Did the Duggars Play the Statute of Limitations Game?

Did the statute of limitations in Arkansas naturally expire on Josh Duggar's molestations or were they negligently misinterpreted for the sake of the Duggar family? It's bad enough this guy molested four of his sisters, one age 5, and a friend, but it is something else if the Duggar family intentionally delayed reporting the acts and law enforcement incompetence created further delays. One attorney, Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law says, she interprets Arkansas law as being seven years from time of the incident when the molestation affects a minor, rather than the normal three. She continued, that was even allowed to expire by the Duggars and Arkansas law enforcement, meaning “it’s over.” No one can explain why charges were not pursued following the forwarding of the police report to the juvenile prosecutor.

The Duggars are very politically connected, as I pointed out in an earlier post. Politico reported on this at about the same time the end of May. GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee leads the pack in supporting the Duggars with his wife, Janet, very close behind, as do many other Republicans in the running. Arkansas police destroyed the records of Josh Duggar's nearly decade-old molestation case on the order of Judge Stacey Zimmerman; the judge refused to comment on these actions. Media outlets that knew about this at the time included the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the then on the air, "Oprah Winfrey Show." Still, nothing was done.

The family, law enforcement and the media remained silent while these children were being traumatized by a depraved Josh Duggar.

Huckabee Says Good Boy-Santorum Says Bad Boy

He said...He said, both Republicans caught up in a battle that the GOP richly deserves based on their stringent conservative standards for family values. In an earlier post I pointed out that a lot of their leaders are sure palsy with the Duggars. Josh Duggar has admitted to molesting five girls when he was younger, four reportedly his own sisters. Okay, the guy made a huge mistake and has probably already experienced  plenty of retribution, but the family's close connection with the Republican Party should be explained, particularly all the GOP Presidential candidates that consider the Duggar family close allies.

If you represent such a high standard of family values, shouldn't you know something about what these friends are doing? A story by In Touch exposed what had happened way back in 2006, and it was at that time that Jim Bob Duggar consulted an Arkansas State Trooper named Joseph Hutchens who talked to Josh but later said he was told only about one incident of molestation. It went no further. The police than halted their investigation in 2006 because the statute of limitations ran out. Hutchens is now serving 56 years in prison for child pornography.

It all comes down to living the life you preach to others or risk being brought down by the truth if you don't.

What Republicans are Aligned with the Duggar Family

Josh Duggar is a former reality show star and he is also a former molester who fondled his four sisters. His dad, Jim Bob, contacted police and church elders but he was never arrested. This all becomes particularly interesting when you consider that 2016 Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is solidly behind Josh Duggar and his family. The Duggars earlier switched their support from Rick Santorum to Huckabee. On May 19, Josh Duggar tweeted a picture of himself with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who's expected to launch his presidential bid next month. "He's been photographed smiling alongside Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee." His wife, Anna, knew of all this before they were married, saying now she is proud of his "openness and humility." The fact that the Republicans, above, are associated with Duggar does not mean they support the molestation of children but it sure reinforces that old adage, "Choose your friends wisely because their influence on you is much greater than you might imagine."

Did God order the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre?

If not, at least “former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a religious conservative, suggested that because we are keeping God out of schools, the Deity chose not to stop the slaughter of these young innocents.”  Does that mean God wanted it to happen, since He did nothing to stop it?  Does it really mean that God took it upon Himself as the deity of the Christian faith to pave the way for Adam Lanza to slaughter 20 little children ages 6 and 7?  Does it mean that there is no hope in prayer and common sense to stop this in the future? 

Fundamentally, are we to believe that there is some connection between the violence in the world and a God that takes retribution for the misgivings of the human race?

Lawrence M. Krauss is director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, and he has a book, "A Universe from Nothing," that was published in January.  Krauss once debated Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the self-proclaimed spiritual guide to Michael Jackson.  Boteach doesn’t believe in evolution and on television was found, “…offering admonition to those who, with very good reason, may question a God who could willingly allow the slaughter of children.”  But in fact is this a good time to question your faith and deities? Krauss asks on CNN.

He wonders why it is that everyone expects, and the media promulgates, such a narrow version on grieving for the 20 children who God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to call home in a gun slaughter by a maniac.  I ask, is this just another step in the process of evolution in a country that worships guns more than human life and is escalating in this mode of violence much faster than any other developed nation?  It does not make any sense to Krauss that an intelligent God could just “rationally” act in such a way and still be worth praying to.  I agree.

And the author addresses one of my favorite issues.  Why do we need more than common humanity to bring ourselves together, whether it is helping another in a time of need or grieving, as in Sandy Hook and all the other needless gun murders that go on daily in America?  Contrary to some religious beliefs that the ability to love and forgive cannot be expressed fully without Christian faith, Krauss says, aside from being nonsense, “We can feel real connections, whether we are parents, or neighbors of families, or simply caring men and women.    

Wikipedia defines humanity as “a set of strengths focused on ‘tending and befriending others.’ The three strengths associated with humanity are love, kindness, and social intelligence. Humanity differs from justice in that there is a level of altruism towards individuals included in humanity more so than the fairness found in justice.”  Confucius defined humanity, or jen, as a “love of people” stating “if you want to make a stand, help others make a stand.”  And in no way am I trying to oversimplify the grief of the parents of Sandy Hook and other gun murders.

But it is clearly unfair to limit the grieving process to even Christians, Jews and Muslims.  There are those who do not believe in God, and many these days who are questioning their faith when another of their children, other relatives, friends, or just the man and woman on the street are gunned down by a maniac.  Is it not reasonable to expect this kind of reaction and not make it impossible for these folks to mourn in their own way?  Just as there is no absolutist answer to the 2^nd Amendment, there is also no absolutist approach to believing in a God.