Wellfleet

A bachelor's in poly sci could be used as a basis for many master's level or beyond programs. These days knowledge of political science is looked on as knowledge about people, groups, behavioral trends etc - and is very attractive in many business fields. In addition, for the last 15 years before my retirement I worked in university admissions - handling strictly graduate-level applications, where it was not unusual to have poly sci students applying for MBAs and our MS degree in health care administration. And one thing in particular I remember very clearly when I was a senior in college myself [40+ years ago]. Insurance companies were not at all picky about what your major was. That really couldn't be said about any other employer that visited our campus. They had jobs for accounting people, and philosophy graduates. Or at least were willing to talk to graduates in nearly every area.

So true... Israel looks to be at least a year old in that photo where Joy has him in the Snuggli - or whatever they call 'em now. That child has got be in the 99%-ile for height at least.

And muzzling Jessa will be even more difficult...

The only women that want men like this are Gothardites and similar fundies. And as for why? A myriad of reasons, most of them psychological and stemming from childhood. But we're not supposed to be amateur psychoanalysts here so...

Unless there's also a drug addiction here that hasn't been revealed. This whole story is becoming very Twilight Zone, very Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I'm no longer sure of what I can believe/trust - and what I know to be bogus. Ordinarily I'd say that's just what Boob intended, but I honestly don't think he could concoct such a convoluted plot line...

Considering the inordinate amount of time he spends yammering against it, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn, at some point, that Boob has been a regular viewer of porn himself. It's always been this way. The more someone decries an evil, the greater the likelihood he himself is an active participant. Did Josh just chalk one up in that column himself?

I think I'd be fairly-surprised if we found out that 1984 was on any reading list or part of any high school curriculum - in the early 80s - in Arkansas. Especially private Christian schools. A public school - maybe. But I guess it could have happened - who knows?

I would almost guarantee the Duggars have never read 1984. They never read anything - except what old Bill tells 'em to, that is They've picked up on the double-speak from being part of Gothard's world. And of course, Boob's been listening to real estate talk most of his life, and selling used cars too. With apologies to all the very fine real estate agents and car salespeople out there.

Trivia and Tip of the Day - Give a serious side-eye to ANY school with a URL ending in "dot.com." This is not to say that the schools using "edu" are fine either. Jillions of them are NOT. But the "dot.coms" are almost always a dead give-away.

To be honest, I do think it does happen in a fair amount of the families the Duggars know - for reasons we've already hashed and re-hashed. But I agree - this was opportunistic on the Duggars' part. They weren't needed here at all. Or even useful.

Yes, we might - LOL. I have two university degrees and 25 years of experience working with little kids in organized settings, and I've never thought of myself as expert. I'm very experienced, but in no way an expert. I believe my classroom years provided me with knowledge and insights that most mothers would be extremely unlikely to learn in a home setting, just as mothers learn things in caring and interacting with their children that I couldn't hope to discover in a classroom. We need to acknowledge that all experience and viewpoints are valid and valuable - and that when it comes to human beings, there's no formula for doing anything that's always right or best for everyone.

My guess is that it's not intended for Josiah at all. It's intended for the leg-humpers and other fans out there - the Duggars' "audience" or whatever they called the people who come to their personal appearances, buy their books etc. People who essentially supply them with at least some of their income. And people they need more than ever now that the biggest chunk of their income - TLC - is over.

I believe Josh thinks he might be an addict, but after a thorough examination, I'm not at all sure a clinician would tag him as one. He certainly has any number of other problems, but I'm not sure about addiction. But he may have decided calling himself an addict will get him some leg-humper sympathy - and that it would remove some of the blame from him as well.

You'd think so, but sadly, no. There was an episode where Boob loads up the stink bus for a Pizza Night Out, and heads for a place where "kids eat free..." While placing the order at the register, he had to point out how many offspring he had that were at or under the acceptable age. I'm guessing at that time maybe two-thirds of the kids were eligible for free pizza. In the end there were at least 10 or 12 pizzas produced for them. The management, as I remember it, was very pleasant about it - on camera. And on the surface. But I'm sure once the Duggars were fed and out the door, they made some immediate changes to that policy. I'm sure many other restaurants have done the same since then as well.

Me too Earl - I was royally-steamed about that. Crappy timing for poor Lauren - she deserved much better.

Good God, Happy - that SIL of yours really is beyond contempt. He must have been the King of the Narcissists on whatever planet he came from... Give yourself a real treat - make a Monte Cristo. If you've never heard of it, it's basically stuffed French Toast, with the stuffing being ham and swiss. A light drooling of REAL Vermont maple syrup over the finished sandwich, piping hot, and you'll find your eyes rolling back in your head.

The cowbell line? No, I think I can pretty much guarantee they didn't. LOL. PS - thank you CofCinci for the gigantic spit-take laugh! That was classic! Well, I read somewhere on their website that they have an astonishing success rate. Sure they do. When you create your own statistics, you can cure everybody...

My theory is - it's just a trend. Like all those single-dad sitcoms in the 60s. Can't imagine what TLC - in particular - will come up with next.

Yes - I thought Uncle J was adorable. When Michelle called to see how things were going, he said "Oh good. We're sitting here filling out Jack's online dating profile..." and I laughed out loud. Alone in my house. Those kids have a very fun uncle in him.

I could have said it. And wouldn't have any problem either. If I owned a restaurant in Arkansas [anywhere actually], I'd make sure the policy was clearly stated on the menu and on a sign at the door, and at the desk. "Kids 10 & Under Eat Free on Tues - Limit 3 Kids Per Family." In other words, the register starts running again if you have more than 3 kids. If Boob became upset, tough. I'm not obligated to lose money because a millionaire cheapskate is trying to work the system. PS - very doubtful that any segment like that would ever air anyway. 1 - I'd never sign the release form. 2 - Even if I did, what could Boob do besides stand there slack-jawed? I doubt TLC wants Howdy Duggar standing there looking like that [anymore than necessary, that is]. Actually I'm sure there have been instances when they've had too many kids for Free Night - and they either don't film the situation, or it ends up on the cutting room floor.

Amen to this - spellcheck is "stoopid." I've seen many posts - here and elsewhere - that are almost unintelligible, and I don't think they started that way, I think sometimes it's because people don't even realize their misspelled words are being "corrected" - incorrectly. There's no such thing as a former teacher, so I'll just [lovingly] say it. People, read your posts through BEFORE hitting the Send button. Or write your comment in a Pages or Word document and copy it to the webpage. End of soapbox.

That was my thinking too. From what she writes, she seems like someone "very inside" the church. The other day I was thinking she might even be a "he."

I agree. I think that Josh is quite lazy, and has been most of his life. Which, BTW, is very unusual in firstborns. IMO, he's never shown any kind of genuine ambition or passion for anything - no excitement for something that he'd pursue wholeheartedly. He says he wants to be a lawyer, but if admitted to Harvard tomorrow, I bet he'd leave within a year. Not because he can't handle the work [although he almost certainly couldn't] but because it would be much more work he ever imagined, and much more than he ever planned to do. He doesn't really have the example of hard-working parents to go by either. His father, in large part, has what he has because it was given to him - or because he wheedled, cajoled or pity-partied it out of other people. I have the suspicion Boob greatly disliked his own days as an employee, and often get a mental picture of him coming home in his grocery store shelf-stocker days complaining loudly and long to Me-chelle about how lame his supervisors were, how badly they were messing up, and how much better things would run if he was in charge.

IMO, "overseas" is exactly what it implies. "Over the sea" - over an ocean usually. If an American travels to Mexico, he has not travelled overseas. If an Australian comes to Mexico, he most certainly has gone overseas. Edited to add: PS - I do not think it's correct to say that "Jill & Derrick went overseas to El Salvador" - because from Arkansas it's possible to travel there entirely by land. Bottom line, the Duggars probably use the term for the cachet alone. It just sounds a little more impressive. Or maybe in their cluelessness, they just don't know any better. They've labelled Josh a "graphic designer" because he can play with stationery software - something most people can do with 10-15 minutes of prep time. What's next? If Jackson knocks over a box of toothpicks, are they going to call him a lumberjack?

Why is this weird? Better than 8 days ago might be odd. But 8 years? Maybe Alice went to school, even earned a degree? Not for nothing, but I write better now than I did 8 years ago too. Relatively easy to do if you practice, read a lot of different writers etc.