Opinion category, Page 768
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Moe Coleman, the man in the middle
For all his life, Moe Coleman, was the man in the middle. It is not that he was “stuck” in the middle as some people often bemoan. He picked that spot because it was where he could do the most good. Moe died last week at age 86. He had...
Cal Thomas: Costs of Trump’s ‘cave’ on wall
The first thing that needs to be said about President Trump’s decision to sign a measure reopening part of the federal government without getting money for the wall he demanded is that his experience as a New York businessman was no help. Perhaps he failed to recognize that Democrats are...
Michael Farren & Anne Philpot: Pittsburgh dodged the Amazon iceberg
If recent history is a good predictor, this year Pennsylvania politicians could dole out over $300 million in taxpayer money for corporate handouts. And cities like Pittsburgh that lost out in the sweepstakes for Amazon’s second headquarters (or “HQ2”) may be motivated to double down on the next big prize....
G. Terry Madonna & Michael Young: Can GOP dump Trump?
Old conventional wisdom: It can’t happen — Donald Trump cannot be denied the Republican renomination in 2020. New conventional wisdom: maybe it can. Even a month ago, it seemed implausible Trump might be challenged for the 2020 GOP nomination. Troubles he certainly had. But presidents seeking a second term are...
Editorial: Is Wolf’s minimum wage increase too high for Pennsylvania?
Everybody wants a raise. That means a lot of people hear Gov. Tom Wolf’s resurrection of a plan to increase the minimum wage and think that’s a good thing. The people who sign those paychecks — or the people who believe they will lead to higher prices to offset the...
Letter to the editor: Release DOJ documents, secure border
There is an ongoing debate about President Trump and Russian collusion, and Hillary Clinton and the Democrats’ interference in the presidential election. Both sides of the political aisle scream and point fingers regarding whose side is the most corrupt (both are). There is a simple fix to this debate: Order...
Letter to the editor: Where’s property tax relief?
Where’s the property tax relief we were promised? Pennsylvania is second in the nation in gambling revenue intake behind Nevada. In 2017 Pennsylvania took in 3.2 billion — and that was before we started keno and sports betting. Some estimates project that this will create an additional $1 billion to...
Letter to the editor: GOP is all about money
There have been a lot of letters in the Trib lately running down the Democratic Party. We were Republicans for almost 60 years, and we used to think the Republican Party was sympathetic toward the poor and the middle class. Now it seems like they are all about money and...
Letter to the editor: Writer’s thoughts on wall, asylum misguided
I’d like to challenge letter-writer Paul Gernhardt (“Why build the wall?,” Jan. 22, 2019), as I found his missive to be quite dubious. The cost of the wall is not $5.7 billion. It is projected to be much higher, although that is of the assumption that the U.S. will actually...
Walter Williams: Why are we demonizing white men?
Rush Limbaugh’s December 2018 Limbaugh Letter has an article titled “Demonizing White Men.” It highlights — with actual quotations from people in the media, academia and the political and entertainment arenas — the attack on white men as a class. You can decide whether these statements are decent, moral or...
John Stossel: We should choose how our money is spent
Sunday is the Super Bowl. I look forward to playing poker and watching. It’s easy to do both because in a three-hour-plus NFL game there are just 11 minutes of actual football action. So we’ll have plenty of time to watch Atlanta politicians take credit for the stadium that will...
Editorial: What can Bill Murray teach Punxsutawney Phil?
Everyone worries about job security in a world of changing industries and technologies. Manufacturing, medicine, journalism — you name it and someone is concerned about what is evolving and whether it means they should be updating their resume. So when does Pennsylvania’s favorite rodent have to start updating his LinkedIn...
Letter to the editor: Walls may have helped Native Americans
Questions to the question presented in the letter “What if Native Americans had built walls?” (Jan. 22, TribLIVE): Doesn’t this historical event support why a wall might have helped? Did the Native Americans have the ability to build a wall, or did they miss the opportunity? What happened to the...
Letter to the editor: Ideas for border security
On the subject of border security, I have a question and a suggestion. First, the question: Why should the Trump administration, or any administration, have to bargain with the opposition party to achieve needed national security? Shouldn’t national security be foremost with all parties? No negotiations should be necessary. Now,...
Letter to the editor: Pelosi says it’s OK
Nancy Pelosi was speaker of the house in 2008 when she stated a commitment to border security by using options that would work. She also acknowledged the “challenge” of undocumented people in the country and said, “we certainly don’t want any more coming in.” Ten years later and Pelosi is...
Letter to the editor: Goodbye, America
It is with heavy heart that I put pen to paper to bid farewell to the amazing country in which I have been blessed to live and raise a family. I am 78 years old, and as I look around, I do not recognize the great nation in which I...
Donald Boudreaux: Soaking the rich impoverishes us all
An obsession with income inequality would make sense only in a world in which wealth is created independently of the choices and actions of human beings. The same is true for the itch to soak the rich. If food, clothing, medical care, automobiles, houses, diamond rings, airplane seats, rolls of...
Max Boot: On Wednesday, the Twitter mob came for me
In mid-January, waves of outrage swept over the internet because of a confrontation on the National Mall in Washington between a group of conservative high school students from Kentucky and an elderly Native American Marine Corps veteran. The social media mob initially condemned the students for being right-wing jerks. Then,...
Lori Falce: Experience matters
My husband loved The Rock. A wrestling fan and a movie buff who owned a video store, Matthew thought Dwayne Johnson was entertaining and funny. And there’s no way he would vote for him for president. I know this because Matthew was just as passionate about Lynn Swann. He loved...
Laurels & lances: Cold, animals, ‘known cheater’ and death threats
Laurel: To the fire companies, senior citizen centers and other groups which stayed open extra hours this week to provide warming centers or offered additional services as needed during the polar vortex. Thank you for all you do for our communities every day, but a special thanks for the way...
Letter to the editor: Reagan, Trump — one great, one a disgrace
Even though I was not a big Ronald Reagan fan, I can’t deny he was one of the better modern presidents, possibly the greatest Republican president of all time. He led the Republicans to a 12-year stronghold on our country. One of Reagan’s greatest moments came in a 1987 speech...
Letter to the editor: Social justice is envy
A local progressive politician just elevated to lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania recently stated that he is haunted by the inequality of some people being born into wealth while others into poverty. Inequality is a fact of life. Some people are very tall like John Fetterman. Some are more beautiful, athletic,...
Letter to the editor: Peduto, council violating oaths?
Both Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and District Attorney Stephen Zappala are grandstanding as politicians do. I’m not impressed. This is a no-brainer. In the mayor’s oath of office, did he swear to uphold the constitutions of the United States and the commonwealth? Did members of City Council do the same?...
Letter to the editor: Honored to serve
Donald Boudreaux is probably a fine economist, and I side with his views most of the time. However, his lauding of the end of the draft based on economic reasons is so very far off base (”Draft’s end most pro-freedom move of past 50 years,” Jan. 17, TribLIVE). I’ll dare...
George Will: Klobuchar could break Minnesota’s presidential losing streak
WASHINGTON Surely the silliest aspirant for the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nomination is already known: “Beto,” aka Robert Francis, O’Rourke is a skateboarding man-child whose fascination with himself caused him to live-stream a recent dental appointment for — open-wide, please — teeth cleaning. His journal about his post-election recuperation-through-road-trip-to-nowhere-in-particular is so...
