Category Archives: Adoption

I won’t have time to write more until I get home. Darryl did his adoption story tonight and then ended with he and Zara Phillips singing I’m Legit. Here’s a picture of them afterwards signing CDs.

I’ve been drinking wine tonight with Bad Bastards and Sluts and don’t have any time to post much . I sat out most of the day anyway, working on my presentation–or trying to. Here are a few pictures from the awards lunch and later though. You may recognize some of the names, or know them Margie Perscheid, Third Mom and Anti-Racist blogger BJ Lifton, Margie Persheid, Bastardatte looking awful. Fred Greenman, AAC legal advisor and Barbara Raymond, author The Baby Thief Mirah Riben, author The Dark Side of Adoption and The Stork Market, Karen Lynn, member, Coordinating Commititee for the Coalition for Open Adoption Records (COAR) and founding member Canadian Council of Natural Mothers; Maryanne Cohen long time activist, poet, essayist and Bastardette guest blogger. Michael Grand, member COAR, Professor in Clinical Psychology Program at the University of Guelp; Monica Byrne, Parent Finders of Canada, Karen Lynn. CARE’s Jean Strauss was awarded the Emma Vilardi Humanitarian Award. Here she is below accepting her award flanked by Pam Hasegawa and Penny Partridge. And here is a great nut shop across the street featuring Chief Wahoo.

I’m really not going to write at length about the AAC conference in Cleveland. Conferences wear me out, and I’m tired tonight, even though I haven’t done anything since 5:00 PM but have a Delmonico steak dinner at Otto Moser’s Cafe over on Euclid. I think it’s all the people and all the sitting and talking and listening and more talking and more listening. Is this a normal way to live? It’s now nearly midnight. I had ‘net connection problems and just now get on line after 2 hours of fiddling around. I did, though, want to make a few short remarks about the presentations I attended. DOROTHY ROBERTS KICKS ASS! I first ran into Prof. Roberts at the ASAIK (now the Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture) Conference at Pitt a couple years ago. She blew me away then and continues to do so. Roberts is the author of Shattered Bonds: the Color of Child Welfare and Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction and the Meaning of Liberty. The topic of her keynote address was Why Ending Racial Disproportionaly Will Transform Child Welfare. Prof. Roberts says some very important things about how race runs the child welfare Continue Reading →

I’m packing my thingsI’ll soon be leavingI’m going to Polka Town Listen Group! Stay SickTurn BlueDoro-r-thyOxnardPurple KnifAAC

Here is Shane MacGowan and Kirsty McColl singing New York Fairytale on Top of the Pops. OK, it’s a Christmas song, but I think it’s good for St Patrick’s Day. If you don’t’ think so, don’t play it. Back in 1986 Bastardette was still working at the Ohio State University Theatre. One of her colleagues was actress, director, and OSU Theatre Associate Professor Joy Reilly. Her cousin was the legendary–even then–Shane MacGowan. While still a boy soprano, Shane had sung at Joy’s first wedding, and she recalled him as a “sweet boy,” who despite his later claims, came from an accomplished and intellectual family and had not been to Borstal. Well, that was a long time ago. Even then. Before he filed down his teeth. So Shane and the Pogues were playing in Columbus and Joy and I went to the Newport for the show. Joy had a radio program on WOSU-AM and hoped to tape an interview with him, but it didn’t happen, since Shane was–surprise!–drop dead drunk through the show. And maybe before. As I remember, we weren’t exactly convinced he’d been that drunk while performing. He’d been known to play it up slopping beer all over the Continue Reading →

Ever hear of Dr. Ray? Me neither. But according to The Canton Repository, psychologist Ray Guarendi is not only my homie, but the purveyor of two syndicated radio talk shows, “The Doctor is In,” and “On Call With Dr. Ray and Friends”…and a Kid Kollector. He and his wife Randi have adopted 10 kids, mostly black, Hispanic, or biracial. Recently Dr. Ray published a Q & A adoption book, Adoption: Choosing it, Living it, Loving It. I haven’t read the book so I won’t get into its merits–or demerits. But what about all those kids? A question he says everybody asks him. Here’s his reply: I tell people it’s like eating potato chips; you can’t eat just one,” Guarendi said with a laugh. “We found we were liking parenting. Age is the reason we stopped.”

Radio Iowa reported today that the state has dragged its 12th “catch into its “safe haven” net. Iowa DHS spokesman, Roger Munns, Bastardette’s favorite-ever baybee dump apologist, explained to the media that in order to protect the “privacy” of the parents, the state will not release the location of the dump-and-run. According to the always amusing Mr. Munns: Part of the spirit of the law is to protect the identity of the identity parents [sic] and not hold them up to ridicule when they make the decision to do the right thing, so because of that we don’t identify where the child was delivered.” So they admit it! Baby dumping is a government protection program designed to varnish reputations and help people look squeaky clean to the neighbors! Iowa officials know that baby dumpers would be targets of community ridicule if they were exposed as the irresponsible and cowardly child abandoners they are, even though they’re doing the goverment approved ” right thing.” At this rate we should anonymize ministers who cheat on their wives, homophobic closet queers, and Ann Coulter. And it gets better. Munns virtually thanks the Nebraska Fiasco for the free publicity it gave Iowa’s dump program: Continue Reading →

Boy, some people need an anger management class. Or maybe they’re just sarcastic. ( I doubt it.) It’s always difficult to tell on the Internet. Read this: Wake up, JOELG1980. The selfish desires of today’s ADULT children is of no consequence. The mother demanded the records be sealed, what these kids want NOW is unimportant. You lose the privilege of having a passport because mommie executed her privilege of privacy. Tough! Learn to live with your handicap. Continue to use a 3rd party to contact your mommie, but, if she rejects your request, you’re done! Move on! Then there’s the adoptive mom: What about the adoptive parents right? I have 2 adopted daughters and theres nothing wrong with their certificates, no need for an OBC. As far as birth mothers, they gave up their rights at adoption. Im sure they do want to be found. What a deal then, they get all the benefits without the responsibility. Which civil right has been taken away from adoptees? The lady in the article should be going after the legal firm that handled her adoption for them not doing their job properly regarding her birth certificate. What brought on all this vitupertude? Why Continue Reading →

Does this creep you out as much as it does me: Embracing the Birthmother: a day run by birthmothers for birthmothers to talk with each other, share stories, healing and empowerment. It’s being thrown by A Full Circle Adoptions in Mt. Holyoake, Massachusetts. I don’t know anything about this doo or the agency other than what’s found on the linked page. But the language…Mama Mia! Let’s see how many ways we can depersonalize, dehumanize, patronize, paternalize, infantilize and deminunize women in the name of empowerment and do-goodism. How long for the days when the adoption industry just said don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out instead self-serving “post-adoption services.” I have this squicky image of “birth mother” attachment therapy. Grown women entangled in the arms of social workers; wrapped up in a flannel blanket and sat on by overweight female therapists imported from Colorado. Colorado Attachment Disorder sitters Connell Watkins and Julie Ponder