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June 26, 2004

Best of Mollycam

Added a few Best of Mollycam pictures to the gallery. Remember, these are low-resolution photos, so don't explect a good printout.

Molly had a big day today, visiting with friends and getting held and kissed by those who love her. She's actively looking around and gazing intently at new people. It's magnificent watching her mind develop through her eyes.

Posted by tat at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)

June 24, 2004

Molly is Golden

blue_chair_small.jpgMolly paid a well-visit to Dr. Raine today and got top marks. She weighs 10 lbs., 12 1/2 ozs, and measures 23" from hair to toe. This puts her on the lower end of the size scale, but still within acceptable ranges. Dr. Raine said she was "golden" and that, if he didn't know she had been a premie, he would think her a normal term baby. The hardest part of the visit is the shots, with Molly getting three shots in her legs and heartily voicing her displeasure. But all is well now.

We're going to perform an ultrasound on her brain at six months and one year to insure no problems exist, but the doctor predicted a "healthy baby with no problems."

Of course, we already knew that. Anyone who can scream like Molly has to be healthy. :)

New pics

Posted by tat at 09:04 PM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2004

Regressive Taxation, Take III

Scientific American has a short article (subscription only link) about the national trend toward a regressive tax system. This supports my past thoughts about how government is skewing the tax burden toward the middle- and working-class. This table from the article tells the story of how the wealthiest pay a much lower rate than the rest of us.

table_picture1.png

The links in the article direct the reader to a couple of interesting tax policy sites, with a comprehensive study of the regressive trend, a much shorter press release, and a good ol' screw those fat cats study.

It all boils down to this: the progressive income tax system is slowly being dismantled, and the only way governments can replace the lost revenue is to jack up sales and property taxes, which places more and more of a burden on you and me while leaving the wealthy and their government minions laughing all the way to the bank. Wake up, people.

Posted by tat at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2004

Summer School

I'm teaching sophomore English in summer school for the first time this year, and boy, am I getting an education. The day starts at 7:30 and ends at 12:45, with only two ten minute breaks during the day. That's obviously very demanding not only on the students, but on me to generate daily lessons that fill the equivalent of a week during the regular school year. To make things more interesting, the class is populated by, shall we say, challenging students, some of whom seem to have been in jail as much as school. To wit:

When asking for volunteers to read sentences during a grammar exercise, I tried to encourage the quiet students to read by making up silly limitations on who could volunteer, such as only blonde males or black guys wearing blue. You know, just to throw curve balls at them. Well, one kid threw a curve ball back at me when I said the next student to read must not have a tattoo.

The kid raised his head, looked slowly around as if trying to find someone, and said, matter-of-factly, "Mister, we all have tattoos."

Posted by tat at 07:27 PM | Comments (3)

June 11, 2004

Fawning on Reagan

Criticism of the media's lack of criticism of Reagan continues. Granted, a man's death should give one pause to remember the good he did, but the historical record is being written by overzealous Reaganites, and we need to balance the good with the bad.

Edited: The indomitable Paul Krugman on Reaganomics, twice.

Posted by tat at 07:40 AM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2004

Eye, Molly

feeding_technique_small.jpgMolly's visit to the ophthalmologist held a bit of drama for us today. On her last visit, the doctor was concerned that the capillaries in her retina were not growing fast enough, which is common in premies and usually leads to vision problems. We were concerned.

Good news, though. The doctor said everything looks to be developing normally. He's unconcerned enough that he doesn't need to see her until she's a year old. Hurray, Molly!

New pics

Posted by tat at 06:53 PM | Comments (0)

June 06, 2004

Reagan's Legacy

This week, as you're listening to the conservatives make things up about their fallen messiah, Ronald Reagan, in their relentless attempts at revisionist history (most popular president? No), remember that not everyone thought well of the old man.

Edited: More links: Here, here, here, here, here

Representative John Dingall put it best (although you can't find it on his web site anymore):

"As someone who served with President Reagan, and in the interest of historical accuracy, please allow me to share with you some of my recollections of the Reagan years that I hope will make it into the final cut of the mini-series: $640 Pentagon toilets seats; ketchup as a vegetable; union busting; firing striking air traffic controllers; Iran-Contra; selling arms to terrorist nations; trading arms for hostages; retreating from terrorists in Beirut; lying to Congress; financing an illegal war in Nicaragua; visiting Bitburg cemetery; a cozy relationship with Saddam Hussein; shredding documents; Ed Meese; Fawn Hall; Oliver North; James Watt; apartheid apologia; the savings and loan scandal; voodoo economics; record budget deficits; double digit unemployment; farm bankruptcies; trade deficits; astrologers in the White House; Star Wars; and influence peddling."

Remember Orwell's admonition that, "Those who control the present control the past. Those who control the past control the future."

Posted by tat at 07:25 PM | Comments (1)