Opinion category, Page 692
Peter Morici: Voters as responsible as politicians for dysfunction
In the snows of New Hampshire, yet another American president could emerge pledging to fix Washington — the political gridlock and the pervasive influence of “evil” special interests and K Street lobbyists. And relieve the worst burdens on middle class prosperity — skyrocketing health care costs, tuition and student debt,...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The courage of patriot Alexander Vindman
With all the talk out there about making America great again, here’s a happy story that shows that America has never lost its greatness, in spite of what the naysayers and crackpots want us to believe. It comes along just when we all could use a little boost. Identical twin...
Letter to the editor: Crime in Jeannette must be addressed
After the recent shooting homicide on Cuyler Avenue in Jeannette, Mayor Curtis Antoniak stated on camera, “I will say, that once again, this is not Jeannette.” His wife made a similar comment following the shooting homicide outside the main gate at McKee Stadium in September. There have been five shooting...
David Ayers: Marriage & the gender gap in higher ed
A significantly lower percentage of young men are now obtaining college degrees compared to women. We have known this for some time now. As Jon Birger pointed out in his 2015 book “Date-onomics,” , and as the mass media trumpeted widely, among Americans in their 20s with college degrees, women...
Editorial: Pittsburgh gun law isn’t a scrimmage
The preseason is when a team warms up, stretches and tries things out. Let’s see how this guy does as a quarterback. What if we pair up these two offensive players on the same line? It’s a way to do a test run on something before the score matters. So...
Sounding off: Tree of Life death penalty
Leaders of Dor Hadash and New Light congregations who lost members in the Tree of Life massacre in October 2018 wrote to Attorney General William Barr weeks ago asking the U.S. Justice Department to avoid pursuing the death penalty. They asked instead that the Pittsburgh killer be incarcerated for the...
John Stossel: Rand Paul’s call to end America’s wars
Four years ago, the media were talking about a “Libertarian Moment.” I had high hopes! Sen. Rand Paul ran for president, promising to “take our country back from special interests.” But his campaign never took off. He “shouldn’t even be on the stage,” said Donald Trump at a Republican presidential...
Letter to the editor: Pa. doesn’t need recreational pot adding to problems
Just a few thoughts for Gov. Tom Wolf, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Attorney General Josh Shapiro: income tax, sales tax, the lottery, casinos — now you want more revenue from recreational marijuana. According to your estimate, it would bring in an additional $586 million. I assume that will be...
Letter to the editor: Voters, not government, rule our democracy
Who is the government? Is our government a “father figure,” a “big brother” or an “elite club”? No! President F.D. Roosevelt said, “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and...
Elijah Bray: Marsy’s Law dangerous to our freedoms
On Nov. 5, voters in Pennsylvania will face an important choice: whether or not to approve an amendment to the state Constitution. The benign title of the legislation, the Pennsylvania Marsy’s Law Crime Victims Rights Amendment, belies the dangerous language contained within the measure. Pennsylvania voters from across the political...
Walter Williams: Gun grabbers misleading us
Gun control did not become politically acceptable until the Gun Control Act of 1968 signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The law’s primary focus was to regulate commerce in firearms by prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers. Today’s gun-control advocates have gone much...
Editorial: Congress not unbiased jury in impeachment
A jury has been seated for the trial of Rahmael Holt in the November 2017 shooting death of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw, slated to start Monday. The jury selection took days. In any such process, there are questions about whether jurors knew the defendant or the deceased. There...
Letter to the editor: We’re not doing enough for our planet
The Trib recently published opinion pieces denying or mitigating man-made effects on our environment — Walter Williams’ op-ed “So many environmental predictions grossly wrong” and the letter “America has done well by our planet.” We cannot reference worst-case scenarios or use comparisons with other countries to gauge our progress. We...
Letter to the editor: No corruption in Cerilli’s office
I’m so sick and tired of Westmoreland County’s “boys club” beating up on Commissioner Gina Cerilli. The accusations lodged against her are ludicrous. Corruption? If there was anything going on in the commissioners’ office, wouldn’t you think the Westmoreland County district attorney and the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office would be...
Letter to the editor: Legal marijuana for all over 21
I’m all for commonwealth-regulated, legal, “recreational” marijuana use by all Pennsylvanians over the age of 21 (including law enforcement officers). Such change will provide significantly increased tax revenue for our commonwealth, significantly reduce burdens to our legal system (and its taxpayers) and expand personal “life, liberty and the pursuit of...
Donald Boudreaux: Difficult-to-see consequences of minimum wage
Minimum-wage legislation artificially raises firms’ costs of employing low-skilled workers. In consequence, some workers who would have jobs in the absence of the minimum wage are cast by the minimum wage into the ranks of the unemployed. This understanding was long the consensus among economists. Starting in the mid-1990s, however,...
Lori Falce: Picking sides and changing minds
We live in a time where you can change absolutely anything about yourself. If you would like to make your brown hair blond or your blond hair black or your black hair neon pink, you can do it. If you want to be thinner, you can have fat sucked out....
Laurels & lances: Bills, budgets and buses
Laurel: To honoring the memory of those lost with real action. State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, and Ed Gainey, D-Lincoln-Lemington, and state Sens. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, and Larry Farnese, D-Philadelphia, marked their remembrance of the Tree of Life shooting with a package of four bills. The legislators are...
Letter to the editor: Hempfield board’s tax moves
You may not know David Iwig, Jeanne Smith and Paul Adams of the Hempfield Area School Board used their reverse appeals program as an excuse to file nine pending lawsuits against the county, arguing “there is a lack of uniformity in the assessment of real estate within Westmoreland County.” They...
Letter to the editor: Looking forward to day when Trump gets cooperation
Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up and see news reports that our great president finally gets Congress to approve funding for our broken bridges, unsafe roads and buildings, securing our borders, a better health-care system and more for our country instead of daily stalls and brawls? Tricia Cunningham Washington...
Letter to the editor: Legalized pot, DUI & cellphone use
On marijuana legalization, I’m undecided. I believe that several things need to happen in Pennsylvania before it would be a “yes” for me. A lot of revenue would be generated by legalizing marijuana. I would like that revenue to remove property/school tax for any individual over the age of 59....
Letter to the editor: Buchman will clean up Allegheny Valley School Board
Numerous people from Springdale, Cheswick and Harmar have complained to me about the outrageous Allegheny Valley School District taxes. Harmar Township supervisors have lowered taxes three of the past four years and will lower them again next year for our homeowners. We accomplished this by electing honest, intelligent supervisors. If...
George Will: China’s precarious future
Demography does not dictate any nation’s destiny, but it shapes every nation’s trajectory, so attention must be paid to Nicholas Eberstadt. He knows things that should occasion some American worries, but also knows more important things that should assuage some worries regarding Russia and China. Writing in the July/August issue...
Editorial: How do we save manufacturing?
According to the state Department of Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania has more than 18,900 businesses and 570,400 people engaged in making everything from steel to potato chips to lighters. That is a significant number of companies and employees. It just isn’t what it used to be. The Georgetown Center...
Cal Thomas: Charlie Chaplin’s philosophy — no more billionaires
He was the Bernie Sanders of his day. Charlie Chaplin, the iconic actor and at the time a well-known political leftist (some said communist), delivered a speech in San Francisco in 1941 prior to America’s entry into World War II. As recounted in the biography of her parents, actress Fay...
