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
Testimony of Steve McCraw, Head of the Texas State Police, On the Ulvade Killings
DPS Director Steve McCraw on Uvalde shooting and police response: " I don't believe, based on the information that we have right now, that that door was ever secured," Mr. McGraw said. "There's no way to lock the door from the inside. And there's no way for the subject to lock the door from the inside." "I challenge this chief to testify in public."Why didn’t someone try to a least check the door handle to make sure it was locked?" more »
White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse
"Survivors and experts highlighted the offline impact of online abuse, ranging from psychological distress and additional negative health impacts, to self-censorship, disruptions to education and economic loss, as well as experiences of other forms of physical and sexual violence. Participants noted that online harassment and abuse disproportionately impacts women, girls – especially women and girls of color – and LGBTQI+ individuals. Participants also provided concrete recommendations to prevent and respond to online harms." more »
"Let's start at the beginning" ... Federal Reserve Post About Lessons Learned on Normalizing Monetary Policy: "Additional insight that only experience can bring"
"So, it should not have been a surprise that the policy rate would rise fast in 2022. Rate hikes would need to be larger and more frequent, relative to the 2015-2018 tightening pace, to get back to neutral. Looking back, should the Committee have signaled a steeper rate path once the liftoff criteria had been met? Perhaps another lesson is that giving forward guidance about liftoff should also include forward guidance about the possible path of the policy rate after liftoff." more »
Images of Screwdrivers, Lockpicks, Business Cards, Surgical Gloves, a Room Key for the Watergate, the Now-infamous ChapStick Microphone: Watergate Trial Records Digitized Ahead of Scandal’s 50th Anniversary
For the first time since the Watergate scandal broke nearly 50 years ago, the paper records, exhibits, and artifacts from the United States v. G. Gordon Liddy trial are digitized and available to view in the National Archives Catalog. A new website serves as a portal to browse the newly digitized records as the country marks the 50th anniversary of the break-in on June 17, 1972, an event that rocked the U.S. political landscape and led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Among the records are images of screwdrivers, lockpicks, business cards, surgical gloves, a room key for the Watergate, and the now-infamous ChapStick microphone. more »
