Opinion category, Page 672
Joseph Horton: The Methodist Church is coming apart
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...
Antony Davies & James Harrigan: Congress has no constitutional authority on alcohol, drugs
One hundred years ago, on Jan. 17, 1920, when the 18th Amendment came into force, it became illegal to manufacture, transport or sell alcohol within the United States. Prohibition was a profoundly bad idea, but even had it been worthwhile, it was nearly impossible to enforce. People wanted alcohol regardless...
Editorial: Is gambling too convenient?
Legal online poker made $2.5 million in its first full month of being legal in Pennsylvania. That’s not a lot in the great scheme of things. It’s less than 1% of the state’s December gambling revenue. But it’s a start. The question isn’t how much will it grow from there....
Sounding off: Addressing speed on highways
Whenever there is a crash and/or traffic fatalities, the blame is always put on anything and everything other than “driving too fast for conditions” or increased speed limits. People will blame the weather, the road or a mistake a driver made, but speed is one sacred demon you don’t dare...
Letter to the editor: Information needed on Westmoreland County’s finances
Regarding the article “March 17 special election set to fill Justin Walsh’s former state House seat” (Jan. 7, TribLIVE): If this great county cannot afford a measly $200,000 for the referenced special election, then the county’s finances are in a far more precarious condition that we Trib readers might be...
Letter to the editor: Trump, Senate actions will take high toll
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” is a frequently quoted sports statement that, if applied to all actions, would be the end of caring, love, honesty, appreciation of beauty and all morality. Sadly, it seems to be the main motivation of our president and the Republican Party leadership. Senate...
Letter to the editor: Trump haters should be mindful of facts
The writer of the recent letter “Trump supporters should see writing on wall” (Dec. 20, TribLIVE) is like the guy who buys the snake oil at the carnival and then calls everyone who doesn’t buy it stupid. He seems to think that all the testimony against President Trump proves that...
John Stossel: State’s byzantine laws licensed good people to fail
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...
Walter Williams: High costs of crime on blacks in low-income areas
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...
Editorial: Bus routes are connections, not prizes
One of the hallmarks of a how well a community works is always transportation. Are the roads paved? Are they plowed? How bad is the traffic? And how good is the public transit? According to a report from trip-planning app Moovit, the people of Pittsburgh have it pretty good compared...
Letter to the editor: Voters wanted Hillary Clinton as president
The writer of the letter “Dem candidates, impeachment” (Dec. 5, TribLIVE) stated that “Hillary just can’t accept the fact that voters don’t want her for president.” If the writer had an open mind and checked some facts, he would see that his statement is not true. In 2016, 2.87 million...
Letter to the editor: Why spend on special election?
Can someone explain to me why there will be a special election six weeks prior to the primary election instead of just making the race part of the primary (“March 17 special election set to fill Justin Walsh’s former state House seat,” Jan. 7, TribLIVE)? Why must the extra expense...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland County should support vocational training
Student debt is increasing, and over 10,000 manufacturing jobs remain vacant in Westmoreland County. We should increase our support for vocational training. For example, Westmoreland County Community College’s welding program takes two years to complete and costs $7,980 for county residents. Graduates in 2019 earned an average starting salary of...
Letter to the editor: Impeachment & misinterpretation of facts
Out with the old, in with the new is the mantra for ushering in a new year. So it was that an activity of clearing out old files led me to discover an article from 1997 about a 14-year-old boy named Nathan Zohner who got 43 out of 50 ninth-graders...
Donald Boudreaux: Remembering not-so-noble Prohibition experiment
A century ago — on Jan. 17, 1920, one year after ratification of the 18th Amendment — the United States began its so-called “noble experiment” with nationwide alcohol prohibition. For the next nearly 14 years — until the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th — the force of the federal government...
Lori Falce: ‘Little Women’ and boys who don’t read
I am an equal opportunity story lover. I love books and movies and television shows that are a chocolate box of options. I like rom-coms and chick lit and sweeping Jane Austen-esque tales of love and duty and sacrifice. I love action movies and comic book heroes. I embrace science...
Laurels & lances: Develop, restart, honor
Laurel: To realizing big change can start small. Pittsburgh is looking beyond big development projects and placing emphasis on rebuilding neighborhoods and modeling transformation with its own blighted properties. Mayor Bill Peduto made the announcement Wednesday, pointing to the potential impact that rehabilitating neighborhood business districts and the city-owned buildings...
Letter to the editor: Hostage to turnpike rate hike
If you drive the Pennsylvania Turnpike, then you are being held hostage with the new rate increases. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says rates are going up 6%. Think again! The rates were conveniently adjusted so the tolls will be rounded up to the nearest dime after the 6% hike is...
Letter to the editor: Time to let time stop running our lives
I guess it’s time to join a gym for a year membership, only to go for the first month and find out that it’s real hard work to try to get into shape. It is time to check our credit card balances, for we may have overspent and hiked up...
Letter to the editor: Hollywood, science & clean water
Regarding the review “Ominous ‘Dark Waters’ is like ‘Chernobyl’ for America” (Nov. 27, TribLIVE): I have spent my career ensuring that Americans have clean water. Regulations must be grounded in science. Increasingly, facts are being disregarded or misinterpreted in order to manipulate public perception. These dynamics are evident in the...
Editorial: Small businesses are tariff casualties
Not every company that uses steel is a global giant. They aren’t all traded on the stock exchange. They don’t all employ thousands. Sometimes it’s a small company with small margins. But manufacturing matters whether it’s a major power or a minor one. That is why many buckled in for...
Colin McNickle: Pittsburgh, by the financial numbers
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...
Letter to the editor: Both left, right clueless
This holiday season allowed me to spend time with people on the left and right who have no clue what’s happening in this country. I’m not sure where they get their information. I’ve listened to conversations that show the liberal left and conservative right are misinformed and clueless. I’m not...
Letter to the editor: More people should learn to play chess
More Pennsylvanians should consider learning to play the fascinating game of chess. Chess stimulates one’s mental discourse and thought processes. It is widely believed that it also kick-starts the nerve endings in the brain. I recollect playing my grandfather when I was 10 years old. This was when I first...
Letter to the editor: Gun owner Jack Wilson is a hero
Many remarkable things happened in the last 10 years involving many good people, with the election of President Trump at the top. But I think 2019 ended on a high note due to one man who deserves special recognition. That would be Jack Wilson, the Christian gun owner who killed...
