One of the best consumer actions in recent years is the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2011. Established after the Great Recession of 2007-08 to set up one federal agency to help consumers with their financial issues, the CFPB has made great strides in improving the position of consumers in the marketplace. Read more →

I love Ireland. I was so fortunate to travel there with my daughter Lisa in 2016. So, I decided a good way to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day Friday is to post some of the photos from our trip. We were fortunate to meet with some of my grandmother Laura Baylee Slingsby’s relatives. Laura was born in 1877 and died in 1939. Read more →

Movies continue to be one of the most popular past times in the United States. Joseph Campbell called them the great American dream machine. However, in my opinion, movies fall short because they focus so much on violence. For many years, I’ve written about how violence in the media is harmful to children. Read more →

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” because 37 percent of women don’t use the internet and 259 million fewer woman have access to the internet than men. If women aren’t able to access the Internet, they’re unable to develop digital skills, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue STEM careers. Read more →

Presidents’ Day sort of sneaked up on me this year. At times in the past, I’ve written about Presidents’ Day as a time to appreciate our democracy and celebrate the many freedoms we have as a result. As thoughts of democracy come to mind, the war in Ukraine looms large. Read more →

This year at Thanksgiving, I’m thinking about my mom and dad. They met on a wheat ranch during the Great Depression and had virtually nothing with which to start their married lives. When I was married in the 1960s, my former husband and I also had nothing. However, we did get college degrees. Read more →

With two wonderful daughters, it’s great that there’s a day to celebrate them. I’m so fortunate. My daughters are the greatest joy in my life along with my grandchildren. Why is there a day to celebrate daughters? The original meaning behind this day may have come from India. Read more →

I love parks, including national parks. National park I’ve visited include Mount Rainier, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Everglades, Olympic, Denali, Carlsbad Caverns, Crater Lake, and North Cascades. My daughter Mona, who’s a botanist, loves visiting the Joshua Tree National Park. Read more →

On Labor Day, the day when we recognize the value of American workers, it’s positive that things for workers are better right now. Covid-19 contributed to the Great Resignation of 2021, during which record numbers of people quit their jobs. A recent survey shows that one-third of workers are still looking for a new job. Read more →

In 1973, Congress designated Aug. 26 as Women’s Equality Day. The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. It was the end of a movement, beginning in 1848 at the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Read more →