Featured Commentary category, Page 98

As of this writing, the Democratic presidential contest looks very fluid, with four candidates bunched up in Iowa and New Hampshire. But the sudden relevance of foreign policy, thanks to the confrontation with Iran, has made it look more and more like a two-person race between former Vice President Joe...

When people don’t have health insurance — especially people with preexisting conditions like diabetes, breast cancer, high blood pressure or even pregnancy (yes, that counts) — they skip vital care and often go into debt or even bankruptcy to pay bills, or simply die. This was much more common in...

It’s nearly impossible to have even a short conversation with a college administrator, politician or chief executive without the words diversity and inclusion dropping from their lips. Diversity and inclusion appear to be the end-all and be-all of their existence. So, I thought I’d begin this discussion by first looking...

Reporters complain about business. We overlook the constant improvements in our lives made possible by greedy businesses competing for your money. Think about how our access to entertainment has improved. “When I was a kid,” says Sean Malone in a new video for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), “my...

Was the rule of law meant to apply equally to everyone in our republic? Or is it permissible that it apply to only the “little people” while the wealthy and well-connected may cast it aside? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he has made up his mind that President Trump...

The directed killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s blood-soaked field marshal in the “forever war” of the Middle East, has begun to roil the politics of both the region and the USA. A stunned and shaken Iran retaliated by firing a dozen missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq. Yet,...

Much of the angst and legal wrangling over property assessments in Allegheny County and statewide could be eliminated by instituting mandatory regular reassessments that incorporate standardized norms, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “The state should just end, or curtail appeals, by bringing Pennsylvania’s assessment practices...

President Donald J. Trump was impeached on Thursday. I know that he was technically impeached when the House voted to do so in December. But the truth is, as a political and historical matter, Thursday was the day. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s strategy — brilliant to fans, incomprehensible to foes...

Despite the best efforts of the transportation industry nationally working together to reduce fatal and serious-injury crashes, nearly 40,000 people die each year in highway-related incidents; on average, 15 of those occur on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Every year, dozens of roadway workers, first responders and tow-truck operators are killed; we...

My father was a Presbyterian minister in rural northwest Alabama from 1961 to 1965. I came of age there, then left the University of Alabama with an M.A. in history in 1969. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gov. George C. Wallace framed the historical context of a changing...

The initial reports read to me a bit like the losers won, but the church of my upbringing is on the verge of coming apart after decades of internal turmoil. The details of the deal will be important, but leaders of the United Methodist Church have agreed in principle to...

People who want to work should be allowed to work. That includes people who once went to jail. With President Trump’s support, Congress spends your money giving ex-cons “employment assistance.” Why bother? State laws often make such employment impossible. Courtney Haveman had an alcohol problem. When she was 19, she...

Criminal activity imposes huge costs on black residents in low-income neighborhoods of cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia and many others. Thousands of black Americans were murdered in 2019. Over 90% of the time, the perpetrator was also black. Leftists and social justice warriors charge that what...

While Pittsburgh’s financial situation has made significant and positive strides, there remain substantial concerns about the city’s economic and financial structure, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Debt outstanding is down but retirement benefit problems remain,” says Jake Haulk, president-emeritus of the Pittsburgh think tank. “Revenue...

Since 1969, “Virginia Is for Lovers” has been the tourism and travel slogan of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Advertising Age called it “one of the most iconic ad campaigns in the past 50 years.” But the Virginia of 2020 seems to be another country than the friendly commonwealth to which...

FDA officials approved a record number of rare disease treatments in 2018. One groundbreaking medicine treats an inherited bone condition that causes intense pain and immobility. Another treats Fabry disease, a genetic condition that can lead to kidney failure or stroke. Breakthroughs like these offer hope to 30 million Americans...

President Trump often talks about leaving the Middle East, getting out of “endless wars” and spending our resources here at home under a policy of “America First.” So it was quite a moment when he threatened to impose “very big sanctions” on Iraq if the Iraqi parliament follows through on...

One morning, back in August 2017, the gang on “Fox & Friends,” President Trump’s favorite news program, was in the midst of a feverish MAGA panic over nothing less than “the eradication of history,” as Laura Ingraham called it. It was just days after the Charlottesville, Va., protests, a violent...

When you think life revolves around you, then destruction is waiting at your doorstep. In a recent YouTube video, NFL star Antonio Brown passionately reached out to share his self-absorbed life. The video captured how he views himself. “I get mad at it, but I love it — the game...

There’s always something special in the air over the holiday season. This year, unfortunately, that something was a foul-smelling haze of dangerous industrial pollution. Even in an area known for dirty air, things have been especially bad lately. On Dec. 20, while most of us were doing our last-minute holiday...

There’s a grand ghost story unfolding with the spirit of old George Westinghouse arising in the little town of Wilmerding as its principal landmark stirs back to life after decades in limbo. “The Castle,” as it’s been known locally for generations, soon will be reanimated as a specialty hotel of...

A voter may dislike a black, homosexual or female candidate, but it’s not likely that he would openly admit it. However, diversity-crazed leftist/progressive Democrats have openly condemned the physical characteristics of some of their 2020 presidential candidates. Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders are leading the polls despite...

Prior to Iran’s missile attacks on U.S. bases inside Iraq, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, “We are not seeking war with Iran, but we are prepared to finish one.” Esper said the U.S. prefers a “diplomatic” solution to the escalation of tensions in the region. Yes, that would be...

Since I am in Europe — Spain, to be precise — I shall do as the Europeans do and fret over the future of the European Union. As my tepid opening sentence suggests, I don’t really care much about the future of the EU. In this, I’m a lot like...

Almost 17 years after the U.S. invaded Iraq to turn Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship into a beacon of democracy, Iraq’s Parliamentmid shouts of “Death to America!” voted to expel all U.S. troops from the country. Though nonbinding, the expulsion vote came after mobs trashed the U.S. embassy in an assault that...