First it was orgs, and Miscavige reinterpreted the Hubbard PL on "Ideal Orgs" to be a large, renovated building. Of course, there is nothing about this in the policy letter. Then it was Missions who were supposed to be "ideal." That Mission in San Francisco that Jenna Elfman opened was the first one I think. Or maybe it was the one Lisa Marie and Isaac Hayes did in Memphis? Or Kirstie's in Wichita? All of these are empty shells today. There have been a few others since then, but generally the Mission network of scientology has continued to shrink despite Miscavige's infamous … [Read more...]
This is NOT a Fundraising Event
Sure... whatever you say. We will call it "donations" and then it won't be "fundraising"... Or a book drive. Or a call for "volunteers"... You can be sure they asked for SOMETHING. There is no such thing as a "briefing," in Scientology (especially when they are providing "refreshments") that doesn't have a heavy-handed "ask." The fact that this statement needs to be made is so telling about the state of scientology today. It has truly become the Vulture Culture. They circle endlessly and everywhere within the bubble. On another note. I got the first copies of the printed … [Read more...]
The Arte Maren A Thon
You can check out his video here. It's heavy scienospeak -- his birthday is to "celebrate my identity in this body, the name on this body"... And he goes on from there claiming he is going to relate some of his personal experiences with L. Ron Hubbard (not including mentioning I am sure that L. Ron Hubbard considered him and the other people in the GO to be treasonous bastards who had tried to take him down). Credit where it's due though, Arte looks pretty damn good for 80... His event is pretty strange. Just trying to rekindle his glory days with himself as the center of attention it … [Read more...]
No Surprise — The Ukraine Fundraising Pitch is Underway
As predicted by Regraded Being yesterday, the "give us your money to save Ukraine" bleating has begun. You can expect the volume of demands for money to increase as the situation escalates and there are more images of bombs dropping and people's lives being devastated. What is so insane is the idea that putting books in libraries in Ukraine is going to do ANYTHING about the country being invaded. If these books actually had ANY impact (which they don't) they should be being placed in the library of the Kremlin -- the people of Ukraine are victims of the aggression of Russia. Unless they … [Read more...]
Hubbard Hall HooHa
Apparently when all the regges were busted as a result of the Chase Wave, Lauri Webster survived (though we have not heard from her for some time, so maybe she too was off cleaning dumpsters with a toothbrush too for a while)... Certainly, the CSRT regges were not more ethical than any of the other scientology vultures desperate to vacuum bank accounts clean before Thursday at 2. Whatever, she is back, pitching for money for the idiotic Hubbard Hall. This must be the most bizarre fundraising spiel in the history of scientology. Even the Frazetta prints and "signed" leatherbound books had … [Read more...]
The Bob Duggan Seminar
Since he separated from his wife, Trish, there has been some speculation as to whether Bob Duggan remained a scientologist. While Trish has been visible handing over more and more cash to various scientology "fundraisers," Bob has been relatively quiet. He got himself a new, younger replacement for Trish and they have a son. She appears to have never been a scientologist, but given the above, I assume she is being groomed as one now. Obviously, he remains a fully committed cult member. The pitch on this promo is pretty sickening. They are touting him having done Super Power as the … [Read more...]
Bookselling Stories — Lie Like a Professional
Sydney is pitching some "stories" about bookselling. "Matt" is apparently a pro who knows how to make a sale by overcoming objections. I have included the whole promo piece here and circled some specific points of note. His technique for overcoming objections is to just lie: As you can see, part of the pitch is the lie that L. Ron Hubbard was an "Engineer" who "travelled a lot in the East as a teenager." Definitely NOT an "engineer" and he traveled a bit in the East as a teenager, though being "exposed" to buddhism is a sleaze, he was also … [Read more...]
Make Your New Year’s Postulates a Reality
Another piece of insight into the scientology world of bait and switch from our old friend Clearly Not Clear. Not as snarky as the last one, but just as revelatory. This IS what scientology is about, getting your money, no matter how they try to paint it. Years ago our local org decided to harness the New Year's Resolution urge, and get the wayward Scientologists to come in for an LRH tech-inspired boost. I'd found Admin Scales to be problematic in the past. I liked the step-by-step aspect, but somehow, I found making lists more satisfying than the multi-page overwritten piles of duties … [Read more...]
Some Serious Snark
Today, some fine snark from our old friend Clearly Not Clear in response to this promo piece. Call any staff member to confirm? One of the three perhaps? Or just leave a message on the machine? Oh, no machine? Yeah, they don't want to start the day with multiple distortion-riddled, yelled messages from upper management. So yeah, no machine. The dynamics? Yeah the dynamics of how to pay for A) your next service, or B) if you're in Ethics, a sizable donation for the Ideal Boondoggle, er Org program. Regging via the dynamics, hmm how would that work? First dynamic: Donate for … [Read more...]
The All Ideal Wild West
The idiocy continues... The "Wild West" is going to become the "All Ideal Wild West" (as long as you hand over enough money). Not only that -- out of the entire western half of the US (and Flag) they have scraped together 338 "confirms" for this monumental event. The vast majority of those "confirms" are people who say they confirm just so they don't get 5 or more calls a day. The number who will actually show up for this latest fundraiser is likely about 10% of that. As a special treat -- here is the video she is touting. You can click on it yourself and see how many views and … [Read more...]