February 9, 2012
Samantha Bennett
We've all heard of, if not ventured across, the soda/pop divide. In Pittsburgh, we're close enough that it's a day trip and doesn't even require the wagon trains of old.
February 9, 2012
Ron Cook
It's probably just as well that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin won't be available for comment at high noon today when the team rolls out new offensive coordinator Todd Haley for his introductory news conference at its South Side compound. Tomlin will be there -- ostensibly to show his support for the Haley hiring -- but will not take questions. This is supposed to be Haley's day.
February 9, 2012
Brian O'Neill
The Bonusgate scandal is winding down in Harrisburg even as the list of convicted lawmakers grows, but there's still one item that isn't quite resolved: bonuses themselves.
February 8, 2012
Dan Simpson
LA PAZ, Bolivia -- None of my other trips to South America had ever included Bolivia; thus, I have found its complexity somewhat daunting. What brought my wife and me here was my stepson's wife, an internationally acclaimed pianist, Ana-Maria Vera. Ana-Maria is half-Bolivian, half-Dutch and now American. She started her career at age 8 as a child prodigy.
February 8, 2012
Reg Henry
The expression "political football" refers to something kicked around for political effect. But, nowadays, everything is kicked around for political effect. In truth, politics has become football, as the Super Bowl ended up proving. Consider that politics and football are both contact sports. Both involve lots of money. Both encourage blind allegiance to a team.
February 7, 2012
Tony Norman
When a co-worker brought "Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master" to my attention last week, I was immediately intrigued. The letter purports to be from Jourdon Anderson, a runaway slave, to his former "owner," Col. P.H. Anderson. It was written on Aug. 7, 1865, several months after the end of the Civil War. Jourdan lived in Dayton, Ohio. The colonel lived in Big Spring, Tenn.
February 6, 2012
Ruth Ann Dailey
At Thursday morning's National Prayer Breakfast, President Barack Obama delivered a fascinating address, pointing out the shared values of the world's major religions while constantly referencing his particular Christian faith. One of the shared principles he cited repeatedly but grounded in "Jesus' teaching" was this familiar verse: "For unto whom much is given, much shall be required."
February 6, 2012
Gene Collier
INDIANAPOLIS -- Two weeks of polishing the NFL legends of Eli Manning and Tom Brady into modern gunslinger monuments might have seemed prudent for an unprecedented collision of Super Bowl MVPs, but the result wasn't terribly artistic until both quarterbacks finally drew their weapons late in a breathtaking Super Bowl.
February 5, 2012
Sally Kalson
The good news is that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has seen the error of its way and reversed its plans to eliminate grants to Planned Parenthood. The bad news is how it lost sight of its mission to begin with.
February 5, 2012
Jack Kelly
"A Tale of Two Cities" illustrated how starkly different were the views in London and Paris of the French Revolution. There's a similar gulf between Democrats and Republicans on economic policy
February 5, 2012
David Shribman
There was a discredited president, distrusted by his own party, portrayed by even his fondest allies as a disappointing underachiever. There was an eastern governor, decorated with breathtaking academic credentials and a star turn in the non-profit sector, mounting a serious challenge.