This was originally posted on 29 December 2013. It has only gotten worse….
Is the “Church of Scientology” a fundamentalist organization?
In my view, it is. And if you read the criteria for fundamentalism above, there is not much doubt that the hard core members of the church fit right in to these 5 points.
I was prompted to write this by an interesting post on Marty’s blog a little while ago entitled Trained To Lie.
I posted a comment in response which I repeat here:
Marty — the corollary to this is the fact that these people will do anything to “protect the church” and believe that this is “the greatest good.” Thus, telling a lie is not a harmful act if it going to ensure the continued existence of “Scientology” because that “benefits everyone.” And of course, these days, the church and Miscavige are A=A.
This is extremely pervasive in Scientology. And it is not even limited to those who face the Hole or being declared for failing to “protect” the church or Miscavige, nor is it limited to Sea Org members. Even public Scientologists have this attitude.
When my brother was flown in to try and intimidate me along with Jenny Linson, Bloomberg, Guillaume etc etc in the doctor’s parking lot I finally had a conversation with my brother once Jenny Linson and Co had fled when the doctor called the sheriff’s department. I told him he did not know what was really going on and that he didnt know how people were being abused or the extravagances of Miscavige. His response was to tell me that “COB could do whatever he wanted and he deserved 1,000 times more than what he may be given in exchange for his brilliant leadership of the church.” It is SO ingrained into Koolaid drinkers it is hard to fathom.
But this is what underpins the ability to lie. They convince themselves either that it is in their own self-interest to lie (like how I was with the BBC) and/or it is the “greatest good” to lie.
They get away with it often because it is hard for normal people to understand that someone would just lie to their face.
I think this is a subject that deserves some further attention. See also my recent post The Big Scientology Lie.
Lying in Fundamentalist Scientology is such a given that it has become an accepted part of the “religion.”
The Dear Leader of Scientology stands on stage and tells lie after lie and the crowds cheer and applaud and proclaim with tears running down their cheeks how lucky they are to have Him to lead them to the promised land. Even when what he is saying is obviously untrue — they can observe for themselves in their own orgs. He tells them expansion is “straight up and vertical” and that there are 10 million Scientologists and 11,000 orgs, missions and groups. He tells them He has gotten everything “on Source” and all that is required is to pay again to redo everything you did previously. Virtually everything that comes out of his mouth proclaiming “good news” is a fabrication of one sort or another.
Church spokespuppets follow in His footsteps. “There is no such thing as disconnection.” “There was never a place called The Hole.” “We are the largest humanitarian organization on earth.” It is almost a given that any official statement from the church is a lie.
Regges do it routinely. “Your money is needed now to help the relief efforts in the Philippines.” “Your money will get books into libraries.” “We follow LRH policy on returning donations to dissatisfied students and pcs.” “If you give us your money, your income will increase.”
Public do it as a matter of course. “This was the greatest service EVER.” “This was the greatest event EVER.”
And when it comes to dealing with external situations — the media, governments or court cases — there is no limit on the lies that are told. And the lies become over the top when it concerns Dear Leader.
If the media indicates any angle that might reflect badly on him, the church deluges them with sworn declarations from people in the Hole asserting he is the kindest, most hard-working, compassionate man on earth who single-handedly does everything of note in Scientology. That he is a leader of men and stands above all others (Exh 1 Tom Cruise IAS acceptance speech).
But then if there is some threat in a legal case, the same people are trotted out to proclaim that Mr. Miscavige has NOTHING to do with anything anywhere, anywhere, any time, ever. Period. Put them in deposition or in front of a court and they lie with similar alacrity “No, we never claimed to be a residential drug rehab facility.” They even suborn their lawyers to tell outright lies to the court (though the lawyers may not in fact be apprised of the truth, themselves having been lied to) “Mr. Miscavige has no idea what Mr. Rathbun does and doesn’t care.”
These days they don’t have any spokespeople to appear in the media, so all of their tall tales are sent in emails under the name of Karin Pouw.
And too often the lies fly over the heads of the recipients. People really do find it hard to believe (or perhaps to confront) that someone would simply tell a provable lie.
This is more than following the dictates of telling an “acceptable truth” or “shore story” (themselves pretty strange concepts for any religion that is supposedly predicated on truth).
No, this is pathological lying. Just out and out invented assertions and “facts.” Why?
Part of it is the bunker mentality — we are engaged in a war and acceptable behavior towards the “enemy” is whatever we deem it to be. And when the very survival of the planet and every man, woman and child on it is at stake, well, what’s a few lies if it protects the most important thing on earth?
Part of it is arrogance – we are “above wog law” or “the media are merchants of chaos (SP) so its not an overt to lie to them as they lie all the time anyway.” “We are not going to submit to the whims of the SP’s to try and destroy us.”
Part of it is the inculcated mindset that anything is justified when it is the “greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics.” (Of course the 3D counts for 8 — as “benefiting the church” means benefiting all dynamics because the church is the only entity that can truly salvage everyone’s eternity and of course David Miscavige is Scientology).
A big part of it is being afraid of not “following the party line” — the consequences for SO Members may be the Hole or RPF and endless sec checks. Non SO may be sec checked and declared and have their family disconnect. Or lose their job.
So, lying is part and parcel of the “game where everyone wins (as long as you are one of us).”
But does it stop at lying for the greatest good?
Someone recently reported to me that they were told by Marion Pouw (one of Dear Leader’s personal emissaries to “handle disaffection”) that “there are 10,000 sea org members that would do whatever it takes to protect DM.” This was a threat to toe the line or there may be dire consequences. “You don’t want to cross Command Intention.”
Which brings me to this anonymous email that I recently received from “seeyarinder@fuckoff.com”:
“Donate”, “Friends of LRH” LOL. Do you realize that you have pronounced yourself to be the enemy of several million very dedicated Scientologists? Honestly, this is your product. Its Final, that’s for sure. How about Valuable? Hahaha. What have you done for LRH? What are you doing for LRH? You honestly think he’d “be on your side”? He would roast you on a spit. You live on a planet where you have created millions of enemies, MILLIONS. You are skating on microscopically thin ice. You are actively seeking to destroy the church and organizations LRH worked his ass off to build. This is LRH’s Church. So you have disagreements. This is how you handle it? There is no way you’re dumb enough to think this is the correct thing to do. You just can’t be. I’ve seen you speak at past events. You’re not stupid – I mean in terms of IQ.
The best thing you can do is go away quietly and hope next life no one recognizes you. Because this life, you’re done. There is no going back. You will never be accepted back. Its over, totally.
So since you’re not stupid – then what are you? That was fast. Why would anyone run to the press, post videos, start a blog, and ramble on and on and on and on, compulsively, unable to get your attention off COB or the Church? Why? Why Mike Rinder? Can’t you just shut up and leave, go do something else? You can’t honestly think LRH would approve or forgive you. No, you’re not stupid. You know.
If you don’t want to be part of the Church, that’s absolutely fine. I don’t care. We don’t care. I don’t care if people like you or Ortega or Rathburn don’t want to participate. Who gives a shit? It makes no difference. But yet you have to sit hiding in the bushes making crude remarks constantly, the brotherhood of cowards afraid to show your faces for fear of retaliation from the Church. Can’t take it I suppose. At this point the best thing for you to do is cut ties completely, forget about the Church of Scientology, forget about LRH, forget about COB, and move on with your life, and take your new 2D with you. Honestly. Do something else, develop a new career and don’t ever bring it up again. Show us you really mean it, and go, for real.
For if you and your new group are not suppressives, then who is?
This is Fundamentalist Scientology in all its nonsensical bluster.
…you have created millions of enemies, MILLIONS. I guess He buys His own bs about how many church members there are.
You are skating on microscopically thin ice. Hmmmm — doesnt seem thin to me, in fact it seems a lot more solid than the quicksand the RCS is floating on.
The best thing you can do is go away quietly and hope next life no one recognizes you. I grew back my beard, does that count?
… the brotherhood of cowards afraid to show your faces for fear of retaliation from the Church. Can’t take it I suppose. This is a funny line coming from an “anonymous” email probably dictated by Miscavige. I thought your complaint was that I DO show my face and am vocal and can be easily found by anyone? Probably this came as a result of a number of different dictations and someone tried to squeeze them all in to the one email so they could report compliance. The threats of “retaliation” by the church and the “millions” who are out there ready to mow me down as an enemy are typical of the fundamentalist mindset. This is the mindset of the John Allender’s and Ed Bryan’s of the world.
This group is in a dwindling spiral and is lashing out at those who are pointing out its insanities and abuses. There is no introspection. Of course NOTHING could ever be wrong within the RCS. Everything is perfect. It is an “ideal” organization that is above reproach.
“When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.” Thomas Paine
*Note: The five features of fundamentalism comes from a book: The Fundamentalist Mindset: Psychological Perspectives on Religion, Violence and History by Charles B Strozier, David M Terman, James W Jones and Katherine A Boyd
Absolutely not..I don’t blame you and am sorry you get those…I just meant that I liked seeing the fact that they are very stupidly trying to make you feel that what you do doesn’t matter when in fact you are advocating for so many who need help….and you told them straight out that when they stop abusing human rights then what you do won’t be nessecary….I admire that and enjoyed reading it…best to you and of course your family
Mike, do you often get emails like that? I found it interesting reading and especially enjoyed your response..you are not hiding your identity..they are…I would enjoy reading these along with your answers more often…its working or there would not be anyone trying to discourage you. Its good to see them squirm.
I usually don’t publish the ones that target my wife or talk about my children because they didn’t elect to participate like I did.
Brilliant post Mike and so many insightful, intelligent comments!! Thank you everyone, for your care and effort. This datum of the greatest good is certainly a milestone, of where the church shifted to fundamentalism. When I first got in (70’s), I loved the greatest good for the greatest # of dynamics datum, which I found very useful in conjunction with the code of honor and definition of integrity. It’s such a useful datum, with difficult decisions, when used with your own personal integrity. Somewhere along the line, the emphasis shifted to the evaluated item of “Scn’s apparent survival” as the only means of calculation, which took personal integrity, the actual beings themselves, out of the equation. The true subject of Scn “knowing how to know” or spiritual advancement or personal/spiritual freedom, died right there. The whole subject is/was dedicated to recovering one’s point of view, one’s true beingness, so, the removal of personal integrity from the decision making mix, is obviously antipathetic. When participating in Scn became a trial of continuous overts on yourself, the purpose of spiritual advancement became reversed, unworkable and just plain stupid. I think this atmosphere has also attracted those who would prefer not to think, or those that want to wallow in adoration of someone giving orders, which is why the current radical church has rapidly sunk to the level of that email.
Using the word ‘fundamentalist’ is somewhat disingenuous in this case. It cloaks the CO$ in a mantle of ‘religiosity’.
$cientology is not a religion, it is/was a self help pyramid scam with poorly disguised thought control and hypnotic suggestion in a fantasy world. Engrams and past lives and worship of the wit and wisdom of Lroon and his successor are the real end phenomena of $cientology. But they are just the magicians distraction while the assistant puts the mirror in the magic box and makes the rabbit disappear. The current condition of the $cientology now values donations and worship of the COB much more then the former statuses of Clear and OT.
That the faithful minions shower the ‘bitter defrocked apostates’ with hate mail is much better then fire bombs and bullets. But they are only 1 short step from such violence. That these minions are so heavily controlled is a good thing, at this moment. The hierarchy keeps the well programmed minions in line, a line that currently does not include violence. Lets us hope that they always continue to fear crossing that line.
The comparisons to Orwells 1984 many commenters have quoted is a very good comparison. It is only a short step from vilifying the ‘enemy’ to shouts of ‘hang him’ and then acting on the impulse. I love John Herd in that movie.
Remember that he survived only by knuckling under and accepting the love of Big Brother. He lost his individuality, just like the current minions of Lron. But our society in general has not. The real world still allows us to rescue those still in the scam, even they can see the dichotomy between what is preached and what is practiced. Eventually, that dichotomy forces every clam to either knuckle under to COB or get out. More are choosing the later these days.
Some great comments on this subject. I continue to admire all of you from afar.
I’m sure that COS management would love it if you shut up, Mike. They think that it would be in their best interests.
But anyone who really cares about the subject of Scientology and its future wants you to keep talking and telling the truth. So, please do. You have our support and encouragement!
All of those lies that Miscavige and company have been telling to Scientologists for years are now coming back to bite them in the ass. That must really hurt. I can feel their pain. But the remedy is simple…..STOP TELLING LIES. : -)
You might be getting more emails from the church Mike, since Miscavige gets so much blow-back from airport videos.
Then again, Miscavige may try a visit with you the next time you are in an airport. He doesn’t seem to mind the fact that the blow-back makes him look completely nuts.
Dave’s getting more blowback than he can handle on Hollywood Boulevard if you know what I mean.
Hiding in the bushes, eh? You are verrrry clever, Mike, hiding in the shadows, disguising yourself by posting on mikeridersblog.org. You must have taken careful notes when you read Poe’s “The Purloined Letter.”
Mr Rinder,
I hate to comment anything related to families, but that anonymous
e-mail seems that came from family ?
I think you missed it.
The Phoenix
Those ones (there have been a few) have all been signed by them. Though they probably all had the same author and he just put their names on the bottom….
The very first assertion by the author of the email is very telling when he asks what Mike is doing, or has done, for LRH. Are we supposed to apply Scientology with the idea of doing something for LRH, or for helping ourselves and then helping others? It’s one thing to help support a cause, but its quite another to serve another person or do what you do simply for someone else’s approval. Why should we live to bow to LRH? If we agree that Scientology works to increase our spiritual awareness (which is why I signed up in the first place) then we should use it for that purpose. We can choose to help others by auditing them. This super devotion to the man and the idea that we can NEVER pay him back is ridiculous. We all pay or have paid plenty in either cash or work or both. This email only shows that adhering to the group think of Scientology puts one in the position of being a servant who can never be in exchange, rather than a creator.
“And I’d like to especially thank COB for ensuring the tech is 100% super squeaky clean and free from added semicolons. I wouldn’t have achieved these miraculous gains if it weren’t for all his brilliance. I think I speak for the rest of us here this evening to say that we are truly indebted for his selfless service in reversing the dwindling spiral of mankind’s spiritual travail. Thank you sir!!!!!!!!®” (End of groveling amidst thunderous applause and enforced standing ovations as Miscavige beams while a hundred cameras flash).
🙂
Good point, Jewel…
I am reminded of some LRH reference where he says the Devil is a man-made creation, whose singular characteristic was that nobody could ever create any effect on him.
Interestingly, that concept is a close cousin to somebody, in this case LRH, that you could never ever fully pay back.
Are you sure that email was written by an adult, because it came across to me as something a spiteful and petty teenager would write in a fit of pique.
Features of Fundamentalist: Number 4 – Charismatic Leadership. Cap’n Loony. Charismatic? That word and D. M. just don’t work for me.
Vegematic?
Mike: I like the following quote from the hate mail
“No, you’re not stupid. You know.”
So true – that’s why they “don’t care” to the point that they are totally obsessed with you.
If David Miscavige and his minions ever come to their senses, their thoughts might read like Macbeth:
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?
Mike —- terrific article — terrific connecting of dots. Great service to all of us who were at one time deeply involved … and a great service to those never in to help ensure they will never mistakenly wander in 🙂
That said:
Sometimes a deeply “embedded” LRH datums surfaces like today …
“Nothing stays the same. It either gets better or gets worse.” (I know the first sentence is exact. The second sentence is paraphrased I think)”
In any case —- “nothing stays the same” = is often quoted in Buddhism AS “impermanence”
And is verifiably true.
HOWEVER — “it either gets better OR worse.” Nope … not true.
It just CHANGES.
Better or worse are statistical constructs that help PERHAPS monitor businesses, or relationships or food supplies or football teams BUT ARE NOT truths.
What is “fun” for me is peeling off the seemingly endless layers OF BS that I’ve accumulated from my very very fundamental beginning as a Sea Org member with a DIRE NEED to belong to something that was GOOD, ENLIGHTENED and HELPFUL.
Which might be something I could point to to tell my family —- see … I’m not a hopeless college drop out druggie but a VALUABLE in fact THE MOST VALUABLE member of society because I HAVE THE KEYS!!!
Oh … the fundamentalism runs deep.
AND you and Marty and Karen are constantly pointing out to MILLIONS of us who are now ENEMIES of the MILLIONS of scientology members and staff just how deeply fundamental we are 🙂
But seriously —- it’s a great drill regardless of how long ago one might have left or how far they have de-compressed and so on to really LOOK AT THEIR OWN thoughts and behavior to see just how much is STILL a fundamental point of view.
It’s rather startling.
IMHO
Love,
Windhorse
a she, not a he 🙂
The inverted morality employed by fundamentalists extends itself beyond the mere justification of evil acts; it holds them up as a model, to be emulated, and confers status on those who commit this atrocious behavior.
The difference between those who don suicide vests and those who practice “Fair Game” is only of degree, not philosophy or temperament.
I will forever be deeply ashamed and regretful of the pain I caused innocent parties in the name of “the greatest good.”
Amazing hate mail giving a very interesting insight into acute Psychosis:
“a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality.”
So let us examine the external reality. Actually Mike Rinder is a friend to millions as he does work to expose the fraud, abuse and lying of a psychotic cult that thrashes in its last convulsions creating destruction all around it. Mike helps people to get out of their state of psychosis and prevents others from falling into it. That is what true friends do: help each other and not fundraise each other.
In the psychotic reality of this anonymous coward there exists only fear. In his worldview reality is upside down, as his rambling implies there is no life outside of the CO$. Since Mike Rinder can never go back “he is done.” Well, tens of thousands escaped the psychotic world of the COS and looking back at it as somebody would look back at his own grave.
Watching the beat down parishioners file into the latest fundraising event for Valley Idle Org was like watching a death march. Seeing these mostly beat up people in beat up cars are a sad affair. One Participant showed up in an old junky truck pulling a camper from the fifties with plywood nailed to the windows. Not sure if that was Richie Acunto. He brought his residence right with him. That is the reality and final end product of the CO$ if a parishioner is not independently wealthy and gets sucked into the tornado of insanity
There is no life left in the CO$ just hate, fear and the stench of thousands of lies. The only reason not to forget about it is that there are many well-meaning people still caught in this psychosis and a sense of justice that says DM and his henchmen should not get away with their crimes.
Mike, Tony and Marty you have thousands of friends for what you are and what you do. You are even a friend to this anonymous hate mailer, although he yet lacks the ability to see it.
It’s very common for a heroin or crack addict to rail against and villify the interventionist who tries to separate him from the drugs that are killing him. Many addicts will see the sane, rational person who is trying to help him/her as the enemy.
People who are addicted to cults and their leader respond in much the same way.
They do appear quite psychotic. I think Jenny put that psychotic behavior on display quite well at a public airport. Mr or Ms “seeyarinder@fuckoff.com” displayed it well with his/her letter.
I wonder if any OSA bot reading these comments would go completely insane if he/she were to get a list of all members world wide and face the ugly fact that it is far fewer than 40,000? Minus the dead, the declared and the secretly disaffected, it’s probably well below the 20,000 mark now. And shrinking daily.
Just a quick question for Mr/Ms fuckoff…At what point did you decide to be an obedient minion?
Gerhard, you sum it up perfectly. This is a letter reflecting the gasps of a dying organism. If it were strong and vital, it would not give a damn about Michael or Marty. Just as the idiot at the airport who shouted a similar mantra at Marty, this letter reveals fear and uncertainty. They are doomed and on some level they know it. Lies are like blowing up a balloon. One keeps blowing and blowing ,the balloon gets bigger and brighter then – pop! I don’t think the pop is very far off.
George Orwell, 1984, because it describes this so well:
Winston Smith: How’s the Newspeak Committee?
Syme: Working overtime. Plusbig waste is in adjectives. Plusbig waste is timing the language to scientific advance.
Winston Smith: …yes.
Syme: It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. You wouldn’t have seen the Dictionary 10th edition, would you Smith? It’s that thick.
[illustrates thickness with fingers]
Syme: The 11th Edition will be that
[narrows fingers]
Syme: thick.
Winston Smith: So, The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect?
Syme: The secret is to move from translation, to direct thought, to automatic response. No need for self-discipline. Language coming from here
[the larynx]
Syme: , not from here
[the brain]
Syme: .
Tillotson’s Friend: [leans over from another table] Excuse me for intruding. But what you’re saying is that we should be rid of the last vestiges of Goldsteinism when the language has been cleaned. I couldn’t be more in agreement with you, brother.
In my second to last conversation with Theresa, an MAA at AOLA, she did make it clear that she was so grateful to have a leader like DM who cared so much about getting things exactly right. In her mind he was practically the equal, or maybe even the superior, of LRH. DM could not be questioned. I notice a lot of people refer to him as Dear Leader (sarcastically). Maybe, using his initials, he should be referred to as Dear Master! It used to drive me wild at events when he would use the expression “in the name of planetary Clearing.” What does THAT mean?
The occupants of the Underground Bunker have used some 1300 + terms for DM.
My personal favorite is Demented Midget
I’m so glad I, and a few thousand others kept some thoughts, viewpoints and a question or two for ourselves while still in.
Great writing Mike.
The Way to Happiness point #7, “SEEK TO LIVE WITH THE TRUTH.
7-1. DO NOT TELL HARMFUL LIES.
Harmful lies are the product of fear, malice and envy. They can drive people to acts of desperation. They can ruin lives. They create a kind of trap into which the teller and the target can both fall. Interpersonal and social chaos can result. Many wars began because of harmful lies.
One should learn to detect them and reject them.” — LRH
Looked at from another viewpoint, the end statement of this precept is more sinister that it sounds:
“The way to happiness lies along the road to truth.”
What is a non-harmful or helpful lie?
Example of a non-harmful lie:
My grandmother, in the last months of her life, became depressed and upset that her son hadn’t visited her, and wouldn’t call.
She had advancing dementia and didn’t remember that he had died several years earlier. The one time I tried to tell her this, she became very upset.
The next time she asked, I lied and said her son was taking care of his friend, who was very very sick.
She was very proud of her son for doing such a wonderful thing, and told me about him, each time I visited.
Fortunately, I’ve only had rare occasions to tell this type of lie, which is how it should be.
I did not have to do a drill to practice how to do it.
Thanks John Doe. Decency is a beautiful thing.
Off the subject
however I just drove by the church of Scientology mission on Belcher 1:40 pm Sunday in Clearwater, they only have two cars parked in the covered parking which is where staff parked when I attended years ago
Yeah, that and the Bellair Mission are dead as doornails. And those are THE missions in the “Tampa field.”
I drove past the SP building at 6pm last night. Not a soul on the street between the Clearwater Bank Building and the new park/walkway next to the FT Harrison. The frosted glass windows of the SP building look creepy when they are lit. Not all floors even had lights on — especially the top floor where the “cornerhole clubs” are… Many light NOT on, indicative of many areas of emptiness.
The church pitch about this building was what a great asset to the community it would be, and a large part of the ground floor is devoted to presenting dianetics, scientology and L. Ron Hubbard to NEW people. And that is how it was promoted to the sheeple. But like most other things, that was just a shore story.
If you have ever driven by the FBI Building in DC or Madison Square Garden when there is no event happening, those buildings have the same “welcoming” vibe as the SP building. About as inviting as Buchenwald or Auschwitz. Not only is the building NOT open — local public would be terrified to go in.
Contrast the DIV 6 community pitch with the aquarium opposition pitch and their lies become crystal clear.
What’s a cornerhole club? Coming to Clearwater area over Christmas….can’t wait to check these sites out in person!
Cornerstone Lounge — dedicated to those who gave in excess of a certain amount to make the SP building possible. There are two of them. One for the run-of-the-mill cornerstoners and one for the whales which is nicer. Sort of like the Business Class Lounge and International Lounge at major international airports. Except these ones come equipped with regges, so I suspect nobody willingly goes there. It’s like walking around the Ft Harrison with a sign on your back: “Mother and father just died when their private jet crashed. I am their only heir.”
“Mother and father just died when their private jet crashed. I am their only heir.”
hahahha
I love it … I may do it on one of the Thursday’s – right before 2PM
I follow Mike’s daily. I also follow Google News, Sweetwater Now, Jailtracker, my brother’s blog and a few other daily blogs along with a few dozen other eclectic bookmarks. I would be willing to bet that my bookmarks are unlike that of any other visitor to this site, and that any visitor to Mike’s site could say the same thing.
This is something the people still in the bubble have a hard time grasping. It is my choice to come to this site. I have not been told to come. I do not come every day, I do not have set times I come, I do not always comment. I donate (or not) on a whim. The choice is always mine.
Now, to the reprint of that insane email. I had thoughts I didn’t express when it was printed the first time because around the same time a woman had sent an out of the blue insane email to a group of my friends viciously attacking me and in a portion of it she told my friends “she [ie me] has no friends”.
Some of my friends defended me, some asked me what to do. My response was “nothing-I hope she gets her medication adjusted.” I have had no further contact with that person, but it just shows you how a mind can be led to odd conclusions.
That email shows the true delusional state of bubble thinking. The more I read it, the harder I laugh. I see John Allender in what he thinks is a movie tough guy look (stubble, sunglasses, chin jutting out) stumbling over the same phrase again and again while Mark Bunker calmly asks him sane questions. I see squirrel busters thinking they look sane.
How is it possible to have made millions MILLIONS (ROTFL) of enemies if they “don’t care”?
I know it was LRH policy to always attack but Seriously, Miscavige, you and I both know you don’t follow any other LRH policy, so please do yourself a favor and put this one to rest while you still have a shred of dignity left.
Oh. Too late.
Indeed the remaining (and stubbornly intransigent) Kool-Aid drinkers have become “PTS to the bourgeoisie” of Scientology (themselves). Ironic that LRH openly identified this “Middle Class” as a culture that would defend itself to the very death of it’s society.
Mike,
Do you think the person who wrote this has actually read your writings or watched media interviewing you? Or do you think this person is told what to write? There is no specifics. Or it is just cognitive dissonance rearing it’s ugly head. I’m sure a lot of scientologists would like you to shut and go away, you are making them very uncomfortable. lol
Re: And when it comes to dealing with external situations — the media, governments or court cases — there is no limit on the lies that are told. And the lies become over the top when it concerns Dear Leader.
“There is no history of violence in the Church.”
Re: But then if there is some threat in a legal case, the same people are trotted out to proclaim that Mr. Miscavige has NOTHING to do with anything anywhere, anywhere, any time, ever. Period. Put them in deposition or in front of a court and they lie with similar alacrity…
“Mr. Miscavige was not at the property at the time.”
Re: So since you’re not stupid – then what are you?
“I think I’m crazy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk0ov0hMC6k
Scientologists pride themselves on being able to spot and locate the cause of things. Looking into the past and finding out why things are happening in the present is the quintessential Scientology process and approach to finding the truth.
It is very very very simple why Scientologists lie:
The main opinion leader, the ultimate Buddha, Scientology’s teacher lied.
Ron lied and so do his student. That’s what students do. They mimic their teacher.
The terms acceptable truth and the TR drill TR L is church doctrine.
Mike, did you drill TR L?
Could you tell us about the actual drilling of lying? And what the drilling and practice of lying was like for you?
Maybe anyone else who practiced lying for the church.
I know Heber did. I would watch him in media interviews.
I would love to hear people’s experience with lying for the church.
Lying for Ron who lied to us.
Nope, never did TRL. Though there is a drill in STCC that is quite similar.
You lie because you believe it is the greatest good and it is what will be an “acceptable truth.”
That used to be limited to the “outside world”, now it is routine to those inside the bubble too.
I believe that drill you did Mike, should be found in writing and presented to the press.
When a spokes person for the church starts to lie, the interviewer can present this writing and ask what it is. They will lie right then and there, but the association of the writing with their words of lies may be one more nail in the coffin.
The press should know all writings or drills that are used.
We all know they lie anyway. But to present actual drills to the press would be potent, imo.
Brian — I will dig it out and perhaps include it in a post. It makes no mention of “lying” it is about “steering” conversations (ie not answering).
And how is TR L perceived by you Mike. Was it a just GO thing?
I drilled on the TR-L drill with a guy who was part of the old Guardian’s Office. I was taken to a private room at the complex, by the MAA and told I would be doing the drill as part of an ongoing court, custody case that I was involved with. A guy from the GO also needed to drill on it, as part of his training, so we were twined up to do TR-L. Back then, the drill was presented to me as TR4-LIE – so that’s what we did. The drill consisted of lying and/or misdirecting the question while appearing to answer the question. From what I recall, it ran like TR-4, in that you are sitting across from the other person and he asks questions from a prepared sheet. Then, after you get pretty good, he asks questions from things he makes up. One is flunked for all the things on TR-4 PLUS answering the question with an honest answer. For example, the question could be, “Do birds fly?” One would have to come up with an answer that either misdirects the person or reply with a non-answer, where the other person “thinks you’ve answered the question – while not actually doing so. You are flunked for stammering while lying and/or making up something that is illogical or doesn’t make sense. One passes the TR-L once the supervisor doesn’t really know if your telling the truth or lying your ass off!
Man Bob, thank you. I believe your story needs to be heard. I truly do.
Tony, do an interview with Bob.
Goodness me, what a bunch of fundamentalist morons they are. That email in particular is a classic.
What’s next? The $cientology terrorist? (horrible thought isn’t it?) Maybe a good name for them would be – “The R6 Raiders”
I’ve never seen such a prime example of becoming what you resist & to coin their own terminology, they’ve snapped terminals with themselves. Their space is getting smaller & smaller, darker & darker.
The fact they are now seeking comm lines to you Mike is an interesting thing. Hope you’re up to the challenge – they are desperately seeking an ethics officer.
The really sad but scary thing is that if they had even the slightest awareness of what their future holds they would be the ones being very quiet about what they do and should start recognising the stat on court hours defending their regime is their only honest straight up and vertical stat. What a bunch of silly, silly people.
[What’s next? The $cientology terrorist? (horrible thought isn’t it?) Maybe a good name for them would be – “The R6 Raiders”]
No, but the name “The R2-45 Raiders” would be an excellent on-source name.
Yes, horrible thought, that one…
After reading that letter you received. I thought wow, what a response to a big button that apparently hit.. Keep em coming Mike, hopefully, some day they will wake up to the truth! And thank you for all you’re doing.
Very well put Mike. Thanks for another stellar post. I’d say the fellow who wrote you that memo is a half step away from blowing the cult. Let’s hope so!
“That he is a leader of men and stands above all others” Not without a box he doesn’t!
COB=chairman on box (cut out the middleman from MOB)
Lies lies lies yeah, they’re gonna getcha!
Brilliant.
“For if you and your new group are not suppressives, then who is”?
Indeed.
Most excellent, and truthful piece!!! Thanks…..It is the amounts of $ that the fools continue to allow to be sucked out of them that I cannot fathom. Except for your explaination of this Fundamentalist reasoning helps a bit. thanks you so much.
“The best thing you can do is go away quietly and hope next life no one recognizes you.” I grew back my beard, does that count?”
Funny! 🙂
I wonder if the iterations of “no one cares” from Scn is a projection of their suppressed (note correct use of word) fear that in the Internet-connected world “no one cares” about them?
Yes, Mike, the best thing would be for us, I mean for you…if you would just go away… forget about it all…forget everything…and go away…go AWAY… PULEEEEZ just GO AWAY!!!!!!!
Hey, MJ, if you have the time and are in the mood, here’s your opportunity to do a parody of Stephen Sondheim’s “I’M STILL HERE” for Mike Rinder to dedicate to this well-wisher @ fuckoff.com LOLOL!
Abridged version per your request:
Good times and high crimes, I’ve seen ’em all, and, my dear,
I’m still here.
Injustice sometimes, sometimes just told I’m not clear,
but I’m here.
I’ve run the gamut, wog to OT ;
three cheers and, dammit, c’est la vie.
I got through the church instilled fear,
and I’m here.
Lord knows, at least I’ve been there, and I’m here.
Look who’s here.
I’m still here.
I wonder how much commissions the anonymous writer of that email is making from ripping off other “Scientologists” for Ideal orgs or IAS or whatever other scam they have going? Treading on someone’s toes there I think. But that will be only the tip of his and others like him, iceberg of criminality. One only gets this nonsense because they are failing to properly deliver Dianetics and Scientology and are doing something else. If they had just sold auditing and training at a fair and reachable price all this nonsense would never occurred. I would love to do a (proper non-biased) Rollback on him – I bet he has his doubts. But you would have to get past the wall of his current criminality before you found out the doubts.
When you tell the truth it becomes your past, when you tell a lie it becomes your future.
Great article. Great comments too.
Scientologists, or what is still left from them, are a bunch of fanatics. Absolutely fundamentalists.
They idolize COB, Dear Leader, Dear Fuhrer.
People idolize someone because of a deep seeded fear. They project their hope and their salvation into somebody and by doing that they avoid taking responsibility. So, they are the cowards. And cowards lie. Boy, do Scientologists lie.
Mike,
Great post. It should be blogged often, as it tends to burst the illusion from Scientologists, whether indie or corporate, that Scientology is a cool, new age philosophy for the curious or adventurous.
No, it is a dangerous cult, fundamentalist through and through.
Here is a link to Dr. Robert J. Lifton’s Criteria for Thought Reform:
http://www.nwrain.net/~refocus/lifton.html
The only power D Miscarriage of policy, tech and KRC, is the power he’s given! To quote an iconic phrase from Star wars. “Whose more the fool? The fool or the fool/s who follow him?”
I despise sheeple, especially since I was once one too. You cant supplant observation and put in its place any philosophy, technology or religeon! It still amazes me just how readily man leaps at any chance to hand it all over to another god, christ and guru. Anything but look for yourself. Every citizen deserves their respective presidents, PM’s, kings or queens. They allowed them to continue being there, all because it seemed too tough to think for themselves!
The sheeple left behind in the church remind me of the pied pipers followers. These idiots are possibly jihaddists in blue with no strap on explosives but no less dangerous to reason, integrity or simple common sense! Thats still dangerous in my book, but less so now as the truth behind the lie curtain seeps through.
Hey, come on there is nothing wrong with following the pied!
Mike, seeing facts revealed in this blog, the legal cycles surmounting and closing in on the crimes and scams of miscavige and its church, deep set delusion of grandeur and power, complete terror to be found out, desperation to loose control and power invite a sociopath such as dm to shout with rage at his minions to ‘do something about it’ and, as a result, you get messages like this.
It is just a matter of time before they destroy each other, the criminality and abuses can’ hold on any longer. Some may lie in an attempt to escape the punishment of having crossed the leader, others may lie trying to keep preserve a minimum survival at least of sleep and food, or a bigger one such as keeping the family/friends comm. lines; others have lied so much that they can’t see any longer; but the point is clear they do care about the facts you post and they react because it is a threat to loosing control and power. A maniac will do anything to maintain that, including sending such messages and much, much more.
They had it wrong, we are not your ‘followers’; you have your life and each one of us has his/hers. We are friends and share a common concept of standing up and speaking out about the abuses that are still being perpetrated inside the church by his so called leader.
And, if they don;t care, why then write such a full of hate message? They can answer the question themselves while we carry on with our lives which are free and more than nice to live and enjoy.
Silvia, I agree that Mike’s readers are not “followers” in the traditional, cult-of-personality sense. But a very large number of people do “follow” Mike in the newer internet sense of reading his posts regularly, many of us daily.
I’m sure that not everyone who follows Mike, in this sense, agrees with everything he writes. But the important thing is that Mike is putting something out there every day: a voice, a point of view, an outlet for reports and leaks from inside the church bubble, an ongoing commentary as to what it all means. As McCarran says above, he is speaking his truth. You can take it or leave it, but here it is.
The Church of Scientology, on the other hand, is putting out nothing. If you want to “follow” Scientology, in a strictly neutral sense — as in, “This is something I’m interested in, how can I keep up with what’s going on?” — what’s out there on the internet for you? Quite a lot, actually. But for some reason all of it seems to be critical of the church. Is this a conspiracy? Not at all — it’s simply that the church as a whole, and Scientologists as individuals, apparently have nothing to say for themselves. At any rate, nothing they care to say freely online.
To restate this point: If anyone tries to “follow” Scientology, they end up reading critical sites by default, because there ARE no pro-church alternatives.
This isn’t to say that the church doesn’t try, again and again, to produce online content. They do it mostly in the form of hate sites with URLs like whoisjohnsmith.com. In South Africa they tried it with an attack blog called, I think, KSW Lions, aimed at the then-new Back In Comm blog. This is not the sort of thing that real people read. It won’t attract followers, and it certainly gives readers no reason to think happy thoughts about Scientology, which comes over as vile and hateful.
I apologize for taking up so much space in Mike’s comment section, and I admit I’m trying to goad and bait the church. But really, guys. If you’re so cool and Mike’s so pathetic, show us what you’ve got. Because from here it looks like you got nothing.
“The Church of Scientology, on the other hand, is putting out nothing.” It is interesting that you say this, because only today I was struck by something when perusing Tony’s Sunday Funnies. The trend in recent years has been to make recruitment ads showing staff with their arms folded in front of the (as opposed to behind their backs, which isn’t much better). This always aggravated me, and I never could put my finger on why. Initially I thought it was because the pose seemed unfriendly. But what came across for me today was more like – we are not interested in you and we are not here for you; we a re a closed group, members only and no new people, thank you very much. WE DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU.
Am I alone in thinking this? What impression do these kind of photos make on you as opposed to the impression they are supposed to make (join staff, it’s great!)?
Mike, as I think you noted in your response to “Walter Lippmann” last week, these people who “don’t care” and “don’t give a shit” about you certainly spend a lot of time and energy trying to persuade you to shut up. It’s like you’ve touched a nerve or something. Or like this little private blog on the fringe of the internet poses some kind of existential threat to them.
Since these people don’t care about you, or Tony, or Marty, or presumably anyone else, one has to wonder what they do care about. And who they are, these millions of enemies you’ve made. Or to put it another way, where are all the lively and energized discussions about the wonders of Scientology taking place? Because I’m sure that many of us would like to share the excitement and learn about all the great news and achievements you are hiding from us.
There’s not much to see on the official Scientology site, which I suppose is why their traffic is so low (and a good chunk of it is generating at click-farms in India). If there are any personal pro-Scientology blogs — and I mean the kind where the site owner proudly identifies him- or herself and makes contact information available — I’m not aware of them. Scientology Facebook groups all seem to have restricted access, except for some pages run by individual orgs which never seem to get updated.
That leaves, I guess, the “Thetan in my mirror” thread that Black Rob has been running forever (it seems) at ESMB and WWP. Here at last is one place on the internet where one can hear the good news first-hand, from the mouths of actual Scientologists, and get a sense of what’s going on that’s so important and mind-altering that PEOPLE JUST DON’T CARE ABOUT MIKE RINDER.
There are many things one might say about this thread, but I will content myself with the word “embarrassing.”
I hope some helpful member of the church will take the time to point us in the right direction.
Does the author of this email realize that he/she is finitely describing his organization as a cult and Hubbard as a cult leader? He is advertising that Scientology is an ends justifies the means entity and highlights the fact that you can never change your mind.
As I remember, it was that exact moment and situation that challenged your personal integrity and sprung many out of the bubble as an outcome. It is chilling to realize how each one of us was watched, surveyed and marked no matter where we were or what our position was inside, staff, public alike. We all were tested when we were deemed ready to answer the question: Do the ends justify the means?
When you answered “No!” the first time, the control machinery automatically started cranking up and began applying the pressure vice day after day, inch by inch, until it squeezed every single fear, leveraged every last hope, and ransomed all dreams and loved ones you held dear until you squealed “Yes!”
This email screams a sad and frightening message: Scientology means you can never say NO.
Thank you Mike for this excellent article. I think Miscavige is walking on very thin ice since his organisation gets more radical and insane every day. There is no amount of Macallans to soothe his sheer terror. He must see the steep downward slope of the real stats which tend to go straight down and vertical. Ironically I had learnt that things were not only black and white, that between extremes there were infinite shades of grey. By the way I was thinking the other day of one of your nobility titles: greater than an OBE or a Victoria Cross (bitter apostate on the fringes of the Internet) and I realised that these deluded professors who study new religions failed to understand that in Scientology as in the Soviet Empire there are no apostates, people jumped to the other side of the Berlin Wall or managed to flee and leave the Iron Curtain behind because they couldn’t agree any more with the abuses of comunism. The Headleys, Marty, Karen, yourself and many others left the Radical Church of Scientology because you were idealists, you wanted to help mankind and you saw the ideas you fought for being used for a different agenda. So you were dissidents whiste blowing on the misuse of the philosophy you believed in. There are no apostates in Scientology as there were no apostated in the KGB or in communism in general. This idea of stating that “apostates” are not reliable because they have an axe to grind on theor former religion is a total fallacy. But it was implanted in the media and in the academic world by the good works of OSA. Keep the good work Mike. All the best to you and your lovely family.
The difference between you and the church, Mike, is that you say, “This is my truth. This is what I believe. This is what I know. Decide for yourself what is true.” and the church says, “This is the truth. If you decide differently, we will take away your friends, your income, your family.”
I think the biggest mistake I have made in my life was to (blindly) turn over power of my life to this church.
+100
“I think the biggest mistake I have made in my life was to (blindly) turn over power of my life to this church.”
Bravo. I have to suspect this would be a hot one for a LOT of people in AND out of Criminal Corporate Scientology. The knowing and willful abandonment of ones own self determination to another entity in order to “secure” ones own chance at freedom from endless lifetimes of amnesia. Unless one can freely walk away one cannot freely reach. Selling total freedom and then keeping just enough of it always out of reach is manipulative.
And you can’t walk away in Scientology and say anything about it publicly. Or expressing doubt without having to work your way up through “Liability” which is just more manipulation. This is on topic because the ongoing lies lies lies that help cement the fundamentalist viewpoint are so systematic in Scientology and so in your face 24-7 that eventually you become so softened up that you can hold your own keys to the jail cell after the guards have long since departed.
Corporate Radical Fundamentalist Scientology has become that operation that Hubbard warned against in his 1952-56 lectures.
+ 100
Brilliant comment Doug. Even LRH himself said that a being has the right to his own sanity and the right to leave a game. When integrity became an nonessential part of personal decisions in Scn, it became a losing game.
The theme of “no one cares, we don’t care…” Has been so evident over the last few weeks as an attack approach. It is like a fingerprint ID identifying probable authors. The LAX video really brought it home.
It’s not new. They told Good Morning America on September 24, 2013 “we could care less” yes they did use the improper grammar so they actually said they cared a lot – that Leah Remini left.
http://tonyortega.org/2013/09/24/jason-beghe-on-leah-remini-shes-right-scientology-does-want-her-to-fail/
Well, Marty got his at LAX, and now you have your “Nobody Gives A Fuck About You” declaration Mike. 🙂
You must be thrilled. LOL Clearly they do give a fuck about you and Marty. Keep up the good work.
Jenny,
You are repeating the same lines that you used with Marty at LAX. Your basic IQ is not too bad either. Like Mike said to Jeff Augustine on his radio broadcast: ‘She (Jenny) looks like I did just before I left.’
Now that Miscavige has given you the password to post comments on ‘seeyarinder’ online, you are merely continuing to run on the wheel in your hampster cage at Int. As you sit there at your computer terminal, turn the clock back about 20-25 years in your own head, and look at the public immage that you had of LRH. Ask yourself, ‘What would LRH do if he saw what Miscavige has done to his publicly stated desire to help others help themselves?’
Sorry Jenny, but Miscavige is NOT following in the footsteps of someone who marketed a philosophy that grew in popularity (possibly because he, himself, was seriously flawed as an individual and could not find genuine help from others so he decided to try to figure it out in his own bizarre fashion). Miscavige is a hanger-on (fighting the fight of a sociopath), following in footsteps of history’s raving lunatics whose insanity will be exposed just as Hubbard’s warts and cruelties are being exposed. You might want to walk away yourself.
This was the reading in my Church ( a real one) this morning: Matthew 5:11-12
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Indeed – rejoice and be glad. Very apt.
Excellent re-post, Mike. They stab themselves with their own words and it really is rather awe inspiring that intelligent people can simply back themselves into stupidity … and do it repeatedly. They walk about in empty orgs and missions and buy into “47x straight up and vertical” (in itself a repetitive phrase) and one wonders if they somehow mentally “fill up the space” with old memories. Won’t work for the newbies as it has a long time since any org or mission has actually had a LOT of public. Staff don’t count, though Herr Dotty Malingerer, in his desperate need, counts everyone, multiple times. In truth, the whole thing is dreadfully sad.
For all these reasons. But essentially Scientology became a fundamentalist religion when it was agreed upon that not only was everything that Ron said or wrote true, but that one had no right to disagree or have a different opinion on anything from LRH or from the Church. As I’ve noted before, in 35 years of giving, getting and observing star rate checkouts, I never ONCE heard anyone, myself included, EVER say they disagreed with LRH or thought that he was wrong on ANY point. Of course, if one would express any such thought, there would be only the “standard” study tech “remedies” until one no longer expressed it. BUT, as I said, I never even ONCE heard a Scientologist ever so express. And so we see what Tom Paine was talking about in that quote.
Joe,
Great observation. The most difficult outpoint to spot is OMITED DATA. It is very difficult to confront something that is not there.
When examining Scientology critically, eventually you will notice, that there is no evidence of Hubbard ever engaging in open discussions with professional people. I mean actual dialectics, scientific and philosophical debate with clinical psychologists, philosophers, religious leaders or prominent thinkers of his time.
Have you ever heard of anybody proclaiming himself Maitreya, and not inviting Buddhist leaders for a Dharma talk?
The level of duplicity in Scientology is beyond ridiculous.
I think it would sound like Deepak Chopra debating. He speaks in a mish mash of pseudo-intellectual babble. None of it makes any sense but that’s what attracts the weirdos – they think they’ve figured out some ‘secret’ the rest of us haven’t. Why? Because they can understand the babble.
William Burroughs once challenged him openly on a number of points relating to policy, ethics, sec checks and the secrecy of upper level material (see http://www.xenu-directory.net/news/library.php?t=Mayfair+%28magazine%29). Hubbard (and MSH) did respond with a familiar diatribe about evil psychs and mass media, but sadly went no further. An interesting, albeit brief, dialogue none the less.
I did:
As far as I can remember it had been during my academy training in 79 or 80 that a HCO B had been issued that every process had to be run on the Grades. Before that new one the other HCO B had been applied that only those processes are run that read on the E-Meter. I did refuse to apply that new HCO B. No problem so far, as the Case Sup did also agree with me. I did forget about the rest as I had to join the German Army at that time. But since then I noticed ongoing confusion about how to run the Grades.
Anyway: I noticed during second half of 1979 that sometimes HCO Bs had been issued that also had been posted on the board and later I could not find it anywhere. They did disappear. For example a HCO B stating that on the Clear Check a Natural Clear is not put on Date/Locate spotting his going Clear.
At that time I almost did doubt my mind, my memory or even sanity as I could not figure out that what I did observe actually happened.
I did more than once not agree. Only being declared SP once. But that one had been lifted after some days.
@Joe
I have, on occasion, expressed direct disagreement with LRH, especially when I first came in to the church. I did not, and still do not, agree with his comment in Science of Survival when he states that society goes to hell in a hand-basket when women take an equal footing with men (gross paraphrase). He says that women are special and that the care of men is an art. In other words, anything but a patriarchal society will throw the 2d and all the dynamics out of whack and cause society to fail. Of course, if a woman dumps her family to join the SO or org staff then that’s the greatest good. Luckily, the sup in qual just acknowledged me. I also pointed out that his view of psychiatry was maybe valid as far as their ability to make people sane, but that his examples were outdated and that they were not all German Natzi throw backs. Again, I got a ‘okay.’ I expressed my dislike (all throughout my years in Scientology) that the para-military organizational structure and appearance was scary and strange while attempting to align with other churches for non-profit religious status.
I also disagreed with the tone scale film and expressed my disagreement to the supervisor regarding it. I was firmly told that ‘the film was written by LRH’ and I firmly stated that he may have wrote it, but he wasn’t around for the execution of it and that the worshiping bodies example was inconsistent with the other images and tones. I didn’t get sent to the word clearer, but I did get a severe frowny face …hahaha.
I also had found inconsistencies in one of the tech patter drills (wrong bulletin source and a misduplication of a source). That one got written to RTC. Despite the fact that my vocal criticisms went unpunished, you are absolutely correct in that disagreement with anything the church does is simply not allowed. My feeling is that this only got worse under DM, but I’m not sure if that’s true. LRH had NO tolerance for staff or public to be ‘half minded.’
Other than the fact that a new face in any org is incredibly rare you can always tell when someone is new because they dare to question what they are being told. Eventually most leave, the few that stay either accept it blindly or keep their views to themselves as I did. In my early days with the organization I remember being shown the introduction to scientology video, my comment when asked what I thought of it was that I thought the video made it look like LRH had black teeth, needless to say this lead to a severe frowning attack from the staff member, I soon learned not to verbalize such statements.
Re: email. It’s obvious you’re handling everything just fine Mike. Your good life and MILLIONS of supporters is evidence of that. Keep on rocking in the free world! Have a great Sunday with your gorgeous family.
A great, great article!