Opinion category, Page 54
Point: America’s law-and-order problem is Donald Trump
Yes, America does have a law-and-order problem. It’s the president of the United States. Throughout U.S. history, the best presidents have sparingly sought to use federal forces not to exacerbate tensions but as a last resort to deescalate violence, protect constitutional rights and restore order. Whether Democratic or Republican, when...
Counterpoint: Crime is down, but chaos is up
Protests are erupting in Los Angeles and other cities, with streets filled with demonstrators clashing with police, National Guard troops and Marines deployed under a presidential order. Scenes of civil unrest, from property damage and looting to tense standoffs clouded in tear gas, have dominated headlines, fueling a sense of...
Letter to the editor: Remember Dan Rooney’s Obama endorsement?
To the writer of the letter “Steelers should be above political fray” (June 9, TribLive): Did you find it “divisive, inappropriate and truly disheartening” when Dan Rooney endorsed Barack Obama on April 14, 2008? Mark A. Malobicky Maryville, Tenn. The writer is an East Deer native....
Letter to the editor: Legislators need to defend our democracy
I think the Republicans in Congress are cowards, loyalists who only want to do what one man wants them to do, not what their constituents want and need. Ask yourself, is this what you voted for? In my opinion, the wanna-be king wants us to be poor, unhealthy and scared....
Editorial: Does that star-spangled banner yet wave?
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming From inauguration ceremonies to baseball games to high school graduations and more, those words are used to celebrate the American flag. The national anthem was penned by Francis Scott Key...
Letter to the editor: The American flag, a symbol of freedom
Today, Flag Day, celebrates the American flag as a symbol of freedom, history and national strength. In our schools, when children and youth recite the Pledge of Allegiance, it is my hope that they do so with pride, dignity and respect for America as the greatest nation in the world....
Jerel Ezell: The scars from unrest can run deep, for protesters, residents and even authorities
The heavy-handed responses by the Trump administration to ongoing protests in Los Angeles reveal how little imagination our politicians continue to have when it comes to grasping the causes and consequences of social unrest. Last Friday, in response to increasingly bold and reckless raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Angelenos...
S.E. Cupp: Democrats, Gavin Newsom is not your blueprint
Few in American politics are as desperate as California Gov. Gavin Newsom is right now. Newsom, long considered — by himself, anyway — a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president, has been positioning himself and repositioning himself to be next in line for years. And this week, through the...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: People like surprises, not uncertainty
No one likes uncertainty. For some, it carries with it a sense of doom and helplessness. Yet despite many people’s apparent aversion to uncertainty, some actively seek it out in many areas of their life. Uncertainty is all around us. It has been making headlines in the news this year,...
Jason Chobirko: Science funding saves lives
Science has brought humanity from tending flames in caves to launching satellites into space. Through science, we have developed incredible advancements like antibiotics, the internet and improved food crops. Each of these and so much more have improved the lives of billions of people and increased prosperity around the globe....
Letter to the editor: Nursing is a work of heart
The very act of nursing calls for compassion, which is a gift of the heart. Nurses serve on the front lines of our health care system. Today’s health care environment calls for tenaciousness and hard work. Nurses are able to wield both grace and grit in ever-changing conditions. My hat’s...
Letter to the editor: Battling antisemitism
I’m disappointed in the lack of broader context for quotes in the article “Allegheny County politician’s social media post on war in Gaza stokes divisions” (June 8, 2025). For example, Lauren Berry-Kagan, quoted toward the end, is an organizer and local leader for Jewish Voice for Peace, a national organization...
Lori Falce: Los Angeles confrontations are becoming less about immigration than First Amendment
The United States of America had barely taken its first breath as a nation governed by the Constitution when it was realized that changes were needed. While we will celebrate Independence Day on July 4 as the country’s 249th birthday, that’s a bit wrong. That was the day we declared...
Laurels & lances: Good sports & bad road
laurel: To being in the spotlight. Hey, not sure if you heard, but there’s big sports things happening in Allegheny County. No, it’s not baseball. It’s not hockey, although there are rumors of Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle looking to take back majority control of the Penguins. It’s not football...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s attacks on immigrants harm all of us
There can be no secret police in a free country — but in the U.S., masked ICE agents are pulling families off the street without warrants or badges. There is due process in a free country — but in the U.S., ICE is arresting and deporting ordinary working people based...
Sloane Davidson: Immigrants powering Pittsburgh
When we talk about Pittsburgh’s future, we often focus on attracting new talent. But one of the smartest investments we can make is in the neighbors who are already here, especially immigrants. Across Pennsylvania, nearly 1 million immigrants, which equates to around 7% of the population, are powering our economy...
SpearIt: 2025 — time to abandon ‘people of color’
In his column “Watch your language — a chronicle of today’s improper English” (June 2, TribLive), Cal Thomas describes maladies that plague English speech and writing. This opinion adds to that effort and tries to show why the term “of color” should be retired as a relic of racial subordination....
Letter to the editor: Magee nurses deserve union representation
I gave birth at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and am inspired by nurses calling for a union voice. I am so grateful to Magee nurses for helping me through the difficult birth of my son. I spent five days in the hospital after an emergency C-section and my son spent the...
Letter to the editor: Jewish people persevere despite persecution
Anti-Zionism is the same as antisemitism, and antisemitism is the hatred of Judaism (ref: “Why the Jews,” by Dennis Prager). Judaism is a monotheistic religion founded by Abraham and based on the belief that the land of Israel was designated by God as a homeland for his descendants (the Jewish...
Editorial: Senate should pass childhood sexual abuse bills
The Pennsylvania Senate has a job to do. The state House of Representatives passed two bills this week that would allow survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits past the previous lines drawn. One bill frames a two-year window that bypasses “sovereign and governmental immunity retroactively to permit these...
Letter to the editor: We continue to ignore reality
No one fools themselves like Americans do. We just keep living in the comfort of our normalcy bias, trying to rationalize our cognitive dissonance away. But clicking our ruby slippers together will never awaken us from this nightmare. We have an ever-increasing national debt of $37 trillion that can never...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump deploys, protesters respond. This will not end well.
“Here we go.” “I knew it would come.” “This won’t end well.” Those were my initial reactions to President Trump’s announcement that he had activated the California National Guard and to sources on Monday saying Marines would serve as backup. I’m not claiming much prescience. Like his breakup with Elon...
Frederic J. Fransen: George Washington, America’s reluctant leader, contrasts with today’s
From the beginning of the American experiment, one of its animating principles has been limited government overseen by citizen legislators. Contrast that with the “big, beautiful” spending bill being steered through Congress by today’s career politicians, who euphemistically refer to themselves as “public servants.” America’s founders would be appalled. One...
Betsy Cauble: Pa. needs more behavioral health professionals
Pennsylvania is facing a severe shortage of mental and behavioral health professionals. Over 50 of its 67 counties are designated as mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. Throughout the state, 1.8 million Pennsylvanian adults have a mental health condition, yet 1.7 million live in communities that don’t have enough mental health...
Beatrice Spadacini: Public health — ban first, study later? The growing assault on fluoridated water.
On May 15, Florida became the second state in the nation to ban fluoride from public drinking water. The bill, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is set to go into effect on July 1. Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox enacted a similar ban that went into effect this May. Five other...
