Politics
Tariffs are a tool
December 4, 2024
To the Editor: May God bless all Americans! This newly elected man will be my 47th president, just as the previous one was mine for the past four years, even though I did not vote for him and millions...
Universities have a 2025 rendezvous with reality
Politics
December 3, 2024
Universities have suffered a cataclysmic decline in public approval and support. A Gallup poll taken this year found that only 36% of Americans polled either expressed “a great deal” or “quite a lot” ...
Colorectal cancer is a stealthy killer
Politics
December 2, 2024
My mother didn’t quite know what to do with some of my father’s mementos. The decor of her new house wouldn’t accommodate all of his treasures, including the head of a 10-point buck he had proudly mou...
Politics
December 2, 2024
IN PENNSYLVANIA, the national holiday of Thanksgiving and the retail festivities of Black Friday are quickly followed by the state’s own seasonal celebration. Bust out your camouflage and fluorescent ...
Politics
By By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press 
December 2, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will control the White House and both houses of Congress come January. But President-elect Donald Trump’s intent to nominate loyalists to fill key Cabinet posts has set u...
Trump says he’ll nominate Kash Patel as FBI director to remake the agency
Politics
December 2, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning announcement that he will nominate Kash Patel as FBI director sets the stage for a fresh round of turbulence at a law enforcement agency taske...
Politics
December 2, 2024
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, said Sunday he has joined the race to lead the national party after an election that swept Donald Trump and Republi...
Politics
Tariffs: another bad idea
November 30, 2024
To the Editor: Four years ago we were at a crossroad, as we find ourselves again. The choices made, whether by actual or fraudulent votes at that time, have brought our nation to be a laughing stock o...
Hits & Misses
Politics
November 30, 2024
Supporting local small businesses should be a priority all year round, but especially today, which marks Small Business Saturday. The observance was launched by American Express in 2010 to aid small b...
What if most Americans aren’t bitterly divided?
Politics
November 30, 2024
Among elites across the ideological spectrum, there’s one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that’s wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while ...
Immigrants are good for you
Politics
November 29, 2024
Donald Trump has proposed many policies based on faulty assumptions and even outright lies. One of his most misleading falsehoods is his virulent denunciation of immigration. Repeatedly, he’s vowed to...
Politics
November 29, 2024
TODAY IS CONSIDERED the most important shopping day of the year, but tomorrow is equally vital for many Mon Valley businesses. After the Black Friday hysteria dies down, there will be many great barga...
Politics
November 27, 2024
The editorial department of the Mon Valley Independent encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be no more than 500 words, must be in good taste and must include the author’s name, town of resid...
One month after campaign’s final convulsion, a moment of peace
Politics
November 27, 2024
It seems like years, but it was just one month ago that the media effort to stop President-elect Donald Trump reached its final, most desperate phase in the closing days of the 2024 campaign. The Atla...
Politics
Reality setting in
November 27, 2024
To the Editor: Have you ever read the Constitution of the United States from beginning to end? You should. It’s the foundational document that has underpinned the greatest democratic republic in the w...
Politics
November 26, 2024
WITH THE THURSDAY CONCESSION of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania’s 2024 election season effectively comes to a close. Republican businessman Dave McCormick has already gone to Washington for new-sena...
The Trump counterrevolution is a return to sanity
Politics
November 26, 2024
We are witnessing a historic counterrevolution after Trump’s victory, far different from his first election in 2016. The orthodox and the supposed scripted future are now suspect. And they are likely ...
Politics
Everyone will suffer
November 26, 2024
To the Editor: The Monessen War Veterans Trust was established on May 19, 2011, by the Thomas McKee American Legion Post 28 and the Allison Lescanic Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1190 under the direct...