Lori Falce: The difference between debate and argument
Put your hands up! You’re “Surrounded.” No, you aren’t a bank robber being confronted on all sides by police. In this case, you would be on a YouTube video by Jubilee Media, a content producer with
10.2 million subscribers. “Surrounded” is a series that debuted in the lead-up to the...
Lori Falce: Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump and the unexpected consequences of encouraging supporters
When my sister was in second grade, we went to church on a Friday morning for her first confession. The church was huge, with an echoing quality amplified by its tomblike silence. One by one, the little kids shuffled into the confessional while parents and other Catholic school students sat...
Lori Falce: The lessons of Abraham Lincoln and a house divided
In 1858, after winning the Republican nomination for the Senate against incumbent Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that has stood the test of time because of the truth it laid plain before a country ripping itself in two. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” the future president...
Lori Falce: UPMC decision slams door on trans youths
UPMC will not be providing gender-affirming care to those 18 and under after this month. The move comes after President Donald Trump’s executive order in January titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” The wording of the order is no doubt purposeful. Politically, it’s an old favorite of both...
Lori Falce: Lee’s words about Minnesota victims must be remembered
On Saturday, when Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were gunned down, they were not the only casualties. And no, I don’t just mean that there were other people killed in gun violence that day. I’m not even...
Lori Falce: Los Angeles confrontations are becoming less about immigration than First Amendment
The United States of America had barely taken its first breath as a nation governed by the Constitution when it was realized that changes were needed. While we will celebrate Independence Day on July 4 as the country’s 249th birthday, that’s a bit wrong. That was the day we declared...
Lori Falce: The bromance is over
In December, as the Biden administration was winding down and the air was thick with plans for the second Donald Trump term in the White House, I asked a question. I looked at the events surrounding the continuing resolution bill making its way through both chambers of Congress with bipartisan...
Editorial: Aaron Rodgers and the politics of playing games
Aaron Rodgers is the talk of Pittsburgh sports, which is fascinating since there’s no proof he will ever have anything to do with Pittsburgh sports. For months, the potential of the former Green Bay Packers and (briefly) New York Jets quarterback to don the black and gold for at least...
Lori Falce: Due process, habeas corpus and the burden of American jurisprudence
Navigating the law isn’t easy. There is a reason lawyers go to school for so long, pay so much for their education and in turn charge what they do per hour. The law is not as easy as “thou shalt not.” It requires deeper understanding of not just what is...
Lori Falce: The endangerment of the rule of law
You cannot have order without having law. Well, theoretically you could. If everyone just instinctively did the right thing, that would be great. No laws needed! But once you involve people, human nature, emotions and all of the quirky little things that complicate our lives, suddenly laws become pretty important....
Lori Falce: Let them have dolls
Christmas isn’t just a festive holiday. Not in the U.S., at least. Christmas is also business — big business. Overall, the National Retail Federation puts sales during November and December at about 19% of the annual total. For perspective, the monthly average is around 8%, which means those last two...
No excuse for Kennedy’s lack of understanding autism
If you are not one of the people who was deeply offended by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent statements about the deficiencies of people with autism, I will assume that you do not know anyone with autism. Or at least, you think you don’t....
Lori Falce: Prisons, private prisons and foreign prisons
The term “on paper” acknowledges a good idea may be very different from a good reality. For example, open mic night at a club works in theory. The club gets entertainment, and new talent gets a shot at the stage. Win-win. In practice, however, open mic nights might be almost...
Lori Falce: Is a trade deficit a ripoff?
Things can be even and still be unfair. For instance, Pennsylvania jurors receive
$9 per day in compensation. That’s even. Everyone gets the same. But is it fair for someone who is unemployed or retired and is, in essence, getting a $9 bonus for participation versus a self-employed plumber who...
Lori Falce: President Trump doesn’t understand groceries
Groceries are not old-fashioned. For some reason, President Donald Trump appears fascinated with the word. It started back in August on the campaign trail, when he was working on his economic record and the high prices Americans were seeing on food. He stood at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster...
Lori Falce: Confession is good for the soul — unless you are a politician
As a kid, I was always cautioned that admitting my faults was the easier path. When you go to Catholic school, that is reinforced when you go to confession. The exit ramp from the road to hell was an earnest admission, a genuine apology and a few Hail Marys. Have...
Lori Falce: False promises of learning from Social Security mistakes
I am not old enough to retire. That doesn’t mean I am unfamiliar with the Social Security Administration. My father-in-law lived with us for several years after he suffered a heart attack. My husband received disability because of a constellation of health issues. I am a woman and I got...
Lori Falce: Calling everything ‘fraud’ doesn’t make it so
My favorite part of “The Princess Bride” is when Vizzini, a sly criminal mastermind who is not that sly nor much of a mastermind, responds over and over to events with a shout of “Inconceivable!” The swordsman Inigo Montoya — brilliantly played by Mandy Patinkin — eventually looks at his...
Lori Falce: America was built with a dollar and a dream, not $5 million gold cards
My mother’s grandmother Karolina was born in Austria in 1899. She came to Philadelphia in 1906 with her mother, an unmarried woman who had a romantic story about Karolina’s unnamed father but who rewrote her life in America claiming to be a widow. Karolina was not wealthy. Neither was her...
Lori Falce: Congress should take 2 aspirin and defend its trademark authority in the morning
In 1900, German drug company Bayer filed a patent in the U.S. for a tiny white pill that would be the foundation of future success: Aspirin. The company also filed a trademark for the name. It held, for a while. There were complications. As a German company, Bayer faced challenges...
Lori Falce: Marc Fogel, Saquon Barkley, Donald Trump and rooting for all the right reasons
The Super Bowl is one of the highlights of my year. Even when the Steelers aren’t participating, I revel in the rush. Sometimes not having your team in play can make you appreciate the game more than the score. I have been up front about my absolute loathing of the...
Lori Falce: Are you a DEI hire?
I am not a DEI hire. But I could be. I am a woman, which is probably the easiest way into the club. Women, after all, make up 47% of the workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. I am over 50, which means I’m not quite in...
Lori Falce: When is it too soon for criticism?
On Wednesday night, a tragedy happened. In the skies over Washington, D.C., an American Airlines commercial plane out of Kansas was approaching Reagan Washington National Airport. A Black Hawk military helicopter was on a training exercise. The two aircraft collided and crashed into the Potomac River. Rescue efforts quickly turned...
Lori Falce: A message from the pulpit transcends politics
When I was a kid, my favorite part about going to church was the homily. While the rest of Mass was a patchwork of Bible stories, songs and the kneeling, standing and sitting calisthenics of a Catholic Sunday morning, the homily was always new. It was different. It had a...
Lori Falce: Rubio did what few have done for Marc Fogel
On Wednesday, during the confirmation hearing for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to become secretary of state, something remarkable happened. Yes, it was political. Everything in Washington is political, whether it should be or not. Yes, it was partisan. In a narrowly divided chamber like the U.S. Senate, everything is partisan....
