Opinion category, Page 718
Letter to the editor: The elemental helium crisis
So now we have an “elemental crisis” (not to be confused with a constitutional crisis) of a necessary noble gas: helium. How is this possible? Is it from filling birthday balloons (nope, since the downfall of the Mylar balloon due to environmental issues)? Too many MRI scans being prescribed? Nope,...
Letter to the editor: Natural gas a win for everyone
There were a lot of numbers in the article “Report: Pennsylvania had record year for natural gas production” (July 10, TribLIVE). They all were pretty good, including the fact that the state conducted 36,873 compliance inspections last year. Oversight already is substantial. Regulators are doing their job to keep us...
Letter to the editor: We shouldn’t tolerate ‘the Squad’
I am a man of color; white is still a color, isn’t it? That’s why it appalls me that the four congresspeople who call themselves “the Squad” I believe use their color to promote racism, socialism and hatred toward our country. These four radical liberals should be thrown out of...
Pat Buchanan: After Mueller debacle, where do Democrats go?
The Democrats who were looking to cast Robert Mueller as the star in a TV special, “The Impeachment of Donald Trump,” can probably tear up the script. They’re gonna be needing a new one. For six hours last Wednesday, as three cable news networks and ABC, CBS and NBC all...
Vince Mercuri: The art of resilience
The renowned artist of the 1600s, Rembrandt, remains famous for capturing emotions and dramatic personal reactions of his subjects. In many of his paintings he displays light emerging from darkness, a sort of victory over the struggles and difficulties of life. Rembrandt serves as a model of determination, courage and...
Editorial: Regatta board needed to trust but verify
Festivals that over-promise, over-commit and under-deliver to the point of investigations and public outcry are becoming all too common. The Fyre Festival has become synonymous with fraud. The “luxury music festival” planned for 2017 in the Bahamas was canceled at the last minute amid broken promises. Sounds something like Tuesday’s...
Letter to the editor: Democrats’ racist rhetoric appalling
As a woman of color I am appalled at the Democrats’ outrageous racist rhetoric. Any thinking person knows that President Trump’s statement was not about race, but patriotism. If Reps. Omar, Pressley, Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez were of Irish, German, English, etc. descent, and all other things being equal, the comment...
Letter to the editor: Overcoming the Trump mistake
It’s difficult to avoid responding in kind to Donald Trump’s name-calling and vituperation. And while it is a continuous challenge to describe 45’s persona as accurately and concisely as possible, one hits a wall after a while. The endless shameful tweets emanating from the White House almost leave one exhausted...
Letter to the editor: Mueller vs. Trump
We can’t understand how anyone who claims to be a Christian can support a person like Donald Trump. Who would you believe: A person of integrity like Robert Mueller who was a Marine with a distinguished service record, or a liar, racist, draft dodger and adulterer like Trump? William Hite...
Letter to the editor: Some criminals live better than our poor
Regarding Jeanne Shields’ letter “Put Americans first” (July 17, TribLIVE): The other end of your true facts is that some convicted criminals in jail live better than our American, working, tax-paying poor. Yes to “wake up” — think, people, think. R. Ebitz Hempfield...
Jonah Goldberg: Unity can be worse than partisanship
I want to put in a good word for partisanship. This might sound strange to some readers. I’ve written a lot about our problem with tribalism, including hyper-partisanship and political polarization. It was a major theme of my cheerily titled book “Suicide of the West.” So I’m happy to concede...
Tom Purcell: Elderly scams on the rise
A phone scammer made a mistake when he called my mother. The young male caller pretended to be her grandson. He said he’d been arrested for fishing on an Indian reservation — unaware he was breaking the law — and needed bail money so a judge wouldn’t throw him in...
Editorial: We all live in drug neighborhoods
A drug buy is the kind of thing that could happen anywhere. It doesn’t have to be a crack house. Money doesn’t just change hands in dark alleys and abandoned warehouses. There isn’t just one kind of neighborhood where people have drug problems. The July 23 shooting at Northland Center...
Letter to the editor: Immigrants are a valuable resource
Today’s immigrants to the United States come for the same reason that your and my ancestors did. They want to work and enjoy freedom from fear and oppression. They work and pay taxes. They start new businesses at a far greater rate than native born Americans. (Half again greater, according...
Letter to the editor: ‘Medicare for all’ is political folly
I am over 65, and Medicare is my primary medical insurance provider. Approximately one year ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (Stage 2). My chosen medical team from a large regional medical care provider put together a comprehensive program of care. The full retail cost of my treatment to...
Letter to the editor: Not all aides work just for paycheck
I work part time as a home health aide. Yes, there are aides that use the job as an easy paycheck. There are also employees like me who go above and beyond. For instance last year, a new client of mine was in the emergency room and my shift was...
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 29
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 29....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 29
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 29....
S.E. Cupp: Republican Party owns all of Trump, not just parts they like
When we talk about people or a party being on the wrong side of history, it usually requires some hindsight, a position of informed advantage to see clearly missteps that were less clear at the time of events. Not so now, with today’s modern Republican Party and its utter cowardice...
Mitchel Nickols: Making decisions as we age
My childhood pastor in Aliquippa, the late Rev. Asa W. Roberts Sr., used to often say at funerals, “The only way not to get old is to die young.” Both he and his father lived into their 90s. The same is true for my mother-in-law, Magnolia Combs of Brackenridge, who...
Letter to the editor: Role of trees, forests in Western Pa. flooding
Regarding Bob Bauder’s article “What’s causing Route 28 to flood? PennDOT might have found the reason”: I would urge your readers to consider the role that deforestation and poor forest management plays in flooding and landslide events locally. Our steep terrain is stabilized by tree roots, and rainwater is captured...
Letter to the editor: Children are pawns in border crisis
For months our president has been warning of the mass exodus to our southern border. He used the word “invasion” and the liberals took it literally. Invasion can mean “an unwelcome intrusion into another’s domain,” like my home has been invaded by termites. The Democrats turned it into a political...
Letter to the editor: Irish, Italians & proud Americans
“Micks” and “dagos” were ethnic slurs, but my father was proud to be called a mick and so am I. The Irish and Italians built this country with their labor. They dug coal in mines to fuel our country to greatness, and built and worked the railroads that expanded commerce....
Letter to the editor: Shame on Megan Rapinoe
It was with great pride that I watched the U.S. women’s soccer team defeat England’s team for the world championship. And then we saw the team’s captain, Megan Rapinoe, shame herself and her team by refusing an invitation to visit the White House to receive our president’s congratulations on behalf...
William Gamble: Black police recruiting requires resources
“Black arrests up, police recruits down” (July 20, TribLIVE) was one of the most positive editorials I have seen to address crime in black communities, if understood and taken in the right light. For the past 30 years I have been working with local police departments and local officials conducting...
