Free Republic

While Duggar patriarch Jim Bob has remained relatively silent concerning his son's admission to molesting five young girls, he was abundantly clear about his hardline views on punishment for rape and incest perpetrators during his failed 2002 run for the U.S. senate. During his campaign Jim Bob stated his belief that 'rape and incest represent heinous crimes and as such should be treated as capital crimes', according to a web cache of his campaign website. His extreme view is stated in a section in which he explained his position on abortion.

After last week’s shocking admission that he’d molested his sisters as a teenager, former “19 Kids and Counting” star Josh Duggar has put his parents in quite a pickle. While Josh has (deservedly) received plenty of backlash from his admission, his parents have also come under heavy scrutiny for how they have handled the situation. ..... However, it’s worth noting where Jim Bob, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002, actually stands on the issue of incest and rape — or at least what he told the public while he was running for office. According to Gawker, who...

So while Josh Duggar may be a hypocrite who needs to face up to the consequences of his actions, the radical "freethinker" community is really the last group of people who have any business pointing it out By now, many readers have probably heard about the recent revelation that Josh Duggar, the oldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting fame, has admitted to molesting some young girls a decade ago when he was a teenager. The information about this came out recently when a heavily redacted police report from 2006 was released by In...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz — who lives in Houston and has his presidential campaign headquarters there — will join Gov. Greg Abbott this afternoon for a briefing on storm damage, a Cruz aide said.They’ll hear from emergency officials and law enforcement, and attend a news conference at 4pm CT at the Houston Office Of Emergency Management.Abbott announced earlier that he would survey flood damage and meet with local leaders to discuss state recovery resources. He spoke a few hours ago with President Barack Obama, and a federal emergency declaration of some sort seems likely.

Actress Rose McGowan offered an apology — of sorts — this week after sharing what appeared to be an inflammatory quote from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Josh Duggar’s departure from the Family Research Council last Friday. Duggar’s resignation followed his acknowledgement of reports that he sexually molested younger children as a teenager, including his own sisters. Story Continued Below “While there may have been an age difference, Josh Duggar’s transgressions are far less an affront to God than what gays do with each other - Ted Cruz, 5/22/15,” read the text next to the photo of Duggar and Cruz...

Josh Duggar is from Arkansas ... so it's totally cool if he dates his siblings. Back in 2008 -- long before Duggar's molestation past came to light -- he made a quip during an episode of what was then called "17 Kids and Counting." Josh describes a double date scenario with his then-fiancée Anna ... he ended up going with 2 of his siblings. Josh explains, "We chose Jana and John David. We thought why not, have a double date ... We are from Arkansas!" He then broke out in laughter. Not so funny now ...

Eight years ago, Alice gave a thorough and detailed account of events that are nearly identical to those outlined in the police report that became public this week: "In January, the whole family went to Chicago and taped Oprah Winfrey show... As you may have noticed, that show never aired and it never will," Alice posted before delivering the bombshell that The Oprah Winfrey Show staffers had been told that Josh had molested five minor girls. Alice then wrote, "Yes, this is the truth ... They have been investigated to some length..." On the subject of Josh's parents Jim Bob,...

FULL TITLE: 19 Kids and Counting taken off the air by TLC in wake of revelation that son Josh molested young girls and his parents Jim Bob and Michelle covered it up 19 Kids and Counting has been taken off the air. The show has not been officially cancelled at this time, but has been removed from the network's lineup. The move comes one day after Josh Duggar, the oldest son of the family featured on the program, admitted that he molested young girls when he was a teenager. Making matters worse, it was also revealed that his parents worked...

A day after Josh Duggar apologized amid allegations that he molested several underage girls while he was a teenager, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee criticized “those who have enjoyed revealing this long ago sins.” “Josh’s actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, ‘inexcusable,’ but that doesn’t mean ‘unforgivable,’ ” Huckabee said in a statement posted on Facebook Friday. “He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities. No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his...

Prepare to say goodbye to TLC show “19 Kids and Counting.” The family-centric reality show is being pulled from the network’s TV schedule one day after Josh Duggar issued an apology following molestation allegations, Page Six has learned. It’s unclear if the network has made any permanent decisions regarding the show’s future but information about the show remains on the network’s site as of Friday.

In the wake of a tabloid report alleging that he molested several underage girls while he was a teenager, reality-television star Josh Duggar said Thursday that he “acted inexcusably” and was “deeply sorry” for what he called “my wrongdoing.” The 27-year-old Duggar, a high-profile member of the evangelical Christian family that stars on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” also resigned his post with the Family Research Council, a conservative lobbying organization. “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret,” Duggar said in a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday....

Anna Duggar has done it now. Online "entertainment" news sites are up in arms that a woman would actually express her…gasp…opinion via Twitter! The Duggars are known for being unapologetically pro-life, and they are absurdly hated by those who rabidly defend a choice their mothers never made (ironically being alive to spew their pro-abortion nonsense). What did Anna do that has E! Online, RadarOnline, FishWrapper, InTouchWeekly and even Mommyish and Opposing Views so riled? She retweeted a Black History Month meme that I created and posted, via The Radiance Foundation, to highlight abortion’s devastating impact in the black community. “Human...

Jessa Duggar, or any of the Duggars for that matter, has never been one to keep her religious or political views to herself -- and Sunday was no exception. Jessa attended March for Life in Little Rock, an anti-abortion demonstration, and she posted numerous photos from the event to her Instagram account. First, Jessa posted a message saying, "The Heart of Arkansas Beats for Life;" next, was a photo of the rally; and last, the 19 Kids and Counting star posted a picture of a sign that read "God loves every life from beginning to end." Unsurprisingly, her many followers...

A petition urging TLC to cancel “19 Kids and Counting” over the political views of the Duggar family “won’t succeed,” according to family patriarch Jim Bob Duggar. In fact, he said recently, all of the attention around the effort is working in the family’s favor, giving the Duggars even more exposure. The petition, which currently has more than 180,000 signatures, began as a response to the family’s recent comments against LGBT rights. It gained traction quickly and drew a lot of attention to some of the family’s recent activism. But Jim Bob Duggar probably has good reason not to be...

Men and women who want to use the opposite sex’s bathrooms and changing facilities will no longer be able to do so in Fayetteville, Arkansas, after voters overturned a controversial ordinance – with a little help from the Duggar family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting. Ordinance 119, passed by the city council in August, barred the city, employers, property owners, and business owners from discriminating based on a range of categories, controversially including “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” and “gender expression.” The section of the law that sparked the repeal movement was the section making it a crime to “deny,...

A city ordinance in Fayetteville, Ark, dubbed the transgender bathroom bill because it allows biological males who claim they are females to use restroom facilities for women, was overturned on Tuesday, Dec. 9, largely because of the intense lobbying efforts of Michelle Duggar, the matriarch of the reality-TV show 19 Kids & Counting, carried by The Learning Channel.In Tuesday’s special election the rule, also called the Civil Rights Ordinance, was defeated: 7,523 votes to 7,040 votes, a 52% to 48% victory. In criticizing the ordinance, Mrs. Duggar had said that it affected “the safety of Northwest Arkansas women and children”...

Josh Duggar released a video with his “Thanksgiving” message, but it quickly turned very political, leaving some believing that he is becoming politically ambitious, and others thinking he’s just weird. Josh, the eldest of the Duggar brood from the popular TLC show 19 Kids and Counting, does begin the video by extending his Thanksgiving wishes to everyone, but quickly launches into his role as the executive director of the Family Research Council Action in Washington, D.C. The FRC is listed as a certified hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC justifies their position on their website.

With two recent marriages in the family, love is in the air for the Duggars - and one more relationship may well be in the works. According to Star, patriarch Jim Bob has made it his mission to set his 24-year-old daughter Jana up with football player Tim Tebow. A source told the magazine: 'Jim Bob is no dummy. Tim would be a perfect addition to the family and a feather in his cap. Can you imagine the press attention a Tim-Jana wedding would get?'

It’s called being a sore-loser. As journalists’ latest cause &nndash; pushing for the cancellation of the Duggar family show – fell flat, the media had a meltdown, complete with name-calling and murder accusations.  A three-month-old Change.org petition demanding TLC cancel its “19 Kids and Counting” show reached 150,000 signatures Nov. 22. The petition bashed the show’s stars, the Duggar family, for “LGBTQ fear mongering.” In response, LifeSite organized a counter-petition on that now boasts 180,000 signatures – after four days. While TLC stayed silent, media attacked the “homophobic” family and faulted Michelle Duggar of “think[ing] that she’s stabbing gay Americans” while “bloodying herself.”  On Sunday,...

FULL TITLE: BREAKING: 168,000 …and counting: Pro-Duggar effort surpasses anti-Duggar petition demanding TLC cancel show Sunday, November 23, 2014 (LifeSite) - Last week, a growing petition on Change.org demanding that TLC yank the Duggar's popular reality TV show "19 Kids and Counting" leapt into the national spotlight after huge mainstream media outlets like The Huffington Post, E!, and the Washington Post reported on the petition effort. Meanwhile, a counter-petition supporting the Duggars started by LifeSiteNews just three days ago has received almost no media attention, relying instead on the power of grassroots support for the Duggars. (Read the petition here.)...