[Born Conservative]

One of the local radio talk show hosts calls this family the "Rabbit Family".  I posted several threads on this over the summer, but I did a search and can't find them. 

Also, the title was taken from the main web page of the paper; I feel it more accurately describes the article.

[Catspaw]

There's a long waiting list for Habitat for Humanity homes in our area. Here, when a family gets a Habitat for Humanity home, it's kept immaculately, inside and out.

It's unbelievable these people are getting a second chance. They don't deserve it.

[laurav]

Sounds like Habitat handled this in the best way possible, given the circumstances. The Smiths had to do a lot of the work to make the place better, and are learning about how to keep the house from falling apart in the future. The time for Habitat to have brought in volunteers to teach them this was before the condemning, but better late than never. Though I wasn't aware it was even possible to have 18 biological children -- are some adopted, or cousins? One at every year and a half makes 24 years of child bearing, and even if she started at 16, that's quite a string of uninterrupted fertility.

[Born Conservative]

Mr. Quinn said he's weary of people saying Habitat shouldn't have helped such a large family and shouldn't have stuck by them through the past four months. "This is a crisis situation. We can't just turn our backs on them," Mr. Quinn said.

Mr. Quinn's email address is: OZ@EPIX.NET

[Ace's Dad]

Great post.

Mr. Smith said he will remain a stay-at-home father...

This guy shithead doesn't rate the title "Mr." DTOM

[sandydipper]

A rough Christmas for the kids?? I suspect every day is "rough". It would take a large farm to feed the bunch.

As Groucho opined when interviewing a woman who had 11 children he said "Well - I like my cigar - but occasionally I take it oughta my mouth".

[Born Conservative]

Follow up ping on this story from August: http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/964983/posts

[Stop Legal Plunder]

One of the local radio talk show hosts calls this family the "Rabbit Family"...I feel it more accurately describes the article.

Hardly. The headline is designed to grab the attention of those who think large families are inherently evil, but only two sentences in the article address the number of children. That's because the size of the family isn't the issue; rather, the problem is a father who fell short in his resposibility to take care of them.

But even that isn't the main point. The main point is that private charity addressed this problem effectively, inexpensively, and early enough to make a difference.

[newgeezer]

ping

[Stop Legal Plunder]

[It was] the first known Habitat for Humanity home in the country to be condemned.

My view of Habitat for Humanity was colored for years because Jimmy Carter was so involved with the group. But this news of only one condemned house impresses me very much, as the organization has built tens of thousands of homes over the years.

To put this on context, one need only note that during the 1990s the City of New York allowed more than 300,000 homes to rot under its control. Instead of selling them, it boarded them up (so unrepaired leaks destroyed the properties), and many if not most became the denizens of crack addicts and drug dealers.

I'll take Habit for Humanity housing management shortcomings over state stewardship any day of the week.

[1234]

"The home was condemned, according to city officials, because it had no heat, hot water or electricity. "

WHAT?! who says a house needs these things OR it get's condemned-i've lived without these conveniences/utilities from 'time to time'-OUTRAGEOUS....

[lady lawyer]

This story just proves that buildings don't make slums, people make slums.

[LibWhacker]

"When I first met them, the kids would throw candy wrappers on the floor. That does not happen anymore. They know about discipline and responsibilities now," Ms. Decker said. "Things are different."

Wow, I didn't know you could totally trash a house by dropping candy wrappers on the floor!

[WV Mountain Mama]

Perhaps if they condemn it, and they boot out the bad family, they are allowed to fix it and give it to a more deserving one. HFH may just have to go through the proper steps in order to do so. By the way, my son is 2 and doesn't throw garbage on the floor.

[Destructor]

So, much for the idea that home ownership would instill pride, and motivate the "home owner" to keep the house maintained. Another Liberal ideal goes down in flames!

[Cinnamon Girl]

"It's going to be a crappy Christmas for the kids," Mr. Smith said.

Literally.

[KansasConservative1]

"It's going to be a crappy Christmas for the kids, but we'll make the best of it," Mr. Smith said."

This Crap-head does not get it. Crappy Christmas is a family of 14 living with one's 2nd oldest kid because the family could not even clean up after themselves and got evicted from a HH house with a mortgage of $150. Take away the Big Screen TV and Direct with all the channels and maybe the sack will have some time to clean up. LOSERS ALL!

[Hildy]

The woman has 14 kids in 15 years and SHE has to go to work? SHEESH...

[Lijahsbubbe]

The wife's checks pay the bills. Heat, electric and water shut off. Mr Smith is dead weight. He says he's learned, but he's still not going to work.

[LaraCroft]

He's a stay at home dad, She works, but they have a kid every year.

So she is working pregnant? Sigh.

People just suck.