The Bates before they were so shiny and perfect including grifting

[19 cats and counting]

@formergothardite I have family members who are chefs, and my youngest cousins were taught in the kitchen at a very early age so I guess that's my comparison.  My own mom was a terrible cook when I was growing up (she's since become a foodie) and I figured things out on my own.

But I also don't find browning ground meat and dumping frozen veggies and a jar of salsa into a pot very difficult either.  

This old blog is a rabbit hole.  I'm reading the post about grifting hotel rooms (discount my ass) during the Duggar renovation and I find the name of the hotel manager kind of ironic for such a pro-life crowd (someone else with that name killed her young daughter but got away with it)

(Also I think the nightline they filmed around this time is still up for viewing online--- half of the Alyssa's wedding nightline was archives from the old one).

[Thorns]

Gill and Kelly went away, for, and I quote;

"...for a few nights of sweet fellowship together..."

OMFG TMI 

(or just me immediatedly jumping to conclusions, but but but. ..) 

Who the flippin flamingo writes that on a blog?!

 

 

[nausicaa]

7 hours ago, actuallyjessica said:

You're very dedicated to the take-down of this family.

If the matriarch and patriarch of this family had their way, you would not be able to get an abortion, shop on Sundays, access birth control, practice a non-Christian religion your way, and your courts and public schools would be covered in the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. And none of your gay friends/relatives would be able to get married or have equal rights to you. Assuming you're a woman, you would also function essentially as an overgrown child, needing your father's or husband's approval for all major decisions and they would wholeheartedly approve of workplace discrimination against you and paying your male co-workers more.

I agree that the Bateses are pretty and charismatic, and I have a soft spot for some of the kids. But I think it's important to remember just what they would think of you if you were to meet them in real life. 

[SilverBeach]

45 minutes ago, RosyDaisy said:

If anybody posts a pic of a canned chicken, I swear I'll flip my shit. I'm sick and nauseated.

@Oktobetakei!

[formergothardite]

10 minutes ago, 19 cats and counting said:

have family members who are chefs, and my youngest cousins were taught in the kitchen at a very early age so I guess that's my comparison.  My own mom was a terrible cook when I was growing up (she's since become a foodie) and I figured things out on my own.

But I also don't find browning ground meat and dumping frozen veggies and a jar of salsa into a pot very difficult either.  

I don't think it would be that much harder to cook healthy things from scratch, but it might take a bit more effort on the part of Kelly to teach her kids how to really cook. I'm guessing she would rather they just open cans, dump things 

1 minute ago, Thorns said:

Who the flippin flamingo writes that on a blog?!

The same sorts of folks who posted a picture of how their kids decorated their bed for them on their anniversary. 

[Coconut Flan]

10 minutes ago, nausicaa said:

practice a non-Christian religion your way

I'd state it a little differently: practice Christianity your way, practice a non-Christian religion (at all).

[PennySycamore]

I read @formergothardite's post about the horses at the same time I was watching a segment on Animal Cops: Houston where the animal welfare officers were dealing with a case of some horses that had been badly neglected.  One of the horses was in such poor shape that they had to call the vet in to euthanize the horse.  Nobody that was serious about about rescuing a horse would let people ride it in the condition that the Bateses' horse was in.

[nausicaa]

Just now, Coconut Flan said:

I'd state it a little differently: practice Christianity your way, practice a non-Christian religion (at all).

True. I'm actually not sure where Gothard stands on the ability to practice other religions. Since the Bateses are into Barton, I'm sure they buy into the whole Judeo-Christian nation stuff and believe Christianity should have dominance. So no way would they allow Pagan soldiers to have a pentagram on their graves in a military cemetery, but I don't know if they want to outlaw Jewish families for instance putting menorahs in their windows during Hanukkah.

Does anyone know if IBLP/ATI has discussed this at length anywhere? Do they want to go full on Baptist Saudi Arabia?

[19 cats and counting]

Just now, formergothardite said:

I don't think it would be that much harder to cook healthy things from scratch, but it might take a bit more effort on the part of Kelly to teach her kids how to really cook. I'm guessing she would rather they just open cans, dump things 

Opening a bag of frozen vegetables is easier (and safer) than opening a can (the edges of a can are dangerous especially to young hands.  Seriously all it takes is a pair of scissors.  (Besides frozen veggies are healthier than canned or even fresh as they're frozen before transport).  Are fundies that dense?

(Confession-- I do shop at Aldi thanks to watching the early Duggar shows.  It has saved me money, but I don't buy cases of cream of shit soup.  I only buy some things there but they do have good prices and I haven't had a problem with quality.)

[Screamapillar]

That blog gave me so much entertainment back in the day, and is the primary reason why I've always thought the Bates were bigger freaks than the Duggars. The Bates kids couldn't have looked more brainwashed if they tried. The levels of second hand embarrassment I feel for Sarah Reith in all of those courtship pictures with awkward, sweaty Zac are off the chart.

[Audrey2]

2 hours ago, formergothardite said:

Even their recipe for chicken involves opening a can of chicken. 

I grew up in a part of the country where pulled pork sandwich, sloppy joes, and shredded chicken sandwiches were very common at potlucks, graduation parties, community gatherings, and any other time you were feeding lots of people. Shredded chicken sandwiches seem to be very regional. I decided to make some for my friends in another part of the country, so I consulted the internet for a recipe, wanting one that didn't use fillers like stuffing mix or crackers. I found one that called for one whole chicken in a can. Since my "rule" is that I make a recipe exactly as written the first time then tweak it if it's worth making again, I bought the whole chicken in a can. It was the nastiest, grossest thing I've seen come out of a can. Next time, I'm breaking down and cooking the whole chicken. After hearing that the Bates recipe involves chicken in a can, I can't imagine buying more than one in a lifetime!

[JillyO]

I'm kind oh "meh" about beans on toast with cheese. Most people eat crap sometimes. But the fact that they think (or thought) that this is a "recipe" worth publishing is incredible/hilarious to me. Speaks volumes about their home-making skills.

[Coconut Flan]

I've used the chicken in a can that looks like tuna as a replacement for tuna when making "tuna" salad sandwiches.  I wonder if that's the canned chicken the Bates family was talking about.

[MorningMist]

A couple of years ago, back when I only used to talk about the Bates on the occasional tumblr post/instagram comment, I had a very naive view of them and I thought they were soooo much different from the Duggars and I respected them for that.

I had heard a few of this information and chose not to believe it because they just seemed like such a happy family. However, one day someone reblogged my post basically telling me that they were incredibly similar even using this picture to show me that they are so similar they look like one big family when they're together:

For some reason, this really stuck with me and from then on, my view completely changed. Safe to say I'm glad I learned my lesson.

[19 cats and counting]

Call me an snobby northeastern liberal, but the only meat in a can I would go near is marketed towards feeding your feline headship, not yourself.  I'd sooner go vegetarian than eat meat out of a can.

I'd pay good money to see a fundie blog share a recipe that uses Fancy Feast.

[nausicaa]

9 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

I've used the chicken in a can that looks like tuna as a replacement for tuna when making "tuna" salad sandwiches.  I wonder if that's the canned chicken the Bates family was talking about.

I use that too, for shredded chicken sandwiches and pasta salads. It's not as healthy as cooking raw chicken, but it's nothing near the McNasty that is OKTBTK's chicken can slime. 

[QuiverDance]

Aldi is awesome.  Their produce is amazing and so cheap.  I don't buy canned items at all.  The only things I buy at Aldi are either fresh or frozen.  

[Audrey2]

22 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

I've used the chicken in a can that looks like tuna as a replacement for tuna when making "tuna" salad sandwiches.  I wonder if that's the canned chicken the Bates family was talking about.

I've used the chunk chicken in a can for quick chicken salad sandwiches, and the chunk isn't awful like the whole chicken is.

[formergothardite]

41 minutes ago, Screamapillar said:

That blog gave me so much entertainment back in the day, and is the primary reason why I've always thought the Bates were bigger freaks than the Duggars. The Bates kids couldn't have looked more brainwashed if they tried. The levels of second hand embarrassment I feel for Sarah Reith in all of those courtship pictures with awkward, sweaty Zac are off the chart.

That is one of the most embarrassing things I've seen on television. He was sweating and crying and she looked blind-sided and like she wanted to run far, far away. She clearly had no clue that was coming. All their pictures with matching shirts and Sarah leaning away from him are just so cringe worthy. 

Every time I see Lawson I end up thinking about how cowboy stage. All those pictures are also very cringe worthy. 

[Palimpsest]

29 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

That is one of the most embarrassing things I've seen on television. He was sweating and crying and she looked blind-sided and like she wanted to run far, far away. She clearly had no clue that was coming. All their pictures with matching shirts and Sarah leaning away from him are just so cringe worthy. 

Every time I see Lawson I end up thinking about how cowboy stage. All those pictures are also very cringe worthy. 

That footage was so awful and I agree she seemed completely taken by surprise.  I got the impression Sarah only said yes to courtship with Zach because she was too kind to reject the sweating weeping guy on camera.  The whole thing made me cringe for both Sarah and Zach.

And then she ran for the hills!

 I hope Sarah Reith gets a better offer - and IMO that family is far more talented musically than the Bateseses.

Many thanks for all the links to the old blog @formergothardite!  It's amazing how much they've edited out.  Whoever scrubbed the evidence did a very good job.

Re. the emaciated horses - they were shown in only one episode IIRC and I'm not sure if anyone still has screenshots, but their condition was shocking.  The TLC quickly edited the footage of the skinniest ones out on the reruns because of the outcry.

[benye]

Are there interesting rabbit holes I could get into about the Bates? I'd love to read up on it, maybe someone can PM me a few links

[eandre31]

I admit that I've used canned chunk chicken before for buffalo chicken dip, but it smells so much like cat food that it makes me sick. Now, if I wanna be lazy, I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred all the chicken off and use what I need and freeze the rest for other recipes. 

Seriously though a whole rotisserie chicken is like 5 dollars at the grocery store. It takes 5 minutes to shred it. No need for the canned chicken after I realized that can be substituted for it. 

[19 cats and counting]

18 minutes ago, benye said:

Are there interesting rabbit holes I could get into about the Bates? I'd love to read up on it, maybe someone can PM me a few links

I bumped an old Gawker article a few days ago.  That's a good starting point.

[JMO]

Great seeing the frumpers again and I agree about the pictures not just of the courtship (she did look happy and smiling in some) but the 3 weeks he went away with her family were really telling.  She is basically unhappy in all of them. I can't believe that this blog is only 5 yrs old.  They have definitely changed how they are presented. 

[patsymae]

4 hours ago, 19 cats and counting said:

Opening a bag of frozen vegetables is easier (and safer) than opening a can (the edges of a can are dangerous especially to young hands.  Seriously all it takes is a pair of scissors.  (Besides frozen veggies are healthier than canned or even fresh as they're frozen before transport).  Are fundies that dense?

(Confession-- I do shop at Aldi thanks to watching the early Duggar shows.  It has saved me money, but I don't buy cases of cream of shit soup.  I only buy some things there but they do have good prices and I haven't had a problem with quality.)

I don't understand the Aldis thing. Is it regional maybe? The Aldi stores I've been to in central Jersey don't even sell cream of crap soup that I've noticed. I buy wild-caught salmon, 100 percent grass-fed beef, organic cereal and yogurt, natural cheeses, free range eggs and fair trade coffee there. I like their pesto and hummus, and they don't sell discounted brand-name process foods by the case. Just because they are in lower-income neighborhoods doesn't mean everybody who shops there eats crap all the time.