Opinion category, Page 743
Letter to the editor: Green New Deal is ill-advised
Although some experts contend “global warming and cooling” are cyclical over long periods of time, most scientists indicate that global warming is a real and critical issue that needs addressed now. Accordingly, the Green New Deal was recently unveiled and advocates elimination of (or at least 50% reductions in) sources...
Letter to the editor: Trump polluting the swamp
I read with great amusement Rudolph R. Puchan’s letter “Drain the swamp” (April 3, TribLIVE). President Trump is lucky to have supporters who blindly believe him even if what he says is contradictory to the facts. Puchan’s letter states that Trump’s presidency is rooted in his love of country, God...
Donald Boudreaux: The power of economics
Economics grabbed me from the moment I first encountered it as a freshman at Nicholls State University. I remain in awe of economics’ power to explain features of reality that are otherwise inexplicable. Why, for example, did we Americans in the 1970s waste so many hours waiting in long lines...
Laurels & lances: Cows, comments, alcohol and ashes
Laurel: To those on the hunt for crafty cows. The Westmoreland County Animal Response Team has the unenviable task of trying to track down a small herd of cattle that have been roaming southern Murrysville since at least April 26, when a Murrysville resident snapped a photo as he followed...
Lori Falce: Dr. Phil’s Slippery Rock mistake is about labels
How important is the school name on your diploma? For some, it might be worth a lot more than the paper it’s printed on. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the graduates picking up diplomas this weekend started their freshman years paying about $17,000 for a year at...
Letter to the editor: Fairness in taxation
The top 1% of taxpayers account for more income taxes paid then the bottom 90%. What is the fairest way to collect taxes? From a Marxist perspective, the fair way to collect taxes would be to force those with the most wealth to pay the most, while those with the...
Letter to the editor: Neager needed on Hempfield school board
As a mother of two in the Hempfield Area School District, a taxpayer and someone who’s spent her career in health care, I think candidate Debbie Zuzik Neager’s perspective is much needed on the Hempfield Area School Board. The board, which has had a Democratic majority for as long as...
Letter to the editor: More care should be taken with delinquent tax lists
Delinquent tax lists Imagine our surprise when we looked at the Highlands School District delinquent tax list and found our names on it. We paid our taxes and even got the discount. In January, we got a delinquent tax notice. After sending canceled checks, bank statements and receipts to the...
Buzz Aldrin: It’s time to focus on the great migration of humankind to Mars
Last month, Vice President Mike Pence announced that we are headed back to the moon. I am with him, in spirit and aspiration. Having been there, I can say it is high time we returned. When Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and I went to the moon 50 years ago this...
George Will: Buckley urges Congress to stay out of state affairs
WASHINGTON At 96, James Buckley still is, like good cheddar, sharp and savory. Buckley, whose life has been no less accomplished than his brother Bill’s, recently said at a National Review gathering that his speech there would be his last public appearance. Let us hope not. He adorned all the...
Kristen Laney O’Toole: My MS worsened while waiting for MRI authorization
I was living a healthy, active life as a communications consultant in Pittsburgh. That changed suddenly and dramatically in 2014 when I began experiencing back pain. As the pain intensified, I realized that something was seriously wrong. My doctor wanted to do an MRI to officially diagnose what he suspected...
Editorial: Metcalfe’s vaccine bill quarantines free speech
We can vaccinate against many things. We can take a shot to prevent smallpox, and that worked so well the disease only exists in little vials. We can inoculate ourselves against everything from the tetanus we could get from a bad cut to the chicken pox that spreads like fire...
Letter to the editor: Courthouse work ethics
The World War II generation truly was the “Greatest Generation.” They believed a good employee was synonymous with being a good citizen. That’s how I was taught. They sternly enforced guidelines for proper work ethics, such as earning your pay by working hard and putting in a full day’s work;...
Letter to the editor: Abortion holocaust
Since 1970 over 46 million abortions in the United States have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control. This does not include California, Maryland and New Hampshire, which decline to report abortion numbers to the CDC. Wake up, America. This is a holocaust happening right before our eyes. These...
Letter to the editor: Problems with Route 30
Since I have been traveling Route 30 for over 20 years to go to the VA hospital in Oakland, I would say that I can speak knowledgeably about the article “Irwin-area drivers are Pennsylvania’s worst, survey finds”. There are a few items that were not considered. If there was an...
Pat Buchanan: A nation at war with itself
President Trump has decided to cease cooperating with what he sees, not incorrectly, as a Beltway conspiracy that is out to destroy him. “We’re fighting all the subpoenas,” Trump said last week. “These aren’t, like, impartial people. The Democrats are out to win in 2020.” Thus the Treasury Department just...
Editorial: Every 2020 candidate should be in Pittsburgh
Everyone knew that Joe Biden was going to run for president again. His undeclared presence on every hypothetical ballot was an open assumption for months. Despite a Democratic field that contenders almost large enough to be a hockey roster, Biden consistently polled higher than even the buzziest newcomers. His declaration...
Colin McNickle: Hurdles for Pittsburgh property tax relief
Pittsburgh would be given the exclusive and explicit authority to enact a property tax relief program for longtime owner-occupants whose property values have risen because of gentrification under a bill pending in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. But should the measure be approved, myriad implementation questions, left to the city, remain...
Letter to the editor: 100% renewable energy is possible
My dad saved everything. When it came time to go through decades worth of what he’d collected, I held onto buttons of sentimental value, including some from World War II that read “Remember Pearl Harbor” and “Play Safe with Freedom.” Another button, “Join the Fight for Clean Water,” circa 1974,...
Letter to the editor: Franklin Regional’s, Penn Hills’ poor choices
A recent Trib editorial suggests, “DeLuca plan too late for Penn Hills, not for other districts” (April 19, TribLIVE). So where have Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, and Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, been over the last decade? In 2009, I spoke at a Penn Hills School Board meeting and cited...
Tom Purcell: Doggone discourse better focused on real problems
Boy, is our political discourse going to the dogs. The Washington Post reports Donald Trump is the first U.S. president in 100-plus years not to have a dog — though others, including Ronald Reagan, didn’t have dogs until their second terms. During a February rally, reports The Post, Trump said...
Charles Lane: ‘Jeopardy!’ has stopped being fun because James Holzhauer is a menaceVideo
Night after night for more than two weeks, “Jeopardy!” champion James Holzhauer has crushed two opponents on the venerable game show like a pair of bugs. By the time you read this, his streak may have ended, but it doesn’t seem likely: As of Monday, he had won 18 games...
Editorial: Tree of Life to Poway, anti-Jewish hate crimes rising
It must be a terrifying time to be Jewish. When the places where you go to feel your faith most fully are the places where you are targeted with guns loaded with bullets and gunmen loaded with hatred, it must feel like being a deer in an open field. No...
Letter to the editor: William Barr cartoon offensive
I found your April 19 political cartoon offensive. The smear of Attorney General William Barr is dishonest. He has done an honest job handling the Mueller report. The Trib is getting more like the biased Washington Post every day. Joanne Baird Beaver...
Letter to the editor: Cal U’s softball rain delay
California University of Pennsylvania shares the disappointment of WPIAL officials, players and softball fans who hoped to see the 2019 softball championships played at Cal U (“WPIAL again forced to move softball championships,” April 12, TribLIVE.) A major renovation is underway at the University’s Lilley Field, and work won’t be...
