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
"Nothing Is as Powerful as a Idea Whose Time Has Come"; How Quickly the Issue of Sexual Assault Went Viral
Jo Freeman writes: One of the most striking aspects of the protests against putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court was how quickly the issue of sexual assault went viral. There are many reasons to not want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court but that’s the one that caught fire. Another striking aspect was that 90% of the people who turned out to protest, at least in DC where I participated in those protests, were women. They were mostly older women, not the younger ones who usually populate protests. more »
#MeToo Has Changed Our Culture, Now It’s Changing Our Laws.
None of the new laws ban the use of nondisclosure agreements for sexual abuse and harassment outright — proponents say some victims might want to protect their privacy after an incident. But some laws do bar using the agreements at hiring, and others ensure NDAs can’t stop victims from coming forward in criminal proceedings. In Washington, state lawmakers approved a package of bills targeting NDAs that cover sexual abuse and harassment, and employers there will no longer be able to require people to sign them as a condition for employment. Existing contracts will be considered void. more »
I Almost Died Last Week; Now I'm Looking Forward to Self-Driving Cars! And What Are the Individual State Requirement for Older Drivers?
Rose Madeline Mula wrote: Shakespeare was wrong, by the way. “To be or not to be?” is not the question — especially for a Catholic, like me, for whom “not to be” — i.e., suicide — is not an option. No, the real question is “To drive or not to drive?” If I can hold out until self-driving cars are readily available, that could solve my problem. Hurry up, technology! more »
Listen to What the Concerned Scientists Union States: Hurricane Michael Threatened Gulf Coast Homes and Military Bases: Update: Thomson Reuters Foundation Film: Home Beyond the Water
"After a summer of scorching heat waves, deadly wildfires, flooding, flooding, and more flooding, we were weary. Fall’s bitter battle for the Supreme Court brought us not a refreshing crispness, but a renewed sense of the brittle fragility of the bonds that hold our country together...[Florida]panhandle residents cannot afford to be weary, as now is the time to heed the warnings of local officials ... But nor can storm-tormented residents of the Carolinas afford to be weary, because recovery efforts from Hurricane Florence in September have barely begun and Michael threatens to bring yet another round of heavy rain." more »
