MI Repuke asswipe Bruce Caswell proposes that foster children only

[coalition_unwilling]

be able to purchase second-hand clothing.

This story is so notable in its cruelty and its heartlessness that I thought it bore reposting from LBN. Thanks to Bozita for posting there:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4824045

Apologize in advance if I am duplicating efforts already made here in GD forum about this story.

[Mist]

1. I would think retailers would want to see this defeated. nt

[coalition_unwilling]

2. I hadn't even though of that aspect, I was so aghast at the

human-interest side of the story. But Caswell is indeed shitting in his own tent, so to speak.

[Mist]

28. I've stopped getting too involved in the "Christ ain't they awful" aspect of RW loons--I

generally look at how their nutbag ideas might play out in actuality. Often, those ideas step on others' toes, in this case retailers. Another aspect: wouldn't the nit-picky paper work fall on state employees, and might the state have to hire some more people, at least part-time, to deal with matching up claims and receipts for clothing? So it might be discovered that it would be a wash--no savings whatsoever if the Dickensian used-clothing plan was ever to be put into effect. Which I'm sure the state comptroller's staff will point out sometime soon...

[coalition_unwilling]

37. All good points to be sure and I appreciate your balanced rationalism. What

got me about this story, though, was its over-the-top cruelty. Kind of like a Repuke coming out openly in favor of what happened at Abu Ghraib. Come to think of it, there probably were some Repukes who embraced what took place at Abu Ghraib. But sort of on that same scale of horrific, imho.

[lunatica]

3. Kissing up to their benefactors and kicking down at the little people

seems so normal to sociopaths. It's all about power and how to use or misuse it for personal benefit.

[coalition_unwilling]

4. Before Hitler systematically targeted the Jews for death, he first

made a trial run in the form of a Euthanasia program for Germans with genetic abnormalities. That's how I see this - Caswell ran this little idea up the flagpole for foster children first, just to see how it would fly. If it didn't provoke outrage, next step would be to implement it for children whose parents are on AFDC.

I would love to see the Dems make this a national story and build the 2012 national campaign around it. Something along the lines of "Republicans think foster children are second-class citizens".

[lunatica]

8. Lately I've been pondering the same thing

Why are they trying so hard to make the underprivileged illegal? We have to ask ourselves why are they passing laws that make it illegal to help the needy, the old, and the poor? It's as if their agenda is to make it illegal to be those things in itself. We must pay attention to these things because it becomes easy for it to seem 'normal' after a while.

They use the excuse of saving money when they've been the main culprits of spending it to excess. They really want to dismantle all the social programs they can as fast as they can. I wonder what their idea of what the country would look like if they succeed is. Do they really want to be like the poor countries where the rich live like kings and the poor live like paupers? Do they really think that will be a better place?

[Ken Burch]

11. Survey says "yes".

The RIGHT(and too many of our "centrists")want the 19th Century back...or maybe the 12th Century, since their economic vision is basically feudalist.

It's all about having a tiny group of insanely rich people and reducing the rest of us to a caste of subhuman labor-beasts who must constantly be beaten back into our place. And THAT is what our right-wing radicals call "freedom" and "success".

[coalition_unwilling]

16. Well, they want 12th Century but with refrigeration, indoor

plumbing and internal combustion :) They want to roll back scientific advances like evolutionary theory but keep Newtonian physics (I think).

[coalition_unwilling]

13. I think you had it right the first time with your use of the term

'sociopath'. Sociopathy as defined by the DSM IV is characterized by an inability to feel emapthy. That's the thing that strikes me about these Repukes is that they almost uniformly display an inability to feel empathy. At first I thought it was merely my own partisan political leanings, but this proposal by Caswell sort of lays it bare that I am not imagining things or partisaning up. They really are a bunch of fucking sociopaths whose sociopathy has been legimitzed over decades (since Reagan really), so that now it is no longer recognized as the dysfunction it is.

[RKP5637]

22. Exactly what is going on! I used to think that I was over reacting too, but no

longer. It is definitely sociopathic behavior now. They feel embolden by their successes in this dumbed down nation, and now want to move on to reveal their true nature.

[murielm99]

17. I enjoy watching The Amazing Race.

But I look at some of those third world countries they are running through, and think that our city streets could look like that in a few years if the repiggies get their way.

I look, too, at some of the places they have gone, like the oil rich countries where they have indoor ski areas, complete with snow. Outside it is desert and very hot, so imagine the cost of maintaining a place like that. Imagine how some of that money would benefit their poor and jobless. You know they have poor people.

I can't point my finger at other countries when I see problems in my own community. But I look at places where it is worse, and see that our greedy rich would be just as happy to have our country in the same position.

[coalition_unwilling]

19. Lunatica called them 'sociopaths'and I think that nails it. These

Repiggies (nice term that :) were absent on the day they were handing out the empathy gene.

[RKP5637]

21. I absolutely think the answers to your questions are YES. They would bask in their

glory to see the US reduced to a pauper nation as they strutted about behind walled gated compounds. We have some severely sick people in this country that have risen to power and a mindless flock that votes them into office. US should be called United Sickness. Their money 'high' will be wearing off, so this will be the new 'high,' seeing most of the citizens in the US living on the bottom rungs of the world society.

[Ken Burch]

9. They probably won't

They're STILL too scared of doing anything that sounds like they care about the poor, OR young people, or especially impoverished young people from broken homes with possible behavior problems. They'll probably come out for ordering all kids in foster care to be sent to military school instead...just to look "tough" and impress "the independents".

[Ken Burch]

15. What symbol will they make foster kids sew onto their second-hand clothes?

n/t.

[coalition_unwilling]

18. Personally, I favor the scarlet 'F' for Foster Child, or perhaps the

scarlet 'P' for Poor.

With apologies to Nathaniel Hawthorne.

[RKP5637]

23. A Screw. n/t

[Bozita]

32. Perhaps this one ...

It's been used before, but this thread is all about used stuff. So it seems to fit.

[Bozita]

34. or perhaps we could go for that "school uniform" look ...

All of these secondhand kids would get one when they get their "secondhand store only" debit cards.

[murielm99]

5. My husband asked me how they thought they were

going to enforce such a thing. Enforcement could end up being more costly than just leaving things as they are. Of course, asshat repiggies never really think things through.

My kids got hand me downs. Sometimes, I needed to think a bit more about that and be more sensitive toward my youngest. When she was in kindergarten, I bought her a new dress. She was so thrilled to have a dress that was not pre-worn, that I was floored. I knew that every once in awhile, I had to get a few new things for the poor kid.

This is mean. He is simply showing us that he is a mean person.

[coalition_unwilling]

6. In the original thread that I hyper-linked to, one DUer said the

proposed bill should be called "Second Hand Clothes for Second Hand Kids." That one really got to me. Used properly, this should be enough to discredit the Repukes for an entire generation except for the sociopathic fringe element.

On edit: if I understood the proposal correctly, foster parents would get debit cards that could only be redeemed for clothing in second-hand stores. Several people on the original thread speculated that Caswell has relatives working in the debit card industry.

[Ken Burch]

7. That's like the law they had in The Netherlands in the 1930's

which said that the unemployed were ONLY allowed to ride their bicycles while trying to find work.

[coalition_unwilling]

10. OMG. I had never heard of that before. The Netherlands today

seems so progressive by comparison with any of the states in the USA that I had to do a major mind shift to wrap my mind around that.

[hobbit709]

12. Next he'll propose they can only buy the used clothes on Wed.

when they have their everything is 25 cents day.

[coalition_unwilling]

14. Please don't give those fucking sociopaths any ideas. JK but

your post does not seem entirely outside th realm of possibility for these fuckwads.

[buddysmellgood]

20. Please sir...may I have some more?....MORE!

[ribrepin]

24. I suppose that includes underwear as welll

[coalition_unwilling]

25. Caswell is an especially disgusting, reprehensible specimen, isn't

he? I am hoping, come Monday, to see this story go national and viral and the Dems to jump all over it.

To wit, force Repukes to either dump Caswell (probable outcome) or explain why they think foster children should be further stigmatized.

My prediction? Just like the Repuke slimeball lady in Orange County whose racist email depicted Obama as a baby monkey said the email was "a joke," Caswell will try to dismiss criticism of his proposal by saying he was only 'joking'.

[starroute]

26. This is not just cruel, it's completely unworkable

I once worked for a place that ran foster homes, and I know that there are very specific guidelines for the clothes that have to be furnished to foster children. So I did a little googling and found the requirements here in Pennsylvania. Some quotes are below.

Note first that some children come into the system with only the clothes on their back but leave with everything that has been purchased for them. Note also that shoes and underwear have to be purchased new -- presumably for health reasons. That leaves about two dozen items (on the girls' list) where used garments in good shape are an option.

Now, I've shopped for used clothes, and I know that although some things, like women's blouses, are relatively available, others -- like pants for teenaged boys -- are almost unfindable. Others, like winter jackets, can be hit-or-miss, especially in odd sizes.

And he's proposing to supply what must be thousands of foster children at a time out of the local Salvation Army and Goodwill stores? The man is delusional.


http://www.mcfpa.com/clothes.pdf

Many of our children are coming into foster care without clothing. The foster parent’s responsibility is to purchase new or almost new items for the child within 30 days of placement. Your children’s clothing items will be checked periodically by one of your workers during a routine visit. It is the foster parents’ responsibility to replenish and maintain clothing. When a child leaves your home, those items purchased for him/her should go with him/her. A suitcase or canvas bag should be used to transport clothing. Large items of clothing such as coats may be “recycled” when a child outgrows the item. It should be clean and in good condition before giving it to another child. Shoes and underwear should not be recycled and should be purchased new.


GIRLS

6 pairs of underwear
6 undershirts or bras as appropriate
1 dress and slip
5 pair of pants for school, 2 school uniforms
3 pairs of play pants or jeans
6 pair of socks, stockings or tights as appropriate for size and height
6 blouses (short or long sleeve as seasons indicate)
1 pair of sneakers
1 pair of dress shoes
1 pair of winter boots
3 pairs of pajamas or gowns, 1 robe, 1 pair of washable slippers
Personal pillow
1 comb and brush
1 toothbrush (replaced as appropriate)
1 towel and washcloth
1 light jacket and sweater
1 cool weather jacket
1 pair winter gloves and hat
1 rain coat for rainy weather

[coalition_unwilling]

27. Thank you for this dose of reality. As some of the posters in the

original thread noted, going to second-hand stores for children's clothing is a hit-or-miss enterprise even in the best of times.

It was the notion of further stigmatizing a group of already stigmatized children that hit me like a sucker punch in the stomach. That is came from a Repuke should not have surpised me. But surprise me it did in its absolute cruelty and mean-spiritedness.

[WinkyDink]

30. I think the emphasis SHOULD be on the evil cruelty of the proposal.

[starroute]

33. It's the combination of both that gets me

Politicians propose money-saving schemes all the time without paying much heed to their impact on the people involved -- but at least you can say as a partial excuse that they're putting the bottom line before human needs.

But when a politician proposes something that is impossible to carry out, it becomes very clear that they're doing it only out of sadism and vindictiveness.

It's kind of like Ryan coming up with a "budget balancing" plan that wouldn't actually balance the budget. Its the plans that don't add up that make it clear where their proponents' real interests lie.

[coalition_unwilling]

36. Foster children already have a deck stacked against them and

Caswell's proposal is all the more cruel because it seems like he is 'piling on' and bullying a group that cannot defend itself. Caswell's proposal needs to be tied around the national Repuke Party like a noose, imho. Make them disavow Caswell like the scared little chicken shits they are or defend Caswell at their peril as the ruthless and pitliess monsters we all know them to be.

[franzia99]

40. Agreed. They really do spend a lot of money on the foster care system to provide a lousy product.

I think the main problem as you've pointed out is that this is a group of people who can't defend themselves. While there are probably a lot of decent people working in the system, there aren't sufficient checks in place to prevent the bad people from taking advantage for their personal gain.

[franzia99]

29. In MI, if there isn't a foster home for you immediately, you get dumped into a wing of a youth deten

tion facility that holds foster kids. How bad the facility is depends on which county you're in.

I know as a matter of fact that the Macomb County Youth Home treats foster kids very similarly to the juvenile delinquents (at least they did 15 years ago, not sure how things are now). This includes a strip search when the kid comes in, and additional strip searches throughout their time at the facility. Also, basically, the foster kids' life is spent mostly in two rooms and a play yard. 15 year ago, this cost the state of michigan $150 per day per kid. Interesting how they spend so much damn money on giving the abused and neglected kids the worst experience possible. Your tax dollars at work.

[coalition_unwilling]

31. Again, thank you also for a much needed dose of reality. How come

Macomb County does or did this? Aren't the people working there in possession of degrees in social work? I don't have an MSW and even I know how brutal and degrading that treatment had to be on a non-criminal juvenile population.

[franzia99]

39. The line staff didn't have degrees and were fairly lowly paid. Also the unit which housed the

foster kids (called the shelter care unit) only had one set of staff that worked only in that unit, which was during the day shift (7am-3pm). The rest of the workers there were called subs and they worked in whichever unit had a need for them; meaning some days they worked in the detention units and others they worked in the shelter care unit. I believe one issue was that they applied the training they received for their work in the detention unit to the shelter care kids as well. The staff supervisor of the shelter care unit never strip searched anyone as far as I can remember. I also don't remember any of the day shift shelter care workers ever doing this. It was always the subs.

Furthermore, the Macomb County Youth Home did eventually get in trouble for mistreating kids, and it came out that trainings weren't mandatory and a lot of staff members simply chose not to attend them. Note that the newspaper articles I've read about the Macomb County Youth Home getting in trouble always talk about their treatment of the detention unit kids, and never the shelter care kids, so I'm not sure if they ever got in trouble for how they treated people in shelter care. Here are a couple links just to show that there was some controversy and action about this facility. They're not comprehensive but I couldn't find anything better.

http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2010/05/20/news/doc4bf606035c510507458787.txt

The apparent end of the Whitehead legal challenge, barring another appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court, closes the book on a dark period in which the youth home was plagued by allegations of abuse, neglect, racism and labor unrest. In addition, the detention facility was operating in a crumbling, overcrowded building with leaking roofs and some youths sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

http://www.nospank.net/n-k80r.htm

In a report last month that included testimony from the Pilarskis and others, the state called the home unsafe, full of fungus-tainted showers, leaky walls and a few assaultive staff members. One administrator is accused of smacking a boy's head and calling him a bitch.

"We're scrutinizing them closely," said Miriam Bullock, division director of child-welfare licensing for the state Bureau of Family Services. The agency is working with the youth home on a corrective action plan.

[OwnedByFerrets]

35. There is no bottom to the depths of blackness of their hearts

[coalition_unwilling]

38. Yes, I've started thinking of them as the 'Un-Human' - a mutant

sub-species whose spot on the evolutionary tree failed to retain the empathy gene.