Opinion category, Page 723
Sounding off: Gerrymandering and democracy
Thank you for the editorial ”Gerrymandering doesn’t represent us.” Gerrymandering can be a complicated subject, but you focused on the essence of the problem with the sentence, “Representative democracy doesn’t work if it’s not representative.” This assessment sums up the reason our state and federal governments are dysfunctional. If we...
Letter to the editor: Flag co-opted by hate-mongers
When I first heard about Nike removing its Betsy Ross flag shoes from the market, I was dismayed and thought that people where being too touchy-feely and too PC. Once I heard the context of the situation, I understood the objection. I always saw that flag as a starting point...
Letter to the editor: Disaster at the border
The Democrats have done little to stop the crisis at the border. They don’t seem to be interested in stopping caravans or filling in immigration law loopholes. They have tried to block everything President Trump has done to control the crisis through what appears to be biased judges and their...
Letter to the editor: Elizabeth Warren’s unfair debt forgiveness plan
Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren proposes to forgive up to $50,000 of student loan debt per student depending on the person’s income. This is a lot of “free stuff” money. On the campaign trail, I wonder how Warren would reply to a person who did not attend college and asked the...
Jennifer Christman: Technology & mental health in rural America
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 5 Americans will experience mental health issues in any given year. But imagine living in a rural community, where the nearest doctors are located an hour’s drive away, or worse, there aren’t specialized health care professionals in the area...
Walter Williams: Our free-speech crisis
The First Amendment to our Constitution was proposed by the 1788 Virginia ratification convention during its narrow 89-79 vote to ratify the Constitution. Virginia’s resolution held that the free exercise of religion, right to assembly and free speech could not be canceled, abridged or restrained. These Madisonian principles were eventually...
John Stossel: Government bullies try to mow down homeowner
The city of Dunedin, Fla., wants Jim Ficken’s home. Ficken’s mom died, so he went to South Carolina to take care of her estate. He asked a friend to look after his house. But then the friend died, and no one cut Ficken’s grass. When it grew to 10 inches,...
Editorial: Wolf’s voting veto a head-scratcher
Gov. Tom Wolf thinks that scrapping straight-ticket voting will lead to confused voters and long lines at the polls. Do you know what else confuses voters? Do you know what else leads to long lines? When no one knows what’s going on. How we vote might be the most important...
Letter to the editor: Radical left’s subversion
Golly gee, gee whiz and a double yoi! It’s becomeing more and more difficult for me to comprehend the radical left’s subversive thinking that seems to favor runaway immigration for votes, sanctuary cities, runaway spending and debt, and most of all, socialism, and disfavor the president for making headway in...
Letter to the editor: Good calls by Supreme Court
Win-loss scoreboard: Trump administration 1/1; John Q. Public 2/0. The Supreme Court made two good decisions before its summer break. In gerrymandering, the Supreme Court feels that the states must oversee. I agree gerrymandering is a part of our political system. Redistricting won’t happen again until after the 2020 census...
Letter to the editor: Why are emissions requirements different?
Where I live, in Westmoreland County, we are required to get emissions testing. But across from me, 50 to 100 feet across the Kiski River, Apollo residents are not. So our air is polluted and theirs is not? You know PennDOT will not give this up, fair or not. A...
Letter to the editor: Process to get Real ID inadequate
It’s hard to believe transportation officials have visited a Department of Motor Vehicles office to try to get a Real ID. If they had, they would not be surprised that so many Pennsylvanians have not yet been issued one. In one week I made three attempts to get a Real...
Lori Falce: Schools teach facts despite beliefs
I don’t believe in math. People insist to me that math is a real thing. I don’t buy it. I think math is a conspiracy — a plot against those of us who live our lives in sentences strung out of words rather than equations and numbers. I didn’t get...
Laurels & lances: Airports, jobs, penguins and dogs
Laurel: To a high-flying honor. Pittsburgh International Airport has been named the seventh-best airport in the country, according to Travel & Leisure magazine, a publication that obviously knows a little something about arrivals and departures. That’s a pretty nice ranking for an airport that isn’t a major hub. And hey,...
Letter to the editor: Brentwood July 4 parade spectacular
Kudos to the Brentwood Fourth of July Committee for the spectacular parade on July 4. It truly consisted of something for everyone and a combination of fun (the Columbus Brothers’ and “Totally ’80s” floats) and more meaningful appearances (such as the vintage military vehicles and the personnel who marched). It...
Letter to the editor: Remembering Frank Furko, Pudgie Wudgie
Frank Furko has passed over the Rainbow Bridge to reunite with his beloved famous cat Pudgie Wudgie (“Plum’s Frank Furko, best remembered as Pudgie Wudgie’s owner, dead at 85,” June 21, TribLIVE). What a beautiful reunion that is. Being a cat lover myself, I read all of the articles about...
Letter to the editor: Curing America’s insanity
The movie “Avatar” has so many wonderful life lessons. For example, Mo’at, the spiritual leader, said to Jake Sully, “We will see if your insanity can be cured” and “It’s hard to fill a cup that is already full.” Both statements hit me hard, given the atmosphere of hate and...
Letter to the editor: We need clean air in Pittsburgh
Our community wants and needs clean air. Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger held a listening session on air quality in Pittsburgh June 26 in East Liberty. I was impressed with the meeting and proud of my fellow Pittsburghers for speaking out about their knowledge of and experience with our poor...
Paul Kengor: When even knitting becomes political
“I went to a quilt guild meeting today and discovered that even quilting has been politicized.” That’s an email I received from a friend last October. “It’s purely political,” she continued. “The state quilt guild was touting a traveling quilt show called ‘Threads of Resistance.’ I’ll let you guess what...
George Will: A story of family communism
WASHINGTON In this moment of dueling political hysterias (“The fascists are at the gates!” “The socialists are within the gates!”), it is reassuring to remember that America has quickly recovered from some previous plunges into overheated anxiety. David Maraniss understands this. He is a Washington Post editor, a Pulitzer Prize-winning...
Cal Thomas: Justin Amash not a ‘total loser’
Rep. Justin Amash has left the Republican Party and will now represent Michigan’s third congressional district as an independent. In a Washington Post op-ed, he wrote: “I’ve become disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it. The two-party system has evolved into an existential threat to...
Editorial: No thin line between self-defense and recklessness
Let’s talk about gun control. No, not the government controlling the weapon you have a constitutional right to own. We need to talk about the obligation to control the weapon and yourself when it is in your possession. The recent shooting at the North Versailles Walmart illustrates the importance of...
Letter to the editor: Fairness in assessment appeals
In 2018, many people bought homes in Allegheny County. Many of these new homeowners are now receiving notices from taxing bodies informing them that they are being considered for the Newcomer’s Tax. The tax is a penalty for buying a home with a bad assessment. This results in 35% to...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to county for Crawford Run Road repairs
I would like to thank Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Council District 7 Representative Nicholas Futules and Allegheny County workers for a job well done. The job they did on getting the potholes on Crawford Run Road repatched shows county taxpayers our tax dollars at work. This quality...
Letter to the editor: Charter school changed life
I was 18 years old when I had my daughter, but that wasn’t going to prevent me from getting my diploma. I made it a top priority and I swore to myself that neither I nor my child would ever become a statistic. But I could only accomplish this goal...
