Jill Norgren
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Rose Madeline Mula: If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: “It was with considerable trepidation, therefore, that I entered the kitchen of my hostess, the legendary actress, Joan Fontaine, one long-ago Thanksgiving morning, to offer my assistance. Acting was not Miss Fontaine’s only talent. Not by a long shot. She was also a hole-in-one golfer, a prize-winning fisherwoman, a hot air…
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An Undocumented Childhood by Rose Madeline Mula
Rose Mula Writes: Some people never leave home without their American Express card; I never leave home without a camera. Digitized pictures of the twenty-five countries and forty-plus states of America that I’ve visited since my first tour of exotic New Hampshire constantly flash on my computer monitors and digital frames throughout my home, helping…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Love Your Library
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: If The Shoe Fits … You Can Bet It’s Not Fashionable
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mother was a mini Imelda Marcos. She kept upwards of 40 pairs of shoes well into her 80’s, and was crushed when she had to give up high heels following a heart attack at the age of 89. Her sole criterion in buying shoes was style, not comfort, and she was…
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Joan L.Cannon Wrote: A Family Inheritance: More Than ‘Things’ … Emblems of Our Lives
Joan Cannon wrote: As one advances in years, one accumulates possessions the way a caddis fly larva accumulates grit. The glue that makes us carry it all along with us is in a way self-secreted as well. However, it’s psychic rather than physical — emotional rather than material. Perhaps the most obvious example is a…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Old Dogs, New Tricks
Julia Sneden wrote: At the age of 37, I started a new career as a kindergarten teacher. My first day on the job, the lead teacher, who was in her 70’s and scared me every bit as much as she scared the children, watched me writing a note. “You’ll have to change the way you…
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Joan Cannon Writes: Finding the Right Excuse; Committing Words to Paper Because …
Joan Cannon Writes: Think of the poets and novelists and playwrights whose words sink into the consciousness of thousands and even millions and remain there, as emblems, guides, beacons of hope or warnings of disasters, and the excuse (as if one is needed) presents itself. Maybe there’s information or a revelation for some unknown viewer…
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Joan Cannon Asked: What is a Book Club? An Old-Fashioned Book Report? A Program Given By an Author? What Is the Accepted Practice?
Joan L. Cannnon wrote: A year or so ago, I was invited to attend a tea given by the combined membership of all the book clubs in the town where I now live. A presentation was scheduled for the proprietor of the much-loved local independent book store cum gift shop. She is a legend in…
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US Government Accountability Office (aka GAO): US Postal Service: Customer Complaints Process
GAO: “The US Postal Service’s financial viability has been on our High Risk List since 2009. Declining mail volumes and increased costs have made it harder for USPS to cover all its costs. USPS cites quality customer service as important to sustaining its business. We looked at USPS’s process for addressing residential customer complaints. In…
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Prices are Spiking for Homes, Cars and Gas; Don’t Be Alarmed, Economists Say
Republican political leaders are blaming Democratic President Joe Biden for accelerating inflation. But Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board, was appointed by Republican President Donald Trump — and the Fed says inflation will not be a long-term problem. Those numbers suggest that inflationary pressures are modest. Other dynamics, however, are unprecedented, reflecting…
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Kaiser Family Foundation: FDA’s Approval of Biogen’s New Alzheimer’s Drug Has Huge Cost Implications for Medicare and Beneficiaries
“The question of what would happen when a new, expensive prescription drug comes to market for a disease like Alzheimer’s that afflicts millions of people has loomed large in discussions over drug prices in the U.S.— and now we’re about to find out. After a nearly 20-year dry spell in new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease,…
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U.S. Government Accountability Office: Science & Tech Spotlight: Renewable Ocean Energy
A Century of Non-Partisan Fact-Based Work: What is it? Renewable ocean energy (or, simply, ocean energy), is energy derived from the ocean’s movement, or from its physical and chemical state. In the United States, ocean energy can be generated from waves, tides, and currents, as well as ocean temperature differences. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory…
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Security, Planning, and Response Failures: Senators Peters, Portman, Klobuchar, Blunt Release Bipartisan Report Investigating January 6th Capitol Attack
U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Rules and Administration, released a bipartisan report on the security, planning, and response failures related to the violent…
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The Scout Report: Seacoast Science Center, British Science Week, World War II Alaska, American Hiking Society’s Hiking 101 Portal, Portland Women’s History Trail
Scouting for the next grand adventure? The Hiking Project is ready to help, welcoming users to “explore 243,117 miles of hiking trails.” Investigate by location using the search bar or use one of the many available filters to narrow by feature. Those looking for the best hiking spots, regardless of location, should check out the…
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The US Interior Department Suspends Oil and Gas Drilling In Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Secretary Haaland promotes outdoor recreation, designates ten new national recreation trails. Under the previous administration, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) established and began administering an oil and gas program in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. After the BLM prepared the “Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Environmental Impact Statement” (EIS) under…
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Statement by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on National Indigenous History Month
“This month is an opportunity for us to participate in virtual activities to engage with, and deepen our understanding of, Indigenous peoples’ distinct histories, customs, spiritualities, and languages. Doing so is essential to promoting a society based on mutual respect, understanding, and fairness. We all need to play a role in amplifying the voices of…
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Women’s Congressional Policy Institute Bills Introduced May 24 – 28, 2021: Bills Preventing Discrimination in Child Welfare Services and Flexible Work Terms and Conditions
Some bills introduced: May 24-28, 2021: A bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), and marital status in the administration and provision of child welfare services, to improve safety, well-being, and permanency for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning foster youth. A bill to…
