Opinion category, Page 696
S.E. Cupp: Big government was winner at Dem debate
At the first Democratic primary debate since the American political landscape tectonically shifted, it’s no surprise the potential impeachment of President Trump was a significant focus of the night. How, why and when Trump should be impeached drew creative and passionate responses from the people vying for his job. It...
Antony Davies & James Harrigan: PLCB not the way to go for marijuana
Gov. Tom Wolf recently came out in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania, and legislative support followed quickly in the form of House Bill 1899, introduced by Rep. David Delloso of Delaware County. The bill would legalize recreational marijuana, but it also calls for expunging marijuana possession convictions from...
Victoria Betsill and Thomas Reiter: Black Catholics’ faith inspires in challenging times
What do novelist Toni Morrison, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, basketball coach John Thompson, gymnast Simone Biles and acclaimed Pittsburgh jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams all have in common? If you guessed they’re black, you’ve got it half right. The correct answer is that they, together with approximately 3 million...
Sounding off: Trump is no savior
D.A. Scandrol’s letter “Trump as messiah” was the most sacrilegious drivel I’ve read in 84 years of living. To admire and support President Trump is one thing; but to even remotely compare him to Christ is utterly ridiculous. Trump came to make America great again. America was already great, only...
Letter to the editor: America tired of war
What the RINO Republicans do not understand is that most of middle America is tired of the continuous wars that the Bush and Obama administrations have entangled America in. No one elected America’s sons and daughters to police the world, let alone go and die in places where we do...
Letter to the editor: Fox News & factual news
Does letter-writer Michael Bitterice (“Media’s bias dangerous,” Oct. 16, TribLIVE) include Fox News in his opinion of “factual news”? Jon Herby Blairsville...
Letter to the editor: Pirates need an owner who cares
Pirates’ fans are fed up with the circus. Back in the Kevin McClatchy era, we were told the Pirates needed a new stadium to be competitive. Perhaps that’s true, but it won’t work unless we build a winning team. We need an owner who cares about our team and Pittsburgh....
Letter to the editor: Crime victims need Marsy’s Law
As indicated by the article “Pa. voters will decide constitutional amendment on rights of crime victims,” Pennsylvanians will soon have the opportunity to vote on the Crime Victims’ Rights Amendment, known as Marsy’s Law. As the article stated, the language in Marsy’s Law echoes the Pennsylvania Crime Victim Act, but...
Walter Williams: Intolerance in academia
If you need an accurate update on some of the madness at the nation’s institutions of higher learning, check out Minding the Campus, a nonprofit independent organization. John Leo, its editor-in-chief, says that the organization’s prime mission is dedicated to the revival of intellectual pluralism and the best traditions of...
John Stossel: Are male, female brains different?
The media keep telling us: There’s no difference between male and female brains. I don’t believe it. Many of you must be skeptical, too. Nonetheless, people now fill auditoriums to hear neuroscientist Gina Rippon talk about her new book that claims “New Neuroscience Explodes the Myths of the Male and...
Editorial: Pennsylvania delegation did its job
We don’t just give power to political parties. We vest that power in individuals for a reason. We elect lawyers with military backgrounds like Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters. We elect people who have been involved in government since before the Pirates last won a...
Letter to the editor: Not a member? Can’t vote.
If you are not a member of a club, you have no right to vote in its internal elections — i.e., primaries. However, if you are forced to pay for those primaries, you do have a right to vote in them. If the members of one party don’t want people...
Letter to the editor: Strange way to treat God’s creatures
It is a very peculiar use of religion to bless a pack of dogs who are egged on by humans rushing on horses, chasing a fox to utter exhaustion and then watching them tear it apart (“Fox hunting returns to Ligonier Township this weekend.”) If it is a female, its...
Letter to the editor: Trump no messiah; proud to be Democrat
Regarding D.A. Scandrol’s letter “Trump as messiah”: Donald J. Trump should not be interpreted as a messiah. To infer that Trump might be the messiah is an affront to Jews and Christians. Scandrol’s interpretation of Christ’s life on earth as Trump’s life in the political arena is profane and contemptuous....
Letter to the editor: Assault sentence sets bad precedent
Regarding the article “Greensburg man sentenced to 4- 8 years in prison for assaulting 7-year-old”: Regardless if there is a plea agreement or not, 4-8 years in prison and seven years of probation for multiple counts of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old is reaching an all-time low. This sets standards for...
Donald Boudreaux: Does free trade further fuel Beijing’s tyranny?
There’s no shortage of arguments offered up for preventing citizens of a liberal democracy, such as the United States, from trading freely with the subjects of an authoritarian state, such as China. Many of these arguments reflect merely an ignorance of Econ 101. It isn’t true, for example, that low-wage...
Laurels & lances: World Series, sirens, singers
Laurel: To having a long memory. Can you cast yours back far enough to recall when the Pittsburgh Pirates were more than a perennial paperweight for Major League Baseball? This year marks 40 long, long years since the Bucs took Pittsburgh to the big dance and brought home the title...
Lori Falce: Women with 4 jobs exist, O’Reilly
Bill O’Reilly doesn’t think working four jobs is a thing people do. While live-tweeting during the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, the former Fox News host dismissed a statement from candidate and former congressman Beto O’Rourke. “Beto says he met a woman working FOUR jobs. And raising a special needs...
Letter to the editor: Hunters will adapt to opening-day change
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has changed the starting day of buck season from the first Monday after Thanksgiving to the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. As a new hunter, I agree with this change. I go to school, and this change will allow me to start hunting on a weekend. It...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to Logan, Weimer for fighting reassessment
Nothing destroys communities faster than ridiculous tax schemes. A big thank-you to Hempfield Township Supervisors Tom Logan and Doug Weimer for continuing to fight the Hempfield Area School District’s predatory property tax reassessment program. Hempfield residents need fear the current school board’s lawyers, as new potential business owners have started...
Letter to the editor: What church would venerate Trump?
I’m not a religious man, but I do believe in God. After reading D.A. Scandrol’s letter “Trump as messiah” (Sept. 20, TribLIVE), I wonder which church or religion would venerate a lying adulterer as its messiah. As for President Trump making America great, it’s only for rich white people. Minorities...
George Will: Progressives too willing to cut constitutional corners
WASHINGTON — Presidential aspirant Beto O’Rourke, thrashing about in an attempt to be noticed, says tax exemptions should be denied to churches and other institutions that oppose same-sex marriage. O’Rourke’s suggestion, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to tax the “excessive” exercise of a First Amendment right, and the NBA’s...
Colin McNickle: Auction those Pittsburgh property holdings
The City of Pittsburgh should expedite the sale of city-owned property by injecting the marketplace into the process, says a new white paper by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Property could move more rapidly from the city to the general public though an auction,” says Eric Montarti, research director....
Editorial: DEP needs to address hemp smell
New industries will always have growing pains. It shouldn’t be surprising that growing hemp should be experiencing hiccups. After all, growing hemp is something that hasn’t really happened — legally, at least — in Pennsylvania for decades. The namesake of Hempfield Township and Hempfield Area School District may have once...
Letter to the editor: We should care what Trump says, does
I’m glad I’m old. I don’t think we are getting any real economic numbers or truth from President Trump’s administration. Who cares if Trump is making money from his presidency? I don’t care if Trump sells secrets to Russia. Who cares if the very rich and Trump get all the...
