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
Jo Freeman Reviews: Fearless Women: Feminist Patriots from Abigail Adams to Beyoncé
What do Abigail Adams and Beyonce have in common? Elizabeth Coombs says they are both feminist patriots, a label she also applies to Phyllis Schlafly and Mary Church Terrell. This book profiles over nine women, some extensively, to illustrate how the drive for sex equality continues the ideals of the American revolution. Not all of the women in this book are public figures. Even those who were purely private had something to say as they fought for female independence. more »
A Yale Medicine Doctor Explains How Naloxone, a Medication That Reverses an Opioid Overdose, Works
"A Yale Medicine doctor explains that naloxone is sold by several companies, and it can be injected into a muscle, under the skin, or into a vein. The nasal spray, which comes in a generic form and is sold under a few brand names, including Narcan, is a pre-filled device that should be sprayed into one nostril." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Narcan (as a nasal spray) for over-the-counter use, which means a prescription is not required and people will be able to buy it in pharmacies, stores, and perhaps even from vending machines later this summer."
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Rules Changes for 2023 Baseball; They May Relate to a Quicker, More Exciting Game. What's a Balk Again?
1) PITCH TIMER
• 15 seconds with bases empty; 20 seconds with runners on
• Hitter gets 1 timeout per plate appearance; must be in batter’s box with 8 seconds left
• Pitchers get two disengagements (pickoff attempts or step-offs) per batter; violations are a balk
• Limits on pickoff attempts led to 26% increase in stolen base attempts in Minors
• Pitch timer helped reduce game length by 25 minutes in Minors in ‘22 more »
Federal Reserve Testimony, Bank Oversight: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
"SVB failed because the bank's management did not effectively manage its interest rate and liquidity risk, and the bank then suffered a devastating and unexpected" run by its uninsured depositors in a period of less than 24 hours. SVB's failure demands a thorough review of what happened, including the Federal Reserve's oversight of the bank. To begin, SVB's failure is a textbook case of mismanagement. The bank had a concentrated business model, serving the technology and venture capital sector. It also grew exceedingly quickly, tripling in asset size between 2019 and 2022. During the early phase of the pandemic, and with the tech sector booming, SVB saw significant deposit growth. The bank invested the proceeds of these deposits in longer-term securities, to boost yield and increase its profits. However, the bank did not effectively manage the interest rate risk of those securities or develop effective interest rate risk measurement tools, models, and metrics. At the same time, the bank failed to manage the risks of its liabilities." more »
