Phoebe Responce #2

Nice job with the summaries and responses to the articles Samara! You seem very passionate about your topic and that's important for an I-search. It's also important to get both sides of the story so your blog isn't biased- which you have with both "Ark. adoption ban could start national trend, activists fear" and "New adoption agency gives prospective parents options". While you obviously have a strong opinion on your subject, it is informational and well-rounded when you have all sorts of different view points. So great work with that! :]
I do have one comment on one of the blogs- that agencies have a cost to adopt a child. You are completely reasonable to think that is immoral and unjust so treat a human being as property because I fully agree. But agencies do need a way to feed and clothe and provide shelter for the children they are housing. How else would they get the money to do so? Another interesting point to research might be funding for adoption agencies or something along those lines.

Kelsey Schwarz- Second Response

I think you're doing a really nice job of finding good information. The info that you're getting is very on topic and tells a lot about what you're writing about. You chose a topic that I never would have thought of. You're doing adoption, yet you are drifting a lot towards gay adoption which I think is really cool and a great idea. I also agree with you a lot on your responses. You seem to be digging into the information you're getting and really expressing how you feel about the topic. Since you are doing some stuff with gay adoption, I think it would be beneficial for you to possibly interview someone from an adoption agency and see what they think about the subject. I also think it's cool that you're looking at adoption in other countries as well. I think you're doing a good job. (:

response to Russia's cold attitude towards foreign adoption

I can understand why Russia wants to keep thier youth. I think it's good that they try to find homes for they children and are allowing foster care as an option. It's good that they're not trying to close the gap on foreign adoption entirely though. They still have it open as an option for children whom they can't find homes or for those who can't get medical treatment in Russia.

Russia attitudes colder towards foreign adoption

In the past Russia has been an main source for foreign adoptions. Now however they are closing the gap and only using foreign adoption as a last resort. They want to keep their children in Russia. They need young minds because there are so much more older people then young because the dropping birth rate. They will try to find adoptive homes or even foster homes and will only allow foreign adoption if they can't find a home or if the child has medical issues that can't be treated in Russia.

Interesting and Controversial Topic

Samara - Nice job of note taking and also writing responses. As your research deepens and broadens, you should be able to make some connections among the ideas and topics that you are discovering.

response to "Ark. adoption ban could start national trend, activists fear"

I feel that having a ban on gay couples adopting is just plain stupid! Whatever happened to civil rights? Gay couples should have just enough rights to adopt as heterosexual couples do. i hope organizations fight the new law because it's just not fair. Cox saying you wouldn't place a child in a home with parents that abused drugs or alcohol when they had the same problems and then related that to their reasons why they wanted the law was just ridiculous! Putting someone in a home with gay parents when the youth is gay themselves doesn't even compare to putting a child in a home with one's that do drugs or alcohol. Having gay parents when the youth is gay would be a good thing because then they would have someone to relate to.

Ark. adoption ban could start national trend, activists fear

"The Arkansas Family Council just passed a law that bans gay couples from adopting. The law states that any unmarried couple can't adopt but it was meant to target gay couples. People are afraid other states, like Georgia, will fall behind. Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council couldn't get funding from media so he turned to the churches to get his voters. People like Cathy Webb, Arkansas first and only gay lawmaker, tried fighting the new law. Other organizations and individuals are considering fighting the law also. Cox argued that that gay foster youth are better off not having gay parents. '...if you had a child who has a problem with drugs or alcohol you wouldn't put a child in a home with someone who abuses drugs or alcohol to make them feel comfortable.' "