Scandal Fallout - MEGA MERGE

[singsingsing]

Scooter Libby was employed by a GOP think tank (for example) after his refusal to testify during the Valerie Plame dustup.

Smuggar will get paid for respirating. And participating in conference calls re: fundraising and opposition research. Here's an idea: He's probably got as much dirt on all of them as they now have on him, seeing as how he's had his picture taken with the leading GOP Presidential candidates, etcetera.

Okay, but Scooter Libby (and I had to look this up lest anyone think I'm randomly an expert on Scooter Libby) graduated from Yale University, then from Columbia Law School, then worked for years as a lawyer and a professor. Josh Duggar has a GED and experience taking selfies with various politicians and tweeting his disapproval of gay marriage and Catholics. The only reason FRC wanted him was because he projected the wholesome, conservative image they were going for. Now that he doesn't have that, he has nothing to offer at all.

[AB45377]

I apologize for repetition I posted this on another link Isnt the goal of freejinger.org for Jinger and other girls to discover and read? It's not hard to find.

[carriedaway14]

I apologize for repetition I posted this on another link Isnt the goal of freejinger.org for Jinger and other girls to discover and read? It's not hard to find.

The Duggars block like 99.9% of websites from their house and the only people who reportedly know the wifi password are Jana, Michelle, and Jim Bob (to protect the boys from "defrauding" themselves). Also just because Jana knows the wifi password doesn't mean there isn't some sort of parental block from most websites. So, they cannot really find Free Jinger.

[Toothfairy]

Sadly I think JimChelle will keep a tighter hold on their kids. I hope tlc pays for a nice vacation for all the kids and their sister moms to relax.

And I forgot it's memorial day weekend. The mods are doing overtime with the recent Duggar scandal. Thank you mods :clap:

[FundieFarmer]

TLC should be helping these women. The only way I would want them to continue the show was if AFTER the older girls receive counseling, they have a two-hour special where the girls speak about how badly this was handled by their parents and give a PSA to encourage others in fundamentalist circles like ATI/Gothardism to seek outside help.

I would never wish that on them, unless it was of their own volition with full comprehension of the consequences.

[Rainytown]

Okay, but Scooter Libby (and I had to look this up lest anyone think I'm randomly an expert on Scooter Libby) graduated from Yale University, then from Columbia Law School, then worked for years as a lawyer and a professor. Josh Duggar has a GED and experience taking selfies with various politicians and tweeting his disapproval of gay marriage and Catholics. The only reason FRC wanted him was because he projected the wholesome, conservative image they were going for. Now that he doesn't have that, he has nothing to offer at all.

IMHO, of course.

Scooter Libby was employed essentially to keep him quiet about what he witnessed in the Bush administration.

Smuggar is a low-level flunky but right now, the leghumpers are taking this as an Assault On Their Way Of Life. (Again, IMHO.) I'm a little stunned at the rhetoric we're seeing in comments on news sites, FB, etcetera -- it almost seems coordinated, and maybe that's the crisis PR group. There is also an effort already to spin this as Ebil Liberals Are Smearing A Good Man...

He'll be quietly subsidized until the new Fundie Flavor of the Month presents him or herself. Again, IMHO.

And it's nice to see you here again.

[carriedaway14]

I would never wish that on them, unless it was of their own volition with full comprehension of the consequences.

Obviously if it was only of their own volition.

[Dandruff]

I don't know how the show can continue after all of this negative publicity. Yeah, there are supporters, but I think most viewers would be watching for :trainwreck: . They could cut out Josh and his family but what about Jim Bob and Michelle? What would the show be called if one of the nineteen has been banished? Who would be counted in "and Counting"? And what advertisers would want to be associated with this?

I suspect Jim Bob is calling in favors, and getting them, but being asked to stay away from future campaigns. I think Josh will get a job, quietly, and it'll be with IBLP or a related organization. I don't think the family will split, at least not for awhile, since it would give Jim Bob more to deal with and he has quite a bit at the moment.

Maybe the family will decide to take a hiatus from the show (making it look like their decision) and go on a long missionary trip. Hopefully all kids who need therapy will get it. I'd love to hear that a bunch more of them, girls included, have decided to go to college.

I sincerely hope that Anna can get to her delivery date with some shelter from all this, and that she and the kids are someplace warm and supportive.

[sense and nonsense]

Obviously if it was only of their own volition.

Can it ever actually be with a full understanding of the consequences? Especially for these highly sheltered women who probably cannot really and truly grasp what impact this news has had on the general public, nor can they really grasp the reality of their abuse itself, with the way their parents and religion handled it.

[carriedaway14]

Can it ever actually be with a full understanding of the consequences? Especially for these highly sheltered women who probably cannot really and truly grasp what impact this news has had on the general public, nor can they really grasp the reality of their abuse itself, with the way their parents and religion handled it.

It would have to be years later: after they've had a lot of therapy to deal with what happened and how their upbringing affected the way this was handled.

I'm hoping they all get the help they need, but it seems like the only way they will is if at least one of the girls leaves the Duggar house...without a wedding ring on her finger.

[Mela99]

None of those girls are going to get any quality help. In that book they "wrote" their idea of therapy is a "good pastor or Christian counselor." They would just tell them to forgive, read the bible, and obey their parents.

[Palimpsest]

I apologize for repetition I posted this on another link Isnt the goal of freejinger.org for Jinger and other girls to discover and read? It's not hard to find.

As we have a lot of new people here, I'm going to expand on this a bit. Do skip if you are a veteran here. I hope all newbies read the rules and FAQs because our Mods are getting overworked. We like them and want to spare them grief. :)

So, no, that isn't the goal of FJ. FJ was originally founded as a place for refugees from heavy handed TWOP moderation to snark freely and go off topic about Fundamentalist families other than the Duggars as much as they liked. See item #1 in the FAQ.

FJ has changed and adapted over the years, but probably the closest we have got to codifying our purpose is the tagline "Focusing on the flaws of Fundamentalism" and the statement "we exist to discuss the damage caused by fundamentalists."

As someone else said, the chances of a Duggar girl reading here is very low. We have been told (the reliability of the informer was very questionable) that Jinger knows about us and finds the idea of being "freed" funny. Take that with a bushel of salt.

FJ is primarily a snark site. However, it is a fun bonus when active preachy Patriarchal Fundies find us and come to argue passionately with us. It is also true that some people escaping from Fundamentalism find us. A few say that they have found FJ helpful. I'm sure that most find us shocking or really unkind.

Food for thought.

Back to your regularly scheduled snarking now.

[FundieFarmer]

Can it ever actually be with a full understanding of the consequences? Especially for these highly sheltered women who probably cannot really and truly grasp what impact this news has had on the general public, nor can they really grasp the reality of their abuse itself, with the way their parents and religion handled it.

Exactly my thoughts.

[DaysAgo]

Did anyone else read the Gawker article with the story from the former crew member stating that another crew member was kicked off back in 2008 once Michelle found out he was gay?

It's quite a story!

[Sundaymorning]

IMHO, of course.

Scooter Libby was employed essentially to keep him quiet about what he witnessed in the Bush administration.

Smuggar is a low-level flunky but right now, the leghumpers are taking this as an Assault On Their Way Of Life. (Again, IMHO.) I'm a little stunned at the rhetoric we're seeing in comments on news sites, FB, etcetera -- it almost seems coordinated, and maybe that's the crisis PR group. There is also an effort already to spin this as Ebil Liberals Are Smearing A Good Man...

He'll be quietly subsidized until the new Fundie Flavor of the Month presents him or herself. Again, IMHO.

And it's nice to see you here again.

I think that could happen with Josh too, if he (or Boob) know enough dirt on some people...

But as far as I understood, Scooter Libby did not commit any sex crime? That is a difference.

Generally, I don't think that Josh can be the face of an organisation ever again, he would have to work behind the scenes. And to do that, he doesn't really have the skills to, unlike Scooter Libby with his various degrees and serious work experiences.

[iknowright]

Hi everyone - long time lurker, first time poster. I don't want to reveal my exact "credentials," but I work in mental health as both a clinician and researcher, and specifically within the area of trauma and interpersonal violence. Keep in mind that although I have some knowledge about sex offender assessment and treatment, my knowledge may not be as up-to-date as someone who directly does work in that area (I am more on the victim end of things).

There are a lot of factors involved in predicting recividism. I've been following the discussion on here of whether or not Josh is a pedophile. The thing is, we can't really say for sure. Offending against children doesn't make someone a pedophile, sometimes they're just the easiest to access. Some of the types of people who offend against children (non-pedophile or pedophile) are more treatable than others. Without an assessment, we don't really know where Josh falls.

The fact that Josh preyed on his female siblings and a girl that he knew are actually good indicators that his case is probably more treatable than, say, someone who offended against strangers. I can also say from the perspective of sibling abuse that generally the best treatment approach is fixing dysfunctional family dynamics and inappropriate boundaries. However, it appears that did not happen and it is probably not going to happen.

Thanks so much for your insight. So since the family dynamics are quite dysfunctional (and people way overuse that term - here I think it can't be emphasized enough) and neither Josh nor his victims were given proper treatment, what could that possibly mean in their future? The girls were basically told "Forgive, forget, and let's not talk about it." It seems Josh was told "Repent, work it off, and don't talk about or do this again."

[sense and nonsense]

As we have a lot of new people here, I'm going to expand on this a bit. Do skip if you are a veteran here. I hope all newbies read the rules and FAQs because our Mods are getting overworked. We like them and want to spare them grief. :)

So, no, that isn't the goal of FJ. FJ was originally founded as a place for refugees from heavy handed TWOP moderation to snark freely and go off topic about Fundamentalist families other than the Duggars as much as they liked. See item #1 in the FAQ.

FJ has changed and adapted over the years, but probably the closest we have got to codifying our purpose is the tagline "Focusing on the flaws of Fundamentalism" and the statement "we exist to discuss the damage caused by fundamentalists."

As someone else said, the chances of a Duggar girl reading here is very low. We have been told (the reliability of the informer was very questionable) that Jinger knows about us and finds the idea of being "freed" funny. Take that with a bushel of salt.

FJ is primarily a snark site. However, it is a fun bonus when active preachy Patriarchal Fundies find us and come to argue passionately with us. It is also true that some people escaping from Fundamentalism find us. A few say that they have found FJ helpful. I'm sure that most find us shocking or really unkind.

Food for thought.

Back to your regularly scheduled snarking now.

Oooo, where was it mentioned that Jinger knows about FJ? Can somebody link? I hadn't heard this story before.

[Mama Mia]

IMHO, of course.

Scooter Libby was employed essentially to keep him quiet about what he witnessed in the Bush administration.

Smuggar is a low-level flunky but right now, the leghumpers are taking this as an Assault On Their Way Of Life. (Again, IMHO.) I'm a little stunned at the rhetoric we're seeing in comments on news sites, FB, etcetera -- it almost seems coordinated, and maybe that's the crisis PR group. There is also an effort already to spin this as Ebil Liberals Are Smearing A Good Man...

He'll be quietly subsidized until the new Fundie Flavor of the Month presents him or herself. Again, IMHO.

And it's nice to see you here again.

The hypocrisy of the Duggar defenders on- line is mind blowing. I'm sure the vast majority of the people defending him by saying " it was a long time ago" ," everyone makes mistakes" " he was a teen with a sexual indiscretion" are the exact same posters who are generally making comments about how molesters should be killed - and volunteering - graphically - to do it themselves.

They are mostly the same ones who rant about how the world is going to hell - and it's because parents aren't stepping up and beating their kids half to death -- while completely ignoring that Josh was raised in what they consider an ideal home - but hey - look - apparently those horrible messages and discipline didn't prevent molestation. And, IMHO, made the ideal incubation ground for this situation to occur in the first place. And every single action they took afterwards just made it worse.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Josh is able to make some money giving speeches / writing articles, about how he was saved from his evil actions through God and his parents. Especially if his message includes hatred for the evil liberals who are trying to destroy his family :evil:

The world is a very different place than it was 40 years ago. The culture is hooked on celebrities - of any type. And social media and on- line news mean there is an endless market for trash talking.

He definitely wasn't qualified to be the Executive Director of anything - let alone a national organization. I , personally, don't think any 26 year old is qualified to be a real Executive Director . It's a job that relies on experience as much as anything - and even if he had a stellar education - he wouldn't have had time to build up the skill and knowledge base to successfully run anything but the smallest organization.

But for marketing and PR - all anyone needs is to be reasonably coherent on camera and have a message someone wants to buy. And being part of a train wreck will probably just mean he needs to shift the message .

[SPHASH]

I wonder if Buggar's ex-coworkers at FRC are glad to see him gone.

[singsingsing]

Josh is exactly the same age as me (one month's difference) and I thought his appointment to executive director was a complete and utter joke. Even for a 26-year-old with, say, a 4-year degree and an M.A. from prestigious universities, with a lot of relevant experience in the field, executive director would be a pretty big leap. Josh was totally unqualified and it was obvious to most watching (if not to him) that he was a glorified spokesman being used for his name and his name alone.

I have very little doubt that he was planning on launching his political career in the relatively near future. Some have speculated that he bought the house in Arkansas so that he could run for office there. I definitely think that's a possibility. How he thought this wouldn't get brought to light (along with some of the other rumours, if true - these things have a way of coming out in political campaigns) is perhaps more understandable given that he was just following Daddy Jim Bob's example - the man who put his entire family on a reality TV series and seemed to grow fonder and fonder of the spotlight as the years rolled by, all the while knowing that this nasty little secret was just waiting to be exposed.

[SPHASH]

People is now reporting that Buggar and Anna's website was taken down.

[singsingsing]

On that note, I was really glad to see that People included the fact that Jim Bob and Michelle did not turn Josh over to the authorities when they found out what he was doing, but instead went to members of their church. It's quite unfortunate to see so many articles claiming that JB&M were the ones to turn him in. They weren't. In fact, from what the police report suggests, they covered up for him for a full year before they even got the church elders involved.

[SassyPants]

Josh is exactly the same age as me (one month's difference) and I thought his appointment to executive director was a complete and utter joke. Even for a 26-year-old with, say, a 4-year degree and an M.A. from prestigious universities, with a lot of relevant experience in the field, executive director would be a pretty big leap. Josh was totally unqualified and it was obvious to most watching (if not to him) that he was a glorified spokesman being used for his name and his name alone.

I have very little doubt that he was planning on launching his political career in the relatively near future. Some have speculated that he bought the house in Arkansas so that he could run for office there. I definitely think that's a possibility. How he thought this wouldn't get brought to light (along with some of the other rumours, if true - these things have a way of coming out in political campaigns) is perhaps more understandable given that he was just following Daddy Jim Bob's example - the man who put his entire family on a reality TV series and seemed to grow fonder and fonder of the spotlight as the years rolled by, all the while knowing that this nasty little secret was just waiting to be exposed.

Clearly, JB is not operating on all cylinders.

I cannot imagine a sane man with this in his family's history, selling his family to the media, with a religious spin-

[rosaline]

Katie Botkin (former fundie, intelligent and thoughtful blogger, cousin to the Botkinettes) posted a brief synopsis comparing Josh Duggar's scandal to the various other recent scandals:

kbotkin.com/2015/05/22/josh-duggar-and-the-pattern-of-scandal/

[AB45377]

People is now reporting that Buggar and Anna's website was taken down.

I was told by Duggar Family News that they never were very active on the site.