Kansas City going Ideal! Scientology’s grand opening is tomorrow — will Dave be there?

 
It’s been more than a year since David Miscavige last opened an “Ideal Org” in this country, but tomorrow he’s scheduled to cut the ribbon on the new Scientology cathedral in downtown Kansas City.

Miscavige’s last Ideal Org appearance was in Detroit on October 14, 2018, and it went off just like all the others — some preliminary speeches by local luminaries, and then a brief collection of platitudes from Miscavige about the town’s history and Scientology’s glorious future. Then the ribbon comes down and the confetti goes up and the few hundred attendees (most of them flown in from other parts of the country) will be ushered into the building for a tour.

Like Detroit and so many other places, Scientology purchased the Kansas City building and then let it sit, rotting, for like a decade before suddenly starting renovations.

But unlike many others, Kansas City was kind of unique because it went through the usual rush to be ready for an opening that was originally scheduled for April, but then that date was put off and we heard nothing about it for months. We suspected that the delay had to do with Miscavige being named a defendant in some major new lawsuits. But he’s been served in two of those suits now, and perhaps he has less to worry about by showing up in Kansas City in person, who knows.

For whatever reason, Kansas City was suddenly put back on the schedule for November 2, and next week the Columbus Ideal Org will open on November 9. David Miscavige has never not showed up for the opening of an Ideal Org, so we expect him to be on the scene and security will be very tight. [UPDATE: According to a South African correspondent, Miscavige missed the February 2013 opening of the Ideal Org in Pretoria because of a date change. But he went to all the rest, as far as we know.]

For last year’s opening in Detroit, we put together a video which goes over the basic facts about an Ideal Org ceremony. Every point we make in it also applies to Kansas City, and it’s only a little over two minutes long…

 
Some additional things to consider for our friends in Kansas City, a town we lived in for a few years and still adore.

— Scientology wants you to believe it has purchased, renovated, and now is opening this new facility because the church is expanding and it needs more room for all the new people. This is completely untrue. Scientology is shrinking, and there is hardly any Scientology presence in Missouri or Kansas at all. This building is opening tomorrow simply because David Miscavige wants to hold a grand opening somewhere at this time. He spends millions on these projects so he can convince his wealthy donors that the church is moving forward.

— Scientology tells its members that an Ideal Org is designed to create a boom in new membership, leading to the expansion of a number of other Scientology initiatives in the area. But more than 15 years after the Ideal Org program began, and with more than 60 of the new churches opened, there is no evidence that they are helping Scientology grow. In fact, evidence suggests that the church has continued to shrink since 2003, and is down to only about 20,000 members around the world.

— Scientology will pretend that its new facility will benefit not only Scientologists but Kansas City as a whole. But if that were true, why does it keep the public away from the event with the use of strategically placed potted plants or other temporary boundaries, and bar reporters from attending? If the Kansas City org follows form, within a few months it will be nearly always empty and will have no effect on the city at all.

— How does Scientology get local political figures to take part in the grand opening? Some emails obtained by a reporter in San Diego show how Scientology starts working on local politicians months before the event, trying to get them to participate. As we showed in our video, in past years Scientology has managed to convince some big city mayors and a few members of Congress to take the bait, but that’s getting tougher in more recent years. Expect a former city manager from one of the suburbs to make a short speech today and maybe a couple of “interfaith” figures.

 
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Bonus items from our tipsters

Meanwhile, in Canada…

 
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Source Code

“I hypnotized, one time, the staff of St. Elizabeth’s. Told them they’d heard a good speech and left the stage. They all came around afterwards saying, ‘What a good speech that was you gave!’ That was a mean thing to do. That was certainly backing out of it, wasn’t it? But it was in the early career of Dianetics and I felt very much like backing out of it. I was preceded by someone who told all of them how bad it was over ‘Ron-ward.’ They might afterwards have suspected my knowledge of the mind, but certainly not my knowledge of hypnotism. It’s very easy to hypnotize groups.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 1, 1956

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“My reality on the whole track has expanded many times over. My postulates work far far better. My self determinism and pan determinism is exponentially greater. In many sessions I found myself blowing huge chunks of stuff that had derailed me many times through the years and it’s no longer anywhere around and I don’t think I could re-mock it up if I tried!”

 
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Random Howdy

“If Hubbard hadn’t created Scientology, no one would even remember him.”

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!

Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology’s new survey is a hoot — we’re itching for your answers!
[TWO years ago] The first Scientologist with ‘Super Power’ gets super spanked by bankruptcy judge
[THREE years ago] Hillary Clinton has considered David Miscavige’s appeals lawyer for the US Supreme Court
[FOUR years ago] Jonny Jacobsen: Reflecting on the first week of Scientology’s criminal trial in Belgium
[FIVE years ago] Jon Atack: Are cult members — like those in Scientology — unduly influenced?
[SIX years ago] Scientology Surprise: An Interview With OTVIIIisGrrr8!
[SEVEN years ago] Ken Dandar Files Federal Lawsuit, Says Scientology Using Courts to Cause Him “Utter Financial Ruin”

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 1, 2019 at 07:00

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