promised he would disclose his tax returns publicly – just like every other candidate had done voluntarily since 1973? “I have big returns, as you know, and I have...

To call President Trump “Machiavellian” is to give him a little too much credit. Machiavelli had a keen awareness of history and could speak in complete sentences. But if Trump has figured out how to out-maneuver Democrats and his opponents, it’s only because they so easily fall for his traps...

Why does it seems like the political equivalent of a Mafia hit job on Joe Biden, who is being whacked before a much-anticipated announcement of his presidential plans? Most people who pay attention to such things have seen Biden’s hands-on approach when it comes to women. Not until recently, when...

When Sen. Bob Casey asked me to testify at a March 6 Senate hearing on big pharma and rising drug prices, I immediately thought about every senior citizen who has stood alongside me in line at the pharmacy, only to be forced to leave behind a needed medication because the...

All too often a murderous maniac opens fire on innocent, law-abiding Americans and forces us to take an honest look at what can be done to stop future attacks. It happened in Pittsburgh in October at the Tree of Life synagogue, claiming the lives of 11 innocent men and women....

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic candidates for the presidency in 2020 are calling to eliminate the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote. Yes, affording every state an additional vote in the Electoral College for each U.S. senator does somewhat skew influence in presidential elections more to...

In 2018, there were 308 homicides in Baltimore. So far this year, there have been 69. That’s in a 2018 population of 611,648 — down from nearly a million in 1950. The city is pinning its hopes to reduce homicides and other crime on new Police Commissioner Michael Harrison. Another...

I skipped breakfast again this morning. I won’t worry about it. Yes, I’ve heard the advice. “It’s the most important meal of the day.” It balances blood sugar levels, kick-starts your metabolism, stimulates the brain, etc. A Harvard University study said men who regularly skip breakfast have a 27% higher...

Recently near my office at George Mason University I ran into a student of mine who was showing his friend around campus. The friend is thinking of transferring from Radford University to George Mason. The friend — call him “Jack” — wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the famous image of...

Equality in Pennsylvania can never be obtained as long as education is not an even playing field. In pursuing the dream of equality in this country, let’s keep in mind: “Education equality is the civil rights issues of our time.” Unequal education can thwart the most important aspects of civil...

It’s tempting to view President Trump’s many grievance-filled tweets as angry, indiscriminate lashing out against political opponents. It’s unhinged! It’s unpresidential! They’re “rage tweets!” Etc. Often, though, if you look closely, you’ll see some design. Behind the invective and often-incorrect claims will be a controversial suggestion with some built-in plausible...

As the Democratic Party quarrels over reparations for slavery, a new and related issue has arisen, raised by the president of Mexico. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has written Pope Francis and King Felipe VI to demand their apologies for the Spanish conquest of Mexico that began 500 years ago with...

Ensuring everyone has access to UPMC’s nonprofit hospitals should be a no-brainer, yet both Pittsburgh City Council and the mayor have failed in recent years to hear their constituents out, or use their powers to protect them. Now, tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians face the prospect of being shut out...

With a Democratic House majority in place, we see more clearly than ever how Republican docility enabled President Trump’s lawlessness for the first two years of his presidency. When “normal” congressional behavior appears to check the executive branch — e.g. oversight hearings, subpoenas, use of the bully pulpit — we...

The Justice Department’s decision Monday that the entire Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional has sparked many questions, such as, “Didn’t Republicans get killed in the midterms on health care?” and “Really? This again?” Combined with a federal judge’s ruling Thursday blocking the Trump administration’s “association health plans,” which the judge...

There are troubling hints that a replacement grocery store for the heavily subsidized and now-closed Shop ’n Save in Pittsburgh’s Hill District might be in line for more public subsidies. But a new analysis by a scholar at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy reiterates that subsidies for that store...

In the days since the Mueller report was concluded and found no collusion between President Trump and Russia, the attention has turned to the press and its perceived hyperfocus on the two-year-long investigation. Questions about whether outlets like The New York Times, MSNBC or CNN, where I work, spent too...

The story is not over. It may never be over in our lifetimes. But an important chapter has come to an end, and it had a happy ending for the president. Contrary to what we’re already beginning to hear from some quarters of the left, the Mueller probe almost certainly...

We’ve lost track of the number of times recently that we’ve heard someone end a conversation about sexual harassment or abuse with a shrug and “It’s a he-said-she-said situation.” What they mean, invariably, is there is reason to doubt reports of sexual misconduct or assault if the woman reporting the...

Last week’s column discussed the highly publicized university corruption scheme wherein wealthy parents bought admission at prestigious universities for their children. That is dishonest and gives an unfair advantage to those young people but won’t destroy the missions of the universities. There is little or no attention given by the...

Venezuela is a disaster. Yet 20 years ago, it was the wealthiest country in Latin America. It still has the world’s biggest oil reserves. It should be a happy and prosperous nation. But then Venezuela went socialist. Democratic socialist to be exact. They voted for it. Hugo Chavez promised the...

Global climate change devastation hit hard in 2018. From Hurricanes Florence and Michael decimating the Carolinas and Florida to deadly, unprecedented wildfires in California, those were just three of the 10 costliest climate-driven, extreme weather events of the year that killed thousands of people and caused nearly $85 billion in...

One morning about three weeks ago, at 5:45 a.m., the robocallers came for me. My cellphone rang. And rang. It hasn’t stopped. The calls claim to come from all over the world. Sometimes they ring once, and stop. Sometimes twice. Rarely more than that. If I answer, I am sometimes...

Having grown up in a Jewish family in a nook of Pittsburgh with many other families like ours, I am keenly aware of the anti- Semitism that creeps out from the dark corners of our society from time to time. To think it would hit the halls of Congress, though, is...

Very little was surprising about the conclusion of the special counsel’s investigation. For one thing, it wasn’t surprising that Robert Mueller’s probe prompted great commotion — a federal investigation involving a sitting president is a momentous event, and concluding it, a historic moment. And most, but not all, of the...