Stanley Thornton, Jr., is 30 years old and calls Redding home. There, the 350-pound man dons a gigantic diaper, is bottle-fed by a retired nurse, plays with action figures, sucks a pacifier and wears onesies. He calls himself an "adult baby."

Earlier this year, Thornton appeared on the National Geographic show "Taboo" to showcase his lifestyle. He claims that he was abused as a child and suffers from PTSD, depression and bipolar disorder. For these problems, he collects disability, and so doesn't hold a job.

But here's the catch. On the NatGeo show (I know because I watched it), Thornton eloquently and thoughtfully described the lifestyle of an adult baby. He was featured designing and building extra large cribs for himself, and it later came out that he set up and runs a website that serves as a community for others living as adult babies.

When Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Republican and defender of justice, caught wind of all this, he was not happy. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Coburn wrote a letter to Inspector General Patrick O'Carroll, which read, in part:

“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.”

In response, Thornton sent a letter to the Washington Times -- the paper that ran Coburn's letter -- threatening suicide if his disability was taken away:

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. 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.

It seems as though the threat of suicide trumps the sense of injustice that rattled Coburn to the bone: according to the New York Daily News, Thornton recently received a letter from Social Security stating that his disability checks would continue to arrive.

That, from stone, who concurs with the sentiments of the North Carolina retiree: "Keep yo guvmint hands off my Medicare!"

Bugger off, Teabaggistani.

I wonder why MTV's the Real World never had an adult baby in its cast.

How typically left wing horseshit. I also concur with anyone who believes that a RETIREE, one who spent his life working, should continue to receive medical benefits. We need a bit more clarity on what defines "disability".

maybe a shit eater

Has someone written a parental manual called "So Your Child Is A Furry"?

Around here its kinda died down, but for awhile you couldn't go anywhere without a bunch of teens walking around with tails and ears. Oh, and the colored contacts.

Too, isn't it something like 43% of beneficiaries of the mortgage deduction ... loans don't think they participate in government benefit programs?

mama mama we are all babies now

mama mama we are all babies now

us, too

I'm a bleeding heart commie pinko and at least half of me agrees we should let this fucker off himself.

Your contention would hold water if not for the fact the speaker's intent was to identify Medicare as something other than a government program.

Too, isn't it something like 43% of beneficiaries of the mortgage deduction and student loans don't think they participate in government benefit programs?