COWTOWN ADOPTION SCAM

Some paps will go to any lengths to make their little wish come true. Take this woman, for instance, featured in today’s OSU Lantern. Blind man reports identity theft A blind man alleges that someone has fraudulently used his name to apply for a mortgage, credit cards and food stamps, and may even have attempted to legally adopt him. According to reports, the 26-year-old Columbus resident says a woman who lives behind a Morse Road WalMart applied for the credit between Sept. 1, 2009, and Sunday. He says that the woman may have attempted to obtain power of attorney over him and possibly attempted to adopt him. Police referred the man to the fraud unit of Columbus Police. I suppose the scenario would be for the woman to “adopt” her neighbor through some kind of wayback dated forged paperwork (something she dreamed up watching the The Hallmark Channel’s Adoption show while smoking crack), get his POA, and go to town on his bank account. Ohio allows adult adoption, but I’m still trying to figure out how to adopt a 26-year old man against his will. I thought only babies were allowed to get that railroad.

HB 1237: MISSOURI COMPROMISE REDUX

Happy New Year–Not! Missouri Rep. Cynthia Davis (R-O’Fallon) (below right) has pre-filed HB 1237, a “records access” bill in the Missouri House. To no one’s surprise it contains a disclosure veto. And all records will need to be released through the court. This is is progress? Tomorrow is the first day of 2010, not 1957. Here are the changes laid out in the official bill summary: The bill changes the laws regarding the release of identifyinginformation by: (1) Allowing a court to release it to an adopted adult without the consent of the biological parents in certain instances; (2) Requiring a biological parent to file an affidavit that refuses to authorize the release of his or her identifying information with the court in order for the information not to be released to the adopted child. Currently, a biological parent must file an affidavit to allow his or her identifying information to be released; (3) Allowing identifying information to be released if the biological parent is deceased and removes the requirement that the information is necessary for health-related purposes; (4) Allowing release of identifying information concerning an adult sibling without the consent of the adult sibling and without a court finding Continue Reading →

MASHA ALLEN TERMINATED AGAIN! FAITH ALLEN WALKS AWAY

BIG news on Masha Allen (born Mariya Nikolaevna Yashenkova) tonight. On December 3, 2009 Faith Allen’s parental rights were been terminated! Masha is once more an “orphan.” Twice adopted. Twice terminated. Custody was returned to Cambria County Children and Youth Services. Masha’s whereabouts and physical and emotional well-being are unknown.Masha’s newest attorneys Francis P. Maneri and Darren Summerville have filed a motion in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey to appoint Masha’s current Pennsylvania State guardian ad litem, Timothy J. Sloan, as her new representative party in the Federal complaint. From the language of the motion, it appears Faith Allen (right) terminated her parental rights voluntarily and walked out the door. If I learn more I will post it here. We hope that this new development marks the beginning of justice for Masha, though no amount of money can ever compensate her seemingly never-ending abuse, pain, neglect, and exploitation at the hands of Matthew Mancuso, Faith Allen, the adoption industry, venal courts, social workers, and politicians. We hope Timotohy Sloan does right by her. As I wrote a few years ago, Masha is “the Rosetta Stone of corrupt international adoption.” I have been covering Masha’s horrific Continue Reading →

GLUG GLUG GLUG: NCFA TAKES NOSEDIVE

Congratulations, faithful readers! Due to your diligence, the National Council for Adoption is heading for an end-of-the-year nosedive. I received a follow-up e-beg letter today, (see here for original post on NCFA e-begging) informing me of NCFA’s still dire need. I won’t post the whole sad tale since I don’t want to depress you so shortly after Christmas. Here is the relevant part: Dear Marley, There’s still time to give to NCFA and help children find families through adoption! With your support, we’ve already raised over $20,000 towards our goal of $60,000. But in order to reach our goal, We need your help now more than ever! To those of you who have already given, thank you for your support Keep up the good work! Hold those purses and wallets close! Lock up your credit cards and checkbook! Don’t let NCFA get its hands on your hard-earned money. They already have your birth certificates. And remember: Friends don’t let friends give to NCFA (as if any of your friends would!)

MELE KALIKIMAKA; MERRY CHRISTMAS

Admittedly, Bastaradette has a warped view of Christmas. Whenever we think of Christmas we think of Hawai’i. This comes from an early and incessant exposure to the Andrews Sisters hit Christmas Island. We also like Leon Redbone’s version, but somebody stole our tape at an office Christmas party years ago, and the version isn’t on YouTube. Despite knowing better, we spent the other evening on YouTube looking for a good video of Christmas Island. Unfortunately, none we found were acceptable for a high class blog like The Daily Bastardette. What we did find, though, is Puka Shells by Ukulele Ray and the KoKoNutz: Puka shellsPuka shellsIt’s Mele Kalikimaka time in the islands… (not to be confused with Arthur Lyman’s Puka Shells) So, kick back with a Suffering Bastard, or two or three, and enjoy.

NCFA HITS UP BASTARDETTE FOR MONEY

The National Council for Adoption sent me an e-beg letter today. Can I help NCFA raise $60,000 by the end of the year? Tax deductible, of course! I wouldn’t mind this end-of-the-year shill so much (everybody does it), except for this claim: For thirty years the National Council For Adoption has been the authoritative voice for orphans around the world as well as U.S. infants and children waiting to be adopted out of foster care. Today the need to advocate is greater than ever. Consider that intercountry adoption has plunged 27% since last year, 123,000 children in foster care are waiting to be adopted, and the adoption tax credit–which makes adoption affordable–is scheduled to end next year. Something like this can only come from the under-30 crowd that predominates NCFA today who are either unaware of their company’s history or are intent on reinventing it. Ignorance is bliss. Those of us who have been around adoption deform longer than some of the current NCFAnoids have lived can tell you that until recently foster care lived on food stamps in NCFA’s basement. NCFA was formed specifically to keep bastards and their records separated by state fiat and push HWIs into the Continue Reading →

ADOPTEE RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN ISRAEL?

Does anyone know about the adoptee rights movement in Israel? I didn’t know there was one until tonight when I found this video –Israeli Adoptees in own voices– on YouTube. It’s all in Hebrew, but I’m guessing by the graphics (inlcuding the use of the Origins logo) that records or the treatment of bastards in some other way is problematic. This article in the May 31, 2007 Haaretz Searching for Alma, about Rony David Schwartz’s search for his first mother, doesn’t mention anything about records access, but Schwartz had his mother’s name all along. There’s an email addy with the video and I ithink I’ll follow through on this.      

WHILE GERMANY DEBATES, LITHUANIA LEGALIZES ANONYMOUS ABANDONMENT

While Germany debates the ethics and legality of anonymous baby dumping, Ecumenical News Service reports that the Lithuanian government, in conjunction with the country’s Catholic bishops, has opened baby hatches in the capital city Vilnius and Klaipeda, the country’s only seaport. The first hatch is located in a “special room” in the Vilnius Babies’ Foster Home. Babies left will be cared for on the premises. Parents and family members will have three months to visit and reclaim the infant before the state takes permanent custody. Although the “windows of life,” as the hatches are called, were instituted in response to four alleged cases of neonaticide in 2007, they are clearly being marketed as an anti-abortion measure. Richardas Doveika (right), assistant to the secretary of the bishop’s council says, “The church, as a preacher of life, always blesses every pro-life initiative.” The bishops, he says, are considering adding “windows” in church-run hospitals throughout the country, but offers no evidence of need. In fact, I have been unable to find any statistics on the number of abandoned newborns or neonaticides in Lithuania other than the reference to the 2007 cases. Petronele Valatkeviciene, director of the foster home, unaware or uncaring of the Continue Reading →

GOING OUT ON A LIMB: A POST A DAY–MAYBE

As I wrote on FaceBook yesterday, Bastardette is going out on a limb and will attempt to post an entry every day until the end of the year. There’s certainly enough to write about. And even with the November NaBloPomo, I still need to catch up. Today’s is up, though I may post a second one if I start now. The picture to the left is my Mad Men Yourself self-portrait. I don’t smoke, but if things keep going the way they are in AdoptionLand I may take it up. And Mad Men withdrawal is wiping me out. Still.