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
Have You Received Your Stimulus Check? The IRS: When We’ll Send Your Third Payment & Face Masks and Other Personal Protective Equipment to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Are Tax Deductible
IRS website: "When We’ll Send Your Third Payment: The third round of Economic Impact Payments are being sent in phases. The IRS started sending the first batch of payments with an official payment date of March 17. If you haven’t received one yet, it doesn’t mean you won’t. We’ll send the third payments each week to eligible individuals as we continue to process tax returns. Payments are sent by direct deposit or mail as a check or debit card." more »
Jo Freeman Reviews It’s In The Action: Memories of a Nonviolent Warrior by C. T. Vivian with Steve Fiffer
Cordy Tindell Vivian was a roaring lion of the civil rights movement. Born in July of 1924, he died last July right before his 96th birthday. Given all the dangerous things he did in his life, it’s amazing that he outlived his adversaries as well as most of his friends. One of those friends helped him write this memoir, as his ability to do so declined with age. Steve Fiffer met Vivian in 2014, when he interviewed him for another book. CT — as his friends called him — was one of his heroes. They stayed in touch, occasionally discussing a collaborative memoir. It was CT’s daughter who persuaded Fiffer to do it now. more »
Testimony: Assault in the Military, Continued Congressional Oversight and Additional DOD Focus on Prevention Could Aid DOD's Efforts
"Our prior work has shown that focusing on sexual assault prevention and addressing the needs of certain populations (e.g., male servicemember victims and DOD civilian employees) could help to further address the issue. DOD has largely focused on responding to incidents of sexual assault rather than preventing them. We testified that continued DOD leadership attention can help ensure that our recommendations are addressed to prevent sexual assault in the military. Despite congressional oversight and the Department of Defense's actions to implement more than 100 GAO recommendations, reports of sexual assault in the military continue to rise." more »
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; Chair Jerome H. Powell Before the Committee on Financial Services, House of Representatives
"Today the situation is much improved. While the economic fallout has been real and widespread, the worst was avoided by swift and vigorous action — from Congress and the Federal Reserve, from across government and cities and towns, and from individuals, communities, and the private sector. More people held on to their jobs, more businesses kept their doors open, and more incomes were saved. But the recovery is far from complete, so, at the Fed, we will continue to provide the economy the support that it needs for as long as it takes... However, the sectors of the economy most adversely affected by the resurgence of the virus, and by greater social distancing, remain weak, and the unemployment rate — still elevated at 6.2 percent — underestimates the shortfall, particularly as labor market participation remains notably below pre-pandemic levels." more »
