Her only housing option: a car

[Michael Fisher]

Anyway, there was a family, which was in the process of adopting 3 ?children? who were orphaned (they ranged from I believe 14 to 21).? This family was chosen for the house make over (that might be the show title, extreme home makeover) and after a week presented an amazing house with huge rooms built for each kid.? Not long after getting the house the family decided they just couldn?t adopt the three kids and the kids were sent back to where they came from (most likely either a foster home or orphanage).? So now the three kids are suing as they were the reason this family was given the large home from ABC and now they are left out in the streets.

If that family does not adopt 3 other children, then they've exploited private charity for personal gain and should be publicly exposed as Scumbags of the Year.

[KBCraig]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8973501/

http://www.tv.com/story/story.html&story_id=532

[Michael Fisher]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8973501/

http://www.tv.com/story/story.html&story_id=532

I can understand why they're suing the family for kicking them out.

But I can't understand why they'd sue ABC for not giving enough.  ABC has done more good through this show than these people could ever comprehend.

[KBCraig]

I wonder if California has "theft by deception" statutes? Many states do, and people can be criminally prosecuted for soliciting donations to a fake charity.

[lildog]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8973501/

http://www.tv.com/story/story.html&story_id=532

I can understand why they're suing the family for kicking them out.

But I can't understand why they'd sue ABC for not giving enough.  ABC has done more good through this show than these people could ever comprehend.

If anything I would think ABC would sue the family as well.

It's sad to say but its gotten to a point where those trying to do something nice for people need to have contingency contracts.

[Mark]

First off, let me say Mike and Amethyste are terrific! Fine job. This is how help should be given, person to person, not from a faceless bureaucrat.

Secondly, I can't totally condemn the relatives. They are a product of our times, and the public school indoctrination they undoubtedly received. One of the goals of public education is to drive a wedge between family members, so that in periods of difficulty a person will look to the State for aid, rather than depend on the family, or network of friends. This situation worked out as the State wanted it. It achieved its goals, dependence on the State. The State does NOT want to offer help, but merely an APPEARANCE of aid and concern. The State wants her to remain dependent on them. She is in the cogs of the vast bureacracy, which of course offers no cure. A cure is not needed nor wanted.

Agree on your first sentence, but the idea of letting these relatives off the hook because they went to public school seems ridiculous to me.  I was educated in the public school system, and wouldn't let my mother or anyone I loved spend a single night in a vehicle for lack of a better place to sleep. I don't think I know anyone who would, and if they did, it would be their own failing and not the fault of the government (unless you figure it's time to hand over conscience and morality to a third party).

[Michael Fisher]

You're right.  It's understandable that a publicly educated child would not care about her parents.

But it's not excusable.  There is no excuse for it.

[AlanM]

I didn't say I excused it. Just said I didn't TOTALLY condemn them. This is a case where, if I knew them, I would speak to them about their lack of caring for their Mother, giving them a chance to change their ways. If they didn't I would shun them.

[Michael Fisher]

Exactly.

[cathleeninnh]

I agree, Alan. I don't totally condemn the relatives. Many, many family members love and care for their relatives in need. They often spend countless hours and days standing in lines in government offices, filling out forms and such to get Mom into substandard housing or healthcare at taxpayer expense. The system beginning with socialization at government schools is very damaging to families and their future lives. Very sad.

Cathleen

[Mark]

OK guys... educate me on this one. What is it about the public school system that encourages one to desert his/her family in a time of need? I get the whole "reliance on the state" bit, but in what way does that even come close to drilling out basic human decency?

[cathleeninnh]

What it drills out is personal responsibility. People spend years paying into a poor performing system and to reject the state's "help" in favor of self reliance is a lot to ask of over-burdened  and uninformed
relatives.

Many people are caught unaware in a time of need. Unaware that what we have have been told is a safty net has huge holes in it. It takes knowledge of these shortcomings years in advance of Mom's old age in order to plan and save for the needs ahead. We have been encouraged to make our lives independent of our parents but not independent of the state. We are led to believe our taxes are our parents insurance. The family and community stucture is weakened and traditional charitable resources have been sapped out of the economy.

Obedience is the key to a successful government school. Creativity and uncontrolled exploration must be kept to a minimum. Nonconformity interferes with the master plan and is not tolerated. Bucking the system is bred out of you.

Cathleen

[Kat Kanning]

What government schools teach best is:   The government is the answer to all our problems.

[Michael Fisher]

Government schools tear apart the structure and nature of the family in my opinion.  It is a dictatorship for children.

http://www.childadvocate.org/

[Mark]

What it drills out is personal responsibility. People spend years paying into a poor performing system and to reject the state's "help" in favor of self reliance is a lot to ask of over-burdened  and uninformed
relatives.

Many people are caught unaware in a time of need. Unaware that what we have have been told is a safty net has huge holes in it. It takes knowledge of these shortcomings years in advance of Mom's old age in order to plan and save for the needs ahead. We have been encouraged to make our lives independent of our parents but not independent of the state. We are led to believe our taxes are our parents insurance. The family and community stucture is weakened and traditional charitable resources have been sapped out of the economy.

Obedience is the key to a successful government school. Creativity and uncontrolled exploration must be kept to a minimum. Nonconformity interferes with the master plan and is not tolerated. Bucking the system is bred out of you.

Cathleen

Sorry, but I'm still not buying it.  I fail to see how ANY of it gets you close to leaving mom out in the car. If I squint and stretch and ignore my personal experience with public schools, I can see how it leads to her being there in the first place, and I can understand frustration over paying into a system that doesn't work, but at some point wouldn't you, unless you were a complete waste of sperm, see that mom's sleeping in the car and it's your job to do something about it? Heck, Mike made the offer to help. He presumably pays into the broken system too, and didn't use this as a reason not to help. Rail against the public school system all you want, but I think the blame for this one belongs with the kids and not the system.