bencr

The whole premise of Kyle needing to borrow a dress from Lisa for the wedding was so contrived, and was just a way of bringing another housewife (Lisa) into a story that is essentially Kyle's alone, thereby making it a Real Housewives story. Kyle is a rich woman with her own clothing store. In what world would she need to or choose to borrow a dress from someone else? Furthermore, if I bought into the premise that Kyle was borrowing a dress from Lisa (which I obviously don't), wouldn't she go over to Lisa's house to look through her closet in order to mutually decide on a dress to wear to this event? Why would she leave it up to Lisa to select the dress?

For all his tough talk and machismo, when Leon had the opportunity to come on the reunion show and defend himself he bailed. I guess he feels above it all and he doesn't care if other people define him to the show's viewers rather than him defining himself. I guess he doesn't really care what we viewers think of him. Also, on another matter, much as I grew to dislike Rocky, her performance of "Ironing the Captain's Shorts" was a highlight of the season for me.

The super harsh critique of the FW preview collections left me with a distinct feeling of deja vu. The designers will do what they can do to address the judge's concerns in the two days they have, and they will be praised for how well they listened to the judges. The whole thing strikes me as formulaic.

I don't think Rocky cares that much about Leon. I think Rocky thrives on provoking people and she saw this as a way of provoking Kate.

If Leon had just made one more meal I'm sure the captain would have cut him in on the tip. I realize that Leon was pissed that he got fired and not Kate, but the professional thing to do would have been to swallow his pride and make that last meal for the guests. In his Tweet to Rocky, Leon says he quit. Dude, you were fired. You would not make the last meal for the guests when the captain asked you to, but you were fired. Leon comes across as very prideful and not in a good way.

I've got to say I agree with Alexis Bellino. I think Tamra is using religion, both to help her cope with some problems in her life and as a Real Housewives plot line. But do I think she will use religion to work on being a better person? No I don't. I think from what we saw so far in the reunion, Tamra is the same selfish, self-absorbed, nasty, judgmental person she has always been.

When Vicki announced the dinner was prix fixe, I knew it was not going to end well. These women are not adventurous eaters. I remember one episode where they went to famous chef Thomas Keller's restaurant and it was a disaster. As I recall, Vicki gagged on Gretchen's foie gras, and then she said she'd rather eat at a restaurant where she could get a steak and salad.

I'm not sure the issue is so much about relevance as it is status within the group of women. It seems to me that on all the housewives shows there are the women who, for various reasons, are given more status than others by the various other women in the group. So far this season, it seems to me that the women have given Bethenny a lot of status, maybe because she's wealthy, successful, a celebrity, a friend of Andy's, etc ... who knows, probably all of the above. Kristen, in my view, is conferred less status, I think because she has less of a resume. In this group of somewhat older, successful women, Kristen just does not seem to measure up in terms of personality or achievement.

I don't know why Josh needs a bodyguard. But I think it's at least possible that hiring a bodyguard is part of a public relations stunt to show people how persecuted Josh and his family have been.

I totally agree that the Duggars have missed an opportunity to do something constructive here. I'm not saying the Duggars had an obligation to go public with the story of sexual abuse in their household, but once the story broke the Duggars could have used it as a teaching opportunity to share the lessons they learned with their fans. Of course they don't have to be advocates, but it would have been nice.

This literally made me spit out my coffee. There's so little humor on this topic (for obvious reasons) you completely caught me by surprise!

It seems to me the Duggars are employing a four-pronged strategy: Diminish the severity of the offense -- it was light petting, it was through the clothing, the children slept through it, etc. Because the offense really wasn't that serious, it was not that hard to forgive Josh. Really, within a short period of time everything returned to normal. Praise the parents -- They reacted proportionally to the offense. Blame the liberal media -- They've blown this all out of proportion to serve their agenda. Say that everything is hunky dory -- Josh is cured and forgiven, the girls are just fine thank you, the family is closer to God than ever before, etc.

What are the odds that two women who were not coached in their answers would be in lockstep with respect to their emotional responses to such a traumatic incidence in their lives?

Well, Jessa and Jill's response to being sexually abused is very different from the responses of the people I know who have been sexually abused and those who have posted of their experiences on this site.

Wouldn't that be the ultimate indignity ... to have your true feelings about being sexually abused co-opted by your parents and their PR machine (or anyone else for that matter)?

I agree with this and I'll repeat what I said when this story first broke ... Josh was victimized by his parents, clergy, law enforcement and the community of adults whose job it was to protect him from himself and his impulses.

I don't believe it either. But if I did, I'm not sure it would make me see Josh in a better light. The fact that he "tearfully" confessed to them would suggest that he knew what he was doing was wrong. He wasn't just a curious 14 year old kid who was behaving childishly.

So Us Magazine quotes Jill Duggar in defending her family against charges of hypocrisy as saying, “Some people, I've heard them say, you know, ‘You're hypocrites.’ Well, if you go back and look at everything people have seen in our lives…we've never claimed to be a perfect family. My parents have always actually stated…we are not a perfect family. We are just a family.” I have two reactions to this: 1. It's good that you recognize the hypocrisy in your family. 2. Being a hypocrite does not absolve your brother or your parents of culpability. It is not a defense.

I'm not sure I'm at all interested in what Josh Duggar would say in an interview with Megyn Kelly. If he were interviewed, he'd just give us more of that sin and redemption bullshit we've already heard. He probably won't give us more details about the molestation and its aftermath than what we already know. And he's in no position to tell us why he did what he did because he did not go through the hard work of trying to understand why he molested those children. Frankly, the only thing I'd be interested in hearing from Josh Duggar is why he chose to work at the FRC given the skeletons in his closet. Doesn't he see the hypocrisy? And I'm willing to forego even that if I never again have to see his face or hear his voice.

I have to say I'm skeptical about this just by virtue of the fact that it took the Duggars so long to mention it. From the beginning of this scandal, in their defense of how they handled this situation, the Duggars talked about the counseling Josh got from clergy and law enforcement ... so are we supposed to believe they just forgot to mention the counseling he got from clinical therapists?

So Yahoo quotes Megyn Kelly as saying: “I think this is the Duggars’ effort to try to get out from under that pressure cooker. They very much understand their show and reputation are on the line.” But, she said, the Duggars also believe the show “has a chance still. It’s not totally done. I think they knew they needed to speak to somebody and get their story out,” Kelly added — their story being that the information about their son and daughters was “released without their consent.” With all due respect, this is not their story. Their story is about child molestation under their roof and it's cover-up, as well as the blatant hypocrisy of this family. The story of the release of the police report is a sidebar at best. But what the Duggars seem to be doing here is setting up a straw man (the unauthorized release of the report) to divert attention away from the real story (crime, cover-up and hypocrisy). Don't be surprised if the interview tonight is largely focused on the family's outrage at the injustice that has been done to them by law enforcement in cahoots with the liberal media.

This is so true, and it is supported by government statistics that show that people who are born in the top quintile of families income-wise almost invariably stay in the top quintile as adults, while people born in the bottom quintile tend to stay there as well. This lack of opportunity when it comes to income mobility is a large part of what feeds into the income inequality in this country. It's not that wealthy kids are inherently smarter, but they tend to get better educations and receive more opportunities and "second chances" than poor kids.

This chart shows how Fox News is nothing but a shill for the Duggar family. Specifically, as this chart shows, Fox didn't report the story when it first broke, presumably because it reflects badly on the Duggars and their conservative values. Yet, Fox News is giving the family two hours to make their case to the American public. This is why I never read a news story that is sourced as Fox News ... there is an agenda behind all of their reporting.

There is an interesting web site -- sasian.org -- which stands for Sibling Abuse Survivors' Information and Advocacy Network. The focus of the site is specifically on issues of sibling abuse. One page of the web site is especially interesting -- Sibling Sexual Abuse -- A Parents Guide. This page discusses such issues as what is sibling sexual abuse vs. normal sexual curiosity, what are the effects of sibling sexual abuse, and what factors contribute to sibling sexual abuse, among other topics. Many of these are things that have been discussed on this board. One section I found especially interesting in light of this discussion of the Duggars is the section entitled, "How can I best prevent sibling abuse in my family?" Here's what they advise: "How can I best prevent sibling sexual abuse in my family? . The best way to prevent sibling sexual abuse is to pay attention to your children . Set aside a time each day when your children have a chance to tell you about what they’ve done or felt that day. This might be after school or before bed-time. . Ensure that children are well looked after by babysitters, whether the sitter is a family member or not. At breakfast you can ask your children specific questions about the previous evening; for example, did they watch their favourite TV program? did they play video games? did they cooperate with the sitter? was the sitter kind? would they like to have the same sitter again? . Be willing to talk about sexuality. Informal sex education could include watching educational videos and reading books with your children. Try to find library materials on sex education that are appropriate to the age of your child. . Encourage your children’s school to present sexual abuse prevention films and programs. Most of them do, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. The programs usually carry the message, “If someone is making you do something that doesn’t feel good, tell a trusted adult.” . Find out where your children are playing, and who they’re playing with. Be especially concerned if they’re playing with children who are focused on sexual games. . Teach your children that they own their bodies and everyone should respect that. . Monitor television violence. Movies and television programs that link sex and violence carry a dangerous message to children. Research shows these messages have a strong negative effect on children. . Encourage non-sexist attitudes and behaviour. For example: give power, responsibility and privileges equally to male and female siblings; assign household tasks fairly, and discourage sexist jokes and sexist put-downs. . Believe them. Children rarely invent stories of sexual abuse to get a brother or sister into trouble." The Duggars' belief system and their focus on ridiculously large families fails the children on many of these dimensions.

Just because the show goes off the air (if it does) doesn't mean the Duggar's earning potential dries up. I'm sure they're viewed quite heroically by the fundamentalist community, and they will be very much in demand for speaking and other appearances.