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Smirking blowhard Newt Gingrich has been threatening to run for President for decades now, and this year, he's closer than he's ever been to following through on that threat. But as the Iowa caucuses approach like a thundering herd of angry ex wives, it's been difficult for evangelicals to wrap their heads around how a man who has artlessly discarded two marriages can possibly be counted on to defend family values. One voter in Iowa has dared ask Newt the difficult, pressing question: would President Newt legalize polygamy? More »
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On TV, Kody Brown hasn't gone into much depth about why having multiple spouses is a privilege reserved for men. But on Twitter, he explains — and the answer involves his seed. More »
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On last night's episode of Sister Wives, the Browns visited Tufts University, where they'd been invited to be part of a discussion about their religion and lifestyle. When asked if they were nervous or scared. Christine said she was "imagining an audience full of feminists." OH NO OH MY GOD ANYTHING BUT THAT. She continued: "They'll look at us and think that we live a suppressed, oppressed lifestyle." Well… yeah. Honestly, these women seem intelligent and communicative and happy. But their religion — invented in the 1820s — is a tool of oppression. Brigham Young himself wrote, "It is not the privilege of a woman to dictate the husband, and tell who or how many he shall take, or what he shall do with them when he gets them but it is the duty of the woman to submit cheerfully." The ladies on the show are not idiots, but the belief system they have been taught has a built-in patriarchal inequality. Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball said, "I think no more of taking another wife than I do of buying a cow." Also, in the Mormon faith, a woman must be married to get into heaven. If oppression is the "unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power," then Mormonism is oppressive. (And so are many religions. The Browns belong to the Apostolic United Brethren Church, a Mormon fundamentalist church within the Latter Day Saint movement.) More »
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The four women on Sister Wives have certainly done a lot in terms of showing us how polygamous marriage works, at least as they practice it, and the difficulties inherent in it. They've also made some aspects of having sister-wives look quite appealing. Naturally, this has led to the question for many of us women who watch the show: what would it be like to have multiple husbands? In some ways, having a group of brother-husbands sounds fun, but, of course, it could also be a bit of a nightmare. More »
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Say what you will about all the of the drama that goes on in the Brown Family, but Sister Wives certainly has shown us that—even if it has serious drawbacks—having a sister wife (or wives) would sometimes be pretty awesome. Whether it's sharing the cooking or allowing you some much needed time away from your husband, sister wives have some perks. And on the episode which airs tonight we'll see Christine's daughter Ysabel (Why are so many of their names spelled with Y's?) move in with sister wife Meri. And, just because she wants to do whatever Ysabel does, Robyn's daughter Breanna also moves in with Meri. Kid swap! More »
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Most of last night's episode of Sister Wives dealt with the wives joining a gym and working out. It was especially tough for Jenelle, the heaviest of the wives, because she doesn't like to talk about her weight, and feels that it's the one area of her life where she lacks strength and confidence. More »
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The Browns of Sister Wives fame aren't the only polygamists on TV tonight. Meet Michael and his three wives, who live in Centennial Park, a polygamist community in Arizona. They're being featured on Our America with Lisa Ling, and they seem far more low-key than the Browns. They also differ from most polygamists because women in their community choose who they want to marry, rather than being picked by a prospective husband. This sounds good in theory, except you can never predict when God's inspiration will strike. Take the case of Michael's second wife, Connie: More »
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On last night's episode of Sister Wives, Kody Brown took his four wives to visit his hometown of Lovell, Wyoming. It was his first time going back "openly as a polygamist." He talked about having the "Scarlett P" on his shoulder, and the townsfolk did seem to be pretty judgy. One young woman was upset because she didn't want people to think her town is the birthplace of polygamy. Another older lady said that Kody and his wives were "good people" who have the "wrong idea." Things got really interesting when Kody hung out with some of his friends from high school. His old best friend Ken said Kody's religious beliefs were his own personal issue and "If he goes to hell, so be it." More »
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A 25-year-old woman has escaped from the polygamist community where Warren Jeffs's other wives still live. Her flight shows that even though Jeffs is in jail, the nightmare may not be over for some of his followers. More »
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Last night on Sister Wives, Kody Brown informed his oldest kids that he didn't want them to have "romantic experiences" while they are still in high school. This was before he allowed them to go on a group outing with some kids they'd met at school. Kody also warned his kids that they should not be sexual until they had graduated from high school, and added, "I would prefer you wait until you're married." That being said, he let the kids go ice skating and yogurt-eating with their friends. More »
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Oh, brother. Kody Brown, the energetic patriarch on TLC's "Sister Wives," has a brilliant plan for expanding his already sizeable brood: ask Brad Pitt to join the family. More »
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Apparently being the subject of a TLC show has helped Kody Brown and his family — or at least, that's what they claimed on Good Morning America today. The always-positive Browns claim that the show has made it easier for their kids: "They no longer have to sit there and worry about — my weird family — their friends all know. Everybody knows." In July, the Browns filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Utah's bigamy law. Lifting the law would also pave the way for gay marriage, and interestingly enough, the words fundamentalist Mormon Kody Brown used this morning to describe how his family lives now? "We're out." More »
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Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, who had been hospitalized at the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler after refusing to eat, was transferred to a prison hospital in Galveston today after his condition was upgraded from critical to serious. Jeffs told prison officials that he was fasting, but wasn't on a hunger strike. Prison spokeswoman Michelle Lyons says reports that Jeffs was in a medically induced coma were incorrect, though "he was sedated." Two years ago Jeffs was force fed in an Arizona prison, and Lyons says, "We do have a policy in place where medical professionals can evaluate the situation and if it's medically necessary they can move to force feed the inmate." More »
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Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was hospitalized today and sources say he's been put in a medically induced coma. Jeffs hasn't been eating since he was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage girls. He has a history of fasting while incarcerated and is expected to survive. More »
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Though Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting children earlier this week, his followers in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints remain loyal to him — so loyal that they're planning to erect a 38-foot statue of him at the FLDS compound on the Utah/Arizona border. Thanks to a no-media policy in the compound, Jeffs followers don't know about the evidence presented against him. Sources say that for those building the statue, this is a "way of showing them that they can't take him away from us." More »
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Former FLDS church member Jerusha Jeffs says she is "feels a lot stronger now" that her testimony about the abuse she suffered by her uncle's hand helped to send Warren Jeffs to prison. More »
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The Warren Jeffs trial came to a close today when the polygamist leader was given a life sentence for sexually assaulting two of his underage "spiritual wives." The Texas jury, which quickly found Jeffs guilty last week, deliberated for less than 30 minutes before giving Jeffs the maximum sentence of 99 years for one charge and 20 years for the other. More »
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It didn't take jurors long to make up their minds about polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. After only three and a half hours of deliberation, the 10 women and two men on the jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old who were his "spiritual wives." More »
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Prosecutors rested their case against Warren Jeffs after playing several audio tapes which they say capture Jeffs sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. In the tapes Jeffs is heard instructing several women on how to please him sexually, saying this will please God, and panting heavily. Jurors were also presented with sections of Jeffs' journals, in which he writes that one of his alleged victims, "experienced a heavenly session with us and obtained a greater testimony ... though 12 years old, she has advanced quickly and got close. And she is being prepared to be a strength in the heavenly sessions." Witnesses testified that "heavenly sessions" was how Jeffs referred to sex. More »
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The Warren Jeffs trial got a lot wackier yesterday when the polygamist leader charged with sexually assaulting two teenage girls fired his defense team and declared that he'll be representing himself. So far he's off to an impressive start: He refused to make an opening statement or enter a plea. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5825828&view=rss&microfeed=true The trial of Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints leader Warren Jeffs starts today in San Angelo, TX. Jeffs is charged with sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child stemming from his "celestial marriages" to two underage girls. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 119 years in prison. More »
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Kody Brown and his family — the stars of the TLC series Sister Wives — plan to file a lawsuit challenging Utah's bigamy law. Kody has four "wives": Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. But he's only legally married to Meri — the other weddings were religious ceremonies, and polygamy is part of The Browns' religious beliefs. More »
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Unnamed US officials say Pakistani officials may finally let them interview Osama Bin Laden's three wives who were in the compound with him when he died. More »
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With the publication of her bestselling memoir Escape, ex-FLDS member Carolyn Jessop became a visible face of the horrors of polygamy. Now, she's become much more. More »
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Everyone's favorite polygamist reality show, Sister Wives, has returned for a second season, and the mindfuckery has reached new levels of weird. In an effort to escape the police investigation and unwanted media attention, the Brown family went on a road trip to Wyoming, where Kody's dad has a cattle ranch. Kody's dad also has two wives: Genielle and Sheryl. Genielle is Kody's mom. Sheryl is Janelle's mom. Janelle is Kody's second wife. So Kody and Jenelle are husband and wife and step-siblings. Oh, also, Genielle and Jenelle are pronounced about the same. Does any of this make sense to you? Think of Teen Mom! Basically, it is its own mini-series, My Mom Is Married To My Husband's Dad. More »
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"She's so not the fashionista-diva that is her image, so for her to get a little bit drunk on champagne and speak bluntly at a party…If anything, we felt bad for her." As long as this season doesn't suck too. More »
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Yesterday, a group of women born into polygamy told a Canadian court, in a series of emotional statements, how the practice had ruined their lives. More »
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Never-before-seen 1944 photos of Utah's polygamous FLDS community show how much things have changed in the era of Sister Wives — and how much they haven't. More »
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Oh, wonderful. I love it when people I disdain get exactly what they want. Wait. Opposite of that. TLC (stands for The LightMyCollegeDegreeOnFire Channel) will air another 10-episode season of the Fundamentalist Point N' Gawk Hour starting in March 2011. More »
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The fifth season of Big Love, starting in January, will be its last. The creators say the "show has run its natural course." That, and Sister Wives does it for less. Alas. More »
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Last night on the season finale of Sister Wives, Kody married his 4th wife, Robyn. More »
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Last night on Sister Wives, Kody and his first wife, Meri, celebrated their 20th anniversary with a fancy dinner, where Meri asked, "If I were to be giving my attention to another guy, how would it make you feel?" More »
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Ancentus "Danger" Akuku, a Kenyan man with more than 100 wives, has died at 93. Kenyan TV news reports that he may be buried as late as November so his 200 children, including a three-month-old baby, can attend. More »
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Last night's episode of Sister Wives focused on blending the fourth wife — and her children — into Kody's family. So far we've seen how the adults are dealing — but what about the kids? More »
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As if the trainwreck of a show didn't have enough drama with the one husband/four wives/13 kids thing, this sneak peek from the upcoming episode of Sister Wives features tears over one of the wives kissing her husband. More »
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Police in Lehi, Utah are looking into the marriage of TLC star Kody Brown and his four wives. The cops admit that the show's publicity is what prompted the case. More »
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The cast of Sister Wives — which premieres Sunday, the Lord's day — were on the Today show this morning, and answered some viewer questions, including "how would you feel about bringing another husband into the family?" More »
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TLC began its life as The Learning Channel, and that's where the acronym comes from. Nowadays it's anything but a learning channel, mostly dealing in reality shows, the weirder the better. And what do those shows teach us about women? More »
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TLC — the network that brought you families with 8 kids, families with 19 kids, toddlers wearing lipstick and cakes shaped like Manolos — will soon air Sister Wives. Or as some are calling it, "the real Big Love." More »
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France's interior minister has said there is a possibility that immigrants, and even French-born citizens of foreign background, could have their nationality withdrawn. Brice Hortefeux says those involved with "serious wrongdoing" shouldn't be allowed to call themselves French. More »
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