jclalor

QuoteI believe they own commercial property that they rent out for income. They also receive 100,000 grand per episode plus they receive private donations. They have no medical insurance.

Yes. Just like raising religion hatin' kids. My daughter is now 19 and I have never discussed religion with her at all, in fact I was very careful to avoid all conversations about it when she was around. Her mom is very religious and attends church a couple of times a week but never forces it on my daughter, who chooses not to attend.

The Duggar's school is the kitchen table, so I doubt that mom takes off her religious hat and puts her academic hat on every morning. I would not be surprised that 2+2=5 is the right answer to a lot of questions at that table. Maybe they get some good doses of the outside world at church? nope, seems you can't even trust those liberal baptist churches from polluting the minds of the young and innocent. They choose to have church at home too. When you isolate a child you can teach them to believe anything.

but I never said it WAS child abuse, but I suppose raising racist children is technically not child abuse either. I would defend the liberty of concenting adult creationists to practice whatever intellectual perversions they like in the privacy of their own homes; but it is also necessary to protect the young and innocent. [Arthur C. Clarke]

Not comparing the mom but her daughters, they know no other life, not unlike young girls being raised in certain Mormon communities. When a girl is raised to believe her only lot in life is to marry and have twenty babies is wrong. Why not raise them to make their own choices when they are adults? Because most people not raised with religion can make an unbiased decision about superstions. You have to give credit to the Amish, when their kids turn 18 they are given a year to see how the secular world lives and then decide how they want to live the rest of their lives.

They don't affect me any more than certain sects of the mormons that wed 12 year old girls, Abuse of children comes in all forms. Are you suggesting parents can do what ever they wish with their children?

From newsweek: "But there's one big omission from the on-screen portrayal of many of these families: their motivation. Though the Duggars do describe themselves as conservative Christians, in reality, they follow a belief system that goes far beyond "Cheaper by the Dozen" high jinks. It is a pro-life-purist lifestyle known as Quiverfull, where women forgo all birth-control options, viewing contraception as a form of abortion and considering even natural family planning an attempt to control a realm—fertility—that should be entrusted to divine providence. At the heart of this reality-show depiction of "extreme motherhood" is a growing conservative Christian emphasis on the importance of women submitting to their husbands and fathers, an antifeminist backlash that holds that gender equality is contrary to God's law and that women's highest calling is as wives and "prolific" mothers." Thanks for making me dig a little deeper, these people are way more wacked than I ever thought.

Don't these people ever stop, I know it's their right to have 100 kids if they choose but I think their idea of raising kids borders on child abuse. The girls can't wear pants, no kissing until marriage, no dancing, no secular music, no birth control, ( even after marriage, don't wanna interfere with god's plans)) the females are to be sub-serviant to the men. etc,etc,etc. http://www.ivillage.com/duggar-family-more-kids/1-a-84833

She should just be thankful for the good years she had here while not a legal citizen.

or maybe she is one of the girls in this video. http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/school_dances_sure_have_changed Perhaps she suffered the horror of being raped, and their are some (like Sarah Palin) that would deny her the right to have an abortion.

Thanks !!!

Was wondering if anyone knew the dates for this year?

I can't beleive in this day and age, mixed couples are refused the right to be married. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/19/earlyshow/main5396242.shtml Bardwell, who's held his post more than 30 years, said he refused to perform the ceremony because of his concern for the future of the couple's children. Bardwell told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith, "I've had countless numbers of people that was born in that situation, and that they claim that the blacks or the whites didn't accept the children. And I didn't want to put the children in that position." Bardwell also said he does not issue marriage licenses, he just performs the ceremonies. "I recused myself of performing the ceremony. A judge is legally -- can recuse himself of hearing a case or marrying people," he said.

I think W had a few too: "This is my maiden voyage. My first speech since I was the president of the United States and I couldn't think of a better place to give it than Calgary, Canada." --George W. Bush, as reported by the Associated Press, Calgary, Canada, March 17, 2009 "I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened." --George W. Bush, on what he hopes to accomplish with his memoir, as reported by the Associated Press, Calgary, Canada, March 17, 2009 "One of the very difficult parts of the decision I made on the financial crisis was to use hardworking people's money to help prevent there to be a crisis." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 12, 2009 "I'm telling you there's an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again. There just is. That's the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 12, 2009 "In terms of the economy, look, I inherited a recession, I am ending on a recession." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 12, 2009 "I guess it's OK to call the secretary of education here 'buddy.' That means friend." --George W. Bush, Philadelphia, Jan. 8, 2009 "I guess it's OK to call the secretary of education here 'buddy.' That means friend." --George W. Bush, Philadelphia, Jan. 8, 2009 "So I analyzed that and decided I didn't want to be the president during a depression greater than the Great Depression, or the beginning of a depression greater than the Great Depression." --George W. Bush, Washington D.C., Dec. 18, 2008 "People say, well, do you ever hear any other voices other than, like, a few people? Of course I do." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2008 "I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2008 "You know, I'm the President during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in President, during I arrived in President." --George W. Bush, ABC News interview, Dec. 1, 2008 "I've been in the Bible every day since I've been the president." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 12, 2008 "He was a great father before politics, a great father during politics and a great father after politics." --George W. Bush, on his father, George H.W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 12, 2008 "Yesterday, you made note of my -- the lack of my talent when it came to dancing. But nevertheless, I want you to know I danced with joy. And no question Liberia has gone through very difficult times." --George W. Bush, speaking with the president of Liberia, Washington, D.C., Oct. 22, 2008 "I want to share with you an interesting program -- for two reasons, one, it's interesting, and two, my wife thought of it -- or has actually been involved with it; she didn't think of it. But she thought of it for this speech." --George W. Bush, discussing a company that improves access to clean water in Africa, Washington D.C., Oct. 21, 2008 "This thaw -- took a while to thaw, it's going to take a while to unthaw." --George W. Bush, on liquidity in the markets, Alexandria, La., Oct. 20, 2008 "I didn't grow up in the ocean -- as a matter of fact -- near the ocean -- I grew up in the desert. Therefore, it was a pleasant contrast to see the ocean. And I particularly like it when I'm fishing." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2008 "Anyone engaging in illegal financial transactions will be caught and persecuted." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2008 "We're fixing to go down to Galveston and obviously are going to see a devastated part of this fantastic state." --George W. Bush, Houston, Sept. 16, 2008 "The people in Louisiana must know that all across our country there's a lot of prayer -- prayer for those whose lives have been turned upside down. And I'm one of them." --George W. Bush, Baton Rouge, La., Sept. 3, 2008 "First of all, I don't see America having problems." --George W. Bush, interview with Bob Costas at the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China, Aug. 10, 2008 "I'm coming as the president of a friend, and I'm coming as a sportsman." --George W. Bush, on his trip to the Olympics in China, Washington, D.C., July 30, 2008 "There's no question about it. Wall Street got drunk -- that's one of the reasons I asked you to turn off the TV cameras -- it got drunk and now it's got a hangover. The question is how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments." --George W. Bush, speaking at a private fundraiser, Houston, Texas, July 18, 2008 (Watch video clip) "I think it was in the Rose Garden where I issued this brilliant statement: If I had a magic wand -- but the president doesn't have a magic wand. You just can't say, 'low gas.'" --George W. Bush, Washington D.C., July 15, 2008 "And they have no disregard for human life." --George W. Bush, on the brutality of Afghan fighters, Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008 "The economy is growing, productivity is high, trade is up, people are working. It's not as good as we'd like, but -- and to the extent that we find weakness, we'll move." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008 "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." --George W. Bush, in parting words to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008 "Amigo! Amigo!" --George W. Bush, calling out to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Spanish at the G-8 Summit, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008 "Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people." --George W. Bush, Charlottesville, Va., July 4, 2008 "Should the Iranian regime-do they have the sovereign right to have civilian nuclear power? So, like, if I were you, that's what I'd ask me. And the answer is, yes, they do." --George W. Bush, talking to reporters in Washington, D.C., July 2, 2008 "But oftentimes I'm asked: Why? Why do you care what happens outside of America?" --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 26,2008 Got a Bushism? Send it to politicalhumor.guide@about.com Email This Page to a Friend "I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 26, 2008 "I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President of a nation that -- in which there's a lot of Philippine-Americans. They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the President that I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House." --George W. Bush, referring to White House chef Cristeta Comerford while meeting with Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Washington, D.C., June 24, 2008 (Watch video clip) "And I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters as president." --George W. Bush, discussing flooding in the Midwest, Washington, D.C., June 17, 2008 "There is some who say that perhaps freedom is not universal. Maybe it's only Western people that can self-govern. Maybe it's only, you know, white-guy Methodists who are capable of self-government. I reject that notion." --George W. Bush, London, June 16, 2008 "Your eminence, you're looking good." --George W. Bush to Pope Benedict XVI, using the title for Catholic cardinals, rather than addressing him as "your holiness," Rome, June 13, 2008 "The German asparagus are fabulous." --George W. Bush, Meseberg, Germany, June 11, 2008 "We've got a lot of relations with countries in our neighborhood." --George W. Bush, Kranj, Slovenia, June 10, 2008 "One of the things important about history is to remember the true history." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2008 "There's no question this is a major human disaster that requires a strong response from the Chinese government, which is what they're providing, but it also responds a compassionate response from nations to whom -- that have got the blessings, good blessings of life, and that's us." --George W. Bush, on relief efforts after a Chinese earthquake, Washington, D.C., June 6, 2008 "Let's make sure that there is certainty during uncertain times in our economy." -- George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 2, 2008 "We got plenty of money in Washington. What we need is more priority." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 2, 2008 "And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place." --George W. Bush, Mesa, Arizona, May 27, 2008 "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 13, 2008 "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008 "How can you possibly have an international agreement that's effective unless countries like China and India are not full participants?" --George W. Bush, Camp David, April 19, 2008 "Oftentimes people ask me, 'Why is it that you're so focused on helping the hungry and diseased in strange parts of the world?'" --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 18, 2008 "We want people owning their home -- we want people owning a businesses." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 18, 2008 "So long as I'm the president, my measure of success is victory -- and success." --George W. Bush, on Iraq, Washington, D.C., April 17, 2008 "Thank you, your Holiness. Awesome speech." --George W. Bush, to Pope Benedict, Washington, D.C., April 15, 2008 (Watch video clip) "A lot of times in politics you have people look you in the eye and tell you what's not on their mind." --George W. Bush, Sochi, Russia, April 6, 2008 "Afghanistan is the most daring and ambition mission in the history of NATO." --George W. Bush, Bucharest, Romania, April 2, 2008 "Soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and Coastmen -- Coast Guardmen, thanks for coming, thanks for wearing the uniform." --George W. Bush, at the Pentagon, March 19, 2008 "I thank the diplomatic corps, who is here as well." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 12, 2008 "Removing Saddam Hussein was the right decision early in my presidency, it is the right decision now, and it will be the right decision ever." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 12, 2008 "Let me start off by saying that in 2000 I said, 'Vote for me. I'm an agent of change.' In 2004, I said, 'I'm not interested in change --I want to continue as president.' Every candidate has got to say 'change.' That's what the American people expect." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 5, 2008 "And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq." --George W. Bush, to Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008 "Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? ... That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2008 "I'm oftentimes asked, What difference does it make to America if people are dying of malaria in a place like Ghana? It means a lot. It means a lot morally, it means a lot from a -- it's in our national interest." --George W. Bush, Accra, Ghana, Feb. 20, 2008 "There is no doubt in my mind when history was written, the final page will say: Victory was achieved by the United States of America for the good of the world." --George W. Bush, addressing U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, Jan. 12, 2008 "I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands." --George W. Bush, on how he can contribute to the Middle East peace process

"This I believe" by Penn Jillete I believe that there is no God. I’m beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy — you can’t prove a negative, so there’s no work to do. You can’t prove that there isn’t an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word “elephant” includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire? So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power. All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The atheism part is easy. But, this “This I Believe” thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life’s big picture, some rules to live by. So, I’m saying, “This I believe: I believe there is no God.” Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I’m not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it’s everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I’m raising now is enough that I don’t need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day. Believing there’s no God means I can’t really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That’s good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around. Believing there’s no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I’m wrong. We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate. I don’t travel in circles where people say, “I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith.” That’s just a long-winded religious way to say, “shut up,” or another two words that the FCC likes less. But all obscenity is less insulting than, “How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do.” So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that’s always fun. It means I’m learning something. Believing there is no God means the suffering I’ve seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn’t caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn’t bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future. Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-O and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have. Penn Jillette is the taller, louder half of the magic and comedy act Penn and Teller. He is a research fellow at the Cato Institute and has lectured at Oxford and MIT. Penn has co-authored three best-selling books and is executive producer of the documentary film, “The Aristocrats."

The truth is always at the end of the story: ( I suppose the OP forgot to mention this part) The Equality and Human Rights Commission added: 'This is in no way in breach of any discrimination law. 'Mrs Mamo should consider very unreliable any advice that she may have received implying that this aspect of her advert was discriminatory.' Yesterday the Department for Work and Pensions said it could not comment on the conversation Mrs Mamo had with the member of staff at Thetford. However, a spokesman insisted her original advert had run on the Jobcentre Plus website and on computer terminals in branches.

You can't make this stuff up, yet another example of good (consevative) christian values. http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/44098

I saw several of the Baptist on TV this morning and they admitted to taking the children from the director of an orphanage in Haiti. They admitted to not having the proper documents but thought that due to the chaos they were doing the right thing for the children.This despite of constant news reports of Haiti restricting the removal of all orphans until things could be sorted out. Some witnesses said several of the older children had phone numbers of relatives in Haiti and were denied being able to make phone calls to them. I know they thought they had the childrens best interest at heart but it also shows how a person under the color of religion looses common sense, they feel the ends justify the means. Nothing more noble than bringing savage children to Christ.

Can you imagine the outrage if instead of baptist they were Mormons or Jehovas witnesses? http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/31/haiti.border.arrests/index.html?hpt=T2

" Hey Jimmie, ya wanna go play tag after we eat lunch?" "Gee I would love to but since my mom is a dead beat, and since the state had to pay 80 cents for my lunch, I have to clean the bathrooms and then attend extra studies. Hopefully things will get easier when I get to the first grade."

Actually, in the interest of fairness. That is exactly what he stated. He stated if parents don't participate, no lunch for their kids. If nothing else, you have to love his logic. “I can show you a bar graph where free and reduced lunch has the worst test scores in the state of South Carolina,” adding, “You show me the school that has the highest free and reduced lunch, and I’ll show you the worst test scores, folks. It’s there, period.” … “You go to a school where there’s an active participation of parents, and guess what? They have the highest test scores. So what do you do? You say, ‘Look folks, if you receive goods or services from the government and you don’t attend a parent-teacher conference, bam, you lose your benefits.’” I agree with this. The entire problem with any welfare is that the persons receiving it dont have to do anything to receive it. I feel any welfare should have strings attached that would make it look better to find a way to handle your own financial situation instead of the government. This is a fundamental difference between the left and the right. The right says: If the parents refuse to participate in their child's education, then no free lunches for their children. This will force the parents to participate, because they will no longer have free lunches. They will now have to get jobs to provide lunches for their children and the taxpayer will be better off. The left says: If a child already has the major handicap of a parent(s) not involved in their education and on top of that, if the child comes to school hungry, study after study shows these children will perform poorly in school. poorly performing students are far more likely to drop out and be single parents, be unemployed, and end up in prison. If we spend a few hundred dollars a year now, as opposed to tens of thousands later, we save money and have a better society.

Actually, in the interest of fairness. That is exactly what he stated. He stated if parents don't participate, no lunch for their kids. If nothing else, you have to love his logic. “I can show you a bar graph where free and reduced lunch has the worst test scores in the state of South Carolina,” adding, “You show me the school that has the highest free and reduced lunch, and I’ll show you the worst test scores, folks. It’s there, period.” … “You go to a school where there’s an active participation of parents, and guess what? They have the highest test scores. So what do you do? You say, ‘Look folks, if you receive goods or services from the government and you don’t attend a parent-teacher conference, bam, you lose your benefits.’”

When a person runs for office under the tenant that their value and belief system makes them a better person to hold that office, then they will be judged by their words and behavior. One can make a valid argument about not wanting to help adults that will not work, children of these adults at the very least deserve to eat.

I haven't seen anything about Christianity in this story. This is an issue of a person being out of touch to the "let them eat cake" extent. But I understand the argument. Some modern Christians are like Christ as much as Stalinist Communism was about helping the community. It just has nothing to do with this guy and this guy and this attitude has nothing to do with true Christianity. But if people think that it's only the right that's out of touch then they need to pay more attention to what's going on in their own camp. Mass just voted in a Republican because of how out of touch they feel the Democrats are with the average voter. I was trying to make the point that over the top Christian politicians are all about upholding the laws from the the OT but when it comes to the NT their beliefs get a little fuzzy. He has loudly opposed Homosexual Marriage, Homosexual Sodomy and Homosexual Adoption. He has profoundly defined marriage as between straights only. Not only that, but he has pushed for the words, "I BELIEVE" and the Christian Cross on South Carolina license plates.

Bravo Sierra. Christian values have nothing to do with it. What then do Christian values have to do with? Why would one want to punish children for the wrongs of their parents? Then again god had no problem punishing the decendants of people who wronged him. The right wants the US to be known as a " Christian nation" but feeding poor children is wrong.