Opinion category, Page 757
John Baer: Time for another run at helping Pa. child sex abuse survivors
It was last October when the state legislature, specifically the state Senate, turned its back on victims of child sex abuse. Their own constituents. This despite the fact just two months earlier Pennsylvania became the epicenter of outrage over such abuse with the release by Attorney General Josh Shapiro of...
Cal Thomas: The Democrats’ Jewish problem
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comment that the influence of the Israeli lobby in Washington pushes lawmakers to take a pledge of “allegiance to a foreign country” was bad enough. A watered-down House resolution condemning, not Omar, but “all hatred” was as tepid as denouncing drunken driving. After heated debate...
Colin McNickle: Wolf’s teacher pay raise plan dubious
A proposal in Gov. Tom Wolf’s fiscal 2020 budget to raise the minimum wage for Pennsylvania’s public school teachers and support staff by a whopping 140 percent would have expansive and expensive consequences for taxpayers, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. It was in the 1980s...
Editorial: Social media meets Social Security
If you put your life on social media, you may have to worry about security. Social Security. While Russian hackers and Chinese cyberattacks get all the attention for how they break into a system, the government here at home can use what you put out there without resorting to ransomware...
Letter to the editor: Vaccines are crucial
I was distressed to read Hank Baughman’s letter “Vaccines are safe?” (March 3, TribLIVE) and to think that it might spur some parents to delay or skip some vaccines. In Washington state, where vaccine exemptions are allowed, at least 69 children have contracted measles this year — 43 percent of...
Letter to the editor: Say ‘no’ to recreational marijuana
Please do not support legalizing “recreational” marijuana — for the sake of Pennsylvanians’ well-being. An article in the Aug. 4, 2018 edition of World Magazine titled “The Green Rush Begins” states, “According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about 30 percent of users will develop some sort of dependence...
New Trump budget is a horror show for Dems and Paul Ryan’s dream come true
You may remember that when he ran for president in 2016, Donald Trump said lots of unusual things, among which were regular pledges that unlike his Republican primary opponents and others in his party, he’d protect the safety net. In the speech announcing his candidacy, he said, “Save Medicare, Medicaid...
Tom Purcell: Irish stereotypes no joking matter
Ah, St. Patrick’s Day is upon us — which means it’s time for retailers, and too many other Americans, to perpetuate the “drunken Irishman” stereotype. Here’s what three typical St. Patrick’s Day T-shirts available at Amazon.com say: “Half Irish, Half Drunk” “Irish Today, Hungover Tomorrow” “I’m So Irish, I Bleed...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump human pseudo-event at CPAC
Two years ago, at the dawn of the Trump administration, Kellyanne Conway predicted that 2017’s CPAC would really be TPAC, or “Trump Pac.” What was premature spin then is conventional wisdom now. The Conservative Political Action Conference has always been what the great historian Daniel Boorstin called a “pseudo-event.” It...
Editorial: How do you ask charities for charity?
Charity begins at home, and Allegheny County is home to a lot of charities. After six years, the county has only been able to review 72 percent of the tax-exempt properties owned by “complex nonprofits.” Out of 2,800 parcels, about 700 have not been reviewed to see if they really...
Letter to the editor: Wall argument baseless
Hannelore Miller’s letter (“We need a wall,” March 4, TribLIVE) is baseless. The worst attack in the U.S. came from legally admitted student visa holders. The wall will imprison Americans who have the right to cross, as well as hinder wildlife in the area. More clueless solutions from the Republicans....
Letter to the editor: Vaccine controversy
In reply to letter-writer Hank Baughman (“Vaccines are safe?,” March 3, TribLIVE): Yes, there is a National Child Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) that was passed in 1998 largely because in the 1970s and ’80s there was controversy concerning the DPT (diptheria, pertussis, tetanus) vaccine. There were anecdotal reports that the...
Letter to the editor: Racism & victims
As a boy, I adored Roberto Clemente. Not just because he ran like he was on fire and threw like no one will again. He was the ultimate athlete/philanthropist, literally giving his life to help the oppressed. As an adult, I hope to someday vote for Condoleezza Rice for president....
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 11
Editorial cartoons for the week of March 11....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 11.
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of March 11....
Michelle Malkin: Vaccine skeptics under siege
Watch out. Capitol Hill and Silicon Valley have locked their sights on the next targets of a frightening free speech-squelching purge: independent citizens who dare to raise questions online about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. I’m vaccinated. My children are up to date. There’s no dispute that vaccines have...
Editorial: Is daylight saving time that big a deal?
Daylight saving time is upon us again. So are complaints about the hour that gets lost when clocks jump ahead an hour. The grumbling is as sure a sign of spring as the first robin and more reliable than that rodent in Punxsutawney. We wonder why we do it. What...
Letter to the editor: Assist in rehabilitation
Having lived on both sides of our criminal justice system, through my own incarceration to now assisting re-entrants back into society as the founder of Breaking the Chainz Inc., I’ve seen multiple stumbling blocks to success: access to safe housing, family reunification, job readiness, substance abuse treatment, anger management, financial...
Letter to the editor: Sunday hunting
I would like to clarify a few things for Wayne Campbell (“Keep Sunday hunting ban,” Feb. 23, TribLIVE). He thinks the public should have had more time to discuss lifting the ban on Sunday hunting, but this argument has been around for years. He doesn’t reveal that Pennsylvania legislators have...
George Will: Democratic candidates channeling late-night infomercials
WASHINGTON A four-word phrase common on late-night television, exclaimed by announcers giddy about their offers: “Buy this kitchen knife that is so sharp it can slice and dice diamonds, and we’ll throw in a nonstick frying pan that can double as a satellite dish. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! If you...
Joyce Terhaar: Communities lose when newspapers die or slide into decline
It is a story of corruption that will stay secret, politicians who will need fewer votes to win, even dangerous communicable diseases that will spread faster as our best scientists struggle to fight them. The story is the slow and painful demise of local newspapers, a story whose ending is...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Response to murders a departure from America’s values
From the beginning, the Founders of this nation understood that all eyes would be on America, and they made it clear in the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence that they cared about what the world would think of us. “When in the course of human events it becomes...
Rob Shearer: How government can help Pennsylvania prosper
As Pennsylvania employers and business owners, we regularly think long term. Whether expanding our companies, hiring new workers, planning capital investments or responding to economic downturns, we base decisions not simply on immediate benefits or drawbacks but on long-term results. This isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary. After all, others’...
Editorial: Nursing homes need answer to flat funding
Getting older isn’t cheap. The cost of taking care of the elderly just keeps rising, but not at the same speed the state is willing to pay for it. This week, the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, which represents about 500 Pennsylvania nursing home operators, expressed concerns about the increase in...
Letter to the editor: Let’s eliminate unproductives
I most enthusiastically applaud Al Duerig’s acknowledgment of the problem of overpopulation (“Overpopulation will destroy earth,” Feb. 27, TribLIVE). I do think he is proposing a solution at the wrong end of the problem. Eliminating the unborn or newly born is not really most efficient. The ultimate approach is to...
