Merit Over Privilege

By placing his wife and children on the Stanley Cup ahead of contributors who helped win the championship, Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon undermined a tradition that honors earned achievement over privilege and diminished the integrity of hockey’s most revered trophy.

Satire and the Italian Soul

A satirical tribute to Pennsylvania’s Italian‑Americans, celebrating their distinct heritage, grit, and immigrant roots while reminding readers that the Coal Region’s mosaic of traditions is a strength that binds Italian‑Americans far more than it divides them.

That Bonded Minute

I’m old enough to remember the Bicentennial Minute … that nightly, :60 civics lesson. As America turns 250, reviving it would’ve given a fractured country one shared ritual in a culture that can’t agree on anything ….

Where art rekindles faith

Church attendance keeps sliding from 42% to 30% and more than 4,000 churches closed last year. Revival may be trending as a headline, but the pews tell a different story. That’s why Luminiscience, now installed at Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica, is worth covering.

Congress fumbles college sports

What Congress is doing right now with its latest “fix” for college athletics begs for commentary. The recent hearings only confirmed what anyone paying attention already knows: Washington has no idea how college sports actually work and insists on marching in with another grand solution.

Debt remembered and debt ignored

Memorial Day compels Americans to confront a word we avoid: debt. Not the financial kind that Congress pretends will magically resolve itself, but the older, heavier meaning — the kind carved into headstones at Arlington and cemeteries across the country. It is the debt paid in full by those who gave their lives, so the …

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