Wellfleet

Except that the Duggars wouldn't have any idea who the Church Lady was. Not that they'd see the show anyway...

Just an idea but have you considered planting a tree or something similar for your baby boy, wander? Something beautiful and green that can grow up with Maisie at your house? A friend of mine lost a baby at around 7 months, due to strep I think, back in the early 80s and they planted a gingko tree for him. Believe it or not, they still live in the same house and she's mentioned from time to time what a comfort it is to sit at the window and just gaze at "David's tree" and think. BTW, she lost her baby in the Fall and gingkos have the most dazzling Fall foliage. Sniff...

My guess is that Boob will not sue. He'd be spending a good chunk of change with no assurance of a win. I think El Cheapo will end up re-thinking that tactic. Sounded good on TV though...

Agree with Foghorn. This is not unique to DC. Could have happened - does happen - everywhere and anywhere people want to step into positions of power - at all levels. Nothing new under the sun...

Yes, I don't think it ever crossed Anna's mind to leave Josh. Even if she did, I don't think there would be a divorce. I wish I could give her a little more credit, but I really don't believe she's imagined the possibility of danger to her own kids either. I think she's basically been hoodwinked all the way through this saga. Before the courting started she was given a very sanitized version of the story and being the trusting, obedient and indoctrinated soul she is, she believes it all to this day.

Sorry to say I agree. I think if Boob had been assured that TLC was going ahead with the show, there never would have been an interview or any desire at all to "tell their story." Maybe not even one where they'd be paid.

FWIW, I do think this type of thing, sadly, happens more often than any of us would want to believe. But there's no way Boob talked to "many other families." Who would do that? Not even him. He'd turn over heaven and earth to prevent anyone else from finding out what Josh had done and he certainly never volunteered the information in order to find out what to do. That was clearly one of the talking points he was advised to get out.

They may believe them to be adults at 13, but clearly Boob doesn't start treating them like adults until they are well-and-truly married. Not 18 or 21, not courting, not engaged. And even then he is far too involved in his children's lives. This, I believe, is specifically a Boob deal and not something peculiar to most Gothard/Quiverfull dads.

Agree. But in fairness to Anderson, I'm not sure the Duggars were being vocal with their anti-everyone-but-people-exactly-like-us type comments at that time. Or if they were, he wasn't aware of it yet. I seriously doubt they would have appeared on his show if he'd known then what they were really all about.

No, they honestly don't - IMO. They haven't lived in the real world for so long, I honestly believe their frame of reference is entirely whacked.

IMO, Josh gets a pass from the supporters because he's a Duggar. Plain and simple. And because even the leghumpers cannot admit they've made a mistake. They were sucked into the whole Duggar world, hook line and sinker - never questioning anything they did or said. In the last 2 weeks I've read 100s of comments both pro- and anti-Duggar, but I haven't seen any that sound as though they were from a leghumper whose mind had been changed. I find that really sad and sadly, really predictable.

Lawrence is awesome - thanks for the info.

Beautifully-said, amitville. Love this... :>)

I do not think Megyn read the report. And I didn't either - I didn't need to know all the details. But I did read the timeline in the Washington Post and agree that Ma & Pa changed a number of details tonight. Megyn didn't call them out, but there are certainly others that will. I think there will be serious backlash from the tabloids and maybe others. The gravy train, I think, has finally gone off the tracks. Time for real school and real jobs again...

OK here goes. Hope I'm not breaking any rules. So I took my own advice, girded my loins and watched the interview. Surprisingly, it was not as sickening as I thought it would be. I listened to most of it though - my living room has the cable and I stayed in the dining room on my Mac, though I can turn around and see the screen just fine. Overall I'd give Boob & Me-chelle a C. They did not score very big in my estimation. They were a little too calm, especially Boob, so I'm guessing both were medicated. They weren't as articulate as I expected either. Is that laughing I hear? No, I've never expected either of them to be articulate - because they're not. But I have been imagining that they were rehearsing pretty strenuously for this performance, yet there were still a lot of pauses tonight - during which I kept hearing the question "Line?" in my head. Predictably they threw all the local officials and of course the tabloids under the bus but in general I don't think they did too awful much to help their case. The only people who probably swallowed this are the leghumpers and as we all know, they're already convinced. Megyn was much less sympathetic than I expected. Although she didn't ask most of the tough questions she did come off to me as professional. Friday night will of course be even more interesting. I don't think having Jill and Jessa on will make a lot of difference either but too soon to tell of course. PS - Me-chelle sounded squeakier and looked more bug-eyed than ever, which couldn't have helped her at all with the general population who're unfamiliar with the show.

Me too. I honestly don't know whether I'll be able to watch - yet it won't be fair to comment without watching. Rock, meet creepy place.

I have to agree with Jen. I would have preferred a classier display, all white lights maybe, and a lot fewer of them too. I'd rather my neighbors have to look at that for a month that giant cartoon dogs. But I also think it's good that Bill rules some things too. And Christmas while the kids are still little is the perfect time for him to do this kind of thing. It worked - and it was fair.

Yeah, Zoey might not even like Santa next year. It's SO common for pre-schoolers. In high school I worked part-time at Penney's and was lucky enough to have a clear view of Santa's workshop and the line of parents and kids waiting for the Big Guy for several years of Christmases. Wish I had a dollar for every time I saw a pre-schooler behave just like Zoey last night - screaming bloody murder at the prospect of being plunked in Santa's lap. At the time it seemed that this was nearly every pre-schooler. Babies a year or under were good, but not toddlers and pre-schoolers. Not most of them anyway. Kids didn't really warm up to Santa, at least from what I saw, until they started school.

So true! Normal and healthy - and definitely amazing. Years ago in high school I was fascinated to learn that the chemical composition of "emotional" tears is different from the tears our eyes shed when irritated? Emotional tears actually contain more proteins than those tears that result from chopping onions, or when someone blows cigarette smoke in our faces, or for the rowdier of us, tear gas etc. Think of emotional tears as a steam valve, one way the body lets off "dangerous" emotional steam before something blows. Definitely good...

Hmmm, an interesting take on things. I have to say this wouldn't surprise me - there certainly is Duggar precedent for it.

Agree 100%. I worked in university admissions for 15 years and until I started watching the Duggars, my experience with homeschooled students had been entirely positive. Most of those I knew were homeschooled because their parents wanted a more enriched experience for them than they felt "traditional" schools could offer, and a more flexible schedule as well. The kids themselves were usually above-level in every subject, had taken AP classes, had done research in topics of interest, had traveled with their parents and written papers, etc etc. Very impressive youngsters - there was never any question about admitting them. It was the Duggars who made me remember that, as with everything else, there's the left side of the Bell Curve as well as the right - the poor and the excellent. And that not everyone who homeschools is qualified to do so.

You're on your way, wander. Something tells me Maisie isn't the only fierce female in this family. I tend to think she comes by it naturally [wink]. Keep on keepin' on...

This comment is yet another example why, in addition to the Like button, we need a Hearty Chuckle or Cracked Me Up button here on the forum... :>)

For sure. Rachel interviewing Josh - and just Josh too, no Mommy and Daddy sitting alongside too - would be awesome...

If TLC made it a condition to getting the show back, I wonder if Boob & Me-chelle - and Josh - would actually sit down for an hour with Lester Holt, or Maria Shriver, or Diane Sawyer, or any serious journalist, for a real interview. Live, no pre-approved questions, no $$ for video or photos, no editing rights - nothing. Every atom in my brain is screaming "No way! Are you nuts?" But at the same time, I do wonder if Boob could resist the temptation...