From Red Orbit. Thanks to Andrew for the tip.
Adopting Asian Kids Becoming Latest Fad
By Mike Seate
Call me cynical, but since when did Asian children become "must have" fashion accessories for upper middle-class Americans?
Along with Calloway golf clubs and season tickets to football games,
paying $30,000 to $40,000 to adopt an exotic baby is suddenly viewed as
the most chic purchase this side of a pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps.
Never mind that thousands of babies of other races — most of them
black — go without foster homes and adoptions here and elsewhere in
this country every year. It doesn’t cost tens of thousands of dollars
to adopt a black, Latino or mixed-race child.But for some reason, even Hollywood is marketing Asian babies as somehow superior and more desirable.
Read the whole article here.
Harlow's Monkey 
Lordy!
Did you take a look at the comments the author received? I haven’t seen this much venom since the New Yorker mentioned summer accessories in an article and included “a Chinese baby.”
I was watching Big Love the other day, and the sister of Barb has an adopted Asian daughter.
I tried to add a TRA perspective on the page but the CAPSCA thing was all f*ed up and wouldn’t let me post.
It seems no one likes this guy. I read his most recent article and he essentially confirmed that he is not a popular man. He takes pride in this, so any complaints will likely go unheeded. Here’s the link to his page at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/seate/
I couldn’t post my comment on the site for some reason, so here it is:
“Aw. Your wife must be so proud to have such an accepting, compassionate and ope-minded husband. I\’m sure when she walked down the aisle to marry you, she couldn’t wait to call you “Sir” and shine your shoes, in addition to being made to watch hours of “Masculine” TV. You are truly a source of insight and inspiration to Hillbillies and Neo-Nazis everywhere.
And yes, it does cost tens of thousands of dollars to adopt Latino babies, because “Latinos” are from Latin America which still makes it an International Adoption you pile of useless garbage.”
I have some mixed emotions about his article. I don’t think at all it was an intended snub at adoption. I can hear in the lede his self-deprecating sarcasm, at least that’s what I felt it was. I thought he was basically panning on himself for being so “mannish” about his behavior. At the same time, he was trying to come as an A hole. It’s how he makes a living.
However, I don’t necessarily disagree with his off-handed conclusion that international adoption is like buying a pair of Calloway clubs.
I know many TRAs who have felt that way. At the same time, I don’t think he did a great job of writing it out, especially since he used such colorful “rice paddy” comments.
But, oddly enough, he hits a nerve with people. And as you can see from the people who commented on his article at the website, most of them were female adoptive parents.
I must agree with Papa2Hapa also. Seate was being sarcastic and took it too far with the “rice paddy” comment but I sort of agree with him about being rich in New York doesn’t necessarily make for a better life then being poor in your own home country.
I also think that most of his comments are directed towards hollywood. It HAS become fashionable in hollywood movies to portray Chinese adoptions as perfect, cute and undamaged happy endings and foster system kids as troubled, work through the hell to see a light at the end of a tunnel movie.
My buddy, Ken, over at Popehat has made Mike his personal project…
http://www.popehat.com/2008/06/23/mike-seate-of-the-pittsburgh-tribune-review-doesnt-approve-of-your-familys-skin-color/
and
http://www.popehat.com/2008/06/25/mike-seate-the-fact-that-i-am-loathed-shows-what-a-good-journalist-i-am/
I have to say- I think Ken is a lot more talented.
I have mixed feeings also. As someone who adopted a Chinese daughter 12 years ago. We didnt’ adopt locally because we knew someone who had to return a black child 6 months later because the grandmother waneted the child. We didn’t want to have that happen to us. We do everything we can to have her integrated into our local Chinese community which has accepted her with open arms. She is happy and confident in herself as a Chinese person. On the other hand, I feel like Hollywood IS looking at it like “a fashion accessory” which makes all transracial adoptive parents look bad. Although they have the means, I wonder if the hollywood parents are looking at the kids as individuals and bringing them up in their culture. If not, then this is truly a crime.