Homeland &*$#@* Security
I'm a little down this evening. There are two reasons. Reason one is that my dad got a poison pen letter from some unknown person at church that contains all sorts of conpletely false charges and claims. That kind of letter is the act of a coward, and it really upsets me.
Reason two is that the Department of Homeland Security is putting in all kinds of new requirements that are making our adoption process really difficult. We were already on hold in the process because DHS requires that everyone in our house (there are three other adults living in the same house with us) to get retinal scans, DNA testing, and another round of fingerprints ($700). The problem is that DHS will simply assign us a time that we all have to come in to get them. Since everyone is in and out of the Denver area this summer, we need to wait until the school year starts again, since we'll have no choice about when we have to go in. Now, however, they're also requiring that everyone in our house have a complete physical ($500). That's just something that's really hard to ask of our friend who are living with us. Asking them to get finger prints is one thing. Asking them to get criminal background and credit checks is even worse. Asking them to have DNA testing and Retinal scans is just plain ridiculous. Asking them to get pap smears and HIV tests might just be a little over the line. We won't even be getting a child by the time that we all move apart. It's ridiculous. We thought we had it all worked out, and now it looks like we might have to put everything off for another year, or move out this summer, or who knows what. ARGH!!
Reason two is that the Department of Homeland Security is putting in all kinds of new requirements that are making our adoption process really difficult. We were already on hold in the process because DHS requires that everyone in our house (there are three other adults living in the same house with us) to get retinal scans, DNA testing, and another round of fingerprints ($700). The problem is that DHS will simply assign us a time that we all have to come in to get them. Since everyone is in and out of the Denver area this summer, we need to wait until the school year starts again, since we'll have no choice about when we have to go in. Now, however, they're also requiring that everyone in our house have a complete physical ($500). That's just something that's really hard to ask of our friend who are living with us. Asking them to get finger prints is one thing. Asking them to get criminal background and credit checks is even worse. Asking them to have DNA testing and Retinal scans is just plain ridiculous. Asking them to get pap smears and HIV tests might just be a little over the line. We won't even be getting a child by the time that we all move apart. It's ridiculous. We thought we had it all worked out, and now it looks like we might have to put everything off for another year, or move out this summer, or who knows what. ARGH!!
posted by david at 9:18 PM
2 Comments:
David - I'm really sorry. That is completely unjust and highlights what the Bush Administration really means by promoting "family values." If your family doesn't look like our family it must not be a family.
I could go on and on, but I won't. I'm very sorry, but I'm confident your time will come!
David, I am so terribly sorry. It sounds as if you are having a terribly-- and Most Unreasonably-- unpleasant time in at least two dimensions. :(
Shall I write your father an anonymous letter-- or one under any name you can fancy-- that praises you both accurately and fulsomely? (Your virtues lead to fulsomeness naturally.)
And you make me feel even more grateful that Chun Woo was so easily identified as Not a Spy Baby, which seemed to be all it was about at that point. FWIW, we'd love to have you and Melissa share him to the extent you'd like to. He's definitely A-1-- one couldn't really get a finer baby by special order, and we just wanted one with a reasonable chance of growing to a productive adulthood.
Praying that not only do things look up, but that you get Immediate Gratifying Treats soon, as a counterbalance.
Mary Ann
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