Opinion category, Page 615
Editorial: Mask solution could be simple smile
Sometimes addressing one problem can solve others. It’s the happy accident of a Botox shot that could smooth out wrinkles or tame migraines, or the Kleenex that was intended to polish eyeglasses but became better known for wiping noses. You never know just what issues an invention will address. Rose...
Letter to the editor: Better ways to make impact than protesting
Regarding the article “Allegheny County reports 90 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily total for county” (June 27, TribLIVE): Why didn’t you include protests in the list of gathering places contributing to the uptick in coronavirus cases? Most of those attending didn’t have masks on and/or were nowhere near social...
Letter to the editor: After statues, what will we destroy next?
What next? Once we remove our national statues, where do we go from here? As a newly anointed anarchist (not), I am sorely troubled. I recently discovered pictures of despicable individuals in my wallet. Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln and Grant. Should I shred or burn these nasty federal notes?...
Letter to the editor: Chief Justice Roberts should examine past
In his decision on Louisiana’s abortion law, Chief Justice John Roberts chose not to rule on the merits of the law (“Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion clinic law,” June 29, TribLIVE), instead choosing to apply “stare decisis,” the following of precedents in law. If this practice had been rigorously...
Letter to the editor: Parents, put the good stuff in your kids’ minds
Perhaps the most important task facing parents today in this digital world is instilling in your children a sense of right and wrong and strong moral values. Their senses are on overload with constant exposure via phones and tablets that have more computing power than the Apollo 11 spacecraft that...
Letter to the editor: Coronavirus a test from the universe?
OK, so let’s be honest: Coronavirus and quarantine have been nothing but an absolute prison. This has actually caused the depression rate around the world to go up significantly, and I understand why. My experience with this horrible pandemic started out fine, but it’s really starting to get to me....
Letter to the editor: Suffering in long-term care facilities
People in local long-term care facilities are suffering far more from abandonment and neglect than covid-19. From what I’ve experienced, adequate staffing adjustments have not been made to accommodate residents’ needs. Families are not permitted inside the facilities to give attention, stimulation, love and care. Yet it seems the number...
Editorial: The importance of local news
The news is everywhere. It’s filling up your cellphone and your inbox and your Facebook feed. It’s on for 24 hours on stations devoted to updating you on what they just updated you about. It crawls across the bottom of the screen while you are trying to watch something else...
Robert Speel: County of residence often all that counts in Pa. primaries
Pennsylvanians just voted in primary elections to nominate Democratic and Republican candidates for the office of state auditor general. Those candidates will face off against each other in November. I teach courses about American politics and elections at Penn State. Every time I ask students if they know what the...
Annie Grice, David Ehrenwerth and Thomas Reiter: With religions working together, we shall overcome
Another cellphone video captures the sin of racism, the nation’s slumbering conscience awakens, and political solutions are forcefully advanced. Yet at the most fundamental level, do we not face a moral reckoning demanding a moral diagnosis and a moral cure? At such moments in our past, the Hebrew Bible, traditionally...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: We can do this, a lesson from Stacy Smith
Stacy Smith has seen a lot. The award-winning KDKA-TV news anchor has met the pope, interviewed presidents and reported from the scenes of human disasters. He has covered princes and paupers. When interviewing a Missouri congressman in the U.S. Capitol, Stacy sat in the chair that a stunned Vice President...
Sounding off: Can’t be ‘pro-life’ and not oppose execution
As an ordained Roman Catholic deacon, serving as a chaplain to our incarcerated sisters and brothers in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, I most strongly urge Attorney General William Barr to immediately halt plans for the federal executions of Daniel Lee (July 13), Wesley Purkey (July 15), Dustin Honken (July 17)...
Letter to the editor: Councilman’s Levine remark front-page news?
In the midst of all the misery and divisiveness, you put the story about the Trafford councilman who wished Dr. Rachel Levine a happy Father’s Day on page 1 (“Trafford councilman criticized for transphobic joke about state health secretary,” June 24, TribLIVE). Really? You need to put that at the...
Letter to the editor: Why was ex-police chief armed for a stroll?
If there was ever a newspaper article that was the perfect example of why people don’t like or trust the police, it’s “Former Springdale police chief shoots dog belonging to Allegheny Valley Regional police chief” (June 27, TribLIVE). Every detail of this story is horrible. Why does ex-Chief Julio Medeiros...
Letter to the editor: Discussion, not protesting, can move America forward
The media often attributes the increases in coronavirus to “opening up” too early, President Trump’s rallies, people vacationing at beaches, etc. Hardly ever mentioned are the protests, which could cause spreading of the virus. Thousands of people protest from the early hours until the middle of the night, many without...
Letter to the editor: Good riddance, Roundup
Pesticides have been used for decades to manage invasive weeds and combat pests in homes, schools, early learning centers and public places. However, there is a growing body of evidence showing that exposure to toxic pesticides can cause both short- and long-term health risks, and children are especially vulnerable. In...
Letter to the editor: ‘King’ Wolf taking our freedoms
As another Independence Day is upon us, here’s a quick review of why we broke away from England. It seems that Thomas Jefferson had a poor opinion of King George III. The main problem — poor customer service. George never listened and he had no competition. Tom understood that competition...
Walter Williams: Thomas Sowell, underappreciated American scholar
Dr. Thomas Sowell has been both a friend and a colleague of mine for over a half-century. On June 30, he completed his 90th year of life, and I want to highlight some important features of that life. Sowell was born in Gastonia, N.C., in 1930. As part of the...
John Stossel: Time to end the war on drugs
Protesters say America’s criminal justice system is unfair. It is. Courts are so jammed that innocent people plead guilty to avoid waiting years for a trial. Lawyers help rich people get special treatment. A jail stay is just as likely to teach you crime as it is to help you...
Jacob Plott: Trump’s global tariff war trickles down to Pa. businesses
While President Trump has touted his tariffs and ongoing trade war as a tool to force manufacturers to return jobs to American soil, the reality in states like Pennsylvania paints a very different picture. Instead of strengthening America’s economy, it has weakened domestic manufacturers by raising their costs, thus making...
Presley Gillespie: Neighbors work together to aid Black community during covid-19
As the covid-19 crisis continues to unfold, new concerns continue to surface in the community. Health inequities. Food insecurities. Job losses. Achievement gaps. Digital divides. Isolation and anxiety. To name a few. Although covid-19 doesn’t discriminate, it does hit Black communities harder with a disproportionate number of diagnoses and deaths....
Letter to the editor: Fly American flag proudly, properly
I encourage everyone to fly the American flag proudly and properly on Independence Day. At the same time, do not dishonor the flag by wearing it or using a disposable object with the flag printed on it. These are violations of the Flag Code, which by Act of Congress on...
Letter to the editor: Human rights not up for a vote
In the days since the killing of George Floyd, many organizations (nonprofit and for-profit) have used their numerous social media platforms to express their support for protesters and their message. Fortunately, the negative response has been in the minority. Businesses and organizations are being told to mind their own business....
Letter to the editor: Can’t follow Christ and support Trump
I voted for Trump, just as I have voted for every Republican before him since I could register in 1992. I have been to eight of the last 10 Marches for Life in Washington. I was told by Sean Hannity on his radio show that I was his conductor of...
Letter to the editor: Dr. Rachel Levine deserves respect
Regarding the article “Trafford councilman criticized for transphobic joke about state health secretary” (June 24, TribLIVE): Zack Cole, who are you to judge Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine’s gender? Her name is “Rachel,” not “Richard.” It is called R-E-S-P-E-C-T. You are in public office and should be dealing with...
