Letters to the Editor category, Page 176

I would like to thank the many volunteers who made ShawRide IV an unforgettable experience (“Hundreds of motorcyclists turn out for 4th annual Officer Brian Shaw benefit ride,” Aug. 21, TribLIVE). Organizing a ride of this scale required hundreds of caring, dedicated individuals. My wife and I joined the hundreds...

As I compose this letter, I can’t help but think of all the U.S. veterans I have thanked for their service over the last 31 years. As a child and young man of the Vietnam era, and now a witness of the military actions of the last 30-plus years, I...

Concerning health, safety and well-being, many people believe it’s their right to choose what’s best for them and their families, and do not want to be mandated regarding masks and vaccines. How would they have reacted at the time of World War II? When air raid warning signals sounded, would...

Recent commentaries and letters have tried to place blame on what’s happening in Afghanistan on the current or past presidents, or even the military. Perhaps a different perspective is in order. Afghanistan is not so much a nation as it is mostly tribal, tribes trying to rule their own regions....

Recently I received an advertisement from a local church hosting a presentation denouncing critical race theory (CRT) and the hiring of an equity director for the Gateway School District. The speaker, Joseph L. Green, an African American Missionary Baptist minister, is an opponent of CRT. In my opinion, Green’s declamation...

What’s most astonishing about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is how astonished everyone professes to be, while conceding delaying the inevitable would not have prevented it. Failure is often an orphan; this one lays claim to plenty of fathers. Bill Clinton regrets not assassinating Osama Bin Laden after the 1998...

I realize electric vehicles are getting very popular, but I have some issues with them. First, they have limited range, and would add an enormous amount of time for a trip, let’s say from Pittsburgh to Atlanta. The second issue is the availability of charging stations as well as the...

I hate to rain on Mallard Fillmore’s parade to go after social media, but America has bigger fish to fry. Our law enforcement agencies are doing their best to round up the Jan. 6 insurrectionists and their ringleader who caused the death of at least one police officer and put...

The illogical, absurd letter by William J. Bilo Sr. (“Republicans, do the right thing”) demands an answer. The Democrats simply will not let Donald Trump rest; he is their excuse when things go wrong, and they are going wrong big time. President Biden has been so hell bent on reversing...

During my time as city controller, I’ve expressed concern about Pittsburgh’s “infrastructure deficit” — the repairs and improvements we should be making to our roads, bridges, wastewater systems and other critical infrastructure compared to what we actually complete each year. Consider this: Pittsburgh has nearly 1,000 miles of paved roads...

Twenty years, $2 trillion and thousands of our troops killed or wounded. How much is enough? We spent billions of dollars to train 300,000 Afghanistan troops. We equipped them with all of the technology and weapons they could possibly need to fight the Taliban, and what did they do when...

“Mutt” is a mean word. So is “mongrel.” I’m pleased everyone is sensitized to the impact words have. “Dog.” Use the word “dog.” I am a dog, as good-natured, complex, fallible and canine as any Afghan hound or Yorkshire terrier. And now I have to let it out. I’m not...

A continuing issue in Southwestern Pennsylvania is our aging population and loss of residents at a time when the situation in Afghanistan is terrible and perhaps broken beyond repair. This is an occasion for us in Pennsylvania to aid our evacuated Afghan partners and show a big welcome to new...

Penn Hills School District passed a mandate that includes masking all kids and visitors for the foreseeable future (“Penn Hills School District requiring masks for all students, staff at start of school year.”) Current science demands different policy, and this takes away my choice as a parent. The CDC states...

Too many families in Westmoreland County and communities across Pennsylvania were suffering before the pandemic. For too long, we have seen tax cuts for corporations while investments in our local communities are blocked. As a longtime resident of West Newton, I see firsthand the need for investment in our community....

Crisis on the southern border, inflation, nobody wants to work because they get more money sitting at home collecting Biden Bucks, and now the dumpster fire in Afghanistan. I never thought I would see it in my lifetime, but we have a new “Worst President Ever.” Congratulations, President Carter; Joe...

U.S. involvement in Vietnam: 1950-1975. For 25 years under six U.S. presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon and Ford. Twenty-six years (just one generation) later: U.S. involvement in Afghanistan: 2001-2021 (hopefully ending this year). For 20 years under four U.S. presidents: George W. Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden. First...

After reading the article “Rep. Conor Lamb jumps in race for Pat Toomey’s Senate seat” (Aug. 6, TribLIVE), I wished Lamb had clarified some of his statements. He says his opponents are determined to see him fail. What opponents? I assume he means elected Republicans; I’m not sure. He states...

Since we Americans are living in the land of make-believe, I figured there would be no problem in making up some information, in homage to the brainwashing tactics of the three- or four-letter media many adore. As you know, it’s our constitutional right to believe what we want since the...

As I think back a few months, it seems that the covid virus was pretty much under control. We were all looking forward to getting our lives back. Now we are back to wearing masks and limited as to places we can go. What happened? Could it be that the...

What does it take for America to wake up? Serious covid cases reportedly are mostly among the fearful, anti-science and simply ridiculous. These folks are now joined by our local leaders. School boards that are supposed to protect kids are failing and should resign. Superintendents are perhaps the most guilty....

Progressive Democrats and media allies present unrealistic and contradictory ideas as self-evident to prevent being eaten by their own. To avoid cancellation, they promote a list that confounds rational minds. Reduce crime by defunding police and eliminating bail; hire social workers and treat criminals like illegal immigrants with catch and...

To the community: Our son, Mark Goetz, competed in the 121st USGA Amateur Championship hosted by Oakmont Country Club on Aug. 9-15. Many of you were there in person to support him, while others followed his progress virtually. With the excitement that came from finishing as a medalist in the...

Greater Latrobe School District’s plan to phase out “in-class, face-to-face instruction” of French and German languages is going to cheat future and present elementary school students of a choice of electives beginning with the 2022 school year. The district says students who want to take French and German can take...

Criticism of critical race theory is indoctrination. Denying America’s history of racism is indoctrination. Consider: Benjamin Franklin in 1751 preferred only English- speaking whites from England emigrate to Pennsylvania. No Germans, no Italians, etc. Timothy Pickering coined the terms “negro president” and “negro Congress” because the Constitution’s three-fifths clause gave Jefferson’s...