Want to adopt a baby from China? Not if you are an old, depressed, sick, poor, alcoholic, amputee, criminal, fat Jehovah’s Witness!

My wife and I adopted our two wonderful daughters from China on two separate occasions, in 1999 and 2001.  We very much appreciated the way that the Chinese orphanages took good care of our daughters.  When we traveled to China to meet our daughters, we were treated well by the many Chinese people we met who ran China’s adoption program.  Everything was straight-forward and as we expected.  I also cannot say enough good things about Children’s Hope International, the American adoption agency we used.

Throughout the adoption process one bit of irony repeatedly occurred to my wife and I: We had to be highly scrutinized before being allowed to adopt.  The Chinese government (and our own agency) wanted to make certain that we were going to be good parents.  My wife and I sometimes commented to each other that absolutely anyone is qualified to have a biological child, whereas people trying to adopt were treated with suspicion.  To be approved for adoption, we had to produce our arrest records, medical records, recommendation letters and a home study.

We periodically get newsletters from Children’s Hope.  This month’s letter includes the current requirements for adopting a child from China. Interesting stuff.  In fact, the requirements are much stricter than they were a few years ago:

  • China bases eligibility on each person’s age. If one spouse is under 30 or one spouse is over 55, the couple is not eligible to adopt.

Families are not eligible to adopt if any of the following …

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Continue ReadingWant to adopt a baby from China? Not if you are an old, depressed, sick, poor, alcoholic, amputee, criminal, fat Jehovah’s Witness!

John McCain “freely” strolls through Bagdad market

This video just goes to show you how vigorously the GOP is spinning our "success" in Iraq.  Notice that McCain was wearing a bulletproof vest during his "stroll through the market."  He also brought 100 soldiers and five helicopters to protect him while he "walked freely" through the market.

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Chief campaign strategist for George W. Bush: “Kerry was right.”

In 2004, Matthew was appointed the president’s chief campaign strategist.  According to a new article by the Washington Post, Dowd now says his faith in Mr. Bush was “misplaced.”  In a wide-ranging interview here, Mr. Dowd called for a withdrawal from Iraq and expressed his disappointment in Mr. Bush’s leadership. He…

Continue ReadingChief campaign strategist for George W. Bush: “Kerry was right.”

Supporting Troops, Withdrawing, and Politics

The bill to set withdrawal timetables from Iraq has passed, on its way now to the President's desk--where it will be vetoed.  Democrats will work on this issue from now on, presumably with an eye toward using it as a campaign issue to gain more seats and hopefully hand the White…

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