Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events

[JoanArc]

3 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Duggar Studios? They still wear those shirts.

No, it is the production company that Josh owned Wayback when he was first married.  I think it was intended to produce propaganda and election ads for various political candidates. It never really went anywhere. But it was definitely something Jim Bob wanted him getting into. I guess the car lot was a better fit for the show and Josh’s personality.

 

edit: it’s still listed on josh’s linkedin. Duggar Studios came later. It was the cargo cult used for filming in between shows.

Edited May 9, 2021 by JoanArc

[emmawoodhouse]

Yeah, I now seem to recall that Duggar Studios was more of a thing with the Howlers, but they were using stuff that was maybe left back at the TTH by Smuggar. 

[Minivanessa]

1 minute ago, JoanArc said:

No, it is the production company that Josh owned Wayback when he was first married.  I think it was intended to produce propaganda and election ads for various political candidates. It never really went anywhere. But it was definitely something Jim Bob wanted him getting into. I guess the car lot was a better fit for the show and Josh’s personality.

So Josh's parents pretty much handed him, on a plate, the opportunity to develop a video production business, and it went nowhere. Did Josh even try? Did he try a little and not find instant success and give it up? I wonder. Because when JB gave him that car lot to run it seemed that Josh had no enthusiasm for it. IIRC that was clear from the footage on the show at the time. 

[JoanArc]

Quote

Did Josh even try? 

 I doubt any credible politician would want to use a 20 year old kids iMac to produce video concepts that their campaigns woulddepend on.  Not that it stoppedJim Bob for funding at all 

[lascuba]

5 minutes ago, JoanArc said:

 I doubt any credible politician would want to use a 20 year old kids iMac to produce video concepts that their campaigns woulddepend on.  Not that it stoppedJim Bob for funding at all 

I still remember the typo-laden website Josh had for this business. Yeah, I'm sure that attracted a robust clientele.

[3 is enough]

I remember the sad website too.  I think Jessa was told to have him make the invitations for her wedding which were pitiful, IIRC.

[cmr2014]

1 minute ago, 3 is enough said:

I remember the sad website too.  I think Jessa was told to have him make the invitations for her wedding which were pitiful, IIRC.

Yes, those were really sad. That was in the early days of long grass and weathered barn photography.

[Heathen]

56 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

Yes, that was mentioned in his podcast that I listened to and mentioned in my post. He described that scene, where Josh visibly gulped. He (the narrator) said that afterward he and his dad talked about Josh's reaction since it was so odd, although Josh had gone on to explain the filter stuff on the computer. 

What really struck me in that part of his podcast, was the contrast between Josh's workstation with the shiny new iMac and the mess of junky old computers his siblings had to use.  The narrator said that JB said that the local college was going to discard a bunch of old computers so he'd grabbed them. He said the boys had managed to assemble some working computers from all that stuff but the room was like rows of old computers and computer parts. So all the kids had to use those old computers while Joshie lorded it over everybody at his shiny fancy new iMac. 

But of course I'm sure all the Duggars were so godly that nobody ever had any resentments over that disparity. /sarcasm

In the Zillion Kids and Moving In special, didn't Smuggar have his own room, too? (I swear  I remember that.) It was the "editing studio" or some BS, but it was Smuggar's alone. Of course, his nine brothers got a big dorm room to share, and his five sisters, who did all the work and were raising the kids, got a smaller dorm that would clearly be too small very soon. 

There were times over the years when I thought Jim Bob didn't like Smuggar much, especially a few moments in the On the Road special when Jim Bob's tone on speaking to his son was odd. But there were many more times when it was clear that Smuggar was #1. I wonder if Jim Bob regrets that now. 

[emmawoodhouse]

8 minutes ago, Heathen said:

In the Zillion Kids and Moving In special, didn't Smuggar have his own room, too? (I swear  I remember that.) It was the "editing studio" or some BS, but it was Smuggar's alone. Of course, his nine brothers got a big dorm room to share, and his five sisters, who did all the work and were raising the kids, got a smaller dorm that would clearly be too small very soon. 

There were times over the years when I thought Jim Bob didn't like Smuggar much, especially a few moments in the On the Road special when Jim Bob's tone on speaking to his son was odd. But there were many more times when it was clear that Smuggar was #1. I wonder if Jim Bob regrets that now. 

Yes! He even said something like "No rugrats allowed." He was always an asshole.

[cmr2014]

Just now, Heathen said:

In the Zillion Kids and Moving In special, didn't Smuggar have his own room, too? (I swear  I remember that.) It was the "editing studio" or some BS, but it was Smuggar's alone. Of course, his nine brothers got a big dorm room to share, and his five sisters, who did all the work and were raising the kids, got a smaller dorm that would clearly be too small very soon. 

There were times over the years when I thought Jim Bob didn't like Smuggar much, especially a few moments in the On the Road special when Jim Bob's tone on speaking to his son was odd. But there were many more times when it was clear that Smuggar was #1. I wonder if Jim Bob regrets that now. 

I don't think JB likes any of his sons much. I think he suspects them all of harboring impure thoughts.

If I recall correctly, Smuggar was put into his own room after the molestations came to light. He was locked in there at night.

I'm sure it's been difficult for him. Gothard tells him the Josh is the pure golden light of the Lord and any misbehavior is Satan trying to knock the prince off his throne, but part of JB has to wonder if he isn't just an asshole.

On a related note, if JB and J'chelle really thought the Josh was some special little pet of the Lord, why didn't they STOP HAVING CHILDREN and devote themselves to raising the Lord's special lamb?

[Quilt Fairy]

6 hours ago, Jeeves said:

Also, Josh was JB's "accountability partner" when JB served in the legislature from 1999 - 2002. Josh would have been 11 to 13 years old then, and JB took him everywhere. IIRC reading a comment that one legislator thought JB brought Josh to meetings on subjects which seemed inappropriate for a kid Josh's age to attend and the kid's presence made many people uncomfortable. 

IIRC, wasn't Josh discovered to be using a computer in the legislative offices to view porn even then?  

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Quilt Fairy said:

IIRC, wasn't Josh discovered to be using a computer in the legislative offices to view porn even then?  

I think it was during a campaign. He was about 16 then, so a little after the time he was at the legislative offices.

But I would not be surprised to learn he was caught doing this at other times that they kept quiet. 

[cmr2014]

14 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

IIRC, wasn't Josh discovered to be using a computer in the legislative offices to view porn even then?  

I wonder about what kind of porn he was viewing. We all assumed (I think) that it was just garden variety porn, but while I doubt it was child porn, it may have been disturbing.

It's possible that Josh may have sexualized dominance and cruelty. That would explain the description of the adult porn star who says Josh raped her, and the interest in the CP images. He doesn't seem to be a full-on pedophile: he certainly has never made any effort to be around children like becoming a "youth minister" or "mentoring" any children. He seems to be barely aware of his own children.

I think he might like to engage in, and view, sexual acts between unwilling participants where the man forces himself on a victim.

[emmawoodhouse]

19 minutes ago, Zella said:

I think it was during a campaign. He was about 16 then, so a little after the time he was at the legislative offices.

But I would not be surprised to learn he was caught doing this at other times that they kept quiet. 

Yes, it was Jim Holt's campaign in 2004. They blamed his loss on "sin in the camp."

[Zella]

7 minutes ago, cmr2014 said:

I think he might like to engage in, and view, sexual acts between unwilling participants where the man forces himself on a victim.

I believe you are right. In fact, I noticed in the summary I read on Reddit, it seemed like the agent who testified at the bond hearing specifically made a point of noting that the porn sites he was frequenting were associated with rape. Of course, I'd rather read what the agent's exact words were than the summary of it, but it does seem like a point that law enforcement noted.

Edited May 9, 2021 by Zella

[Gemma Violet]

I don't know if it was mentioned in this thread that Joy & Austin put a statement on their Instagram stories.  It was discussed in the Joy/Austin thread.

Edited May 9, 2021 by Gemma Violet

[Soup333]

7 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I'm not sure if any of you lurk on Reddit, but this is an interesting read. This person used to monitor sex offenders and gives his/her opinion on why they think Josh will violate his release conditions prior to trial. There's no triggering details, for those who are trying to avoid that sort of thing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DuggarsSnark/comments/n7y9n3/i_used_to_supervise_high_risk_sex_offenders_i/

I used to do legal transcription and had something like this. The man was an addict and couldn’t stop even at work, even after having been caught before. It had nothing to do with children though. 

It’s hard to imagine that Josh isn’t in a similar situation. Hopefully he is being carefully watched. 

[Chicklet]

9 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

Yes, those were really sad. That was in the early days of long grass and weathered barn photography.

Hey progress! Now they only have the long grass.  :)

[merylinkid]

14 hours ago, Jeeves said:

The narrator said that Josh was viewed by his parents and the church elders, as someone with potential to go out into the world and to great things (politically) for worshippers of the correct Jesus. The party line was that because Josh was designated for such a special mission and had such potential, that Satan was essentially attacking the church by tempting Josh into those sins, so they were standing by him, and they couldn't let Satan win by taking what they would consider a "worldly" view of the situation.  Or letting the evil outside world in on the facts.

And this is why there will be no plea deal.   They think the Right Jesus is on their side and will protect them.   Accepting a plea deal would be 1) acknowleding they were wrong and Josh is not the Chosen One and 2) allowing Satan to win.   They will take this to trial convinced "God will show the jurors the truth."

[Minivanessa]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

And this is why there will be no plea deal.   They think the Right Jesus is on their side and will protect them.   Accepting a plea deal would be 1) acknowleding they were wrong and Josh is not the Chosen One and 2) allowing Satan to win.   They will take this to trial convinced "God will show the jurors the truth."

I wonder just how strongly, if at all, JB now believes in Josh's God-given special destiny. IIRC at the time the teenaged (16 or 17) Josh was busted (not by the law but by Jim Holt) for looking at porn on campaign computers, the Duggars may still have been running The Church of Jim Bob Duggar in the Duggar house. So the men of the church (the ones who get a voice, don't forget that wimmen preaching in church is a traditional no-no for Baptists) would have already been aligned with JB's views on things. And ready to give the Most Favored Eldest Son the benefit of the doubt and their protection.

There's been a lot of water under a lot of bridges since those days. Josh had a golden opportunity to make a name for himself and be a Godly leader of Christ's people, when he went to FRC - and just blew it up instead with the Ashley Madison scandal.

I wonder how many folks JB could find right now who believe Josh STILL has some terrific career ahead of him as a God-chosen leader in this world, if JB even still believes that himself. I think there are folks like the Rebers who are ready to "help" Josh as a matter of helping a fellow believer in Christ. They probably think that Satan has been at work in the situation, but I wonder if they view Josh as someone extra-important or special in worldly terms, or just a guy who's really effed things up and needs to be put back on the right path. 

It's one thing to go along with a belief that a 17 year old guy has promise and potential to do great things, and to handle a sin like watching [legal] porn within the church as an "all of us vs. Satan" matter. It's another to still view a 33 year old man who's blown up chance after chance, including a nationally visible job, and is now facing criminal charges of this type, as needing some kind of special treatment because God has chosen him to be a special Christian leader. 

I agree with the post in another topic to the effect that people could believe that Satan was at work in Josh's life but also think he should be held legally accountable for these charges if they are true. I don't know who besides his family still think Josh is so specially appointed by God that he should not be held legally accountable for his actions. 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Jeeves

[NoThyme]

This has a picture of the Reber house 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9552677/Clean-cut-Christian-couple-seen-preparing-welcome-Josh-Duggar-hes-released-bail.html

[Jeanne222]

Josh is always smirking!  It's annoying to see that misfit being continuously coddled!

He'll do it again.  Why not!  He's able to do terrible things due to the enabling of Josh Dugger!

That's the sin.  The enabling of a 33 year old sex addict!

[GeeGolly]

Because like many of you, TV is where I learn about law or order, I'm wondering about these last 18 months. Have they been tracking Josh's computer use during that time? Or once they have evidence do they need to stop?

I'm thinking about how law enforcement taps phones of suspects. It seems they can do that with enough probable cause. And they don't always stop when they first get evidence because they want more to make the case stronger.

It seems very likely Josh has problems and I think it would be hard for him to go 18 months without a fix, even knowing the DHS were onto him. Or maybe he used legal porn to calm his urges?

[MsJamieDornan]

He should have to get a full time job. Supervised, of course.

[WinnieWinkle]

I never realised before how Josh wasn't just the favoured child but basically considered by his parents to be the second coming of Christ.  I guess it's possible they still see him as being the golden child being severely tested by Satan but somehow I'm thinking that's not too likely anymore.  And I can only imagine how seriously pissed off his siblings are right now.  At least the ones who have two working brain cells.  They've spent their entire lives kowtowing to this slug and being told he's better than they are and it's been one salacious scandal after another.  Topped off with THIS?  I guess the parents and Anna will never admit he's anything but perfect (at least not for public consumption) but I hope his siblings make it clear to him that he's disgusting.

[MunichNark]

I think we can be justified in saying that this is one giant fuck of a giant horrible clusterfuck.

I'm surprised how much it's affecting me, sigh

[Minivanessa]

59 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

  And I can only imagine how seriously pissed off his siblings are right now.  At least the ones who have two working brain cells.  They've spent their entire lives kowtowing to this slug and being told he's better than they are and it's been one salacious scandal after another.  Topped off with THIS?  I guess the parents and Anna will never admit he's anything but perfect (at least not for public consumption) but I hope his siblings make it clear to him that he's disgusting.

I think "slug" is a great word choice!

Josh has been handed opportunity after opportunity to develop skills, create a business, run a business, help a political movement - and he seems to have done f*ck-all except laze around, browse porn, preen in public for photo opps with politicians and VIPs, cruise for adultery partners, and worse. His disinterest in running that car lot was obvious from the TV series. He probably liked being up in front of people and schmoozing when he was at FRC, but I wonder how long he'd have lasted if he hadn't blown it up with the Ashley Madison scandal. I doubt he was really bringing in donors or extending support beyond their base, and I'm sure he wasn't educated to the level of being able to research and write position papers or the other content that FRC churned out.

He's always seemed arrogant and also lazy and low-energy. 

Definitely, a slug. 

[BigBingerBro]

That car lot was nothing more than a little business Boob set up to make Pest look like he worked.  It makes you wonder if they ever made a profit.

[Zella]

8 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

That car lot was nothing more than a little business Boob set up to make Pest look like he worked.  It makes you wonder if they ever made a profit.

I was also really shocked by how much freedom Josh had there. It was like since they had monitoring software on his computer, they didn't feel the need to really keep an eye on him otherwise. So, he was allowed to work by himself and could even claim he was working late, and nobody seemed to suspect he was up to something. I'd envisioned him on a much shorter leash. 

[BigBingerBro]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

I was also really shocked by how much freedom Josh had there

Well keep in mind, that set-up was pre-scandal was made public.  Of course the family knew about his molestations but by that point it was all hush hush and they assumed he was past it all.  Little did they know.  

The really telling scene was when Josh announced he was taking the job in DC and moving away.  MEShell looked almost horrified.  Granted she probably knew about it prior to the filming, but her "acting" certainly seemed genuine.  They knew that if his "past" was ever revealed, it would be all over.  It didn't take long.

Just so many bad decisions one after the other.

[Zella]

1 minute ago, BigBingerBro said:

Well keep in mind, that set-up was pre-scandal was made public.  Of course the family knew about his molestations but by that point it was all hush hush and they assumed he was past it all.  Little did they know.  

The really telling scene was when Josh announced he was taking the job in DC and moving away.  MEShell looked almost horrified.  Granted she probably knew about it prior to the filming, but her "acting" certainly seemed genuine.  They knew that if his "past" was ever revealed, it would be all over.  It didn't take long.

Just so many bad decisions one after the other.

Oh I meant his freedom he was allowed in 2019 when he was downloading what he was now charged with. The agent testified in the bond hearing that texts from Josh that day said he made excuses to stay late and that he was by himself. By that point, the molestations had been made public, the Ashley Madison thing had been outed, an adult film star had accused him of rape, and he had had multiple Jesus Jail stints. 

[lascuba]

14 minutes ago, Zella said:

I was also really shocked by how much freedom Josh had there. It was like since they had monitoring software on his computer, they didn't feel the need to really keep an eye on him otherwise. So, he was allowed to work by himself and could even claim he was working late, and nobody seemed to suspect he was up to something. I'd envisioned him on a much shorter leash. 

Taking the kindest view possible of them (so, you know, totally out of character for me), it's likely that they're so convinced of their own philosophy that they honestly believed that he'd repented and changed so a short leash wasn't necessary. There's nothing fundies love more than a sinner publicly repenting and recommitting to their faith. Their naivete would be sad if they weren't such awful people.

9 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Well keep in mind, that set-up was pre-scandal was made public.  Of course the family knew about his molestations but by that point it was all hush hush and they assumed he was past it all.  Little did they know.  

The really telling scene was when Josh announced he was taking the job in DC and moving away.  MEShell looked almost horrified.  Granted she probably knew about it prior to the filming, but her "acting" certainly seemed genuine.  They knew that if his "past" was ever revealed, it would be all over.  It didn't take long.

Just so many bad decisions one after the other.

I really don't think any of them were worried about that at all. JB and Michelle started the TLC specials in the middle of Josh's punishment for the molestations. The past being revealed was never a concern.

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, lascuba said:

Taking the kindest view possible of them (so, you know, totally out of character for me), it's likely that they're so convinced of their own philosophy that they honestly believed that he'd repented and changed so a short leash wasn't necessary. There's nothing fundies love more than a sinner publicly repenting and recommitting to their faith. Their naivete would be sad if they weren't such awful people.

I really don't think any of them were worried about that at all. JB and Michelle started the TLC specials in the middle of Josh's punishment for the molestations. The past being revealed was never a concern.

Yeah I think you are right that he had really sold them on the idea he had changed. Not enough for them to remove Covenant Eyes but enough for him to be allowed a considerable degree of freedom. 

[BradandJanet]

Mrs. Reber is just going along with taking Josh in because her headship decides such things. Ugh. She doesn't sound happy at the prospect of having Josh taking up residence, and who could blame her. I hope she won't be stuck watching and entertaining him during the day. She'll end up feeling responsible if things don't go well, and Josh is probably sneakier than the Rebers realize. 

The way JB moves money around, the car lot at least broke even, whether Josh did a single day of real work or not. 

[Chicklet]

I wonder how much money Covenant Eyes is losing after Josh let everyone know how easy it is to outwit it. I bet their elves are busy in the workshop trying to come up with new coding and new ad copy. "Oops we fixed it!"

[Quilt Fairy]

I'm only an occasional dabbler in this thread.  Could someone bring me up to date about Josh's visits to Jesus Jail?  I remember when Josh came to one up here in Illinois (Rockford, IIRC) after he left the FRC because of the Ashley Madison reveal.   But what was the second visit for?  Was it at the same place? 

[cmr2014]

4 hours ago, NoThyme said:

This has a picture of the Reber house 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9552677/Clean-cut-Christian-couple-seen-preparing-welcome-Josh-Duggar-hes-released-bail.html

The Rebers are much younger than I expected.

[ozziemom]

Just reading another book and saw a quote that to me, sums up the Duggars and others in their cult. Paraphrasing- the more you invest in a set of beliefs, the more you resist evidence that suggests you are wrong. You don’t give up, you double down. 

So the fact that Josh was alone so much suggests that JimBoob believed Jesus jail was a success. And Anna believed it too.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, BigBingerBro said:

That car lot was nothing more than a little business Boob set up to make Pest look like he worked.  It makes you wonder if they ever made a profit.

Exactly and the fact that Josh felt comfortable downloading CP at a place of business is proof positive nobody ever came in there. 

[crazy8s]

my question was who would ever go there for a car. I mean if you wanted a car from a duggar Jed! had the other car lot.

The little toll booth office on a corner with a sign that says no keys, titles or cash kept onsite would make me never go there.

Jed! at least bothered to get fake reviews. Lots of "Local Guides" aka fakes - David Waller, Laura, Dudley Dooright (Justin) Caleb Williams..... Carlin Bates got a car from him.

[merylinkid]

1 hour ago, lascuba said:

JB and Michelle started the TLC specials in the middle of Josh's punishment for the molestations. The past being revealed was never a concern.

It's worse than I thought.   WHat parent thinks  "my son just molested my daughters, lets go on tv and show what a good, wholesome CHRISTIAN family we are."   They really believed they were invincible.

Pride, fall, something something.    Pretty sure Pride is one of the 7 Big Ones, even in their version of the Bible.

[Zella]

42 minutes ago, crazy8s said:

my question was who would ever go there for a car. I mean if you wanted a car from a duggar Jed! had the other car lot.

The little toll booth office on a corner with a sign that says no keys, titles or cash kept onsite would make me never go there.

Jed! at least bothered to get fake reviews. Lots of "Local Guides" aka fakes - David Waller, Laura, Dudley Dooright (Justin) Caleb Williams..... Carlin Bates got a car from him.

I love that the agent made a specific comment about a building that looked like a toll booth that they found out was an office. Like, I can only imagine the conversation. 

Agent 1: "We need to search the shack."

Agent 2: "The office?"

Agent 1: "That too. Where is the office?"

Agent 2: *points to shack*

[Tabbygirl521]

6 hours ago, Jeeves said:

I wonder just how strongly, if at all, JB now believes in Josh's God-given special destiny. IIRC at the time the teenaged (16 or 17) Josh was busted (not by the law but by Jim Holt) for looking at porn on campaign computers, the Duggars may still have been running The Church of Jim Bob Duggar in the Duggar house. So the men of the church (the ones who get a voice, don't forget that wimmen preaching in church is a traditional no-no for Baptists) would have already been aligned with JB's views on things. And ready to give the Most Favored Eldest Son the benefit of the doubt and their protection.

There's been a lot of water under a lot of bridges since those days. Josh had a golden opportunity to make a name for himself and be a Godly leader of Christ's people, when he went to FRC - and just blew it up instead with the Ashley Madison scandal.

I wonder how many folks JB could find right now who believe Josh STILL has some terrific career ahead of him as a God-chosen leader in this world, if JB even still believes that himself. I think there are folks like the Rebers who are ready to "help" Josh as a matter of helping a fellow believer in Christ. They probably think that Satan has been at work in the situation, but I wonder if they view Josh as someone extra-important or special in worldly terms, or just a guy who's really effed things up and needs to be put back on the right path. 

It's one thing to go along with a belief that a 17 year old guy has promise and potential to do great things, and to handle a sin like watching [legal] porn within the church as an "all of us vs. Satan" matter. It's another to still view a 33 year old man who's blown up chance after chance, including a nationally visible job, and is now facing criminal charges of this type, as needing some kind of special treatment because God has chosen him to be a special Christian leader. 

I agree with the post in another topic to the effect that people could believe that Satan was at work in Josh's life but also think he should be held legally accountable for these charges if they are true. I don't know who besides his family still think Josh is so specially appointed by God that he should not be held legally accountable for his actions. 

Well, I don’t want to get political but we can see extremely flawed and apparently unrepentant people in public life who still appear to be idolized by many. It’s quite the puzzle.

imagine the ego it takes to assume that someone is extra super special, just because they happen to be YOUR firstborn. Crazy. It also just occurred to me that Josh was born pre-cult indoctrination of the parents. Shouldn’t God have waited until they were all in on Gothard before bestowing the amazing gift of Josh? Who, by the way, seems to have been acting out continually in ways that should get him off the hook of being the great shining hope of Christianity. That was a hell of lot of pressure to put on a kid.

ETA: So I guess according to this cult, all of us who are not out committing offenses aren’t important enough to God for Satan to bother with? Almost sounds like a case for atheism.

Still hoping that Anna is spending these last few days coming to terms with the charges against Josh; I think many of us would have had to wrestle with denial, at least. And then she’s got the Gothard “everything is the woman’s fault” programming to overcome. I’m still hopeful that at some point she’ll make the break a d save her kids. 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Tabbygirl521

[realityfan26]

1 hour ago, BitterApple said:

Exactly and the fact that Josh felt comfortable downloading CP at a place of business is proof positive nobody ever came in there. 

I'm surprised anyone believed he was working late; doing what? How busy could his lot have been? If it was a last minute customer, I'd think he would have said he was with a customer. 

[JoanArc]

Interesting tiktok

[3girlsforus]

3 hours ago, Chicklet said:

I wonder how much money Covenant Eyes is losing after Josh let everyone know how easy it is to outwit it. I bet their elves are busy in the workshop trying to come up with new coding and new ad copy. "Oops we fixed it!"

Maybe, but I'm pretty sure Covenant Eyes is viewed by those who would use it as an accountability tool - kind of like an AA meeting or a sponsor for those who want to change but need help when the pull gets strong. So knowing it's going to report you to your partner can be a deterrent and if you slip the person knows and you deal with it. But it all assumes the person with the issue ultimately wants to stop the addiction. Just like AA can't stop an alcoholic from drinking if they decide 'F* it - I want a drink'. 

This is just a guess since I've never actually seen the software. I really don't think it intended in any way to prevent someone from using the dark web for illegal child sexual websites (or any other dark web stuff). If someone is doing that, they don't want to stop their behavior. And I don't believe Josh ever planned to stop his behavior. 

Edited May 9, 2021 by 3girlsforus

[Heathen]

2 hours ago, crazy8s said:

my question was who would ever go there for a car. I mean if you wanted a car from a duggar Jed! had the other car lot.

The little toll booth office on a corner with a sign that says no keys, titles or cash kept onsite would make me never go there.

Jed! at least bothered to get fake reviews. Lots of "Local Guides" aka fakes - David Waller, Laura, Dudley Dooright (Justin) Caleb Williams..... Carlin Bates got a car from him.

Duggar car lots are the kind that self-finance, charge 30% interest, and prey on the desperate (or truly stupid). Anybody with a choice or a brain would go to a real dealership. 

It was speculated here years ago that John David had the tow truck(s) so that he could repo the cars Smuggar had sold, at his original car lot, to the desperate or dumb. It certainly made sense. 

[emmawoodhouse]

4 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I'm only an occasional dabbler in this thread.  Could someone bring me up to date about Josh's visits to Jesus Jail?  I remember when Josh came to one up here in Illinois (Rockford, IIRC) after he left the FRC because of the Ashley Madison reveal.   But what was the second visit for?  Was it at the same place? 

He only went to Jesus Jail that one time in August 2015. After that, he was presumably proclaimed cured of his addiction to porn. So yeah, they trusted him to be alone at the tollbooth car lot. 

 

[Jeanne222]

5 hours ago, Zella said:

I was also really shocked by how much freedom Josh had there. It was like since they had monitoring software on his computer, they didn't feel the need to really keep an eye on him otherwise. So, he was allowed to work by himself and could even claim he was working late, and nobody seemed to suspect he was up to something. I'd envisioned him on a much shorter leash. 

What surprised me was Anna being his accountability person!  Really Anna with six kids and all she had to do. 
With it being Anna it’s like nobody was watching him!

I can’t believe he’s sitting in a MIL quarters with nothing!  No counseling no chores no family.  This will NEVER work!

He needs to be sent away to a regular rehab center. Not a fundie one a real one. This is crazy!

[Black Knight]

On 5/8/2021 at 9:33 AM, Tuxcat said:

Interestingly the actual court order does not specify that Anna must be present when he's with his children. It says he must be "supervised" but doesn't say by whom.

Granted it's different circumstances, but when a friend of mine was getting a divorce and her husband was only allowed "supervised" visitation, I learned that at least there, it does not mean any random adult in the circle of family and friends who is willing, available, and acceptable to both sides. Supervision is handled by a trained professional, who is expensive, requiring a retainer and billing hundreds of dollars an hour per visit. I would be surprised if a mandate for supervised visitation handed down by a criminal court is more relaxed, given it's criminal court.