Featured Commentary category, Page 21

Our National Defense Strategy identifies China as the primary challenge to the United States. To confront this threat successfully, our military needs more warships, aircraft and munitions. Now. But the Biden administration’s spending does not match its defense strategy. The president’s Emergency Supplemental Request made this clear by asking for...

As Pennsylvania continues to make significant strides toward a cleaner and more sustainable future, it is crucial that we seize the opportunity to leverage federal investments in building out our electric vehicle infrastructure. The recent allocation of $36 million in federal funding for EV charging stations, thanks to the Bipartisan...

OK already. What took so long? Good riddance to former House Rep. George Santos . The Santos saga begs the question: How did he get elected in the first place? Now we know it was due to massive fraud. But I would also add major failures on the part of...

Years ago, I had the good fortune to be in Washington, when the National Portrait Gallery had a show starring portraits of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who died Dec. 1 in Phoenix at 93. In October 2006, nine or so months after she’d stepped down from the high...

I would like to offer several corrections to former representative Lou Barletta’s op-ed “Say no to Kooth in Pa. schools” (Dec. 4, TribLive). First and foremost, I’d like to reintroduce readers to Kooth. We are a mental health support and pre-clinical care provider with a web-based application available to public...

The realities of America’s growing water and wastewater infrastructure challenges are front and center in Pittsburgh. The Steel City’s vital infrastructure has long exceeded its life span. Across the country, water utilities, in close collaboration with a diverse range of stakeholders, are proactively addressing some of their failing infrastructure challenges....

It’s often said that our children are our most precious resource. To protect and preserve this vital resource, we must invest in their care now, in order to enrich their future. In recent years, we have seen a focused investment in our juvenile justice system, which has helped lead to...

When it comes to seniors’ economic security, America is in poor shape. This October, an annual assessment of pension systems worldwide gave the United States a barely passable C+, ranking the country’s retirement security apparatus below Kazakhstan and just a slight notch above Colombia, two far poorer nations. How can...

The George Santos fiasco is finally at an end, at least in Congress, with the U.S. House of Representatives — including 105 of his Republican colleagues — voting Friday to expel him. The 311-114 vote comfortably cleared the two-thirds majority needed to make him only the third House member to...

During my time as a first grade teacher, my greatest joy was watching my students begin to fall in love with reading. I watched them transition from sounding out words letter by letter to reading and composing sentences. They were beginning to discover the world around them and, on the...

Every morning, 1.7 million students wake up and head off to public schools across Pennsylvania, eager to learn and grow in classrooms that are supposed to provide them with a “thorough and efficient system of public education.” That’s what our state constitution guarantees to every student. But in February Pennsylvania’s...

Strangers talking to schoolchildren on the internet — what could possibly go wrong? If that’s not bad enough, how about parents having no idea that it’s even happening? The newest threat to parental rights is entering our school districts behind closed doors. Kooth is a for-profit business from the U.K....

“What do you want to do when you grow up?” I asked Muhammad, an 8-year-old boy. “I want to kill Israeli soldiers!” he replied proudly. This was in 1998, when I was teaching English in Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. I’d come to Beirut to study abroad and...

We read stories all the time about the decline of organized religion in America. Around one-third of Americans answer “none” when asked on surveys about their religious affiliation. Self-identified Christians still make up a majority of the population — 63% — but that is down from 90% in the 1990s....

On the campaign trail in 2020, Joe Biden promised to be the most pro-union president in American history, and since taking office, he has championed the mantra “Invent it Here, Make it Here.” Both are lofty goals that should be welcomed by the American public, but have the promise of...

Robert Crimo Jr.’s guilty plea to reckless conduct for helping his son obtain authorization to own firearms three years before Robert Crimo III allegedly opened fire on Highland Park, Ill., paradegoers should be a wake-up call to everyone: If you hear or see things about potential violence, you must alert...

The workplace of today is becoming increasingly diverse. However, diversity isn’t just about race, gender or age, but also about the differences in individual brain function and behavioral traits, known as neurodiversity. This range of differences includes but is not limited to autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD. With...

In cities across America, Pittsburghers gather every Sunday, dressed in their black and gold, ready to cheer for the Steelers on gameday. Nearly every city in America has a Steelers bar, and fans gather there to celebrate victories or to be with each other in heartbreaking defeat. Football has the...

America is in grave peril. Lawlessness reigns in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and other cities. Our southern border hemorrhages with illegal arrivals. The Border Patrol is using unmarked buses to dump thousands of asylum-seekers on the streets, at bus stops and in train stations in San Diego. The United...

With a simple search engine entry of “bug food plant,” you will see the central planning of your food world. The future of the Arby’s “we have the meats” slogan will mean cricket, mealworm and fly larvae, delicious. It has been decided: just eat the bugs. The world is doomed,...

Labor is seeing some of its biggest wins in years, and unions are back on the public radar and in the media limelight after decades of declining power and interest. Support for unionism amongst Americans is at a 50-plus-year high. The UAW is about to solidify one of the best...

In the intricate tapestry of the American economy, small businesses, or as I fondly call them, the mom-and-pop establishments, serve as the vibrant threads that bind communities together. Growing up, I watched my parents toil seven days a week, paycheck to paycheck, running our family-owned restaurant for over 30 years....

With the 2024 election now in view, ensuring an accurate voter list in Pennsylvania is not a partisan issue. Local election administrators across the state have trumpeted the importance of making sure every eligible voter can vote, is informed when they vote and votes with confidence. Pennsylvania’s announcement that it...

HARRISBURG State capitols are the testing grounds for the future of our country. New policies and novel legal theories on everything from abortion to education to election administration are being shaped at the state level. And the decisions made in Harrisburg have a far greater effect on your life than...

Fashion brands entered this Black Friday seeing green not just because of sales but because they’re offering more sustainable products than ever before. From carbon-neutral T-shirts to sustainable shoes and eco-friendly hats, Santa will have his hands full keeping up with the more than $41 billion in projected online apparel...