Where in the World is Doug Phillips (Who is a Tool)? Part 12

[Howl]

What the Actual GD F**k?  A Vietnam vet in my Tuesday morning social cycling group who experienced sustained combat would not be into this, because it would probably trigger his PTSD.  Again, what the heck?

Also, Sarah Meister.  I hope she stopped having babies and has sanity and stability in her life, because it for awhile there it was endless snark fodder. 

I have no expectation that she's anything but a religious and political wing nut. 

 

[Columbia]

As seen on Twitter. 

[Howl]

"modesty dress was not the norm" is intriguing.  Is she referring to him wearing shorts?  Shoes without socks?   The women always seemed to adhere to modesty dress during that time. 

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by Howl

[Columbia]

45 minutes ago, Howl said:

"modesty dress was not the norm" is intriguing.  Is she referring to him wearing shorts?  Shoes without socks?   The women always seemed to adhere to modesty dress during that time. 

 

I wondered if she meant something akin to his burlesque photos. He sure didn’t seem to have any hesitation running around with a bunch of immodestly dressed women, and to this day I’ve never seen any of his hangers on, or members of his internal circle mention that. I’ve only heard them talk about his assault (even if they wouldn’t word it as assault) like Kevin Swanson did. Perhaps he was frequenting places like that prior to his downfall. 

[Cults-r-us]

5 hours ago, Howl said:

"modesty dress was not the norm" is intriguing.  Is she referring to him wearing shorts?  Shoes without socks?   The women always seemed to adhere to modesty dress during that time. 

 

But maybe not in the bars she talks about?

[MamaJunebug]

14 hours ago, AnnaSofia said:

The Vietnam War is apparently having a very belated surge in popularity

One of Sarah Meister's sons even attends reenactments:  http://www.romantichistory.com/2021/09/vietnam-reenactment-at-fort-harrison.html

I'm too young to remember the war, but even I'm old enough to remember when the whole concept of a Vietnam War reenactment was parodied on the show "TV Nation" in the 90s. It's a bit surreal.

The fact that there are such things makes me want to throw up.  
 

Born 1951, that says it all. 

[thoughtful]

Quote

Vietnam keeps coming back to me - pricking my finger

Pricking her finger? So . . .  she's Sleeping Beauty and the Vietnam war is the spinning wheel?

I think she meant pricking her conscience, or her heart, not finger.

[hoipolloi]

Iʻd agree that Doug Phillips is and has only ever been a manipulative narcissist, devoid of any religious belief or conscience. Raised in a fundie milieu, he was smart & cunning enough to get the buzzwords and behaviors down pat which has served him well in his various scams for many years. 

Just found this 1996 C-SPAN clip of Dougie giving the nomination speech for his father, Howard, at the Taxpayer Partyʻs convention. The speech rings all the fundie bells and mentions all the catchphrases.

At that time, DPIART had recently married Be-All and was probably in law school or had just finished. IIRC, he was working for HSLDA then -- this would have been a couple of years before he and Be-All absconded to TX with HSLDAʻs database of members and donors which they used to set up VF. 

As a historical note, another bright young rising star in the fundie Christian world at that time was Ralph Reed, head of the Christian Coalition. He was later entangled in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal but escaped it without being charged with anything.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

9 minutes ago, hoipolloi said:

Iʻd agree that Doug Phillips is and has only ever been a manipulative narcissist, devoid of any religious belief or conscience. Raised in a fundie milieu, he was smart & cunning enough to get the buzzwords and behaviors down pat which has served him well in his various scams for many years. 

Just found this 1996 C-SPAN clip of Dougie giving the nomination speech for his father, Howard, at the Taxpayer Partyʻs convention. The speech rings all the fundie bells and mentions all the catchphrases.

At that time, DPIART had recently married Be-All and was probably in law school or had just finished. IIRC, he was working for HSLDA then -- this would have been a couple of years before he and Be-All absconded to TX with HSLDAʻs database of members and donors which they used to set up VF. 

As a historical note, another bright young rising star in the fundie Christian world at that time was Ralph Reed, head of the Christian Coalition. He was later entangled in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal but escaped it without being charged with anything.

I didn't realize that Doug Phillips's father was a politician and a member of the far right.

How many generational families of fathers and sons are like this? Howard and Doug Phillips, Jerry Falwell Snr, Jr, and Jonathan Falwell, the Houston family of Hillsong church, etc.? I didn't know about the Houstons until I watched the documentary about Hillsong today. The video I watched is in the Hillsong thread.

[hoipolloi]

4 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

I didn't realize that Doug Phillips's father was a politician and a member of the far right.

Oh yes. Itʻs ironic that despite his screwed up fundie worldview -- Howard was born Jewish and was converted to fundie Christianity by Rushdooney -- he seems to have been a genuinely decent and nice person, unlike his son Doug who is a complete asshole. Howard was a beloved and loving father and, oddly enough, encouraged all of his kids, male and female, to pursue their dreams, such as his daughter.

4 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

How many generational families of fathers and sons are like this?

Lots. Family grifting is a fundie thing.

[Howl]

I took a minute to google "Doug Phillips + HSLDA" and came up with this article from 2014 where David Farris (head of HSLDA) denounces Doug Phillips for his patriarchal mindset.  Doug worked for HSLDA much longer than I'd realized before he scampered off to monetize patriarchy through Vision Forum. 

Head of the Home School Legal Defense Association Blasts Doug Phillips' Biblical Patriarchy Practices

(warning, this web site has an extremely annoying "do you want to get on our newsletter list?" pop up window.  The option to exit is at the bottom of the window.)

Gallons of internet ink flowed when DP fell from grace -- it reverberated throughout the entire homeschooling world. 

Homeschoolers Anonymous reported on Beall furiously responding to Michael Farris pooh-poohing Doug: BEALL PHILLIPS, WIFE OF DOUG PHILLIPS, ACCUSES HSLDA’S MICHAEL FARRIS OF “GROSS ERROR,” “BULLY PULPIT”  and claims that Doug's patriarchy is totally misunderstood and she and her daughters do to VOTE HOWEVER THEY WANT!!!!!!

This post on Spiritual Sounding Board is also an interesting read and this sentence stood out for me: "I would be interested in doing a study to find out how many who were abused as a child are drawn to a dynamic leader like Doug Phillips.  I came from an abusive childhood background and I’ve noted a pattern here."

Homeschool Mom Responds to the Doug Phillips Scandal and His Influence in Patriarchy, Christian Homeschool Movement and Conferences  (March 25, 2014/Julie Anne)

Edited April 28, 2022 by Howl

[Columbia]

How nice of Farris to stand up for all those women and girls under the oppressive teachings of Doug Phillips… after DPIAT is gone and VF is no more. It’s so noble of him, taking one for the team like that. 

[noseybutt]

11 hours ago, thoughtful said:

Pricking her finger? So . . .  she's Sleeping Beauty and the Vietnam war is the spinning wheel?

I think she meant pricking her conscience, or her heart, not finger.

But if one does not have a heart....

[Antipatriarch]

18 hours ago, Bluebirdbluebell said:

How many generational families of fathers and sons are like this? Howard and Doug Phillips, Jerry Falwell Snr, Jr, and Jonathan Falwell

Funny you should mention them... as I was reading the above question of "how religious was DPIART actually?" my mind immediately went to Jerry Falwell Jr.'s recent comments along the lines of "Hey, I'm not really religious. I'm not my Dad, OK? I'm a lawyer good at fundraising." etc. What a pathetic attempt at post-facto justification of the moral sewer he descended into.

[hoipolloi]

Speaking of Jerry Jr, The New Yorker has an article entitled "Can Liberty University Be Saved?"

Quote

The elder Falwell died in 2007 and was buried in a hilltop memorial site at Liberty. His lifework was left to his two sons: the elder, Jerry, Jr., became the president of the university; the younger, Jonathan, assumed the ministry of the megachurch, Thomas Road Baptist, on the edge of campus. Jonathan was seen as upbeat and pious, but Jerry, Jr., was different: a mercurial character who often reminded people that he was not a pastor. “People had sort of an assumption that if you carry the Falwell surname you’re bringing with you the Falwell brand of spirituality,” Jonathan Merritt, a religion writer and Liberty graduate who has known the Falwells since childhood, told me. “Jerry, Jr., made it clear up front that that was not what he wanted to offer.”

 

[fundiewatch]

Great read! My god Becki Falwell is a messy messy woman. 😆 

[hoipolloi]

Looks like Operation Meatball has some serious competition:

Quote

 

...[Rishi] Sharma has spent the past five years interviewing combat veterans across Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, with the goal of memorializing every surviving veteran from the Second World War. 

And now after two years of border closures, he's finally back in Ontario with 45 interviews lined up and searching for more, knowing he has little time to spare.

As of March 2021, Veterans Affairs Canada says there are 25,500 war service veterans in Canada who served in the Second World War and the Korean War. With most veterans being 90 years old and up, Rishi says he's racing against time.

 

According to his website, all he does is interview WW II vets and encourage other to do so as well. No interviews available there but he has posted a number of short profiles of his interview subjects.

[zee_four]

This is SO fucked up. My dad (born 1946) is an actual Vietnam vet. Not a single fucking real vet (not the rich kids who paid their way to desk jobs for the National Guard for 6 months and the like) who was on the ground in Vietnam, especially anyone who was in combat like my dad, would EVER want to reenact that horrific clusterfuck.

I'm surprised the MAGA crowd wants to reenact Vietnam.... but I guess their thoughts only go as far as since the "hippies and leftist communists" hated Vietnam that must make it good in their heads but still... know the room. They're probably also going to gloss over the fact the troops in Vietnam were disproportionately low income men of color.

My dad was the first full bird Kānaka maoli colonel, when he graduated high school in 1964 he was like, "I'm going to Vietnam whether I want to or not" and ended up doing ROTC and so he went as an officer and stayed in the army the full 30 years to have opportunities he would never have in a super poor Native ohana, his dad pau, 9 brothers and sisters and my tutu, his mom, worked at the (pineapple) cannery like most of the wahine. They didn't have indoor plumbing until the late 1970s. But yeah, those are the men who went. Rich white boys like Trump paid their way out. It makes my dad livid when that draft dodger pretends to care about the military or use it for his own farce pageantry. Worse yet are the so called "Patriots" who support the only president who was a draft dodger but support Nazis and the Confederacy which were kind of the enemies the US defeated. My dad hates Trump and his followers for a lot more reasons than that but that's a big one. 

But anyone who thinks Vietnam reenactments are fun and want to do them should be a told they're absolutely free to do it but only after they stand in a small tropical village with their kids while its firebombed. Not so fun then eh? That's Vietnam you morons. Mass slaughter of poor people of color on both sides for the political ideology of two different large mostly white entities, that accomplished nothing but horrific destruction and horrifically violent rape and slaughter if civilians while the poor soldiers of color faced violence and agonizing trauma if they even survived, while higher up politicians played games with their lives and futures too. Ugh.

Edited May 1, 2022 by zee_four

[MamaJunebug]

On 4/30/2022 at 8:14 PM, zee_four said:

This is SO fucked up. My dad (born 1946) is an actual Vietnam vet. Not a single fucking real vet (not the rich kids who paid their way to desk jobs for the National Guard for 6 months and the like) who was on the ground in Vietnam, especially anyone who was in combat like my dad, would EVER want to reenact that horrific clusterfuck.

My adopted brother, rest his soul, was a Native draftee; many of them were trained to impersonate locals who might be Viet Cong sympathizers.  Then the guns behind them could do their thing. Eff a guy’s mind up, much? Yeah it did. 
 

My dad, TTBOMK, never saw combat in WW2, HOWEVER as part of the field medic corps he saw the raw results.  As I said before, he told us he wouldn’t hold it against us if we wanted to interpret* the era, but we needed never to invite him to attend an event, because he would NOT go. 

* We interpreted Civil War-era civilian life at historic-living events back in the 1990s.  Gave that up because of military interpreters’ families who laughed and jeered and hooted at the battle re-enactments.  They weren’t being partisan - they were ridiculing their menfolks’ participation.  Making fun of their hobby. And nobody ever thought to shush ‘em.

(Which makes sense.  The hobby attracts all sorts, and the events were often remote. Nobody would’ve wanted irritated hillwilliams — NOR irritated townies who fancy themselves guerilla warriors - following a shusher back to civilization with a chip on their irritated shoulders.)

Edited May 2, 2022 by MamaJunebug

[kpmom]

On 4/30/2022 at 9:14 PM, zee_four said:

This is SO fucked up. My dad (born 1946) is an actual Vietnam vet. Not a single fucking real vet (not the rich kids who paid their way to desk jobs for the National Guard for 6 months and the like) who was on the ground in Vietnam, especially anyone who was in combat like my dad, would EVER want to reenact that horrific clusterfuck.

 

My husband, about the same age as your dad, is also a Vietnam Vet, USMC.  He went back in 2009 with a group of other Marine vets on a tour put on by former Marines.  It was a healing experience seeing the areas he was stationed at there that are now primarily farmland, and meeting friendly young people who were born after the war.  But it was extremely emotional too. 

Reenact?  Um, no.  These guys lived it.  I know my husband would not take kindly to any reenactment.

I agree with everything you said. 

[Hane]

8 hours ago, kpmom said:

My husband, about the same age as your dad, is also a Vietnam Vet, USMC.  He went back in 2009 with a group of other Marine vets on a tour put on by former Marines.  It was a healing experience seeing the areas he was stationed at there that are now primarily farmland, and meeting friendly young people who were born after the war.  But it was extremely emotional too. 

Reenact?  Um, no.  These guys lived it.  I know my husband would not take kindly to any reenactment.

I agree with everything you said. 

My former minister, a Vietnam war widow whose husband enlisted out of a strong sense of patriotism, went there as part of a reconciliation mission with other clergy, veterans, and others who had ties there. She spoke about it at a service and said everyone was touched by the graciousness of the Vietnamese people they met, none of whom expressed any bitterness against the Americans.

[CyborgKin]

On 4/28/2022 at 3:50 AM, Columbia said:

As seen on Twitter. 

Ooh good find! I saw the original tweets back then (can't remember how I found Ashley's tweet) but didn't catch the responses from Ashley and Julie, whoops!  I should probably be following Julie.

[hoipolloi]

*Someone* has been posting nonstop about the Heard-Depp trial on the VF FB page. I wonder who?

Quote

[The case] is good news for Johnny Depp. He was ruthlessly defamed by a woman who was widely accepted as a truth speaker, but in fact spread lies for six years...It is good news for every man who has been targeted for false accusation, dehumanisation and character murder by a woman, a mob and a political movement...It is good news for women who are true victims...
The case is also good news for the First Amendment as the Framers intended it to be understood. In America you have the right to publish your opinion. You do not have the right to falsely accuse men of sexual misconduct. That is not protected speech. The Depp case places the world on notice that if you use social media to spread sexual assault distortions, expect consequences. 

Meanwhile, Faith & Liberty are in Europe, apparently headed to D-Day commemorations in Normandy as part of the Operation Meatball grift. 
 

[Howl]

Quote

It is good news for every man who has been targeted for false accusation, dehumanisation and character murder by a woman, a mob and a political movement

Good grief, DP is worse at whining about losing than Mango Mussolini. This leads me to suspect that DP did NOT think what he did was wrong, and certainly not wrong enough to lose money and prestige.

In terms of faith, I do think that Beall was a true believer, is still is a believer and she raised her children, especially the girls, in accordance with fundamentalist frumper dictates.  As far as we know, she's homeschooled her children to the end.  The youngest should be graduating in a year or two. 

Beall has gone silent on her public Instagram. Likely she's focused on getting the last kid through homeschool, keeping her head above water financially and working.   There has to be a lot of attention turned towards being a grandmother. 

[hoipolloi]

42 minutes ago, Howl said:

This leads me to suspect that DP did NOT think what he did was wrong, and certainly not wrong enough to lose money and prestige.

Exactly. Beall thought & said the same for quite a while though who knows what's going on now.

If they are still married, their 30th wedding anniversary is coming up in July: