I am continuing my tour of African countries where intercountry adoption is possible. I started with Nigerian adoption (Western Africa) then moved to Zambian adoption (Southern Africa). Just to be confusing (grin) I went back to Western Africa and visited Ghanan adoption.

FosterMommy pitched in and asked, Can Your U.S. Family Adopt a Baby From Cameroon? (borders Nigeria)

Now I want to visit Ethopia. It is an amazing country. I had to read Wikipedia's Ethiopian history several times. It is one of the world's oldest countries and converted to Christianity in the 400s. There was a Muslim migration to the area in the 900s. And then there is this:

Human settlement in Ethiopia dates back to prehistoric times. Fossilized remains of the earliest ancestors to the human species, discovered in Ethiopia, have been assigned dates as long ago as 5.9 million years.

My darling is now 11 years old, but I was recently looking at some old photos. She is 5 years old in this picture. And she is very happy.

Revisiting old history made me think about my "family and friends" letter. (Well there was also an email about doing adoption announcements on an email list that I hang out on.)

Once I decided to adopt, I slowly told my closest friends and family. I told them one at a time. I talked to them when it seemed natural. Once my plans firmed up, I sent out an adoption announcement. It was an eight page letter.

It was too wordy because I was excited about my plans.

Oh mother of God.... The state of Nebraska passed a "Safe Haven" law in July. I really hate these laws because I believe they are band-aids, show pieces. Women in crisis don't need this kind of help. Dead and abandonded babies continue to be found in states with "Safe Haven" laws.

''Safe haven laws, though rooted in magnanimity, have not proven to be effective because they are not designed in such a way that will affect the decisions and actions of those most likely to discard infants," Krall wrote in a recent report, titled ''Discarded Infants and Neonaticide."

From: 'Safe haven' law has doubters

Nebraska really screwed up. Their "Safe Haven" law allows any child (anyone under 19 years of age) to be dropped off at a hospital.

I am asking for every religious or spiritual person to stand up. You need to be heard. Heck, everyone needs to stand up for their religious rights. This includes you... Ms. Agnostic and Mr. Atheist. If you are breathing and understand some history you should be pissed off.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published 45 CFR Part 88. This is the first step to create new regulations that will could impact the health care of every female in the United States.

The summary makes it sound like a very good thing.

Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices In Violation of Federal Law

But as I read the 12 pages of this proposed regulation, I got very angry. This regulation goes way too far. Its regulations discriminate against women who try to gain access to reproductive health services.

I adopted my darling Natasha from Ukraine in 2000. She was 3.5 years old. This is a picture of her at that time. You can see her crossed eyes in the picture. They were fixed with 45 minutes of eye surgery after she came home. This type of surgery just wasn't possible in Ukraine in 2000.

Natasha is now 11 years old and has collected other labels; ADHD, dyslexia, sensory integration disorder. She has a great IEP and is doing well in school. She just started 5th grade.

For some reason, the beginning of the school year got me to thinking about Ukrainian adoption. So I took a look at Ukrainian adoption statistics. All these numbers are provided by the U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics. I love statistics. I think they provide a nice framework for conversation.

Faith talked about Adoption Agencies Taking Advantage of the Adoption Tax Credit. There is a strong belief in the adoption community that greedy folks (some adoption agencies, lawyers, etc..) decided to up their prices when the adoption tax credit was passed back in 1996. And when it was increased from $5,000 to $10,000 in 2002, there were more rumors about adoption agency price increases that matched the credit increase.

This credit was part of the The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 and it first applied to the 1997 tax year.

I love the Daddy Diaries blog.
Juan and Darrow are trying to become fathers via foster care adoption. Juan is the actual writer. He isn't a frequent writer, but I look forward to reading his unique voice.

He so clearly communicates the emotional issues of a foster parent trying to adopt. His latest entry, the only good foster parent, talks about a foster parents' emotional attachment to their foster child.

I am continuing my tour of African countries where intercountry adoption is possible. I started with Nigeria (west Africa) then moved to Zambia (south africa). Next up is Ghana which is in Western Africa. It is a fascinating  country that has been independent of British colonial rule for over 50 years.

I have found Canadians and Americans adopting from Ghana. Since it is possible to adopt independently from Ghana, I would bet that French families are also adopting from here. I wonder if the Irish are adopting from here too? I have found that French, Irish, American, Canadian and Germany families tend to be open toward independent adoptions (without an adoption agency). This type of adoption requires the adoptive families do more work then an agency adoption. But the upside is that the family has a strong understanding of the adoption process and more control over decisions.

Michael Savage has a national radio show. During a July 16, 2008 show (you can listen to above) he called Autism a "fraud" and "racket". He called children with autism "moron", "brat", and "idiots". He claimed that fathers just weren't doing their job. He said:

There are days that I just want to say, "What the heck? Another new syndrome, issue, label?" Human beings can be waaaaaaaaaaaay too focused on naming something.

This morning I read Study says kids conceived through reproductive technology are functioning well. I discovered a new label... genealogical bewilderment. The phrase was first used in the 1960s and was used for adoptees. Google finds this phrase 266 times, so it isn't that common.

The phrase seems to mean... I don't feel like I fit into this family. I don't see my hair or eyes or style of walking in the Jones family. I am the oddball.

My grand-grandmother must have had genealogical

Who Am I?: Experiences of Donor Conception author: Alexina McWhinnie asin: 0955403103