HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAC CONFERENCE, CLEVELAND, PART 2

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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.

DOUBLE BLESSING: JOE ESZTERHAS AND SUZANNE PERRYMAN

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Again I’m just sending out a short report. No special insights. Yesterday’s afternoon keynotes were writer Joe Eszterhas and his daughter Suzanne Perryman, an absolutely socko double reading of their “memoir” (so-to-speak) of separation and reunion: Double Blessing. I’ve been a fan of Joe Esterhaz’ since his days as a crime reporter at the Cleveland Plain Dealer and later an editor and writer at Rolling Stone. and I never dreamed I’d ever meet him. OK, I’m talking like a groupie now, I know. Forgive me Dear Reader, for I have sinned. Joe is the author of The Devil’s Guide to Hollywood and Charlie Simpson’s Apocolpyse (nominated for the National Book Award) and the writer of numerous screenplays including Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge and the ever notorious Show Girls. In 1968 his daughter Suzanne Marie was placed for adoption in Cleveland. 30 years later she located him with the help of Adoption Network Cleveland, co-sponsor of this year’s AAC conference. Suzanne is a writer and advocate of special needs children. Her two daughters suffer from the dengenrative mitochondrial disease. Joe and Suzanne took turns reading about their lives pre and post reunion, the support they’ve given each other through Joe’s cancer Continue Reading →

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAC CONFERENCE, CLEVELAND, PART 1

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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 →

SOMETIMES WORDS….

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…aren’t necessary. This is taken from CARE’s action alert for SB 372. (emphasis mine). AB 372 will give hundreds of thousands of adult citizens adopted in California (who currently have no hope of ever having their own original birth record) an opportunity to know their original identity. Many of these citizens will die out of the system in the coming years. To oppose this legislation is to literally oppose their ability to have this record at any time in the foreseeable future. The opposition to this legislation is coming from many people who have no skin in the game. Adoptees from other states, birthparents from other states, adoptees who already have their records, are not the ones who should be influencing this decision. Does this mean CARE is ready to boot its leaders and out-of-state advisory committee members?

CALIFORNIA: AB 372 HEARING DATE CHANGED

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This just in from CalOpen: Leg Counsel announced by e-mail at 4:29 this morning that the hearing date has been moved forward to Monday the 27th. Tuesday, April 21st, 2009Hearing Date Moved forward to Monday, April 27th.http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_372_bill_20090420_status.html I telephoned the Judiciary Committee and learned: – Confirmed Hearing date of Monday, April 27th– Commencement of hearing upon adjournment of floor session.(Time to be announced on Thursday the 23rd, at floor session, probably noon)– Confirmed TODAY’s 5 PM deadline for submission of letters into the official analysis still holds, regardless of the premature hearing date.

ACTION ALERT – DEFEAT CALIFORNIA AB 372

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We are running on a very tight schedule here, so I’m posting CalOpen’s AB 372 Action Alert here instead of writing up a separate one for BN. Bastard Nation is submitting it’s testimony later today. NOTE: As of this posting, the official Ma amendments are not available. Help us defeat this abomination! * * * CALIFORNIA OPEN ACTION ALERT * * *PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FREELY Issued April 20, 2009 URGE THE CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATUREASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEETO VOTE NO ON AB 372 DEADLINE FOR YOUR LETTER TO BECOME A PART OF THE RECORD: 5 PM PST TUESDAY, APRIL 21st, 2009(Even if you miss the deadline, please continue to send your letters and e-mails.) On Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 AB 372 will come before the California State Legislature’s Assembly Judiciary Committee. Assembly Bill 372 would require State Notification to birthparents of an adoptee’s request for their record and the birthparent’s Consent to Disclosure and Release of the Original Birth Certificate to the adoptee. Until the amendments are viewed, it is not known who would fund the notification. Perhaps that would be the responsibility of the adoptee making request. WE MUST ACT NOW TO DEFEAT AB 372 AND LEAVE CLEAR THE PATH FOR A Continue Reading →

CARE’S LATEST GAFF: "WHEN I USE A WORD…IT MEANS JUST WHAT I CHOOSE IT TO MEAN…."

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BE SURE TO TAKE THE TWO AB 372 POLLS AT THE RIGHT! When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ `The question is,’ said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ `The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master — that’s all. Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass As many of us suspected, CARE continues to support AB 372. In CARE NuSpeak, gutting rights “language” now means restoring rights later.Earlier today CARE’s “volunteer” Executive Director, professional lobbyist Stephanie Williams wrote to BB Church about the current status of AB 372 and its anti-adoptee language. Williams was responding to an email from BB asking if CARE would continue to support the bill now that their sponsor, Asmb. Fiona Ma, has issued a memo with a list of amendments to gut it. (see 2 previous entries here). Since Williams sent a copy of her reply to Jean Strauss and Strauss forwarded the post to CUB president Margy McMorrow with the message to feel free to pass it along, (which Margy did on the CUB list) this email Continue Reading →

BASTARDETTE POLL: WILL CARE PULL AB 372?

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Today California Asmb. Fiona Ma announced amendments she proposes to AB 372, the alleged records access bill pushed by the alleged adoptee rights group California Adoption Reform Effort. According to Asmb. Ma’s memo, these are the changes she plans to offer. Note that these amendments include a blanket default disclosure veto plus a mandatory state-run “birthmother” track-down system. NuAB 372 will:-Amend the Health and Safety Code section 102705 to require the courts to release the original birth certificate contingent upon the finding of a serious medical condition requiring familiar information. -Starting Jan 1, 2010 and going backward, the state shall open the original unamended birth certificate in an “Informational Only Copy” form to an adult adoptee age 25 or older if all of the following conditions are met: 1 -A certified, return receipt letter is sent to the best-match address of the biological parent notifying them of the change in law and allowing them to keep their record confidential by signing an enclosed form and returning to the Department of Health. 2 -A period of six-months from the time of the biological mother receiving notice is given for them to respond with the opt-out notice. -Should the Department not receive Continue Reading →