Opinion category, Page 761
Editorial: Drug crisis is in your backyard
A reader wasn’t happy with the opinion of two people who deal with Westmoreland County’s drug epidemic every day. Detective Tony Marcocci handles the criminal side of the crisis. Tim Phillips, director of the county’s Drug Overdose Task Force, works with the social and treatment aspect. In a Tribune-Review editorial...
Letter to the editor: Speed cameras & safety
Regarding the article “National Transportation Safety Board releases ‘Most Wanted’ list for reducing traffic deaths” (Feb. 4, TribLIVE): The safety argument for speed cameras has been debunked. Studies have shown speed camera areas having an increase in crashes or the cameras had no effect. In the UK, a substantial increase...
Letter to the editor: Socialism will destroy us
Upon reflecting on the passing of President George Herbert Walker Bush, it occurred to me that those of the World War II generation — “The Greatest Generation” — will soon be gone. This generation helped rescue us from being taken over by a brutal totalitarian regime of the Axis powers...
Tom Purcell: Donations to pay down U.S. debt pointless
With America’s national debt surpassing a frightening $22 trillion, it makes sense that fewer people are volunteering their hard-earned dough to help reduce it. Since 1961, the Bureau of the Public Debt has allowed Americans to “gift” money to the Treasury Department — on the condition that the money be...
Editorial: Robert Kraft charges no reason for celebration
It always comes down to us versus them, and it’s getting exhausting. The New England Patriots are the team that everyone south of Connecticut and west of Vermont loves to hate. Come from another NFL powerhouse location — like, say, Pittsburgh — and the animosity doubles. It’s easy to say...
Letter to the editor: Idiots & imbeciles
On this date in 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt (a Democrat ) signed an immigration act that excluded “idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons and insane persons” from being admitted to the United States. The bill was incomplete because there was no provision to exclude these same American-born persons from being politicians or...
Letter to the editor: Commit to 100 percent renewable energy
I want to thank the following Pennsylvania House representatives for co-sponsoring Rep. Chris Rabb’s House Bill 2132, to transition Pennsylvania to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. If passed in the Pennsylvania House and Senate, it will add 380,000 good-paying jobs to Pennsylvania’s existing 60,000 clean-energy jobs, while saving all...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 25
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 25....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 25.
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 25....
Fellow Republicans: Support this gun safety bill
This week, for the first time in more than two decades, the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a vote on major stand-alone gun safety legislation, this time in the form of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. As conservatives with a deep respect for the Second...
Michelle Malkin: Handy history of fake noose
Is it any wonder that American news consumers are at the end of their ropes of patience with the “mainstream media”? Three weeks ago, there were troubling questions, contradictions and doubts about Trump-hating, attention-craving actor Jussie Smollett’s absurd hate crime claims. Few in the “professional” journalism herd paid heed. Now,...
Greg Christy: Can the power region afford to miss the shale revolution boat?
We are in the middle of a great American shale revolution. For the first time in decades, the United States is holding its own against OPEC and Russia, going from energy importer to energy exporter. Unlocking previously inaccessible shale reservoirs deep underground using hydraulic fracturing technology is becoming our nation’s...
Editorial: Election rules have real world consequences
Okay, here’s the deal. You probably shouldn’t work on a political campaign while you are at your job — unless, of course, working on a political campaign actually is your job. Regardless of whether you are an accountant or a short order cook or an airplane mechanic or a kindergarten...
Letter to the editor: Hunters need more opportunities
In response to letter-writer Sylvie Pomicter (“Say ‘no’ to Sunday hunting,” Feb. 11, TribLIVE): Pennsylvania is rich in hunting tradition, and unfortunately we are losing our youth and adult hunters because of lack of opportunity. Pennsylvania is one of three states that do not allow Sunday hunting for big and...
Letter to the editor: Ban polystyrene
Recent media reports have shown that at least half of Philadelphia’s recyclable materials end up in incinerators. The National Geographic Society recently reported that only 9 percent of plastic materials are recycled. These are reminders that we need to minimize waste in the first place. Polystyrene foam, known by many...
Letter to the editor: Democrats & our freedoms
Our great nation was conceived so that all men and women could live in freedom: freedom to worship, freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, freedom for us — not the government — to control our lives. Today, the liberal Democrats want to take away our freedoms. The Democratic...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Stop the ‘socialism’ labels, focus on policy
When Donald Trump accused Democrats of “becoming the party of socialism” at his El Paso rally this month, he left no doubt as to what his campaign message will be in 2020. Trump is anything but coy, and he once again telegraphed his punches. Earlier, in his 2019 State of...
Wayne Campbell: Keep Sunday hunting ban
The issue of allowing Sunday hunting has surfaced again. Senate Bill 147 sponsored by Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, removing the prohibition, was reported out of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee without benefit of public scrutiny or hearings. It is unfortunate that opponents to Sunday hunting were not given a...
Editorial: Does Norfolk Southern proposal double rail cars and risk?
When you have a lot of rivers, you’re going to have a lot of bridges. When you are a city that was built on coal and steel, you’re going to have a lot of trains. And sometimes that’s double the trouble. Norfolk Southern wants to rebuild a bridge on a...
Sounding off: Legalized pot is a gateway drug
Having a family member who went through outpatient rehab a few years back, I am amazed that Pennsylvania would consider legalizing marijuana. During every family meeting I attended, it was stated that marijuana is a gateway drug. Has that changed? Make it legal, and the next step could be cocaine,...
Letter to the editor: Senator minimizes crime of DUI
One of our esteemed U.S. senators recently stated that illegal immigrants who are caught driving under the influence should not be considered criminals. Think about this for a minute. Thousands of Americans are maimed or killed every year by DUI drivers. It is totally willful and criminal to get behind...
Letter to the editor: In politics, compromise is possible
The divisiveness at the federal level is stigmatized as the “worst ever,” “unprecedented” and “without comparison,” to cite just a few epithets. Good rhetoric. Grabs viewers. Raises partisan money. But untrue. There has never been a “golden age” of politics, and in fact the current level of acrimony is historically...
Letter to the editor: UPMC’s positive impact
In Bob Bauder’s article “AG Shapiro: UPMC’s ‘corporate greed’ hurting patients” (Feb. 7, TribLIVE), UPMC said its practices have increased competition in Western Pennsylvania, which benefits consumers. This statement stands in stark contrast to statements by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who called UPMC’s practices “corporate greed.” Many Western Pennsylvanians will...
Letter to the editor: Voter registration is easy
One has to admire the subtle cleverness of state Rep. Sara Innamorato’s op-ed “It’s time for automatic voter registration in Pa.” (Feb. 9, TribLIVE). This appears to be taken directly from the socialist playbook. Drum up a phony problem where there isn’t one, disguise it as saving democracy, then soft-sell...
Letter to the editor: Damage of legal pot
Legalize pot? Why not? It could get us more money to run our already-bloated state government. It could also provide us a whole new class of citizens who would like to get — and stay — stoned legally. Just what we need, huh? More Timothy Leary fans who want to...
