The Daily Bastardette

THE ADOPTION INDUSTRY CONTINUTES TO EAT ITSELF: LOS NINOS SHUTS DOWN

Posted on February 28, 2009 by [email protected] — 39 Comments ↓

I wasn’t expecting this one, but maybe I’m out of the loop! National Council for Adoption member Los Ninos International Adoption Center is no more as of March 31,2009. Unlike many agencies that have closed their doors recently, with little or no notice, this appears to be an orderly shutdown, but the only information I can find is off the Los Ninos webpage itself. Executive Director Rosana N. Erichsen, writes: The Board determined that Los Niños can no longer continue its charitable adoption activities because it is extremely difficult to meet our client’s adoption goals now that the rules governing new applicants have become so stringent and numerous countries have closed their international adoption programs. The Board believes it is in the best interest of Los Niños and its clients to dissolve Los Niños. The Texas-based Los Ninos has been around since 1981. It is a 2007 inductee into NCFA’s Hall of Fame. Besides the Los Ninos webpage you can read more about them here. I don’t know much about Los Ninos so I won’t comment. only to say that it appears the Hague, adoption scandal blowback, and the economy has done them in. ChompChomp! I wonder if the age Continue Reading →

CALOPEN’S NO VETO RESOLUTION

Posted on February 27, 2009 by [email protected] — Leave a reply

In case you missed it, here is California Open’s No Veto Resolution. Please join CalOpen. It won’t cost you a dime or your dignity! OUR PROMISE TO YOU WE LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND! NO SELL-OUT! NO RESTRICTION! NO COMPROMISE! CAL OPEN’S NO VETO RESOLUTION WHEREAS we recognize that disclosure and contact vetoes, mandatory intermediaries and registry provisions are an affront to the dignity of adopted persons in California and a violation of their right to due process and equal treatment under the law, WHEREAS there has been a demonstrable negative effect on the ability to pass unconditional open records in other states that have passed veto legislation and/or any provisions that are less than unconditional access on demand by the adult adoptee, WHEREAS our primary goal is to restore the unrestricted right of adult adoptees in California to be treated as equal citizens under the law, WE HEREBY DECLARE that under no circumstances will we accept the addition of a disclosure veto, contact veto, intermediary or registry provisions, or any conditional provision to our legislation that would be less than unconditional access for adult adoptees to the original record of their birth. All legislative authors, sponsors, members, and coalition partners Continue Reading →

CALIFORNIA: I’M MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE! BAD BILL HITS THE BOARDS!

Posted on February 25, 2009 by [email protected] — 8 Comments ↓

CARE’s baited breath “want and desire bill, “AB 372, was introduced in the California Legislature on February 23. Sen. Fiona Ma is the sponsor. CARE has not disappointed us, bringing forward a bad bill. No, excuse me. I’m wrong. Not bad. Atrocious. OVER UNDER SIDEWAYS DOWNThough advertised as an “open records bill,” as written now, it will do nothing to restore the right of Cal adoptees to their own birth records. It will, in fact, if passed, probably make it more difficult to retrieve an obc than it already is. To assure us illiterates (and I bet that includes its own members who hit the roof when they saw the bill), that we just don’t “understand” what the bill really says, CARE posted a disclaimer on its website a few hours ago: (a word about reading a bill: Legislative language, and the language of statutes, can be confusing. The language is based upon existing legal code which encompasses thousands of pages that are all interrelated. The chane that we are requesting will allow adult adoptees over the page of 18 access to their original record of birth. The text herein is written by the legislative counsel for the California Assembly Continue Reading →

SWAPMEETIN’: NCFA, REFORMISTS, AND BASTARDS

Posted on February 22, 2009 by [email protected] — 19 Comments ↓

Last week, the National Council for Adoption published its latest issue of Adoption Advocate: “Mutual Consent: Balancing the Birthparents Right to Privacy with the Adopted Person’s Desire to Know. The article (it is not a “report”) appears to be a better-late-than-never response to the November 2007 Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute report, For the Records: Restoring a Legal Right for Adult Adoptees, a document as activist, as say, the phone book. The fuss Mutual Consent has caused in AdoptionLaLaLand is as perplexing as why in the name of St. Jerome Emiliani NCFA waited so long to repsond…or why. It’s not exactly new news that NCFA promotes sealed records. NCFA was founded in 1980 specifically to fight the Carter initiative to open records on a federal level. Although NCFA in the last couple years has put on a happy face and begun to move to the center, (no more 5 signature registry! no more dour proclamations about open adoption or “spoiled adoptees”),it continues to oppose the unsealing of records without rigmarole worthy of a Soviet propiska. That doesn’t mean that Mutual Consent isn’t worthy of comment. But there is no need to legitimate Mutual Consent by making a big deal about Continue Reading →

MOST EGREGIOUS ADOPTION QUOTE OF 2009 (SO FAR)

Posted on February 13, 2009 by [email protected] — 18 Comments ↓

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.”

MORE THOUGHTS ON THE COMING CALIFORNIA FIASCO

Posted on February 12, 2009 by [email protected] — 5 Comments ↓

There are a lot of problems with CARE’s proposed access bill in California: elitism, compromise, rejection of rights and grassroots, and its decision to go for a bill in the midst of California’s economic dissolution.After several comments posted in my earlier blog entry regarding the so-called constitutionality issue in records access in California, I intended to a make relatively short comment, but decided that topic and some other thoughts really need a separate entry. Below I discuss the constitutionality issue and make a couple observations on the coming California Fiasco. This is not meant to be a definitive response. My comments are mine only, and do not represent CalOpen, which is perfectly capable of taking care of business itself. WHY DOES CARE BELIEVE THAT AN UNRESTRICTED ACCESS BILL WON’T FLY?The California Adoption Reform Effort (CARE) has shown little inclination to learn the history of past California records access campaigns, organize California adoptees outside the Amen Corner, build long-term relationships with leggies, or learn the lay of the Cal legislature, even with their pricey navigator…er… I mean lobbyist… at the helm. Judging from CARE’s past disinterest in constitutional studies (see BB Church) and its recent lame de facto attempt to acquire Continue Reading →

WE’VE SCREWED UP YOUR STATE, NOW WE’RE COMING TO SCREW UP YOURS: CALIFORNIA ADOPTION REFORM EFFORT–COMMENTS

Posted on February 9, 2009 by [email protected] — 13 Comments ↓

A few minutes ago I posted a long blog, We’ve screwed up your state, now we’re coming to screw up yours–California Adoption Reform Effort: if you don’t like compromise, go away. After it was up for a few minutes the entry seemed too long. I have gone back and divided it into two parts: (1`) The Letter and (2) Comments. I have now posted The Letter first, followed by this. I suggest you go below and read the The Letter First. Zen fascists will control you 100% natural You will jog for the master race And always wear the happy face …California Uber Allies. Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys For the past few weeks we’ve been watching the formation of a new “adoption reform” organization in California: California Adoption Reform Effort (CARE). CARE consists of a few Californians, lead by adoptee author/filmmaker Jean Strauss who lives in Washington State and Stephanie Williams, a pricey lobbyist formerly with the Cal Trucking Association. It’s advisory committee is cattle car Who’s Who of mostly deformers, industry hacks, and out-of-staters. According to CARE’s webpage, the organization is “dedicated to providing adult adopted citizens access to a non-certified copy of their original record of birth.” Unfortunately, Continue Reading →

WE’VE SCREWED UP YOUR STATE, NOW WE’RE COMING TO SCREW UP YOURS: CALIFORNIA ADOPTION REFORM EFFORT– THE LETTER

Posted on February 9, 2009 by [email protected] — 2 Comments ↓

A few minutes ago I posted a long blog, We’ve screwed up your state, now we’re coming to screw up yours–California Adoption Reform Effort: if you don’t like compromise, go away. After it was up for a few minutes the entry seemed too long. I have gone back and divided it into two parts: (1`) The Letter) and (2) Comments. I am posting the letter first. I suggest you it first; then read the comments posted in the entry above this. ***** INTRODUCTIONFor the past few weeks we’ve been watching the formation of a new “adoption reform” organization in California: California Adoption Reform Effor (CARE). CARE consists of a few Californians, lead by adoptee author/filmmaker Jean Strauss who lives in Washington State and Stephanie Williams, a pricey lobbyist formerly with the Cal Trucking Association. It’s advisory committee is cattle car Who’s Who of mostly deformers, industry hacks, and out-of-staters. Bastard Nation has obtained a copy of an email sent by CARE “president Jean Strauss” to approximately 20 potential supporters. Theirvague but very real ideology of compromise is laidout, politically correct language ordered, “privacy” deified, compromise flogged, and experienced grassroots activists told to jump off the Santa Monica Pier. THE LETTER—– Continue Reading →

MICHELLE BACHMANN NAMED TO MOST LOATHSOME LIST; CARRIES ON NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION TRADITION

Posted on February 1, 2009 by [email protected] — 4 Comments ↓

Michelle Bachmann is back! Recently, The Beast named its annual 50 Most Loathsome People in America. Ma Belle Michelle clocked in at #47 below Barack Obama and M. Night Shymalon but higher (that is, less loathsome than) OJ Simpson, John Updike, Ben Stein, Tila Tequila, John Fund, Blago, Bernie Madoff, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin (#1), and a host of other finger wagging political, sports and media whores, parasites, and hangers-on who preach, pick our pockets, and insult our intelligence daily for our own good. Regular readers may remember that Minnesota Congresswoman Bachmann was a featured speaker at the 2008 National Council for Adoption conference in Washington where she gave us memorable accounts of “launching her biologicals” and fostering 23 kids, mostly girls, including one who ran away from her. (left: launchables and hubby.) You may want to go back there and refresh your memory before continuing. While I was looking for links to place here, I ran across this little nugget from a Dump Bachmann blog dated September 3, 2006: Fight Pork which leads us to Bachmann and Associates, a full service “Christian counseling” business operated by Bachmann’s therapist husband Marcus. Therapist Bachmann took his MA from Pat Robertson’s Regent Continue Reading →