Opinion category, Page 767
George Will: Senate Finance Committee steered by Iowa tractor driver
WASHINGTON His tractor is so noisy that, when driving it, the man who calls himself “just a farmer from Butler County” puts his cellphone under his cap, set on vibrate. Charles Grassley, 85, who has served in the Senate longer than all but 11 of the 1,983 other senators —...
Jennifer Rafanan Kennedy: Real culprit in Pittsburgh’s lead crisis
On Friday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that his office has filed 161 charges against the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) over elevated lead levels. For years, Pittsburgh community members and environmental coalitions like the Our Water Campaign — a local coalition of environmental, labor and community organizations...
Letter to the editor: Not America’s fault
In his letter “Cosmic luck” (Jan. 18, TribLIVE), Thomas C. Spallone claims that “If you were born in America, you didn’t earn your citizenship” because your good fortune came from “random cosmic luck,” and therefore we are no better than immigrants trying to cross our borders. To understand why his...
Letter to the editor: McCarthy was a patriot
In his op-ed “Free press, elections help debunk ‘official’ lies” (Jan. 12, TribLIVE), Joseph Sabino Mistick includes a typically sordid narrative portraying Joe McCarthy as a hoaxer. Unfortunately, it’s outdated. M. Stanton Evans’ landmark 2009 “Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America’s...
Letter to the editor: ‘No walls’ didn’t work for Native Americans
This is an answer to Jim Blahovec’s letter “What if Native Americans had built walls?” (Jan. 22, TribLIVE): As I view the Smithsonian Channel’s “Aerial America,” I think about the killing, burning and pillaging of the Native Americans by immigrants who took away their land. This leads me to want...
Pat Buchanan: Who’s right, Trump or spy chiefs?
To manifest his opposition to President Trump’s decision to pull all 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria, and half of the 14,000 in Afghanistan, Gen. James Mattis went public and resigned as secretary of Defense. Now Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, in public testimony to Congress, has contradicted Trump...
Editorial: Is Wolf’s budget feasible?
Wow, does Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget sound good. He started out his 2019-20 budget address — a kind of “State of the Commonwealth” — with what he acknowledged was the thing people really wanted to know. “This proposal asks for no new taxes. Not one dollar. Not one dime. Not...
Letter to the editor: Trickle-on vs. trickle-down
The only thing new in the world is the history you haven’t read. This country was conceived by wealthy white men who wanted to retain the fruits of their labor. The big government across the waves wanted to confiscate that wealth to pay for wars without giving “we the people”...
Letter to the editor: Gun ban proposal lazy, illegal
Mayor Bill Peduto and Pittsburgh City Council, who do you think you are? Your lazy, unlawful attempts to further burden the fine people of Pittsburgh with absurd laws are asinine. You are well aware that your attempt at a gun ban in the city of Pittsburgh, and that’s what it...
Letter to the editor: Harrison should give chief respect
After learning about the controversy surrounding the retirement of Harrison Police Chief Mike Klein, I attended the Jan. 28 township commissioners meeting (“Harrison moving toward retirement plan for police Chief Klein,” Jan. 29, TribLIVE). Clearly, the controversy is not only manufactured, but completely disrespectful. The votes to accept the retirement...
Letter to the editor: Check your ‘facts’
Some thoughts concerning Bob Jacobs’ letter “Impeach Pelosi” (Jan. 29, TribLIVE): First: Since when has it been acceptable to label a whole category of people “stupid”? Intelligent political discourse does not include name-calling; instead, it relies on facts and logic. Second: The United States has controlled borders, requiring valid documentation...
Editorial: Trump talks unity, doesn’t achieve it
The State of the Union address hit all of its marks. President Trump danced through the annual speech, following all the footprints on the floor to pull off a waltz that moved from point to point. Acknowledge everyone. Applause. Use the buzzwords. America. Jobs. Economy. More applause. And as usual...
Joe Scarborough: Trump’s State of the Union will come against grim political backdrop
President Donald Trump will be entering the chambers of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night to deliver a State of the Union address that he hopes will lift his sagging political fortunes. The 45th president has stumbled his way into an approval rating in the mid-30s, according to...
Tom Purcell: Time to embrace cursive again
While organizing my home office a few weeks ago, I came across a letter my grandfather wrote back in 1924. He wrote that eloquent letter to his best friend’s wife, consoling her on the loss of her mother. His cursive handwriting was artful — perfect penmanship. He wrote the letter...
Editorial: Shapiro’s PWSA charges show need for public trust
People just want to know what is going on. So many issues that arise with public service go back to public trust. The people need to have information and communication to believe that the people in power are doing the right thing. And that is the problem with the Pittsburgh...
Letter to the editor: Will’s characterization of Trump brilliant
One is hard-pressed to find a more brilliant characterization of the Trump phenomenon than George Will’s recent column “Trump is a sad specimen” (Jan. 19, TribLIVE). Will continues his Trump resistance, begun with his early take on 45 as “a bloviating ignoramus” when the “sad specimen” first emerged on the...
Letter to the editor: Trump is raising up America
America has been on the rise since President Trump took over as commander in chief. Here are some of the stats, courtesy of a Jan. 20 White House fact sheet titled “The Historic Results of President Donald J. Trump’s First Two Years in Office”: 5 million new jobs; unemployment rate...
Letter to the editor: Dems’ inquisition
I wanted to recognize Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Kamala Harris of California for their upright, dignified and scrutinizingly scrupulous inquisition of Brian Buescher earlier this month amid his confirmation process for U.S. District Court. After hours of prudent investigation, our hyper-tolerant heroines discovered ties between Buescher and...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 4
Editorial cartoons for the week of Feb. 4....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 4.
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Feb. 4....
Faye Flam: Stop hating on the weather forecast
People love to hate weather forecasts, though it’s getting a lot harder to find fault. Forecasts gave plenty of advance warning that Chicago would see a bitter high of around minus 12 on Wednesday, and lows Wednesday night comparable to a bad day in Antarctica. Public officials closed schools and...
Editorial: Hempfield vote review invites questions
Investigating yourself doesn’t work. Hempfield’s solicitor is reviewing whether or not the municipality made decisions outside the public eye after Supervisor Rob Ritson raised the issue of four times he says that has occurred. The instances weren’t petty. Occurring between 2016-18, they include a $125,000 union settlement agreement, a $4.3...
Letter to the editor: Make life-saving drugs affordable
Regarding the front-page article “Life-saving drug available for free” (Dec. 13): I would like to extend a big thank-you to those who are making the wonder drug naloxone “free” to our addicts. Now could they please extend this courtesy to those who did not choose to have diabetes, cancer, allergies...
Letter to the editor: Concerned about left’s hate
The destructive hate, ridicule and closed-mindedness coming from the extremes of our political spectrum, and the mainstream media, are of great concern. The hateful letters and the 24/7, one-sided media opinions that President Trump is stupid and crazy, is an agent of Russia and must be impeached, border on unbelievable....
Letter to the editor: Let’s remember Hutch
Upon one of my many visits to the late Greensburg fire chief Ed Hutchinson’s bustling office decades ago, I noticed a note tacked to the window frame that read, “3 days after, John who?” I asked what it meant, and Hutch replied, “Three days after I’m dead, they’ll say ‘John...
