Josh Duggar Accused of Molesting Several Sisters as a Teen: Reports

[zuluweta 250]

Fox News’ freak show heroes: The Duggars, Cliven Bundy & a crackpot network that doesn’t recognize America

by Joan Walsh, Salon, June 5, 2015

Megyn Kelly and Howard Kurtz are mad at me. Or at least, people like me. They’re angry at the “liberal media,” which they claim turned the sad story of the Duggar family sex abuse scandal into a “red-blue” issue, in the words of Kelly.

That’s hilarious. First of all, the Duggars made themselves a political issue when they became political activists, endorsing ever more right-wing candidates, crusading to deny LGBT people their rights, and accusing transgender folks of being “child predators.” The Duggars’ rights weren’t being infringed. No one tried to stop them from having 19 kids and counting.

I might make the case, now, that they had too many kids to care for properly, given the repeat abuse by son Josh of four of his sisters, including a five-year-old. I might make the case that their fundamentalist patriarchal view of family pathologizes normal sexual urges while making young women the property of their parents and then their husbands. But no one in authority judged them, or tried to stop them, or suggested parenting classes, or made sure their sons were being supervised and their daughters protected.

Now it’s Fox that’s trying to make the Duggars’ troubles a political issue, and it’s more evidence of how badly Roger Ailes has gotten off his own game. Increasingly, Ailes is trying to turn crackpot, fringe figures — Cliven Bundy, the Duggars – into sympathetic stand-ins for the so-called “silent majority” he targeted, to great political success, in the late 60s and early 70s. And it’s not working.

At their best/smartest, Ailes and his client Richard Nixon tapped into genuine angst felt by large numbers of Americans in the 1960s. They were never a majority — although they probably were a majority of older white people, sadly — nor were they entirely silent. But this grumpy plurality believed that their values were being challenged and their lives were being changed. That was key to the white backlash that restored Republicans to power after Lyndon Johnson trounced them in 1964.

Leaving out whether it was fair, or overly animated by racism, millions of white people resented busing; believed removing prayer from schools was wrong; and worried about rising crime rates, the prevalence of divorce, and growing drug use. Ailes helped Nixon channel their worries into politics, and they took the white working class away from the Democratic Party, perhaps permanently.

The old magic doesn’t work as well any more politically. Since Ailes launched Fox in October 1996, Republicans have lost the White House in three of five elections (and lost the popular vote in a fourth.) Still, his grumpy plurality is large enough to make big profits for Rupert Murdoch, and trouble for Democrats.

Increasingly, though, Americans are comfortable with the cultural changes of the last 50 years. Fox has to work harder to find culture war heroes it can trumpet to rile up its audience. So they turn to crackpots like gun-toting welfare rancher Cliven Bundy, whom Sean Hannity tried to turn into the 21st century Patrick Henry. Then, of course, Bundy embarrassed Hannity and Ailes when he shared his entirely predictable racism, opening up to reporters with the never-promising line, “Let me tell you something about the Negro.”

Now Hannity’s star is fading, and Kelly’s is rising. That’s why I was disappointed, honestly, that she decided it would be a big career move to go after the Duggar freak show and try to turn the family into culture war martyrs. Many Salon readers will disagree with me, but I still think there’s something decent within Kelly that had to shrivel up sitting across from Jim Bob Duggar, listening to him defend his son’s actions as “not rape,” and play down his daughters’ abuse because most of the time, they were sleeping.

Whatever Fox and the Duggars’ intent, I have to think the ratings stunt backfired on the family. The parents turned it into a pity-party. “We went through the most darkest times our family has ever gone through.” Michelle Duggar said, “We were shocked, devastated. No parent is prepared for a trauma like that. There was so much grief in our hearts.”

Boo frickin’ hoo, Michelle. They came off as irresponsible whiners blaming their troubles on their enemies and the media. I don’t think it helped them keep their lucrative TLC show.

Of course, Fox’s defenders will hit me with “Look at their ratings!” They’re down, but not as much as other cable channels. And hey, there’s still a sizable group of aging white people who want to sit on their couches and hate on Obama. But I don’t believe even most of those people are coming to Fox because they’re championing the Duggars. Increasingly, the network’s leaders are getting tone deaf and missing their own audience.

Which raises the question: When are good white Christian people going to rise up and tell Fox that the Duggars don’t represent them?

Link to article - http://tinyurl.com/oc76koy

Edited June 5, 2015 by zuluweta

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In Touch Hits Back at Duggars: Releasing Records Was Legal, and BTW, You Lied a Lot

by Tina Nguyen, Mediaite, June 4, 2015

In Touch Magazine, the outlet that broke the story about Josh Duggar‘s prior molestation charges, released an extensive report today rebutting many of the claims his parents made during their poorly-received interview with Megyn Kelly.

All told, In Touch found seven contradictions made by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, ranging from lies by omission to misleading statements to flat-out lies.

For instance, Jim Bob said that the police officer who took Josh’s case — Jim Hutchens, later convicted on child pornography charges — had been randomly assigned. “We didn’t know anything about this guy except he was an officer there for the headquarters,” he told Kelly.

Hutchens, now serving a 56-year prison sentence, told In Touch otherwise:

He said he knew Jim Bob well from his job and had even taught a couple of classes to car dealerships with him. In addition, Hutchens -– who was not promised anything in return for his interview and told only that it was part of an investigation -– said that Jim Bob specifically sought him out to talk to Josh.

Asked who initially contacted him for the meeting, Hutchens said: “Jim Bob did.” He then explained: “He called me by phone – he just said he needed to talk with me about a matter, he didn’t explain what he got there.” That interview was conducted before Jim Bob’s comments were aired.

In Touch also took issue with the Duggars’ claims of innocence and persecution, showing evidence that they had the legal right to receive and publish the police report, saying that they were all obtained by perfectly legal Freedom of Information requests, and that, because Josh Duggar was a legal adult when the redacted documents were released, it was fair game to publish them.

He said he knew Jim Bob well from his job and had even taught a couple of classes to car dealerships with him. In addition, Hutchens -– who was not promised anything in return for his interview and told only that it was part of an investigation -– said that Jim Bob specifically sought him out to talk to Josh.

Asked who initially contacted him for the meeting, Hutchens said: “Jim Bob did.” He then explained: “He called me by phone – he just said he needed to talk with me about a matter, he didn’t explain what he got there.” That interview was conducted before Jim Bob’s comments were aired.

They also spoke to legal experts who said that the Duggars had a legal obligation to immediately report Josh’s actions, and by not doing so, opened themselves up to possible felony charges for child endangerment. “Having once learned of the behavior, they recklessly allowed it to continue,”

Arkansas lawyer and former U.S. Attorney Michael Johnson told In Touch. “This crime is a class D felony because the abuse consisted of sexual contact with a minor. The maximum penalty for permitting this type of abuse under Arkansas Code 5-4-401 is six years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.”

Damningly, In Touch revealed that while they claimed that they’d cooperated fully with the police, a report they obtained indicates that the Duggars did anything but.

But the Springdale police report, obtained by In Touch through FOIA, reveals that Jim Bob refused to produce Josh for a police-requested interview and stopped cooperating with the probe. “On Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at approximately 1300 hours D. Hignite received a voice mail from Jim Bob Duggar in reference to the interview with [redacted, Josh]. Det. Hignite received a voice mail from Mr. Duggar stating that [redacted, Josh] had hired an attorney and will not be coming in for interview.”

Link to article - http://tinyurl.com/oj5j5k2

Edited June 5, 2015 by zuluweta

[spookyturtle 9,465]

What about Billy Bob?

[zuluweta 250]

What about Billy Bob?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

I saw that when it was first released.

[Jacque67 7,328]

That's Bill Murray??

[spookyturtle 9,465]

That's Bill Murray??

Yep.

[eieio 1,594]

Old McDonald....

Wrong again! I only report posts that should have never been posted to begin with.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Wrong again! I only report posts that should have never been posted to begin with.

So you report yourself every time you post. :rofl:

[eieio 1,594]

So you report yourself every time you post. :rofl:

My posts are extremely educational and informative…..plus , occasionally interesting. It is important to me to reach out and educate. my thoughts for you is to zip your lip, open your ears and try to educate yourself. Also….you should look into some sensitivity training.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

My posts are extremely educational and informative…..plus , occasionally interesting. It is important to me to reach out and educate. my thoughts for you is to zip your lip, open your ears and try to educate yourself. Also….you should look into some sensitivity training.

You should reach out for help. You need it.

[NikLR 13,220]

This crime is a class D felony because the abuse consisted of sexual contact with a minor. The maximum penalty for permitting this type of abuse under Arkansas Code 5-4-401 is six years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

That's it? 10k and 6 years? The money is like a slap on his baby toe, but maybe the 6 years would be good. Preferably take his kids away too. His wife likely is too indoctrinated to get a divorce like she should.

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Duggars face new investigation, 911 call reveals

compiled by Martha Ross, San Jose Mecury News, June 11, 2015

The Duggar family is under investigation again by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and police were called in to assist when the family refused to cooperate, In Touch magazine reports.

As parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their "19 Kids and Counting" family are embroiled in a molestation scandal involving oldest son Josh, news comes Wednesday that a representative from the county DHS had visited the Duggar home on May 27 to see a minor for whom they were concerned. When the family refused to produce the minor, the representative made a 911 call to police.

The caller told the dispatcher he was at the home as part of a DHS investigation, according to 911 records made available to In Touch.

"We have an investigation, and I guess they're not being cooperative," the caller said. "We have to see the child to make sure the child is all right. So we just need police assistance."

It's not clear what prompted this May 27 visit because DHS records are not publicly available.

Police and DHS previously investigated the conservative Christian reality TV stars in 2006 and 2007, respectively, after Jim Bob told police that Josh confessed to molesting four sisters and a family friend in 2002 and 2003.

The alleged assaults, in which Josh admitted to fondling his sisters' breasts and genitals, started just after Josh turned 14. Josh, now 27 and the father of three, said he sneaked into his sisters' bedrooms at least four or five times while they slept. He also said he fondled the family friend as she slept on a couch and inappropriately touched a 5-year-old sister as she sat on his lap and he read her stories.

The Duggars face mounting criticism and the possible loss of their hit TLC reality series because of concerns it took them more than a year to get Josh into treatment and protect their daughters after the teen first confessed to his father. In an interview with Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly, Jim Bob said Josh confessed to fondling the five girls at least three times before they sent him away to a Christian counseling program.

According to In Touch, the Fox News interviews with Jim Bob, Michelle and two of their daughters have been widely condemned for the way the parents attempted to minimize the damage. There are also questions about the extent to which the parents and Josh, who resigned as a lobbyist for the conservative Family Research Council, tried to cover up Josh's actions as they touted traditional family values to gain reality TV show fame.

In Touch also notes that the Duggars made no mention of the fact they were again under investigation before the Fox News interviews aired.

Martha Ross provides celebrity commentary for the Bay Area News Group. Follow her attwitter.com/marthajross.

Link to article - http://tinyurl.com/nb8v984

Edited June 11, 2015 by zuluweta

[zuluweta 250]

Non-Duggar family victim of molestation will sue Josh Duggar...

http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/duggars-facing-lawsuit-from-nonfamily-molestation-victim-62115?previewing=true

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Not that I doubt it, but any credible news sources?