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
What "substantial improvement" means: Comments on Monetary Policy by Federal Reserve Governor Jeremy Stein
"Specifically, we continue to have a 6.5 percent unemployment threshold for beginning to consider a first increase in the federal funds rate. As we have emphasized, the threshold nature of this forward guidance embodies further flexibility to react to incoming data. If, for example, inflation readings continue to be on the soft side, we will have greater scope for keeping the funds rate at its effective lower bound even beyond the point when unemployment drops below 6.5percent." more »
"I dare say Mrs D. will be in Yellow": Reconstructing an Art Exhibit Attended by Novelist Jane Austen
"Even if Jane Austen had not attended this public exhibit, it would still be well worth reconstructing. ...The British Institution's show was a star-studded 'first' of great magnitude for the art community and a turning point in the history of modern exhibit practices." Among the canvases in the retrospective gallery, portraits of 18th-century politicians, actors, authors and aristocrats offer examples of just how someone such as Jane Austen, who did not personally circulate among the social elite, was nonetheless immersed in Georgian England’s vibrant culture. more »
Culture Watch: The View from Penthouse B and The Paris Wife
Jill Norgren reviews: Each of these novels is a thought provoking domestic drama. Sit down with each and then consider what Gwen and Margot would have thought of "Hem" and Hadley, and what the Hemingways might have made of Anthony, Gwen, and Margot. Smiles or snickers? – the contemplation will be interesting, perhaps provocative. more »
Top Medicare Official: 'We Can and Should Do More' to Oversee Drug Plan
Work with Congress on legislation that would restrict patients who are suspected of "doctor shopping" to obtain painkillers. One Miami psychiatrist8,900 prescriptions in 2010 for powerful antipsychotics to patients older than 65, including many with dementia. Require that all providers who write prescriptions to Medicare patients be enrolled in Medicare. That means they must verify their credentials and disclose if they’ve been disciplined or criminally convicted. more »
