US Sheriffs, dead or alive — Scientology is happy to use them for self-promotion

 
Rod Keller once again gets the drop on Scientology’s sneaky front groups…

This photo of Ocala, Florida police officer Walter Pressley shows a seminar for fellow officers using the materials of the Foundation for a Drug Free World. Scientology leader David Miscavige currently uses it on the “accomplishments” page of his web site, davidmiscavige.org. Officer Pressley died in January 2018, and probably had no idea his efforts were an accomplishment for Scientology.

Scientology has a public relations dilemma with their front group the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. On the one hand the false name is needed because the groups they attempt to recruit as allies would be unlikely to respond to a Scientology-branded approach. On the other hand they use the Foundation as an example of the good works of Scientology when stories about abuse and deception are in the news or being investigated by government officials.

The usual ruse used in press releases and interviews is that Scientology “supports” the foundation. That’s true as far as it goes, but the foundation is run in each Scientology org under the Director of Special Affairs, or DSA. The DSA is the top Scientologist in the Office of Special Affairs, or OSA. They are responsible for public relations, investigating and attacking Scientology’s enemies, and directing any legal matters. The DSA runs programs sent down from international or continental level Scientology orgs and creates Admin Scales and Battle Plans according to the policies of L. Ron Hubbard. When the Scientology name and logo are used in a photo, the connection between the foundation and the rest of Scientology is obvious. But that’s rarely the case.

 
More commonly the Foundation operates without the Scientology imprint, as they did at this Back to School Bash at Adams 12 Five Star Schools, a public school district in Thornton, Colorado in August. Schools and police departments are the main targets of Scientology, and this week they announced a partnership with the National Institute for Jail Operations to distribute drug information to prisoners with a history of substance abuse. The press release doesn’t contain the word “Scientology.”

 
The NIJA was formed in 2011 as a division of the National Sheriff’s Association, a membership organization for sheriffs, chiefs of police, and others to provide training and to lobby on behalf of its membership. They publish Sheriff and Deputy magazine. Scientology will provide its drug information materials for free to anybody, and now that information is also free to jail administrators and their prisoners. The NIJA did not respond to a request for comment.

Scientology’s contact with the sheriffs comes through a familiar name to Underground Bunker readers, Angela Marion. She and her husband Brandon are publics at the Denver org and the couple has reached the Platinum Meritorious level for donating at least $2.5 million to the International Association of Scientologists. Brandon Marion is the founder and managing partner of Aspen Private Capital, an investment consulting company. He lists Scientologists Kirstie Alley, Patrick Clouden, Catherine Bell and Taron Lexton on his references page.

So what is the problem with prisoners getting access to drug information? One reason is the inaccuracies that mingle with the true information in the materials. These come from Dianetics, the Purification Rundown and other writings by L. Ron Hubbard. They are all false.

All drugs are poisons.
All drugs are either stimulants or sedatives, depending on the dosage.
All drugs are stored in body fat and can be released years later creating flashbacks and cravings for the drug.
All drugs dull the senses and impair creativity.

The other reason this is a bad idea for sheriffs is that Scientology believes they have the only solution to the problem of drugs in the technology of L. Ron Hubbard. The NIJA press release contains the claim that the Foundation for a Drug Free World provides access to “a worldwide network of volunteers, programming, educational handouts and recovery tools, and more.” Recovery tools here means Narconon, the Scientology program that treats addicts with megadoses of vitamins, long hours of saunas and Scientology’s training routines, or TRs. Narconon’s process is without any medical foundation. It can be dangerous to perform and there is no evidence of their claim that Narconon produces “three times the success rate of all other drug rehabilitation programs.”

 
— Rod Keller

 
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Detroit goes Ideal

Just some of the great shots taken yesterday by FreedomOfThought and uploaded by Shorpy yesterday at the event in Detroit…

 
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Scientology’s celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs’ — now with comments!

We’re building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs.’ We’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them, in order to build a record and maintain a watch as Scientology continues its inexorable decline — and yes, we finally have comments working on these new pages! Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Previously, we posted pages for celebrities Anne Archer, Beck Hansen, Catherine Bell, Chick Corea, Elisabeth Moss, Erika Christensen, Ethan Suplee, Giovanni Ribisi, Greta Van Susteren, Jenna Elfman, John Travolta, Juliette Lewis, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Laura Prepon, Marisol Nichols, Michael Peña, Nancy Cartwright, Tom Cruise Danny Masterson, Stanley Clarke, Edgar Winter, Alanna Masterson, Billy Sheehan, Judy Norton-Taylor, Terry Jastrow, Eddie Deezen, Sofia Milos, Bodhi Elfman, Rebecca Minkoff, Doug E. Fresh, and Christopher Masterson. And for the Ideal Orgs of Portland, Oregon; Sydney, Australia; San Diego, California; Denver, Colorado; Nashville, Tennessee; Perth, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; Sacramento, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Silicon Valley, California; Rome, Italy; Orlando, Florida; Moscow, Russia; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Seattle, Washington; Dallas, Texas; Melbourne, Australia; San Fernando Valley, California; Pasadena, California; Bogotá, Colombia; Budapest, Hungary; Phoenix, Arizona; London, England; Orange County, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Auckland, New Zealand; Miami, Florida; Basel, Switzerland; Berlin, Germany; Birmingham, England; Brussels, Belgium; Buffalo, New York; and Cambridge, Ontario.

Today it’s Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Copenhagen, Denmark!

 
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Coming November 1

Paulette tells us we can reveal the publication date she has set. We’ll let you know when pre-ordering begins.

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 15, 2018 at 07:00

E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2017 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2017), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

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Join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news