That post went top 10 on Google and spawned (heh – pun intended) dozens of comments and a debate that covered global population, Christian values and home schooling.

So now, whenever the Duggar’s have another kid, (usually about every 18 months) this blog gets hammered with traffic. Should be fun.

Here is a snip from the press coverage of Jennifer:

An Arkansas couple had a baby daughter Thursday — their 17th child
and seventh girl — and the pair say they’re still not ready to give it
a rest.

Jennifer Danielle was born at 10:01 a.m. at a hospital in Rogers, Arkansas, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said in an interview.

“We’d love to have more,” Michelle said, referring to baby girls. “We love the ruffles and lace.”

Jennifer joins the fast-growing Duggar brood, who live in a
7,000-square-foot (650-square-meter) home in Tontitown. All the
children — whose names start with the letter J — are taught at home.

The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old.

How do we solve this problem?

Start a business of your own and then teach everything you know about the business to your son. Let’s make sure that this trend stops with us.

From the Seattle Times:

American men in their 30s today are worse off than their fathers’
generation, a reversal from a decade ago, when sons generally were
better off than their fathers, a new study finds.

The study also says the typical American family’s income has lagged
far behind productivity growth since 2000, a departure from most of the
post-World War II period.

The findings suggest “the up escalator that has historically ensured
that each generation would do better than the last may not be working
very well,” says the study, released Friday.

My Name is Steve Vaught, (born Stephen James Liller in Youngstown,
Ohio). I am a 39 year old, happily married father of two great kids and
I have a pretty good life here in Southern California. You would think
that I would be happy because of these things, but I am not. I am not
happy because I am fat and being fat makes every day unhappy.

I did not make this website to complain about it however, instead I
am doing something about  it and this site was made to chronicle my
story.

I am going to walk across the United states from San Diego to NYC to lose weight and regain my life!

The rest of the story is that I have not always been fat. I have
been many things in my life from a lanky teenager to a muscular Marine
and now I am fat. This latest incarnation is without a doubt the worst.

Being fat is physically and emotionally painful.  It diminishes the
quality of the good things in life and it will ultimately bring about
an early demise. So being overweight darkens every good thing that you
achieve in your life and even prevents some things from happening at
all.

On June 2nd, 2004, I put one sentence and a link (on my blog) about Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, who had just had their 15th child.. The title of the post was "Note to Michelle Duggar…STOP!" and this is what it said:

Was there any doubt the father was named Jim Bob?

‘All smiles’ Arkansas woman gives birth to 15th child

I was just being funny and I hoped that the few people that read my blog would giggle and then go read that USA Today article, which I found interesting. Much to my surprise, I got a bunch of people commenting on the post.

It wasn’t until the Duggars had their 16th child that I realized my little blog was listed in the top 5 on Google when searching for anything Duggar. I’m guessing that there are over 100 comments for and against the Duggars lifestyle. I do watch all of the comments and do my best to keep them civil. If someone gets vulgar I remove the comment and sometimes I have banned the person from commenting.

I don’t really have a set opinion on the Duggars. If they want 16 kids, more power to them. I am very happy with 2, but I have close friends that have 5. It’s all good. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I thought it would be a good idea to post the TV schedule for those fine folks that visit.

By the way, I have other good stuff here as well. Happy reading.

Discovery Health Channel will be running their newest show on the Duggars, "Raising 16 Children." Here are the air dates (all times Eastern):

March 15, 2006 at 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm
March 19, 2006 at 3:00 pm
March 26, 2006 at 9:00 pm
March 27, 2006 at 12:00 am

TLC will be running their newest show on the Duggars, "16 Children and Moving In." Here are the air dates (all times Eastern):

March 11, 2006 at 9:00 pm
March 12, 2006 at 12:00 am
March 13, 2006 at 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm
March 19, 2006 at 1:00 pm

Happy viewing!

Today we honor all of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen who have served our country for the noble cause of preserving the freedoms that every American enjoys.

Right now, there are thousands of men and women in our military, once again taking up arms against the enemies of freedom. Like generations of patriots who came before them, these few shoulder the burden for the many. They serve because they know it is necessary for the greater good.

So far, more than 2,000 of America’s sons and daughters have been killed and thousands more injured in the war on terrorism. Although we cannot bring back those who lost their lives in battle, we can thank them for all they have done and continue to do for our nation.

Please join the 1.8 million members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in honoring our military men and women, past and present, on this Veterans Day. Thank them and let them know that a grateful nation appreciates their contributions in creating a future world free from fear despite the personal cost to them.

God bless America!
James R. Mueller
Commander-in-Chief
Veterans of Foreign Wars

I grew up taking care of little kids and having a lot of responsibility, much more than I should have had. Since I am so much older than my siblings, my parents have realized the effects of this and have changed dramatically with how they are raising the younger ones. While some of my younger siblings are hot-headed (preteens…you gotta love ‘em), and they do have their fights, my family’s home is, overall, a pleasant environment. I was raised to be an independent thinker, to have my own thoughts and opinions. I have a good life; I work hard, do well in school and am financially independent. No, I didn’t get as much attention as I would have liked from my parents growing up, as they had so many other kids to take care of. But overall, I have few regrets about how I was raised. I have a good relationship with both my mom and my step-dad, and the rest of the "clan."

Therefore, due to my own personal experience, I must assume that there is a possibility that the Duggar family is happy and enjoys their life, and without knowing them personally, I cannot espouse too strong an opinion in any direction.

Sauk Valley News:

Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she’s already thinking about doing it again.

Johannah Faith Duggar was born at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and weighed 7 pounds, 6.5 ounces

The baby’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative, said Wednesday that mother and child were doing well. Johannah’s birth was especially exciting because it was the first time in eight years the family has had a girl, he said.

Jim Bob Duggar, 40, said he and Michelle, 39, want more children.

"We both just love children and we consider each a blessing from the Lord. I have asked Michelle if she wants more and she said yes, if the Lord wants to give us some she will accept them," he said in a telephone interview.

The Discovery Health Channel filmed Johannah’s birth and plans to air a show about the family in May.

The Learning Channel is doing another show about the family’s construction project, a 7,000-square foot house that should be finished before Christmas. The home, which the family from the northwest Arkansas town of Rogers has been building for two years, will have nine bathrooms, dormitory-style bedrooms for the girls and boys, a commercial kitchen, four washing machines and four dryers.

As the reporter was asking the school principal some questions, a
first grader brought in her classroom jar with the days quarters. The
school principal asked the 6 year old student to talk about the
quarters she donated. A semi-toothless smile came across the girls face
as she got up her courage to tell her story to the reporter and the
others gathered. 

You see, she had lost her tooth the night before and the tooth fairy
left her four quarters. She decided that morning to donate the tooth
fairy quarters to the Tsunami Quarter Drive.