At tonight’s city council meeting, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard announced that he was opposed to the Downtown Development Board’s resolution to reduce the number of ex-officio seats from two to one, and the other members then followed suit.
As we explained last week, the DDB, which is controlled by Scientologists, had come up with the bizarre excuse that they didn’t want to waste church critic Mark Bunker’s time by having him in the room as an ex-officio member.
The DDB’s two ex-officio members, who don’t vote on the board but sit in on meetings, are Mayor Hibbard and city councilman Mark Bunker. The DDB’s attorney, Elise Winters, said that two weren’t necessary and they were wasting Bunker’s time. The DDB, with its Scientologist majority, voted on a resolution to ask the city council to reduce the number to one, but they didn’t have the right to say who they wanted to be removed.
Mayor Hibbard opened up the discussion tonight by saying he was inclined to reject the resolution, and even if they did adopt it he would want Bunker appointed to the remaining seat.
Councilmember David Albritton, who was DDB chairman for eight years in the past, said he had always wondered why there were two non-voting members and perhaps it was a waste, but he also said that if it were reduced to one, Bunker should get the seat.
Councilmember Hoyt Hamilton then spoke and said the timing made the request too obvious: “You’d have to be deaf, dumb, blind, and dead not to see a connection of timing of this resolution and what the DDB’s makeup is, and who the ex-officio members are. And for that reason, I agree with the mayor, his first gut reaction is not to accept the resolution.”
Bunker then spent some time explaining how he wants to get along with everyone on the DDB and is not there to cause a problem.
“It’s good to have me in the room, and I hope I can stay,” he said.
The city council then rejected the resolution without a vote.
Here’s video of the meeting. The discussion about the DDB resolution begins at about 1 hour 24 minutes in.
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“Don’t, by the way, think I’m utterly mad when I talk about this, because I am afraid that the very, very best and most conservative churches of the land would rather be found dead than to disagree with me on the fact that man does have a soul. And the quest of an auditor, in working with a preclear, is to discover and rehabilitate that soul and actually help the individual to find out where heaven is. If we use those terms, of course, it becomes very comprehensible, in a past frame of reference. But heaven isn’t what you think it is, and hell is right here….But isn’t it strange that whenever I talk to somebody about this, they are much more willing to accept this concept than they were willing to accept such things as prenatal engrams and so forth. The most violent reactions I get from people, ordinarily, ‘You mean I HAVE lived before and I WILL live again?’ And you say…’Yeah, and the race has lived for an awful long time, and you could probably do so-and-so and so-and-so, and step out of your body and soar off to Venus if you wanted to.’ Used to be I’d say to somebody…’There’s such things as prenatal engrams and a child records when it’s in its mother and so forth.’ And they’d say, ‘Yak yak yak yak yak yak yak yak.’ No agreement on the line. But people are agreeing with me on THIS in the most unexpected quarters, unexpected quarters. Most people are atheists because they know that the way it was drawn up and presented to them wasn’t the way it is. That’s why they’re atheists. So don’t have any great fear about this theta track and theta beingness, or even in relaying it to people, because you’re in for some surprises. They’ll sit there and they’ll say, ‘Is that so! Tell me more.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 15, 1952
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“CORFU: It may be of interest that ‘Major’ Forte the British Consul in Corfu who messed the area up with lies is about to be sued by us in Corfu for libel and slander proven by his own testimony.” — The Commodore, April 15, 1971
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“I would say Hubbard’s Bridge was incomplete, with lots of unrepaired loose ends (he was notorious for interfering with his C/Sing and solo running new processes, according to old timers) coupled with the fact that it’s hard to know of a terminal where his previous time track would be validated. This is made worse by people who clearly are not LRH claiming publicly to be. I have heard of this effect in non-Scientology fields amongst the ‘past life’ crowd where everyone seems to have been Cleopatra, Henry VIII, etc, but then this poses a serious problem where if either of these individuals show up for real, they are going to face substantial invalidation both internally and externally.”
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1998: The Washington Post published an article which included discussion of comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s involvement in Scientology. “Seinfeld, while he says he is not a member of the Church of Scientology, took pains during an interview to defend the controversial sect. He said he had taken Scientology courses years earlier and found them to be very ‘pragmatic’ and helpful. He said he was ‘interested in Eastern religions generally,’ apparently thinking Scientology to be one of them. ‘I think the stuff I learned there really did help me a lot,’ he said. When reminded then that Time magazine had just run a cover story about Scientology that included charges it was a ‘thriving cult of greed and power’ and a ‘ruthless global scam,’ Seinfeld scowled and dismissed the article as ‘poor journalism.'”
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“The only thing standing between Scientology being viewed in the same light as FLDS, Peoples Temple or Branch Davidians by the general public is Tom Cruise and the rest of the celebs.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Charged in Brooklyn federal court on Feb 4. Arraigned on Feb 9. Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.
Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. 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 a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] ‘Rona blues: Court delays, Shelly on the menu, and more Scientology nonsense
[TWO years ago] L. Ron Hubbard: Scientology will thrive when medical doctors are reined in
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s space opera ideas aren’t just for the upper levels, as one key early book shows
[FOUR years ago] Scientology is No. 1 with No. 2! Or, how the Church of David Miscavige stinks up Clearwater
[FIVE years ago] Scientology rips apart families with its ‘disconnection’ policy — but why?
[SIX years ago] Another leak of outtakes from 1997’s ‘Secret Lives’ — Scientology’s finance ‘dictator’
[SEVEN years ago] Jefferson Hawkins helps us understand Scientology’s L Rundowns!
[EIGHT years ago] We Need Your Help, Scientology Watchers
[NINE years ago] Writers of the Future, Today! Scientology Gets Its Party On
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Bigwigs Get the Classic Scientology F-U
[THIRTEEN years ago] Scientology’s First Celebrity Defector Reveals Church Secrets
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,272 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,776 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,296 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,316 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,207 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,514 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,382 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,156 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,486 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,960 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,276 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,842 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,761 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,929 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,510 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,771 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,809 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,522 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,047 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 402 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,577 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,128 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,277 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,597 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,452 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,571 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,927 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,230 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,336 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,738 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,610 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,193 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,688 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,942 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,051 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 15, 2021 at 20:03
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Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | 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 | Shelly Miscavige, 15 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
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or 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 | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
