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.

Here Are the Facts on Pot-You Decide

CNN asks whether marijuana is as safe or safer than alcohol. One of the headlines surrounding this headline is "High Profits" an indication of the exceptional revenue for states that have legalized it, particularly for recreational use. But this article is all about the medical benefits or disadvantages and there are a lot. As an opening, Pres. Obama said, "I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol." That might do it for the Progressives but not for the conservative right. Anyway, here are the facts:

• Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the United States.
• Pot use is limited due to its designation as a Schedule 1 substance, the same category as heroin, LSD and Ecstasy, and also due to its illegal nature in most states.
• The addiction of alcohol is proven with approximately 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults suffering from abuse.
• Marijuana's addictive qualities are not yet fully understood, but estimates say 9% of people who use marijuana will become addicted to it.
• Drunk drivers kill one person and injure 20 every hour.
• The pot smoker effects while driving results--a slight impact on the psychomotor skills--are still questionable since most of the studies are lab tests. 

There's more in this comprehensive article, such as how alcohol and marijuana affect your appetite and weight gain, how it can help or hinder the sexual drive and lower your inhibitions to the point you neglect safe sex, and what the long-term health risks are for each. The absolute downside is some 88,000 Americans die each year because of excessive alcohol use. Again the marijuana facts are limited on deaths but one study found pot users have a 4.8-fold increase in risk of a heart attack during the first hour after smoking because of the drug's effect on your heart rate.

But what do you want to bet it eventually comes down to the increased state income on the sale of pot. Legal marijuana state revenue (medicinal/recreational) in Colorado generated $63 million in 2014 tax revenue, with an additional $13 million collected in licenses and fees on $700 million in sales. Sales are expected to be $1 billion by 2016.

Fox News Decides to Help Duggar Family Sugar Coat Son's Molestation

I watched part of the Fox News interview on CNN with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. It was hard for Anderson Cooper and his two guests to keep from hurling all over the set. The headline on PoliticusUSA last Saturday was, "Fox Hits A Deplorable Low By Giving The Duggars A Platform To Explain Away Child Molestation." When you combine this degenerate family with Fox News, you know you won't get the true story but you don't expect to get the unbridled presentation of an obviously guilty family trying to say they aren't. Michelle Duggar said they were worried they had failed as parents with a straight face. Continuing:

"Here we've tried to raise our kids to do what's right, to know what's right, and yet one of our children made some really bad choices and I think, as a parent, we were just, we were devastated," she told Megyn Kelly.

This woman is living in a delusional, fanatical, religious dream world if she thinks Josh Duggar just made "bad choices." Even "really" bad choices. A bad choice is when you put spiders in your sister's bed, not get in that bed with her and fondle her breasts and vagina. He even did this to his five-year-old sister. There is also some alignment of this family with Republicans running for President between both Jim Bob and Josh.

It is known that Josh was doing this for years, which included a family friend as well as his four sisters, reported it to his father at least three times, with the results that no action was taken and the statute of limitations was allowed to run out. An attorney on CNN indicated there might be some later episodes that still could be charged against Josh, perhaps including the father and mother.

The Duggar's TLC hit show "19 Kids and Counting" has been pulled from the air until further notice. There should be some way to get these culprits out of the normal population.

Later news.

Where will Elizabeth Warren's Support Go?

The groups behind the six months effort to draft Elizabeth Warren for President have folded their tent. The “Run Warren Run” campaign backed by Democracy for America (DFA) and MoveOn.org have decided to suspend efforts. The question arises, since Warren is definitely a Progressive, will these two organizations shift their support to Bernie Sanders? DFA endorsed him for the Senate in Vermont in 2006. MoveOn.org is being urged to back him after exiting Warren. However, DFA Executive Director Charles Chamberlain said, “We still think there’s plenty of time for Sen. Warren to change her mind,” and indicated they would stick with Warren for now. MoveOn has been looking at petitions to back Sen. Sanders for some time.  Here's a map reflecting primary schedules for 2016, with seven months to go in 2015. It would seem that if Warren secretly harbors any plans to run, she would want to make that decision by the end of the month but stranger things have happened in politics. DFA and MoveOn may be reluctant to back a dark horse like Bernie Sanders but before they decide not they should look at some of the crowds he is attracting at speaking engagements around the country.

Latest Update from Bernie Sanders: Iowa

Bernie Sanders is in Iowa and, although he hasn't gotten the national coverage he should, his team passes on road successes with his followers. Here they are:

Kensett, IA: "A mere 240 people live in the rural northeast Iowa town of Kensett, so when more than 300 crowded into the community center on Saturday night to hear Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, many driving 50 miles, the cellphones of Democratic leaders statewide began to buzz."

Ames, IA: "Mr. Sanders's stop at a brewery in Ames on Saturday was so mobbed that more than 100 people who could not fit inside peered through the [brewery] windows."

Muscatine, IA: "The next day, in Muscatine, Iowa, after a rally at a community college drew twice the expected audience of 50…"

Standing before a huge crowd in an unidentified location, the candidate said, “Be amazed at what you saw here. I want to win this.”

NRA Says National Gun Violence Day "Pointless"

Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, sponsored by Everyone for Gun Safety Action Fund. Celebrities like Julianne Moore helped make this first event successful in spite of being panned by the National Rifle Assn. (NRA). The NRA "attacked the campaign as 'pointless' and said 'participating is an easy way of scoring points for being 'socially conscious.'" I have heard this organization lower itself in similar statements before so nothing is surprising anymore. What is surprising is that the NRA is still around to do this kind of damage after the thousands of gun deaths it is responsible for. The cry of "Wear Orange" is a symbol for the value of human life everywhere and honors the January 29, 2013 shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton who was killed by gangs on Chicago's south side. People are wearing orange all across the country today in an effort that is quickly burgeoning into a full blown movement to get guns off the streets.

Brainless Actor Vince Vaughn Wants to Arm America's Schools

I knew when Jennifer Aniston dumped this guy there was a good reason. He had an addled brain that needed a major tune up. He says he "supports guns in schools to prevent mass shootings..." He also believes in concealed and open carry as he put it "full stop." And then the kicker, "We have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government." Yeah, like he's been mishandled by the feds; God, that's getting old. He talks about "guys shooting up these f***ing schools because they know there are no guns there." These "guys" could care less if there are guns in the schools because most of them are on a suicide mission and end up dead anyway. I am all for actors coming out and voicing their opinions on current events but Vince Vaughn is beginning to sound like Charlton Heston in his famous speech about someone having to pry his gun from his cold dead hands. Heston's rhetoric sounded dumb then as Vince Vaughn's does today.