According to this article, a federal court struck down an infrequently enforced ban on sex toys that has been effect in Texas for years and was first challenged in 2004.  Happy Valentine's Day, y'all.  Have some vibrators!

Naturally, the whole idea of a ban on "obscene devices" (like these here stimulators and these dildos . . . oh, and these little old butt plugs) strikes me as funny.  Then again, if my state had such a ban, I would be unemployed, or employed in a significantly less interesting way!  According to the article, three more states have sex toy bans -- Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia.  Remind me not to move there any time soon. 

On a more serious note, many states also have laws on the books forbidding consensual anal sex, oral sex, and sometimes homosexual relations of any kind.  While these laws are seldom if ever enforced, it is a sad sign of discrimination (and proof of a way too involved Big Brother government) that they exist at all.  Of course, since 9/11, even more invasive laws have been getting passed with ease, all in the name of national security.  If the next election doesn't go well, we will be saying goodbye to abortion and all kinds of other important freedoms. 

Ah well . . . why end on a depressing note?  Go buy some sex toys, Texas!

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I just finished setting up the Adoption Prevention and Family Preservation News Blog -- a great place to submit press releases and articles of interest to anti-adoption activists and others concerned about current adoption practices.  Check it out!

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We are having a new friend come over on Friday, someone I met locally who is also anti-adoption and who happens to have six year old twins.  I'm sure Rylie will have a ball with them.  I'm a little nervous, and I want to come up with some more things for them to play outside in case the weather is nice.  We usually just go to the pool when we want to be outside, so we don't have a lot in the yard.  Thinking of the pool reminds me that I might want to order some treats for Friday. 

I'm thinking about ordering some of these gourmet brownies or chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  Our friend/pool lifeguard and his wife make them and sell them online.  He's brought some of them to the pool for us to try -- the kids loved them and so did I -- as much as I ever love cookies, anyway.  He says she also makes soft gingersnaps, and those I think I would really like (maybe a little too much)!  I think I'm going to try to order some of Corina's goodies as holiday gifts this year.  My grandparents would love them and I think they'd make a great hostess gift for some of Mike's family parties.  I never know what to bring -- I can't pick out wine to save myself, and I don't usually have the time or inclination to do homemade things for people I don't know that well.

I really can't believe I'm thinking about Christmas already.  This summer flew by.  I'm so glad that we're not going on vacation until September so that at least it'll feel as though our summer lasted a little longer.  We'll be on a cruise from September 9th until the 15th, then we're going to Maryland for the Motocross des Nations the following weekend.  It should be a good month.

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Unlearning Adoption: A Guide to Family Preservation and Protection

Jessica DelBalzo

The majority of Americans believe that adoption is a positive thing; that children and families benefit from the ability to be adopted or surrender a child for adoption.  It's no coincidence that our society thinks this way -- media campaigns that began more than fifty years ago and continue to this day promote adoption without giving any indication that it might not be the perfect solution for anyone.  Pregnant women in less than ideal circumstances are encouraged to consider the "unselfish choice" for their infants, and compassionate strangers are urged to adopt "waiting" children from foster care.  But for all the pro-adoption rhetoric that abounds in American society, how much do you really know about adoption and its effects on the actual children and families involved?

Unlearning Adoption: A Guide to Family Preservation and Protection explodes the myths surrounding adoption and reveals the disappointing truth -- that adoption is not the benevolent institution most people believe it to be.  Using current research and historical evidence against adoption, my book makes a case for family preservation and adoption alternatives.  Better still, it offers ways for professionals like social workers, doctors, and lawyers, as well as everyday folk, to protect parents and children from the adoption industry and improve the lives of children who are already in the system.  No matter where you currently stand on the issue of adoption, this book will give you some fresh food for thought.  

And I guarantee you, I'm not just saying that because I wrote it.      

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UnlearningCover.jpg

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You'd think I'd have enough practice with this blogging stuff to write a decent intro post, but I am really terrible with introductions.

As my tagline says, I am a mama of many labels.  I have a political science degree and will never be a politician, but I do have a lot of political opinions.  I'm about as liberal as a person can be: 100% no-questions-asked pro-choice, anti-adoption (it's neither the choice nor the "loving option" most people think it is), atheist, radical, anarchist-leaning, anti-war, anti-Bush, Obama-supporting, etc etc.  I'm also a breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth-diapering, homeschooling, earth-loving mama to two wonderful children (Rylie and Ronin).  I'm not AP; I follow my own instincts about parenting.

I also work from home, for DiscountClick.com.  I do writing, mostly . . . quite a bit of blogging, articles, essays, and whatever else our clients need.   It's a great job, as jobs go. 

And I guess that's about it . . . if you want to know more about me, just ask.  My life is an open book. 

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