Albanyguy

That reminds me, what happened to the Spanish lessons that they made such a big deal about and that apparently took up such a big chunk of their time? We haven't heard anything about that lately. I'm guessing that learning Spanish proved too difficult and was quietly dropped ("Derick, I can't understand what happened! I watched a real Hispanic person speak Spanish for two whole hours and I still can't speak a word! I should be an expert by now!")

I think that when the cameras aren't rolling, there is a lot teasing going on and that it's all extremely mean; cruel barbs and taunts overlaid with a sugary veneer of Jesus-y "keeping sweet". As for cutting up and being silly, we've seen examples of their ugly practical jokes: trashing wedding cars, scaring Amy with a clown, trying to run down a cat. These are people who lack any real empathy and who don't really like or trust each other. There's a lot of repressed hostility that they're forbidden to express in any honest or constructive way, so it comes out veiled as "humor".

The Duggars sure do love their "FU Internet" moments, don't they? It makes them feel extra smug and clever, as if they're really pulling one over on us. And the way the leghumpers swallow them hook, line and sinker only reinforces their belief that they're smarter that all of us "haters". Right now, they're focusing on "proving" that Jana isn't really the indentured household drudge we think she is. But I have a prediction for their next FU Internet campaign. Right now, Jill and Jessa are catching online flack for their messy, dirty houses. It point out the girls' essential laziness and Michelle's failure to train them for a Fundie woman's only role in life. So, I'll bet that next season, we'll see the Seewalds and Dillards with spotless, shining homes (courtesy of unseen TLC-supplied cleaning crews). We'll also be treated to a few carefully-staged scenes of Jill scrubbing her kitchen and Jessa sweeping under her bed.

Thanks for the explanation; learned something new today!

Re: poor, skinny Timothy and his "fasting", I have a question that one of the posters who was raised Fundie may be able to answer. Is fasting really a part of Fundie culture? Having been raised Catholic, I know that fasting is a big part of Catholic ritual, but except for very high-Church Episcopalians, I've never known Protestants to be into it. And considering how anti-Catholic many hard-core Fundies are ("Catholics aren't really Christians"), wouldn't they regard fasting as suspiciously and dangerously "Papist"? It makes me wonder if Jill would normally be opposed to the concept of fasting, but latched onto it as a way to explain why her kid is so malnourished looking (and to save on the food bills). Maybe I'm being unfair to her, but the thought of those two fat slobs leaving their underfed kids behind in the stink bus while they gorge themselves at restaurants makes my blood boil.

What's really making her unhappy is having to do her own laundry instead of having an unmarried sister or a grandmother there to do it for her.

I think it's another of their FU Internet gestures, designed to answer critics who call out the men in the family for being selfish and entitled: "Look at us! We're such modern, involved daddies! We even change those disgusting poopy diapers!" Awwww! It's enough to almost make you forget Josh taking a nap while his wife gave birth on the toilet or JD asserting that the wimmenfolk LIKE to do laundry.And I'd be really surprised if Josh, Derick or Ben ever changed a diaper if someone wasn't right there with a camera to take a picture of them doing it.

Exactly. And she has been surrounded all her life by people who look, talk, think and act exactly like her. She was isolated and protected from anybody who was even a tiny bit "different" and was taught that those "different" people were to be feared and avoided. And now she's been removed completely from her comfort zone. She was a needy, clingy bride back in Arkansas and now she's alone with nobody but her husband to hang onto. It's no wonder Derick looks like hell, he must be suffocating under the constant, crushing burden of keeping Jill happy.

I'm going to file Jim Bob's "learning disability" away as just another one of Michelle's self-serving lies, like her "missing back muscle" and her "bulimia".

The Duggar kids are all very lazy, dislike any kind of work and are used to living in a dirty, chaotic environment. Jill probably didn't see anything wrong with the way the apartment looked and may have even felt that the mess would help foster the impression that she and Derick are so busy saving souls that they don't have any time for housework.

"The big problem with the world is that all the intelligent people are full of doubts and all the stupid people are full of confidence" - Charles Bukowski

And Episcopalians!

In that sense, she truly is a Duggar.

I agree that it's all probably bullshit, but I wish it were true. Anna was well-conditioned to be a selfless Gothardite wife. It would be child's play for Jim Bob and Michelle to convince her that Josh's adultery was all her fault and that she needed to be completely submissive and forgiving. I'd love to hear them try that routine on Jessa Blessa. Her Christianity is all based on believing that she's better than everybody: "My shit doesn't stink and the sun doesn't rise till I get out of bed in the morning, because Jesus!". She wouldn't be having any of that "I wasn't joyfully available enough" crap; she'd be wreaking blood-soaked vengeance on Bin and the sister in question.

I could be wrong, but I thought that the statistics showed a fairly large drop-off in the current generation of Quiverful/Fundie raised children. Which would explain why they're so desperate to bring in new converts and why their rhetoric is so strident. ("We're the wave of the future! No, really! Because I said so, that's why!!!")

I think David will (barely) hold it together as long as the Gothard empire keeps providing him with a position that makes him feel secure and powerful. But when the organization inevitably crumbles (through dwindling membership, public scandals, lawsuits, competing factions and Bill Gothard's eventual death) and he is left adrift with his whole purpose in life gone, then he will experience a massive implosion. God help poor, dim Priscilla and the kids when that day arrives.

I would guess that the kids were all trained to be night owls so that their habits wouldn't conflict with Jim Bob and Michelle's convenience. The J'Slaves were probably charged with keeping the little kids/babies absolutely quiet in the morning until their parents were ready to get up.

When does Jackson reach the age when he's segregated from hanging out with the girls? That's going to significantly cut down on his opportunities to mug for the camera.

And a gay scandal will be the Titanic, the Lusitania and the Andrea Doria all rolled into one. The Queen Mother of all Fundie scandals. Nothing gives the Duggars hysterics like gay sex rearing its ugly head. Accusations that one of his sons is batting for the other team is the only thing that could cause Jim Bob to stick a crowbar in his wallet and buy the accuser off, especially if it was more than just "he said/he said". Unless, of course, the son in question was young enough that it could be spun as an innocent lad corrupted by a pervert. That could be turned to Jim Bob's advantage and get them some big speaking gigs.

And David is doing the electrical work himself. Yikes.

She's not just getting thick around the middle, she's gaining weight all over (notice how heavy her upper arms have gotten). I don't remember her looking big all over like that during her pregnancies. Jim Bob is also gaining weight. I think that the two of them have started over-eating as a reaction to the stress they've been under. Or it could just be that late-middle-age, a cheap, starchy diet and a lack of exercise is finally catching up to them both. Actually, I think she looks better with a little meat on her bones. Over the last few years, she's looked like she was shrinking away.

She doesn't have the faintest idea what she's saying; she's just parroting her mother. Michelle, we're not deaf, we can hear you in the background prompting her.

Agreed. If Josh has any kind of plan in place for rebuilding his life and redeeming his reputation, I guarantee it will involve making speeches in front of large groups of carefully controlled leghumpers and getting his mug back in front of the TV cameras as quickly as possible.

Absolutely. I still believe that Josh and Danica met and had sex twice. I do not believe that Josh has any evidence, as he claimed, that proved he was somewhere else at the times she claimed they were together. If he had, he would have produced it at the very start when she first came forward with her claim before she had a chance to file suit against him Danica has withdrawn her suit and agreed not to re-file it ever again. She did not state that she lied about having sex with Josh. My guess is that (on her attorney's advice) she withdrew because there's nothing to be gained by going further. They were probably hoping that Jim Bob would offer to settle out of court, underestimating how cheap and crafty he is. If the case went to court, she probably wouldn't have won. She had no proof in her corner: no photos of cuts and bruises, no medical or police records. It's all he-said-she-said and what are the odds a jury is going to take the unsupported word of a paid sex worker (wrong, I know, but realistic)? At that point, her attorney probably told her to throw in the towel. She'd already milked the situation for all the publicity it was worth and even if she won, there wouldn't be any real payoff. Josh is more than likely flat broke. I'm sure that any savings/ assets Josh and Anna had were quietly transferred to the family trust back when the scandals first broke and can't be touched. Jim Bob controls the trust and good luck ever getting any of that money back again, Joshie. So, if there was nothing to be gained, there was no reason for Danica to proceed. The fact that her withdrawal was "with prejudice" (meaning it can't be re-filed at a later date) indicates that there was some negotiation involved. Either Jim Bob stuck a crowbar in his wallet and threw her a couple of grand or more likely his LAWYR found some way to throw a scare into her. But she was not required to state that her claim of having sex with Josh was untrue. My gut feeling is that they did hook up twice, but that her claim that Josh was rough and abusive was something she invented later when she realized that there was money and publicity to be had. I think that Josh has a lot of repressed anger (thanks, Dad!) and a lot of repressed hostility towards women (thanks, Mom!), but I just can't see him getting physical violent towards even a woman as "beneath" him as Danica. He's just too much of a coward. If he caused her any physical pain, it was probably just because he was clumsy and inept in the sack.