cqyates's Comments (192)

“To all the right wingers on this thread let me let you in on a little secret.....When you hurt women, you hurt the children. When you hurt children, you destroy the future. Duh!”

“Hi Christine,
Thanks for your fabulous article from a formerly homeless woman. I have so much to say here, I don't know where to start. But I would like to point out to some on this board that I went from being a homeless kid to a self employeed low income mom with a house and two healthy kids. How did I do it?

Well. First I got pregnant which made me eligible for welfare. I used those funds to move inside a residential hotel with my first son and my abusive husband. Then I returned to school with the help of government loans and grants and welfare (moved into subsidized student parent housing). After college I worked as a receptionist, ap clerk (very unsatisfying) Finally after jettisoning my rotten husband and with the help of my family, I now sell vintage clothing patterns through the internet and am starting to get my feet underneath me.

The point is, without the governments help I would still be sucking up public resources on the streets of Berkeley....God Bless!”

“So So true. My kids were on medicaid in GA, every 90 days you have to reapply. We were rejected because between the first app and the second, I became self employeed. When asked to prove my income I turned in a standard profit and loss sheet. They denied me because there workers couldn't understand it. My children and I are uninsured to this day.”

“I think it is a terrible idea for all people approached by the police to go quietly into the night. That said...I don't think it is racism that motivates cops to be power hungry and "demand respect" I think that most cops are dicks to most everybody.

I used to be homeless white girl and I have been harassed by the police on a daily basis. Anyone the cops see as lower then themselves gets the worse treatment.

In my experience, the few cops who came in and meet the kids and treated them like people got the same respect in return.”

“Come to Savannah GA hon and you'll be down right inspired!”

“Race is a cultural construct with no scientifically accepted definition and tons of border line cases where racial identity is confused.

It is the furthest thing in the world from a natural category or class”

“As a liberal Georgian I would have to object. Do you want to throw millions of Southern Dems under the bus to punish the Republicans. Horrible!”

“I agree with you kd15. The important thing this would accomplish is providing people with a medical home and that is so important. Often treatments and advice could be provided by phone call if people had someone they could call. In my own experience, confusion sends people to the doctor more often than real sickness.

I do think if their is one place where insurance could be provided is in catastrophic care because then you have truly separated health maintenance from health emergencies.

It would seem silly to pay for access to a primary physician if you couldn't get the tests and specialized care you needed.”

“I think this is a spectacular idea. As a mom and a woman I love it. I hate going to the doctor because I am terrified of the financial ride on which I might be taken.”

“This comment is so dumb to almost defy the imagination. The problem with your high deductible plan is that the average American will put off inexpensive treatment if they can't pay. In the end that will cause a bigger problem.”

“your satire sucks”

“I used to live in a tent but I was also able to pull myself up with a little help and empowerment from my Uncle Sam. I used a homeless drop in to get food and health services then a little later I received welfare and food stamps when my first son was an infant. I used federal loans to return to and graduate from a good university and now I own my own business.

and by the way...if you bought a home from HUD (US gov. Housing and Urban Development) than you did receive assistance from the big bad Government!.

Not all Government Services are handouts and not all takers are users and abusers.

I know lots of women in my life who were able to return to school and training with the help of welfare and are now nurses and other professionals”

“that is what you are on here criticizing us for!”

“I vow that I will always love my children, even if they are gay. In fact I will love them because they are gay because I love my kids for everything they are. I will embrace the loves of my childrens lives irregardless.

IMO...to do otherwise is immoral and wrong.”

“Since I have moved out of California,. I have to admit that I am looking forward to people seeing Oakland to turn into a fiery hell hole. You people are gonna quickly find out that welfare is a necessary evil.”

“dick cheney”

“I had an abortion in 2002. I was homeless unemployed and living with my boyfriend in a tent in the hills above Berkeley. One day I saw a doctor in a mobile clinic for homeless people because I had sprained my wrist. There I learned I was pregnant. I had no support system, family and only one friend in the world besides my boyfriend. The doctor in the clinic that day said there is support for you no matter what you decide.

I told my bf I was pregnant and he told me that he would leave me if I didn't have an abortion. I went everywhere available for people with no money looking for advice and help. I couldn't get even get a doctors appointment with a regular doctor to find out if my pregnancy was normal. Eventually after every avenue was exhausted I borrowed money from my best friend at the time and had an abortion.

I had the abortion under sediation. the clinic I went to had no idea how to deal with a homeless girl. I couldn't get the prescriptions filled so they ended up giving them to me at the clinic. After my abortion I was dropped off in a park for homeless people in Berkeley called peoples park, I was delirious from the sedation and the scrubs I was wearing were covered in blood. Some people I knew found me and took me to the apartment of the one friend I had.”

“I would just like to point out at every possible opportunity the irony of the Ricci case. Conservative are fuming mad because Sotomayor didn't emphasize with Frank Ricci and overturn either the will of the city government or the will of the Conn Legislature with Title VII which would have amounted to Judicial Activism (setting policy from the bench)”

“Just wanted to say that I personally used to be homeless. I qualified for calworks when I got pregnant. I used to assistance to return to college and I now own my own business. Some people need a hand up...but I will agree with you that welfare needs to expect incremental improvement on the part of the beneficiaries.

I would also like you to stop and consider for a moment how difficult it is to compete and survive when you are a single mom. People don't want to hire you because you have baggage. Single moms make 60 cents on a mans dollar. All things in life are priced for a two income family (daycare, rent, food) making it very hard to survive with one income.

I personally think it is more important to pass legislation raising the minimum wage, paid family leave and support for working moms (like foodstamps and daycare assistance).

While I am on a tirade school vouchers would be nice too.”

“google vaporzie...you can buy em on the net. You will be amazed and pleased my friend”

“There since of entitlement grew out of the fact that the language of white privilege is everywhere in our culture and always has been.”

“In my humble opinion. your parrah entertainment industry has been ripping people off for years. You can make whatever you want but irregardless of its availability on the internet, I AM NOT BUYING IT. The only entertainment I consume is my Pandora radio and the occasional song on I Tunes (because i don't have to buy 20 songs I don;t want for two that I do).

I have not been in a movie theatre in either of my kids lifetimes and I plan on continuing that boycott for the rest of my life”

“call me crazy but I strongly believe that the high deductible plans that they shove down the throats of us "financially handicapped" are a big problem in health care reform. They fuction to keep people from accessing the primary care we need, delaying tests and waiting until they have no choice but to borrow the 5,000 dollar deductible and get help.

A high dectuctible health care plan is insurance with out the health care”

“Sorry we sold off our government and military to private contractors”

“the basis for the modern day federal involvement in drug policy is the interstate commerce clause which was first applied to machine guns and interstate kidnapping.

(not an endorsement...I am all for overturning the war on drugs...now leave me alone I am smoking)”