With a family less than even a remote possibility for millions of African children, those who advocate for international adoption have a responsibility to stay abreast, as much as possible in a world where the mass of information is daunting, to say the least, of the reality of life in Africa.

Unlike some who insist that life is always better lived where begun, people who embrace the idea of a global village and families without borders see international adoption as one way some of the world's children can find love, life and happiness. Making this point... more

Continued from the previous post.

Some would insist that every person who produces a child biologically is immediately invested with love and caring for their offspring and dedicated to its welfare, no matter the facts and stats that prove this is far too often not at all the case.

Some suggest that because adoption is not completely free of the taint of corruption and greed, there should be no adoption at all, which makes about as much sense in today's world as saying that since aid to the less fortunate is fraught with fraud and bribery, no medical or agricultural assistance,... more

Hardly a day goes by now that I don't come across one version or another of the general 'adoption sucks' mentality spewed by someone with a personal grudge against the very foundations of this already limited option for children. Narrow views that take in nothing beyond a tiny picture formed by one experience act like iron filings near a magnet and glom together in random forms that can never be anything but a ragged mess of individual negatives drawn toward an opposite positive as though to overwhelm.

Stick enough sharp little bits of negatively charged remnants together and some considerable weight can be created even though a usable shape will never result, and this is where no... more

I am so not in a mood for this today. Cj has been sick since the weekend ... a high fever with no other symptoms, always a worrying combination ... and I have guests arriving next week, so a very long list of things that need doing in preparation.

I'm also becoming progressively more concerned that the upcoming conference on 'ethics and accountability' will end up serving as a respectability prop for some of the more vociferous anti-adoption voices, and therefore lose much of whatever positive impact it may... more

If you haven't already seen Lisa's post of the NPR abomination I'm calling "A very few things hastily considered", please take a look.

Anyone wanting to tell National Public Radio what they think of this biased piece of dangerous bandwagon-jumping they're passing off as responsible broadcasting can write to them here.

Since many of our children come from marginalized indigenous populations... more

Continued from the previous post.

As an example of how the situation at the Guatemalan orphanage, Casa Quiviria, has fueled anti-adoption fire like gas on a barbecue, we've been looking at a blog meant to burn international adoption... more

I doubt that I will ever cease to be amazed at the power of personal spin on topics as contentious as international adoption. One person's negative experience repeated often and widely enough becomes legend-like, and as bandwagons fill more and heavier investment is made by those who've become accustomed to the company on board and have no desire to see the blasted thing run out of gas.

The Casa Quivira mess in Guatemala, of course, goes down like jet fuel, and the bandwagon... more

With accusations of baby-snatching for international adoption abounding, this story out of India may give encourage a bit of perspective on the wider, and more accurate, picture of the reality.

It's the tale of a ten-day-old baby boy, snatched from his parents following a village panchayat order.

Unlike what is far too often assumed in the reflex reaction usually associated... more

Anyone thinking I was angry yesterday with the British publication I now with great justification call a rag, The Sunday Telegraph, ain't seen nothin'.

The indignation over the irresponsible and blatantly manipulative story I expressed in yesterday's blog was fierce, and valid, the letter I wrote to their editors condemning their decision to publish was intended to be scathing, and I am reasonably proud of both the post and the letter.

Today, however, prompts... more

It's annoying, aggravating, frustrating and maddening enough when trashy tabloids and irrelevant hacks hijack international adoption and run it through a contorted wringer designed to crank out Headlines of Eye-Grabbing Horror and column-feet of pulsating pap in attempts to encourage a malignant miasma surrounding every aspect.

It really gets my goat going bonkers (And that's not good!), though, when a publication that presents itself as a bastion of the respectable press jumps on a bandwagon because it happens to be rolling by.

I am well aware... more