The nanny state, carried to the logical extreme

I linked to this video in the sidebar a while back but didn't really want to ruin anyone's day by posting it. I did wonder, what is this guy and his "mommy" living on? The answer is the obvious one. We're buying his jammies and the lumber for that super-duper custom high chair. And now Sen. Tom Coburn has taken notice:

A key senator has asked the Social Security Administration to investigate how people who live their lives role-playing as “adult babies” are able to get taxpayer-funded disability payments — after one of them was featured on a recent reality TV episode wearing diapers, feeding from a bottle and using an adult-sized crib he built.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican and the Senate’s top waste-watcher, asked the agency’s inspector general to look into 30-year-old Stanley Thornton Jr. and his roommate, Sandra Dias, who acts as his “mother,” saying it’s not clear why they are collecting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits instead of working.

“Given that Mr. Thornton is able to determine what is appropriate attire and actions in public, drive himself to complete errands, design and custom-make baby furniture to support a 350-pound adult and run an Internet support group, it is possible that he has been improperly collecting disability benefits for a period of time,” Mr. Coburn wrote in a letter Monday to Inspector General Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr.

Yeah, baby.

And no, no, you can't take that away from him:

In an email response to The Washington Times, Mr. Thornton threatened to kill himself if his Social Security payments are taken away, and said the television episode showing him doing woodwork oversold his abilities.

“You wanna test how damn serious I am about leaving this world, screw with my check that pays for this apartment and food. Try it. See how serious I am. I don’t care,” the California man said. “I have no problem killing myself. Take away the last thing keeping me here, and see what happens. Next time you see me on the news, it will be me in a body bag.”

Or he'll hold his breath until he turns blue.

But this is the best part:

Mr. Coburn also questions why Miss Dias, as a former nurse, collects SSI benefits, “since she is able to provide childcare” to Mr. Thornton.

You go, Sen. Coburn!

Allahpundit:

He’d rather die than lose his entitlements, notwithstanding the fact that they’re driving a crushing debt burden that threatens to destroy the country. This makes him different from everyone else … how?

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Linked at Moonbattery -- thanks!

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Michelle Malkin does Junior justice. Still waiting for reaction from Mark Steyn.

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