Opinion category, Page 655
Editorial: When ‘elective’ surgeries are essential to health
“Elective surgery.” The term sounds almost frivolous. It conjures up images of nose jobs and breast implants. There is no reason to get a tummy tuck during a pandemic, right? So when government officials are recommending that hospitals discontinue elective surgery, that may sound reasonable. “This will free up bed...
Mary Schmich: It’s OK not to feel OK right now. But here’s how to feel better
Mary Schmich is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune and winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. It’s OK to be scared. It’s OK to be confused, anxious, angry, lonely. Whatever emotion you’re feeling in this coronavirus craziness, it’s OK. Try not to dwell in the worst of it,...
Sounding off: Chuck Schumer should resign over ‘word choice’
“It was a very poor choice of words,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said. And just like that, Sen. Chuck Schumer’s attack on two sitting members of the Supreme Court in the most voracious manner was dismissed by some on the left. Those words to Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh...
Letter to the editor: New trial for accused priest heartbreaking
The Rev. Hugh Lang, who was convicted in November on charges that he sexually abused an 11-year-old boy in 2001, had his conviction vacated this month because a new judge believes Lang did not receive a fair trial. We are dismayed that the victim will have to go through yet...
Letter to the editor: Truckers deserve respect & clean facilities
On March 16, PennDOT and governor’s office moved to close all the Turnpike rest stops with just fueling and convenience stores available — no food and restroom facilities, just Porta-Johns. Then on Wednesday they opened some rest areas to truckers, but still no bathrooms other than Porta-Johns. By Friday, the...
Letter to the editor: Maybe Trump finally gets it
It’s about time. Finally, President Trump is acting more like a president should. His recent news conferences have shown exactly how he should act: as a concerned president for all Americans during a crisis. He has turned away from Republican and conservative radio talking points concerning the coronavirus outbreak as...
Letter to the editor: Bernie, Biden, Pelosi & Schumer
After all the campaigning and wasted money, it appears that the Democratic/socialist party is narrowed down to two white men, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. Sanders is an avowed socialist, and Biden, who has run several times before, was President Obama’s vice president for eight years. If Obama thinks Biden...
John Stossel: Price ‘gouging’ saves lives
“We don’t have any …!” Fill in the blank. People are stocking up on things, fearing that we will be stuck in our homes, under quarantine, without essential supplies. Some hoard toilet paper. A popular internet video features someone driving up to what appears to be a drug dealer but...
Walter Williams: Bernie Sanders’ fans should look at socialism’s past
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ call for socialism has resonated among many Americans, particularly young Americans. They’ve fallen prey to the idea of a paradise here on Earth where things are free and there’s little want. But socialists never reveal what turns out to be their true agenda. Let’s look at the...
Letter to the editor: In praise of the DMV
When was the last time you heard someone praise the wisdom of the DMV? When I visited the Bridgeville DMV facility to secure a Real ID, I expected the worst: a three-hour wait for the painful experience of being told I didn’t have the right documents. To my delight, the...
Letter to the editor: Transparency vs. politics
The editorial “The people have a right to know” (March 2, TribLIVE) offers only one side of the story. I don’t disagree that the people have a right to know what their public officials are doing, but I think it’s important that they understand the entire scope of what an...
Letter to the editor: Electoral College is essential
Regarding Ron Slabe’s letter “Electoral College is archaic”: Any law, resolution or proposal to change the core process of our national election, especially one heavily sponsored (i.e., funded) by left-wing progressives, is something the electorate should strongly oppose. The left has a way of assigning nomenclature to disguise the purpose...
Editorial: Wolf’s excessive attack on the Pa. economy will hurt lives
There is no business that isn’t life-sustaining. Every business in Pittsburgh, and Greensburg, and the Alle-Kiski Valley, in Pennsylvania and beyond. They all sustain life. Maybe they don’t all serve the food that fuels a body, but they provide the paychecks that put food on the table. And so it...
Donald Boudreaux: Globalization, wealth & health
Public emergencies are not opportunities for making permanent changes in public policies. Politicians under the best of circumstances naturally pander to people’s commonplace fears, such as alarm over imports, immigrants and income inequality. But emergencies, by shortening voters’ time horizons and intensifying sensations of individual helplessness, increase voters’ fears and...
Lori Falce: Following covid-19 advice
Working from home is one of those things that sounds better in theory than in practice. What’s not to like, right? You can come to the 8:30 a.m. meeting in your pajamas. You can lie on your couch while you answer emails. You can have a real lunch instead of...
Laurels (and no lances): Some reminders of goodness
Laurel: To a different kind of greens. It’s nice to know that as some golf courses close down, that doesn’t necessarily mean the landscape will change dramatically — becoming a sea of subdivided homes or vast expanses of pavement. The Timber Ridge Golf Club in East Huntingdon has found new...
E.R. Shipp: America has survived other calamities; we can make it through coronavirus, too
Every day in this covid-19 time brings new urgencies, new revelations, new insights. The most stunning for me, believe it or not, was realizing that I am one of those people all the health officials and journalists are talking about when they mention vulnerable populations. When they used the word...
Doris DelTosto Brogan & Steven Chanenson: Get politics out of public defender system
Recently, Montgomery County, Pa. fired its top two public defenders, Dean Beer and Keisha Hudson, immediately escorting them from their offices with no explanation to their stunned staff or the public. We join the lawyers, academics and other stakeholders who have spoken out because this matters. If the motivation for...
Susan Crawford: Maybe covid-19 will remind us why government is not the enemy
After the stock market collapsed in late 1929, many people in the United States lost their jobs. By 1932, 1 in 4 Americans was suffering from lack of food. President Hoover, enamored of the efficiency of the private market and suspicious of all foreign countries, raised tariffs and waited, confident...
Letter to the editor: Who would fall for ‘Russian meddling’?
Warning! “Experts” report that Vladimir Putin is personally crafting the most hypnotic Facebook ad ever created. If Hillary herself even glances in the ad’s general direction, she will become another Trump zombie. In reality, though, I find it maddening that the media and politicians use the words “meddling” and “interference”...
Letter to the editor: Pro-life means protecting all lives
To me, “pro-life” means supporting all aspects of all lives. It’s not enough to merely encourage a child’s birth while ignoring efforts to feed, clothe, educate, provide health care and protect that child throughout life. Since 2016, we’ve seen expanding anti-life policies, including attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act...
Caleb Verbois: How to talk to your children about coronavirus
My wife and I homeschool our children, so we did not have to suddenly tell our children “no school for the next month,” as we will still be having it. But we did have to talk to them about why we will not be able to do other normal activities,...
Editorial: Faith, the faithful and coronavirus
Three parishioners at one East Liberty church have tested positive for coronavirus. The Eastminster Presbyterian Church’s Pastor Paul Roberts and two other members have covid-19, providing sobering evidence of how even the places we feel safest have to be approached with caution in the midst of a pandemic. It’s also...
Ted Anthony: Americans need a coronavirus hill to charge
When Americans are summoned to deal with an attack or defy overwhelming odds, the response typically goes something like this: Fight. Hold the line. Stand together. This won’t stop us. Keep on living your life. We will prevail. Some of the coronavirus language from leaders has mirrored this imagery. “An...
Letter to the editor: Investing and coronavirus
Coronavirus has done one good thing: It forced individuals to reassess investment. The result: a near-recession. While a bear market is never preferable, the chance of an economy not propped up on overconfidence and malinvestment should be desirable to all. Then, the Fed reduced rates to 1.5% in an attempt...
