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Columns/Opinion

The crackers and frackers could hold keys to 2020

MONACA, Pa. All Darrin Kelly wanted for the energy workers in Western Pennsylvania was that the Democratic presidential hopefuls would talk to them before going to war against shale. That opportunity slipped away last Friday when Elizabeth Warren joined Bernie Sanders in calling for a total fracking ban. “On my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that puts a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases for drilling offshore and on public lands. And I will ban fracking — everywhere,” Warren tweeted. “It is disappointing that any national candidate ...

Something’s a little off about Elizabeth Warren

Ed Rendell recently whacked Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. , when she bashed Joe Biden for taking rich donors’ money. The former Pennsylvania governor wrote that he himself had run a “swanky” fundraiser for Warren’s Senate race, for which she thanked him royally. Furthermore, she transferred $10.4 million of her big-money hauls into her presidential campaign while bragging that she was only accepting small donations. Calling that maneuvering sleazy would be overdoing it, but there is certainly something untoward about it. Warren refuses to say what taxes she would raise to ...

Shaking up interest in rattlesnakes

Gold and blue, cardinals, rhododendrons and black bears are some of what we associate with our state. I just learned that our state reptile is the timber rattlesnake. I’ve been wanting to learn more about timber rattlesnakes since attending a presentation about the population and tracking of rattlesnakes in a couple of local areas. A few tidbits piqued my interest. It didn’t take much, as I am already fascinated by serpents in general. While some of my friends are repulsed by these reptiles, I’ve always been interested in them and their symbolism throughout ...

Ideas of electability an annoying diversion

Our subject today is a word. It seems to be the word of the moment, at least on the political left. One can hardly read an opinion page or watch cable news without confronting this tiresome term, this irksome idiom. For the love of heaven, people, please stop saying “electability.” Note, please, that the last president was a black man with the unlikely name of Barack Hussein Obama Jr., who came to office with just a few years of senatorial experience. His successor was a TV reality show host with no government experience whatsoever and a history of racist, misogynistic and ...

Going native: Vial of racism called Sauvage

In late August, the chic French luxury brand Christian Dior debuted an ad campaign for its fragrance referencing Native Americans. A number of American Indians decried the advertisement as racist. It was. The company featured a video in its Twitter feed of an American Indian dancing in full regalia in the desert. A narrator can be heard saying, “An authentic journey deep into the Native American soul in a sacred, founding and secular territory.” After a swift, negative reaction on social media, Dior pulled the ads. But it was not so much the imagery or verbal content that ...

Disease can be financially toxic

For three decades I’ve worked with people who are aging or chronically ill, helping them figure out how the heck they are going to pay for old age or serious illness. One of the issues that’s gotten markedly worse during this time is financial toxicity — that is, the economic burden that too often accompanies the diagnosis of a dread or terminal disease. I see this most often with people battling cancer. Well, as often happens in life, I recently found the proverbial shoe on the other foot when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, her prognosis is pretty good, and she ...