Orphan snatcher Madonna banned from theare chain.

Posted on by — Leave a reply

OK.  It’s a slow news day…but remember when ladies were asked to remove their hats during a movie.?  Now it’s Blackberries. Various media are reporting that Tim League, CEO of the Texas-based move theatre chain Alamo Drafthouse, has banned Madonna from his theatres until she “apologies to her fans.” Our favorite not-an- orphan orphan  harvester you see, was busted smack in the middle of the New York Film Festival for texting away during the premiere of 12 Years a Slave. (trailer)   Variety gives an account of the incident  by film critic Charles Taylor who saw  it go down: To add insult to injury, he didn’t even recognize Madonna as the mysterious lady in black until later..  Tonight at the New York Film Festival premiere of ’12 Years A Slave’ (a masterpiece, by the way), I sat behind the unholy trifecta of Jason Ritter, J. Alexander from ‘America’s Next Top Model,’ and Michael K. Williams from ‘The Wire.’ Plus, a mysterious blonde in black lace gloves who wouldn’t stop texting on her Blackberry throughout the first half of the movie. Eventually, a woman next to me tapped her on the shoulder and told her to put her phone away, and Continue Reading →

James Hamilton: An Adoptive Father Speaks Out in Support of ICWA

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

A few days ago Jim Hamilton posted a comment regarding  ICWA and the Veronica Brown case under Veronica: One of the Many Multi-Heritage Children Harmed by ICWA. published on the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare webpage.  The misnamed CAIW is one of the leading organizations whose mission is undermine Indian autonomy, tribal sovereignty, traffick Indian children into appropriately  white christian families, and ultimately dismantle the Indian Child Welfare Act which it claims harms Indian children.  Jim’s comment was put on “moderation” and  has never been posted. We can guess why.With Jim’s permission I am posting it below. I am an attorney and an international adoptive father. In my view, the ICWA does no harm whatsoever to children, including Veronica Brown/Capobianco. What does do great harm to children are those who circumvent state and federal laws in the blind pursuit of children.  I fully understand how intense the desire for a child can be and the emotional upheaval that delays in the adoption process can cause for prospective adoptive parents. My son’s adoption process in the country of his birth lasted 12 months. We met him for the first time almost 4 months after his referral and 8 months before Continue Reading →

The Last Invisible Continent Redux

Posted on by — Leave a reply

A different review written by me of Michael Allen Potter’s The Last Invisible Continent:  Essays on Adoption and Identity  has been published in the Columbus Free Press. There is one error in it–my fault.  The number of sealed OBCs in Ohio is now estimated to be 400,000 not 100,000. Read Mike’s blog,  icartographer TWITTER:   Twitter fried my account and I was forced to start a new one.  Besides tweeting The Daily Bastardette I tweet  (and retweet) about adoption issues, civil rights, freedom of the press,  the corporate state,  Depeche Mode,  literature and books, plus some local stuff.  I retweet generously.  Join me there! Daily Bastardette @DBastardette.

CHIFF Blocks Bastardette from Following Its Twitter Feed

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

Oh the shame!

Whoever runs the Children and Families First 2013 (CHIFF ) Twitter account has blocked Bastardette from following their tweets.. Earlier I and an array of adoptee right advocates and adoption reformers were blocked from posting on the CHIFF FB page when one-by-one we posted simple polite statements that we opposed the bill and, were working to defeat it. Continue Reading →

The War on ICWA: Forces growing to dismantle ICWA and Indian sovereignty

Posted on by — 4 Comments ↓

Last night Daily Bastardette received this comment on Bloody but Unbowed: Dusten Brown Shows His Stuff.  regarding the new attempt to dismantle the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).  I believe it is too important to leave in comments and am giving it its own space to receive more attention.. The only change I have made is the addition of links. Hi. I really like your editorial. I found this about the Capobianco’s PR team and its head Jessica Munday. Munday is apparently on the anti-ICWA campaign trail:“Jessica Munday is owner of Trio Solutions in Mt Pleasant, SC, the PR firm that launched an anti-ICWA campaign on behalf of adoptive Baby Veronica parents Melanie Duncan and Matthew Capobianco. Munday recently sent an email to all Capobianco supporters who signed a petition to abolish ICWA. Here’s what she said,While Congress has yet to amend the ICWA, our collective effort surrounding Veronica’s case will indeed help ensure this situation will not happen to another child. As a matter of fact, it already has. We have been informed her case has already been used in several cases to block similar travesties from occurring…. If anyone would like to continue advocating for children being hurt Continue Reading →

Bloody but Unbowed: Dusten Brown Shows His Stuff

Posted on by — 10 Comments ↓

This morning  Dusten Brown showed his stuff as a father and a man.  In a press conference in Tulsa he announced that he and the Cherokee Nation will no longer pursue custody of  his 4-year daughter Veronica Brown:. His sad surrender was done not as a sign of defeat but of love for Veronica. He surrendered to save her from further confusion, pain, and public intrusion:.  Veronica is only 4 years old, but her entire life has been lived in front of the media and the entire world, and I cannot bear for that to continue any longer. I love her too much to continue to have the spotlight on her. It is not fair for her to be in front of the media at all times. And her safety, happiness and well-being have always been my number one priority.  Brown, said in his statement:  The most difficult decision of all was to let Veronica go with Matt and Melanie Capobianco last month. But it was no longer fair for Veronica to be in the middle of this battle. It was the love for my daughter that kept me going all this time. But it was also the love for Continue Reading →

This is Not Adoption Reform: ORTL says, Let’s make adoption easier and cheaper in Ohio

Posted on by — 3 Comments ↓

Bad news in Ohio.  Ohio Right to Life is ready to launch a new easy adoption  legislative project:   The bill isn’t filed yet, but  it gained traction Monday when the Columbus Dispatch  published:  Abortion foes focus on easing Ohio adoptions Since the bill isn’t up  yet, we can’t say what it says exactly, so I’m going by the Dispatch report only.  Here, is a  rundown from Mike Gonidakis,  adoptive father of two and President of Ohio Right to Life:.  . Decrease the waiting time for adoption finalization from 1 year to 60 days (Note: this seems to be a mistake.  Under the ORC, adoption finalization can currently take place no less that 6 months after placement.) Decrease the eligibility time a man can file with the Ohio Putative Father’s Registry (PFR) from 30 days  to 7. Require adoption agencies and adoption lawyers to inform fetal fathers (before the birth of the child)  that an adoption plan is being made; thus, giving them more time to file with the PRF (if they can find it) Increase the Ohio adoption tax credit from $1500 to $10,000 to be spread out over four years,  substantially offsetting the cost  of the adoption  Decrease Continue Reading →

Truly Stupid PAPs: I’m adopting from where?

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

I spent a good part of yesterday trying to repopulate my Twitter account that’s been fried for probably a year. In the process Twitter gave me a continual feed of “Similar to Daily Bastardette” accounts which I dutifully checked out.  I found  new people I’d never heard of and old one’s I’d forgotten. Amongst the forgotten was Reunited Cricket  known for her infamous yet deserving Hall of Shame Blog Awards highlighting the blogs of truly stupid paps and adoptive parents. The irony, of course is that the awardees have no idea why they’ve been inducted into the Hall of Shame. I mean, these are the type of folks who upon the arrival of Baybee Bumble would hang a Kinko’s-generated GOT’CHA banner across their porch, with balloons and rainbow unicorns floating over it.  I thought I’d seen it all through the years, but Cricket this week has uncovered a blog so inane, so stupid that its author makes Melanie Capabianco look like Saint Clare of Assisi.  The award-winning entry is entitled Azer-by–wha?  It recounts the blogger’s attempt to adopt from Azerbaijan though she’s not sure if it’s in Asia or Europe. In the process, this rube manages to insult the entire Continue Reading →

Book Review: The Last Invisible Continent: Essays on Adoption and Identity by Michael Allen Potter. A superb and elegantly written mixing of the personal and the political.

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Although I am an adoptee rights activist I seldom read adoption books outside of history or other topics I have a specific interest in. I almost always avoid memoirs. To be honest most are awful. It may be good therapy to write your adoption story, but please leave it in your desk drawer!  Michael Allen Potter’s The Last Invisible Continent: Essays on Adoption and Identity is quite a different story. I’ve been familiar with Mike’s work for several years. I knew part of his story. I knew this book would be important. I was thrilled when he emailed me a few days ago and told me the book was finished and on Kindle. I downloaded it immediately.  And holy moley! What a book it is! Unlike the typical weepy adoption memoir this one is hard and gritty. It’s of the street, but also of the heart. Mike doesn’t pull any punches about his mother’s mental illness, his battle with alcohol, or his rotten adoption, which he discusses almost in passing, though it it obviously the core of the essays.  My personal favorites are the essays “The Re-education of Michael Allen Potter” and “Checking the Bastard Box.”  In “Re-education”, Mike recounts Continue Reading →

Call for Papers: 8th Biennial Adoption Initiative Conference, May 2014

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Call for Papers On behalf of the Planning Committee for the 8th Biennial Adoption Conference at St. John’s University, we invite proposal submissions for papers and research manuscripts that address issues likely to impact individuals and families touched by adoption. This Call for Papers specifically targets adoption professionals, researchers, scholars, practitioners, and graduate students. We are especially interested in receiving proposals that address the 2014 conference theme, “Sleeping Giants in Adoption: Power, Privilege, Politics, and Class.” In keeping with our ongoing goal to present thought-provoking themes relevant to the training of mental health professionals as well as to the personal growth and deeper understanding of adoption triad members, our 2014 conference will consider the intersections between the “sleeping giants” in adoption. The Committee welcomes proposals that tie directly to the conference theme, especially proposals that illustrate the ways that adoption (as it is typically practiced) tends to privilege certain voices and perspectives while downplaying those of marginalized groups. The history of U.S. adoption is rooted in social reform movements led by individuals and groups with greater access to power and privilege that set about to design child welfare interventions and social engineering plans for the children of families with less access Continue Reading →