It has just come to my attention that public comment on proposed fee increases by USCIS closes in four days, so if anyone has something to say about a jump of 86% in the costs of getting internationally adopted kids the necessary visas and such, write to the government and post your thoughts NOW.

Here's the press release about the proposed increase, under the headline, "BUILDING AN IMMIGRATION SERVICE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY".

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking public comment on a proposal to adjust fees for immigration and naturalization benefit applications... more

So, now I'm part of the spin? Sheesh.

Just when I thought I'd said all I needed to say about Angelina Jolie's most recent adoption, seeing that I have no first-hand knowledge at all ... just like everyone else, including those who still feel the need to formulate and postulate opinions formed on smoke and mirrors ... I learn that I have been sucked into the spin.

In an article in a Dubai... more

This year, VAN (Vietnamese Adoptee Network) is partnering with the Colorado Vietnamese Heritage Camp for its bi-annual conference. Registration begins Thurday, 15 March, for the August 9- 12 gathering at Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park, Colorado. (See the link above.)

Registration also starts on the 15th of this month ... and runs through the 19th of May ... for the Cambodian Heritage Camp. This one will be held... more

Continued from here ...

It is, very thankfully, beyond the scope of my rather prodigious imagination to anywhere near fully grasp the suffering that must go with the first flow of HIV-contaminated mother's milk. What can presenting that nipple feel like to a mother who understands exactly what it is she is offering? Where does the concept of the lesser of two evils right itself enough for anyone to find peace enough for milk to... more

Thanks to Holly Richardson, I now know that breastfeeding is recommended for HIV positive women in many parts of the world. As Dr Hoosen Coovadia, a pediatrician in South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal, told the 14th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, instructing HIV-infected mothers in developing nations to breast-feed would result... more

I've missed my own anniversary. One year ago, a couple of weeks back, I wrote my first post for this blog. My! how time flies when you're spending hours sitting around in front of a computer.

I wonder just how many words I've plopped down between this page and the older parent blog ... I didn't take that on until later, so it's not an OP anniversary -- thank goodness, as I don't need to mark another year down the drain over there ... all together.

I write at least 1000 words a day between the two blogs ... usually more, but... more

I normally post "Love Thursday" blogs on the Older Parent page, since I write that, too. Today, however, something strange is going on and that site won't let me in. Boo hoo, and drat! That being the case, this week's Love Thursday is going International, which is fine and dandy because it is ... international, I mean ... Chamroeun Jada & Vathana

This is not a photo of great love. In fact, Cj's face shows that it's barely even... more

I love stories about people taking action ... seeing problems, then setting their minds, hearts, brains and pocketbooks toward fixing situations that are not working, or not working as well as they could ... for the greater good. With little motivation other than helping out, paying back ... and forward ... and possibly being selfish enough to want to feel good about personal accomplishments that have a positive impact on others, true heroes are made.

... more

Since almost no one in the US was able to catch my family's appearance on CNN last weekend, I've downloaded a clip of our segment. It's not the greatest quality, but viewable. Please forgive the music, but I couldn't figure out how to do it without, and you can still hear the audio.

My kids look adorable, of course. Me? Well, I'm reminded why it is for the last 25 years or so I've much preferred doing radio.

This was a repackaged bit from a thirty-minute program aired locally on adoption issues in Seychelles.

Tomorrow, January 31, is the last day for public comment on agencies seeking Hague Accreditation. If you have not already given your input ... good, bad or indifferent ... please take a minute or two to add your voice.

Follow this link and fill in the Council on Accreditation's form. You can choose to comment anonymously.

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This year's... more