Pundits - 2005

This page was last updated on January 4, 2006.

Beaver County Times	State Rep. Mike Veon
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette	State Rep. Frank LaGrotta
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review	Lame ducks

This section covers editorials, letters to the editor, opinion columns, and faux press releases on politician web sites. Do not assume I agree with an editorial or other op-ed piece just because I don’t publish a critique.

I also submit letters to the editor. There are limitations of that approach, however, and they include:

Out of necessity, newspapers place a limit on letter size. For example, the Beaver County Times has a limit of 300 words. Most other newspapers have a lower limit. The problem with the limit is that thorough discussion of a topic is tough to do in 300 words or less.
There is no guarantee the newspaper will publish your letter.
Newspapers occasionally edit significant content in your letter.
Some newspapers limit the number of your letters they will publish in a given period of time. For example, I believe the Beaver County Times has a limit of 12 letters per year. I believe other papers have lower limits.
The papers generally provide the letter title, and sometimes the title is misleading.

Beaver County Times

Editorials
Dead end	December 30, 2005
Credibility	December 29, 2005
Minor setback	December 23, 2005
Lap dog	December 22, 2005
The rule of law	December 21, 2005
Stumbling along	December 20, 2005
Salutes & Boots	December 12, 2005
GPS-based tax	December 11, 2005
Bad law	December 1, 2005
Tread lightly	November 30, 2005
Car wreck, Part 1	November 27, 2005
Wreckage, Part II	November 27, 2005
Soldier’s soldier	November 22, 2005
Salutes & Boots	November 14, 2005
Payback time	November 8, 2005
Salutes & Boots	November 7, 2005
Jogging around	November 4, 2005
Base move	November 3, 2005
Borked	November 3, 2005
Double standard	November 2, 2005
Missing the point	November 1, 2005
Hypocrites	November 1, 2005
Spin cycle	October 20, 2005
A dry well	October 10, 2005
Changing times	October 9, 2005
Below the surface and Test scores	September 25, 2005
Beyond words	September 18, 2005
Future shock	September 18, 2005
Jogging around	September 16, 2005
Timing	September 15, 2005
After the shock	September 14, 2005
Fear and hatred	September 14, 2005
America’s disgrace	September 4, 2005
Full support	August 31, 2005
Buy hybrid	August 28, 2005
Prelude to anarchy	August 24, 2005
Group think	August 14, 2005
True lies	August 14, 2005
Stay the course	August 9, 2005
Waking up	August 9, 2005
Cut and run	August 7, 2005
Blight plight	July 26, 2005
Salutes & Boots	July 25, 2005
Debtor nation	July 24, 2005
Morally right	July 24, 2005
Jogging around	July 22, 2005
Pension ploy	July 21, 2005
Nice loophole	July 17, 2005
Starting points	July 10, 2005
Lawmakers: Pay increase was justified	July 8, 2005
Base moves	July 7, 2005
Laws of inertia	July 5, 2005
A matter of trust	June 29, 2005
Big tent	June 29, 2005
A fine line	June 28, 2005
Burning issue	June 26, 2005
Economic apartheid	June 22, 2005
Staying power	June 21, 2005
Role model	June 21, 2005
Salutes & Boots	June 20, 2005
Burned bridges	June 19, 2005
Money matters	June 19, 2005
Jogging around	June 17, 2005
Long overdue	June 16, 2005
Waiting to inhale	June 12, 2005
Jogging around	June 10, 2005
Hot air	June 9, 2005
With us always	June 9, 2005
Tripped up	June 5, 2005
Jogging around	June 3, 2005
Tax tip	June 2, 2005
Trendy	May 31, 2005
Salutes & Boots	May 30, 2005
Death grip	May 29, 2005
Local control	May 26, 2005
Salutes & Boots	May 23, 2005
Worth the cost	May 22, 2005
Jogging around	May 20, 2005
Slippery slope	May 17, 2005
Health care	May 16, 2005
Salutes & Boots	May 16, 2005
Dump and run	May 15, 2005
Support issue	May 11, 2005
Fighting trim	May 9, 2005
Salutes & Boots	May 9, 2005
Perfectly legal	May 8, 2005
Jogging around	May 6, 2005
Housing bust	May 5, 2005
Momentum	May 5, 2005
Hard ball	May 4, 2005
Bring it on	May 3, 2005
Moderate middle	May 3, 2005
Wall of separation	May 2, 2005
A poser	May 1, 2005
Banned in Beaver	May 1, 2005
Hypocrites	April 26, 2005
Bad deal	April 24, 2005
Policy shift	April 24, 2005
Power failure	April 21, 2005
A matter of faith	April 20, 2005
Unreal	April 17, 2005
Jogging around	April 15, 2005
Under attack	April 12, 2005
One master	April 11, 2005
Salutes & Boots	April 11, 2005
Summer soldiers	April 10, 2005
Coming and going	April 7, 2005
Opened door	April 3, 2005
Get used to it	March 31, 2005
A real challenge	March 30, 2005
Letting go	March 30, 2005
Salutes & Boots	March 28, 2005
Name game	March 27, 2005
Dollar daze	March 27, 2005
Class shows	March 24, 2005
Drop in the bucket	March 21, 2005
Woe are we	March 13, 2005
Welfare leeches	March 6, 2005
Succinct	March 3, 2005
Salutes & Boots	February 28, 2005
The color purple	February 24, 2005
Fool’s gold	February 23, 2005
Jogging around	February 18, 2005
It’s all for show	February 15, 2005
No respect	February 8, 2005
Wake up	February 2, 2005
Bitter harvest	February 1, 2005
Unfair and unjust	January 31, 2005
Tipping point	January 30, 2005
Debtor nation	January 26, 2005
Senseless	January 26, 2005
Words and deeds	January 26, 2005
The home front	January 25, 2005
Wrong crisis	January 24, 2005
The road to serfdom	January 23, 2005
Real bias	January 19, 2005
Salutes & Boots	January 17, 2005
Shock and awe	January 17, 2005
Slippery slope	January 12, 2005
Missing the point	January 5, 2005
Salutes & Boots	January 3, 2005

Letters to the editor	Author
Intelligent design: pro and con	R. Klingelhoefer	December 30, 2005
Paying the price	E. R. Miller	December 30, 2005
Give a little; take some back	Dushan Yanich	December 30, 2005
Pray for peace on Earth	Ann Carville	December 29, 2005
Patriotism redefined	Robin Cox	December 27, 2005
It’s hard to respect Bush	Brian Carter	December 22, 2005
No reason to enshrine Reagan	Rich Laughlin	December 21, 2005
Saying ‘Happy Holidays’ is OK	Vivienne Finch	December 18, 2005
Situation in Iraq is horrendous	Vivienne Finch	December 15, 2005
Reality check	Velma Berger	December 11, 2005
Reagan dime is an insult	Thomas Gaoana	December 11, 2005
The straight facts on Iraq	William Horter	December 8, 2005
Bring the troops home	Jane Delanko	December 4, 2005
A founding principle	Nicole Homich	December 4, 2005
We can’t afford GOP anymore	Daniel Morrison	November 30, 2005
Democrats vs. Republicans	Thomas Finch	November 29, 2005
Race already heating up	Steve Rodich	November 28, 2005
Murtha takes stand of courage	Frank Bovalino	November 27, 2005
Pride in Murtha	Janet Vatavuk	November 27, 2005
Changes in the melting pot	Brendan Jones	November 15, 2005
Celebrate our achievements	James Palmer	November 14, 2005
What liberal bias?	David Matthews	November 13, 2005
Restore integrity to voting	Sheila Green	November 7, 2005
More of the same from Bush	J. Tomaszewski	November 7, 2005
GOP can reform its way back	James Nagy	November 6, 2005
Media betraying the nation	Dan Reeping	November 4, 2005
Bush did Iran’s work	Vince Avedon	October 30, 2005
Media: Godly leader’s lap dogs	Jonas Rushman	October 30, 2005
So where’s the compassion?	Ian Thompson	October 26, 2005
Using troops to boost ratings	Dushan Yanich	October 20, 2005
Why Miers frightens the right	Ron Demarest	October 16, 2005
Teach biology, not theology	Joel Koslicki	October 16, 2005
‘I find nothing to support’	Velma Berger	October 7, 2005
When ‘new’ becomes ‘old’	Lonzie Cox	October 7, 2005
‘Good can come out of this’	Lynn Gardner	September 19, 2004
Gulf Coast genocide	Vince Avedon	September 18, 2004
Think before you vote	Russell Chiodo	September 18, 2004
Bush’s character flawed	Ed Hum	September 18, 2004
Pleas on levees ignored	Dane Krupa	September 18, 2004
Impeach Bush	M. Maljevec	September 18, 2004
Relieving real desperation	Linda Vetterly	September 18, 2004
No repeat of history	Nick Bilotto	September 15, 2004
Racism and incompetence	Lonzie Cox	September 15, 2004
Wait for aid unbelievable	Joan Laveing	September 15, 2004
‘Just say no’	Paul Panza	September 15, 2004
The buck stops with Bush	Rachael Straub	September 15, 2004
Roberts could become robot	Jerry Miskulin	September 14, 2004
Of history and hypocrites	Nancy Shebish	September 14, 2004
War diverts resources	Witty Young	September 14, 2004
One tax request	Lonzie Cox	September 13, 2004
Bring troops home now	Peter Deutsch	September 13, 2004
Time to pre-empt president	Paul Panza	September 13, 2004
‘Contract with America’ lost	Nikola Drobac	September 12, 2004
Incompetence everywhere	W. Alexander	September 11, 2004
Call to suspect fuel taxes	Jason Gabauer	September 11, 2004
Presidential affront	Rudolph Marzio	September 11, 2004
Government failed	Miranda Ord	September 11, 2004
Social Security push fades	J. Tomaszewski	September 8, 2004
Nation must plan to compete	Michael Torbic	September 6, 2004
Political clout a blessing	Pat Geho	September 2, 2004
On way to Third World status	Milena Ostrosser	August 30, 2005
Hart will vote as she’s told	Daniel Bosh	August 28, 2005
Oppose national sales tax	Fran Edwards	August 28, 2005
Out of Iraq by next summer	Edward Hum	August 28, 2005
‘Don’t give up; speak up’	Lorraine Mahany	August 28, 2005
Through Republican eyes	Andrew Charles	August 26, 2005
Mark your 2006 calendars	Ken Stiefel	August 25, 2005
Bush takes care of his bosses	Jim Mannion	August 18, 2005
A two-faced traitor	Vince Avedon	August 16, 2005
Close income-tax loopholes	W. Alexander	August 11, 2005
How dare we…?	Lorraine Mahany	August 7, 2005
Why not a universal HMO?	Louis Ross	August 7, 2005
Local officials failed, too	Sheila Green	August 4, 2005
Buried one lie at a time	Vince Avedon	August 2, 2005
Special interest bailout	Susan Gobreski	July 26, 2005
Privatization a bum deal	Jeffrey Zdinak	July 25, 2005
Nothing to admire	Velma Berger	July 24, 2005
Santorum tricks the people	W. Alexander	July 20, 2005
Patriotism is not silence	The Ruskins	July 18, 2005
Decision left for locals	Nick Bilotto	July 17, 2005
Bush’s version of Commandments	Stephen Kislock	July 17, 2005
Rethinking terrorism	Sean Krupa	July 14, 2005
War has oily roots	Randy Shannon	July 14, 2005
Rich man, poor man	Vivienne Finch	July 11, 2005
‘Bring our troops home now’	Catherine Gatian	July 11, 2005
Why do vets praise Bush?	Frank Mahr	July 11, 2005
Time to wind down war	J. Tomaszewski	July 11, 2005
Refund Social Security taxes	Nikola Drobac	July 10, 2005
Don’t call it communism	Carl Sutherland	July 10, 2005
If Santorum is so pro-life …	Gilda De Ferrari	July 7, 2005
Time for property tax reform	Bill Gamble	July 7, 2005
Jail privatization doesn’t pay	Thomas Trkulja	July 7, 2005
Bush’s class war in Iraq	W. Alexander	July 6, 2005
Blame curriculum cut on feds	Karen Guman	July 6, 2005
Facing the truth	Krista Moyer	July 6, 2005
Form letter faulted	W. Alexander	July 3, 2005
A point of international law	Nikola Drobac	July 3, 2005
Bush has hurt America	Vince Avedon	July 1, 2005
Why all the complaining …	Stevan Drobac	July 1, 2005
A wake-up letter	Mary Ann Malagise	July 1, 2005
War is hell	Alex Yawor	July 1, 2005
People are waking up	Daniel Bosh	July 1, 2005
Celebrate, learn from recount	Peter Deutsch	June 30, 2005
Bush cares only for himself	Larney Santry	June 30, 2005
With friends like the Saudis …	Nikola Drobac	June 23, 2005
Stop the carnage now	Gilda De Ferrari	June 22, 2005
What Jesus didn’t do	Rita Muckian	June 22, 2005
Typical Republicans	Thomas Finch	June 21, 2005
An ‘incompetent employer’	Rita Muckian	June 20, 2005
Take care of U.S. first	John Taormina	June 20, 2005
Stopping political corruption	Ralph Hysong	June 19, 2005
A matter of timing	Stephen Kislock	June 16, 2005
We aren’t indentured servants	Tom Schroeder	June 16, 2005
Middle Class Party needed	Dushan Yanich	June 16, 2005
Stumping or working?	Scott Hill	June 14, 2005
Deep cuts for most needy	Bruce Simmeth	June 13, 2005
Why seek out evil?	Jerry Miskulin	June 12, 2005
Excuses for outsourcing	Linda Spagina	June 12, 2005
Support USA, not China	Carol Gazzam	June 10, 2005
Put blame where it belongs	Barbara Mayhue	June 9, 2005
‘Thank God I’m a Democrat’	Vince Avedon	June 8, 2005
You’ll thank Mike Veon	Frank LaGrotta	June 5, 2005
Ouch!	Danny Sainovich	May 30, 2005
Who [sic] do we believe?	Edward Hum	May 20, 2005
Votes [sic] should feel used	Nikola Drobac	May 19, 2005
Failed private pensions	William Horter	May 17, 2005
Power grab must be stopped	Ian Thompson	May 17, 2005
PAC up DeLay probe	Stephen Kislock	May 16, 2005
Fair and impartial? No way	Deane Lavender	May 13, 2005
Social Security plan a bust	W. Alexander	May 8, 2005
The big lie	Velma Berger	May 8, 2005
Bring our troops home	Jane Delanko	May 8, 2005
‘If this is moral justice …’	Patsy Ronghi	May 8, 2005
Go after illegal aliens	Michael Torbic	May 8, 2005
Private accounts’ returns iffy	W. Alexander	May 1, 2005
Check out Santorum’s record	Stephen Kislock	May 1, 2005
‘Bring on the guillotine’	Vince Avedon	April 29, 2005
We need paper ballots	Peter Deutsch	April 27, 2005
Don’t buy Santorum’s con job	Cindy Freed	April 27, 2005
Carter should’ve been there	Mary Conca	April 26, 2005
A truly patriotic act	Robert Steffes	April 26, 2005
Opportunity for greatness	Roger Thomas	April 26, 2005
Democrats will be vindicated	Jerry Miskulin	April 24, 2005
Don’t gamble with our money	Art Refice	April 24, 2005
Checks and balances are vital	W. Alexander	April 22, 2005
An ideal, smoke-free world	Diane Cannon	April 20, 2005
‘Nuclear’ option and Santorum	Steve Rodich	April 20, 2005
Go after good-paying jobs	Rose Ruddick	April 20, 2005
No reason to snub Carter	Cynthia Adams	April 19, 2005
Private accounts a bust	W. Alexander	April 19, 2005
Bankruptcy bill is bad law	Roger Thomas	April 19, 2005
Right to breathe clean air	John Lovra	April 17, 2005
Santorum no friend of vets	Dushan Yanich	April 17, 2005
Paper trail is vital in elections	Catherine Gatian	April 15, 2005
Carter should have been there	Thelma Berger	April 14, 2005
Not getting anywhere	Patti Jenkins	April 12, 2005
Politicians ignore veterans	Dave Dean	April 11, 2005
The ‘W’ stands for ‘worst’	Tom Finch	April 11, 2005
Hands off, Mr. Fix-It	Michael Torbic	April 10, 2005
Pope’s policies will continue	Witty Young	April 10, 2005
A family decision	Edward Hum	April 8, 2005
Smokers violate others’ air	Lois Sestito	April 8, 2005
Questions on intelligence	Nikola Drobac	April 7, 2005
Let’s talk about propaganda	Sandra Hood	April 7, 2005
Marriage and the GOP agenda	William Bubb	April 6, 2005
Stop the bankruptcy bill	Roger Thomas	April 6, 2005
Politicians should stay out	Lynn Gardner	April 4, 2005
Funding is the VA issue	Jerry Alexis	April 3, 2005
Parents saying ‘no’ to God	Vince Avedon	April 3, 2005
She was a person, not a cause	Ron Demerest	April 3, 2005
‘On the side of life’?	Stephen Kislock	April 3, 2005
Oh, Canadian drugs	Bill White	April 3, 2005
Checks and balances	Carol Williams	April 3, 2005
Bush going after veterans	Dushan Yanich	April 3, 2005
‘Who’s running this country?’	Nikola Drobac	March 30, 2005
It’s Santorum’s turn to lose	Steve Rodich	March 29, 2005
Schiavo move a political stunt	Stephen Kislock	March 24, 2005
Santorum no lock in '06	Dushan Yanich	March 24, 2005
Who’s sorry now?	Grant Farr	March 23, 2005
Why the double standard?	Lonzie Cox	March 22, 2005
A matter of priorities	Grant Farr	March 22, 2005
Virginia’s third senator	William Bubb	March 21, 2005
What is Santorum’s real goal?	Dan Grey	March 21, 2005
Manufactured news	Bill White	March 21, 2005
Mass transit is a vital service	Michelle Manzo	March 18, 2005
Trying to scare us again	Nikola Drobac	March 17, 2005
Lift the cap in 2018	Anna Pierce	March 17, 2005
Use lottery for Social Security	Michael Torbic	March 17, 2005
Bush ignores needs of parents	Vivienne Finch	March 15, 2005
Social Security flurry	Bill White	March 15, 2005
Dump Bush’s front man	Lonzie Cox	March 8, 2005
Today’s new media	James Nagy	March 3, 2005
Talkin’ ‘bout my generation	Frank Schaffner	March 3, 2005
Bush covering for Iraq mistake	J. Tomaszewski	March 3, 2005
Don’t buy Santorum’s pitch	W. Alexander	March 2, 2005
Practice what you preach	Stephen Kislock	March 1, 2005
Continuing to go backward	Velma Berger	February 28, 2005
The rich and the rest of us	Lynn Gardner	February 28, 2005
Retirement could be illusory	Nikola Drobac	February 27, 2005
Politics put ahead of progress	James Zedak	February 27, 2005
It’s what they don’t tell us	Vince Avedon	February 24, 2005
Surplus is borrowed	John Sedar	February 23, 2005
At-large elections flawed	Lonzie Cox	February 20, 2005
It’s Robin Hood time	Gary Owens	February 20, 2005
The writing is on the wall	Eleanor Kassell	February 16, 2005
Dishonesty must not pay	James Nagy	February 16, 2005
U.N. serves a purpose	J. Tomaszewski	February 16, 2005
A long four years	John Lovra	February 15, 2005
A time of uncertainty	Lonzie Cox	February 13, 2005
‘Somebody flunked economics’	Roger Thomas	February 13, 2005
Speak out against Iraqi war	Randy Shannon	February 10, 2005
Heed history	William Horter	February 8, 2005
When will troops leave Iraq?	Larry Mason	February 8, 2005
Bush can’t be trusted	Frank Bovalino	February 7, 2005
Defeat Santorum and Hart	Lonzie Cox	February 7, 2005
Why believe Bush’s lies?	Vince Avedon	February 6, 2005
Iraqis vote but won’t fight	Velma Berger	February 4, 2005
‘The fools will believe us’	Thomas Finch	February 4, 2005
Reasons to move to Canada	Frank Schaffner	February 4, 2005
A right and a choice	Kathy Smith	February 4, 2005
Control the oil prices	John Koren	February 2, 2005
Watch what Bush does	Jewel Robertson	January 27, 2005
‘Not by faith alone’	Jewel Robertson	January 26, 2005
Bad time for throwing a bash	Betty Hazlett	January 23, 2005
What a waste of money	Carol Tritinger	January 20, 2005
Is new construction justified?	Cheryl Burns	January 16, 2005
White House ignored warnings	David McKenzie	January 13, 2005
The rich rule	J. Tomaszewski	January 13, 2005
Criticism of Bush misplaced	Lonzie Cox	January 5, 2005
Two notes is all it takes	Gary Owens	January 5, 2005
Let’s look at our safety	Judy Pamer	January 5, 2005
‘Let he who is without sin …’	Shirley Newman	January 3, 2005
National sales tax is unfair	W. Alexander	January 2, 2005
How dare they	Vince Avedon	January 2, 2005
Left-wing loony responds	Sandra Hood	January 2, 2005
Can’t kill the boogeyman	Stephen Kislock	January 2, 2005

Gino Piroli
Medicare program brings new debate	September 26, 2005
Can’t expect compromise chief justice	September 19, 2005
Ex-resident endures pro-Bush sentiment	July 18, 2005
Cut in veteran benefits unfair	May 23, 2005
Never a good idea to remain silent	May 16, 2005
Honor roll rekindles memories	April 18, 2005
Pope had special bond with region	April 11, 2005
Terri Schiavo case	April 4, 2005
Saving Medicare more important	March 21, 2005
Swift-boat ad backers take aim at the AARP	February 28, 2005
Radio voice now big with the bowlers	February 7, 2005
AARP call to act is curiously late	January 24, 2005
Critiques of 2004 Piroli columns

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Editorials
News plant	December 6, 2005
The Katrina exit	September 9, 2005
A mother’s vigil	August 12, 2005
Raise a shield	July 25, 2005
Dump Rove	July 15, 2005
Non-apologists	June 21, 2005
Dean’s day	June 14, 2005
Deep righteousness	June 2, 2005
Fixing Harvard	May 26, 2005
Hitting home	April 18, 2005
No nukes	April 7, 2005
Peace at last	April 1, 2005
The drive to safety	March 29, 2005
Delaying action	February 3, 2005
Bigger jumbo	January 31, 2005

Letters to the editor	Author


Commentary/Forum

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Editorials

Letters to the editor	Author

State Rep. Mike Veon

State Rep. Mike Veon (D-14) Proposes New Tax on Employers and Workers	May 4, 2005
Local Representatives Target Young for Gambling	February 1, 2005
Critiques from 2004

State Rep. Frank LaGrotta