Mike Rinder is full of shit

Since Marty Rathbun has been so quiet of late, I’ve been reading Mike Rinder’s blog with interest. It’s always been obvious to me that Mike is a Hubbard apologist. Like Marty, he blames the evils of the Church on David Miscavige; like Marty, he knows full well the policies that were written by LRH; unlike Marty, he is not trying to make money from auditing, so he doesn’t have the same motivation to white-wash Hubbard.

It’s too bad, really — I’ve always kind of liked Mike. Marty has been an unapologetic thug, but Mike seems to be a bit of an underdog… although he did spend years running OSA, the Church’s spying, harassment and dirty tricks division.

So, anyway, I saw a glimmer of hope when Mike’s blog entry of December Fourth (The Texas Showdown) said:

You will see in my declaration that was filed today that I cited some little known LRH references that may surprise some readers of this blog. It’s not all sweetness and light and “My Philosophy”. People no doubt will still try to justify that they are “misapplied” and “taken out of context.” I ask that you simply read them for what they are and compare what has been reported about the activities taken against the Rathbuns. This IS the “tech” that is being applied.

Holy shit! thought I. Perhaps Mike was coming around?? I read his declaration in the Monique Rathbun case. And as all of you who read it will know… I was disappointed.

Mike posted a couple of policy excerpts from 1972, but doesn’t attribute them to Hubbard. (And it’s possible they were written by Hubbard operatives; that did happen.) But, as always, the blame remains squarely on David Miscavige. Even when he mentioned Lisa McPherson, he blames Miscavige for handling “her case” and not Hubbard for instructing his followers that the cure for a psychotic break is to lock someone in a room and not talk to them.

Now, maybe I’m being too harsh, or too impatient… rewriting negative policies from the pre-Miscavige era is a baby step. Still, there’s nothing in here that states what seems so obvious to me, but is missed by so many people: Miscavige is running the Church according to Hubbard’s rules.

Mike should know better. Even after all Hubbard has done to him (from beyond the grave, no less!) he insists on protecting the Ol’ Fraud. God bless his deluded little soul, and may he some day truly escape from Scientology.

ML,
Caliwog

L. Ron Hubbard Killed Lisa McPherson

If there’s one sure-fire way Marty Rathbun can make my blood boil, it’s when he tries to blame the death of Lisa McPherson on anyone other than L. Ron Hubbard. So his latest headline, David Miscavige Killed Lisa McPherson, got me going right away.

But rather than simply write a blog entry denouncing Marty as a self-serving, profit-seeking, Hubbard-worshiping piece of shit, I decided to try to put my bias aside and hear what he and Mike Rinder had to say.

For those who are new, I talked about the Introspection Rundown in a post called Read for yourself: The LRH “technology” that killed Lisa McPherson. Make no mistake: The reason Lisa McPherson is dead is because a group of Scientologists attempted to treat a legitimate psychiatric problem with Hubbard’s bullshit quackery.

(By the way, I found it hardest to keep my temper when I read this tidbit from Rinder: “…she DID die of a pulmonary embolism – it happens all the time in hospitals with doctors on call – so it is not certain that medical attention would have saved her life…” If Mr. Look-Don’t-Listen could be bothered to look on the Internet, he’d know that one possible cause of a pulmonary embolism is being inactive or bedridden for a long period of time… like 17 days locked in a hotel room without sufficient food or water. Honestly, Mike, you’re such a fucking twit sometimes.)

Anyway… The basic point that Rinder and Rathbun make is that while the Introspection Rundown may have contributed to her death (May have??? Sorry, can’t help myself), the real problem is that David Miscavige got personally involved in Lisa McPherson’s “case” (her Scientology status), declaring her “Clear” (a level in Scientology) when she wasn’t. Hubbard did say that applying certain Scientology processes to someone who had not had the prerequisite brainwashing preparation could be dangerous. According to Marty and Mike, if her status had been accurately assigned, she would not have been eligile for the Introspection Rundown, and would not have died. (At least I agree with them on that last part!)

The reason they are applying blame to DM is because of the fear he instills: There were Scientologists who should have known that Lisa wasn’t actually a Clear, but went along with the whole thing only because DM said she was clear, and saying that DM is wrong can get you in all sorts of trouble. (And by the way, what does that say about the shitheel Scientologists who would have thought the Introspection Rundown was dangerous, but did it anyway to avoid putting their own asses on the line? Hey, wait, wasn’t Marty one of those shitheels?)

So, anyway, I can kind of see Marty’s point – the belief that Lisa died because she was submitted to the wrong process at the wrong time.

Of course, Hubbard also predicted that reading the Xenu story would cause death by pneumonia. Marty knows that; in fact, in a February 22nd radio interview (discussion of which is conspicuously absent from his blog), Marty basically says that the Xenu story, and the threat of pneumonia, should be taken figuratively, not literally. (I’ll talk more about that devastating interview in the near future.)

So let’s review: The Xenu/pneumonia thing should not be taken seriously (since we know it doesn’t happen), but giving an Introspection Rundown to a mis-declared Clear really is dangerous. Got that?

Marty goes on to say that the state of Clear is not ambiguous, “given it is accompanied by the UNMISTAKABLE meter phenomena” (he’s referring to a certain needle movement on the E-Meter). Marty kicks into fluent Scientologese, saying, “If one understands the St Hill Special Briefing Course (SHSBC) and one understands further L Ron Hubbard clarifications and developments with respect to the state of Clear after the SHSBC (Dianetic Clear Special Intensive – DCSI – and Clear Certainty Rundown – CCRD), there is no more simple cycle of action in the universe than sorting out whether an individual is Clear or not.”

The bit about “clarifications and developments” may be an end-run around those who have read about Hubbard’s first presentation of a Clear in 1950. Hubbard said Clears have perfect memories, and yet Hubbard’s own Clear, one Ms. Sonia Bianca, couldn’t remember the color of Hubbard’s tie when he turned around.

“Clear” is one of the few levels in Scientology that makes some firm promises, and as far as I know, no one has ever been able to demonstrate them. One of my favorite quotes from ex-Scientologist Jason Beghe:

“…theres a guy on the internet apparently who’s said he’ll give a million bucks if someone can demonstrate OT. I’ll give a million bucks if to anybody that can demonstrate Clear. There’s no fucking Clear. There’s no Clear. There’s no Clear. I mean, just looking at Dianetics, Clear is, what, are you kidding me? Clear… It’s too good to be true and that’s basically it.”

So, anyway, I think I see Marty’s point: Because David Miscavige personally mis-declared Lisa McPherson as having achieved the state of Clear – a condition that no one has ever been able to demonstrate – Lisa was then put on the Introspection Rundown. Since this process should not have been run on her, either because she wasn’t really a clear or because she had an un-handled Potential Trouble Source (PTS) condition (meaning someone she knew was trying to tell her Scientology is a scam, and she hadn’t disconnected from that person), the process was harmful to her health, so she died. (Except that, according to Dr. Mike Rinder, she might have been ready to pop off anyway.)

This is how a Scientologist justifies his or her belief that L. Ron Hubbard’s “technology” works. It’s easy – all you have to do is ignore the fact that this poor woman was locked in a hotel room for over two weeks by people who gave her the silent treatment and didn’t deal with the fact that she wasn’t eating or drinking. No, those things weren’t the cause of death – it was that evil David Miscavige.

This is blatent ignorance as spread by Lisa McPherson’s real killer, L. Ron Hubbard. And it’s proof that anyone thinks that Marty’s brand of Scientology is any safer than the Church of Scientology is deluding themselves. The “Indies” are just as brainwashed… and they are just as much at risk.

And when I think about it that way, I don’t get angry at Marty – I feel sorry for him.

For the record, I still think Marty is a self-serving, profit-seeking, Hubbard-worshiping piece of shit – but I acknowledge that he might not realize that yet.

ML,
Caliwog

Related:

In Memoriam: Lisa McPherson (one day late)

Read for yourself: The LRH “technology” that killed Lisa McPherson

Five questions I’d like Marty Rathbun and/or Mike Rinder to answer

[Caliwog note: This is a post I started about a year ago and never quite got polished. But I’m going to post it as-is, because the questions are still valid. Feel free to add your own questions – and Marty, Mike or other Scios, feel free to answer.]

1) If you were able to clear the planet, what would you do with the 2.5% of the population who is suppressive, the insane, and people who are not eligible for Scientology services?

2) Is the Introspective Rundown a valid treatment for a psychotic break?

3) Should Scientology be tax-exempt?

4) Since the RPF was invented by LRH, do you think that Scientology organizations should have an RPF, and if so, what should life in the RPF be like?

5) Are psychiatrists evil?

Remember, comments on this blog are not censored. Any and all answers, from either Marty, Mike or other Scientologists, are welcome.

ML,
Caliwog

Oops! A little lie exposed

Over on Marty’s site, Mike Rinder has been giving us a blow-by-blow analysis of DM’s latest video extravaganza. In Sunday’s installment, Mike mentioned this tidbit about the Toronto Federation:

“…the ONLY thing mentioned and shown is a drawing of how the outside of their ‘Ideal Org’ will look. NOT mentioned – they have had that org since the late 70’s!!! It is one of the buildings that LRH directed be bought by the Building Investment Committee.”

What’s interesting is that when LRH put to sea in the mid-60s, he said that he had given up day-to-day management of the Church of Scientology.

Of course, most protesters know the truth: LRH ran Scientology almost up until his death. He was supplied with daily statistics and income information (and cash) from the Church, and he wrote so-called “advices” that were taken as law. Still, it’s interesting to hear from a former Scientology senior staffer – someone who would know – that a building was purchased at LRH’s direction.

Remember, during Mike Rinder’s time, and indeed up until today, the Church maintained that L. Ron Hubbard had retired from Church management. Had Mike Rinder been working for the Church, such a slip would have resulted in “ethics action.”

I’m sure Mike doesn’t care much about maintaining the Church’s lies, although one would think he’d want to stand by LRH’s lies. And as a “clear,” he should have a faultless memory. Still, it just goes to show that if you tell too many lies, it becomes difficult to keep them straight. Even clears and OTs aren’t immune.

ML,
Caliwog

Must-read: Gullibility Revisited

Another must read for protesters is an article entitled Gullibility Revisited by an anonymous ex-Scientologist who, years after leaving Scientology, discovered a tape of an LRH lecture in his car’s glovebox and decided to give it a listen. He talks about how different his viewpoint was when he was a Scientologist – and his realizations about how Scientology got its hooks into him and others.

The article is very long and divided into two parts. The whole thing is an excellent read, but if you’re pressed for time, I’d recommend going straight to part 2, in which the ex-Scio talks about the factors that get and keep people in. (The links are safe – they are hosted on Professor David Touretsky’s site at Carnegie Mellon University.)

A couple of things stood out that will be of particular interest to regular readers of this blog. One, the author brings up a point similar to one Aaron Saxton has made – that there are unhandled issues that make some people more prone to the lure of Scientology than others.

Another is how Marty Rathbun and his supporters have changed the rhetoric of speaking out against Scientology. This piece has a copyright date of 1997, back when Marty was part of upper management and Heber Jentzsch still held his title of President, CSI.

Back then, anti-Scientology articles cited founder L. Ron Hubbard as the source of Scientology’s harmful practices. Today, we have the Independent movement touching on some of these same issues – but blaming them on David Miscavige.

And instead of delving deep into the long-term mind-fuck that keeps Scientologists believing, paying, and disconnecting – as Gullibility Revisited does – we have people getting up in arms over Scientologists decorating Tom Cruise’s airplane hangar.

In a way, it’s LRH at work: Go into excruciating details about trivial things and keep people distracted from the big picture.

Reading “Gullibility Revisited” reminds me of what the Scientology protest movement is really all about. And I, for one, plan to keep kicking it old-school.

Anyway – read, learn, and enjoy:

• Gullibility Revisited, Part 1
• Gullibility Revisited, Part 2

ML,
Caliwog

Thinner Rinder?

Several of Marty’s faithful have pointed out how much better Mike Rinder looks in the Panorama show that just aired versus the one in 2007. Mike looks thin and gaunt on the first show, but healthy and well-fed this time around – proof, they say, that life outside of the Church agrees with him.

But is that what’s really going on?

If you’ve watched Mike in action as the Church’s chief spokesliar, you know he hasn’t always exactly been supermodel-skinny. (Not that I’m criticizing; wogs in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.)

Now, I’ve known lots of Scientologist who were on diets, Weight Watchers, etc. Scientology promised a lot of cures – everything from higher IQ to perfect eyesight – but weight loss, as far as I can tell, was not among them. (Perhaps this is because Hubbard himself was also in the glass house with me and Mike. Maybe we should call him L. Ron Tubbard? Oh, snap! That was harsh!)

So, anyway, here’s my alternate theory: After years of making second trips to the donut box, Rinder, having found no cure for his spare tire in Scientology tech, finally got himself on track. By 2007, he was down to his college weight and fitting into those dresses he wore in his twenties. (Wait, sorry, that was Tom Cruise. Just kidding! That was satire, counselor. Tom Cruise, to the best of my knowledge, does not wear dresses. Nor does Mike Rinder. And besides, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with a man in a dress.)

Then Mike leaves the organized Church, he gets stressed by the Church’s attacks – or maybe by working with Marty – and he goes back to eating. And now he’s back to being the Rinder-sized Rinder we all came to know and love after they took Heber Jentschz off the air.

Now, some might think I’m being a bit harsh, or that I’m picking on Mike for his weight. I’m not. Mike looks fine. And maybe he really was gaunt from all the abuse he received in the Sea Org. But… if that as the case, don’t you think he would have written more about it on Marty’s blog? His followers would eat that up. (Okay, bad choice of cliché.)

Whatever really happened, Mike isn’t saying – last time I checked, he hadn’t acknowledged the comments about his better appearance. So maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe I’m right, but M&M are content to let people think that the Church was starving him.

Either way, Mike, you look much better now.

Have another donut. It’s on me.

ML,
Caliwog