Okay, you know the drill -

[kyburg]

FLY MY MINIONS Hey, guys!

It's time to play Confirm -or- Deny!

Anyone who can confirm that this story did run in a newspaper in Campbell County, TN? Would greatly appreciate seeing either a link or a scanned .pdf of it. Frankly, if this is true, some damage control is going to be required:



BIG BABY GIRL SALE - ONLY $17,000! - Jim Dossett

The Chinese have given us many things; gunpowder, spaghetti, woks,
Jackie Chan. Oh yes, they've also been delighted to give us their
discarded children. Actually, they're delighted to sell us their
kids. And government officials have laid down new ground rules for
foreigners who want to adopt children from China's overflowing
orphanages.

Prospective adoptive parents must not be obese; no more than 50
years old; must not take antidepressants; must not have severe
facial deformities. So the bottom line is, if you take up two seats
on a plane, are a member of AARP, take Prozac, or resemble the
Elephant Man - No Chinese kids for you!

Mind you, these edicts are issued by a culture where parents
traditionally leave female babies at orphanages or by the roadside
because they wanted a son, or because the government allows them
only one child. Ninety-five percent of the children available for
adoption are girls. I'm amazed that one of the world's oldest
civilizations, dating back to more than six millennnia, still
doesn't realize that women are the best of us all.

I doubt whether many Campbell Countians would be eligible to adopt a
Chinese baby - not because we're fat, old, or grotesquely deformed -
but because it costs more to buy a child in China than many of us
make in a year.

According to Chinese baby brokers, the estimated total cost of a no-
frills adoption, not including travel, is about $12,000. The
estimated total cost plus travel for two is $17,120.00 - such a deal.

"End of Year Sale! Get your certified, pre-owned girl child for the
amazing price of $17,120! She's a beauty despite a few minor
scratches and dents, but comes with a manufacturer' s warranty - no
surprises under the hood or the diaper!"

Once the bucks are shelled out for the kiddie commodity, who knows
where the money ends up. Maybe some of the cash trickles into the
new charity created by the China Center for Adoption Affairs. This
burgeoning group of capitalists is hopeful the charity will improve
conditions in orphanages and "keep infants and young children alive
and well enough to be adopted." It makes you wonder about the fate
of toddlers who are not well.

Despite the high costs and stringent rules issued by the baby
dealers, childless couples from the U.S. and around the world still
flock to China in hopes of bringing baby home. God bless you decent
souls. Stick religiously to your pretrip diets of carrot sticks and
cottage cheese and look forward to the fat and happy times you'll
have raising your baby girl!

Do I have to tell anyone exactly how much it costs to do a domestic adoption? IVF? Anything else that you have to "force" when nature does not comply with your wishes?

And do I have to tell you just how much the Chinese side does NOT get out of that $17,000?

I'll be happy to tell you - I could give you an itemized LIST. Cheezits Rice.

Comments

[machineplay.livejournal.com]

WTF. Last I heard, an average pregnancy in the US would run you around $15k if you paid for it out of pocket.

Also, could that jackass get any MORE racist? What do you want to bet he's someone who whines about how the right people don't have babies anymore? Yeah.

[eyelid.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I agree w/him TO A POINT, but not re: China, just re: adoption in general. Adoption is so ridiculously expensive, it's not even funny, and it's unnecessary. See: price reductions for children w/disabilities, etc. This isn't at all limited to china; it's even more pronounced in the US, where our adoption agencies charge $5000 for you to even submit an application.

Promise it's the truth!

[(Anonymous)]

Hey girl!
Take a peek at APC. One of our local FCC members posted it there and what a response it has gotten. I can get you the name of the paper. I want to say it's LaFollette Press in Campbell County. Google that and it should get you started.
Pretty amazing, huh? A few have gotten responses from the newspaper editor and she said it was a joke, etc. Come on. There are certain places you just don't go. Good luck and continue to eat your carrot sticks? Please.
Amy

Re: Promise it's the truth!

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I've found a ton of folks who have it on their blogs - as a cut and paste as I have above.

This is going off to Snopes - I want the guy, if he exists.

Re: Promise it's the truth!

[djdig.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest sending it to Snopes but you beat me to it.

I hope this is a fake. It's just horrid!

[bigbigtruck.livejournal.com]

I can't tell what sort of point he's trying to make, other than a bunch of cracks at "The Heathen Chinee".

[ecstaticlght.livejournal.com]

I didn't see that particular article, but yes I read about the new adoption rules laid down by the Chinese government. Those are right up there in my book with the Louisiana rules of being a foster parent. In La, you must be under 60 and have a college degree. I was irritated with that one, because some of our best foster parents happen to be retirees and face it in our neck of the woods (OK, AR, TX, LA) most people don't have a college degree.

Sometimes places cut their noses off to spite their faces over this sort of thing. The Chinese edict makes me wonder if the rules aren't being set to discourage parents from selling the children for cash to live on. There has to be a plausible reason right?

[ecstaticlght.livejournal.com]

Maybe it was someone else's blog I read that on, but I'm sure it was an article, not a random cut and paste.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Hon, that $17,000 figure? The people in China, who are caring for the children - the actual orphanages?

They get $3,000 of that. The balance, nearly, is documents and other professional fees. All of it.

You keep a child for nearly two years or more for and make a profit at $3,000. Gwan.

[ecstaticlght.livejournal.com]

The article didn't say anything about the monetary issue, just the physical and age requirements.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I disagree. Look at the title of the article and the quip about how very few people make $17,000 a year - oh yeah, China is getting RICH off selling their children!

Holy cow. What a tool.

[ecstaticlght.livejournal.com]

No LOL...the article I read a while ago didn't mention the money, not the one you just linked to.

[riverheart.livejournal.com]

How do you find out the rules to be a foster parent or an adoptive parent from the foster system in a given state? I need to know if we'll be excluded in Washington because I don't have a degree, or because I do have kidney disease.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I don't have to tell you every state is different - but a quick Google found the DCFS equivalent for your state, and this survey:

http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/ca/fosterparents/be_fosterForm.asp

I don't see anything immediate on the requirements - I'd go to an orientation and see what they say.

[ecstaticlght.livejournal.com]

Call your county Department of Human Services. Some states call their offices "Department of Health and Human Services" or "Family Services"

In Oklahoma we have 2 different kinds of fostering. The first is standardized through DHS, then there are the private agencies, such as the one I work for, that are for therapeutic fostering needs. TFC is for the kids that need a counselor available 24 hours a day and more intensive counseling work. There are basically the same requirements for families in both. Ours very much so, since we have over 98% of our clients coming in through DHS (custody children). Either type needs good foster parents in a bad way.

Update

[(Anonymous)]

A member of our FCC group went into the paper and dropped off his letter. He was also able to sit down with Jim and the editor, and basically ask "What in the world!?!?" He feels that because he was adopted as a child, he is able to express these opionions. I'm just thankful my daughter can't read!

Re: Update

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I want names. And if there's an electronic version of the paper, I want the link.

I have adoptee cousins myself - and one's an adoptee's rights activist (you think I was the only one in the family?) - I think she'd have something to say about this. Most of it printable. Maybe.

Oh dear. Smoke from another fire - thanks a lot, pal. (It makes you wonder what his experience was like, doesn't it?)

[oy-vay-tea-time.livejournal.com]

This can't be real !!! or at the very least then it's so wrong, wrong, wrong!!! x.X