The Duggars and beyond

Oh look, these baby-killers are back in the news

Sat, 25 May 2013 07:18:45 -0400

Oh look, these baby-killers are back in the news:

Dead Pa. baby’s dad believes in ‘divine healing’

By MARYCLAIRE DALE | Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — After their 2-year-old son died of untreated pneumonia in 2009, faith-healing advocates Herbert and Catherine Schaible promised a judge they would not let another sick child go without medical care.

But now they’ve lost an 8-month-old to what a prosecutor called “eerily similar” circumstances. And instead of another involuntary manslaughter charge, they’re now charged with third-degree murder.

“We believe in divine healing, that Jesus shed blood for our healing and that he died on the cross to break the devil’s power,” Herbert Schaible, 44, told Philadelphia homicide detectives after their ninth child, Brandon, died in April. Medicine, he said, “is against our religious beliefs.”

The Schaibles were ordered held without bail Friday, two days after their arrest, although defense lawyers argued that they are neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.

“He is incarcerated because of his faith,” said lawyer Bobby Hoof, who described client Herbert Schaible’s mindset as resolute.

“He’s strong willed,” Hoof said. “(Yet) he’s mourning this son. He’s hurting as any dad would.”

The only people theoretically at risk are the couple’s seven surviving children, who are now in foster care, the lawyers said.

A judge acknowledged that the couple had never missed a court date in the first case but said he worried that might change amid the more serious charges. And he feared they may have supporters who would harbor them.

“Throughout this country … there are churches like the Schaibles’ whose members and leaders probably don’t think they did anything wrong and might be willing — to paraphrase the Schaibles’ pastor — to put their interpretation of God’s will above the law,” Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner said.

About a dozen children die each year in the U.S. when parents turn to faith healing instead of medicine, typically from highly treatable problems, said Shawn Francis Peters, a University of Wisconsin lecturer who has studied faith-healing deaths.

In Oregon, four couples from a faith-healing church have been prosecuted, the most recent in 2011 when a couple was sentenced to more than six years in prison for manslaughter in the death of their newborn son.

The state legislature that year removed faith healing as a defense to murder charges. Members of the Followers of Christ have consistently refused to speak with journalists.

Defense lawyer Mark Cogan declined to comment Friday on whether the legal actions have changed the practice of any church members. Some testified at the 2011 trial that they do get medical care.

At the Schaibles’ sentencing in February 2011 in their son Kent’s death, they agreed to follow terms of the 10-year probation, which included an order to get their children regular checkups and sick visits as needed. Catherine Schaible, 43, let her husband speak for her and never addressed the judge.

“It’s very clear that the law says that religious freedom is trumped by the safety of a child,” Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Engel Temin explained.

But a transcript of a later probation hearing that year shows probation officers were confused by their mandate to oversee the required medical care and felt powerless to carry it out. The family was not being monitored by child-welfare workers, who are more accustomed to dealing with medical compliance.

“I think that we all on the jury thought that it would not happen again, that whatever social and legal institutions needed to be involved in their situation would just take over … and that the mandated visits would be robust enough that they would not be able to do this again,” Vincent Bertolini, a former college professor who served as jury foreman at the Schaibles’ first trial, said Friday.

That jury convicted the couple of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.

Like other cases Peters has studied, the Schaibles belong to a small, insular circle of believers. Both are third-generation members and former teachers at their fundamentalist Christian church, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia.

Their pastor, Nelson Clark, has said the Schaibles lost their sons because of a “spiritual lack” in their lives and insisted they would not seek medical care even if another child appeared near death. He did not return phone messages this month, but he told The Associated Press in 2011 that his church is not a cult, and he faulted officials for trying to force his members into “the flawed medical system,” which he blamed for 100,000 deaths a year.

“These are people who have been brought up in these communities; their beliefs are reinforced every day,” Peters said. “They’re not trained intellectually to question these doctrines, where the rest of us might engage in critical inquiry, weighing the benefits of medicine versus the benefits of prayer.”

A handful of families, including one in western Pennsylvania, have lost two children after attempts at faith healing, according to Peters, who wrote “When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children and the Law.”

Peters isn’t sure that courts have the means to prevent the problem, since such people don’t fear legal punishment, only Judgment Day. Some believe death “is a good outcome,” given their belief in the afterlife, he said.

“They don’t want to harm their children. They’re just in this particularly narrow — and very, very dangerous — way misguided about the potential of medical science,” he said.

He believes that “empathetic” intervention, through dialogue between church and public health educators, could help some “get to a point where they allow their beliefs and practices to evolve.”

But there’s a risk that could backfire, and drive these communities further underground, he said.

For the Schaibles, a third-degree murder conviction could bring seven to 14 years in prison or more.

Said Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore: “Somebody is dead now as a result of what they did — or didn’t do.”

___

Associated Press writer Tim Fought in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.

BULLSHIT. They’re not being incarcerated for their faith. They’re being incarcerated for LETTING A SECOND CHILD DIE NEEDLESSLY.

It’s bad enough that they got their surviving kids back the first time. But they’ve done this again (after swearing in court that they wouldn’t), and have seven children living now. NOT A THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY, so they don’t need to be in jail?! I’d say they’re a fucking threat to their surviving children.

I love how abortion providers are “baby killers” but these two are poor misguided, persecuted Christian souls.

charliemikevictortango417: xamhx: FUCK YEAH, SAVE THE...

Sat, 25 May 2013 03:34:30 -0400

charliemikevictortango417:

xamhx:

FUCK YEAH, SAVE THE EAGLES!

FUCKING THIS OH MY GOD.

bookninja4: politicsandhandgrenades: “Just do good” this is...

Sat, 25 May 2013 03:33:21 -0400

bookninja4:

politicsandhandgrenades:

“Just do good”

this is literally what i have been saying since i was born

four for you Pope Francis, you go Pope Francis

I’m so happy right now.

bates-family-photos replied to your photo: A 2009 visit to the Staddons turned into an… I...

Sat, 25 May 2013 01:52:03 -0400

bates-family-photos replied to your photo: A 2009 visit to the Staddons turned into an…

I would say Warden, but if I hadn’t seen them together I would’ve said they were the same kid!

I trust your judgment on the matter! But yeah, it’s only recently that I started being able to tell Jackson from the herd. When they’re together I can usually tell, because Isaiah’s face is rounder and Warden’s ears stick out more, but separately? Still difficult. I have a similar problem with Katie and Josie.

everythingnancydrew replied to your post: I’m pretty sure I could fill a fucking BOOK with...

Sat, 25 May 2013 01:43:45 -0400

everythingnancydrew replied to your post: I’m pretty sure I could fill a fucking BOOK with Michelle Duggar’s lies

I will help you write that book. Does she seriously think people are that stupid and believe everything she says?

The depressing thing is, the fans actually buy this shit and rave about what an awesome mother she is. Is it possible that they’re just not watching the actual show?!

bates-family-photos replied to your photo: Because well-behaved children just sprawl all...

Sat, 25 May 2013 01:41:18 -0400

bates-family-photos replied to your photo: Because well-behaved children just sprawl all over…

That’s Jordan next to Jenny, right? Because she’s wearing pants…

That’s Jennifer yes but she’s wearing a skirt over that…an appallingly short one, though! Someone better shout nike!!! before she defrauds all the Kindergartners watching at home…

So pretty…

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:30:09 -0400

So pretty…

Also, it’s just beautiful.

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:26:52 -0400

Also, it’s just beautiful.

What Would Jesus Watch: Angel Sanctuary

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:23:00 -0400

While it is endlessly fun to snark on the ridiculous aspects of Christianity in pop culture, there are in fact occasions where the inclusion of the Christian mythos makes something really, really amazing.

“You who color the ocean zinc and turn the forest into yellow sand and fill the air with gun smoke and scorch the sky! The wicked deeds of wild Lilith, Adam’s first wife, bride of a demon; The rebellion of beautiful Lucifer, Once the brightest star in heaven; Now you who begin these things again! Hear the winged devils cry to the sky; They are the messengers of the Creator, the ones who announce the Day of Judgement; Neither gods or men, They are angels…”

I hear a bunch of you groaning. Okay, I get it. You’re hanging out here to enjoy someone snarking on the shit you snark on, not to hear some nerd wax rhapsodic about a Japanese cartoon. But if you’re at all interested, please stick with me. And if you don’t like anime, don’t let that scare you off. I’m not one of those anime people. I love animation as an art form, but I’m not going to otaku out on you.

Angel Sanctuary is the story of fallen angel Alexiel, reincarnated in human form as teen boy Setsuna. Setsuna has no idea of his previous life; he’s much more concerned with his earthly problems; namely, being in love with his little sister Sara.

Shit gets angsty.

“Okay,” I hear you thinking, “That’s fucked-up, but what does this have to do with this blog, really?”

Let me backtrack a little. Let me take you to Heaven.

Overtaken by the “organic angels” (God seems to have vanished; the wheres and whys aren’t really touched upon. Apparently the mythology is much more detailed in the manga), the “highest level” spiritual beings below the Creator Itself, with each angelic being determined to ascend to God’s throne.

Disgusted by the bloodshed (all in the name of righteousness!) and cruelty (the straw that breaks the camel’s back: the angels’ attempted rape of a young demon), Alexiel attempts to lead a rebellion, and is ultimately overthrown by her power-hungry twin brother Rosiel.

Alexiel’s soul is then condemned to reincarnate repeatedly as a human whose life is full of turmoil and suffering - hence Setsuna’s troubled existence.

Make no mistake; when I say that Setsuna is in love with sister, it’s genuine. He hates himself, suffering his love in silence and shame. Unfortunately, it proves impossible to keep this a secret - from his mother, from his schoolmates, and most troublesome, from the unearthly beings that seek Alexiel’s current incarnation to re-instigate the war against God.

The earthly creatures who know of Setsuna’s affections condemn him, and flat-out tell him that he’s going to Hell and worse, will drag Sara with him. Prayer and acknowledgement of Christian dogma as truth are recurring throughout the show. One of the reasons I thought to tie this into the blog at all is that Heaven is presented as full of smug, elitist assholish beings who feel entitled to take what they want, damn the cost to others.

Precisely the image of Heaven I get from certain religious sects.

I don’t really want to go too deeply into the actual plot, because if you’re not interested, you’ve stopped reading by now, and if you’re still reading, you really should pick this title up and watch it yourself. Netflix has it, and it’s probably streaming on one of the million anime streaming sites out there.

I haven’t read the manga but apparently it’s much more in-depth and very good. And as a stand-alone anime, I would rate it ****/***** (four out of five Tater Tots). Excellent but the ending is very abrupt and knowing that there’s so much more to the story kind of pisses me off that the series ended where it did.

I'm pretty sure I could fill a fucking BOOK with Michelle Duggar's lies

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:03:03 -0400

I tell them out of graciousness to the cook, to always say thank you for the meal whether they like it or not. You should express gratitude to the one who labored to prepare it. And they’re not supposed to say “I don’t like this.” That is a major no-no. They can instead say, “I don’t think I would like more of this, but thank you.” It’s a whole learning process for the little ones.

Lies, lies, bullshit and LIES. They packed snacks and distributed them DURING MEALS OUT in Asia. They held their noses and made gagging faces at the Ethiopian restaurant in DC. They were loudly critical of the Tater Tot casserole their own brothers made. Etc. WE HAVE LITERALLY NEVER SEEN THEM DO THIS. DOES SHE NOT REALIZE THE PEOPLE WHO READ THIS CRAP WATCH THE SHOW AND KNOW SHE’S FULL OF SHIT?!

Do they just live at SDC now?

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:43:00 -0400

Do they just live at SDC now?

Sweet bling, Jinge.

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:38:12 -0400

Sweet bling, Jinge.

Duggar-signed fan hand. IDEK.

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:35:34 -0400

Duggar-signed fan hand. IDEK.

Because well-behaved children just sprawl all over the floor,...

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:33:53 -0400

Because well-behaved children just sprawl all over the floor, Jordyn.

A 2009 visit to the Staddons turned into an exercise in...

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:29:24 -0400

A 2009 visit to the Staddons turned into an exercise in snake-handling, apparently.

Is that Warden or Isaiah? I still have a hell of a time telling those two apart.

Josie doesn’t even pretend to be...

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:26:42 -0400

Josie doesn’t even pretend to be “well-behaved,” and no one in the family seems to care. It’s like they’re afraid to discipline that kid.

imaginesisters: Nuns + Monk + Soccer = Awesome! Check out these...

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:21:49 -0400

imaginesisters:

Nuns + Monk + Soccer = Awesome!

Check out these pics of the Franciscan Sisters TOR playing soccer with a Benedictine monk- a dear friend of their community, Fr. Boniface Hicks. O.S.B… intense! He is as intense in prayer as he is in playing soccer!

successfulmetalbenders: In church on Sunday, I accidentally thought “hell yeah,” instead of...

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:55:43 -0400

successfulmetalbenders:

In church on Sunday, I accidentally thought “hell yeah,” instead of “amen.”

reallyfoxnews: sandandglass: This basically sums up everything...

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:06:08 -0400

reallyfoxnews:

sandandglass:

This basically sums up everything Bill O’Reilly’s ever said.

Fox News in two .gifs

anexperimentallife: grrrl-riot: I saw this post among the slew...

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:02:05 -0400

anexperimentallife:

grrrl-riot:

I saw this post among the slew of comments on this Planned Parenthood post regarding the decision on the after 20-week abortions ban in Arizona.

It was nice to see a conservative man standing up to the anti-choice bullies on the page.

This is what happens when a conservative meets this little thing I like to call “reality.”