Jill, Derick, and Israel Part 12

[nst]

3 minutes ago, HarleyQuinn said:

I feel like the Dullards will have some sort of lawsuit against them for scamming in the not so distant future.

can we all sign a petition to get it going  

[EmCatlyn]

17 hours ago, unforgiving said:

Oh no, that figure (400 per 100,000) certainly isn't insignificant, but like you pointed out, it's no cause for panic/hysteria. Statistically speaking, it's still pretty unlikely that any given individual will contract zika virus. Of course, it would be tragic for any pregnant woman that did contract it, and gave birth to a baby with birth defects as a result.

Don't get me wrong, what we are seeing here in the north of Brazil, as well as other South/Central American countries is horrifying, and it's even more tragic when you consider that the vast majority of the families effected by this do not have access to (or the means to pay) for medical care for their babies. And that is also another important point to take into consideration - the areas of the Americas where this virus has spread like wildfire are poverty stricken, and this has certainly contributed to the spread of the disease. Recife (the city where the surge in microcephaly was first noticed) is a place where raw sewage can be found flowing in the cities canals. Aedes Aegypti thrives in areas of high population and poor waste management. 

I think that the governments of South/Central America are facing a much harder task in trying to get the spread of this disease under control in their countries, than the US government will face. I'm not saying the US won't see this virus spread on it's own soil, come the warmer months, but I think it will happen at far lower rates than are currently been seen in the rest of the Americas, especially as they have the advantage of not only knowing in advance about this virus and what it can do, but also better infrastructure and waste management programs, and a more educated population, with access to internet/media, who can be more easily made aware of what precautionary measures they should be taking.

Like I said in a previous post, the media can be both a blessing and a curse in these situations, and I think it could be better used to educate people about how to protect themselves, and help prevent the spread of Aedes Aegypti, rather than reporting on the handful of individual cases that have been seen in the US (not even contracted on US soil) in a manner that causes some people to panic. Luckily, because this mosquito has been spreading other horrible diseases for centuries, there is quite a wealth of information and scientific studies out there about how to reduce the risk of it spreading. 

Not to stir anything up here (I am neutral on the subject of pesticides) but I know a couple of science people who think that reversing the ban on DDT for a limited period might be the best immediate solution to the problem.

They claim that the data that led to the ban on DDT was exaggerated and gathered improperly, the risk to wildlife was never as great as originally thought, that DDT is cheaper than other pesticides that have replaced them an in many cases better, and that DDT had done a fairly good job of getting rid of the AE mosquito before the ban, which is what first got yellow fever under control in the tropics.  They argue that even if there are some risks to birds and butterflies from DDT, a short term use will reduce the mosquitos in developing/poor countries and protect people.

I am wondering if there is talk in this direction elsewhere or only among eccentric academics.

25 minutes ago, Cleopatra7 said:

I can't believe I'm going to defend the Dullards, but it's safer for Izzy to wear long pants than shorts to protect against the sun and mosquitos. He looks like he would burn quickly in the sun.

Yes. And I was going to point out that the Salvadorian boy is not just wearing long pants but shoes and socks.  Also, long pants protect little knees when the little legs are still doing a lot of crawling.

For sun protection I would go with a lighter weight fabric and definitely a light colored shirt to his elbows in some wicking material.

[ChickenettiLuvr]

At the risk of being burned at the stake for not being current on my thread reading --

The post at top of thread said Dillards are home and she may have the Zika virus?????

Well, pardon my snark -- but ain't it grand that the Great Lord God Almighty heard Jillie-muffin's prayers and sent down a plague from heaven uponst their mission field so that the King & Queen of Dullard could come trippin' on back to Arkansas guilt-free, since God righteously fulfilled the desires of her heart????

.....
Pardon myself whilst I go bangeth my head in the garage. This was the crowning moment of a nightfilled with Iowa Caucus babble.

[EmCatlyn]

1 minute ago, ChickenettiLuvr said:

At the risk of being burned at the stake for not being current on my thread reading --

The post at top of thread said Dillards are home and she may have the Zika virus?????

Well, pardon my snark -- but ain't it grand that the Great Lord God Almighty heard Jillie-muffin's prayers and sent down a plague from heaven uponst their mission field so that the King & Queen of Dullard could come trippin' on back to Arkansas guilt-free, since God righteously fulfilled the desires of her heart????

.....
Pardon myself whilst I go bangeth my head in the garage. This was the crowning moment of a nightfilled with Iowa Caucus babble.

It seems to have been an unsubstantiated rumor.  The Zika case in Arkansas was not a Duggar and The Dillards seem to be in El Salvador doing whatever they and SOS considers missionary work. The last I heard they were not going to disclose their location for privacy reasons.

[ChickenettiLuvr]

Thankyouverymuch, EmCaitlyn.  Now for my blood pressure to sit back down so I can sleep tonight.

 

[notfundy]

There's been discussion from time to time here on FJ and elsewhere (Facebook, Tumblr blogs, etc.) about the Dillards being held accountable for "scamming" people through their charity Dillard Family Ministries.    "Being (held) accountable" could mean the IRS finding their charity violated one or more of the rules set forth for 501(c) (3) organizations.   It probably does not mean that someone would successfully sue the Dillards and/or their charity,  in my opinion.

In my experience, a lawsuit brought by disgruntled donors isn't how it usually works.   I'm a CPA with experience in not-for-profit (sometimes referred to as "exempt" ) organizations.   As much as I personally loathe the entire concept of Dillard Family Ministries, they  probably not at much risk of anything (yet) other than irritating their donors.  And yes, that can be a problem...because, rather than a lawsuit.....

The more likely scenario is for a disgruntled donor to report the organization to the IRS.  The IRS in theory would investigate and, again, in theory, order the Dillards to correct wrongdoings. There could be penalties and fines.   Orders for corrrective action.  Worst case, the IRS could revoke their not-for-profit status.   I say in THEORY because the IRS resources for investigation are quite limited.  The resources are especially limited around investigating religious not-profit organizations.  Especially small ones.   (Anyone see John Oliver's great satire last year re: tax exempt churches?  Yeah, it's like that.  They get away with a lot.)   

 

For example, it is true that the Dillards could get in trouble if they do not send out "receipt letters" for donations given to them.  That is supposed to be done by January 31st  each year.  However, it's only required for cash contributions greater than $250.

Assume that many contributions were less than $250....  maybe $10...$20 - $30 ... given by people who probably struggled to spare even that much (don't get me started!)   And if you make the donations at different times throughout the year, or even monthly (recall their website encourages that) you do NOT have to add them all up; each one is separate for purposes of the $250 rule.  So you could give $100 every month for a total of $1,200 and the Dillards would not HAVE to send you a receipt letter.    Of course most not-profits will send you a nice letter even for $5.... that's just good fundraising etiquette.  But it's not a violation if they do not.  

Then there is the matter of donations being used improperly, for something other than the "intended purpose".   Who decides what is and what isn't proper?  The IRS goes back to the "exempt purpose" as described in the organization's original application for 501(c) (3) status.  The purpose is likely to be fairly broad, such as "Helping our brothers and sisters in need while introducing them to Jesus Christ".

So, English lessons for those kids?  Probably OK.  Tax exempt organizations are pretty good at making the argument that almost everything they do aligns with their exempt purpose.  It is a little more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.  And can they pay themselves salaries/expenses/etc. with the donations?  Of course they can.  Every charity has bona-fide administration expenses.     

So the bottom line is that it is difficult to hold these organizations accountable.   It will be a while yet before the completed form 990 (basically a tax return for non-profits)  becomes available on line.  A year from now maybe??    Even then, depending on their size (budget, $$$$ of donations) they may only need to fill out a basic form that will reveal very little.  

The IRS simply does not have the resources to do the job and that has been a problem for decades.  

The Tea Party faction (think of our good friend in Congress, Daniel Webster of Florida)  in particular DESPISE  the IRS, so Congress has literally been starving them of resources for years now.

 

 

[IrishCarrie]

There's a pic up on the 19kidsandmore Instagram account of Jill holding up a chalkboard saying '11 weeks, 2 days'. She's standing at the same spot where she did all the previous pregnancy update pics.

I assume it's from the Izzy pregnancy and is just up as clickbait but I ran here anyway to check - as far as I can see from a quick check there hasn't been an announcement of Junior Dillard No.2?? 

[Fundie Bunny]

It's from the pregnancy with dilly 1

[PennySycamore]

@EmCatlyn, I'd wondered about bring back DDT, as well, BUT it was never banned for vector control, i.e. for mosquito control.  It was banned in 1974 in the US and restricted worldwide by the Stockholm Convention in 2004.  The current practice is to spray the interior walls of homes with DDT or another insecticide to control mosquitoes. That seems to be most effective and works even when the mosquitos are resistant to DDT.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_residual_spraying

The "Bring Back DDT" campaign seems to be led by the similar group of people as the Tobacco Institute.  It's all industry people who would love nothing more than to bring down environmentalists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Fighting_Malaria

 

[sawasdee]

51 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@EmCatlyn, I'd wondered about bring back DDT, as well, BUT it was never banned for vector control, i.e. for mosquito control.  It was banned in 1974 in the US and restricted worldwide by the Stockholm Convention in 2004.  The current practice is to spray the interior walls of homes with DDT or another insecticide to control mosquitoes. That seems to be most effective and works even when the mosquitos are resistant to DDT.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_residual_spraying

The "Bring Back DDT" campaign seems to be led by the similar group of people as the Tobacco Institute.  It's all industry people who would love nothing more than to bring down environmentalists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Fighting_Malaria

 

An interesting report on Al Jazeera tonight about breeding fish which eat the mosquito larvae. The mosquito population of one village has been decimated, and El Salvador is to take the breeding programme nationwide. It could , in the long term, be an effective weapon against the virus.

http://video.aljazeera.com/channels/eng/videos/the-fish-that-could-beat-zika/4733712340001

[Pianokeeper]

My apologies for my lack of emotional distance on the subject of DDT; my mother died of breast cancer, most likely related to heavy DDT exposure as a small girl in Brazil. 

 

This stuff KILLS. Not just bald eagles, which are making a comeback. Not just my mother, who was indescribably devoted to healthy habits yet got several different kinds of cancer. Not just my favorite middle school teacher, who used to play in the DDT truck spray, growing up in Florida. 

 

Mr. Pianokeeper is a neuroscientist. DDT is not his particular field, but if we're throwing our loved ones and their scientific knowledge into the ring, he's fully backing methods of mosquito control that are less deadly to all rungs of life. There ARE alternatives in the works. We don't need to behave like anti-vaxers, where we grow removed enough from the devastation to think maybe it was all a big kerfuffle over nothing. 

[PennySycamore]

@Pianokeeper, I am so sorry about your mother and your middle-school teacher.

It's so weird to think that running after the fog truck used to be a thing among kids in the South in the 60s.  We were so damn stupid!  My brother and I were lucky enough to live out of town and only chased the fog truck a couple of times when we were visiting friends in town.

[Pianokeeper]

@PennySycamore -- Thank you.

 

You weren't stupid; nobody knew back then! But we do now, unless we wilfully forget. 

[nastyhobbitses]

1 hour ago, sawasdee said:

An interesting report on Al Jazeera tonight about breeding fish which eat the mosquito larvae. The mosquito population of one village has been decimated, and El Salvador is to take the breeding programme nationwide. It could , in the long term, be an effective weapon against the virus.

http://video.aljazeera.com/channels/eng/videos/the-fish-that-could-beat-zika/4733712340001

I've also heard that scientists are trying to genetically modify mosquitoes to make them sterile, and then release tons of blanks-shooting male mosquitoes into areas with mosquito-borne diseases. They've managed to eradicate the Tsetse fly from Zanzibar and eradicate the Screwworm fly from North America and Libya using this technique. It's a bit of a long-game approach, but it holds promise.

[sawasdee]

According to Al Jazeera, the joy of the fish breeding approach is that it is low tech, and cheap - and you can eat the fish when they are big enough!

[DuggarWatch]

1 hour ago, PennySycamore said:

@Pianokeeper, I am so sorry about your mother and your middle-school teacher.

It's so weird to think that running after the fog truck used to be a thing among kids in the South in the 60s.  We were so damn stupid!  My brother and I were lucky enough to live out of town and only chased the fog truck a couple of times when we were visiting friends in town.

This is what is going on now in South America to get rid of the Zika virus:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3425846/World-Health-Organization-deeply-concerned-explosive-spread-Zika-virus-El-Nino-increases-fears-expansion.html

[Trynn]

An interesting report on Al Jazeera tonight about breeding fish which eat the mosquito larvae. The mosquito population of one village has been decimated, and El Salvador is to take the breeding programme nationwide. It could , in the long term, be an effective weapon against the virus.

http://video.aljazeera.com/channels/eng/videos/the-fish-that-could-beat-zika/4733712340001

I've also heard that scientists are trying to genetically modify mosquitoes to make them sterile, and then release tons of blanks-shooting male mosquitoes into areas with mosquito-borne diseases. They've managed to eradicate the Tsetse fly from Zanzibar and eradicate the Screwworm fly from North America and Libya using this technique. It's a bit of a long-game approach, but it holds promise.

I remember reading about Screw Worm. The book I read state that nowadays you probably couldn't get away with doing that, because too many environmentalists would complain.

I think there must be a solution to these problems that doesn't involve DDT. We got rid of that stuff for a reason.

[SassyPants]

The most at risk are those who are newly pregnant and do not yet know it. Women who are past the early stages where all these pieces develop are at much less risk. If you're hugely pregnant, your chances of this affecting your unborn passenger, very slim.

 

[xlurker]

The fog truck wasn't just is the south--grew up in NJ and riding your bike in the fog was a common pass time in the early/mid 70's

[Pennyrose]

I'm pretty sure the picture in the article is old. Derek's hair and stubble looks the same as he had it when they were courting. In the pictures of him from the past year he hasn't been styling his hair and has more of a beard.

Of course he could have shaved and rediscovered product I suppose. It'd be good for Derek if he did, he looked a lot younger and in better health with his face shaved. 

[jacduggar]

21 hours ago, sawasdee said:

An interesting report on Al Jazeera tonight about breeding fish which eat the mosquito larvae. The mosquito population of one village has been decimated, and El Salvador is to take the breeding programme nationwide. It could , in the long term, be an effective weapon against the virus.

http://video.aljazeera.com/channels/eng/videos/the-fish-that-could-beat-zika/4733712340001

Obviously this is a much smaller scale, but I have a small pond with a fountain in my front yard and we keep fish in it to keep mosquitos at bay. It works like a dream. I could see how this could be an environmentally friendly and inexpensive way to help on a larger scale. 

[ksgranola1]

Quote

 

I read last night that Zika is now considered a sexually transmitted disease. Let's not tell the Duggars.

[Chickenbutt]

Interesting article on CNN this morning:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/03/health/zika-tests-catholic-position-on-birth-control/index.html

-snipped from article-

(CNN)Zika-infected mosquitoes aren't just causing medical problems, they're creating a theological conundrum for the Roman Catholic Church, according to priests and other experts.

[DuggarWatch]

18 minutes ago, Chickenbutt said:

Interesting article on CNN this morning:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/03/health/zika-tests-catholic-position-on-birth-control/index.html

-snipped from article-

(CNN)Zika-infected mosquitoes aren't just causing medical problems, they're creating a theological conundrum for the Roman Catholic Church, according to priests and other experts.

The government of El Salvador has advised all men to wear condoms during intercourse because Zika can be transmitted through semen.  I wonder if Derick Dillard is doing that. 

[sawasdee]

2 hours ago, jacduggar said:

Obviously this is a much smaller scale, but I have a small pond with a fountain in my front yard and we keep fish in it to keep mosquitos at bay. It works like a dream. I could see how this could be an environmentally friendly and inexpensive way to help on a larger scale. 

Here in Thailand, almost everybody has a large, shallow pot with mosquito  larvae eating fish outside their house. In fact, when I moved into my home, my housewarming presents from some of my Thai friends have supplied me with three - and they work!