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
Unheralded Government Cost Cutting Originated by Senator Cassidy: Does the EGO Act Mean No Portrait of Pres. Donald Trump Nor the First Lady?
H.R. 1701 would prohibit the use of federal funds to pay for official painted portraits of any officer or employee of the federal government, including the President, Vice President, Cabinet members, and Members of Congress. The legislation would not apply to the judicial branch. Appropriation laws have prohibited the use of federal funds for such portraits since fiscal year 2014. CBO is unaware of any comprehensive information on spending for official portraits before 2014, but we expect that most portraits of federal officials are for those in the line of succession to the presidency, members of the legislative branch, and military service personnel. The cost of such portraits appears to be about $25,000 per portrait, based on contract awards for a few federal portraits. more »
That Day: Pictures in the American West By Laura Wilson; "She introduces us to westerners we might never have encountered"
From her home in Texas, Laura Wilson set out across the state to photograph cattle ranches, the US - Mexico border region, and rural communities. She frequented rodeo arenas, witnessed parades and preachers’ sermons, and stood sideline at six-man football games. She traveled to remote corners of the West — to a naval air station in Nevada, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and Hutterite colonies in Montana. Camera in hand, Wilson sought images of daily life beyond the suburban and urban sprawl and composed a broader and unique vision of the modern West. more »
FDA Commissioner Gottlieb, MD On the Continued Efforts to Promote Safe Adoption of Medication-assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction
"Today, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication alerting health care providers and patients of the increased risk of serious side effects when combining these particular MAT drugs with benzodiazepines – often prescribed to treat anxiety, insomnia, or other conditions – and how to address these risks while continuing to maintain patients on MAT. In addition, the FDA also recently strengthened labeling for the MAT drug buprenorphine to emphasize that patients may require treatment indefinitely and should continue treatment for as long as they benefit and as long as the use of MAT contributes to their intended treatment goals." more »
Congressional Bills Introduced: Caregiving, Community Health Centers, Campus Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
Introduced: A bill to prioritize efforts to end human trafficking ... another to require mandatory restitution for victims of commercial sexual exploitation and continue efforts to combat sex tourism; a bill to modify the earned income tax credit to account for the amount by which economic growth has outpaced income growth; A bill to require institutions of higher education to have an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response. more »
