Leah Remini: Courageous or Foolhardy

[DangerousMinds]

There are some terrifying fundamentalist Christian cults alive and well here too.

[Maharincess]

On 1/20/2017 at 0:56 PM, wings707 said:

I just watched one episode of King of Queens.  I wish she hadn't filled her upper lip, she is much prettier with her natural.  

I can't comprehend somebody never seeing King of Queens!  I've watched since day one and have seen every episode so many times I can say the lines before the actors say them. 

I agree with @Uncle JUICE about scientology not being much different from other religions.  Some people were commenting here that with scientology every good thing that happens is because of scientology but the bad stuff is because of something else.  Same with christianity, any time anything good happens it's "praise the lord" but when something bad happens its the work of "satan".  I don't see a lot of difference.  You get shunned when you leave scientology but unless you're a mormon you can't even watch your child get married in the mormon church because you don't belong. My best friend's son converted for his fiancée and his own mother wasn't allowed to watch him get married because she isn't one of them.  How is that ok?   What's the difference between that and what scientology does?!  

Edited January 22, 2017 by Maharincess

[walnutqueen]

I've never watched a single episode of King of Queens.  Never thought that made me some kind of unicorn.   ;-)

[AZChristian]

Nor have I . . . other than PBS, murder shows, and reality shows, I can't remember the last series we watched.

[green]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

I've never watched a single episode of King of Queens.  Never thought that made me some kind of unicorn.   ;-)

Neither have I .  I appreciate what Leah has done here but I have zero desire to ever watch that show and never will.  But I don't have to.  I'm more than happy with the real Leah I see here more than seeing her playing some fictional character.

For the record  I can name exactly 5 or 6 sitcoms I've viewed regularly over the last two decades and half of those are cartoon ones (Simpsons, Futurama and South Park though not the latter regularly though I did see the big Scientology episode).  The others were Seinfeld and Big Bang Theory and occasional Frasier re-runs.  Not everyone is into lots of sitcoms.  Different strokes etc.

[Maharincess]

3 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I've never watched a single episode of King of Queens.  Never thought that made me some kind of unicorn.   ;-)

I didn't say that at all.  I just don't know anybody who hasn't seen at least one episode.  Was that a bad thing to say?  I didn't think it was a bad thing to say but I guess I'm wrong. 

Edited January 22, 2017 by Maharincess

[DangerousMinds]

I have never seen the show either.

[Court]

11 minutes ago, Maharincess said:

I didn't say that at all.  I just don't know anybody who hasn't seen at least one episode.  Was that a bad thing to say?  I didn't think it was a bad thing to say but I guess I'm wrong. 

It wasn't a bad thing to say. I don't think it bothered anyone, she was just joking.

I've got one better, I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies.

[AZChristian]

24 minutes ago, Court said:

It wasn't a bad thing to say. I don't think it bothered anyone, she was just joking.

I've got one better, I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies.

Agreed - not a bad thing to say at all, Maharincess.  

HOWEVER!!!!  Court - you've never seen a Star Wars movie?????  Gasp!!!!  ;-)

[Hiveminder]

I think the difference between Scientology and Christianity or Islam or Judaism or any other religion I'm familiar with is that while most religions do have different sects or denominations that are just as bad as Scientology, Scientology is rotten at it's core. Extreme fundamentalist Christians and the many abuses perpetrated by various members and organizations within the Catholic Church for a couple examples, those are people hiding behind and twisting the actual teachings of Jesus Christ to their own ends. Scientology started out twisted. 

[againstthewind]

I just finished Troublemaker. What I loved is that she didn't shy away from her transgressions: she owned that she is kind of a bitch, was knowingly the other woman, etc. it makes her knowledge bombs about the Tom and Katie wedding so much more effective. 

And god, what a damn weirdo Tom is. Also, I got a lot of respect for Brooke Shields for helping Leah at that wedding after Leah's words about her.

[Almost 3000]

8 minutes ago, againstthewind said:

And god, what a damn weirdo Tom is. Also, I got a lot of respect for Brooke Shields for helping Leah at that wedding after Leah's words about her.

What was said and by whom?

[againstthewind]

38 minutes ago, Almost 3000 said:

What was said and by whom?

On mobile, but Leah basically dressed Brooke down for using medication to help with her PPD after the whole Matt Lauer debacle, insinuating she was a bad mother. Tom and Brooke made nice, and while at the wedding Leah could not find her phone and was being egged on by one of the Scino monitors. Brooke was the first to ask if she was okay and to help find her phone.

[redpencil]

Quote

You get shunned when you leave scientology but unless you're a mormon you can't even watch your child get married in the mormon church because you don't belong. My best friend's son converted for his fiancée and his own mother wasn't allowed to watch him get married because she isn't one of them.  How is that ok?   What's the difference between that and what scientology does?!  

I'm Mormon, and was not able to attend my own siblings' wedding ceremonies because I had not yet chosen to participate in the individual religious ordinances that happen in temples. Mormons who attend the temple make certain commitments, and individual Mormons choose when in their life is the right time for them--so it was my own choice, and I knew it would mean not being able to see my siblings get married (I was sad, sure, but not at all resentful, and still happy to be outside waiting and participate in events the rest of the day). So it's not simply about not being Mormon--as I said, I'm an active Mormon myself and couldn't attend. I totally understand, though, why non-Mormon family members would feel upset about not being able to see their loved one get married, and don't expect them to understand all the reasons/church doctrine behind a temple wedding. But this is far different than many of the things that Scientology does. To even compare Scientology to mainstream religions (which I don't even consider Scientology to be) just does not hold any water for me. I don't understand how people can watch this show, listen to the personal stories that have been shared, and think Scientology is no different than (or even remotely close to) mainstream religions. I understand not caring for organized religion--but that doesn't mean they should all be lumped together in the same category as Scientology.

Random sidenote: Can you imagine how Scientology would react if someone made a hit broadway musical making fun of them? There would be lawsuits left and right, harassment of those involved, etc. They certainly wouldn't take out friendly ads in the playbills and otherwise shrug and ignore it. I've thought about that multiple times as I've been watching this show.

Edited January 22, 2017 by redpencil

[walnutqueen]

3 hours ago, Maharincess said:

I didn't say that at all.  I just don't know anybody who hasn't seen at least one episode.  Was that a bad thing to say?  I didn't think it was a bad thing to say but I guess I'm wrong. 

It was a joke - hence the winky smiley face thingy.   ;-)

And now that I know all you others who haven't watched either, I don't feel so special at all.  :-(

^^^ another joke

[MrSmith]

4 hours ago, Court said:

It wasn't a bad thing to say. I don't think it bothered anyone, she was just joking.

I've got one better, I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies.

Oh, I envy you. I wish I had never seen any of the Star Wars movies.

[AllyB]

6 hours ago, redpencil said:

I don't understand how people can watch this show, listen to the personal stories that have been shared, and think Scientology is no different than (or even remotely close to) mainstream religions. I understand not caring for organized religion--but that doesn't mean they should all be lumped together in the same category as Scientology.

Because we have listened to and read the personal stories of people who had similar and worse, far, far worse, things happen to them because of other religions. Or do you think being locked up for 50 years, forced into slave labour, being beaten and sexually abused, having your baby stolen and sold against your will or having the baby be refused medical treatment/hired out for medical experimentation and then thrown in a septic tank with 795 other dead children when it inevitably dies, is ok? Because that's the reality of the Roman Catholic Church up until very recently in my country. And when the 'grave' was discovered recently they lied, covered up and denigrated the women and children they imprisoned and tortured. That's not some random fundamentalist offshoot sect. It's one of the oldest and the second largest religion in the world* and the cover ups go right to the very top.

*After Sunni Islam - and if we get started on the abuses endemic in that religion we'd be here forever.

[Uncle JUICE]

Maybe the reason this religion seems so differentis that it is still in its infancy, and is the only nascent religion to develop within the information age? Its abuses and the like are quickly and widely disseminated, practices deridedo in a free expression environment, and fewer people are terrified that they are going to be punished for notadhering to it.  Plus there are already a diffuse number of larger competitive religions, unlike when you were basically jew or gentile,Christian or heretic, Muslim or wrong and an enemy not to be trusted. No religion would exist if it had to invent itself in the post information erase, would it? Could you envision a totally new system of worship, with a brand new God totally unrelated to the Judeochristian tradition, somehow getting a legit Facebook page working and finding adherents? I can't.  

[SherriAnt]

12 hours ago, redpencil said:

the reasons/church doctrine behind a temple wedding.

Can you tell us what they are? I understand that one thing is that the husband gets his wifes "secret name" that she needs to get into heaven (what happens when they divorce?) but I don't know anything else about it.

[Enigma X]

4 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

Maybe the reason this religion seems so differentis that it is still in its infancy, and is the only nascent religion to develop within the information age? Its abuses and the like are quickly and widely disseminated, practices deridedo in a free expression environment, and fewer people are terrified that they are going to be punished for notadhering to it.  Plus there are already a diffuse number of larger competitive religions, unlike when you were basically jew or gentile,Christian or heretic, Muslim or wrong and an enemy not to be trusted. No religion would exist if it had to invent itself in the post information erase, would it? Could you envision a totally new system of worship, with a brand new God totally unrelated to the Judeochristian tradition, somehow getting a legit Facebook page working and finding adherents? I can't.  

@Uncle JUICE, I have been wanting to something very similar but not exact to this many times here. (I was honestly too lazy to mince words.) Don't get me wrong, I think CoS is vile but as far as their origin story in terms of being fantastical and why those who follow do, well neither are not far off from other mainstream religions. The only difference is the invention of the religion. I am Agnostic and don't want to start a full-on debate on what is real and what is not. 

Edited January 22, 2017 by Enigma X

[redpencil]

Quote

Can you tell us what they are? I understand that one thing is that the husband gets his wifes "secret name" that she needs to get into heaven (what happens when they divorce?) but I don't know anything else about it.

This isn't really on topic so I won't go into detail (and I'm not married nor have I witnessed a wedding in the temple), but short answer is that like many other religions, Mormons view marriage as a sacred ordinance, the difference being that they believe a temple marriage is for time and all eternity (whereas a wedding outside the temple without the proper authority would be just for time on earth). And certain higher ordinances have to happen within the temple, which is viewed as the House of the Lord.

Quote

Don't get me wrong, I think CoS is vile but as far as their origin story in terms of being fantastical and why those who follow do, well neither are not far off from other mainstream religions. The only difference is the invention of the religion. I am Agnostic and don't want to start a full-on debate on what is real and what is not. 

Absolutely other religions have their own origin stories or belief systems that seem weird to anyone who is not a member (believe, me, being Mormon I know how weird some of our beliefs seem). But I don't think actual beliefs are what most people find objectionable about Scientology (at least not primarily). If they believed the same basic stuff but weren't doing all the things they've highlighted in the show (disconnection, fair game, abusing the legal system, The Hole, etc., etc.,), nobody would really care about them and they could go on their merry way.

[Guest]

If you want to keep comparing Scientology to other religions, kindly start a thread for it or move the discussion to the Small Talk thread. This thread is for Leah talk.

[Maharincess]

16 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

It was a joke - hence the winky smiley face thingy.   ;-)

And now that I know all you others who haven't watched either, I don't feel so special at all.  :-(

^^^ another joke

I'm so sorry @walnutqueen!!   I didn't notice that it was you who made the comment!   If I had seen that it was you, I would have laughed and thought "yep, that's my Walnut Queen!".   I get you girlfriend. 

[walnutqueen]

2 minutes ago, Maharincess said:

I'm so sorry @walnutqueen!!   I didn't notice that it was you who made the comment!   If I had seen that it was you, I would have laughed and thought "yep, that's my Walnut Queen!".   I get you girlfriend. 

Well, thank Xenu SOMEONE "gets" me, eh!   :-D

I don't know what Leah has up her sleeve, but I highly doubt it will be about Shelly.  If I had to guess, it will involve tax exemption or the treatment of the children.  Be afraid of the IRS and CPS - those fuckers are relentless.  ;-)

[Wings]

My take on what is going on.  Leah and Rinder are out to stop the abuse.   Tax exemption status is not their concern.  The IRS will come to its own decisions on that.   They are out to take it down going with the horror of Sea Org, disconnection, the hole, prison facilities etc.   

I am curious if DM views this documentary as a dangerous step in exposure.   COS made it through Going Clear and the many other books and websites.   Is this documentary just another thing on the pile for him to ignore and refute?  Or is he awakening to the possibly that COS may be in serious danger.  Not that he cares about COS.  He cares about a federal investigation, power and money.  

Edited January 22, 2017 by wings707

[walnutqueen]

17 minutes ago, wings707 said:

My take on what is going on.  Leah and Rinder are out to stop the abuse.   Tax exemption status is not their concern.  The IRS will come to its own decisions on that.   They are out to take it down going with the horror of Sea Org, disconnection, the hole, prison facilities etc.   

I am curious if DM views this documentary as a dangerous step in exposure.   COS made it through Going Clear and the many other books and websites.   Is this documentary just another thing on the pile for him to ignore and refute?  Or is he awakening to the possibly that COS may be in serious danger.  Not that he cares about COS.  He cares about a federal investigation, power and money.  

It is extremely difficult to pursue abuse when the abused adults are willing participants and would be unwilling to press any formal charges.  Unless they can find people willing to swear they were forcibly held captive against their will, all the horrors inflicted don't mount up to a hill of beans.  Now if they can document systemic child abuse, breaking child labor laws, or bring some evidence of lack of home schooling, etc. to bear, they might be on to something.

[DrSparkles]

On 1/21/2017 at 0:47 PM, AllyB said:

Up until the late 70s/early 80s that is exactly what it was like in my country thanks to the Catholic church. Google Magdalene Laundries. Even today a simple thing such as getting your child educated without constant religious indoctrination is a very real struggle for minority religion/non religious parents. I'm 'lucky' in that putting my son's name down for a school when he was 4 months old means we will have the privilege of driving for 20 minutes each way to the only non-indoctrination school in our city, even though there are 12 state schools nearer our house, several of which are in short walking distance. My friend who put her son's name down 2 weeks after me is still on the waiting list. 

Tbh, anyone who thinks that Scientology is the only major organised religion to abuse their power in such terrifying ways needs to check their privilege. Ask the ordinary people of Iran, Saudi Arabia, even of Utah just how free to leave they are. Ask the Laundry survivors how free to leave they were. Ask them what happened to their babies forty years ago. Ask the women who died because the weakening heartbeat of a miscarrying foetus was prioritised over their right to live. Oh yeah, you can't they are dead. Google Savita Halappanavar or Sheila Hodgers. Throughout most of the world and most of history religion blights people's lives and civil rights on a daily basis. Scientology is awful and Remini is very brave and doing a wonderful thing with her current work. No doubt. But it's actually not the worst religion when it comes to abuse of it's followers (or the people with the misfortune to live in it's geographic sphere of influence). It's just probably the worst in the USA at present.

Magdalene Laundries kept me up for many nights after & I wasn't a fan of Catholicism to begin with.

[Wings]

42 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

It is extremely difficult to pursue abuse when the abused adults are willing participants and would be unwilling to press any formal charges.  Unless they can find people willing to swear they were forcibly held captive against their will, all the horrors inflicted don't mount up to a hill of beans.  Now if they can document systemic child abuse, breaking child labor laws, or bring some evidence of lack of home schooling, etc. to bear, they might be on to something.

Yes, they have an uphill battle.  They are working with a lawyer and probably chose one who has experience with cults.  Time will tell how they are going to approach this. 

[crgirl412]

On 12/14/2016 at 1:46 PM, Lord Donia said:

I think it's notable that, as deep into Scientiology as Leah was, she never made own young daughter join. I'm not sure if Sofia went to a school that uses Hubbard's teaching methods.

Leah and Angelo also had Sofia re-baptized Catholic this past September. Leah said the family had "gone home" by returning to their previous religion.

I was wondering if she/her family was practicing anything now.  I am glad hear they returned to the Catholic Church. 

[AllyB]

9 hours ago, DrSparkles said:

Magdalene Laundries kept me up for many nights after & I wasn't a fan of Catholicism to begin with.

Reply on other thread; 

Edited January 23, 2017 by AllyB

[dcubed]

23 hours ago, wings707 said:

My take on what is going on.  Leah and Rinder are out to stop the abuse.   Tax exemption status is not their concern.  The IRS will come to its own decisions on that.   They are out to take it down going with the horror of Sea Org, disconnection, the hole, prison facilities etc.   

 

I completely agree with this.  I think that Leah thinks some of the "tech" of the practice works and are good.  During the last Q&A, Leah said that she wanted the practice of abuse to end, not the "church" itself.  Many of the people that have left implied they left because of the Mighty Midget. (in fact Rathbun continued to do independent audits and teachings of LRH's principles).  Apart from the Xenu stuff, the basic principles of $cio are much like talk therapy (delve into what is bothering you, learn how to fix those things, learn to tune out those things that can't be fixed, etc.), very mind of matter.  That probably works for lots of people where they feel like they finally have control over things and over their life. 

If they all keep digging, however, they will find out that the Mighty Midget learned how to operate his little shop of horrors from LRH himself. 

[Wings]

23 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

It is extremely difficult to pursue abuse when the abused adults are willing participants and would be unwilling to press any formal charges.  Unless they can find people willing to swear they were forcibly held captive against their will, all the horrors inflicted don't mount up to a hill of beans.  Now if they can document systemic child abuse, breaking child labor laws, or bring some evidence of lack of home schooling, etc. to bear, they might be on to something.

The courts are aware of brainwashing and cults.  Logic tells me a court case would not be dependent on or even include a current victim's testimony.  I am anxious to hear exactly what the focus will be and how this is going to be handled.  Fascinating.  

Edited January 23, 2017 by wings707

[Sew Sumi]

I wonder if something happened. I just checked my guide tomorrow to make sure the DVR was set, and it's no longer listing an episode detailing Leah's story (that description was there before), but now shows a repeat of the 20/20 episode. 

Anyone?

eta: never mind...I found Rinder's response to this question in the Media thread. I was just worried that she was Fair Gamed out of airing it, but it sounds like she thinks it's a rehash of things the viewers already know. 

Edited January 24, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[green]

2 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

I wonder if something happened. I just checked my guide tomorrow to make sure the DVR was set, and it's no longer listing an episode detailing Leah's story (that description was there before), but now shows a repeat of the 20/20 episode. 

Anyone?

eta: never mind...I found Rinder's response to this question in the Media thread. I was just worried that she was Fair Gamed out of airing it, but it sounds like she thinks it's a rehash of things the viewers already know. 

OT:  The episode on tonight (Monday) was the last one they shot of the original series and centers on Leah's story and is entitled "Apostate."  Since it is older than the one last week (second reddit one) it probably will be a bit tame in comparison. 

Edited to add: Okay I saw the post on another thread but going from what you said above it sounded like it was going to be on.  So the 20/20 one again instead?  Oh well I hope she changes her mind about her personal episode or at least does a re-do of it if she didn't like how the original one came out. 

I know A&E can't get enough of this stuff on.  Because no way would A&E cancel it because of "fair gaming".  Hell, A&E is thriving more than it has in years with this series.  It is shown and re-shown endlessly during prime time even let alone during the day time hours etc.  The more Scientology tries to fight them the higher the ratings go.  Scientology is basically given them a wealth of free publicity and a hot hot show with more and more people catching up through the endless re-runs every day as they hear about it from friends and media articles etc. 

They didn't intend it but it ended up that Leah and Rinder and A&E baited a trap and Scientology took the bait and fell into their trap perfectly.

Maybe we should all send Miscaivage (sp? Miss Cabbage?  whatever?) thank you notes for all the free publicity he has given this show.  :-)

I hope Leah does another season.  Because, unlike what she thought in her youth, this time she really is helping to save the planet.  Making it "clear" of the "reactive minds" of Scientology.  So better start building your bunker now, Miss Cabbage, because it is all starting to unravel at a very rapid pace.  Time after time they tried in the past over the years.  It was slowly building   And now finally I sense this series is the final straw that will break the cult's back.  The dominoes are falling.

Edited January 24, 2017 by green

[dcubed]

7 hours ago, green said:

Edited to add: Okay I saw the post on another thread but going from what you said above it sounded like it was going to be on.  So the 20/20 one again instead?  Oh well I hope she changes her mind about her personal episode or at least does a re-do of it if she didn't like how the original one came out.

I wonder if she just didn't want to put her family under additional scrutiny.  Maybe her mom is getting some hate for exposing/raising her and her sister in $cio?  It's just conjecture but I'm guessing it's more personal to her than anything else external. 

[funky-rat]

On ‎1‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 2:05 AM, MrSmith said:

Oh, I envy you. I wish I had never seen any of the Star Wars movies.

I loved the first 3.  And was constantly made fun of it (back when they first came out).  I lost a little bit of love for them when they went mainstream, and were "updated" and re-released.  Then I watched the prequels.  Horrible.  Just horrible.  And suddenly, Star Wars was everywhere, and I just got sick of it.  I had no desire to see the most recent installment, and I said that if I had made a drinking game and took a shot every time I saw the name "Kylo Ren" somewhere, I'd have been dead inside of 2 days.  Now I just hate it, and want nothing to do with it.  I gave away or sold all of my old Star Wars stuff.

I've got a whole laundry list of stuff I've never seen and had no interest in that people have just lost their minds over.  I don't like the fantasty genre, so that kills off a lot of stuff (Game Of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings, etc).  I don't pay for Netflix and just recently killed off HBO/Showtime/etc, so anything original to them goes unseen by me.  And I hate Big Bang Theory.  There.  I said it.  ;)

[Uncle JUICE]

2 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

I loved the first 3.  And was constantly made fun of it (back when they first came out).  I lost a little bit of love for them when they went mainstream, and were "updated" and re-released.  Then I watched the prequels.  Horrible.  Just horrible.  And suddenly, Star Wars was everywhere, and I just got sick of it.  I had no desire to see the most recent installment, and I said that if I had made a drinking game and took a shot every time I saw the name "Kylo Ren" somewhere, I'd have been dead inside of 2 days.  Now I just hate it, and want nothing to do with it.  I gave away or sold all of my old Star Wars stuff.

I've got a whole laundry list of stuff I've never seen and had no interest in that people have just lost their minds over.  I don't like the fantasty genre, so that kills off a lot of stuff (Game Of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings, etc).  I don't pay for Netflix and just recently killed off HBO/Showtime/etc, so anything original to them goes unseen by me.  And I hate Big Bang Theory.  There.  I said it.  ;)

While we may disagree on many things including many things in this very post, @funky-rat, here, we are in lock step. Never be afraid to tell people, my friend, for I will be here to passionately back this stance :). 

Edited January 24, 2017 by Uncle JUICE

[MrSmith]

8 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

I loved the first 3.  And was constantly made fun of it (back when they first came out).  I lost a little bit of love for them when they went mainstream, and were "updated" and re-released.  Then I watched the prequels.  Horrible.  Just horrible.  And suddenly, Star Wars was everywhere, and I just got sick of it.  I had no desire to see the most recent installment, and I said that if I had made a drinking game and took a shot every time I saw the name "Kylo Ren" somewhere, I'd have been dead inside of 2 days.  Now I just hate it, and want nothing to do with it.  I gave away or sold all of my old Star Wars stuff.

I've got a whole laundry list of stuff I've never seen and had no interest in that people have just lost their minds over.  I don't like the fantasty genre, so that kills off a lot of stuff (Game Of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings, etc).  I don't pay for Netflix and just recently killed off HBO/Showtime/etc, so anything original to them goes unseen by me.  And I hate Big Bang Theory.  There.  I said it.  ;)

OK. I'll give you this: I liked Episodes 4, 5, and 6 before they were "updated" (except the Ewoks; I'd pay to go on an Ewok killing spree). I'm not old enough to have seen Episodes 4 and 5 in the theatre, but I did see Episode 6 in the theatre. (Well, maybe I saw Empire Strikes Back in the theatre, but I can't remember.) I saw Episodes 1 through 3 in the theatre and they're horrible. For me, the best part of those movies was Natalie Portman, which is sexist but there it is. And I really hate those movies, too. My wife recorded the latest movie for me on the TiVO and it's actually just above average. I'd give it 5 1/2 stars out of 10 because there are things that just don't make any sense. Other than the guy that played Kylo Ren, the acting was pretty good. Daisy Ridley doesn't have the charisma necessary to carry these movies, though.

As for Starz, it's too  bad you killed that off. Maybe you should  consider re-instating it for a few months - just long enough to watch this final season of Black Sails. It's a prequel to Treasure Island with incredibly  well-written characters, good production value, and  incredible acting. They draw a lot from history during the Golden Age of Piracy. And while the costumes aren't on point relative to what they would have actually worn, the costuming is still very good. They've got characters using names of real pirates and they're somewhat following actual historic events. There are four seasons, with the fourth season starting Sunday. If you don't want to get Starz, try to borrow a friend's Starz online login or go watch it with them and  make it an event. I'm sure they'll be happy to binge the first three seasons with you. If you're in the Red Wing, MN area, let me know because I'd binge the first three seasons with you!

(I like The Big Bang Theory. But it's ok if you don't. :D )

[green]

16 hours ago, dcubed said:

I wonder if she just didn't want to put her family under additional scrutiny.  Maybe her mom is getting some hate for exposing/raising her and her sister in $cio?  It's just conjecture but I'm guessing it's more personal to her than anything else external. 

No that couldn't be the reason because tonight after the 20/20 repeat and at 11 PM to Midnight slot (EST) they had an earlier interview of the 20/20 guy and Leah on.  I don't know if it was a 20/20 show or what.  It just said "Leah Remini Scientology" on my TV's "blurb" at the bottom of the screen when I checked.  It seems to have been made maybe at the time of her book?  She had just appeared on some dance show which was suppose to have been a big deal?  Maybe 2014 or 2015??

Anyway it was a full hour of 95% Leah and that 20/20 guy talking (plus video clips) plus 5% from her mother and her husband and I think one or two lines from Mike Rinder.  It was her bio basically and went into very VERY much detail about how she got into the group, what she did there, how she got in trouble to get kicked out of Sea Org while still in her teens, and tons of stuff about the Tom Cruise wedding and "where is Shelly" stuff.

I'm surprised there isn't a separate thread to discuss this episode since it was totally new to me and was the most detailed stuff I've ever seen on Leah, hint hint.  It was a really great episode so maybe we can have a thread here to discuss it since we have one for the recent 20/20 episode?  So it would certainly fit since it is being used as part of the A&E/Leah vs Scientology venture.  (And was this a 20/20 episode as well being re-run because I didn't see their logo on the show but the interviewer was the same).

Edited January 25, 2017 by green

[Court]

It was made around the time of her book release.There's a thread in the 20/20 forum for it.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Court
Added link

[funky-rat]

21 hours ago, MrSmith said:

OK. I'll give you this: I liked Episodes 4, 5, and 6 before they were "updated" (except the Ewoks; I'd pay to go on an Ewok killing spree). I'm not old enough to have seen Episodes 4 and 5 in the theatre, but I did see Episode 6 in the theatre. (Well, maybe I saw Empire Strikes Back in the theatre, but I can't remember.) I saw Episodes 1 through 3 in the theatre and they're horrible. For me, the best part of those movies was Natalie Portman, which is sexist but there it is. And I really hate those movies, too. My wife recorded the latest movie for me on the TiVO and it's actually just above average. I'd give it 5 1/2 stars out of 10 because there are things that just don't make any sense. Other than the guy that played Kylo Ren, the acting was pretty good. Daisy Ridley doesn't have the charisma necessary to carry these movies, though.

As for Starz, it's too  bad you killed that off. Maybe you should  consider re-instating it for a few months - just long enough to watch this final season of Black Sails. It's a prequel to Treasure Island with incredibly  well-written characters, good production value, and  incredible acting. They draw a lot from history during the Golden Age of Piracy. And while the costumes aren't on point relative to what they would have actually worn, the costuming is still very good. They've got characters using names of real pirates and they're somewhat following actual historic events. There are four seasons, with the fourth season starting Sunday. If you don't want to get Starz, try to borrow a friend's Starz online login or go watch it with them and  make it an event. I'm sure they'll be happy to binge the first three seasons with you. If you're in the Red Wing, MN area, let me know because I'd binge the first three seasons with you!

(I like The Big Bang Theory. But it's ok if you don't. :D )

I never had Starz.  For some reason, our cable system didn't offer it as part of a bundle (we had HBO/SHO/TMC/MAX - we were lucky if we watched them once a month, and we were paying over $50 for them), and it was too expensive on it's own. Funny enough, I always would see stuff I actually wanted to watch on Starz, but we never got it.  I've toyed with the idea of subscribing to it, but not through the cable company.

I think part of the issue with Big Bang Theory is that there have been shows in the past I didn't care for (Friends being one - I was a Seinfeld junkie but just couldn't get in to Friends) but pre-social media, I would have people in my life - friends, coworkers, etc - who would talk about it, but if I around and they knew I wasn't in to it, then we'd talk about other stuff.  But with social media, it's in my face 24/7 from people I know IRL, and those I don't.  People reference it constantly on my feed.  I used to use filtering software to filter out political posts and other stuff, and I actually had them build me filters for Big Bang Theory, filtering out names like Amy Farrah Fowler, and phrases like "Bazinga", "soft kitty warm kitty", and "knock knock knock Penny".  My breaking point came when I saw a meme shared at least 50 (seriously - I am not exaggerating) times in one day that had a picture of Sheldon on it, and it said something like "I'm sad that people are telling me they don't know anyone else who watches Big Bang Theory, so please share this. That way the producers and network know that people do like the show and it doesn't get canceled.  Thank you, and Bazinga!".  Really?  Sometimes I think I'm the only person who DOESN'T watch it, and if no one did, it would have been cancelled long ago.  I managed to track down the start of the meme, left a few choices words, and blocked the site, and that seemed to put a stop to it, but for some reason I can't explain, that one sent me in to fits.

[MrSmith]

11 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

But with social media, it's in my face 24/7

Oh, yea. Good God. It's one reason I hate Facebook so much. I've said to my wife Facebook should have been called Memebook instead. I hate seeing the same crap on Facebook over and over. I've got one friend that sharing memes (as a commentary on her life) is all she does. I had to unfollow her so as to not see all that stuff from her. I once took the time to figure out she posted an average of 9.1 times per day and 8 of those were memes. So, I can't blame you for how much you've come to dislike TBBT. It doesn't help when stupid people think that sharing a meme on Facebook is going to matter at all. (And it certainly doesn't improve my opinion of the average person's intelligence, either, but it could just be that posting pointless memes on Facebook is a particularly attractive for people of lower-than-average intelligence.)

[ari333]

Leah broke free, so good for her; And she's speaking out and telling secrets, so good for her again. I heard her on a Rogan podcast and it was chilling.

[spiderpig]

Anybody catch Leah on Bill Maher's show last night?  Thoughts?

[Almost 3000]

7 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Anybody catch Leah on Bill Maher's show last night?  Thoughts?

[film noire]

6 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Anybody catch Leah on Bill Maher's show last night?  Thoughts?

I appreciated Maher acknowledging Remini for speaking out (she deserves all the bouquets for that) but the interview felt a little scattered after that, as if all the praise took them off road.  And I wish we'd gotten to Cruise much much sooner -- Remini seemed willing to talk about him -- I'd love to know what she knows about his journey in the church.

[Wings]

Great interview!  Hopefully support and respect from people like Bill will give her impetus to continue.  Every time I hear her speak I get another nugget.  Cruise could bring this down.  We know that but hearing Bill say it and Leah confirm gave me hope that this could actually be the way it happens. 

I adore this woman. 

[Wings]

I enjoyed the different tone on his tale of COS.   Nick is confident, sometimes cocky, witty and crass at times.  I love the guy.  It was refreshing to see another perspective.  We have seen many emotional and tear filled reports of the horror.  This is the first 'fuck you' account I have seen.  LOL! 

[kieyra]

I only know who Remini is because she's been on RuPaul's Drag Race and his podcast a few times. On the podcast in particular she seems genuine, funny, very direct, and as though she's doing this from a legitimately good place. In fact, since I've never really watched any sitcoms, I just had her mentally tagged as "the scientologist actress from that one show", and thus assumed she must not be very bright. I was taken aback by how sharp and funny she is. 

I respect her a lot for doing this, but I do wish the show wasn't on A&E, after the hijinks with the KKK show. ("Documentary" that turned out to be very fake.) And the few episodes I've watched aren't really hitting hard enough. She speaks about it with more impact on the podcasts. (See this week's episode of What's The Tee with RuPaul if interested.)

(She's apparently been longtime friends with RuPaul's co-host Michelle Visage, and she and Leah both are way into that particular look. The nails are a choice. There was a time I would have been mocking the nails and lip injections, but when I listen to the podcast and hear them all talk passionately about beauty/fashion/cosmetics/procedures, it's clear it's just something they love. They know exactly how they look--and that's how they want to look. So more power to them, it ain't hurting anyone. For me it's a good day if I'm not wearing a shirt inside out, so I recognize that I'm just wired differently.)

[Guest]

Leah is on Match Game on ABC