FacePalm Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of FacePalm Friday.

This is where your hosts will list their top picks for this week’s FacePalm moment—something they learned or read about this week that caused the FacePalm to happen (you know, the expression of embarrassment, frustration, disbelief, shock, disgust or mixed humor as depicted in our Rally FacePalm smiley).

We invite you to add your FacePalm of the week to our comments. Go ahead and add a link, tell a personal story, or share something that triggered the FacePalm on the subject of child welfare or adoption.

Your Host’s Selections:

(1) Save the Whales…I mean Adoption Tax Credit

Those agencies sure know how to themselves. See Save the Adoption Tax Credit.

Of course this is brought to you by CCAI and JCICS. Amazing that they had the time to sign Kairi Shepherd’s petition letter to Obama with their more important issue of preserving their income being so pressing.

(2) Ironman for Reece’s Rainbow

See http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/article_23ae7ec8-b1e8-11e1-9637-001a4bcf887a.html and contrast that with the new tell-all website on Reece’s Rainbow at http://theadoptionspotlight.wordpress.com/ Settle yourself in with some and read the whole thing.

(3) Why I Want to Adopt

And it’s a multi-part facepalm series, too!

http://marshalljonesjr.com/why-i-want-to-adopt-part-1/

http://marshalljonesjr.com/why-i-want-to-adopt-part-2/

http://marshalljonesjr.com/why-i-want-to-adopt-part-3/

From reasons like having children quickly to excusing adoption fundraising to “living purposefully”, this one is

(4) This may be a rerun in our FacePalm Friday, but it bears repeating

The Holt Positive Adoption Language page http://www.holtinternational.org/adoption/language.shtml

The terms Natural, Real, Reunion and Available Child make them very Quick Holt go and !The world will end if anyone dares to repeat these scary, scary terms. They only want adoptees to “make contact” with their families and of course the child is “waiting” for the AP. They aren’t “available” for adoption.

(5)Disrespecting the original family without the knowledge of them-from both the writer and adoptee standpoint

American Ballet Theatre dancer Jennifer Whalen may get to reunite with birth mother in Korea

[NY Daily News 6/11/12 by Angela Barbuti]

(6)Pregnant Teens Need Adoption Facts-hat tip to a reader for sending this one on

Basically this is another adoption ad disguised as a newspiece. Hollywood’s 16 and Pregnant being used to drum up business because now these “stars” know best, right?

Pregnant teens need the facts to consider adoption as an option

[Philly Burbs 6/12/12 by Jenn Smith]

(7) Just in time for summer, a new crop of craptastic adoption t-shirts

In addition to the ever-popular “paper pregnant”, there are these 5 gems :

(a)http://adoptionmama.com/catalog.php?item=16&catid=1&ret=catalog.php%3Fcategory%3D1

Have I met her real mother…yes it’s me.

(b) http://adoptionmama.com/catalog.php?item=25&catid=1&ret=catalog.php%3Fpage%3D2%26category%3D1

Pregnant with love for my child in Vietnam

(c) http://adoptionmama.com/catalog.php?item=23&catid=1&ret=catalog.php%3Fpage%3D2%26category%3D1

Bask in your blessings Glow with Gratitude Marinate in Motherhood [Gee I would rather marinate these: ]
(d) Special limited edition (with adoptee wearing this in the photo)

 

http://adoptionmama.com/catalog.php?item=38&catid=1&ret=catalog.php%3Fpage%3D3%26category%3D1

 

Adopting. Still.

 

(e)My personal favorite http://adoptionmama.com/catalog.php?item=20&catid=2&ret=catalog.php%3Fcategory%3D2

 

Warning: I am in love with a child that I haven’t met yet I am in the process of adoption.

 

I am subject to cry at any moment.

 

Please bear with me until my referral comes.

 

All that is missing is this:

 

(8) Combo of Orphanage Tourism and…..the Orphan Advocate Discount Buying Club

 

Hey forget Sam’s Club or Costco, pay these people money and you too can be part of TWO Orphan Advocate Discount Buying Clubs!

 

(a)orphanage tourism
http://www.theorphanfoundation.org/volunteering.htm

(b) Orphan Advocacy discount BUYING CLUBs!
http://www.theorphanfoundation.org/donations.htm

“Monthly and one-time donations in the amount of $10 or more qualify   you for membership in your choice of one of two Orphan Advocate     discount buying clubs. Monthly and one-time donations in the amount  of $20 or more qualify you for membership in BOTH Orphan  Advocate discount buying clubs. Both clubs offer valuable discounts  on amusement parks, hotels, movie tickets, online shopping, and  more.”

(9)Life again imitates Adoption Menopause

The title of the article starts off the facepalms…50-Somethings Refill Nests With Adoptions[WLTX 6/15/12 by Derry London]

(10) Late add: The Rebecca Morlock case-new article title

Missionary mom returns home with unexpected ‘gift’

[Washington Post 6/13/12 by Adriana  Janovich]

See our coverage of this despicable case here

Children are not objects (gifts) and this article’s use of the term is nauseating. This child was obtained from a poor, Nepali mother in India. No offer of support was given to her. Instead, a Christian nurse sought out a Christian missionary to gladly take the child from her. A ridiculous precedent of adopting via Skype from a US courtroom circumventing Hague and CARA guidelines occurred. This was all with the assistance of US politicians.