Opinion category, Page 649
Michael Hiltzik: ‘Pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli wants out of prison to find a cure for coronavirus
One little-noticed consequence of the novel coronavirus crisis might be an outbreak of chutzpah. That’s a possible explanation for an audacious request by Martin Shkreli, the notorious “pharma bro” known for jacking up the price of old drugs to which he had acquired the rights, the better to reap profits...
Pat Buchanan: When covid-19 pandemic is over, will we be the same America?
“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully,” Samuel Johnson said. And as it is with men, so it is with nations. Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, has projected some 100,000 to 200,000 U.S....
Editorial: Passover teaches lessons about coronavirus
Passover will not be dimmed by the coronavirus. It cannot. A holiday that remembers biblical plagues cannot be bullied by a pandemic. Starting Wednesday at sundown, Passover is the eight-day Jewish celebration that commemorates the Hebrew slaves winning their freedom in Egypt. It begins with the Seder. It is an...
Sen. Wayne Fontana: Voting by mail no longer the exception
As this frightening pandemic affects every facet of our lives, more and more citizens are doing what they can to keep safe by staying at home, practicing social distancing and keeping in touch with others as remotely as possible. We don’t know when this nightmare will end, or when we...
Wayne Campbell: Expanding broadband access a moral mandate
The covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered as a time that upended people’s lives and livelihoods and caused too many family tragedies to count. Each day, there is more depressing news about more cases and more deaths. It creates a shadow of doom over our society and world. Many ways...
Letter to the editor: Help our candymakers survive coronavirus
The article “Coronavirus taking big bite out of Easter candy sales for region’s makers” (April 1, TribLIVE) detailed local candy companies’ struggles during this pandemic and how, with Easter sales way down, they fear their companies might not survive. Well, we can do something about that. Let’s all do our...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s inaction on coronavirus
I am enraged to hear our president imply that he is doing a good job since only 100,000 or more American citizens will apparently die from the coronavirus (March 29 news briefing). When he became president in 2017, he was given a pandemic playbook and pandemic director and staff. He...
Letter to the editor: We must fight infectious disease globally
At least one county in West Virginia is trying to prevent people from crossing borders by stopping the sale of liquor to out-of-state residents (“West Virginia county bans liquor sales to out-of-state residents including Pennsylvanians,” April 4, TribLIVE). This may be effective to stop the movement of some people, but...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s swift action saved lives
It’s tough facing daily pandemic questions armed only with spotty data. It’s even tougher when biased media seek to influence rather than inform the public. Has President Trump made mistakes discussing the severity of coronavirus? Sure, just as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and...
Tom Purcell: Worrying about my not-so-worried parents
My sisters and I worry that our 83-year-old mother and 86-year-old father aren’t nearly as worried about covid-19 as we are. Though this pandemic is as unique as it is unnerving, they tell us they’ve experienced plenty of unnerving events. Born in 1933, in the thick of the Great Depression,...
Jonah Goldberg: Impeachment not a valid excuse for slow coronavirus response
A reporter asked President Trump last week what he thought of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s claim that impeachment distracted Trump from tackling the coronavirus epidemic earlier. The president gave a rambling answer but ultimately settled on a firm no. “I don’t think I would have done better had I...
Editorial: Coronavirus can’t stop holidays and normal life
Let’s face it: It’s hard to pretend that anything is normal right now. If this were normal, kids would be playing Little League baseball and high school girls would be trying on prom gowns. People would be enjoying the mild spring weather by shopping for plants for the yard. And...
Linda Smales: Protecting the people who are protecting us
Being a nurse isn’t easy. It’s not enough to master the clinical knowledge required; nurses also have to be adaptable, empathetic and most of all compassionate. As a professor of nursing, I have always stressed to my students that they need to master all of these skills to be a...
David Sanko: So many to thank … don’t forget local government
Pennsylvania Local Government Week is April 6-10, and we can think of no better time to recognize our townships, which are on the front lines of making sure life goes on as smoothly and safely as possible in their communities during the covid-19 pandemic. As the covid-19 emergency continues throughout...
Letter to the editor: Why did couple bring coronavirus back home?
Thanks to the Hempfield couple who left their cruise ship in Florida with coronavirus and brought it home to us in Pittsburgh (“Hempfield couple who tested positive for covid-19 after cruise describe what it’s like to have virus,” March 23, TribLIVE). I have read stories of hundreds of people quarantined...
Letter to the editor: Schools as coronavirus hospitals
Hospitals in other parts of the country are setting up medical tents if there is an overflow of sick people from covid-19. All of our schools are closed down. Why couldn’t hospitals here use school gymnasiums, cafeteria areas and large classrooms? They have power, lighting, restrooms and refrigeration needed for...
Letter to the editor: Time for Trump to step aside
It is well past time for President Donald Trump to step aside and relinquish control of our nation’s response to the coronavirus. We need real leadership and compassion, not excuse-making, blaming of others and preposterous ad-lib comments about Easter timelines and miracle cures. Seeing our commander in chief, surrounded by...
Letter to the editor: Stimulus money is for survival, not pet projects
A $2.2 trillion stimulus bill has been approved by our federal government. These funds were designated to help our country survive this crisis by helping people, companies, airports, etc. to get through this time of lost income and revenue. My fear is that this money will be used for projects...
Letter to the editor: Officials trying to profit from coronavirus
When news about the coronavirus started coming out, some elected officials made money or wanted something for their own personal gain. Sens. Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler and others sold their stock and made money after receiving information about the coronavirus. We didn’t get to sell our stock with that...
Letter to the editor: Health care, socialism & capitalism
While reading Walter Williams’ column “We have no ‘right’ to health care” (March 13, TribLIVE), I thought it puzzling to find the term “moral decency” used as an argument against health care for all. I disagree with the author’s premise, and I believe there is a solid argument that free-market...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of April 6
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of April 6....
Editorial cartoons for the week of April 6
Editorial cartoons for the week of April 6....
S.E. Cupp: America’s lack of pandemic preparedness is unforgivable
In the movies, this all goes very differently. In Hollywood’s version of events, the federal government had been building a secret bunker in the limestone cliffs of Missouri to house a million people in the expectation of an extinction-level-event. Or the entire executive and legislative branches were relocated to an...
Editorial: The deadly flu vs. the coronavirus pandemic
The comparisons are inevitable. Coronavirus is a contagious respiratory illness you can pick up from a doorknob or a stray sneeze. Some infected people show no symptoms. Others come down with what ranges from a bad to a monstrous cold. An alarming number of people need hospital treatment. Many die....
Letter to the editor: Coronavirus treatment and health insurance
The recently passed federal stimulus legislation makes coronavirus testing free to all patients, regardless of health insurance status. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms can now get tested without worrying about costs. To ensure that hospitals don’t simply jack up their testing prices once health insurers, self-insured employers and the government...
