Opinion, Politics
The greatest president that has ever lived?
March 21, 2026
To the Editor: As a frequent letter writer to the editor, I have become dismayed at the Democrats and their views. They incessantly spew hatred for Donald Trump, hatred for his cabinet members, hatred...
Paul Ehrlich was wrong about everything
Opinion
March 21, 2026
Biologist and author Paul Ehrlich, the most influential Chicken Little of the last century, died at the age of 93 this week. His 1968 book, “The Population Bomb,” launched decades of institutional pan...
Opinion
March 21, 2026
Finally, we welcomed spring on Friday. While we had a short burst of summer- like weather a few weeks ago, winter returned with a fury this week and we were back to warm coats and turning up the therm...
Opinion
March 21, 2026
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...
Opinion
March 20, 2026
TWENTY YEARS AGO, NO ONE really knew where social media was going to go. Facebook had just dropped “The” from its name. It was not yet ubiquitous. It was only beginning to move beyond college campuses...
Opinion, Politics
Endless wars
March 20, 2026
To the Editor: The death of American military personnel in a senseless war is just that: senseless. As of this writing, 13 American military personnel have died. Over 100 have been wounded, some no do...
What did you vote for?
Opinion, Politics
March 20, 2026
What did you vote for? That is the critical question facing Americans — more than 77 million of them — who voted for Donald Trump in 2024. For the true believers who wear red hats and belong to MAGA N...
The insane government shutdown
Opinion, Politics
March 19, 2026
On March 1, an immigrant from Senegal, apparently angry over the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, donned a T-shirt that said “Property of Allah,” grabbed a Koran, a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle and h...
Opinion
March 19, 2026
ASK WHO WROTE THE DECLARATION of Independence, and most people will promptly respond with Thomas Jefferson. Ask about the Constitution, and Broadway enthusiasts and history buffs may wax poetic about ...
Opinion
March 18, 2026
HAM IS PORK CURED in a brine of water, salt and sugar. The process was meant to preserve the meat and make it last longer. But it also made it taste better. What about a different kind of pork? “Pork ...
The man without a plan
Opinion, Politics
March 18, 2026
When President Donald Trump ordered an armada of naval vessels, fighter planes, bombers and hightech surveillance drones to the Middle East, he thought he had the answer to decades of tension and terr...
Let the sunshine in: Restore transparency to Pennsylvania government
Opinion, Politics
GUEST COLUMN
March 18, 2026
By WILLIAM M. COTTER President and CEO Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association National Sunshine Week, March 15-21, is a time to highlight the importance of open, transparent government and to call attenti...
Sunshine Week shines light on right to know
Opinion
March 17, 2026
SUNSHINE WEEK IS AN ANNUAL March observation that celebrates the importance of shedding light in the darkness, and the Mon Valley Independent takes the Sunshine Act, the public’s right to know and the...
Opinion
March 17, 2026
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...
Our long road to war with Iran
Opinion, Politics
March 17, 2026
Until last year, for some 46 years, Iran enjoyed a North Korea-like reputation in the heart of the Middle East: always unpredictable, reckless, dangerous, inevitably to be nuclear, self-destructive, a...
Opinion
March 16, 2026
THERE ARE THINGS you think about a college student needing to pay for at school. The obvious cost is the tuition. The average cost of two semesters at a Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education s...
Opinion
March 14, 2026
It’s great to see curtains going up. All over the Mon Valley things are a little dramatic right now. It is the height of spring musical season, and in middle schools and high schools across the region...
Republicans aren’t willing to call the war in Iran what it is
Opinion, Politics
March 14, 2026
Let’s state the obvious: We’re at war with Iran. My evidence? Turn on your TV. U.S. forces, working with Israel, killed the supreme leader of Iran and many of his top aides. We sunk Iran’s navy and de...