• Home
  • About Me
  • Mission Statement
  • Welcome Message
  • Open Letter to My Family
  • Donate
  • Contact Me

Mike Rinder's Blog

Something Can Be Done About It

  • All Posts
  • Disconnection
  • Idle Orgs
  • IAS
  • Media
  • Books
  • Fundraising
  • Regraded Being

Episode 12: Mark Bunker

October 12, 2020 By Mike Rinder 41 Comments

This week, Leah and I have a conversation with Mark Bunker on the Fair Game podcast. Download at midnight tonight. I will add a link to the show here when it becomes available. We talk to Mark about his history with scientology, him becoming the newest Clearwater City Council member and what the future of the City of Clearwater holds. We cover the land grab by scientology so ably reported by Tracey McManus in the Tampa Bay Times "How Scientology doubled its downtown Clearwater footprint in 3 years" : Tracey updated her story a few days ago "Vacancies in Scientology-tied … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater, Fair Game Podcast Tagged With: Fair Game Podcast, Leah Remini, Mark Bunker, Mike Rinder, tampa bay times, Tony Ortega, Tracey McManus

Pinellas County Sheriff Candidate Eliseo Santana: Scientology Shill

September 27, 2020 By Mike Rinder 29 Comments

Eliseo Santana just sent me this mailer as a resident of Pinellas County. Last month, he became the democratic candidate to challenge the incumbent Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. I would not normally comment on this, except earlier this year, Eliseo Santana also ran for Clearwater City Council against Mark Bunker. Santana was a scientology shill in that election. (You can watch some of the videos of Santana in action at that link).  Scientology is afraid of running any scientologist candidates -- they know they will lose -- so they try to curry favor with candidates by promising them their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater Tagged With: Bob Gualtieri, Clearwater, Clearwater City Council, Eliseo Santana, Mark Bunker, Pan Bondi, Pinellas County, Pinellas County Sheriff

Mark Bunker Strikes Fear Into Scientologists’ Hearts

April 4, 2020 By Mike Rinder 65 Comments

I was sent this Facebook message by Aaron Smith-Levin, who received it from Aida Barbosa in Mexico City. He does not know Aida. But she is very concerned that Aaron may know someone who is connected to Mark Bunker and that he should unfriend that person on Facebook as soon as he figures out if that person has other friends connected to Bunker. Obviously she does not know who Aaron is or that he is more than Facebook friends with Mark Bunker. But it gives some insight into the world of scientology and how panicked they are about Mark Bunker. And that, as has been said so often, it is OSA … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater, Scientology Tagged With: Aaron Smith-Levin, Clearwater, Councilman Mark Bunker, Disconnection, Mark Bunker, Scientology

What Happened to Ryan Prescott?

April 2, 2020 By Mike Rinder 60 Comments

Frankly, the closed orgs have dried up a lot of the material for Thursday Funnies -- endless streams of "Get your Pandemic workbook here" and "We command you to do an Extension Course" are just not very funny. We may not see much in the way of Thursday Funnies for a little while... So, I thought some clowncar material from another corner of the scientology bubble might be entertaining. This is Ryan Prescott's Facebook live post from a week or so ago. I had only ever seen his comical Tweets and some bits from his Loony-Tunes books. I had never had the misfortune of seeing him in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Public Relations Tagged With: Clearwater, Leah Remini, Mark Bunker, Mike Rinder, Ryan Prescott, Scientology The Aftermath, The Aftermath

Clearwater Police Chief Inspects Flag

April 1, 2020 By Mike Rinder 50 Comments

As always, Tracey McManus has the story. I spoke to Tracey about this earlier today and she quoted me in the article. But I had more thoughts on it that she was unable to include. I also have a copy of Chief Slaughter's publicly available report. First, this comes as a relief to me. My son is in this facility, so anything being done to mitigate the threat of this pandemic is very welcome. Second, I applaud Chief Slaughter for taking the initiative to do something. I do not recall the last time any city official walked in to the Ft Harrison to check out what is going on. Third, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater Tagged With: Chief Slaughter, Clearwater, Councilman Mark Bunker, COVID-19, CWPD, Dan Slaughter, Flag, Flag Service Organization, Mark Bunker

Mark Bunker Settles In at City Hall

April 1, 2020 By Mike Rinder 64 Comments

Mark Bunker was sworn in to the Clearwater City Council seat 2 on Monday. There is a public ceremony being held in City Hall on Thursday evening. This is his new desk. And his first visitor. Mark tells me Bobblerinder will be a permanent fixture at his desk. It is quite an honor. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater Tagged With: City of Clearwater, Clearwater, Clearwater City Council, Mark Bunker

City Councilman Mark Bunker and Scientology Tax Exempt Status

March 18, 2020 By Mike Rinder 72 Comments

  The news has sunk in, Mark Bunker is now a Clearwater City Commissioner-elect. As Tracey McManus put it, this is a historic day for Clearwater. There is another piece in the Tampa Bay Times (top of article screencapped above) this morning. It makes some interesting points - first of which is noting Bunker's "desire for the city to urge the IRS to revoke Scientology's tax exempt status..." Some have poo-poo'd this idea "The City of Clearwater doesn't grant tax exempt status, the IRS does" -- as if Mark Bunker is unaware of the difference between a city government and the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater, Tax Exemption Tagged With: Church of Scientology, Clearwater Florida, David Miscavige, Flag Service Organization, Frank Hibbard, irs, Kathleen Beckman, Kirby Wilson, Mark Bunker, public relations, Scientology, Tax Exemption, Tracey McManus

Unofficial Result — Mark Bunker Wins Election

March 17, 2020 By Mike Rinder 35 Comments

This is an historic day in Clearwater. Providing nothing changes as this is made into the official result (not sure when this will be), Mark Bunker is now a City Council member of the City of Clearwater. The scientology backed candidate came in 4th out of 5... Once and for all proving that scientology in fact has NO political clout in Clearwater, let alone Tampa Bay. Congratulations to Mark Bunker! Also Congratulations to Frank Hibbard who will be the new Mayor of Clearwater. The people I feel sorry for are those in OSA Flag. This loss will be blamed on them. It will not be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater Tagged With: Church of Scientology, City of Clearwater, David Miscavige, Flag Service Organization, Mark Bunker

Clearwater Elections Today — Vote for Mark Bunker

March 17, 2020 By Mike Rinder 22 Comments

If you are a resident of Clearwater, please exercise your right to vote today. As I have said since he announced his candidacy, I wholeheartedly support Mark Bunker for Seat 2 on the Clearwater City Council. Mark has changed the landscape of city politics in Clearwater by simply being in the race. He has forced those running for office to have to confront the issue of scientology and its impact on the local community. With no political history and no real "campaign" organized, it has been a word of mouth, grassroots effort. If you don't want scientology to hoodwink the city into the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater Tagged With: Clearwater, Clearwater City Council, Elisio Santana, Mark Bunker

Clearwater City Elections — Scientology Endorsements

February 29, 2020 By Mike Rinder 16 Comments

A recent article in FlaPol (FloridaPolitics.com) reports on recommendations from scientologists "Citizens for Social Reform" (Brett Miller, Joanie and Steve Sigal) These are the surrogates who deliver the political direction of the church without being a formalized statement from the institution. Why do they do it this way? Because if the church itself published them it would run afoul of 501(c)3 prohibitions against political endorsements (though the Evangelicals don't seem to be too concerned about that). But make no mistake, the "Citizens for Social Reform" are just another scientology … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clearwater Tagged With: Clearwater City Council, Clearwater Florida, Elisio Santana, Frank Hibbard, Kathleen Beckman, Mark Bunker, public relations, Scientology

Next Page »
Mike-Rinders-Blog

Subscribe

Loading

Important Reading

Troublemaker - Leah Remini
Ruthless - Ron Miscavige
Going Clear - Lawrence Wright
Bare Faced Messiah - Russell Miller
Counterfeit Dreams - Jeff Hawkins
Blown For Good - Marc Headley
Abuse at the Top - Amy Scobee
Unbreakable Miss Lovely - Tony Ortega
The Church of Fear - John Sweeney
Fair Game - Steve Cannane
Inside Scientology - Janet Reitman
A Piece of Blue Sky - Jon Atack
Beyond Belief - Jenna Miscavige
My Billion Year Contract
Escaping Scientology - Karen Schless
Commodore's Messenger - Janis Grady
Commodore's Messenger - Book II
Scythe Tleppo - Nathan Rich
Expert Witness - Jesse Prince
Perfectly Clear - Michelle LeCaire
Ron the War Hero - Chris Owen
donate-button

Recent Tweets

Mike RinderFollow

Mike Rinder
MikeRinderMike Rinder@MikeRinder·
51m

My latest interview with @atack_jon. Always a lot of fun. https://youtu.be/_TesZtgzQpE via @YouTube

Reply on Twitter 1368247252599341056Retweet on Twitter 13682472525993410563Like on Twitter 136824725259934105619Twitter 1368247252599341056
Retweet on TwitterMike Rinder Retweeted
CHILD_USACHILD USA@CHILD_USA·
20h

(4/4) This petition continues the important work of the #MeToo era to bring institutions and individual perpetrators to account for child abuse, trafficking, and neglect. Read the full appellatte writ here: https://childusa.org/child-sex-abuse/

Reply on Twitter 1367955581735231497Retweet on Twitter 136795558173523149711Like on Twitter 136795558173523149726Twitter 1367955581735231497
Retweet on TwitterMike Rinder Retweeted
CHILD_USACHILD USA@CHILD_USA·
20h

(3/4) For too long, the Church of Scientology and its leaders have sought to coverup sexual assault and abuse and then attempt to intimidate survivors into silence.

Reply on Twitter 1367955580862730247Retweet on Twitter 136795558086273024714Like on Twitter 136795558086273024749Twitter 1367955580862730247
Retweet on TwitterMike Rinder Retweeted
CHILD_USACHILD USA@CHILD_USA·
20h

(2/4) Church of Scientology in violation of their First Amendment rights to religious freedom, which includes the right to exit a religion. Scientology believers have the right to believe anything they want but they cannot do whatever they want.

Reply on Twitter 1367955579872935945Retweet on Twitter 13679555798729359458Like on Twitter 136795557987293594538Twitter 1367955579872935945
Retweet on TwitterMike Rinder Retweeted
CHILD_USACHILD USA@CHILD_USA·
20h

(1/4) A petition was filed in a California appeals court seeking to reverse a lower court ruling that attempts to subject petitioners, non-believers who survived sexual abuse and harassment at the hands of defendants, to submit to so-called religious services arbitration by the

Reply on Twitter 1367955578795012100Retweet on Twitter 136795557879501210014Like on Twitter 136795557879501210046Twitter 1367955578795012100
Load More...

Recent Comments

  • Mike Rinder on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “I added the latest podcast interview I did with Jon Atack to this morning’s post.” Mar 6, 12:12
  • Sortingitout on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “Bruce, I don’t know about the relationship. However I heard of Dan Auerbach when I joined an aerospace company around…” Mar 6, 12:06
  • Zee Moo on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “Kent Auerbach is the face of the Clampocolypse. With recruiting being dead in the water, there are no new bodies…” Mar 6, 12:04
  • ISNOINews on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “O/T. On 3/5/21, NationTown TV reposted the video of a lecture by Scientology Freedom Medal Winner Nation of Islam Minister…” Mar 6, 12:00
  • Deputy Sea Morgue Cleaning I/C (HFA) on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “You need a replacement? No you don’t Kent! This guilt trap makes you believe you owe them. You don’t owe…” Mar 6, 11:57
  • George M White on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “The Vikings settled in Dublin from 841 AD onwards. During their reign Dublin became the most important town in Ireland…” Mar 6, 11:54
  • Bruce Ploetz on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “Anybody know if this Kent Auerbach is related to the Dan Auerbach that used to be a technician working for…” Mar 6, 11:07
  • Rip Van Winkle on Regraded Being: “….and every time I got someone like you to help, volunteer, come to an event, hold someone’s post for a…” Mar 6, 10:17
  • Glenn on Dublin is Not So Ideal: “LRH is quoted, in part, saying “if the weather is cold, the Irish heart is warm. The country and the…” Mar 6, 10:02
  • Richard on Regraded Being: “I forgot to include happiness which is another main buzzword for luring people in.” Mar 6, 09:56

Past Posts By Month

March 2021
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Feb    

Copyright © 2021 Mike Rinder · WordPress · Log in