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We cannot negotiate with terrorists

As negotiations continue over the release of hostages held by the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza, and calls grow louder for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas, many are now asking: “Who the hell is Hamas anyway?” Hamas is willing to make this deal or that deal. They will not release the hostages or end the war unless the war is permanently over, unless Hamas survives to fight another day, and unless Israel leaves the Gaza Strip so the terrorists can once again assert their domination and control. In other words, some hostages, presumably not all of them, go free if ...

Opioid epidemic takes enormous toll

It isn’t an exaggeration to say Pennsylvania’s opioid and fentanyl epidemic is the public health challenge of our time. Across our commonwealth and America, opioid use disorder (OUD) continues to be a crisis that requires our constant attention. Overdose deaths inflict a toll on families, workplaces, communities and state economies. Fortunately, there is some good news to report: We are making progress. Nationally, 224 Americans died every day from an overdose in 2022. Two years later, that number fell to 150. But it doesn’t erase the horrifying reality that OUD continues to be ...

Unwinding conservatorship risks another economic crisis

The movie “The Big Short” -- dramatizing the reckless behavior in the banking and mortgage industries that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis -- captures much of Wall Street’s misconduct but overlooks a central player in the collapse: the federal government, specifically through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two government-created and government-sponsored enterprises encouraged lenders to issue risky home loans by effectively making taxpayers cosign the mortgages. This setup incentivized dangerous lending practices that inflated the housing bubble, eventually leading to ...

Voters need genuine election reform

Imagine that you are at the liquor store but forgot your ID. Don’t worry, your friend can sign an affidavit saying you’re over 21. Sounds ridiculous? That’s because it is. Yet, that’s the essence of the latest voter ID proposal in Pennsylvania. Vouching for a friend wouldn’t fly at the state liquor store — nor should it at the ballot box. Numerous efforts to improve Pennsylvania’s problematic voting laws have centered on meaningful voter ID. This election integrity reform is a simple way to make voting easy and cheating hard. It balances access with security. Let’s be ...

Deal of a lifetime for US Steel

WEST MIFFLIN — Local steelworkers, community leaders and economic experts said President Donald Trump’s announcement Friday that a deal was struck between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel will go down in American history as the most enduring economic “big, beautiful deal” the 47th president has made. It is a deal robustly supported by the rank-and-file steelworkers from the three plants that make up the Mon Valley Works. The deal is believed to reverse the decline of steel that began under former President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s. “I am proud to announce that, after much ...

Hard to summarize Trump’s first 100 days

The first one hundred days of the second Trump administration are over. While his cabinet sycophanticly praises him, here’s where we really are: Thousands of government employees have been fired from their jobs leaving many agencies and departments severely understaffed. Trump’s reach has even extended into places where he constitutionally has no authority, like the Library of Congress. Services to the neediest Americans (veterans, poor people, children, the elderly) have been eliminated. Agencies affected include Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and the ...