Opinion category, Page 719
Joseph Sabino Mistick: The Frank Costanza campaign strategy
“Serenity now!” That was Frank Costanza’s mantra in a 1997 episode of “Seinfeld.” Frank, who learned the anger management device from self-help tapes, used the phrase anytime he felt that life had gone off the rails and his blood pressure was rising. Instead of softly repeating “serenity now,” Frank shouted...
Sean Brady: Trump is right about Chinese IP theft
Between a professor of economics at a prestigious university and President Trump, who should you trust to choose his words carefully, check his sources and quote reliable figures? The answer might surprise you. Case in point: George Mason University Professor Donald Boudreaux’s recent op-ed “Chinese IP ‘theft’ doesn’t justify Trump’s...
Editorial: Nobody puts Facebook in a corner
How do you punish a company that is bigger than a country? How do you control an industry that evolves at light speed? Can you? The Federal Trade Commission tried last week. Facebook was hit with a $5 billion fine on Wednesday. That’s a huge number. As individuals, it’s hard...
Sounding off: Alternatives to accruing college debt
I understand that the op-ed “Plan would slash higher-education costs” is all about debt. It is not about paying off debt, merely getting out from under debt at the expense of someone. Me, I’m a taxpayer. If you owe the government at whatever level and you don’t pay, I do....
Letter to the editor: Politicians’ oath is to Constitution
Will we make it to 2021? OK … many people support President Trump, but this has now moved in a very scary direction. I beg of everyone to reject the idea that citizens — especially elected citizens — should leave the country if they don’t agree with things our country/current...
Letter to the editor: American dream needs borders
There’s no American dream without a border. It marks the beginning of differences between what’s inside the boundary and what’s outside. Some of those differences are opportunities, some are the laws designed to protect the people within. Without laws, a person’s assets might easily be exploited or stolen by others....
Cal Thomas: End immigration to mend it
For safety reasons, fire marshals control the number of people who can occupy a building at any one time. We’ve seen what happens when crowds get too large and a fire breaks out, causing panic and often death. So why not control the crowd illegally entering America? We control water...
Letter to the editor: Turnpike Commission’s math is off
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a 6% toll hike (“Turnpike commission hikes tolls for 12th straight year — and will until 2044,” July 16, TribLIVE). However, the increase from $1.40 to $1.50 is 7.1%, and the increase from $2.30 to $2.50 is 8.7%. So this is really almost an average...
Walter Williams: Solution to high-crime rates rests with black people
Let’s think about priorities. Say that you live in one of the dangerous high-crime and poor-schooling neighborhoods of cities like Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit or St. Louis. Which is most important to you: doing something about public safety and raising the quality of education or, as most black politicians do, focusing...
John Stossel: The negatives of raising minimum wage
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign was disrupted by campaign workers demanding the same $15 per hour Sanders demands government force all employers to pay. It serves him right. Years ago, the activist group ACORN faced the same problem. After fighting for a higher minimum wage, they tried to convince a...
Editorial: The new life in the death penalty
The death penalty is alive and well in the federal government. On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General William Barr resuscitated the punishment that has languished since 2014 when the Obama administration began a review. That review is complete and executions are being scheduled. The first five death row inmates who will...
Letter to the editor: Roots of racism, xenophobia
A number of people at President Trump’s recent campaign rally in Greenville, N.C. were sporting T-shirts emblazoned with the message (Expletive) Off — We’re Full. The words were “creatively” etched to resemble an outline of the United States of America. I assume the message was directed to immigrants and refugees...
Letter to the editor: Conor Lamb protects animals
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb made a commitment during his campaign to support animal protection legislation if elected to the House of Representatives. This earned him the support of the Humane Society Legislative Fund and animal protection advocates throughout the district. In his first six months in Congress, Lamb made good...
Letter to the editor: Herd of unqualified Democratic candidates
In 2015-16 there was a herd of 17 Republican candidates for president who negated each other by sharing campaign funding, diluted votes in the primary, and elected and established the least qualified candidate for president. We now suffer with a president who does not understand the workings of our government,...
Paul Kengor: Observations on busyness & obliviousness
I sit in my car in a Starbucks parking lot. It’s a new Starbucks, a large lot, drive- thru. I wait while my daughter takes a music lesson down the road. The scene at the drive-thru strikes me. I’m dumbstruck by cars whizzing in at 30 mph with 40 yards to...
Lori Falce: Presidential debates are beauty pageants
We are about to play the next round of everyone’s favorite game show, “Who Wants to Be President?” And the answer in the Democratic Party continues to be the same. Everyone. Yes, we are a year out from the 2020 convention, but it would be great if the CNN debates...
Laurels & lances: A bridge, water and respect
Laurel: To free-flowing traffic. If you’ve been avoiding Freeport Road in East Deer for a year, you can stop taking detours to avoid delays. On Monday, the road was reopened to traffic with a new longer, wider bridge built to stand 100 years. The bridge is the last one in...
Letter to the editor: Motivation of Wolf’s election system veto
In the wake of the 2016 elections, Republican voters have repeatedly been referred to as uneducated, unsophisticated hayseeds who marched hypnotically into the voting booth having been immersed in the MAGA gospel and blindly pulled the Trump lever. Now comes Gov. Tom Wolf vetoing the funding for a new updated...
Letter to the editor: Hoping for a winning Steelers season
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ drama players have finally gone to other teams. Can head coach Mike Tomlin get the team back together again, both on and off the field? Will Tomlin have control inside the locker room? I hope he does, because this is his job. If his reputation is of...
Letter to the editor: Greensburg residents didn’t ‘abuse’ brush pickup
I was shocked to see my neighbors’ home featured in your July 10 article, “People ‘abusing’ Greensburg brush pickup program.” The picture implies my neighbors “abuse” this program. I can tell you, driving past it daily for weeks, that their “large pile of brush” is no bigger than leaf piles...
George Will: Repeal of ‘Cadillac tax’ shows hazard of bipartisanship
WASHINGTON Acting on the principle “Why put it off until tomorrow when you can do the wrong thing today?” the House of Representatives last week voted to repeal a tax that is not scheduled to take effect until 2022. The vote against the “Cadillac tax” was 419-6, a reminder that...
Kevin Hancock: Medicaid waiver program aims to solve nationwide problem
A recent Tribune-Review story (“Lower Burrell woman’s story personifies failures in Medicaid waiver program,” July 13, TribLIVE) and editorial (“Medicaid waivers real roller coaster,” July 16, TribLIVE) detailed a family’s difficulty securing home care for an aging loved one. The story equates the staffing struggles as a personification of “failures...
Colin McNickle: Troubling comparisons for Pittsburgh
An updated statistical analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy of how the City of Pittsburgh stacks up against four comparable “benchmark cities” should prompt much, and necessarily robust, discussion among local public policy makers. Since 2004, the Pittsburgh think tank has, every three years, compared the erstwhile Steel...
Editorial: Should schools turn down free lunch?
It’s fine for a government official to take a stand, as long as he remembers who is picking up the tab. Wyoming Valley West School District is in Luzerne County, and there’s little reason that it would usually attract national attention. According to measurements by Niche.com, the district’s report card...
Letter to the editor: Billboards & people’s rights
Regarding the article “Billboard company calls Tarentum zoning ‘unconstitutional’” (July 10, TribLIVE): It’s important to note that when it comes to rights, it’s not only the billboard company’s that are at issue here. There is also the right of people of Tarentum to use zoning to help determine the scenic...
