Maxwell 33: Managers of Their Vests

[freejugar]

13 hours ago, johnhugh said:

I’ve been thinking this for a while. They seem a lot more guarded in what they tell us these days. Oh for the days of the trip to the Zoo, cheese paper gate or Uriah breaking down.

Isn’t the book with bare chested man on it porn? Have the reversal’s ever seen pecs?

They want to avoid any criticism so they  post the  most bland generic things ever possibly losing followers in the process 

[Granwych]

15 hours ago, johnhugh said:

I’ve been thinking this for a while. They seem a lot more guarded in what they tell us these days. Oh for the days of the trip to the Zoo, cheese paper gate or Uriah breaking down.

Isn’t the book with bare chested man on it porn? Have the reversal’s ever seen pecs?

I seriously doubt that the Maxwell female kidults have seen bare male chests in print.  And in real life, that’s just purely impossible.

when Grampwych and I first married 34 years ago, he was a dedicated weight lifter with a nicely sculpted physique.   I always wanted to take some pix of him in tight jeans and nothing else.   He thought that was ridiculous and nixed the request fast .

 

 

[Black Aliss]

19 hours ago, fundiefan said:

For a family that supposedly protects their offspring to the point of stifling them, I find it odd (not really) that Anna Marie doesn't know how much of the Squanto book is embellished/made up/fucking lying for jesus. No need to research actual history about a human being who was kidnapped & sold into slavery if that human is used as a tool by some god. No need to teach your children actual facts, or educated guesses/general knowledge, if a mystical jesus story has been spun around a man whose life was stolen. 

Her argument would probably be that they're all too young to understand the unembellished version anyway. But they aren't too young to to be taught about abortions and how they are to oppose them!

2 hours ago, freejugar said:

They want to avoid any criticism so they  post the  most bland generic things ever possibly losing followers in the process 

They're hoping we'll get so bored that we'll stop talking about them. Don't give them the satisfaction, FJers!

[kpmom]

New post up.  Christopher, Teri, and two of Christopher's kids did a food packing mission for Feed My Starving Children.

Anyone know much about this organization?  I looked at their site, but did not see a statement of faith.  They mention in their FAQs that they do not require a Christian message be delivered with the food, and believe everyone should be fed regardless of religious belief. 

My Episcopal church did something similar to this for Haiti.  Not through this organization, though.

[Lgirlrocks]

30 minutes ago, kpmom said:

New post up.  Christopher, Teri, and two of Christopher's kids did a food packing mission for Feed My Starving Children.

Anyone know much about this organization?  I looked at their site, but did not see a statement of faith.  They mention in their FAQs that they do not require a Christian message be delivered with the food, and believe everyone should be fed regardless of religious belief. 

My Episcopal church did something similar to this for Haiti.  Not through this organization, though.

I think it’s great that they play loud music and that it’s not conservative! ? for some reason that makes me extra happy!!!!

[goldbu]

3 hours ago, Lgirlrocks said:

I think it’s great that they play loud music and that it’s not conservative! ? for some reason that makes me extra happy!!!!

We did something similar at my mainline protestant church - different organization, same idea though. And yes, the music was loud and not "conservative"! ? I mean, they weren't blasting music with swear words or anything, but it was a good, fun mix of music from the 19060s-present day. Music that was made to get the blood pumping and people dancing. Everyone at my church really enjoyed the music, actually.  

[anjulibai]

Teri does not sound happy to have been there. It seems to have been a pretty major chore for her.

[BrandoBarks]

At least the kids learned that you can listen to non conservative music (whatever that means by Steve’s definition...) and still do good to other people and not go straight into hell. And if it’s true that there isn’t a Christian message included in the packages it’s even better, as the actual act of charity matters more than a mission.

[Eternalbluepearl]

40 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

Teri does not sound happy to have been there. It seems to have been a pretty major chore for her.

What a pill that woman is! Thank GOD she let everyone know they might be offended by the music if they were thinking of helping others.

Sidenote: So music is not as conservative as some would like *clutches pearls* *wrings hands*....but Trump is okay? How? In what universe?

[treemom]

On 11/16/2019 at 9:09 AM, Bethy said:

 

Related: I enjoy sewing/designing clothes and I adore calico, so I usually have a soft spot for the dresses Anna Marie makes for the girls, but I'm really disappointed with what they're wearing in that family portrait. For one thing, it's seasonally all wrong (that turquoise would be great for a spring/summer dress) and also, tiered dresses like that are BORING made from just one fabric.

This is the Maxwells.  Boring is a feature not a bug in the main family, and definitely in Christopher’s family as well.

[Bethy]

Re: The music not being "as conservative as many might prefer"...

There's a big subset of fundamentalism that really, truly believes the beat/rhythm of music is a sin issue, regardless of words, that the beat itself will possess you and make you sin. So I'd be willing to wager it wouldn't matter if they were listening to the Beatles or Eminem or Steven Curtis Chapman - if it had a backbeat, it was a problem.

I wrote off a lot of that legalism in probably junior high when I read an article from a man who had heard the "drumbeats from Africa" theory (some missionaries were sent a tape of some Christian rock and were listening to it on the field, and some of the native people came to them very distressed wondering why they were "summoning the evil spirits" because the rock beat supposedly matched their drum rhythm for calling up demons) and gave it some thought, then realized that perfectly innocuous things - like his windshield wipers - made the exact same rhythm.

I also saw an educational documentary about Scott Joplin where the host dismissed the conservative reaction to historically black music (ragtime first, then rock 'n roll) as nothing more than covert racism. I found that very interesting.

Years ago, I joined a gym for women called Curves. One of their distinctives at that time was music remixes where everything was at a tempo of 120 beats per minute, designed to keep everyone moving at a good aerobic pace. There was a variety - country, classic rock, even contemporary Christian - all remixed to this same dance beat. I was working out one morning and saw a pastor's wife from a nearby church and thought what a nice gift it would be to give (or "to gift," in Maxspeak) our pastor's wife a membership. I quickly realized that she would find the music too inappropriate to participate and nixed the idea. 

[Black Aliss]

Of course Teri would use the offensive and outdated term "third world"! Why was I even a little bit startled and annoyed to read that? Why do I expect better from these reasonably intelligent, educated (older generation, anyway) people?

[Palimpsest]

13 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

Of course Teri would use the offensive and outdated term "third world"! Why was I even a little bit startled and annoyed to read that? Why do I expect better from these reasonably intelligent, educated (older generation, anyway) people?

Of course Teri would.  She hasn't watched the news or probably read a newspaper for years.  

But, to be fair, I've had reasonably intelligent and educated people snarl at me for correcting their use of "Third World" in everyday life and on FJ too.  No idea how old some of them are, but apparently it makes me overly PC to object to the term.

For the record, Teri, it is better to refer to a country or region by name.  Failing that, Developing World is acceptable to most, but Global South is not an accurate descriptor of less economically successful countries.  There are plenty of poor nations in the northern hemisphere and plenty of rich ones in the southern hemisphere.

And there are plenty of economically deprived populations around too, including in the "First World" US of bloody A. 

Sorry about the rant.  One of my pet peeves.

 

[FloraKitty35]

"the music is loud and not as conservative as many might prefer"   In Maxhell, the Carpenters are on the same level as G.G. Allin.

[NancyDrewFan1989]

On 11/21/2019 at 2:45 PM, anjulibai said:

Teri does not sound happy to have been there. It seems to have been a pretty major chore for her.

Of course it would be a major chore for Teri. She had to actually work on her own without the assistance of one of her daughters and/or grandchildren aka kitchen helpers. 

On 11/22/2019 at 3:45 PM, Black Aliss said:

Of course Teri would use the offensive and outdated term "third world"! Why was I even a little bit startled and annoyed to read that? Why do I expect better from these reasonably intelligent, educated (older generation, anyway) people?

I still hear people use the term "third world country." I didn't know it had become offensive and outdated until I read this. Many people around me still use the term.

[freejugar]

Teri and Christopher were in charge of two children for two hours. But since sewing a button is a huge chore for her, this must have been like climbing mount everest or something.

[Melissa1977]

12 minutes ago, freejugar said:

Teri and Christopher were in charge of two children for two hours. But since sewing a button is a huge chore for her, this must have been like climbing mount everest or something.

Christopher is dull and sexist as hell, but there is evidence that he is a hands-on dad. Anna Marie and him seem to be a good team and share parenting chores, at least when travelling. So I suppose he was looking after his 2 kids while Teri was complaining about everything and annoying eveybody and basically ignoring her grandkids.

[JermajestyDuggar]

This is a much better charity than OCC. The whole family should do this charity instead. You need one adult per K-2nd grade child. The Maxwell’s could easily provide that since they have four adult children still living at home. Most of Nathan’s kids could go and some of Chris’s kids could go. I bet Teri will ask Anna or Mary to go in her place next time. 

Edited November 24, 2019 by JermajestyDuggar

[NancyDrewFan1989]

3 hours ago, freejugar said:

Teri and Christopher were in charge of two children for two hours. But since sewing a button is a huge chore for her, this must have been like climbing mount everest or something.

Followed by a trip to the nearest convenient store to get a package of Pepsi for Teri since this was the most work she has done in like... ever. 

[Black Aliss]

13 hours ago, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

Of course it would be a major chore for Teri. She had to actually work on her own without the assistance of one of her daughters and/or grandchildren aka kitchen helpers. 

I still hear people use the term "third world country." I didn't know it had become offensive and outdated until I read this. Many people around me still use the term.

Well, now you know!  To be fair to you and the people around you here on FJ and in the Real World, there is considerable disagreement on what the replacement term should be, because "third world countries" don't have much in common.

Background: During the time of the Cold War, the term "first world" was coined to refer to the US and its allies (Canada, Western and Northern Europe, Japan, Australia, NZ). Essentially, all capitalist industrialized nations. The "second world" referred to the former Soviet Union and its allies, communist-socialist industrialized nations. The "third world" comprised the remaining 3/4 of the earth's population, all assumed to be undeveloped countries (read: unindustrialized, lacking a middle class, decent health care, educational opportunities)  that were at risk of being subsumed into the Communist bloc. Countries that DJT would have referred to as "shitholes". Basically the term came to mean any poor country except, of course, those poor countries that were aligned with the US or the USSR.

Fast forward to the 21st century:  The Soviet Union no longer exists, and some "third world" countries, neither communist nor Western, are not at all poor, although they may have pockets of severe poverty and other third-world metrics. Many parts of the US would fit the economic definition of third-world and the oil-rich countries of the Middle East are pretty affluent. Anyway, how could a group that comprises the majority of the world's population be considered the third world? In terms of sheer size, they are the first world.

So the terms "developing countries" or "the developing world" came to replace "third world". It's not universally popular because it still assumes a hierarchy among nations and perpetuates a stereotype of people from those countries being backward and ignorant.  Not all undeveloped countries aspire to industrialization at the expense of other values. 

In short, there is no one-size-fits-all term. It's better to refer to specific countries or, when it's accurate, underdeveloped countries, or developing countries.

Sorry, I didn't mean to go on and on. If anyone made it this far, thank you for reading.

[Caroline]

On 11/18/2019 at 7:27 AM, anachronistic said:

Damnit. It’s 30 years since I learned about the Pilgrims originally and they’re still teaching these awful lies to kids?

It wasn’t a wilderness the Pilgrims settled in. It was an empty village, complete with fields, paths, and cleared land. It was empty because everyone had died of disease, and it was really beyond-comprehension awful, and, and, and,........ARGH. 

Anna Marie says ‘enhanced’ but we all know that means ‘made up.’ Although no wonder they like the Puritans, that whole family is basically modern day Puritans, complete with fasting and angst. They’re only different in that they celebrate Christmas.

Off topic, ’over the river and through the woods’ has always fascinated me because I know the river (unnamed, but it’s commonly understood as the Mystic)  she spoke of intimately - I see it nearly every day - and it’s never frozen over by Thanksgiving. It rarely freezes at all anymore. And there’s certainly no thick blanket of snow around here in November anymore, either. That poem was how I first learned about climate change, and how it used to be colder here but now we have heated world up and it rarely snows before December except for a flurry or two.

I think it’d be funny if the Maxwells came through and showed their kids the river today and the most notable thing about it is the enormous casino built last year right on the banks. 

I was born near Boston and grew up in southern NH and still live in the area.  I too remember childhoods of snow before Christmas, and now that almost never happens.  I loved singing the song Over the River and Through the Woods as a child and didn't know it was written by a woman from Medford.  I just looked her up.  I wonder if the Maxwells know that the author of the poem was an abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and FEMINIST!

 

[Palimpsest]

On 11/13/2019 at 10:34 PM, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

I hope so too. The last thing the people working for Operation Christmas Child is dealing with lice being delivered to them. Like I said before, I don't think the Maxwells have much experience with lice and NR Anna made it sound like they didn't handle it like they well. 

::Stepping up on my soap box again::

Please encourage people and churches to research and chose their charities very carefully.  

Actually the last thing recipients of Operation Christmas Child boxes need is lice delivered to them.  The people still working for OCC and those well meaning ones still volunteering for them, unpacking boxes to remove forbidden gifts (expired candy, broken toys, and war toys) and then repacking the boxes with tracts ... they might deserve to get lice.

OCC has been discussed many times here.  Negatively.  IMO it is a charity that should be avoided but many well meaning people still fall for it.  Here is one article explaining why.  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/08/christmas-evangelical-christians-samaritans-purse-children-muslim-countries

And here's another:  https://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2018/11/why-you-should-not-choose-operation-christmas-child.html

There is a lot more criticism of OCC out there if you look. 

On 11/21/2019 at 7:54 AM, kpmom said:

New post up.  Christopher, Teri, and two of Christopher's kids did a food packing mission for Feed My Starving Children.

Anyone know much about this organization?  I looked at their site, but did not see a statement of faith.  They mention in their FAQs that they do not require a Christian message be delivered with the food, and believe everyone should be fed regardless of religious belief. 

It's not bad as these charities go.  It gets 4 stars on Charity Navigator mostly because of the small administrative overhead costs.  It is Christian but doesn't seem to be as rabidly evangelical as Samaritan Purse.  https://www.lzbearfacts.com/spotlight/2016/12/16/season-of-warning-take-time-to-question-charities-credibility/

It may have some issues though.  https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_post/news/education/after-criticism-and-possible-lawsuit-no-feed-my-starving-children/article_

But ALL these charities and foreign aid need to be looked into carefully.  https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/world/americas/14iht-food.4.7116855.html

Also, another plug for an excellent documentary that should be required watching. 

Quote

 

FIGHTING POVERTY IS BIG BUSINESS. BUT WHO PROFITS THE MOST?
Website: PovertyINC.org Twitter: #PovertyINC

“I see multiple colonial governors,” says Ghanaian software entrepreneur Herman Chinery-Hesse of the international development establishment in Africa. “We are held captive by the donor community.”

The West has positioned itself as the protagonist of development, giving rise to a vast multi-billion dollar poverty industry — the business of doing good has never been better.

Yet the results have been mixed, in some cases even catastrophic, and leaders in the developing world are growing increasingly vocal in calling for change.

Drawing from over 200 interviews filmed in 20 countries, Poverty, Inc. unearths an uncomfortable side of charity we can no longer ignore.

From TOMs Shoes to international adoptions, from solar panels to U.S. agricultural subsidies, the film challenges each of us to ask the tough question: Could I be part of the problem?

 

The full documentary is still free on Prime.   https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-Inc-George-Ayittey/dp/B01AZ1CZPG/ref=tmm_aiv_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

[Giraffe]

I keep seeing an ad for a Christmas movie titled “The Moody’s: A Christmas Movie.*”I think of the Maxwells every single time it’s on and it makes me laugh!
 

 

*Denis O’leary goes home to spend Christmas with his dysfunctional family. I doubt Stevie would approve.

[FloraDoraDolly]

12 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

Christopher is dull and sexist as hell, but there is evidence that he is a hands-on dad. Anna Marie and him seem to be a good team and share parenting chores, at least when travelling. So I suppose he was looking after his 2 kids while Teri was complaining about everything and annoying eveybody and basically ignoring her grandkids.

I've got to give Christopher some credit for staying there even though the music was not up to Maxwell standards. We can all pretty much guess what Steve would have done under such circumstances. Clearly, Teri was not pleased, but Josh and Ruthanne are not under her "headship" and so it was not her call to make.

[Sisterwife#3]

This is my first post ever! I felt I could baby step my way from just reading to actually participating since I actually have some first hand knowledge of this topic. ?

Feed My Starving Children has a permanent packing site in my community. The Christian aspect of the operation is not highlighted at this site. The staff provide an opportunity to pray over the meals at the end of the packing session for those who may want to join in, but also give instructions to people who don't want to participate (throw away hairnet, wash hands if you want, try a sample of the food, etc.). My experience has been that about half stay and pray and half leave. I am not a believer and personally haven't felt uncomfortable volunteering there. 

I did give the side-eye to the comment about Christopher and Joshua manning the package sealing station. At the local FMSC site, a person has to be at least 18 years old to run the sealer and it is enforced. Joshua probably took the sealed food packages, and got them ready to be boxed up.

(The music is really upbeat, and it is not uncommon to see folks dancing at their station. The Maxwells would have hated that.)