ILLINOIS: GRAND OPENING! ILLINOIS OPEN!

GRAND OPENING

PLEASE FORWARD FREELY

ILLINOIS OPEN
http://www.ilopen.org
obc@ilopen.org

MISSION STATEMENT

Illinois Open advocates the issuing to all Illinois adult adoptees, upon request an unconditionally, a copy of their unaltered original birth certificate.

GOALS

Illinois Open is an informational organization. Its goals are to educate the public about sealed records as well as locate grassroots supporters of equal access to the original birth certificate for all adopted men and women in Illinois.

Currently, the only way adopted adults in Illinois can receive a copy of their original birth certificate is by petitioning the court and showing good cause, a lengthy, costly, and time consuming process.

Illinois Open is asking the State of Illinois to repeal or amend its Adoption Act so that all adopted adults can get their original birth certificate in the same manner as all non-adopted citizens.


We want to hear from you.

Please write to us at:

obc@ilopen.org

Visit our Myspace Page

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS VIOLET: MY GRANDMOTHER

I seldom write about personal business. But this being the holiday season, I'm making an exception. I nicer, kinder Bastardette!

I never had grandparents--to speak of.

On the adoptive side of the family my dad's mother died in 1952 and my mom's in 1966 after spending much of her life in state care. (She went crazy in rural Oklahoma and never recovered--a story for another day). Both were in their mid-70s when they died. I never had a grandfather. My mom's parents were divorced sometime prior to US entry into World War 1 (after my grandmother lost her mind). Much to my mother's embarrassment, her father ended up married to a tent preacher, a protege of Amiee Semple McPherson. He died in Brownfield, Texas in the mid-1930s. My dad's father, allegedly a dead ringer (though I don't see it in pictures) for character actor Cuddles Sakall, died in 1940.

On the bio side, my first mother's mother died in 1992 and I never knew her. My father's father died a long time ago.

All that said, Bastardette, at an indeterminate age and due to the "miracle of reunion," has a real live and kicking grandma. Recently she turned 100.

I've only met Miss Violet once. About 2 years ago I visited my hometown to cover an event for the Columbus Free Press. She just happens to live in the "eldercare" facility nextdoor to the event. So, I scooped up my nerve and walked over, asking where Miss Violet might be located. She was not in her room, but with the help of an attendant I found her enjoying her favorite activity--snoozing in her wheelchair--close to the nurse's station. There I was, face to face with my grandmother, only the third person I've ever met to whom I am directly related (half-brothers aside). I thought I had gotten over this reunion business years ago. Everything was so normal. But there, in that hallway, I was having an out-of-body experience. I felt frozen in time. I'd met my past and my future.

Black Jack, my first dad, had warned me to expect the worse. Apparently Miss Violet frequently addresses staff and visitors with an endearing, "You sonofabitch!" Or worse. My aunt, Jack's sister, assures me that this greeting is not a product of old age. She was always like that. Now I know where my penchant for bad language comes from!

Miss Violet refused to talk to me. I knew she would. Although physically she is in remarkably good condition, her mind isn't. If she doesn't recognize Jack, how would she understand who I am? I told her anyway. She had no idea what I was talking about. Mainly she made me feel like a pest. When a nurse suggested I wheel her around a bit, Miss Violet swatted us. She wanted to sleep (or be left alone). I wanted to burst into tears and simply look at her. I thought, "This is the oldest person I've ever seen. Ever." She was the oldest person I'd ever seen. And I couldn't take my eyes off her. My grandmother.

I wanted to know all about Miss Violet. She was a young grandmother. Jack was a teen dad. Nobody ever bothered to tell him or her about me until decades after my birth. Jack says she was "quite a woman" in her prime, but what does that mean? She had a pretty hard, but not the worst, life in Depression era West Virginia. It got better later. She is a Democrat. (Republicans are walking chickenpox.) I think of Jack's family as the genteel poor, though some of his relatives were and are quite wealthy. Tonight Jack mentioned to me that when Miss Violet was 15 she flipped over a truck she was driving and it scared her so bad she never drove again. From what I've heard previously, this must be one of the few things she was afraid of. Of course, I'll probably never know much more than scatterings of fading memories. That's what adoption does: break the chain of memory and history.

So at this late date (and I'm not even sure of the correct date of her birth), Happy Birthday Miss Violet. Happy Birthday Grandma!

BASTARD NATION CO-SPONSORS ADOPTEE RIGHTS PROTEST, JULY 2008

Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization is happy to announce its co-sponsorship of the July 22, 2008 National Day of Adoptee Rights Protest in New Orleans The protest is being held during the National Conference of State Legislature’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, July , 2008. NCSL is the largest group of its kind, the national organization of STATE LAWMAKERS, the people who DECIDE whether you may access your records Nearly 10,000 legislators are expected to attend. LET BASTARDS BE HEARD!

Bastard Nation is planning week-long events and activities in conjunction with the protest, including a free teach-in on Sunday July 20. Details on these events will be announced later.

HOTEL

We've reserved a block of rooms from July 19th to the 23rd 2008 for Bastards at a fabulous price at the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, New Orleans French Quarter!

315 Magazine Street , New Orleans LA 70130
Reservations: US Toll Free
Telephone: (504) 324 - 5400 Fax: (504) 324 - 5439
Go here to reach the hotel.

The Country Inn & Suites, New Orleans French Quarter Hotel is superbly located within walking distance from the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, Harrah's Casino, World Famous Restaurants, Museums, the Mississippi River, IMAX Theater, Aquarium of the Americas, and Ernest N. Morial Convention Center where NCSL is meeting. Created out of 7 historic buildings dating to the 1860's, the Country Inn & Suites New Orleans French Quarter Hotel is truly unique."

The hotel is located 2 blocks from the Lafayette Square park, the location where we'll start our march, and within close distance to all of these other attractions:

DISTANCES
From French Quarter/Bourbon Street: 3 blocks.
From Harrah's Casino: 3 blocks.
From Aquarium of the Americas : 4 blocks.
From Riverwalk (shopping zone): 4 blocks.
From Louisiana Children's Museum: 6 blocks.
From Louisiana Superdome: 8 blocks.
From Ernest N. Morial Convention Center: 8 blocks.
From Audubon Park Golf Club: 5.5 miles/9 km.
From Audubon Zoo: 7 miles/11.2 km.

Price per room is:

Standard (one or two occupants/1 King or 2 Queens) $75.00

Executive---larger than a standard and includes fridge and microwave (one or two occupants) $85.00

Suite (one or two occupants---may have a pull-out couch depending on the room, but make sure upon reserving) $95.00

Any additional person (up to 3 per room total) is $15.00 a night additional.

Continental breakfast included.

These prices do not include taxes, phone calls, additional room charges, etc.

Note: As with many hotels in the French Quarter area, there is no on-site parking. Valet service and parking is $23.00 a day to park your vehicle elsewhere.

The group sales manager suggests that unless you're planning on traveling farther out of the vicinity, renting a car isn't really needed. The streetcars and taxis are more than sufficient for local travel (if you don't want to walk). The hotel is 16 miles from the airport, but if there is a group arriving and you don't want to take a taxi, we have a phone number for a car service whos prices are very reasonable.

Bastard Nation members get priority room choices up until February 15th. Then we will be opening up whatever is left in our block of rooms to other non-member protesters. You must reserve your room with your own credit card, and be sure and tell them that you are with Bastard Nation to get the reduced fee.

Activities planned in addition to the march, and will be announced on an itinerary closer to the dates.



Important stuff:
If you need a disability-accessible room, you must reserve early, because there are a limited number of them.

If you find you have to cancel, you can do so up until June 5, 2008. Any later, and Bastard Nation may be liable for the attrition charge.

If you'd like to make a real vacation out of this and stay an extra few days beyond the march dates, you can get the special price extended if you let us know so that we can square it with the hotel.

If you decide to join us and take advantage of the great rates afforded to BN, you MUST send this information to cabnnthwoods@aol.com as soon as you make your reservation:

Dates reserved
Type of room
Name room is reserved under
Bastard Nation Member name
Email address

To avoid being responsible financially for unreserved rooms (and to make sure our members get the special rates and aren't "accidentally" over-charged), we will be checking our list with the hotel's on a regular basis. Anyone who HASN'T sent in this information will be bumped from BN's block and will be responsible for paying the standard rates for their rooms.


GO TO THE OFFICIAL PROTEST PAGE FOR INFORMATION ON THE PROTEST.

BASTARD NATION WILL ALSO KEEP YOU INFORMED.

BASTARDETTE MAKE-OVER FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Yes. I admit it! Bastardette has suffered silently from Ugly Blog Syndrome. For a long time I have really really really hated the look and upkeep of The Daily Bastardette. The baby-puke ochre. The cumbersome technical task of keeping "the classic" look updated.

The thought of updating to a spiffy look via the magic of the "new and improved" Blogger was depressing and scary. I'd have to re-do all those links. And what if I lost everything through my unability to comprehend the "simple" instructions? I felt like a big-haired mama on Maury who's dragged kicking and screaming by her embarrassed kids to an upscale Upper West Side salon and spa for a makeover. Worst of all, I felt alone. Ashamed. I believed I was the only blogger in the entire blogosphere who hated the look of their own blog.

Then, a few weeks ago, Claud made a startling and courageous public confession. She, too, was unhappy with her blog. And she, too, found the task of self-improvement onerous. Within a matter of days, though, with the support and help of caring friends, she was able to overcome her fear of change and presented the world with a new-look Musings of the Lame. I questioned Claud about this when I saw her in New York two weeks ago and she assured me the operation was painless. So with Claud as my inspiration...

...the new Daily Bastardette! I feel like I've moved from an Ohio cornfield to Times Square!

I've gone back to black (black is Bastardette's favorite color, though technically it's not a color). I've added new graphics and links. One new feature is an adoptee rights news feed. (Check out Erik Smith's response to the Dec. 3 Adoption Advocates of Iowa's claim in the DesMoines Register that Bastard Nation is "anti-adoption.") I'll be adding more features over the next few weeks. Now, if I could only put the "Daily" into "Bastardette"!

I'm still having a problem with my banner. Without doing an html edit I don't think I can align the title and text to the right of Rhoda. Last time I tried to make html corrections on my other blog, I deleted who-knows-what, and I had to do the whole thing over. Once bitten...Maybe Blogger will continue to new and improve and I can fix it.

Let me know how you like the new Bastardette!

CRAIG HICKMAN: LETTER TO A WISCONSIN BUREAUCRAT

Last year when I read Craig Hickman's stunning memoir, Fumbling Toward Divinity: the Adoption Scriptures I knew that I'd have have to post his Letter to a Wisconsin Bureaucrat which appears at the end of the book.

In this letter, Craig attacks the secrecy and arrogance of the adoption industry and the state apparatchiks that protect it. He demands equal treatment and decency for all adopted persons. This is a letter that should be read, treasured, and internalized by us all as we individually and collectively demand that the madness of identity theft, sealed birth records, and the culture of shame stop with us.

With Craig's permission, here is his Letter to a Wisconsin Bureaucrat:




June 2001

Thank you once again for your prompt attention to these matters. I received a copy of my original birth certificate via fax this morning and look forward to it in the mail.

Your letter states that my search request is now complete. No, it is not. I still want a clean copy of all the documents about me in my adoption file. I trust that you will coordinate this with Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

In putting together that clean copy, I would also like you to consider the following. Please share this treatise with all the “powers” that be in your neck of the woods.

With all due consideration to your lawyer and your policies, there is no legislation currently on the books in Wisconsin that supports the policy that the Division of Children and Family Services adheres to regarding the deletion of certain information in my adoption file.

First, my birth father is not “alleged.” Simply because my birth mother was not married when she had me does not mean that I am “illegitimate,” nor does it mean that she does not know who my birth father is. Simply because the judge did not bother to ask her under oath who my father was and thereby “adjudicate” him as my birth father does not mean that Frank East is not the man who made love to my birth mother and got her pregnant on Valentine’s Day 1967 on the campus at Oakwood College. Just this past father’s day, I met my birth father, held him, laughed with him, took pictures with him, and I look just like him. I am, indisputably, his progeny. A simple medical test would refute his “alleged” status to the State and the Courts who remain limited by social mores that, as far as I'm concerned, have been outdated for centuries.

It is unfortunate that Frank East's name does not appear on my original birth certificate, written in long hand. Unfortunately, this cannot be amended. It would be more unfortunate if his name were deleted from the clean copy of my adoption records as well, especially since Dania, Florida, which is where he also currently resides, was left in full view on the document the first time I received it.

I will challenge such a deletion should I receive my records without it.

I will also challenge the deletion of the names of social workers, foster parents, and any other “indirect” participants in this historical account of my genesis. After all, that is what it is: history. My history. Not yours, nor your assistant’s, nor anyone else’s currently employed by the State of Wisconsin or the affiliated agency, Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin.

There is no language whatsoever in the Wisconsin Statutes calling for these deletions. The law is very clear on what it does include, and very clear on what it does not. I know the names of my birth father and social workers, and my adoptive mother believes she remembers the name of my foster parents, who, given that they were already grandparents in 1967, are possibly still alive, but more than probably dead. Who’s being protected by your policies thirty-three-plus years after the fact? Are you afraid that I am going to bring suit against Miss Gates, Miss Culver or any of the other social workers that handled my case, or bring suit against their heirs or estates, because they did not handle some aspect of my adoption correctly? Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? I cannot imagine the need for protecting their “privacy.” Even though they worked for private agencies, their names should not be deleted from my records.

As for my foster parents, I pose the same question. Is the State afraid that I would bring suit against them and/or their heirs and estates for some lack of care during the sixteen months that I was in their stead? If nothing else, I might like to locate them or their daughters who baby-sat for me in order to thank them from the bottom of my heart for taking such good care of me during the transition from birth mother to my parents. How can your policies disregard this possibility and remain so inhumane?

I will challenge such a deletion should I receive my records without them.

I have been more than saddened and pained by the treatment I received from the bureaucrats and social workers that handled my adoption search and follow-up requests. It should come as no surprise that I had to complete the search myself. How lucky for me that I had the time, determination, and resources to do so. I feel for those who must leave their search entirely in the hands of the State of Wisconsin. (I’m sure there are some happy reunion stories the State can be responsible for and some compassionate workers who bend the “rules” in order to bring joy and a sense of completion to people's lives, but in my experience searching over the last five years, they seem to be rarer than the rarest gems. I certainly hope that you continue to be one of them.)

I am annoyed that my original request for non-identifying medical and social history included many more deletions than required by Wisconsin law. In fact, I was unable to meet my biological grandfather before he died in 1998 precisely because of this broad, presumptuous, archaic, paranoid, and erroneous interpretation of the Wisconsin Statutes that govern the adoption search program.

The social workers have told so many of us that the law requires that our pasts remain full of secrets and lies when in fact the law requires no such thing.

This madness must end.

Wisconsin bureaucrats treat adult adoptees as second-class citizens who have no right to know anything about their genesis, and this must change even if I die trying to change it.

I look forward to receiving a true clean copy of my adoption file. No more secrets and cover-ups and fear and paranoia. I’m all done with that. Your policies are not founded in ethics, morality, or the law. Furthermore, they protect no one, and they need to be reviewed and changed sooner rather than later.

I can only imagine that the disgruntled, disappointed, depressed or suicidal adult adoptee who does not possess the tenacity or the resources may never complete their search when they have to negotiate within a system populated by bureaucrats and social workers who seem to “get off” on their petty little power trips, controlling what information can and cannot be disclosed when they have absolutely no regard for the law. These bureaucrats and social workers do not know what they are talking about, and they should all be relieved of their duties unless or until they become aware of the law and are able to treat each adoptee as an individual being.

You apologized for my experience and stated that you do not know what happened. Simply put, my request was not read. I submitted my birth mother's notarized letter along with a request to receive a clean copy of my adoption file, and I was given a form-letter response, as though I were someone initiating a new search. If I had already located and met my birth mother, then why on earth would I be interested in a document describing the entire search program to me and requesting up-front money for the state to begin searching? Presumably, the bureaucrats were too lazy to read my letter and too lacking of compassion to see the human being behind the letter.

The paternalistic, arrogant, and erroneous instructions and form letters that searchers are given should be criminalized, and I will spend the rest of my life bringing these travesties into the light so that all of us, including those of us who are adopted, can experience the inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness-principles which have been infused into the articles of the United States Constitution. Will we need to go all the way to the Supreme Court?

I look forward to your cooperation in these important matters and I feel sure that I will soon possess an accurate collection of documents regarding my genesis, my history, my life.

********

Upon reading the letter, a judge in Wisconsin ordered that a true, clean copy of everything in my adoption file be sent to me. I received it in August 2001.

MASHA UPDATE: CHILD EXPLOITATION CRACKS IN THE FLOOR

I have been aware for some time now that only part of Masha Allen's story has been made public. The tip of the iceberg as they like to say. Today, more of that iceberg surfaced with revelations, Child Exploitation Cracks in the Floor, written by Masha’s 's advocate James Marsh and published in his ChildLaw blog.

Masha's story, of course, is not an isolated incident. It is emblematic of the systemic rot that permeates the international and domestic adoption industry. Masha and innumerable victims of child trafficking via adoption are the product of an official government and trade conspiracy of silence, greed, and self-promotion and protection fancied up in terms of “privacy,” “confidentiality,” and “child’s best interest,” to cover their own a$$e$. (Where have we heard that before?)

Like the Catholic Church, these government and private agencies and their individuals protect their businesses, cover-up the misdeeds of their colleagues, and do nothing to prevent further abuse outside of an occasional tongue clucking or finger wagging. Mostly, they attempt to shut up the victim. When the victim refuses to obey, she (or her advocates) are accused of harming the institution of adoption, so fragile, that without secrets and fiduciary non-accountability, it will crumble like the twin towers. (Maybe they ARE on to something!)

The industry's response to Masha, inflated by a pap fear frenzy, fanned by the industry itself, that their own bundles of Russian joy would be held up due to Masha's unfortunate appearance on Primetime two years ago was predictable.

This is taken from my November 29, 2005 blog, Masha Speaks:

"....adoption agencies and industrialists, with or without the support of NCFA, circulated a "save the orphans" plea on Internet adoption lists and forums panicking paps and adopters to "bombard" ABC with notes of disgust and rage over Masha's "negative adoption story." Here is part of the whine taken from the A Helping Hand Adoption Agency (link no longer good)

Negative Adoption Show to air on Primetime, ABC- Orphans need your help:

November 14, 2005

....We understand that this is going to be very negative - equating international adoption with human trafficking. The National Council for Adoption has insisted that they be interviewed to show the positive side of international adoption.

We would like to see ABC news bombarded with emails from the adoption community letting them know the detrimental effect a one sided story can have not just on Russian adoptions but all international adoptions; thousands of families and children may be harmed by an unbalanced story. We will be very grateful for your support, as will all the children, around the world, who await their forever families....

Former NCFA board member Richard Van Deelan, director of Michigan's Adoption Associates (again edited for space) wrote on his agency page:

As most people in the world of adoption know, right now is an important time for international adoption in Russia. So now could not be a worse time for the U.S. media to portray international adoption in a negative light. ABC news Primetime is scheduled to air a story on November 17 highlighting an adopted Russian girl who was involved in a United States pornography scandal. The tone of this story is very negative and any misleading information about international adoption could cause problems with future adoptions. The crime this little girl was forced to endure is deplorable, but it must be known that the vast majority of adoptions are completed by loving, caring families. This story could cast a very bad light on international adoption and all the good that has been done for thousands of children worldwide...

Since then, the adoptacrats have tossed Masha into the dustbin of history. An unfortunate "anomaly" in the otherwise happyland of international adoption.

What they couldn't shut up, they ignored. From today's Child Exploitation Cracks in the Floor:

Certainly not the National Council for Adoption which has powerful con$tituencie$ to protect. Immediately after last year's Congressional hearing on Masha Allen's international adoption, I asked the representatives of NCFA who were present to issue a statement in support of Masha and other victims like her. Not surprisingly, over a year later, NCFA has failed to utter one word on this topic.

Then there is the Joint Council on International Children’s Services which was also well-represented at the Congressional hearing. When I filed a formal complaint against the international adoption agency that arranged Masha's adoption, JCICS allowed Reaching Out Thru International Adoption to quickly and quietly resign instead of facing investigation. ROTIA recently changed their name to ChildPromise, Inc. and rejoined JCICS less then six months after my complaint was dismissed. So much for peer oversight.

Jeannene Smith, who Committee Chairman Ed Whitfiled said played a "central role in Mancuso’s adoption of Masha," continues her work in the international adoption field as treasurer of the reform group Focus on Adoption. She continued working at ROTIA even after the Congressional panel called for her to be jailed, brazenly attending the Ethica / Evan B Donaldson Ethics and Accountability conference in October where she was booed once by one person, but otherwise allowed to enjoy the regalement unmolested.

Smith's Congressman, Mike Ferguson, summed up Masha's - and many other child victim's - life best when he intoned that "what is even more frightening, however, is the number of times that her situation was overlooked. . . . No one called to speak to her, no one made sure she was getting along with her new father, no one seemed to really care if she was being taken care of at all."

When will somebody start to take care of Masha?

When will the adoption industry and its friends in high places be held accountable?

Masha's story will continue.

There are many links to Masha’s story on ChildLaw.

Also see my own work:

Masha Speaks: The Adoption Industry Bunkers In: Disney World Girl and the Shame of Complicity - November 29, 2005.

It's All About Me: A PAP Response to Masha - December 14, 2005

Masha Update - January 17, 2006

Masha Testifies Before Congress: "No one from any of the adoption agencies ever came to check on me." - May 10, 2006

UPDATE:
Go to Baby Love Child for more commentary on Masha.

CLAUD KICKS NCFA'S ASS

Claud's November 29 blog expose of the National Council for Adoption, the perfectly titled Mothers, Money, Marketers, and Madness is a very important piece of writing that everyone involved in adoption reform should read, save, and act on. It is all fact, taken from the public record, NCFA's own website and publications and the words of NCFA's friends. As the World War 2 slogan goes: Loose ships sink ships.

No commentary is needed. Go to Musings of the Lame, and read the whole thing.

Here is the conclusion:

It actually has to be expected. The bottom line is that the National Council for Adoption wants mothers to be separated from their children. Their very existence was conceived to make family separation seem like a good idea and teach others in the field the same positive view. The NCFA does this to protect their members’ interests. Their members are adoption agencies. Adoption agencies make billions of dollars in profits from family separation. They need babies to continue business.

Millions of dollars given and spent to convince the public and mothers that giving your baby away is a good thing. And for what reason?

Follow the money. Babies are the products to be sold and then be grateful. Mothers are a market to be exploited in the guise of redemption for a false sin of sex and fertility. Hopeful adoptive parents are the clients willing to shell out thousands to make their dreams come true. Agencies are the brokers, trading products to the next highest bidders and the National Council for Adoption paints the public picture of the whole thing, blows smoke, and tells everyone how good it all feels.

2008 has the potential to be a critical year for adoption reform and adoptee rights. Several states are gearing up for records access, the protest in New Orleans, the media hype over the Donaldson report. And now Claud has fired a direct hit on the oligargists.

Brava, Claud!