Vaysh

Well, there's that "tree house" to the right. But wasn't Jana supposed to have built a garden last year? They at least posted pictures of a fenced area and called it a garden though I can't recall if it actually had any plants in it. And there were these huge mounds of dirt with some flowers on them they also claimed were a garden a couple of years back. Perhaps it's behind the house...

Ugh. The whole "women belong in the home and all secretly want to be there because history!" BS is one of my pet peeves. Until after World War II, when there was a huge propaganda campaign to get women out of the work force and into the home because governments were afraid that men would end up jobless after returning from the war, most women worked unless they were part of the affluent but small upper and middle classes. Working class women (the majority) have always had to work. And usually had to do all of the housework as well. If you were working class or peasant class you worked, whether man or woman. This whole idea of the cookie-baking, homework-helping, sweetly smiling angel of the home with her spotless home and garden who was just so fulfilled and happy with never having to go out into the nasty world and *gasp* work for pay instead of, you know, doing it for free, is essentially a 1950's propaganda piece. And the generations after that fought furiously to change that image and for the right for all women to work in all fields as well as for conditions that allow women to work even after having children (paid parental leave, subsidised child care, good pre-schools etc). I guess Derp slept through that history class. tl;dr: Fuck you Derick.

Done right it is actually quite nice. It's about the exact opposite of fine dining but still a decent weekday dinner. I usually make it either with a curry sauce or with a sun-dried tomato pesto sauce, sometimes with added mushrooms. Add some vegetables and you've got a very affordable yet nutritious meal. It's kind of dependent on one liking tuna of course. ;) I am curious about the daily dinners Jessa makes. Whenever either of them is asked about what they eat they seem to have to reach quite a bit. Like... yeah we eat a lot of yoghurt... and sometimes couscous because it's cheap... (couscous and what?), and of course we saw that odd sweet potato and ground beef thing. And now roast apparently.

Lothar Machtan had some interesting theories concerning the latter, though I'm not sure he convinced me. It really is fascinating how this lot manages to take historical fact, somewhat shaky theories and coincidences; sprinkle it with their own brand of fanaticism and hey presto, SATANIC EBIL GAY AGENDA! With added bonus of no longer having to be on the same side as the nazis on the issue. Well played.

Well, he's not entirely wrong. Just about 99% wrong. I haven't read the book but I'm guessing he's using the examples of Ernst Röhm and Rudolf Hess, both close friends of Hitler, to make his point. Both has been rumoured to be gay (Röhm pretty definitely was, as were apparently a number of his senior officers in the SA but don't quote me on that) and at least initially they were very influential in the Nazi party. Hess remained friendly with Hitler but Röhm was executed and his brownshirts essentially destroyed during The Night of the Long Knives. And thousands of gay people were later sent to the camps. So, this Anzen fella isn't technically lying, he's just being very very selective with his facts. Bullshitting, in other words. /steps off history minor soapbox

Joke's on them. Old-fashioned "genuine" food is in now, at least around these parts. There's often a modern twist to it, but traditional food like the kind your grandmother used to make is all the rage in fancy restaurants, cooking shows and the like. Like many of you, I've always been absolutely baffled by the way the Duggars eat. Especially since they've always bragged about being so frugal. They literally have zero knowledge about food, nutrition, cooking methods or ingredients. I am still shaking my head at the episode where Mechelle declared instant noodles, cooked in a crock pot of all things, to be an excellent meal for kids because it had so much protein in it. Like wtf? Her marrying so young probably had a lot to do with her lack of skills and knowledge but seriously, even before the Internet there were plenty of cookbooks and food shows around. I get that not all people like cooking (my own mother hates it with a passion but she still managed to feed me decently) but if you're planning on bringing up a gazillion kids then maybe at least learn the basics?

So when Jesus says 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ and vice versa and then there's the whole thing about goats and sheep and left and right sides; does that mean that the goats will be let into heaven as long as they genuinely believed they were behaving like sheep? Or will they be herded to the left? Because I think the Duggars are a prime example of goats believing they are sheep. ETA: Just reading @Absolom 's post above makes me horribly confused. There appears to be some contradiction here. I guess that is good news for Derrick, he can behave in ever which way he likes and still claim to be a good Christian.

As an outsider (and atheist) I have to admit to being somewhat confused by American right wing Christians and people like the Duggars and their spouses because they make such a huge song and dance about how much they love Jesus, how religious they are, how they live by biblical principles, how they pray to Jesus about every little thing and so on. And yet when when you look a bit closer, it seems like a lot what they actually do and say and vote for just goes against the things Jesus preached. I am an atheist but I agree with a lot of the things Jesus said and did and I try to live my life according to several Christian principles even though I tend to think of them as universal and humanist rather than Christian. But, to me, the Duggars and their ilk look a lot like the hypocrites and Pharisees that Jesus criticised and denounced. So, how do you get into heaven here? Is it enough to say you love Jesus and think you behave in the manner Jesus preached even if you are not really doing it, or do you have to actually walk the walk so to speak? Because if it's the latter I think most of the Duggars, Derrick being a prime example, might be up for a surprise. (I don't actually believe that of course, because atheist). I mean, I know that Evangelicals focus on faith rather than works, but do they genuinely believe that you can do and speak and vote against the actual teachings of Christ, and still get into heaven as long as you believe in Jesus? Because that... doesn't make sense to me. It just seems like a get out of jail free card to be a horrible person. Or am I missing something here? ETA: To be clear, I'm not snarking, this is something that has genuinely baffled me for years and I don't personally know any Christians of this type to ask. I live in the land of mild-mannered Lutherans who put rainbow carpets in the aisles of their churches in support of gay rights. Even our Evangelicals tend to be fairly harmless, if somewhat less socially liberal than most.

The house, aside from that horrible kitchen... thing, is actually quite nice IMO. A lot brighter than the birthday picture made it seem. The furniture and decorations are rather dreadful but I can't blame a young couple for not having matchy matchy furniture. Personally, I'd have opened up the layout of the house a bit more but it's a pretty decent starter house for couple where only one person is working. I can see why Joy is proud of it.

The grey colour on the walls actually looks very nice to me but the drab curtains combined with the too big brown leather couches destroys the room completely. It's just depressing, especially since the ceiling is grey as well. They need lighter colours to accentuate the walls, not darker ones in a similar yet different colour. I have to ask. Is this brown colour scheme the Duggars seem to favour an American thing or a Duggar thing? Because I live in the land of white when it comes to house decorating. Walls are white, ceilings are white, lots of furniture is white. With some grey, black, natural wood and occasional accent colours like purple thrown in for decoration purposes. Can be boring as hell but at least I don't feel depressed when walking into a room.

Maybe she was a fan of Asia Argento?

In this particular scenario I think it's more a case of "lookit my swanky jacket" than about being cold. He's positioning that burger very strategically imo.

His cheeks look a bit photoshopped or filtered, especially since we know how he usually looks. Though his skin could have cleared up lately, I suppose. I do wish he would ditch the beard, it makes him look like a douchey dudebro.

Has anyone seen a picture of little Sammy smiling yet? He always looks vaguely gobsmacked to me. There is such an enormous difference between Jill's kids and Jessa's; Spurgie and Wilberforce always look happy and smiling and the Dullard's kids just... don't.

What kind of psycho brags about beating her children? Like, WTF? It is so weird to me, seeing these people proudly admitting to and advocating for actions that would literally get them arrested in my country. It's like someone would go on social media and brag about all the high quality drugs they are selling from their garage, or post a step-by-step burglary manual with pictures of themselves breaking into a house.

That's interesting. In my secular country, Christmas is pretty much the only time the churches are full. Traditionally during morning mass on Christmas day but in the past few decades Midnight mass on Christmas Eve has become increasingly popular, I assume mostly because people hate getting up in the morning. However, "Julotta" (really early Christmas day morning mass) is still a fairly big thing so most churches do both.

Well, I guess my question about why it's always so dark inside their home is now answered. It's because they apparently keep their windows fully covered at all times, even during the day. I mean, I can understand them wanting some privacy, considering the design of the house and its surroundings, but there has to be some middle ground between living in a fish bowl and living in a dark cave. Sheer curtains during the day would let some daylight in while still providing some privacy.

Also, back in the days before smartphones, one could only use a set and very small number of letters in each text and each text message cost money. For my generation at least chatspeak was less a fad than it was about saving money on our phone bills.

I wonder if Ben is on a cortisone treatment for his allergies; his face looks bloated compared to how he usually looks. My cousin had really bad allergies and IIRC the doctors put him on cortisone as a last resort and while it helped him breathe easier and itch less, it also made him bloat something fierce. Or, they could be pregnant again and he's just eating for two.

I wonder if they deliver to Sweden... because I need that in my mouth.

Call me a germophobe if you will but I always thought the shoe thing was totally gross, not something to brag about. Buying used clothes is fine, great even; there's no reason why perfectly good clothes should be thrown away. But shoes... you can't wash them. Someone's been sweating in those shoes. And moulding them to fit their own feet. I understand people buying used shoes if they genuinely cannot afford new ones, but the Duggars keep buying used shoes even when they can afford new ones.

Heh. Jessa sounds like a mix between Mary Poppins and a drill sergeant. "Spurge likes to eat fish. Doesn't he?" I'm sure she loves her kids dearly but that's pretty much how I talk to my dog when he's been naughty.

The Duggars definitely own guns. I sincerely hope Derrick doesn't.

I am so very confused about people like Derrick getting all up in arms about Muslim immigrants and how they are all potential terrorists. I mean, I get that 9/11 was a huge deal for a country that hadn't really been under foreign attack since Pearl Harbour, and being European I definitely know that IS and whatever lone gunmen attaching themselves to their cause are a threat (though not even a little bit as much as they fancy themselves to be). But the US has mass shootings all. the. freaking. time. Most of which are carried out by white Christian Americans. Not to mention that there has been plenty of evil shit done by individuals belonging to all those groups he mentioned (the Buddhists of Myanmar are commiting genocide against the (mostly Muslim) Rohingya as we speak ffs) . Yet this attack, where no one even died, is where Derrick choose to comment and get all judgy? He seriously needs to get a job since he's obviously spending far too much time on the couch watching Fox News. /soapbox rant

Seriously. It's like the only body part he's offering up half-way voluntarily is his mouth, and it looks more like he was going for close-mouthed duty peck rather than loving kiss. His body language is extremely passive; he's basically just standing there like a lamp letting Jill attach herself to him. This marriage is weird. On a different note, am I the only one who thinks Derrick looks vaguely like a young Paul McCartney in this picture? Could be the hair. And the fact that we don't see much of his face. Nevermind.