*knocks on monitor glass*

Yo - you know one of the things they tell you in class when you're getting ready to adopt?

They tell you to start collecting "adoption" stories to keep around the house. Think about it - how many of your favorite children's books and media are adoption stories? Superman is a gimme.

You know I have to put Heroes up there on the shelf now. You watched it last night. You know why. *grins*

As good as that show is though? It just keeps reminding me of how much I miss Quantum Leap.

(Also, anime is FULL of adoption themes. Shall I name a few for you?)

*knocks on monitor glass*

Yo - you know one of the things they tell you in class when you're getting ready to adopt?

They tell you to start collecting "adoption" stories to keep around the house. Think about it - how many of your favorite children's books and media are adoption stories? Superman is a gimme.

You know I have to put Heroes up there on the shelf now. You watched it last night. You know why. *grins*

As good as that show is though? It just keeps reminding me of how much I miss Quantum Leap.

(Also, anime is FULL of adoption themes. Shall I name a few for you?)

*knocks on monitor glass*

Yo - you know one of the things they tell you in class when you're getting ready to adopt?

They tell you to start collecting "adoption" stories to keep around the house. Think about it - how many of your favorite children's books and media are adoption stories? Superman is a gimme.

You know I have to put Heroes up there on the shelf now. You watched it last night. You know why. *grins*

As good as that show is though? It just keeps reminding me of how much I miss Quantum Leap.

(Also, anime is FULL of adoption themes. Shall I name a few for you?)

Nah, I've never known anyone who did THAT -

A US woman has pleaded guilty to fraud charges after coaching her children to feign learning difficulties in order to obtain state benefits.

The federal court heard that Rosie Costello, 46, of Vancouver, Washington state, collected more than $280,000 (£143,000) in benefits over 20 years.

She began the coaching when her daughter was four and her son eight.

Take a look at that figure - $280,000 over twenty years. Median income in the US these days is around $32,000 - that's half make more, half make less. Frankly, that sounds like a whole lot of work for $28,000 a year or less. Essentially homeless, too.

And not stupid work either. Telling lies that big? It's taken twenty years - and they didn't catch HER - they caught her son! No, not stupid. Crafty as hell.

I just don't get the appeal of such a thing. Work that hard, be that bright - get next to nothing for it, when with those kinds of smarts, you could do INCREDIBLE things...I don't get it.

It'd be less work. Seriously.

And the effect on the kids is yet to be measured entirely. It's like they just didn't know how much they were shorting themselves. Ghad, what a life.

And then, measuring the effect on the general population when someone with children who really needs those services comes along.

*steams*

Yanno, I think a decent penalty for fraud like that is repaying the state by recycling. Out of landfills. Unprotected. For however long it takes. And then parole-type surveillance for the rest of their lives. No, I don't believe in the death penalty. That would be over too soon.

Nah, I've never known anyone who did THAT -

A US woman has pleaded guilty to fraud charges after coaching her children to feign learning difficulties in order to obtain state benefits.

The federal court heard that Rosie Costello, 46, of Vancouver, Washington state, collected more than $280,000 (£143,000) in benefits over 20 years.

She began the coaching when her daughter was four and her son eight.

Take a look at that figure - $280,000 over twenty years. Median income in the US these days is around $32,000 - that's half make more, half make less. Frankly, that sounds like a whole lot of work for $28,000 a year or less. Essentially homeless, too.

And not stupid work either. Telling lies that big? It's taken twenty years - and they didn't catch HER - they caught her son! No, not stupid. Crafty as hell.

I just don't get the appeal of such a thing. Work that hard, be that bright - get next to nothing for it, when with those kinds of smarts, you could do INCREDIBLE things...I don't get it.

It'd be less work. Seriously.

And the effect on the kids is yet to be measured entirely. It's like they just didn't know how much they were shorting themselves. Ghad, what a life.

And then, measuring the effect on the general population when someone with children who really needs those services comes along.

*steams*

Yanno, I think a decent penalty for fraud like that is repaying the state by recycling. Out of landfills. Unprotected. For however long it takes. And then parole-type surveillance for the rest of their lives. No, I don't believe in the death penalty. That would be over too soon.

Nah, I've never known anyone who did THAT -

A US woman has pleaded guilty to fraud charges after coaching her children to feign learning difficulties in order to obtain state benefits.

The federal court heard that Rosie Costello, 46, of Vancouver, Washington state, collected more than $280,000 (£143,000) in benefits over 20 years.

She began the coaching when her daughter was four and her son eight.

Take a look at that figure - $280,000 over twenty years. Median income in the US these days is around $32,000 - that's half make more, half make less. Frankly, that sounds like a whole lot of work for $28,000 a year or less. Essentially homeless, too.

And not stupid work either. Telling lies that big? It's taken twenty years - and they didn't catch HER - they caught her son! No, not stupid. Crafty as hell.

I just don't get the appeal of such a thing. Work that hard, be that bright - get next to nothing for it, when with those kinds of smarts, you could do INCREDIBLE things...I don't get it.

It'd be less work. Seriously.

And the effect on the kids is yet to be measured entirely. It's like they just didn't know how much they were shorting themselves. Ghad, what a life.

And then, measuring the effect on the general population when someone with children who really needs those services comes along.

*steams*

Yanno, I think a decent penalty for fraud like that is repaying the state by recycling. Out of landfills. Unprotected. For however long it takes. And then parole-type surveillance for the rest of their lives. No, I don't believe in the death penalty. That would be over too soon.

*facesmacks*

I just got back from the PO Box. I set this up back when we moved from Ontario into Torrance almost four years ago now, and decided to keep it because it was a great place to send people away from the physical address if I didn't really want them to know much about me.

The box has turned out to be a wonderful catch all for charitable groups who want to ask me for money.

I've got more address labels than any sane person. Seriously. Everyone sends them.

And last year, in the heat of getting the Christmas cards out - we used a bunch of them. You know, I should have thought more about not getting many cards returned to us due to invalid addresses - but I didn't.

Well, I've got four more sets of address labels.

And a bunch of returned Christmas cards. 16 of them. The little box was packed solid. There were also Christmas cards folks had sent back, using the return label for a guide that I hadn't received.

The pile included some LJers. Both received and returned. Oh boy. It's almost March. I keep saying I need to check that box more often, but this is ridiculous.

Uh, yeah. I'm going to try to resend the ones I can. Jim did the addressing, and I can see where he just didn't think to check - but I can almost be glad I have to redo the list from scratch during this year - boy, the return rate is just sucking ASS.

In other news?

A San Francisco weekly newspaper that bills itself as "The Voice of Asian America" is facing harsh criticism from that very community for publishing a column Friday titled "Why I Hate Blacks."

The original article. Proof positive that hate has no color.

I'm white and Christian. Should it be noted my groups are as hard hit as the others by this tool?

A 41-year-old Redding man charged with molesting a 12-year-old girl told investigators the child was his girlfriend and he loved her, court records show.

The relationship was exposed when Hakmiller telephoned Ontario police from Northern California and asked them to check on the girl because he feared she had been raped in her home.

Uh. She got siblings? Holy chrome.

I don't have to say I haven't missed Ontario once since I moved, right?

*facesmacks*

I just got back from the PO Box. I set this up back when we moved from Ontario into Torrance almost four years ago now, and decided to keep it because it was a great place to send people away from the physical address if I didn't really want them to know much about me.

The box has turned out to be a wonderful catch all for charitable groups who want to ask me for money.

I've got more address labels than any sane person. Seriously. Everyone sends them.

And last year, in the heat of getting the Christmas cards out - we used a bunch of them. You know, I should have thought more about not getting many cards returned to us due to invalid addresses - but I didn't.

Well, I've got four more sets of address labels.

And a bunch of returned Christmas cards. 16 of them. The little box was packed solid. There were also Christmas cards folks had sent back, using the return label for a guide that I hadn't received.

The pile included some LJers. Both received and returned. Oh boy. It's almost March. I keep saying I need to check that box more often, but this is ridiculous.

Uh, yeah. I'm going to try to resend the ones I can. Jim did the addressing, and I can see where he just didn't think to check - but I can almost be glad I have to redo the list from scratch during this year - boy, the return rate is just sucking ASS.

In other news?

A San Francisco weekly newspaper that bills itself as "The Voice of Asian America" is facing harsh criticism from that very community for publishing a column Friday titled "Why I Hate Blacks."

The original article. Proof positive that hate has no color.

I'm white and Christian. Should it be noted my groups are as hard hit as the others by this tool?

A 41-year-old Redding man charged with molesting a 12-year-old girl told investigators the child was his girlfriend and he loved her, court records show.

The relationship was exposed when Hakmiller telephoned Ontario police from Northern California and asked them to check on the girl because he feared she had been raped in her home.

Uh. She got siblings? Holy chrome.

I don't have to say I haven't missed Ontario once since I moved, right?

*facesmacks*

I just got back from the PO Box. I set this up back when we moved from Ontario into Torrance almost four years ago now, and decided to keep it because it was a great place to send people away from the physical address if I didn't really want them to know much about me.

The box has turned out to be a wonderful catch all for charitable groups who want to ask me for money.

I've got more address labels than any sane person. Seriously. Everyone sends them.

And last year, in the heat of getting the Christmas cards out - we used a bunch of them. You know, I should have thought more about not getting many cards returned to us due to invalid addresses - but I didn't.

Well, I've got four more sets of address labels.

And a bunch of returned Christmas cards. 16 of them. The little box was packed solid. There were also Christmas cards folks had sent back, using the return label for a guide that I hadn't received.

The pile included some LJers. Both received and returned. Oh boy. It's almost March. I keep saying I need to check that box more often, but this is ridiculous.

Uh, yeah. I'm going to try to resend the ones I can. Jim did the addressing, and I can see where he just didn't think to check - but I can almost be glad I have to redo the list from scratch during this year - boy, the return rate is just sucking ASS.

In other news?

A San Francisco weekly newspaper that bills itself as "The Voice of Asian America" is facing harsh criticism from that very community for publishing a column Friday titled "Why I Hate Blacks."

The original article. Proof positive that hate has no color.

I'm white and Christian. Should it be noted my groups are as hard hit as the others by this tool?

A 41-year-old Redding man charged with molesting a 12-year-old girl told investigators the child was his girlfriend and he loved her, court records show.

The relationship was exposed when Hakmiller telephoned Ontario police from Northern California and asked them to check on the girl because he feared she had been raped in her home.

Uh. She got siblings? Holy chrome.

I don't have to say I haven't missed Ontario once since I moved, right?