post-gazette.com - Opinion http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/ All Opinion en-us Copyright 2012, post-gazette.com. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:09:25 -0500 15 post-gazette.com http://www.post-gazette.com/includes/2007design/images/150x30pg_now_logo.gif http://www.post-gazette.com/ 144 39 NRA strikes back: A bill to shoot down local gun measures moves http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12045/1209953-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Evidence that the state Legislature is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Rifle Association comes in many forms. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:01:00 -0500 New energy duties: It makes sense for the PUC to deal with drilling http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12045/1209954-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml There's a lot wrong with the new state law regulating the Marcellus Shale gas drilling industry, but lawmakers got one thing right: putting oversight in the hands of Pennsylvania's Public Utility Commission. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Not so special: SOCOM's bid for independence is a mistake http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12045/1209955-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml While the federal government is under pressure to be more efficient with budgets and planning, Adm. William H. McRaven, head of the U.S. military Special Operations Command, wants an expansion of both his unit's independence and its scope of activities. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Letters to the editor http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12045/1209956-110.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml The Republican nomination process has been nothing less than laughable. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Call to arms: The Pentagon further opens the door to women http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12044/1209812-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml American women in uniform have been fighting and dying for their country for years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Map for the future: An amateur redistricts better than the politicians http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12044/1209813-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Any Pennsylvania group that has an award for outstanding civic achievement should consider Amanda E. Holt for a prize. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Gas bill: Shale drillers got the better part of the deal http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12044/1209814-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Pennsylvania already has a love-hate relationship with Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Letters to the editor http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12044/1209815-110.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml I hesitate to start this critique of the American political scene this election season. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Issue One: Election 2012 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209425-110.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Regarding the letter "Dickensian Mitt" (Feb. 8) from William E. Wells: How much did he give to charity in the last two years? Mitt Romney gave 15 percent to government and 15 percent to charity -- 30 percent is not very Scrooge-ish ! So Tiny Tim surely got a farthing in his stocking. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Asides http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209494-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml LET US NOW PRAISE famous men -- or at least one man who was great and deserved to be more famous for his good works in the Pittsburgh region. C. Fred Fetterolf, president of Alcoa from 1984 to 1991, died at age 83 last Sunday in Beaver County. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 A ban overturned: Gay marriage advances on two fronts http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209495-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Last week saw two related developments on gay marriage. In the first, a three-judge federal panel in San Francisco voted 2-1 to uphold a lower court decision that said California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Occupy Pgh., RIP: The tent dwellers failed to connect with real folks http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209496-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml What remained of Occupy Pittsburgh walked away from Downtown's Mellon Green on Wednesday evening, declaring the group's protest a success but offering nothing more than slogans to support the claim. Just because a protester carried a large sign reading "Victory" did not make it so. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Letters to the editor http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209497-110.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Post-Gazette writer Tony Norman said it well. We are in, or going back to, the era of "rugged individualism and mindless austerity" ("State Is Liable to Wreck Transit at Any Cost," Jan. 31). Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Obama tunes: The campaign tracks an eclectic playlist http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12042/1209505-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Most Americans have never heard of the free Internet music site called Spotify, but aides to the most tech-savvy American president have. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Balancing act: Mixing history and progress in the Strip District http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12042/1209506-192.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml Bulldozing history to make way for the future is always a tough call. In the case of Pittsburgh's Strip District, the bustling and popular neighborhood has more than its share of defenders to make sure it's done right. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Letters to the editor http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12042/1209508-110-0.stm?cmpid=opinion.xml I see state Rep. Rick Saccone is not content merely to waste the Legislature's time and the taxpayers' money with his "Year of the Bible" resolution, HR 535. He now wastes your ink and our time defending the indefensible in his Feb. 7 commentary ("America Owes Much to God: The House's Bible Resolution Is in Keeping With Tradition"). Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500