In summer and fall of 2009 , the Saint Petersburg Times newspaper took an extraordinary step and began aggressively reporting on the Church of Scientology. Long thought to be taboo by reporters and journalists, the Scientology Organization suddenly became “fair game” after world wide protests and after hundreds of ex members began speaking out about abuses within the “church.”
This is one of the rebuttal letters presumably written by church spokesperson Tommie Davis. I’m fascinated by Scientology’s take on recent events and particularly their reaction to the Times series. They certainly didn’t disappoint! Their reply was bombastic and insulting, insulting not only to the writers and editors of the Times but I think insulting to the intelligence of anyone who reads it. Scientologists must truly think they are hot shit to write a reply like this – to one of the most respected newspapers in the United States.
There was no formal reply from the Saint Petersburg Times and I’m kind of a sucker for such things, so… Here is my sage analysis of Scientology’s “handling” of this situation.
Oh and this is really TL/DR.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/article1048141.ece
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Church spokesman Tommy Davis says the Times’ sources admitted they left Scientology because they could not meet the church’s strict ethical standards. Now they are lying, he says, and the Times is helping advance their agenda. Here is the Church of Scientology’s response to their allegations, submitted as a 10-page letter:
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CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
15 October 2009
VIA HAND DELIVERY
Mr. Joe Childs
Mr. Tom Tobin
St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
I am in receipt of your letter of 6 October 2009 and the laundry list of “new allegations,” your sources are now concocting. Your letter reeks of naked bias.
Whowa! This is hilarious! Most of the time when one writes a salutation, it’s customary to begin with “how are you doing, how is the weather etc or simply “hello.” It may seem trivial but humans have certain hard-wired methods of communications which are designed to make the recipient receptive to the ideas put forth in the letter itself. That’s just in human interaction, we Marcabs don’t bother with such things and start off quoting one of the the parables of Zumquan or auto race statistics.
Tommie Davis begins this letter in a very belligerent tone, which of course creates the setting to what is to follow. It also makes Tommie Davis and the “church” he represents look like complete assholes. (Some of us knew that already, but still!) I suppose this is a Scientology thing.
The Church of Scientology is a worldwide religion comprising over 8,000 Churches, Missions and groups, made up of millions of members in 165 countries of the world. It is a globally recognized supporter of some of the most successful social betterment programs on Earth. The fact that the Church finds itself in the position of having to continue to respond to the false allegations of Rathbun, Rinder, Scobee, Bruce Hines, Mark Fisher and other members of your posse, is only because you, and other media to whom they are shopping their story, are providing a platform to impugn the name of the ecclesiastical leader of Scientology, denigrate the religion and cause undue harm to its parishioners. Some of these people have been gone from the Church for nearly 20 years; how they can be considered “sources” for a current news story regarding Scientology is preposterous.
There are two problems with this paragraph. One is a flagellant misuse of the comma. Another is a couple of ideas that really conflict. The first idea seems to be – “we are big- reeeealy fucking BIG! We are a really impressive overwhelmingly big CHURCH!”
The second idea is “we are victims.” So this paragraph can be rendered down to “We are really humongously big victims.” I am unsure why the twin idea of “we are a freaking huge organization and you are victimizing us!” is valuable in a rebuttal letter. Actually, to my mind it takes value away from a rebuttal and makes them look silly. If they are truly so freaking huge than one would think they could take a little criticism. Tommie Davis on the other hand seems to think their bigness makes them magically immune to criticism. Or perhaps the are like a soap bubble dinosaur. People shouldn’t pick on them … they might pop!
You have a few petty allegations and are seeking to accuse the Church of dozens of instances of misconduct, an old tabloid trick to make it look like you have a “big story.” In fact, all you have is a few people who left a religion after committing destructive acts and are now complaining about what they did while in the Church. Years later they are using the media to demand that the Church defend the harmful acts which they committed. Once again, your story is about Mike and Marty — they are telling you about their misdeeds.
This seems to be a refrain coming from Scientology’s PR department. Basically, any bad behavior on their part (harassment, kidnapping, abuse etc) is both trivial and the fault of some ex members who happened (for some odd reason) to be very high up in the organization’s command structure (like second in command.) Somehow therefor, any criminal activity by the “church” was not sanctioned by it’s leader (the only person above the “perpetrators”) Also, Tommie Davis seems to be making a judgment call on the Time’s journalism too which is odd coming from an organization that historically has utter contempt for the media. “Merchants of Chaos” and all that.
This to me seems a rather clumsy PR tact . Most of the time an entity like Scientology would respond with “no comment” or simply state that they are looking into the matter and leave it at that. Here the Scientology spokesperson is claiming that the leader of Scientology had no knowledge of his lieutenant’s activities. (a fellow who reported directory to David Miscavige for years if not decades) A very damaging assertion indeed! It suggests a level of incompetence on Miscavige’s part that is difficult for me to contemplate.
Any claim or inference that Mr. Miscavige was involved in any way with attorney use of private investigators is false. Similarly, any claim that Mr. Miscavige ran a “blow drill,” forcibly kept staff from leaving the International Base, chased them down, asked to speak to staff who had left on the phone, or was involved in any way in acts of violence is categorically denied. These statements are false and defamatory and to include them in your publication would be further evidence of your malice.
This is little more than an empty “we did – NOT!” kind of statement. In fact it renders down to a childish “Did not-did not! You’re MEAN!”
Rather unbecoming for an organization claiming over ten million members.
Over the last quarter century, the Church has been involved in over 2,000 lawsuits and has had to fight for its very existence on many fronts. The attacks it has faced over this time are unprecedented. The Church has been investigated by the most powerful tax collection agency in the world and false reports were disseminated from the United States to police and law enforcement bodies across the globe. There have been civil law suits with specious claims adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars filed by lawyers working hand in glove with misguided and/or ill-informed governmental agencies.
No doubt some of this is true. Scientology is one of the most litigious organizations in history, but 2000 lawsuits in 25 years (a filing every five days) seems a bit much. There is a whine here and if true, the question begs, why are all of these people suing Scientology? How many of the lawsuits were of Scientology’s manufacture?
In Italy, for example, the Church went to the Supreme Court no less than three times resulting in a precedent-setting decision on the definition of religion. That was after police had raided and shut down all Churches and Narconons in Italy, with 450 gun-toting carabinieri raiding every Church, Mission and Narconon.
Once again, why would the Italian government feel they needed to raid a church with armed National Guard troops? They also raided a Narcanon office? Interesting that this never made the news (and it certainly should have.) One thing about about PR stuff is that it is very helpful to include dates when making assertions like this.)
Ed note, this seems to have actually happened in 1998 – ten years ago in other words.
Similarly, a battle in Spain spanned 14 years with machine gun-toting government raids of our Church in Madrid. Not only were all defendants acquitted, but the National Court of Spain later issued a landmark decision recognizing that the National Church of Scientology of Spain should be entered in the Registry of Religious Entities.
This happened in 2007.
In Germany the Church has won over 50 decisions during this same time period. These battles have raged on all around Germany but in January 2009, the Administrative Court in Berlin ordered the City of Berlin to remove a city sponsored anti-Scientology “STOP” sign in front of the Berlin Org holding that the poster violated the Church’s right to practice its religion. The Church has been vindicated in all of these jurisdictions, beginning with the IRS recognition of the religious and charitable status of all Church-affiliated entities in the U.S. in 1993, which put to rest similar false allegations circulated by disgruntled former members. These current false allegations will similarly be shown to be false.
Here we are continuing on a track that basically states “The US Government says we are a religion so we are a religion!” Since we are a religion your allegations of criminal activity are false!.” This of course is completely absurd. Being in a religion does not absolve one from responsibility if a crime was committed. Likewise an organization which claims a religious status cannot be above the law.
Additionally, the IRS did not actually decree that Scientology was a religion, the Internal Revenue Service granted tax exempt status under religious grounds in 1997. The US government did not (to my knowledge) place Scientology on a list of real – honest to goodness religions (although some senators did get roped into decreeing that Reverend Moon was the king of the Earth once.
Your choice of a story about the leader of the only major religion to have been founded in the 20th century and the fastest-growing religion on earth is to focus on the allegations of bitter ex-members who think that Mr. Miscavige is abusive and psychotic and that he engaged in a “blow drill” to detain a cook.
Yikes! Big run-on sentence is hard to read.
I have taken pains to educate you about the recent expansion of the Church and the realization of the goal set by the Founder to create Churches of Scientology that are a physical embodiment of Scientology policy and technology. You have chosen to ignore these facts in favor of the hate-filled rants of your sources.
“I have taken pains to educate you?” Who in the hell does Tommie Davis think he’s addressing? Some little kid? This is insulting on the surface and kind of an absurd way to state one’s case. Adults in the real world seldom (almost never) address each other in this way (PROTIP; the written word tends to amplify emotive verbiage by a factor of two.)
You are clearly aware of what is happening in the Church. The recent edition of Freedom magazine laid out a brief overview of some of the Church’s current activities worldwide.
Well I’m sure people are aware of what what was written in Freedom Magazine. They sent out millions of copies to everyone within fifty miles of the Flag campus. I read it. Freedom does not strike me as a source of factual information as it only tells Scientology’s side of whatever subject it covers. Strangely enough, in the world outside of Scientology, that is often thought of as propaganda, slanted, yellow, biased and prejudice . So in short, anyone who read that understands what Scientology wants them to see. Whether or not that is the truth is another matter.
Not only are things in the Church better these days since your sources have been gone, they are sensational! The Church is not just expanding, it is exploding! Mr. Miscavige is the driving force behind the worldwide expansion of Scientology. He works for and answers to Scientology’s millions of parishioners and serves their interests by implementing Mr. Hubbard’s plans and strategies, while devoting every spare moment to the restoration of Mr. Hubbard’s technology and its dissemination to the public. It is his far-reaching vision and unrelenting dedication which have brought the Church so far and so fast. He redefines the term “religious leader.”
This is so puffy as to be nearly meaningless. However I too think Mr. Miscavige redefines the term “religious leader.” Although he never got dubbed king of the Earth Like Rev. Moon.
In light of these facts, you write to me in 2009, to answer these false and petty allegations of a man who saved up his money to have sex with under-aged girls in Thailand and hosted a web site coaching others how to do the same thing? Or the demonstrably fraudulent accusations of a man who was engaged in voyeurism and exhibitionism, and was summarily dismissed from his position when a woman he was ministering reported an inappropriate sexual advance towards her? Or the individuals who were removed from their positions by Mr. Miscavige and are guilty of suborning perjury, obstruction of justice and wasting millions of dollars of parishioner funds? The same individuals who admitted to you they are liars: they admitted to lying under oath and lying to the media. What basis do you have to believe they are telling the truth now (which I assure you they are not)? It is apparent your sources are straining to come up with new allegations and have apparently exhausted their own vivid imaginations, but if the use of private investigators by attorneys representing the Church, which use Rathbun and Rinder personally oversaw, is their newest complaint, it is well past the time for the St. Petersburg Times to stop acting as their mouthpiece.
It’s funny that neither Tommie Davis nor the author of this letter seem to find two of the ideas in this paragraph conflicting. That of someone making inappropriate sexual advances on someone else, having sex with under-aged girls in Thailand and the idea that they do not use private investigators. They are like little kids with their hands in the cookie jar. It’s rather unbelievable that they believe tell these stories and people will believe them.
As they would do for any worldwide organization that employs attorneys, lawyers do what is needed to effectively represent their clients, including the use of private investigators. Asking the Church to respond to why an investigator might have been looking into somebody who was involved in a legal case with the Church 10 or 20 years ago is ludicrous and I cannot believe you are serious. Perhaps you should ask Rathbun and Rinder, this was their responsibility. If Rinder used PIs to harass, that was his decision and was certainly not done under the direction or with the knowledge of Mr. Miscavige. He was expected to do his job correctly, and, of course, within the bounds of the law. He was dismissed for not doing so. The policy of Church lawyers is unequivocal: private investigators may only operate within the bounds of their own rules and regulations and in accordance with all state and local laws. If Rinder and Rathbun used PIs to “abuse poor innocent people” they are the only ones to blame. Other Church officials were not involved in their duties.
This is a puzzling paragraph on many levels. It’s clear that the author of the letter is ADMITTING that Scientology knew very well that Rinder and Rathbun were systematically using PIs and the court system to harass people (as Hubbard so clearly directs.) They gave them the boot (allegedly) because of this, they had to know about it – right?
But let’s see if I understand this right. It is OK for a Scientology member to do unethical or illegal things so long as they stay good with the organization. Scientology will close ranks and defend you until it becomes apparent you are hurting the organization, then they will throw you under a bus. If you leave the organization they will immediately blame all of their past problems on you and throw you under a bus.
That’s charming! Where do I join up?
As for the “blow drill,” your real question should be to ask Rathbun and Rinder whether anyone tried to prevent them from leaving or came looking for them after they left the Sea Organization. The answer is a resounding NO! Their own personal circumstances belie these tall tales. You are once again trying to turn Scientology policy inside out.
What is interesting is the article was not about Rinder and Rathbun, it’s about someone else altogether. Blow drills evidently happen, or else the search parties people have seen in Downtown Clearwater are just Sea Org members horsing around, you know what jokers they can be!
The HCO Policy Letter, Blow Offs, makes clear that anyone who leaves the Sea Org has overts and withholds. It is offensive in the extreme for you to denigrate a religious service by attempting to redefine Scientology confessionals as something used to punish.
Actually, Scientology confessionals are not intended to punish. It has become abundantly clear that they have been used and are used as a form of extortion. So Tommie Davis is right!
Giving an individual the opportunity to unburden himself of transgressions is as old as religion itself. In Scientology, not only can one seek and find forgiveness for past misdeeds free of the threat of punishment, but one can also take responsibility for those acts — something which your sources have proven they are incapable of doing.
Um, if one does not seek to unburden his or herself from “transgressions,” what or who is going to punish them again? In the catholic faith, punishment is from God the form of being sent to purgatory or hell after you die. Scientology so far as I know does not subscribe to this belief so what punishment are they talking about? The introspective kind?
The Church, of course, is interested in giving members who have failed in performing their duties a chance to reform and rehabilitate themselves. That is Scientology’s purpose. On the other hand, the policy (and it is policy) is that the Church will not keep people on staff who want to leave. Mike Rinder is the best illustration of this policy. As he well knows, nobody attempted to bring him back. The same is true for Marty Rathbun. They are complaining about a blow drill that was only conducted by them. They are speaking of their own efforts to keep individuals on staff who were unfortunately destructive and/or suppressive. Marty admitted this was his operating basis in the attached excerpt from his writings.
I lost track about what he was talking about some time ago. However it seems unbelievable to me that Scientology can on the one hand talk about responsibility and on the other hand state that only ‘one’ man in Scientology has no responsibility for any wrongdoing of the organization. That would be the Charmin of the Board, David Miscavig. The very idea that he would have underlings working for him over a matter of decades and that he would have no idea what they were doing is either absurd to the extreme or demonstrates his utter and complete incompetence in his role of “great leader.” The clumsy way that this narrative is presented is a hallmark of dealing with Scientology.
After four articles and over nine months it is unbelievable that you are now coming to us with more allegations of “abuse.” Why weren’t these raised from the outset?? It is clear your sources are not motivated by anything other than the desire to “get somebody” — old fashioned bitter revenge. When their attempts to “get Mr. Miscavige” resulted in both ZERO effect on the Church and a massive response from Church leadership making it clear that we could not be happier that Rathbun and
Rinder are gone, their response now is to “get everyone.” This time it is not Mr. Miscavige who is the focus of the attacks, it is Russ Bellin, Angie Blankenship and Jenny Linson (two women who could easily be sent flying by a strong gust of Santa Ana winds).
I’m often struck by how this stuff sounds almost like it was written by Lord Rick, although this is spelled better. It’s not unusual in paranormal circles (especially paranoid paranormal circles) to believe all criticism constitute a personal attack. Bigfoot fanatics, cripto-weirdos, UFO-tards, Occult- nerds and Scientology members all seem to act the same way when people remark to them that their beliefs are unfounded. They respond with personal attacks. Hubbard didn’t invent this my fun-seekers. Hubbard was a woo!
They allege Russ Bellin is guilty of “abuse by water bottle?” Oh, please! I am not sure if I am supposed to answer your allegation or the similar one related to ABC Nightline. Nightline advises that Marty Rathbun witnessed the water bottle incident and that this is his allegation; while you advise the “incident” took place in 2006/2007, years after Marty was gone. Nightline also tells me that Mr. Weiland suffered from hypothermia. The storytelling clearly gets mixed up in the telling. The changing stories are the mark of liars whose lies you have chosen to advance. At least you should request they keep their lies straight among the media to whom they are shopping their story.
And perhaps you could also request that Rinder stop whining.
OK, you first? On thing that is apparent to almost everyone is that these various media outlets are not themselves making allegations. They are reporting on people who are making allegations. This may seem trivial but it’s of vital import. If Mr. Smith told me that Mr. Jones punched him the nose, I could say “Jones punches Smith in nose! ” However that could be untrue and might leave me open to libel. However if I say, “Jones punches Smith in Nose says Smith.” then I only have to establish that Mr. Smith told me about the alleged punching incident and we all go out to Dennie’s for lunch.
The real source of his bitterness is his realization, now that no one made any attempt to keep him in the Church, that he was despised in the Sea Organization. He is arrogant and contemptuous of everyone. Mike is capitalizing on the opportunity you are giving him to “get everybody”: He is not the head of the Office of Special Affairs anymore; he does not fly around the world anymore; he does not “run with the big dogs in the tall grass” anymore; he is resentful and seeking vengeance.
I suppose that if you can get inside someone else s head to this extent, you might have realized that these people were unhappy BEFORE they caused you all this trouble. Like you only had a few decades to detect this!
With respect to your allegations regarding “disconnection” and breaking up of families, expulsion or excommunication is a practice as old as religion itself. The Church strongly believes that it is a fundamental right of any being to communicate. There is no Church policy mandating that a member of the Church of Scientology must disconnect from anyone. To the contrary, it is a self-determined decision made by an individual with respect to someone who is antipathetic to them and/or their beliefs. There is a distinct difference between someone who has different religious beliefs and someone who is attacking them for his beliefs. It is a common ploy of those attacking the Scientology religion, or any other Church for that matter, to cry foul about “disconnection” when it is, in fact, the attacker who by his or her own actions causes others to desire to sever the connection. These anti-Scientologists then try to create sensational stories about the “practice” to further harm the Church. Scientology policy is no different from the practices of any faith.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disconnection
– This seems to cover the Scientology flavor. And – yes it is different, some religions have a tradition of “shunning,” that’s pretty much true however no religion that I’m aware of will bring a person in, force them to write a disconnection letter, address it for them and stick it in the mail. There is a big difference in the way Scientology goes about it.
More info here http://www.scientologydisconnection.com/
and here http://members.chello.nl/mgormez/childabuse/disconnect.html
and um …here http://www.xenu-directory.net/practices/disconnection1.html
yah – here too http://www.apologeticsindex.org/662-scientology-disconnection
Here http://alley.ethercat.com/cgi-bin/disconnection/disconnection.cgi
Here …http://www.anti-scientologie.ch/disconnection-policies-documented.htm
and perhaps 148,000 other places around the web.
I am advised that Mike Rinder’s family did write to him. I am really appalled that he shared their personal communications with you. I understand the correspondence detailed his family’s concerns about his actions. I have been advised the letters were forwarded to Mike per their request, via the International Justice Chief, in accordance with Church policy. I have checked with his family and understand they have not received an answer to their letters. One would think that if Mike Rinder valued their relationship enough to complain about it to you, he could have found a spare moment in between plotting his attack on them and their religion to send a note back.
Then we jump to another flurry of Ad Hominum, I suppose in some circles this is though to be a solid argument against the character of Mike Rinder. It seems to me that anyone over the age of about 19 might have a more direct response than “he didn’t’ write to MOMEEEE! he’s da BAAAD MAAAN!”
The St. Petersburg Times has made itself the advocate for anti-Scientologists on the lunatic fringe who refer to the Church’s respected religious leader as a “madman,” “Jim Jones,” draw comparisons to Hitler and describe Scientology religious events as replete with “Hitlerian backdrops,” deride the Church’s International headquarters as “Abu COB prison,” claim that senior Church Management “drink the Kool-Aid” and that Mr. Miscavige’s “mission [is] to drive Scientology in the direction of the People’s Temple.”
This is all kind of hysterical and very very silly. It is true that there is a fringe of a fringe that makes a lot of strange sounding talk about Scientology. Some have suggested that they collect weapons (see interview of Jessie Prince ) Some have even suggested that Hubbard wanted to stockpile atomic weapons (see statements by Hubbard’s son )Some have suggested that the general demeanor of noted Scientology members is less than rational (See OTVIIIguy, Tommy Davis screaming at reporters, The “Mad Picket” and many of Mark Bunker’s vids covering Downtown Clearwater et-al.)
Members of the People’s Temple committed mass suicide at the direction of their spiritual leader Jim Jones in 1978. I don’t think anyone seriously thinks Scientology members are about to do that, however it’s abundantly clear that the organization has embarked on a program of public relations suicide at the direction of its spiritual leader… just saying!
The references included above may be found in Marty Rathbun’s most recent postings on the Internet. These postings not only evidence that Rathbun is a card-carrying member of the lunatic fringe, they also lay bare his agenda being forwarded by your newspaper to baselessly attack the Scientology religion, its practices, its ministers, its ecclesiastical management, its leader and its Founder to serve his own delusional interests. That he purports to only speak of Mr. Miscavige is, of course, because Mr. Miscavige is the most famous name in Scientology and to defame him is to defame the character of the religion. As you have repeatedly been told, Rathbun lives for battle, is abusive, is violent, is a liar and, in his own words, was the cause of major catastrophes within the Church. That he is directing his attacks at Mr. Miscavige is just part of his attempt to cause the most damage to the Church. Unfortunately for him, he has not been able to restrain himself and his true motivations have now come to the surface as he rails about virtually every Church executive, assassinating their character along with Mr. Miscavige’s.
I guess I’m a bit confused, Tommie Davis has a problem with character assassination in what way? I thought that was a good old church tradition and perhaps even one of the sacraments in Scientology.
He maligns Scientology ministers as a “priesthood of Reverse Dianeticists” because they deliver Scientology religious services purely as Mr. Hubbard intended but not as Mr. Rathbun would like. He accuses the highest trained ministers in ecclesiastical management of “warped interpretations” of Scientology, stating that he would not let them “audit my dog.” He rants that he and his “posse” are attempting “to break through” the “Dark Ages” in delivery of Scientology religious services, that ecclesiastical management is composed of “nothing but weaklings” and that it is incumbent upon him and his gang of apostates to “do what they can” to make Scientology “available outside of the control” of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and its leader. He condemns that leader for following the policy of the Founder of the religion and keeping the ranks of its religious order clean. It is now blatantly clear that Rathbun has altered his delusion from “taking over the Church” to destroying the Church in order to greedily attempt to line his pockets by starting his own bastardized version of Scientology. All these postings provide unequivocal evidence that Rathbun is a bitter apostate who has inserted the media into his maniacal attempts to denigrate his former faith and all those associated with Scientology.
I suppose I don’t understand the significance of this either. Scientology is Scientology and it makes little difference who is “delivering it.” It’s the ramblings of Hubbard either way and just as bereft of value. This has more the sounds of a bunch of preschoolers arguing about who to let into their treehouse. Most people don’t give a flying fig about Scientology and really don’t care about who is delivering standard tech.
Not only are you forwarding the anti-Scientology agenda of Mike Rinder and Marty Rathbun, you have now made yourselves their advocates and part of the story: You insisted on rushing to press after refusing to speak to the executives that were standing directly in front of you; you cancelled (SIC) your interview with Mr. Miscavige for no time sensitive reason; you provided chauffeur service for Rathbun when he visited Clearwater; you coordinated meetings with Rathbun and Rinder in Denver to plan your next story, working with them for months and then coming to the Church with your story set and giving us a fraction of the time to respond; you came to Los Angeles and surreptitiously sneaked onto our property in Hemet that clearly has a “No Trespassing — Private Property” sign. You were previously invited to tour any Church location in Los Angeles and instead came with a person who is currently suing the Church, Claire Headley. The moment you were seen by a security guard, you jumped in the car and fled. Joe, I would have given you a tour if you had told me you were there; there was no need to break the law.
Well I don’t necessarily blame him for leaving. Scientology guards have a reputation for running up and tackling people who they catch trespassing, Joe probably didn’t want to get his suit ruined.
It is also no coincidence that after working on this “new” story for over two months, you write in with a demand for answers on the date of the 25th anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists. Of course, that is the same pattern you followed this past summer: Wait until you know that no one is available to respond, and then propose an artificial deadline when it is impossible for anyone to be interviewed who could speak to your allegations and do so on the eve of a major church convocation. There is not a prayer that either of you are objective.
They have big events every quarter, how could one completely avoid conflicting with one? Again this sounds a lot like whining to me.
You should be aware that a number of ex-reporters and employees from your newspaper who have worked with Joe Childs have contacted the Church to share details of what they termed as your bigoted and biased behavior regarding the Church. Some said they were compelled to contact us after seeing your original three part series on Mr. Miscavige, appalled that you had canceled your scheduled interview with him. Others contacted us after reading Freedom magazine, stating they could not believe Joe Childs was allowed anywhere near a story about Scientology given his long-standing bias against the Church and Scientologists. These factual accounts about your anti-Scientology agenda are further evidence of your malice toward the Church.
Funny that they don’t bother to give names or detail who any of these people actually are.Most people in the Tampa Bay area have been amused by the series on Scientology, it’s apparently sold a lot of papers judging from all of the empty racks in Clearwater. Otherwise the “factual” account that Tommie Davis refers to seem to be in his imagination, unless and until they publish yet another issue of Freedom magazine and send it to everyone in Clearwater. (People were amused by that too.)
The remainder of your sources and allegations not addressed in this letter are addressed in the enclosed attachments.
Finally, I accept your interview request. We are available anytime during the week of November 9–13. Prior to that week we will be heavily involved in the 25th Anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists events outside London and the opening of new Ideal Churches in Rome and Washington DC. Please let me know next week which specific dates work for you and where you would like to conduct the interview, unless, of course, you plan to rush to press again without conducting interview, with no news peg and no time sensitivity to your story.
Hopefully he will start screaming again, that was a hoot!
With Kind Regards,
Tommy Davis
Church of Scientology International
cc:Paul Tash, Editor, CEO and Chairman
Neil Brown, Executive Editor
George Rahdert, General Counsel
I can’t help but wonder who the Times is dealing with. This letter has portions that seems to have been written by someone who makes a number of assumptions;
* The Saint Petersburg Times is launching on some nefarious pogrom to wipe out the poor Scientology organization.
* That if you say something in an authoritative way it automatically becomes true.
* If you repeat it it becomes doubly true.
* If you shout like a little kid it becomes cannon and people will respect you.
* Scientology and it’s great leader are blameless of any wrongdoing (even though David Mischavige was never crowned The King of Peace.)
* When someone complains that they are being harassed they are whining, unless it’s a Scientology member that is doing the complaining, then it’s justified.
* Any activity by Scientology can be termed a “religious activity.”
* Any religions activity is sanctioned by law, this includes harassment, extortion, bribery, assault, child abuse, slander, libel, fraud, invasion of privacy, perjury, property damage, theft and of course murder.
* Scientology is too ethical to do any of these things, if you see a Scientology member doing stuff like this, it is simply a figment of your imagination.
* Lots of empty buildings = a ginormous expansion.
* People leaving Scientology is all in your head.
* Lots people give a shit about Scientology.
The reality is very simple. Scientology exists because society tolerates it, period. Not because Hubbard was a great man (he wasn’t.) Not because Scientology is important or impressive.
It’s not going to save the world, it’s not going to raise your IQ, it’s not going to get rid of your space cooties. You never had any to begin with. Your brain is not just a spongy mass of jello that sits on your head for no good reason. Physiology and Psychiatric are not galactic cabals trying to enslave everybody. Spacecraft do no look like DC8s and Tom Cruse was NEVER a great actor. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old and was never called Teegeeac.
Scientology is wrong about all of those things. No matter how much hand waving they do they will always be wrong about those things.
Unless and until Scientology can figure out a way to become a benign or even helpful organization, not a viscous psychological con-game it will continue this downward spiral into obscurity and oblivion. Only a general turn away from he insanity of Hubbard and the cult-like mob he spawned will save it. This is probably not going to happen, Scientology will fight back. They always fight back and the rest of the world just sits back and laughs.
[Last modified: Nov 01, 2009 01:56 AM]