Foster mom: "More girls arrive to us because their parents were detained by the ICE... will be hurt by AZ law"

By GottaLaff

How can you tell which one of these kids might or might not be "legal"?

My pal TexBetsy has shared something that is a must-read, and she has graciously allowed me to cross-post most of it here. But please go to her place and read the whole thing:

I am a mother, a foster mother, a host mother, and an emergency shelter mother. I am a mother. You know me as Cassie’s* host mom for the last 17 months but I have been a mother for over twenty years to thirty-one girls. [...] Our girls come in all sizes and all colors. Most were born in the United States but some were not. Some speak only English and some speak Spanish as well. [...]

We met war orphans from El Salvador and Nicaragua. [...]

In the past few years since President Bush started detaining immigrants under homeland security laws we have had more girls arrive to us because their parents were detained by the ICE. Like all children in foster care, these girls want to be reunited with their family-by-blood, and they have a difficulty understanding why they are separated. Often they do not know for months if their parents are in detention or have been sent back to their native country.

Arizona’s new immigration law makes this worse and will cause more strife within families. My husband and I carry our temporary custodianship papers with us at all times but we do not always have citizenship papers for the girls in our family. Some do not have their documents and some do not have citizenship in the United States. Some are of undetermined legal status until their birth parent’s detention hearing is concluded.

[...] The children in my care have suffered abandonment and loss they spend their whole lives trying to understand. Some will never recover even though their chances through life are better in a loving home than in an abusive one connected only by blood.

Children in foster care will be hurt by the Arizona law. Children of documented and undocumented immigrants will be hurt by this law. [...] Good people of conscience can not support laws that will lead to fractured childhoods and distrust of government when the family relationships can and should be kept in tact.

*I've also posted Cassie's writings, which are fantastic. Links here.

Very few people are talking about this problem from the families' perspective. It's even more rare to hear from someone who speaks for children.

Children often cannot or will not can speak for themselves. I know that from first hand experience, having worked with elementary, middle, and high school level kids for years. And sadly, once a child has been hurt deeply, they are often damaged for life. It takes immense patience and diligence to help them restore trust and a sense of security once they've experienced pain and fear.

Thank you, TexBetsy, for sharing these invaluable insights.

Tea Bagger mom readies her children for "Obamas tomorrow"... with guns

By GottaLaff

What a great mom:


There's nothing more patriotic than teaching your kids how to shoot a president. Or does "Obamas" mean his whole family? Maybe she was referring to future Obamas, meaning, what? Future black presidents?

Add her to the list of violent Tea Bagger gun crazies who hide behind the flag.

Child abuse isn't part of that "Family Values" thing, Mom. And IMHO, training your kids to use firearms specifically to ready them for "Obamas tomorrow" is child abuse. Be proud.

Mommy Dearest's profile (click on image to enlarge):


H/t: Dynamo_Diva

Joe Biden's mother dies at 92

By GottaLaff

Deepest condolences to the Biden family:

Vice President Joe Biden's mother, Catherine, dies at 92 in Wilmington, Del., surrounded by family - White House

A tweet by Mark Knoller:

He said his mom's strength "was immeasurable (and) will live on in all of us."

UPDATE:

"My mother, Catherine Eugenia 'Jean' Finnegan Biden, passed away peacefully today at our home in Wilmington, Delaware, surrounded by her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren and many loved ones," the vice president said in a statement released by the White House. "At 92, she was the center of our family and taught all of her children that family is to be treasured, loyalty is paramount and faith will guide you through the tough times.

"She believed in us, and because of that, we believed in ourselves.

"Together with my father, her husband of 61 years who passed away in 2002, we learned the dignity of hard work and that you are defined by your sense of honor. Her strength, which was immeasurable, will live on in all of us."

TPC EXCLUSIVE: Army mom still facing Afghanistan deployment, court martial

By GottaLaff

U.S. Army Specialist Alexis
Hutchinson holding her son, Kamani. (Photo: Courtesy of Alexis Hutchinson)

If you've been following the heart wrenching story about U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, you will be interested in this update. If you haven't, here's a brief refresher...

Dahr Jamail's original piece is a must-read:

US Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas. [...]

She has been attempting to find someone to take care of her child, Kamani, while she is deployed overseas, but to no avail. [...]

In late October, Angelique Hughes [her mother] told Hutchinson and her commander that she would be unable to care for Kamani after all. The Army then gave Hutchinson an extension of time to allow her to find someone else to care for Kamani. Meanwhile, Hughes brought Kamani back to Georgia to be with his mother.

However, only a few days before Hutchinson's original deployment date, she was told by the Army she would not get the time extension after all, and would have to deploy, despite not having found anyone to care for her child.

Faced with this choice, Hutchinson chose not to show up for her plane to Afghanistan. The military arrested her and placed her child in the county foster care system.

Please read the whole thing to get a fuller picture of what has been going on. To keep up on the latest news, please go here. An excerpt:

In response to a public outcry, growing media attention, and congressional inquiries, the Army backed off of their pledge to deploy Alexis last night, November 15. Alexis’ lawyer Rai Sue Sussman of San Francisco notes that “The Army maintains that she may still be sent to Afghanistan for a court martial.” That has left Ms. Sussman contemplating travel to Afghanistan to represent her client.

This story made the rounds on Twitter, and many of us were going back and forth trying to figure out a solution.

Then I got a private message from a wonderful Twitter pal of mine, Davidgs, who I introduced to you back in September. He told me he lived within driving distance of the child and would offer his home and care to the family. At this point, all we knew is that Alexis was frantically trying to find someone who she could trust to care for Kamani.

Davidgs and I immediately began to dig for contacts. David sent e-mails to Dahr and Jeff Paterson, a Marine who is Courage to Resist project director. While he was doing that, I fell into a happy coincidence: My friend Jason Leopold works with Dahr and gave me his phone number. I called Dahr, who gave me his blessing to pick up the story where he left off, and then he gave me Jeff's phone number.

I'll be receiving updates from Jeff as soon as he is able to give them, but at the moment, he is overwhelmed with this undertaking. However, I do have an e-mail exchange between Jeff and David that was enlightening, heartwarming, and somewhat encouraging.

First, from David to Jeff (exclusive to TPC):

I know that I am a random person from the internet, volunteering for a serious commitment, and you don't know me from Adam, but I can assure you that I am serious.

My wife, 2 1/5 year old daughter and I live in a nice neighborhood in Cary, NC. I work from home, and my wife is a full-time stay at home mom, so we're BOTH here all the time. I also have 2 boys -- one is a special needs, wheelchair-bound child -- from a previous marriage that are here part time.

We are a stable, loving, happy, normal home and would be honored to help this soldier out in her time of need.

Best Regards,
dg

Forgive the stock phrasing, but his generosity restores my faith in mankind.

Now Jeff's reply:

Hi David. Thank you so very much for your generosity. I've pasted a section of an article I just published (http://couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/792/1/) after working with the family for the last week or so. It sort of outlines what they are currently thinking about Kamani's care.

Thanks again!

Offers to care for infant

Since Courage to Resist helped break news of this outrage--which has now been covered by NPR, AP, USA Today, and The NY Times-two dozen very generous and caring individuals and couples from across the country have come forward with offers to care for Kamani. Alexis and her family want to share their gratitude for this generosity.

Without time to even evaluate these offers, however, this situation is too similar to that of Kamani being placed back into a county foster care system-which of course also has some amazing caregivers. If Alexis is deployed, it's understandable that the family will try very hard to find a way to keep Kamani near them in the San Francisco Bay Area.

While Kamani was in county foster care in Georgia, he was fed a dairy product that the 11-month old had an allergic reaction to. He has been "very clingy" since explains his grandmother. The family hopes that Alexis and Kamani can be reunited as soon as possible.

Dahr had filled me in earlier about offers that were coming in. He noted that one came from a lance corporal in the Marine Corp Reserves named Jeff Key. He and his gay partner live in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Dahr told his story (along with others') in a post called "Resisting Homophobia in the Military". Please give it a read.

And finally, here is a quick update I got this morning from Jeff:

Kamani is with grandma for now. She can handle him, with a lot of help from friends, for a few days. We’re all hoping for some kind of resolution quickly.

[...] [T]he family and lawyer are overwhelmed at the moment with press. They are scheduled to be on The Today Show Wednesday, for example.

Jeff

With the likes of people like David reaching out, and with Jeff and company on the case, I am feeling more hopeful by the day. Along with Alexis and her family, I want to express my deepest gratitude.

And thank you Dahr, for telling Alexis' story.

VIDEO: Rick Sanchez interviews his Mom, who "is proud" of Sotomayor

By GottaLaff

Say adios to the Hispanic/Latino vote, los Rushpublicos.




Oh, Rick. You and your wise Latina women...

CNN's Rick Sanchez continues to break ground in nationally televised journalism, today interviewing his mom about Judge Sonia Sotomayor in her kitchen. The interview—which was mostly in Spanish—captures that Sanchez signature off-the-cuff style and unpredictability.

That Rick Sanchez is so gosh darned improv-y, isn't he? Que espontáneo. What a scamp.

VIDEO: Keith Olbermann's WTF Moment about his mother's death as gossip sleaze

By GottaLaff

This is the video that caps my previous posts. It's so much more effective when Keith speaks for himself:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

SNL- Mom Translator

I could have used one of these a few years back.

Vice President Biden's mother taken to hospital

By GottaLaff

This just broke via a Tweet, with a link to the story. The good news is, she seems to be okay:

Philadelphia, PENNSYLVANIA (BNO NEWS) -- The mother of Vice President Biden, Catherine, was taken to hospital on Sunday after she fell in her home, BNO News has learned.

"The Vice President's mother, Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden, has been admitted to the University of Pennsylvania hospital today after a fall at her residence in Delaware," White House spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said.

"She is currently receiving treatment and is in good spirits," she added.

We wish her a speedy, relatively painless recovery.