Duggar Family Issues Money Beg

Via Radar Online:

How low will they go? Thanks to their former lucrative TLC contracts, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are reportedly millionaires. However, now that the network has canceled the family’s reality show, 19 Kids And Counting, following disgraced son Josh’s sex abuse scandal, the shameless parents and their ultra-Christian brood are begging fans for financial support, RadarOnline can reveal. On the conservative clan’s official YouTube page, Duggar Studios, the family asks for supporters to contribute funds so the kids can create “fresh quality content” on their video site. “Every contribution is helpful, big or small,” they claim. However, the videos, featuring the children playing basketball and going to the dentist, don’t seem to require much of a budget. Also, clips are only uploaded to the account once every few months. The former reality stars have a history of money grubbing.

More from OK Magazine: "According to a report, the Duggars lost their $45,000-per-episode paychecks along with endorsement deals, sponsorships, speaking engagements and royalties, which could amount to a '$25 million or more a year' loss in total."

Rick Perry Confirms For Duggar Fest 2015

That makes six of the GOP presidential candidates: Perry, Walker, Huckabee, Santorum, Cruz, and Carson. So far. Who will say no?

Michelle Duggar Roller Skates To YMCA

Raw Story reports:

The Duggar family is clearly not sulking around their aircraft carrier of a house and hanging their heads in despair after being dumped from TLC last week. E! Online reported Thursday that the reality-TV family posted a grainy cell phone video to their Facebook page this week of family matriarch Michelle Duggar roller skating to the Village People’s 1978 hit single, “YMCA.” “Check this out,” wrote daughter Jinger. “Our mom is so much fun! We had a blast skating together yesterday. Check it out. Her skills are mad! She out-skated the whole place…backwards!”

The Duggar family’s TLC program, 19 Kids and Counting was canceled by the network after admissions by eldest son Josh Duggar that he inappropriately touched and fondled his sisters and another girl when he was a teenager. Michelle Duggar was instrumental in helping the effort against a nondiscrimination law in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She recorded a robocall that went out to thousands of households in which she urged voters to strike down a city ordinance outlawing discrimination against LGBT people in housing, health care and other critical services.

Headline Of The Day

"The Duggars want to return to TV because they truly believe it was part of God's plan for them to spread the word about their faith." - Via People Magazine.

The Duggar Family Has The Sadz

FRC Launches Publicity For VVS 2015

Kelvin Cochran was fired for proselytizing at the workplace and the Benham brothers lost their show after Right Wing Watch publicized a host of vile anti-gay statements, including their claim that gay people are controlled by Satan. And of course, the Kleins were fined for violating public accommodation laws in Oregon, which added sexual orientation to those protections seven years before the legalization of same-sex marriage. But the FRC martyr train will not be stopped.

Headline Of The Day

Via Talking Points Memo:

Voters who cast their ballots for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the last election have a higher opinion of the scandal-plagued Duggar family than of President Barack Obama, according to a poll provided Tuesday to TPM. A survey conducted by the Democratic-leaning firm Public Policy Polling found that 67 percent of respondents who voted for Romney in 2012 said they had a higher opinion of the family made famous by TLC's "19 Kids and Counting." Just 12 percent of Romney voters said they had a higher opinion of the President than the Duggars. By contrast, 87 percent of respondents who voted for Obama in 2012 said they had a higher opinion of the President than the Duggars.

(Tipped by JMG reader Arthur)

Bill Donohue Has The Archbishop Sadz

"Ever since Nienstedt criticized the gay movie, Brokeback Mountain, he has been a marked man. The Star Tribune, the St. Cloud Times, Minnesota Public Radio, the New York Times, as well as an array of wayward priests, Catholic journalists, former Catholics, and unethical lawyers, have been out to get him. Just today, Fr. Mike Tegeder said it was a good sign that Nienstedt resigned; Tegeder supports gay marriage. Nienstedt’s sin is that he is an orthodox Catholic. Nienstedt was twice accused of inappropriate touching, and twice the charges proved false. He is a good man who was unfairly treated." - Bill Donohue, on today's resignation by Archbishop John Niendstedt.

MINNESOTA: Archbishop John Nienstedt Resigns Over Molestation Scandal

"In order to give the Archdiocese a new beginning amidst the many challenges we face, I have submitted my resignation as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and I have just received word that he has accepted it. The Catholic Church is not our Church, but Christ’s Church, and we are merely stewards for a time. My leadership has unfortunately drawn attention away from the good works of His Church and those who perform them. Thus, my decision to step down. I leave with a clear conscience knowing that my team and I have put in place solid protocols to ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable adults. I ask for continued prayers for the well-being of this Archdiocese and its future leaders. I also ask for your continued prayers for me." - Archbishop John Nienstedt, in a press release issued this morning.

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

The Vatican said Pope Francis accepted the resignations of Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche. They resigned under the code of canon law that allows bishops to resign before they retire because of illness or some other "grave" reason that makes them unfit for office. Earlier this month, prosecutors charged the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as a corporation of having "turned a blind eye" to repeated reports of inappropriate behavior by a priest who was later convicted of molesting two boys. No individual was named in the indictment. The resignations came just days after Pope Francis approved the creation of a new tribunal inside the Vatican to hear cases of bishops who failed to protect children from sexually abusive priests. Francis' decision followed years of criticism that the Vatican had never held bishops accountable for having ignored warnings about abusive priests and simply moved them from parish to parish rather than report them to police or remove them from ministry.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: The Archdiocese declared bankruptcy in January 2015. Last summer Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt was accused of "sexual impropriety" with priests and other men. Nienstedt then denied allegations that he is gay to a local newspaper. Niedstedt was later grilled by a different local paper about his sexuality. In January 2012, Nienstedt ordered all of Minnesota's priests to remain silent if they opposed the coming referendum on same-sex marriage. Later in 2012, it was Nienstedt's ugly anti-gay public letter that launched NFL player Chris Kluwe into the spotlight after Kluwe penned a blistering response in a local newspaper. In September of that year Nienstedt declared that Satan loves sodomy. Also in September 2012, Nienstedt was accused of shielding a pedophile priest who is currently in prison. In 2010 Nienstedt ordered that communion be denied to openly gay students. Also in 2010, Nienstedt's archdiocese sent out 400,000 DVDs to Minnesota voters urging that they support anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

NEVADA: Legal Brothel Bans Josh Duggar

The owner of Nevada's famed Bunny Ranch is rather notorious for trying to inject himself into national stories by banning those making the headlines from his brothel. So here he is again. Via press release:

The world famous Moonlite Bunny Ranch, famed legal brothel that has been featured on HBO's smash hit series "Cathouse", has taken the extraordinary step of banning TLC's "19 And Counting" star Josh Duggar from entering any of their properties, citing concerns for the safety of the 500 legal prostitutes that are employed there. Duggar has recently become embattled in a firestorm of controversy over his admission that he sexually molested five girls, including two of his younger sisters, when he was 15. One of the sisters was 5 at the time that the assault occurred.

"My number one priority has got to be the safety of my girls," said Dennis Hof, owner of the world famous Bunny Ranch and six other Nevada brothels. "We employ 500 girls at any one time, and we've had tens of thousands of them come and go over the years. With the Duggars having 19 kids, it is just simple math that the odds are much greater than usual that one of their daughters might come work for us at some point. There's no way I would ever put them or any other girl in harm's way, should that brother of theirs come prowling around here. He's persona non grata, starting now."

"Those poor girls (the Duggar sisters) were propped up on television by their Bible thumping parents to make excuses for their brother, saying that their mother and father had protected them after they became aware of the molestations by putting locks on the girls' doors. We don't have locks on our girls' doors, because we've never needed them. Apparently the Bunny Ranch brothel is a safer place for young girls than the Duggar household."

You may recall that at the height of the Duck Dynasty controversy, Hof banned Phil Robertson from patronizing the Bunny Ranch. Today's press release notes that Hof's autobiography was released earlier this year to "critical acclaim." Judge for yourself. (Tipped by JMG reader Mike)

REPORT: Roy Moore And Mike Huckabee's Co-Author Was Sued For Child Molestation

Buzzfeed reports that John Perry, the co-author of books by Roy Moore and Mike Huckabee, was accused of molesting a young girl in two separate lawsuits.

“The alleged sexual battery was reported to have occurred when the victim was between the ages of 11 and 14,” said Nashville police department spokesperson Don Aaron in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “As a result of the investigation, the allegations of sexual battery were sustained, but it was determined that the statute of limitations had tolled, barring prosecution. The victim was age 18 when she first disclosed the allegations to non-law enforcement and said at that time she did not want the matter reported to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services or the police.” In a second series of lawsuits brought in a county court in Tennessee, and related to the same alleged acts of child molestation, Austin Davis, a former parishioner of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, claims that the church covered up Perry’s alleged acts of child molestation and launched a campaign to silence and harass Davis.

Huckabee's spokesman has not responded to a request for comments.

State Workers Call 911 After Duggar Family Objects To New Investigation

In Touch did promise us new revelations:

The Duggar family is under investigation again by the Arkansas Department of Human Services and police were called when the family refused to cooperate, In Touch magazine is reporting exclusively in its new issue that hits newsstands today. A representative from the Washington County DHS called 911 on May 27 at around 11 a.m. asking for police assistance when DHS was not allowed to see the minor they were concerned about. In Touch, which broke the story of Josh Duggar’s sexual molestation scandal, has the full transcript of the emergency call in the new issue. The new investigation comes as the family tries to save its TLC reality show, 19 Kids and Counting, which the network pulled off the air, while determining its fate. Jim Bob, Michelle and two of their daughters sat for interviews with Fox News, attempting to minimize the damage, but much of what they said was widely condemned as misinformation and not full disclosure.

In Touch notes that the latest investigation could have been triggered by a complaint to a state hotline, including an anonymous one. (Tipped by JMG reader Sharon)

LIVE VIDEO: FRC Explains Plans For Battle After SCOTUS Rules For Gay Marriage

UPDATE: The live-stream has concluded but you can still watch the full nonsense below.

Tony Perkins Duggar Celebrates Franklin Graham's Call To Boycott Everything Gay

"Wells Fargo may be the first American bank to feature a lesbian ad -- but it may also be the last. The outrage over these in-your-face commercials is finally reaching a boiling point with consumers, who are sick and tired of watching companies pitch agendas over products. American powerhouses like General Mills, Tiffany & Co., Amazon, Starbucks, Tylenol, Target, Nabisco, Alaska Airlines, and even Betty Crocker are tripping over themselves to pander to 2.3% of the buying public with intense LGBT advocacy. Like us, Rev. Franklin Graham has had enough. In response to Wells Fargo's new ad, the son of evangelist Billy Graham is making an enormous withdrawal: his ministry's accounts. On Facebook, Franklin challenged Christians to take a long, hard look at where their money is going. Are your dollars financing the war on your values? If so, maybe it's time to do something about it." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins Duggar, via press release.

REPORT: Lesbian Couple Helped Break The Duggar Family Molestation Scandal

Early this year the Duggar family invited couples to post kissing photos on their Facebook page, which naturally spurred many submissions by gay couples. After the Duggars deleted all of the gay photos, Texas couple Tandra Barnfield and Samantha Muzny went viral with a photo they took right in front of the Duggar home in Arkansas. The pair returned to the Duggar homestead in March to pose for a second photo, this time triumphantly holding their Oklahoma marriage license.

Today the Chicago Tribune reports that it was Tandra Barnfield who first tipped off In Touch about the existence of the police report which detailed Josh Duggar's molestations.

"This all comes from good, basic journalism," said David Perel, editorial director of InTouch and its sister gossip-purveyors, Life & Style and Closer. "It comes from being there. It's knowing where to attack and where to start digging." The Duggar story came together quickly over a three-week period, said Perel, a veteran tabloid editor who joined the publication in late 2013 after guiding both the National Enquirer and Radar Online. He won't name the magazine's sources, but a woman named Tandra Barnfield apparently was a helpful guide.

Barnfield was contacted by an In Touch reporter, Melissa Roberto, earlier this year after Barnfield posted a photo on Instagram of her kissing her wife, Samantha Muzny, in front of the Duggars' home near Springdale, Arkansas. The photo — a protest, Barnfield said, of Michelle Duggar's role in promoting opposition to an anti-discrimination initiative last year — had gone viral.

During their conversation, Barnfield, who lives in the Houston area but has family in Springdale, told Roberto about the police report. "It wasn't like it was a rumor to us," Barnfield said in an interview. "We knew all about it. . . . It wasn't hard to get it. You just had to know where to look." In fact, it was a little more complicated than that. Perel quickly dispatched two reporters to Springdale and hired a local law firm to advise the magazine about Arkansas' open-records law, which enables residents (but not reporters from New Jersey) to obtain public documents. The law firm filed the records request — and was rewarded with a copy of the original police report several days later. "We got it fast," Perel said.

Perel added that In Touch has more revelations to come.

FRC Celebrates Vote Denying Benefits To Veterans In Non-Marriage Equality States

Via press release from the FRC:

There may be a consensus in the courts for same-sex "marriage," but not Congress. In a quiet -- but significant -- vote, the Senate made it clear that the legislative branch understands exactly where the people stand on marriage -- and it isn't where the Left would have you believe. During yesterday's vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, the upper chamber took an important step to protect states by blocking an amendment that would have extended gay spousal benefits to veteran couples living in states that haven't redefined marriage. This is an enormous victory, since it was the first time Congress signaled to the Supreme Court where it stands on benefits for same-sex couples who are living in states that don't recognize their marriages.

As part of the Defense debate, Senator Jeanne Shaheen [PHOTO] had been trying for months to leapfrog the Court's decision and invent benefits that -- to this point -- are still unconstitutional. Essentially, the measure would have let the government bypass states that don't recognize same-sex couples as "married" and force them to dole out benefits their own laws reject. At least for now, the President's party has been stopped from tearing down the last two federal holdouts that respect state marriage laws: the social security and veterans' administrations. Unlike other departments, these agencies have consistently recognized marriage for couples based on the state where they live -- not the state where they "married."

The statement goes on to denounce the Republicans who did vote for the amendment.

Duggar Sisters Speak Out On Fox: Josh Was Just A Little Too Curious About Girls

Via CNN:

What happened to Josh Duggar's victims was "very mild" compared to what other victims of sexual molestation have experienced, two sisters of the reality TV star told Fox News in an interview that aired Friday night. Jessa Duggar Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard said their brother began inappropriately touching them before they were teenagers. Dillard said she was 12 and Seewald was "9 or 10," she said. In the interview, which was recorded Wednesday, the sisters spoke in defense of their brother, who is now 27. He's not a rapist or pedophile, Seewald said. "I was one of the victims so I can speak out," she told Fox. "In Josh's case, he was a boy, young boy in puberty, and a little too curious about girls and that got him into some trouble," she said. "And he made some bad choices, but really the extent of it was mild inappropriate touching on fully clothed victims. Most of it while girls were sleeping."

MINNESOTA: St. Paul Prosecutors Charge Archdiocese In Sex Abuse Cover-Up

Via the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Ramsey County attorney John Choi said Friday that a 20-month investigation has led to criminal charges against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for "failing to protect children." Choi cited the case of Curtis Wehmeyer, a priest convicted of molesting two boys. "It is not only Curtis Wehmeyer who is criminally responsible for the harm caused, but it is the archdiocese as well," he said. Choi called the archdiocese program to monitor problem priests "a sham." "We were falsely led to believe that the leadership structure of the Archdiocese had an effective program in place" to monitor priests, he said. Choi said six gross misdemeanor charges have been filed against the archdiocese, but not against any individuals.

Misdemeanor charges against no individuals?

REPORTS: Jim Bob And Michelle Duggar Lied During Fox News Interview

Yesterday afternoon In Touch published a seven-point refutation of claims made by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar during their Fox News interview. An excerpt:

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar broke their silence about son Josh’s sexual molestation scandal on Wednesday night, but their interview was filled with misinformation and the reality TV couple also withheld crucial facts, according to public documents, obtained by In Touch magazine through the Freedom of Information Act. One of the most glaring omissions by the family concerns their statements about the 2006 Springdale Police Department investigation. The Duggars gave the viewing audience the impression that they fully cooperated, saying, “We trusted them, we trusted the police department.” 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.”

Hit the link for the rest. More from TMZ:

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are full of it when they say the Springdale, Arkansas Police Chief had an agenda in releasing the "sealed" molestation case ... so says the city's top prosecutor. Springdale City Attorney Ernest Cate tells TMZ, the case file was never sealed. The reason -- the police report wasn't filed until 2006, 4 years after the molestations began. When the police report was filed, Josh Duggar was 18, an adult suspect, and therefore there was no basis for sealing the case. Cate says he got a Freedom of Information request from a media outlet, and since it was a non-sealed case he was required to release it under the Freedom of Information Act. The names of the minor victims in the police report narrative were redacted. Jim Bob and Michelle claimed on Fox News Channel they were the real victims, because the Police Chief somehow had an agenda to get them. But Cate says it's just not true, the city followed the law in releasing the file.

Huckabee Scrubs Duggar Endorsement

Via Talking Points Memo:

Endorsements from Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting," have disappeared from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's (R) presidential campaign website. The Duggar endorsements enjoyed top billing on the campaign site's "I Like Mike" sidebar on May 22, the day Huckabee issued a full-throated defense of the family following the publication of a 2006 police report that showed the Duggar's eldest son, Josh, was investigated for molesting five underage girls when he was a teenager. Parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said that four of the victims were Josh's sisters, while the fifth was a babysitter, during an interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly that aired Wednesday night.

Two weeks ago: "Janet and I want to affirm our support for the Duggar family."