Going Clear is available on Netflix. If you have not seen this, take the time to watch it. If you haven’t watched it since it first came out a decade or so ago, it’s worth re-watching. This documentary had massive impact on the way the world viewed Scientology. And paved the way for so much that has come since - including The Aftermath (which is available for free on Tubi). The story that is told and how is laid out is brilliant — facts about Hubbard and Scientology and interviews are brought together to paint a devastating picture that is beyond dispute. … [Read more...]
Scientology Mother’s Day
One of the most galling things about scientology is their claim they are "pro-family" and consider relationships and communication the most fundamental things in life. Mother's Day slams home the cruelty of what scientology ACTUALLY practices when it comes to familial relations. For everyone out there who IS connected to their mother, please enjoy this day and make it special. You never really appreciate the value of family until it is no longer available to you. But in remembering and enjoying the good, let's not forget the horrors of disconnection enforced by scientology. … [Read more...]
Episode 7: Emmy and Oscar Winner Alex Gibney
This week's episode of Fair Game podcast features my old friend Alex Gibney. This is not an episode to miss. Alex is one of the greats in the world of documentary filmmakers. His credits include: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (won 3 Emmy’s) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Oscar nom in 2005 for Best Doc) Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer Taxi to the Dark Side (winner of the 2007 Oscar for best Documentary) about the war in Ir … [Read more...]
Mark Bunker’s New Scientology Hit Squad
Clearly scientology is worried that Mark Bunker is proving to be a viable candidate for the Clearwater City Council. They are now resorting to one of their tried and true tactics against those who worry them the most (see below in this blogpost for earlier examples of the same playbook). Following is a series of short videos of a recent candidates forum. Scientology sent along a gaggle of hecklers to disrupt Mark's statements -- pursuant to the policies of L. Ron Hubbard. Unfortunately, there is no video showing their faces -- perhaps next time when both Aaron Smith-Levin and I … [Read more...]
JLo, Disconnection and Going Clear
Alex Gibney's film, Going Clear, documents the horror of disconnection and how it is used as a control mechanism in scientology. It is most dramatically demonstrated in his film with the story of Sara Goldberg. Her son Nick had a friend who was friends with me. Nick would not disconnect from his friend, so his mother was told to disconnect from her son. She was given an impossible choice -- if she didn't disconnect from him, she would be declared an SP and her daughter would be forced to disconnect from her. This is not a "personal choice" (as the church so often proclaims). Sara has the d … [Read more...]