Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
Janet Yellen: "The Biggest Surprise in the US Economy This Year Has Been Inflation"
"I have spoken about some of the uncertainties associated with the inflation outlook in particular, and we will be paying close attention to the inflation data in the months ahead. But uncertainty about the outlook is by no means limited to inflation. As always, the Committee will adjust the stance of monetary policy in response to incoming economic information and the evolution of the economic outlook to achieve its objectives of maximum employment and stable prices. Moreover, we are mindful of the possibility that shifting expectations concerning the path of US policy can lead to spillovers to other economies via financial markets and the value of the dollar." more »
Why Write? It's Like Everest! - Because It's There
Remembering Joan L. Cannon: I write because I can't help it. A better question would be why can't I help it? First, I need to find out what I know; second, I need to discover what I don't know; third, I need to note what I must not forget. I’m an indifferent amateur painter, and the other visual arts are beyond my talents altogether; I can't perform music. I find I can put words on paper. They can do for me what nothing else can. more »
Trump Executive Order Will Create a Health Insurance Race to the Bottom; Going Back to the Days of Junk Insurance and Insurers That Cannot Pay Claims Hurts Consumers
President Trump's Executive Order threatens the continued existence of comprehensive health insurance coverage. Once Trump's Executive Order is implemented by federal agencies, those who are sick may no longer be provided coverage that meets their health care needs. Health insurers may sell across state lines today, but Trump's Executive Order is intended to allow the sale of products across state lines without requiring compliance with the consumer protection laws of the state in which the product is sold. This change in the long-standing state-based regulatory approach is very harmful to consumers. more »
Culture Watch: Jo Freeman's Review of Constance Baker Motley, One Woman's Fight for Civil Rights and Equal Justice Under Law
Jo Freeman writes: Constance Baker Motley was the first black woman to be appointed as a federal judge. But it was what she did before becoming a judge that warrants this biography. For twenty years she was on the front line of the legal assault on segregation, arguing dozens of cases as the only female attorney on the staff of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. I knew Pauli Murray and I met CBM, at a conference in 1998. I would love to hear a debate between the two of them on race and gender. Ford does an excellent job of describing CBM's impressive life and work. Maybe he should write his next book on Pauli Murray. more »
