You may have seen the recent article in the Tampa Bay Times: Scientologists stole Clearwater council member's campaign signs police say Tony O covered it on his blog. I have some other points to note about this incident. The response from official scientology spokesman Ben Shaw is remarkable but unsurprising. In a statement to the Times, Scientology spokesperson Ben Shaw said the church does not comment on elections or candidates. “This is not a Church matter and is not something we were aware of,” Shaw said. “Any attempt to involve the Church is simply a continuation of your anti- … [Read more...]
Scientology’s Vision for Clearwater; Why Mark Bunker Must Be Re-elected
The crazy never stops on so many levels. Peter Byrne thinks his photo proves that downtown Clearwater is NOT a "wasteland." The only people in this photo are 3 Sea Org members on the sidewalk and 4 cars on the road. Every one of those buildings on the left hand side of the street are completely empty. He also thinks that downtown Clearwater is benefited by scientology: "If not for scientology, downtown Clearwater would be a wasteland." The correct statement is that BECAUSE of scientology, downtown Clearwater IS a wasteland. I guess Peter Byrne has not been to downtown Dunedin or downtown … [Read more...]
Clearwater Election: Why Mark Bunker?
A recent article in the Tampa Bay Times highlights why it is so important to re-elect Mark Bunker to the City Council and not either of his opponents. Neither of these candidates opposing Bunker have any understanding of scientology. Mike Mastruserio: Quoting from the Times article: Mastruserio said he considers revitalizing downtown the city’s most pressing issue. In a campaign flyer, he stated: “Scientology continues to hurt our city’s reputation, handicap our overall development, especially downtown.” He said Bunker has not done enough to address Scientology’s … [Read more...]
Tampa Bay Magazine: Scientology Edition
This month's edition of Tampa Bay is evidence of how hard scientology is still working to "safepoint" the Clearwater community. There is a concurrently published YouTube video on this subject: Tampa Bay magazine is typical of this sort of publication you find in many major cities -- it's glossy pages feature full page ads for the restaurants they review, ads from realtors for the homes they highlight, ads from lawyers who write columns in the magazine and a bunch of "social" shots of the local luminaries attending events in the area. There is no real reporting, it's all puff … [Read more...]
Re-elect Mark Bunker to the Clearwater City Council
The election for Clearwater City Council is in March 2024. Campaign season has begun and the candidates are now raising funds. Mark Bunker is up for re-election. It is important that he retain his seat -- he remains the only politician in the City of Clearwater or Pinellas County not in fear of scientology. He continues to raise the issues of concern with respect to scientology trying to make Clearwater the "first scientology city." He does not fall into the "let's all just get along" bleat of so many elected officials as a means of avoiding calling out scientology for their bullying … [Read more...]
Lyin’ Ryan is Back!
He has been hiding for a while, but Ryan Prescott has reappeared to take charge of his clown car once again. We have covered the delusional kid who claimed he was going to take charge of the Clearwater elections to "make sure Mark Bunker is not elected" and who wrote the books "exposing" Leah Remini and me as "liars" a few times in the past, this is perhaps the most comprehensive post: What Happened to Ryan Prescott? Stefani Hutchison on her wonderful Confront and Shatter blog has exposed Lyin' Ryan many times, this is just one example Ryan Prescott Lies Once Again. Now he has he … [Read more...]
Yes for Clearwater
Mark Bunker sent me the two videos below and asked that I share them here. I gladly do so and wholeheartedly support this effort. Citizens of Clearwater will vote on November 8 to allow the city to sell two parcels of land to developers (Mark explains the process in the second video). They are planning major construction that will bring people to downtown Clearwater -- despite scientology's best efforts to buy up all available properties and keep Clearwater on track to achieve their goal as "the first scientology city." This plan will throw a major wrench, or more aptly a whole … [Read more...]
City of Clearwater and Scientology Maneuverings
The latest reporting from Tracey McManus highlights the tensions in the city as they try to deal with the maneuverings of David Miscavige. The Mayor and City Manager are on one side, and the City Council on the other in the battle over parcels of downtown property scientology wants. Tracey's earlier report goes into more detail about the plans to build affordable housing across the street from Miscavige's office and the termination of that planned construction after Miscavige got involved. Now, City Council members (notably Mark Bunker and Kathleen Beckman) are upset that they have … [Read more...]
Episode 73: Operation Clambake Founder Andreas Heldal-Lund
This week we have a treat -- we talk with the creator of Operation Clambake, and one of the earliest non-scientologists to go head-to-head with scientology in the fledgling days of the internet. We cover how he got involved and why and some of the key things that have happened along the way. If you listened to our recent episode with Tory Christman you will know Andreas played a significant role in Tory escaping scientology. He was also instrumental in the Jason Beghe video that went viral on the internet. Jason Beghe's video on Mark Bunker's site. Operation … [Read more...]
Clearwater’s Scientology Perception Problem
The latest article from Tracey McManus in the extensive reporting she had done on scientology's land grab in Clearwater. You can see some of her earlier reporting here: Scientology members fuel another land buying surge in Clearwater and Clear Takeover The recent activities prompted Mark Bunker to raise concerns at the city council meeting which is what the latest story covers. He didn't get much support. While some of the city council are willing to acknowledge scientology taking over Clearwater as a "problem" they simply throw up their hands and claim there is nothing that can be do … [Read more...]