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
Federal Reserve Issues A Federal Open Market Committee Statement: Committee Will Aim to Achieve Inflation Moderately Above 2% For Some Time
"With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen. The sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic have improved in recent months, but the rise in COVID-19 cases has slowed their recovery. Inflation is elevated, largely reflecting transitory factors. Overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses... The path of the economy continues to depend on the course of the virus. Progress on vaccinations will likely continue to reduce the effects of the public health crisis on the economy, but risks to the economic outlook remain." more »
Jo Freeman's Review of "Frankly, We Did Win This Election" By Michael C. Bender
Jo Freeman Reviews: This “inside story of how Trump lost” the 2020 election shines a light on his entire presidency. Indeed, he filed papers for his re-election campaign the day he was inaugurated in 2017, so the two were never completely separate endeavors. TrumpWorld was a hornets’ nest. Everything revolved around the King Bee, as the worker bees tried to push, kick and sting each other to get close. ..." more »
Immediate Release: Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the 10th Anniversary of the Repeal of ''Don't Ask, Don’t Tell'' SEPT. 20, 2021
"So, for those who believe they were unjustly discharged or retain an error in a service record, please contact your military department's Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records or Discharge Review Board. As Secretary of Defense, I am committed to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion across the force. It makes us more representative of the nation we defend. It makes us wiser. And, without question, it makes us stronger. On behalf of the entire Department, I thank our LGBTQ+ service members -- and your families -- for the service you render each and every day." more »
KHN (Kaiser Health News): How Fauci and the NIH Got Ahead of the FDA and CDC in Backing Boosters
"The support for an extra dose of covid vaccine clearly emerged, at least in part, from an NIH research dynamo, built by Fauci, that for months has been getting intricate real-time data about covid variants and how they respond to vaccine-produced immunity. The FDA and CDC were seeing much of the same data, but as regulatory agencies, they were more cautious. The FDA, in particular, won’t rule on a product until the company making it submits extensive data. And its officials are gimlet-eyed reviewers of such studies.
"On boosters, Americans have heard conflicting messages from various parts of the U.S. government. Yet, Fauci said, “there is less disagreement and conflicts than seem to get out into the tweetosphere.” He ticked off a number of prominent scientists in the field — including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock and covid vaccine inventor Barney Graham — who were on board with his position. All but Graham are members of the White House covid task force. more »
