Featured Commentary category, Page 38
Mark Z. Barabak: Biden-Trump debate nears amid hopes to avoid another Dumpster fire
On Thursday, Frank Fahrenkopf will be just another member of the TV audience watching as Joe Biden and Donald Trump tangle in this year’s first presidential debate. He’s not happy about that. In 1987, Fahrenkopf, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, helped found the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential...
Candace Lightner: Sen. Fetterman, sign the pledge to stop distracted driving
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, following his history of speeding and distracted driving while at the wheel, needs to understand that his actions have real consequences — consequences that can take innocent lives. The family of Gracie James knows this fact; she was a victim in a distracted driving crash unrelated...
Marium Zahra : I’m a high school student — the TikTok ban violates our free speech
In April, President Joe Biden signed into law the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a measure that could effectively ban the video-sharing app TikTok in the United States. The bill, passed as part of a military aid package, is set up as a protection against foreign adversaries,...
Sen. Bob Casey: Bring Marc Fogel home
As I’ve worked with Marc Fogel’s family and gotten to know the large community of people who care about Marc, I’ve been struck by the indelible mark he left on the students he taught around the globe for more than 35 years. “Mr. Fogel,” as they called him, made history...
Sen. John Fetterman: Marc Fogel deserves to come home
Marc Fogel is a history teacher who dedicated the last 35 years of his life to teaching young people. He is a father, a brother, and a son. But now he’s spent nearly two years behind bars in a Russian prison because of an honest mistake. Over the past year,...
Rep. Chris Deluzio: The only way to keep Marc Fogel safe and healthy is to bring him home
Here in Western Pennsylvania, we know the meaning of service. We helped build this country, and we fought our country’s wars — all of them. We have a long, proud history of people stepping up to serve the common good in so many ways and forms. Marc Fogel is one...
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler: Pushing through the silence for Marc Fogel’s release
When I sat down with Malphine Fogel in my office a year ago, I made it clear that Congress will never stop fighting for her son’s release. Over 1,000 days have passed since Marc Fogel’s detainment in Russia, and it has been understandably difficult for her family and the Pittsburgh...
Rep. Mike Kelly: Fogel’s imprisonment impacts his entire family
For the last three years, members of Congress representing Western Pennsylvania have advocated for Marc Fogel. Today, we continue to call for Marc’s freedom. As Marc’s voice in Congress, we have worked numerous legislative and diplomatic paths to pursue his safe and quick return home. Throughout the process, we have...
Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson: Time to classify Marc Fogel as ‘wrongfully detained’
On Aug. 12, 2021, Marc Fogel left his friends and family in Western Pennsylvania to return to Moscow for his final year of teaching before retirement. Marc spent much of his adult life teaching history at schools attended by children of U.S. diplomats. He had previously taught at schools in...
Michael Driscoll: Marc Fogel shouldn’t spend another birthday in Russian prison
Marc Fogel, a native of Butler, is a 1984 social studies education graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, loved and respected by his faculty and by hundreds of IUP alumni all over the world who call him a friend. After graduating from IUP, Marc devoted his life — 36 years...
Lawmakers leaders call for release of Marc Fogel
Marc Fogel of Oakmont has been an international teacher since he was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In August 2021, he was arrested at the airport in Moscow for possession of 17 grams of marijuana, legally prescribed in Pennsylvania for a well-documented history of back and knee pain...
Jonah Goldberg: Supreme Court’s role in our partisan polarization has been greatly exaggerated
Conventional wisdom suggests the Supreme Court, like the country, is deeply divided along partisan and ideological lines. But this overlooks the court’s historic recent run of unanimous decisions and the fact the liberal and conservative justices often don’t vote as blocs. Court critics tend to respond to these inconvenient realities...
Cal Thomas: From great orators to gobbledygook
Once in America — and in some parts of the world — we were gifted by great orators, men and women who could by the power and content of their words inspire, motivate and sometimes unify their nations. Today, we have politicians who mumble, slur their words, repeat themselves and...
Keisha Che’re Jimmerson: Book banning an affront to freedom
As a first-generation college graduate, an educator, a devoted mother and a woman of color, I am a voice representing multiple facets of identity and experience. In acknowledging the diverse tapestry of our lives, it’s essential to recognize the interconnectedness that binds us as a collective — the human race....
Gabe Roth: Supreme Court ethics lapses aren’t a partisan issue
Ethics reform at the Supreme Court is not a partisan issue. Nor is it a cynical attempt to shame or bully the court. It’s true that the justices most in the news for ethical lapses — Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — are staunch conservatives. But liberal justices have had...
Erwin Chemerinsky: What a relief. The Supreme Court did the right thing on mifepristone.
The same Supreme Court that overruled Roe v. Wade two years ago on Thursday followed well-established constitutional principles to dismiss a lawsuit that sought to restrict the availability of mifepristone, a drug used to medically induce abortions. The bottom line is that the decision upholds the Food and Drug Administration’s...
Thomas D. Beamish: Americans used to unite over tragic events — and now are divided by them
Tragedy seldom unifies Americans today. Every year, horrific crises induce tremendous suffering. Most are privately tragic, affecting only those directly harmed and their immediate relations. A small number, though, become politically notorious and, therefore, publicly tragic. Natural disasters, school shootings, terrorist attacks and economic crises can become public tragedies. Sexual...
Carah Whaley: Election officials are heroes. Support them by becoming poll workers.
Elections are the primary mechanism for Americans to communicate their ideas, priorities and values. As someone who closely studies civic engagement and elections, I’ve seen firsthand the crucial work election administrators and poll workers do to make it possible for people to have a say in our system of self-governance....
Peter Morici: Biden administration needs a winning EV strategy or Chinese carmakers will take American jobs
American and European leaders decry Chinese mercantilism, but more is at play than trade barriers and subsidies in the struggle to dominate the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Early in this century, Chinese policymakers recognized the importance of the auto sector — it’s a huge user of semiconductors and software —...
LZ Granderson: So what if Gen Z applicants bring their parents to a job interview?
Bring your parent to school, bring your child to work, bring your mother to a job interview. That last one may stick out as odd, but it is apparently a growing phenomenon in the workforce. A recent study indicates that as much as 25% of Generation Z job applicants have...
Amy Lockard: Biology does not a father make
The “Father of our Country,” George Washington, was ironically not himself a father — not a biological one anyway. He was a stepfather and raised two of his stepgrandchildren, one of whom was named after him. With his stepchildren/grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, he relished his large family and...
Cal Thomas: The second coming of the late ’70s?
The 1970s are remembered for many things: the end of the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency, American hostages held for 444 days by Iran and disco (ugh). In 1978, Pope John Paul II became leader of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1979, Jimmy Carter accused Americans of...
Gisele Fetterman: Protecting Dreamers is a moral imperative
As someone who grew up undocumented in the U.S., I understand all too well the pain of growing up in the shadows and the stress caused by the uncertainty of the situation. I have spoken out many times over the years about the urgent need to protect the “Dreamers,” people...
Luke Bernstein: Federal rules put Pa.’s hydrogen future at risk
For the past two decades, Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of the shale revolution, which has delivered incredible quantities of affordable natural gas and fundamentally reshaped national and global energy markets. What’s incredible is not just the sheer scale of production — the gas produced in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale...
Matt Smith and Tom Frank: Enhance Pa.’s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program
Pennsylvania stands at a crossroads: Our state has a rich history of industrial, commercial and business prowess, but to remain economically competitive, we must continually compete and adapt for the future. The Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program, established in 1977, has served us well, but it’s time to...
