Leah's 20/20 Episode: Scientology, A War Without Guns

[Celia Rubenstein]

You don't necessarily have to be a celebrity to get into the "Celebrity Centre."  The really famous people have a special entrance and rooms are cleared out for their use and ordinary peasants are banned temporarily.  God forbid a celebrity the caliber of Jenna Elfman should have to run elbows with the unwashed masses!

And if I recall correctly, Leah mentioned in her book that she was ordered to pay for the marriage counseling her now husband and his ex-wife underwent, to the tune of $5,000 LOL.  Lord knows how much her own auditing cost her. The bleeding just never stops ... she's said she spent five million dollars over her years with scientology. Five million. It's just mind boggling ....

[green]

11 hours ago, Rlb8031 said:

I don't know. It sure looks like it, but I couldn't hazard a guess why the IRS wouldn't go after them if that was the case.

Because the IRS has apparently been totally subjected and pacified by this cult during their Operation Snow White that got them tax exemption.  The IRS would rather pick on some poor working class slob who forgot to dot an i or cross a t then to take on this group of rabid nutcases filing harassing law suits left and right against them and following their agents around and to their homes etc.

Edited January 31, 2017 by green

[CofCinci]

The IRS will change dramatically over the next 4 years too.

[Sup wit dat]

Today I received a Co$ newsletter in the mail...I just about jumped for joy!  I'm going to write "Where's Shelly" on the postage-paid return envelope and drop it in the mail, haha!

[spiderpig]

7 hours ago, Sup wit dat said:

Today I received a Co$ newsletter in the mail...I just about jumped for joy!  I'm going to write "Where's Shelly" on the postage-paid return envelope and drop it in the mail, haha!

My sister got one too!!!  Could you hear us shrieking with laughter on The Cloud?

[fastiller]

13 hours ago, Sup wit dat said:

Today I received a Co$ newsletter in the mail...I just about jumped for joy!  I'm going to write "Where's Shelly" on the postage-paid return envelope and drop it in the mail, haha!

&

6 hours ago, spiderpig said:

My sister got one too!!!  Could you hear us shrieking with laughter on The Cloud?

Oooh, what's the return address?  I'd drop the cost of a couple or three post-card postage stamps to send them cards with "WHERE'S SHELLY???!!" scrawled on them in bright red marker.

Edited February 1, 2017 by fastiller
Even in this day and age: punctuation matters!

[WescottF1]

If there was a postage paid return envelope included, get a big box, fill it with bricks, tape the envelope to it, and then drop it at the post office.

[Wings]

Or send them a special pie. 

Edited February 1, 2017 by wings707

[Guest]

Is there a Leah remini fan club you could sign the address up for? ;)

[spiderpig]

Sis sent me a text pic of the letter.  It has a big bold font saying "REALITY" The Magazine of The Church of Scientology of Los Angeles.  Return address is 4810 Sunset Blvd. LA 90027.

They also spelled her name wrong.

[fastiller]

18 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Sis sent me a text pic of the letter.  It has a big bold font saying "REALITY" The Magazine of The Church of Scientology of Los Angeles.  Return address is 4810 Sunset Blvd. LA 90027.

They also spelled her name wrong.

Thanks for the address.

WORD!

[Wings]

Once you are on the list you will never shake them.  Bold move. 

Edited February 1, 2017 by wings707

[spiderpig]

4 minutes ago, fastiller said:

WORD!

Heeeeee!!!

[spiderpig]

2 minutes ago, wings707 said:

Once you are on the list you will never shake them.  Bold move. 

Mr. pig will intentionally misspell his name on certain legit items so he can trace where the junk mail comes from.  I think in this case it's an acquaintance who didn't know her well enough to be familiar with how she spells her name.  She works in media, so she's onto them.

[Sup wit dat]

The newsletter makes it all sound so easy:

What a bunch of bullshit.  And by the way, the first class is $50, which is what the return envelope was for.

The address on my newsletter:

Church of Scientology of Mountain View
3226 Scott Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA  95054

Weird they're like 3-1/2 hours away from where I live, but it's almost worth the drive so I can bang on their door screaming, "But I wanna be an aaaaaa-leeee-unnnnn!"

And if you want to create a throw-away email account for them, there's this:

Mountainview@scientology.net

i might create whereisshelly@gmail.com, or, iwannabeanalien@gmail.com, or...tomcruiseismybitch@gmail.com

(I'm having way too much fun with this newsletter!)

Edited February 2, 2017 by Sup wit dat

[Almost 3000]

1 hour ago, Sup wit dat said:

(I'm having way too much fun with this newsletter!)

I'm sure Co$ would consider you a very Special Person for your efforts!  ;^)

[spiderpig]

I'm feeling left out.  I didn't get anything in the mail. :-(

[Almost 3000]

24 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

I'm feeling left out.  I didn't get anything in the mail. :-(

Ahh, that's OK spiderpig. I'm sure Co$ would consider you a very Special Person too.

[spiderpig]

19 minutes ago, Almost 3000 said:

Ahh, that's OK spiderpig. I'm sure Co$ would consider you a very Special Person too.

I'm in good company!

[xtwheeler]

On 1/30/2017 at 1:27 PM, HunterHunted said:

Besides all of the money the Co$ has to throw at lawyers, Leah has given them decades of dirt on herself through auditing and knowledge reports. As long as they stay away from their more outrageous insults like "Leah is a Nazi child molesting pig fucker", then everything they've said about her is a reasonable interpretation of the mountains of info she's given them. Truth is always a defense to slander. As a faithful adherent of Scientology, she agreed that everything she talked about during auditing is true.

The additional difficulty with a "defamation" case by Leah is that there is a different standard for talking about "public figures" like Leah Remini.  The "New York Times" standard basically holds that so long as it is publicized without "actual malice" that almost anything goes when talking about celebrities.  "Actual malice" generally means with wanton disregard for the truth or falsity of the matter.  And while yes, of COURSE the Co$ says/does/publishes these things with actual malice and knowing that they are not true, that is extremely hard to prove--far harder than what a regular person would have to prove in a defamation case.  So normally you could just prove that it isn't true ("the truth is always a defense") a "public figure" would have to show far beyond that in terms of motivation (which is a slippery thing to prove no matter how obvious it is to you or me).

And really, please don't trash the entire legal profession as being mercenary sell-swords with no ethics like Yingling.  Despite what you all think, we DO have ethics and morals, and the vast, vast majority of lawyers I know could NEVER and would never (as a matter of personal AND professional ethics) lie like this woman does.  There is "making the best case you can with the facts you are given and the state of the law" and then there is flat out fabrication, lying, conspiracy to conceal a criminal operation, suborning of perjury, COMMISSION of perjury (their court filings are often verified by their attorneys as to basic foundational facts), and other horrible things.  Lawyer jokes are a cheap shot, and this woman is clearly an absolute criminal aside from and above and beyond the fact she once passed a bar exam.  Being an attorney is NOT her problem --  her apparent (and alleged!) willingness to cover up criminal activity and to perpetuate the commission of crimes before the court is the result of her lack of character as a human being, not the fact she once managed a JD degree.  I'm sorry to argue that point (really in 20 years, I don't think I've ever even flinched at pointing out a lawyer was awful) but right now, lawyers are the footsoldieres of the Constitution, and given what is going on in this country, I certainly hope that you get to see the better side of this profession than you have in the past.  Lawyers were the ones working through the night with advocates and translators to free people illegally detained by our government at airports this weekend, and you will see more lawyers putting themselves on the line for us and our rights in very shortly coming days.  This idiot (Yingling not the Orange One) is low hanging fruit, and for all of us who value our rights as Americans, please be aware that while creatures like her exist, the vast majority of us will be standing with refugees in courtrooms, defending free speech, etc. in coming days.  I've never been this terrified of how my education and training will be tested and how sorely they are needed and I guess I just felt like saying hey, she's clearly a degenerate, but the rest of us are going to be working hard and scared shitless, so please have some compassion for us. :)

[ElsieH]

So, about the mail.... I have a creepy story about that. My husband, when he was 18 or so (almost 30 years ago) bought a copy of Dianetics at a Chick Corea concert, not knowing what it was or anything about it. He just knew that one of his favorite musicians was into it so he thought he would check it out. He said after that, they were calling and bugging him all the time, which turned him off, of course. By the time I met him, it had pretty much stopped after 5-10 years. So we got married, moved a couple of times, etc. And once we started watching this show, somehow he started getting mail from them again. How did they find him? It is just so weird, and especially because it showed up not a month after we watched Leah's show and Going Clear. We have gotten at least 5 pieces of their junk mail in the last 2-3 months.

[Brattinella]

18 minutes ago, ElsieH said:

So, about the mail.... I have a creepy story about that. My husband, when he was 18 or so (almost 30 years ago) bought a copy of Dianetics at a Chick Corea concert, not knowing what it was or anything about it. He just knew that one of his favorite musicians was into it so he thought he would check it out. He said after that, they were calling and bugging him all the time, which turned him off, of course. By the time I met him, it had pretty much stopped after 5-10 years. So we got married, moved a couple of times, etc. And once we started watching this show, somehow he started getting mail from them again. How did they find him? It is just so weird, and especially because it showed up not a month after we watched Leah's show and Going Clear. We have gotten at least 5 pieces of their junk mail in the last 2-3 months.

That is super creepy.  They must have files on practically everyone!

[Almost 3000]

40 minutes ago, ElsieH said:

So, about the mail.... I have a creepy story about that. My husband, when he was 18 or so (almost 30 years ago) bought a copy of Dianetics at a Chick Corea concert, not knowing what it was or anything about it. He just knew that one of his favorite musicians was into it so he thought he would check it out. He said after that, they were calling and bugging him all the time, which turned him off, of course. By the time I met him, it had pretty much stopped after 5-10 years. So we got married, moved a couple of times, etc. And once we started watching this show, somehow he started getting mail from them again. How did they find him? It is just so weird, and especially because it showed up not a month after we watched Leah's show and Going Clear. We have gotten at least 5 pieces of their junk mail in the last 2-3 months.

That is super creepy because I can just imagine its now a group of Sea Org members going back and researching old lists mining for leads. Just as creepy though is baptizing the dead or as I friend of mine did, posting my name on a very public church wall to be prayed for because I needed to find Jesus. Creepy the lot of them.

[funky-rat]

Don't get me going on baptizing the dead.  They baptize deceased people of non-Christian religions, and that's just all kinds of wrong.

My husband once had a customer who ran a church.  We later found out it was his own made-up church - he had no council or governing board to answer to, and it showed after a bit.  All kinds of BSC stuff he'd say.  He really believed God was speaking to him, and was putting people in to hospitals so he could save them, etc.  When we stopped going to his church, my husband's job started getting calls from this "pastor" to pray for my husband because he's possessed by demons, etc.  We finally had to  threaten the "pastor" with a lawyer before he stopped.

**edited because continuity counts**

Edited February 2, 2017 by funky-rat

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, funky-rat said:

Don't get me going on baptizing the dead.  They baptize deceased people of non-Christian religions, and that's just all kinds of wrong.

The Church of Latter-day Saints, Mormon, does this. They got into a fair bit of trouble when they baptized people who died in the holocaust. 

[Sup wit dat]

8 hours ago, ElsieH said:

So, about the mail.... I have a creepy story about that. My husband, when he was 18 or so (almost 30 years ago) bought a copy of Dianetics at a Chick Corea concert, not knowing what it was or anything about it. He just knew that one of his favorite musicians was into it so he thought he would check it out. He said after that, they were calling and bugging him all the time, which turned him off, of course. By the time I met him, it had pretty much stopped after 5-10 years. So we got married, moved a couple of times, etc. And once we started watching this show, somehow he started getting mail from them again. How did they find him? It is just so weird, and especially because it showed up not a month after we watched Leah's show and Going Clear. We have gotten at least 5 pieces of their junk mail in the last 2-3 months.

Co$ is creepy in so many ways, right?  I'm sure they're not stalking you.  They obviously keep everything and anything they have on anyone and looked up your hubby on the internet for his current address.

I wonder why they're blitzing everyone with marketing info.  Perhaps Leah is having an impact so they're desperately recruiting.  That would be amazing!  But nowadays there's a handy little thing called the internet and all people have to do is google Scientology to see what they'd really be getting into with this cult.

I wanna see the downfall of Co$ so much!

[trow125]

Judging from what I've seen on Tony Ortega's blog, they do keep your information FOREVER. It's part of what they call "Central Files" and he and Mike Rinder frequently post fliers from Scientologists urging fellow members to come in and help them organize the files. (They have to be on paper because that's what LRH decreed.) There are certain Sea Org'ers whose job is to write letters to people whose info is in the files. Tony Ortega has posted some super creepy ones. Here's one in which a guy was contacted 46 YEARS after he took an introductory course.

[athousandclowns]

On February 1, 2017 at 4:19 PM, Sup wit dat said:

The newsletter makes it all sound so easy:

What a bunch of bullshit.  And by the way, the first class is $50, which is what the return envelope was for.

The address on my newsletter:

Church of Scientology of Mountain View
3226 Scott Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA  95054

Weird they're like 3-1/2 hours away from where I live, but it's almost worth the drive so I can bang on their door screaming, "But I wanna be an aaaaaa-leeee-unnnnn!"

And if you want to create a throw-away email account for them, there's this:

Mountainview@scientology.net

i might create whereisshelly@gmail.com, or, iwannabeanalien@gmail.com, or...tomcruiseismybitch@gmail.com

(I'm having way too much fun with this newsletter!)

Cripes that is a few minutes from me so out of curiosity I googled Scientology and there are five in my area. 

[DangerousMinds]

Who gives their full name and address when they buy a book? Pay in cash if you must.

[CofCinci]

16 hours ago, trow125 said:

Judging from what I've seen on Tony Ortega's blog, they do keep your information FOREVER. It's part of what they call "Central Files" and he and Mike Rinder frequently post fliers from Scientologists urging fellow members to come in and help them organize the files. (They have to be on paper because that's what LRH decreed.) There are certain Sea Org'ers whose job is to write letters to people whose info is in the files. Tony Ortega has posted some super creepy ones. Here's one in which a guy was contacted 46 YEARS after he took an introductory course.

That letter looks like it was written by a Shelly instead of a "Peter."

"purif" is written at the bottom of the note.  I guess you have to write these notes while in their detox program?

[ALittleShelfish]

On 2/2/2017 at 9:49 AM, ElsieH said:

So, about the mail.... I have a creepy story about that. My husband, when he was 18 or so (almost 30 years ago) bought a copy of Dianetics at a Chick Corea concert, not knowing what it was or anything about it. He just knew that one of his favorite musicians was into it so he thought he would check it out. He said after that, they were calling and bugging him all the time, which turned him off, of course. By the time I met him, it had pretty much stopped after 5-10 years. So we got married, moved a couple of times, etc. And once we started watching this show, somehow he started getting mail from them again. How did they find him? It is just so weird, and especially because it showed up not a month after we watched Leah's show and Going Clear. We have gotten at least 5 pieces of their junk mail in the last 2-3 months.

SAME HERE.  I always get some sort of mailer when I move into a new place, usually within a day or two of the day I move in (WTF, SCIENTOLOGY. STOP FOLLOWING ME. AT LEAST HELP UNLOAD THE TRUCK.) and then usually not for another year or so.  STILL SO WEIRDDDDD.

One thing i found REALLY odd in the latest mailer, was on the page that was hawking some book or such, it asked you to send in the card to receive more info but you'd think they'd ask for a credit card number or check or something to get some sort of initial payment.  MISSED OPPORTUNITY, XENU. 

[checkmeboo]

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 3:01 PM, DangerousMinds said:

I wonder what they were doing at the Celeb Center when neither of that couple were celebrities?

The Celeb Center is open to the general public and provides auditing and general Scientology courses.  There is a special "celebrity" wing with hotels and restaurants but they have a different entrance.

[Evil Queen]

On 2/2/2017 at 6:49 AM, ElsieH said:

So, about the mail.... I have a creepy story about that. My husband, when he was 18 or so (almost 30 years ago) bought a copy of Dianetics at a Chick Corea concert, not knowing what it was or anything about it. He just knew that one of his favorite musicians was into it so he thought he would check it out. He said after that, they were calling and bugging him all the time, which turned him off, of course. By the time I met him, it had pretty much stopped after 5-10 years. So we got married, moved a couple of times, etc. And once we started watching this show, somehow he started getting mail from them again. How did they find him? It is just so weird, and especially because it showed up not a month after we watched Leah's show and Going Clear. We have gotten at least 5 pieces of their junk mail in the last 2-3 months.

Its crazy. After we had watched Going Clear not to long later I got some flyer in the mail from them. I have never in a million years signed up for anything with this nut job cult or anything other kind of cult. My husband and I did joke about it though because of the timing. It is a bit odd though....and creepy in many ways. 

[green]

2 hours ago, Evil Queen said:

Its crazy. After we had watched Going Clear not to long later I got some flyer in the mail from them. I have never in a million years signed up for anything with this nut job cult or anything other kind of cult. My husband and I did joke about it though because of the timing. It is a bit odd though....and creepy in many ways. 

If you watched it online they may well be hacking into the steaming site and stealing ISP addresses that streamed same then trying to find out names to those accounts.  No other explanation seems reasonable off hand.  Unless they are hacking this site for our ISP server addresses instead.  Though so far I have not be "graced" by their snail mail presence.  Of course if you went to other sites especially those either run by them or where they have human trolling bots present that could be it too.

Either way it would mean the cult known for stretching and bending the legalisms that are the law but careful not to be caught breaking them enough to get busted big time for same as of yet has now stepped way over the line big time.  Which means they are getting really really scared.  And for good reason.

[spiderpig]

Very interesting post, Green.  When you think of how easy it is for us to be physically pinpointed via iPhone (as in Uber) or have our visited websites populated by ads from vendors we just happened to have purchased from, it's alarming.

I hope The Cult is going into panic mode.  That's when they'll make big mistakes.

They don't want to mess with my sister (see above about unsolicitated mailing).  When she was five years old she bit our dog.

[Evil Queen]

On 2/8/2017 at 10:27 PM, green said:

If you watched it online they may well be hacking into the steaming site and stealing ISP addresses that streamed same then trying to find out names to those accounts.  No other explanation seems reasonable off hand.  Unless they are hacking this site for our ISP server addresses instead.  Though so far I have not be "graced" by their snail mail presence.  Of course if you went to other sites especially those either run by them or where they have human trolling bots present that could be it too.

Either way it would mean the cult known for stretching and bending the legalisms that are the law but careful not to be caught breaking them enough to get busted big time for same as of yet has now stepped way over the line big time.  Which means they are getting really really scared.  And for good reason.

Never did any of that either. I have never had a desire to go to there sites and see a thing they say. I figured it was just one of those crazy coincidences that it happened. My husband watched it with me and everything was in his name so couldn't get me from things at that time and still. Yet he has never had a thing come in the mail. I didn't post on boards about Going Clear. They probably plucked a bunch of names from something and just mailed stupid flyers off is what I think happened. Probably hoping to gain new members during a time when they knew many would probably be watching that. With bringing up what you did, I wouldn't put it past them to do such things though to try to gather info on anyone in such a manner.  

[smorbie]

On 1/11/2017 at 3:51 PM, DrSparkles said:

OH  FOR  SURE  Marty was paid off. Damn straight.

It's clear from watching My Scientology Movie (check it out on Netflix), that there's something not quite right with Rathbun.  I think the years in Scientology and the years running from it have taken a toll on his mental health.  I think he probably just decided to take the money and shut up, the path of least resistance.

On 1/25/2017 at 4:38 AM, dwarmed said:

I like how Muffins used the example of leaving her kids alone with the Catholic priest and trusting the church to handle that properly to bolster hear argument that co$ should be trusted to handle kids appropriately. Read the news in the last 20 years? Not the best example, lady. And how the hell would this woman know anything about what the church does on a daily basis when she isn't even a member.

Isn't it strange that they have an attorney who isn't a member?  They have their members do everything as far as I can see.  I just can't imagine their paying for one.  I guess, like someone else said, they've taken such a stance against education they can't send one of their little orgphans to school to become one.

[smorbie]

On 1/7/2017 at 6:35 PM, Glade said:

Scientology doesn't believe in paying people; their workers are lucky to get 50$ a week for putting in over a hundred hours of hard labor, so it makes sense they'd be pissed at the very idea of those "freeloading, lazy alcoholic pedophiles Leah Remini and Mike Rinder" getting adequate pay for their work on television without even paying COS member taxes of 85%. 

I bet Miscavige gets paid.

On 1/7/2017 at 8:49 PM, Maharincess said:

I completely agree.  I've always thought that Travolta wanted out but is afraid to leave. It's sad, I've heard that he is such a genuine, nice, caring man.   I've always thought that they are holding something big over his head.  

I think it's his children.  Pretty sure Preston would disconnect from him in a hot second, and he would never see or hear from his little ones again.

[smorbie]

On 1/8/2017 at 0:30 AM, Vicky8675309 said:

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2017 by smorbie
nothing to see here. Really. I don't know why you're looking

[smorbie]

On 1/9/2017 at 9:02 AM, fastiller said:

Two things about this article.  It says:

1. A-list?  Really?  I think Radar is trying to suck up.

2. Ribisi is old enough to have an 18 yo daughter?  Geeze, now I feel old!

Time marches on.  How old would Alice, Chandler,and Frank, jr, jr be now?

On 1/25/2017 at 4:39 PM, Mom2twoNonna2one said:

I'm near you, just outside of Pgh.

Your town needs a vowel.

[smorbie]

On 2/1/2017 at 1:51 PM, spiderpig said:

Heeeeee!!!

Okay, I keep reading this.  what's with the shouting of WORD?  I know it has something to do with Tom Cruise, but somehow didn't get the memo.

On 2/2/2017 at 0:07 PM, funky-rat said:

Don't get me going on baptizing the dead.  They baptize deceased people of non-Christian religions, and that's just all kinds of wrong.

My husband once had a customer who ran a church.  We later found out it was his own made-up church - he had no council or governing board to answer to, and it showed after a bit.  All kinds of BSC stuff he'd say.  He really believed God was speaking to him, and was putting people in to hospitals so he could save them, etc.  When we stopped going to his church, my husband's job started getting calls from this "pastor" to pray for my husband because he's possessed by demons, etc.  We finally had to  threaten the "pastor" with a lawyer before he stopped.

**edited because continuity counts**

I heard "they" baptized Mother Theresa

[Vicky8675309]

38 minutes ago, smorbie said:

DON'T GO THERE.  It tried to download three different things onto my computer just by my clicking the play link.

Sorry! I didn't know that and didn't have that experience. I use a MAC and have been lucky so far.

I'll see if I can edit that link out of my post.

[smorbie]

Totes, okay.  My virus scan and I caught it before anything opened, though one thing did download.  But, yeah, go back and take that off if you can.

[Vicky8675309]

1 minute ago, smorbie said:

Totes, okay.  My virus scan and I caught it before anything opened, though one thing did download.  But, yeah, go back and take that off if you can.

I wasn't able to edit it but I reported my post and asked for it to be removed. Again, my apologies! I often google stuff like " (insert tv show or movie name) online free" and then go to weird places and watch stuff free. I've been luck so far and I would hate for anyone to mess up their computer based on something I posted.