From day one of the Independence movement, the church has used massive freeloader bills against former staff considering opting for independence. Some people played the game and were corralled back into the pen. Other more principled folk refused to accept any bill, insisting they were not freeloaders as defined by LRH, or simply expressing no interest in paying for standing or status in a corrupt organization.
Apparently the latter category of more principled people have proven to be more numerous than the church initially counted upon. Accordingly, the church is now overtly admitting that they have been holding inflated and off-policy freeloader bills over former staff members for years. According to a recent email from the church a freeloader debt reduction project is now a full time undertaking. In DM’s signature “arbitraries removed” style, the church is promoting that it didn’t quite dig LRH on the subject for all theses years. Independents – who have for months been advising former staff not to accept inflated, off-policy bills – have evidently brought about the “Golden Age of Reduced Extortion Demands.”
The church’s email offer follows:
From: “Patty Sims” <pattysims@scientology.net>
Date: November 30, 2009 Nov 30 3:26:38 AM
Subject: RE: FREELOADER NEWS
It’s christmas and I have good news for you.
You may have heard already about it on the grape vine but I wanted to brief you up in PT on what is going on here at Management as regards to ex-Sea Org members which is very exciting.
With the advent of the Golden Age of Knowledge and since the release of The Basics, we’ve been getting in comm directly with the whole Scientology field to make sure everyone knew of the greatest recovery of lost Tech which took place and which is now changing people’s lives, right, left and center and has doubled the speed of
progress of Scientologist up the Bridge.
By doing so, we found that there were too many ex-SO in the field who were in need of assistance in getting back on lines and had been bugged on doing so. I’m talking of a lot of people who have worked in the Sea Org and who did contribute to the expansion of Scientology in various ways and who for all sorts of reasons had not resolved their freeloader bill and had not returned to the bridge. Well this is the end of that. I first want to acknowledge you as one of those people who did come on board and did work towards the goals that LRH set out for us to achieve and making this universe a safe space for the Forth Dynamic Engram to be audited out and I want you to know that we’ve made a major breakthrough in resolving this matter.
We did a whole review of the situation and gathered newly all LRH references on the subject of ex-SO members and found the arbitraries which had grown over the years and which are now being removed. Since then we have been executing a pilot program to review every individual’s billing and the original reasons for departure from the organization. As a result we have been able to assist hundreds of ex-SO in seriously reducing their original billing, thus handling their debts fully and getting them on-Source and on the study of the Basics and back on lines and moving up the Bridge. THAT IS THE END PRODUCT OF OUR PROJECT HERE. Each person’s situation, contributions, longevity and services received, looked at individually and resolved.
There is quite some work that is put into this sort out for each person and I have just so much time in the day (and I’m getting through my own Basics and going in session too, you know). I will help anyone who is willing to put some time and effort into getting their cycles sorted out. I will expect that once the sort out is done, then the cycle gets completed. I mean getting the greatly reduced bill paid off and getting one’s own full Basics books and lecture package to have one’s own KSW #1 fully in and to be well on your way to get any needed amends done (which includes helping others to get back on the Bridge with their Basics, too), completing your conditions and MOVING AGAIN ON THE BRIDGE. I’ve gotten a lot of people on the Basics courses and listening to their LRH Congress lectures since this whole program started and I really want this for everyone.
So it’s Christmas and I wanted all of you to know about this handling and I invite you to pass on the good news to others you know and to write me back if you’re interested in getting your bill and situation reviewed and terminatedly handled.
Merry Christmas to all.
ML, Patty
Anyone who believes the church was prompted in this direction by the spirit of Christmas, or having only found out through the “advent of the Golden Age of Knowledge” is deluding himself. Independents know only too well how this promotion follows on the heels of many a negotiated deal to steer former SO members back into the pen.
In either event, I recommend that anyone who has any doubt about ever returning to the church go ahead and make a deal. Negotiate as best you can and get the reduced figure put in writing. Whether you pay it or not is another matter entirely. But, at least you will not have a financial gun to your head during the process of sorting out where you are ultimately headed. If the church attempts to add conditions, like turning on your friends, then you are going to have to make an ethical decision. Since Ethics is purely a personal matter, you should think long and hard about the effects that might have on your own spiritual well-being.
In the meantime, all you Independents who have been there helping out people in doubt, take a win and a bow. You of all people should know that the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars saved by a lot of hard-working folks was a result of your selfless efforts to help.
Moving On Up a Little Higher 
“Forth Dynamic Engram”?
Hmmm… is that a Freudian typo or something? Or maybe I’m just sarcastic. Yeah, that must be it.
Wow! So Patty is finally admitting: “By doing so, we found that there were too many ex-SO in the field who were in need of assistance in getting back on lines and had been bugged on doing so. ”
You are right Patty! They are Ex-Sea Orgs because they couldn’t put up with DM’s BS and out-Ethics! dah…….!
She is also saying: “I will expect that once the sort out is done, then the cycle gets completed. I mean getting the greatly reduced bill paid off and getting one’s own full Basics books and lecture package to have one’s own KSW #1 fully in and to be well on your way to get any needed amends done (which includes helping others to get back on the Bridge with their Basics, too), completing your conditions and MOVING AGAIN ON THE BRIDGE.”
In the other words, Patty is saying that we are going to lower your “freeloader debts”, but we are going to force you to buy the whole new set of Basics and Congresses so you put those on your credit card. And if you disagree. Tough!
She is also telling the Ex- SOs, we are going to MAKE you to force others to donate more on those books and lectures.
That is right! Patty will make sure that you are stuck in ETHICS and on the meter through out Christmas & the New Year until you admit you are guilty and will obey DM and his “perverted intention”.
Ex-SOs aren’t you so excited about your Christmas gift from the SP (DM)?
Patty sounds like a girl trying to get her #’s up .. wonder how many will fall for this crap…
Marty & Mo we did not get to see our daughter for Thanksgiving… her sci mom bought the ticket and they did not let her come home…
will keep you posted ..
she is supposed to be home this week ..
we won’t hold our breath….
all out love
nate and mona
Truth, good predictions. I guess I am getting reasonable in my old age.
Dear Independant Scientologists, an Ex- Scientoligist that is speaking out has asked for the creation of a charity that can take Sea Org members in that blow, but do not have a penny to their name or family to go too. Anonymous is and has never been an organization so they/we do not posses or even have the will/intend to put any effort in that as we/they want to stay a rag tag collective of individuals.
I do not know how many Scientology Compounds or Central Hubs there are in the world.
But as you Independant Scientologists seem to posses the capability to organize and the will to do so, I have a question:
Do you think enough is in place to lend these “refugees”a helping hand and I am of target on this or do you have your own Ideas about this? Better yet have a network in place allready than I will not be offended if this post does not reach the blog.
This email simply raises some questions for me, thanks Patty Sims.
Now the “basics” are supposed to have a new public – the EX SO – as no one else wants to get them? The basic books are supposed to be studied on Auditor training anyway- it’s not an LRH Training grade chart action, last time I looked and a distraction to actual Grade Chart actions.
How can one be a free loader after serving over 20 years of SO schedule and corresponding pay? It seems a similar condition of exchange as donations for Ideal Orgs and IAS coffers.
What about the Ex SO who have personal experiences on the subject and aren’t interested in the Miscavology Bridge to nowhere?
Perhaps that will be a Merrier Christmas which will be celebrated (unlike the SO recently) with loving friends and family.
I just sent this e-mail to her for whatever it’s worth. She needs to be demoralized, I think.
Subject: Your freeloader e-mail is pitiful
Patty,
It’s sad what they forced you to say. The people who left staff owe nothing. Charging for required on-the-job training is illegal! All you need to do is ask the Board of Labor in the applicable state. Scientology can’t just overturn existing laws. What you’re saying in your e-mail is, in fact, extortion. It is a crime. Did you know that? You will soon.
You are a dupe. Just leave Scientology so you won’t have to embarrass yourself like this again. You poor deluded girl.
Sincerely,
Eldon Braun
I left in 1980 — with a debt of approximately 60K – these were pre inflated prices.
There was a pilot project for those ex SO who had left. For every year you were in to SO your debt was reduced by 20%. Therefore it you were in MORE than 5 years, you owned NOTHING.
Your contributions were automatically considered and no one could say arbitrarily that you had not contributed enough etc (like the current extortion demand will no doubt do). IF you owed nothing by virtue of your years in the SO, then a small $2,500.00 fee was asked for hatting etc.
WOW — that was a deal I could get behind and did. $2,500 VS 60K? I actually begged my boss to lend me the money. He asked ” why the rush? I said it’s a pilot and could close down tomorrow. Anyway, I paid and became a public scn going from OT III through OT VIII. (thereby the CofS made a ton of money on me!!!)
PLENTY of data about this pilot MUST exist. It was VERY positive as I doubt I would have ever had a “spare” 60K to pay off a free-loader bill (when I never was one).
So — this new deal is yuk. BUT, as Marty said – make the best deal you can but I personally would stay clear of having to knife your friends — that kind of action (karma) is tough to undo.
Good luck.
WH
This offer is more of the same bait and switch regging. The not so fine print has one still owing money, in ethics, committted to purchases. She does a withdrawal near the end(reach and withdraw) saying she is very busy so I assume one is supposed to feel appreciation for any assistance given after her withdrawal lures one to reach.
The whole thing is a weak and arbitrary plan. It points out they they feel they are in need of doing something to try to undermine the growth of the indepoendent field. Thats all that this is about. FEAR.
If anyone knows Patty please let her know that her Key To Life certificate, if she has one, is hereby cancelled pending full retrain of the course.
Forcing a recipient to read between the lines to figure out what she is tap dancing around is one thing but if the lines are as badly grammarized (new concept) as this “exciting” announcement, then something has to give. And, Patty, in this case it is your KTL Cert. Hand it over. TM=24 hours. Report compliance.
Cat Daddy — although SO members who leave may not have money or family to turn to — most all of them have their abilities.
While perhaps there is the very rare exception of an SO member becoming homeless, my bet is that each SO member figures out where to go, how to survive and eventually how to put the past behind themselves and make a life.
The vast majority of all SO members are incredibly competent people. Poverty doesn’t steal competence — just makes it tougher.
So – don’t worry about the SO member who leaves. He/she will figure it out. They have been for 42 years.
WH
Whether their motivations are honourable or not, it is a positive change.
I guess my observation over the past several years regarding s.o. recruiting must be right; lots and lots of young, uneducated kids getting regged, and most of them coming right back out, indicating a downtrend in recruitment.
Failing to recruit qualified adults, and then failing to recruit even children, they are now trying to recoup the “ones who got away.”
I’ve been told that there is something in writing from LRH labelling those who leave the s.o. as
“degraded beings.” I reject this viewpoint utterly as some of the best people I know were once in that group (obviously, look at this site).
But has the s.o. also “reconsidered” that viewpoint? Are they now willing to acknowledge that “ex” or not, anyone committing themselves to the future of mankind to the degree an s.o. member does, is actually pretty valuable whether in the organization or out? Maybe that
acknowledgment should be a requirement on the part of any ex’s who want to take the church up on their offer (not that anyone should do so, because TRUTH is so obviously correct in what is really going to happen). Just sayin’.
Classic example of “apparent theta with malicious intent”!
Cat Daddy: Your native language may not be English but your word spelling has improved alot since your last post, so just wanted to say good job!
The arbitraries bit worked the first go round but one has to wonder about the organization when artibitraries permeate every aspect of that organization.
To me it is akin to LRH not recognizing that his books were so wrong as to portray a meaning different than he intended. I, myself, have to give a being of his stature a bit more credit than that.
I just don’t get it?
So typical of Miscavige. “Removing” arbitraries he himself created and putting new ones there.
Here’s some background folks FLBs were adjusted after the International Amnesty declared in ’79 in a RED not exactly sure what number.
Anyway the new IEO, International Ethics Officer, later IJC a post created by the above RED, devised a sliding scale on FLBs for all staff declared “Free Loaders” , depending on time served on staff, in other words the longer you were actively on staff the less you owed, which was initially a pilot and then later a PL that was approved by AVC and accepted by the Board of Directors CSC.
Fast forward: because it wasn’t written by Ron or more accurately didn’t have his signature on it was arbitrarily cancelled by RTC or to be redundant Miscavige when the new OEC Volumes were issued. Maybe lost in the shuffle is more accurate since there is no actual PL actually canceling it or dropped down the memory hole, would be a better way of putting it.
Anyway, as I wrote this is typical of Miscavige “finder of lost tech”, tech that he, himself “lost”, probably so he could “find” it later at a more convenient time.
Just like the “Golden Age of Tech” which were originally issued back in the early ’70’s as “Auditor Expertise Drills”.
And the “Quickie Grades” he newly rediscovered which became quite popular in the late ’60’s and for a while in the late 70’s before the Ol’man lowered the boom.
Sorry to be so cynical and jaded Marty but this is at best another carrot with probably an even bigger stick since “amends” will probably include the highest phony “level” of the IAS and Idle Org roster.
Merry F—ing Christmas!
What about the tons of money we already spent to pay off freeloader debts?
To Cat Daddy, regarding a fund and help for S.O.’s leaving. I have thought about this before. Would willingly do so. Would even take in someone for a while to get them back on their feet. However, even those routing out standardly are told they are not allowed to go to Scientologists for assistance, not even relatives!
So the problem for all of them is to get the word that help is out here…
Desperate, desperate, desperate. Some people in management are waking up to the fact that valuable staff and public have been systematically gotten rid of over the last fifteen years of purges, off-loads and pogroms.
Flag, in the late 90’s when the Lisa McPherson debacle was boiling over, began excluding public with any type of physical ailment or any potential a-j issues (not actual, mind you just potential). Any staff that were older or had chronic diseases were shipped to off-base assisted living facilities and nursing homes or simply off-loaded.
This created a tremendously ARC broken field and spawned the first exodus of public out of Clearwater. I can imagine some years later someone going through folders and files and saying “why did we ban this OT VIII, Class VI, Patron, Cornerstone member who had donated a cumulative total of $500,000 ????” (an actual person who was banned from Flag as a “security risk”) “Holy Crap! Call them up and tell them it was an arbitrary that they were banned from Flag and had their petition denied. Call them up right now, tell them arbitraries canceled and get them back. Oh yeah. . .tell them to bring money.”
This latest move of reducing freeloader debts is a knee-jerk response to declining membership and a too-little-too-late attempt to handle the injustice . The C of S is just desperate to get any body in the shop these days. That is why Flag is now a Div VI Org (actually told to me by a Flag Sea Org member) and any and all public are now welcome. This is the same public that Flag would not allow across the threshold a few years ago. The same public they held in contempt as the great unwashed wogs of Clearwater
That is why Flag is ripping off the Class V orgs’ public and promoting itself as the place to go for TRS, Objectives and the Grades. That public wasn’t allowed at Flag in the past unless they had a case that a Class V org couldn’t crack
That is why they are willing to welcome back into the fold all the public they exiled because they had severe heart disease or had seen a school psychologist in high school or who’s brother is a lawyer with the FBI or who’s parents don’t like Scientology or who complained too loudly about Flag’s out-tech or who refused to accept a wrong indication from Ethics or who was black-listed by some HCO terminal for reasons known only to God.
It is laughably tragic that they completely discount the human suffering that all these arbitrary and often vindictive actions caused and think that we will all just drop everything and come running back to Scientology.
This is a management so out of touch and removed from reality that even a generous and humanitarian act (if it truly is such, which is open to question) comes across merely as cynical and self-serving.
WH and Cat Daddy, There is a well established underground railroad in operation. Just hook them up with listed Independents. We have ways and means on an international basis to take care of our own.
Mary Jo,
Bingo. Chart of Human Evaluation. As to the ‘lost’ material on FL bills, the only one lost was the LRH approved Violation of Staff Covenant that DM cancelled in 1992. Aside from that, there is Production and One’s Standard of Living and the original OEC volumes which contain all there is to know.
Eldon, I guess I like seeing them get your wrath instead of it being directed at me. Remember though, she doesn’t have to leave Scientology to leave the church.
Sinar, you must be a DSEC grad, yes?
RJ,
LRH approved the issue you’re talking about. In fact, this approval is recorded in audio. DM knows this and yet he cancelled the policy in 1992.
Been There. Comment of the day. Very well thought out and communicated. Thanks.
I’m actually glad I’m a freeloader, because I don’t have to be controlled or pounded for dono’s. I’ve been beating around the bush on my Freeloader bill for years, and it’s way more than other people’s examples. Keep in mind I highly tech trained and was there for 25 years.
I made some small payments, petitioned for a one time settlement and that went over like a lead balloon. Then, as this blog is written I decided I’m not paying anymore at all.
Later,I was approached about a “deal”, but it smelled fishy.
My take was and is- address my Injustice(s), first then let’s talk turkey. As long as DM is still there with some of his robots, I don’t see that happening.
Meanwhile I will continue to wait it out and watch this show develops, there’s no “rush”, I’ve waited long enough.
Wow!! This really makes me sick.
I have no doubt that the reason they are doing this is because of all the independants springing up and we are putting the pressure on DM.
Otherwise he wouldn’t be Q&Aing from his original agenda. What makes me sick about this is that it took THIS MUCH EFFORT to get this teeny wheenie result. That tells you how much counter intention DM has to changing things.
Anyone who goes for this deal is a sucker in my opinion.
Most of the way thru, one of my incomplete courses. 😉
I contacted the Office of the IJC two years ago and offered to pay my full freeloader’s debt at that time. I’ve made several attempts to reach the Office of the IJC since then — concluding with my final contact attempt where I forwarded a link to Jeff Hawkins’ KESQ video interview.
WH,
I believe that was a pilot of something that Lyman Spurlock worked out as directed by LRH. An Ex SO friend told me it was cancelled by DM.
I am in total agreement with Been There. The orgs are desperate. If you choose to take part in this deal, know that you have the upper hand.
Here is a PT example. Someone close to me had been in comm with Flag about his debt. He was told something on the order of 30K. When he couldn’t secure a loan (from a non Scientology family member), the amount dropped to 1K. Then, in an effort to secure an arrival, “after reviewing his folders,” the figure was dropped to zero. This all happened in a span of three days. So, yes, the deals are real but they will take you for all they can…it had nothing to do with “arbitraries removed”.
Yes, you will be regged for the books, he happened to have already purchased them. When he couldn’t figure out how to come up with the money for his TE, he was recruited for the SO again.
And actually, that was the funniest part. He left about 15 years ago due to a medical situation. When he arrived two weeks ago, he was told that he could not stay anywhere on base because he had a pacemaker. Yet, they were gung-ho to get him back on post…He is in his mid 80’s and living in assisted living…and they knew it…yet they recruited him. Now that’s desperate.
Here we have an aging SO member trying to get a bit more auditing this lifetime. Can you see him on the current SO schedule? Neither could he.
In this case, their desperation went is his favor. Little did he know, his non-Scientology relative had seriously contemplated loaning him the money. Had this occurred, he would have been indebt 30K and the orgs GI would have increased.
WH,
That pilot was finalized in a policy approved by LRH, as witnessed by a Senior Watch Messenger AND recorded on audio tape. The policy is Violation of Staff Covenant and was church policy until 1992 when David Miscavige, who is fully aware of the audio tape where LRH approves the above described pilot, cancelled it.
As-Is says: “Whether their motivations are honourable or not, it is a positive change.”
You are either very reasonable or can not spot the tone level of Patty’s communication and DM’s malicious intent.
Please read the PTS/SP course pack if you haven’t and spot the DM’s intention and see how he would have Patty to follow his Evil intention.
DM is frighten to death to see how fast our Independent Scientologists group and Ex-SOs are growing! Of course he is showing fake ARC to lure them back in so he can control them again.
You see?
You’ve got to be joking! Recruiting a guy who cannot stay on the SO base?
This is the funniest post of the day, IMO!
How pathetic!
Desperation.
They just want all the money they can get!
A former long term AVC Int I/A who used to authorize all evals in RTC and is a good evaluator just told me that this is probably not related to getting people back in the orgs or handing freeloader debts at all but an attempt to cut the comm lines to Marty.
“It is laughably tragic that they completely discount the human suffering that all these arbitrary and often vindictive actions caused and think that we will all just drop everything and come running back to Scientology”.
Been There – I agree with Marty. You are totally spot on. When I was still in lower conditions from having left the SO a friend of mine was trying to FSM me to do the Basics at Flag because they were letting Ex-SO members in lower conditions do the Basics there. She herself had been on lines while still incomplete on those conditions. They are totally desperate.
My sister’s entire FL bill was canceled, but only if she would buy a Basics package before Thursday 2:00 pm. And yet so many others have slaved to pay off their bills to get back in good standing. Another friend paid a $90,000 bill by borrowing from friends/family (whom she is still paying off 10 years later). It was later found that there were huge errors on her bill, and she was refused a credit to her account. It was sort of treated like this: “good job on all you donated, let’s count it on your amends project and consider it extra towards the cause.”
The number of arbitraries and inconsistencies is unbelievable.
Eldon, I know from personal experience in recently getting a repayment of funds that any and all emails sent to this suffix (@scientology.net) are all screened. I had to send a lot of emails to this same network and know they got screened.
Therefore, your message to Patty will probably never land in her Inbox email.
AS-IS: If their motivations are not honourable, it is NOT a positive change!
I beleive one of the out-quals for the Sea Org is that the person is a degraded being. That would make those of us who have left, in-eligible to return, by their own standards, no?
The original intent of the Freeloader policy was to prevent the orgs from being taken advantage of by people who joined staff with the intention of doing as much free training and auditing as they could, and then leaving.
By the 70s, the freeloader policy interpretation and enforcement morphed into a punishment for staff who left. The fact of it being grossly unfair and most likely, illegal, could not even be seen by those enforcing FL policy, such being blinded by their rigid, stubborn desire to make ex-staff wrong.
In the early 80s, Lyman Spurlock’s pilot and subsequent policy, approved by LRH, corrected, for the most part, the FL program injustices. But the make-wrong was still dished out, if at all possible. I knew of one ex-SO member at the time who STILL had to pay full price for her FEBC/OEC course, despite the fact that her cert was canceled (as were the certs of all students who did these courses at Flag in 1981, because the course was subsequently declared to have been sabotaged by those who were delivering it at the time. “Pay full price for our overt product.”)
Then in the 90s, this Violation of Staff Covenant policy was cancelled, and also, ex-int staff were automatically declared if they left, even if standardly routing out.
My immediate thought upon first hearing of this severe change was that probably too many staff were leaving and paying the minimum debt, and that this new harsh stance was about CONTROL and Stop Loss of personnel.
This latest, specious attempt is so very transparent. It isn’t even a POLICY change, but kind of a squirrel Board of Review: “Since then we have been executing a pilot program to review every individual’s billing and the original reasons for departure from the organization.”Read: You play nice and we’ll stop the whipping.
Dear Mary Joe
I’d like to have a mail contact with you and send a copy of my biography in the sea org. Is that ok with you? Sherry K already got her own copy and knows me. ML
This freeloader debt email is a complete joke as many have pointed out. LRH did in fact approve the policy that reduced the debt based on years of service as Jim Logan rightly pointed out.
When I left the Sea Org and found out how much they wanted from me, I laughed. As Jim Logan has done, I figured out the millions of dollars that I directly contributed to Scientology, the Sea Org and to LRH and it well outweighed any freeloader debt.
In fact, I feel like after 19 years of being out, they owe me money for the following:
– 19 years of being harrassed and spied on by Scientology Private Eyes and Spys.
– Disruption of my business over the years.
– Disconnection from my former friends who remained in the Sea Org and Scientology.
– Disconnection from my Sister and her husband who remained public Scientologists and haven’t spoken to me in 19 years and haven’t spoken to my younger brother for 30 years.
-Disconnection by my Sister from my 79 year old mother last year, who never hurt a fly.
– Turning my Ex-wife against me and not allowing her to leave the Sea Org when she made attempts to do so.
And I am not speaking just for myself but for all those out there who have suffered under DM’s abusive and off policy tactics and for those babies that were never born and never had a voice due to coerced abortions.
Where do I go to get DM to pay his Freeloader debt to me and the rest of those on the outside?
Good thing I am not money motivated.
A recent story. I got a freeloader bill in 2007 of about 90K. I paid somewhere around 35K of it on cards almost immediately. In 2009, I got word that these debts were being reduced or cancelled, so I contacted the project. After a few questions (very few) I got the phone call that the remainder of the debt was cancelled. The next piece of the communication was that they could help me with my liability formula. To wit: buy $3,000.00 worth of CDs/DVDs to get into the hands of city officials who deal with the drug problem. Then with that done, the project would 8-C my formula through all the terminals necessary for approval. That’s 3 squirrely things in 1: the freeloader debt itself, naming what to do in what would be my formula and doing Step 4 of the formula for me! Pretty desparate, eh?
NB: I declined.
The saddest part about this letter is that “pretended theta”.
One of the deepest disappointments I experienced with what I came to recognize as typical types of “org” cycles was the realization that friendships and caring were as deep as my perceived pocketbook and as enduring as the next SP whisper campaign.
There’s been a word for that for ages now. Plan and simple, it’s called fake.
Other words are superficial. Insincere.
It was supreme irony and profound offense to sensibility and honor that the very people with whom I placed my deepest, open hearted trust could be so easily swayed, by a stat push, by a black PR campaign, by manipulation, by a reg coup maneuver.
That’s why there is no greater betrayal than when it happens in a shop that is purportedly in the business of trust, honor, integrity. Synonymous with those words…INTEGRITY, which means whole, unbroken, are loyalty, devotion.
I’ve been on all flows of it. I’ve been “swayed by the fervor” when on the “inside”. I recognize the fervor in that letter pretending to be theta and magnanimous and caring. I know what it’s like. A delirium.
It was a sad day the one I realized communications such as this, from the one place on Earth I trusted and gave my all, were insincere. And how just as quickly a cold shoulder could be next, out of the blue. Then theta and admiration.
In my book, friendship does not run Hot and Cold. For whatever reason!
Jingle Sells. 😉
Undisturbed thank you. It actually was about me taking an effort. I thought it was proper regarding the subject.
This email from Patty is so wrong on so many levels.
First and foremost is that no ex-SO owes the Sea Org anything, especially for “on the job” training. As someone correctly pointed out, it is illegal to charge for it. More importantly, most of these ex-staff are owed money from the cult when you consider we were actually slave labor. No minimum wage, no benefits, bad food, lack of proper medical attention, no vacation, squalid living conditions, emotional and physical abuse, coerced abortions, sleep deprivation, false imprisonment, etc.
But the thing that really gets my blood pressure up is that Patty’s email isn’t really a sincere effort to help anyone; it’s nothing more than a thinly vieled attempt to sell more Basic books packages. And maybe get some freeloader debt collected as well. Shame on you Patty! This is no Christmas present.
The bottom line is that any time your contacted by the cult they either want money or they want you to work for them (or both). Maybe I sound cynical, but my opinion is based on many years of experience with these folk.
Oh, yeah…and *Freeloader*?! Sounds like a Scrooge ponzie scheme.
Orgs have a humongous Freeloader debt. Restitution is in order to many individuals for all the free labor.
Hey…Staff and Auditors *are the most valuable people on the planet*
Staff gave with Love and Duty, under duress and sacrifice. That does not mean they need to PAY for the privilege.
In my opinion the only reason they are doing this is because they believe that by lowering the fees so much they can entice people who otherwise wouldn’t have paid to pay the “reduced debt.” They figure better some money than no money. It’s the Walmart approach, reduce the price to the point where the person says, well at that price why not. What they should be doing is canceling freeloader debt and reducing services prices for public. Instead of reviving their sagging stats by delivering “more Scientology” per LRH policy and “not having barbeques” they’re doing this…
“I wanted to invite you to come to our amazing Benefit Concert we are having
for the Ideal Org. It’s this Saturday at 6:00pm at the Ideal Org Building in
Santa Ana. We have all 5 members of the local Band SWAY and Izzy Chait
performing. This is going to be one fun night of music!! Tickets are $50. I
hope you can come!!
ARC,
Lisa Barnett”
Marty,
After helping my son finish a book report about an American slave who was finally able to buy his freedom after 45 years of slavery the similarity struck me. What part of being in the Sea Org doesn’t fit the definition of slavery?
Per Wikipedia: Slavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation.
On top of that add a “freeloaders debt” to buy back your freedom.
Certainly not part of any “Bridge to Total Freedom.”
That’s sort of what I was implying Jimmy. It was legally approved by AVU (oops not C revise earlier post, erase! erase!) which took over for the International Board covered in HCOPL Policy, Source of.
Anyway, it was a valid policy per above and it also had BODCSC acceptance and yes I think the Ol’man mentioned it in RJ 38 or it could have been earlier.
Whatever.
The point is Sidney Gottlieb …oops…er …I mean David Miscavige, illegally canceled it. Like he illegally canceled HCOPL Cancelation of Disconnection and other PLs he didn’t like.
ClearlyMistreated, The parallels are so close, I listed Frederick Douglass’ – Life of an American Slave – in the recommended reading section of this blog.
I considered writing a response to this latest ‘news’ but couldn’t get past the gag reflex.
Many many thanks to all the bloggers – you said it all already.
Incidentally my friend and I spent a very entertaining morning spitting out coffee and falling off our chairs laughing at the responses.
This is the most fun we’ve had ‘being Scientologists’ for many years.
Well done to you all for demonstrating that the Spirit of Play goes on.
Dear All,
To put this E-Mail into the right context. 5 weeks ago I spoke to a high ranking S.O. Member; he told that osa made an eval about the attacks against C.O.S, and found out that one of the main Sources are Ex-Sea-Org Members that have no hope to ever pay back their freeloader Bills and that’s the reason for this programm. I know of people that left recently that even got a bill as their contributions were huge. So this way they’ll get plenty of new publics and less future attackers.
He also told when a couple wants to have kids, they can leave without any problems and perhaps don’t even have a bill. He said the S.O. doesn’t want to supress the 2D.
So, now to whom do we have bow that this reform occurs ?
I just say well done guys. Continue I think more reforms are on the way.
Just look at the prices at Flag, they go down, down….as never seen in history.
LRH defined a freeloader as someone who took but did not contribute. Most SO members contributed and not took.The out-exchange is the other way! Demanding a payment to be allowed in their religion is extortion, now a milder extortion 🙂
External pressure on Co$ do change things inside for the better. Well done on Marty et all.
Other considerations:
1) Translation of the email: We *may* extort less money from you to allow you back in Scientology *If* you buy the Basics set (2400$); *if* you enroll on an extension course and *if* you do amends and beg for forgiveness to our satisfaction (Liability).
2) Did they locate the SP who in 1992 changed the policy making practically impossible for many ex SO members to be part of Scientology?
3) Are they going to credit accounts for the extorted illegal money gotten by overcharging freeloaders for almost two decades? They would do that voluntarily for all without conditions if they where responsible and honest. Are they?
Good info on freeloader billing:
http://wiseoldgoat.com/papers-scientology/hubbard_vs_freeloaders.html
Well, if Patty doesn’t get the e-mail, a little reinforcement of the endemic paranoia surely won’t hurt anything.
As for wrath, I’m not angry at all, let along furious. More like sardonic. It boggles my mind that anybody takes this kind of bare-faced extortion seriously.
Christie,
The arbitraries and inconsisitencies constitute a breach of fiduciary duty on DM’s part.
This is how this works: LRH has what are termed ‘irrevocable trusts’ in place. DM has a fiducuiary position with regard to those trusts. Those duties include adhering to actual LRH authored or specifically approved Scientology materials. That means that the marks, service and trade, must be adhered to. They are the means in place to guaranty one is getting LRH Scientology and not being ‘passed off’ something else.
DM, as declared legally by his well-touted corporate title and thoroughly promoted and stated function, has a corporate trust and fiduciary capacity that is enforceable at law, criminal and civil.
Take the above email. It was sent and today email is considered part of the valid delivery system of comm. It falls under statutes covering Mail Fraud. That means, if it’s a violation of any LRH policy (freeloader bills to those who exchanged are indeed such), then this violation of the marks, has been ‘passed off’ in the mails.
Since DM cancelled the authorized policy Violation of Staff Covenant, and the fundamental policy on FL bills is also being violated (a simple perusal of LRH policy will show this to be the case) and this is being communicated through the mail, then the requisite charges for RICO are in fact being committed and evidenced, to say nothing of all the money falsely collected since he did, without any legal authority, cancel the policy on FL bills, or ignore the material LRH wrote on this subject.
Now, before any body figures that prosecution of these offences will lead to the destruction of either Scientology or any Church of Scientology or corporate entity, keep in mind that RICO or the lesser known corporate equivalents that hold the heads of places responsible personally for acts committed by those junior to them, realize that the law will hold those individuals responsible and NOT a ‘corporation’ or in this case an entity.
That means that DM is legally responsible and culpable for any violation of an LRH policy in this matter since he holds a fiduciary position.
Is it ‘suppressive’ to prosecute DM for his violations of LRH policy which in fact are violations of a fiduciary position and technically a fraud forwarded by the ‘mails’ (The Firm, with Tom Cruise has an example of this).
The only High Crime on this states: Delivering the person of a Scientologist without justifiable defense or lawful protest to the demands of civil or criminal law.
One must ask, is there ANY justifiable defense for corrupting the intent and meaning of LRH policy on exchange (DM’s estopped on changing the meaning of ‘exchange’ by the way, it’s been covered in the US Supreme Court as a ‘core tenet’ of Scn) and FL bills? Is there any lawful protest to support DM’s perversion of LRH policy and outright cancellation of Violation of Staff Covenant HCO PL?
If the answer is NO, then any Scientologist or indeed any person, prosecuting DM, as the corporate officer responsible for departures from LRH materials in violation of irrevocable trusts (ref: US Supreme Court case, Watson v. Jones) has the ability, with NO violation of any LRH policy, to see that DM is held personally responsible for breaking the laws of the land, which is exactly what the violation of LRH policy on FL bills is.
Barry Van Sickle, you will succeed to the degree that you have the right target, DM, and apply Scientology policy, as well as the law, in your prosecution of him.
Dear Mostly Lurker
This is not a ‘milder extortion’ this is just covert extortion and manipulation.
Nothing has changed for the better. If we believe that then we should also believe that DM is really Santa Claus coming to bring the Ex SO members an early Christmas present.
What has occurred here is that the the church is sliding slowly but surely down the tone scale.
We should stop worrying about being hit as we once were when we were being targeted from the anger band. Now we’re dealing with covert hostility (smile on the face; knife in the back).
That is the real effect that Marty has created – driving the suppressive forces down the tone scale towards apathy and death.
Regarding other considerations:
1) I think you nailed it exactly 🙂
2) I think the SP has been named already a number of times
3) ha ha ha ha ha…… seriously?
Right on Mary Jo.
Barney,
Read the LRH policy, Production and One’s Standard of Living. In the policy you will find LRH exhorting a staff member to attach a monetary value to their production. That value is what the production would be worth in the market. An example is for a Cram Off, in the 80’s at Int, had an hour of cramming charged at $200/hr.
Add up the monetary value of your work in the SO and compare that to the FL bill. If you were following the above PL then it should be at least 5X what the ‘bill’ is. In other words, your exchange is very, very in with a 5X differential.
You don’t ‘owe’ the 3D any money if you exchanged. In many cases, the 3D will be shown to be ‘out-exchange’ with its members. That may account for a whole bunch of the trouble the 3D is experiencing currently. That, among other things.
DO NOT pay a FL bill unless and until you read LRH policy on such. Follow that policy and I’m sure you’ll do just fine. If anybody has any questions then write to me and we’ll sort it out with the applicable policy.
Joey,
Another person with the Data Series under their belt has observed the facts. Cutting theta lines has a position on the Chart of Human Evaluation. Glub, glub, glub, as DM drowns. Kabang, the sound of ‘hoist by thine own petard’.
Slip, as the straw he’s clutching breaks…
CM,
As administered under DM, ‘freeloader bills’ are a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution prohibiting peonage.
A quote from Data Series 5: “It is odd but all the “facts” you protest in life and ridicule or growl about are all one or another
of the outpoints.”
Dear All, I have some exciting news about removing the arbitraries to all those Church programs on removing the arbitraries. YES, we are removing the final arbitraries to the people who keep putting arbitraries IN while saying they’re putting arbitraries OUT while actually simply trying to cut comm lines to people in the independent field like Marty. That’s not hard to follow is it?
It’s simple: Next time you hear the phrase from the Church “removing arbitraries” add in the phrase, “so we can install NEW even more arbitrary arbitraries than the old arbitraries”! E-Z right? You betcha!
Are you getting EXCITED yet?!? I can’t hear you!
In actual fact, careful examination of past policies and writings from LRH have revealed the biggest little arbitrary in Scientology history: David Miscavige himself! And YOU are actually now involved in removing that arbitrary. Once we audit him out, other arbitraries will just blow like locks on the chain when you get the basic engram.
Or if you prefer, next time you hear “We are removing arbitraries” — use this translation: “We’re suppressive and this is how we cover our tracks.”
Thoughtful, As per usual, you summed it up perfectly.
There is absolutely nothing new in this email.
The Church has been lowering freeloader’s bills for SO members since at least the 1990’s. This is just another sales email.
The idea that a person works 60-80 hours per week for virtually no pay, on an indentured servitude contract, and then gets hit with a huge bill if they should leave before their billion year contract is up – IS INSANE.
It is slavery, right in front of your faces, and you can not even see it. Look up “indentured servitude” in an encyclopedia of your choice.
Do not go in and re-negotiate a lower amount.
Instead, sue them for labor violations and make the punitive damages outrageously expensive for them. That is the only way they will stop enslaving Scientologists – if they are forced to do so through the weight of law.
Scientologists have rights.
Exercise them.
I still think if all ex-SeaOrg Members sued the Curch for wages according to Labor Law this could be over much faster depleting that warchest. When in the end only the Copyright Material is left It can be aggreed on that that will be sufficient payment to all Independant Scientologists all over the world handing it over to some agreed upon platform.
Barry Van S and those interested,
In the post above I mentioned RICO, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act from the 70s. It’s NOT the entities described in the policy LRH wrote, it’s the faux, shadow org, that DM has created that is off the trusts. In other words, his own little racket and corrupted org. He’s masquerading as a Scientology exec and corporate officer which is evident in his violations of LRH policy, which violations constitute a breach of trust and fiduciary duty. He’s committed the requisite offences for a RICO prosecution by violating LRH policy.
A Scientology org, run on LRH policy, is well within the laws of the land. What isn’t is DM’s li’l operation. That’s the ‘racket’ and it has nothing to do with Scientology, that’s the corruption.
Point of fact: DM’s got his own racket influenced and corrupt organization going masquerading as a Scientology entity.
Any successful prosecution, civil or criminal, will grasp this and by differentiating these things, will set DM out on the lonely spot he actually inhabits, legally, and in reality.
To sum it up: DM runs a racket and corrupted from actual Scientology (legally, by defintion, LRH materials) organization. Any fraudulent mail issued by one of his minions, any fraudulent collection of ‘freeloader’ bills, are the requisite acts to prosecute DM personally as the head of this racket that is NOT a true Scientology entity.
How do you know it isn’t a Scientology entity? It’s in violation of LRH materials. You’d have to know LRH materials to observe this.
What would LRH do with an entity masquerading as a Scientology entity muddying up the field? (Hint; well…you get the idea).
The real why is found in this number: 25,000 OUT versus 5,000 IN SeaOrg members. DM’s attempting to stem the swelling ranks of the Young Turks by bringing Scientologists back into the fold. There will be more enticements coming.
Dear Marty, out of my own personal integrity I’d not pay a single dime for a freeloader bill, which perhaps amounted to 200000$, and there is no amount of money the church can offer me to severe my comm line to you. Amen.
This email just makes my blood boil. When I first left I thought I would just pay my debt, do my conditions and get right back in there like a good little soldier.
And at first I was flowing money on a weekly basis. And then I started to think about it. Why the hell was I doing that. If I added up all of my production hours at just a minimum wage rate, not calculating in the overtime rate, the church would in fact OWE me money.
I dare anyone out there to do it. Just give yourself 13 hours a day 6 days a week and 10 on sundays to be nice for those few sundays where you actually got to do CSP and then do 360 days a year to factor in the average 5 days off a year a SO member gets, and give yourself the minimum wage of $5.50 see which number is bigger.
Huck,
Is that 25,000 out vs in 5,000 figure real? I find it hard to believe.
Jim,
I do not think we have met. Please correct me if I have forgotten.
I am essentuially tone deaf on matters of religion but think I can spot who is mostly responsible for running the Church of Scientology as a criminal organization. On that point I am in agreement with Marty.
We have taken a hard look at using the RICO laws and have decided to focus on other legal theories at least for now. We do have a law firm taking another look at the RICO potential of future cases.
Thanks ,
BVS
The Irony is that Freeloader Debts are illegal yet your claim to unpaid wages is a legal one.
Hi Marty. Happy Holidays!
Please , what is this “Independence movement” you speak of and when did it start?
Dinfected, Read this blog through.
You are not really going to make me do that for an answer, are you? That would be brutal 🙂
OK, just when do you consider it started? You use “from day one” so I guess you have some idea and I am curious what that might be. I promise to clay-demo your answer to full conceptual uinderstanding (not).
Early Feb 08.
I see. And what about all those “Independents” that were run off by Miscavige at the start of his reign of terror in the early 1980’s?
Disinfect. What about them?
Jim Logan,
Thank you for your precise description of the situation and knowledge in this area.
You are invaluable.
I have been tracking this whole “project” to reduce freeloader debts for some time now. The amount of frustration I feel on this subject is too great to put into words.
Personally, I paid my freeloader debt (extortion money) a few years ago. I was still heavily PTS at the time and was attempting to get “in good standing” and back on the Bridge. I am still paying that money to the bank on a monthly basis, and believe me, it isn’t easy. I view it as a mistake I made so take responsibility and get on with it. Thats that.
But what just makes me want to vomit is when my friends or loved ones are being pressured to pay so-called freeloader bills. Oh man, it takes herculean strength to stop me from shaking them and saying “wake up!”. It would violate most of their realities and in addition I can’t raise the red flag on myself quite yet. So I have to resort to gently trying to get them to see that it is actually off-policy. The HCO PL in OEC Vol 1 on Freeloaders is quite clear.
Anyhow, in addition to the many aspects of how out-ethics and suppressive this activity is, I don’t think anyone has taken up a very important aspect of this subject and that is: FREELOADER COLLECTIONS IS A MAJOR, MAJOR INCOME SOURCE FOR THE SEA ORG. I would even go so far to say that it can surpass tithes from the various Scientology orgs and sectors in certain cases. How do you think current Sea Org members are going to get their Christmas bonuses this year? You got it – F/L collections. Not tithes from big booming on-Source Scientology orgs or Missions. Not from people walking the Bridge to Total Freedom. Nope. Extortion from people who served the Church for LRH and because they wanted a Cleared planet.
So you see, this income creates a camouflaged hole situation.
If this whole arbitrary system were cancelled, the income stat of Management would absolutely crash. They might even be forced to straighten out Management and run orgs that actually expand and get people up the Bridge. New concept.
This is a major, gross and glaring outpoint in the management finance system.
I am trying to understand where you are coming from on this “Independent movement”. Because it seems to me that movement started in the early 1980’s and has continued since then.
What is the significance of “Early Feb 08”?
Yes it is legal as long as I am willing to be ex communicated by the church and lose every person that I know that is still in the church including my family.
That is the real joke. I never intended to pay. I have made that abundantly clear to everyone that has ever talked to me. I let them know in no uncertain terms that not only am I not a “Freeloader” I am also not in Doubt. I have moved on with my life. I chose my side. Doubt done!
That would be one of my functions and that of other’s here aware and in comm with those still “in”. Though I think that the amount of people leaving since these revelations is very small. In fact, I’m pretty sure that wanting to leave, many are unable to for obvious reasons.
That said, I agree with Wind Horse, if there is something that characterizes most Sea Org Members, is their ability to make impossibilities possible.
Can you spell spin boys and girls? Spin, s-p-i-n, spin. That’s all Patty is doing here spinning a little flimsy web, like she has been taught to do. In the hopes that poor, hapless flies will flit in. Sorry, Patty those who have had the backbone to leave cannot be so easily manipulated.
Well, I know the gall, her motivations are honorable, I can vouch for hers, but not those of the master mind of this new plan. Let’s remember people, these are not all monsters after our money and freedoms, these are duped good people after our money and freedoms, who honestly think they are helping us. Sounds weird, but unless you have been there, you can not know their intentions and have no right to judge. Yes, there are many among the rank and file that are as evil as their master, I met them too. But the great majority are people that are decent, and caring and sincere in their misguided efforts to help, and they deserve that recognition from us all.
When I routed out of the SO in 1987 this HCOPL was applied on me, and as I had worked in the SO for 2 years only, I got 40% descount on my bill, I payed it and got back on lines inmmediately.
I have told some ex SOs about this HCOPL and they say that it was cancelled as you say. I also wondered why the Service Complition Awards were cancelled too, now seems that DM is putting it back but ONLY for the ones who are doing from CCRD to the OT levels… I wonder why??
Well said WomanSetFree. Sadly, I don’t think Patty even realizes what she’s doing. I honestly think she thinks she’s doing the right thing and “helping” Ex-SO get back on the Bridge.
Someday, when she realizes the severity of this all, she will feel awful. How many millions upon millions of dollars have been extorted from Ex Sea Org members now? How does one even begin to take responsibility for an overt of that magnitude?
Disinfected,
Are you bored? so bored that you have nothing better to do with your time than harass Marty whenever you get a chance? You know full well that you are just playing with semantics.
You want to invalidate Marty and our group by saying the free zone is being dissed by us and that it is the same as the World Wide Independent Scientologist. right?
Well, in this blog, there was a vote to adopt the term Independents as short for the above WINS proposed by the wise and witty and always fun thoughtful. If you read the blog you will know Marty and Co have recognized and acknowledged the free zone duly.
But we are our own group, simple as that and we happen to choose that name.
There, you got your answer, go clear up each word, clay demo it and write an essay on how the new loose association of these people is not an invalidation, nullification or anything similar, to the earlier and well recognized free zone movement. Can you handle that?
Disinfect, there are Dianeticists and Scientologists who have departed from the official organization yet continued to practice the subject independently since the early 50s and maybe even before that. It has been going on since Day One Book One, or thereabouts.
CC and Disinfect, I don’t think we need to get fractious. It isn’t an us vs. them situation. Hell, Ken U is a long-time freezoner and announced Independent. You don’t have to formally deliver to be an Independent. But you certainly can. I think our goals and purposes are quite clear from all that has been posted and COMMENTED on this board. I think those goals embrace those of most people who consider themselves “Freezone” but I think they are far more embracive.
Jane, Well actually the Christmas bonuses are not really the important thing. What is important for many SO members is the time that they are aloted for Christmas shopping to buy gifts for their families and spouses. Many are relishing the opportunity to have the few hours of unsupervised time to buy gifts, this year especially. It isn’t because there are some super hot gotta have gifts this season. It is because many of them are planning to blow, like I did during my 2 1/2 hours of Xmas shopping several years ago. Think about it. You’ve got your savings, you’ve got some free time, what else do you need? I predict that there will be highest ever blows this season. In other words, many SO members are planning to give their families the best gift they could ever give this holiday season–themselves. You read it here first, OSA, but I know many of you have been thinking along this exact same line. Happy Holidays!
Perhaps Joe. On the subject of blows I’ve always been of the mind that they needed to expedite the routing out process, which I believe is in the works. If someone wants to leave, let them leave.
There’s nothing wrong with getting a bit of clean up beforehand, however what ends up happening is it drags on and on – no auditors available for the sec check, complications on the FB process, etc. etc.
BRubb, It was an exSO member’s guesstimate and I thought it very high, too, but then I started to see that it’s feasible that for every one who stays four or five have blown/routed out/been thrown out/dropped bodies etc since the SO’s formation.
I mean, how many original messengers are still in? Look at the Int Strata over the past 20 plus years and ask yourself, Where are they now? Because they aren’t at Gold unless they’re RPF’ed.
Be interesting to get some feedback from exSO on how many they’d estimate are still in versus how many aren’t from their days in uniform?
My earlier point, however, is that this bloc of exSO, if properly lined up, represents a major resource for a man who has buildings and needs to fill them fast to show stats are booming.
I do payroll for a living now, so here are the figures for you to use to multiply by your years of service.
Standard working hours in a year is 2080, that’s 40hrs/week with 2 weeks paid vacation. Would be $11,440.00 per year at a rate of $5.50 per hour.
Current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour that would make it $15,080.00 per year.
Using the figures Ex-RPFer gave you’d have:
SO schedule = 4524 working hrs per year
at $5.50 per hr = $28,766.75/yr
at $7.25 per hr = $51,101.63/yr
These figures include the overtime pay as it is mandated by law, see your state’s department of labor website or the federal department of labor site. For an SO schedule that would be 33 overtime hrs per week, 51 weeks of the year.
I have a good example of how desperate is the church, I said my story in previous posts… briefly, I’m gay, ex-SO, my whole family with exception of one member disconnected from me… Last year somehow the Church executives found out my ex-partner is a millionaire I got calls from top execs I knew at CLO EU and Int Fin Office asking to donate $30K, the funniest thing was that they didn’t even ask me what kind of job I had they called me directly demanding to write a check right away and they would forget all the supposedly bad things I had done and put me back in good standing… right… Of course I didn’t pay, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me, after that I’ve never answered any phone calls.
When I was on the RPF, I was selected to go do renos work for ASI, graveyard shift schedule. Because ASI is a non-church entity, they actually had to pay us minimum wage to cover their ass(ets). Of course, they only paid 8 hours a day, with no overtime.
Hell, we were happy as hell to get that, believe me.
THEN, at the end of the project, those that worked on the project were treated to an evening at the MOVIES! Yay! Well done to us!
The cost of the movie tickets and the popcorn was later deducted from our minimum wages.
BVS,
No we haven’t met this life. You have, whether you know it or not, got a hold of the tiger’s tail. It’s not the tail you may think you’ve got.
Tell you what, you wanna play for real, I’m not hard to get a hold of. I will add a caveat: this will be an adventure, may you never be the same.
Over to you.
Actually, I wurn’t me who proposed the WINS name but Jim Logan or T Paine or someone super smart like that thunk it up while someone even smarter thunk up “Independents” (probably Marty or Mosey or Christie) right at the very hour I was about to unveil my own super name for us that I did think up myself but never have told anyone but my wife to this very day since it got invalidated but here it is anyway since we’re on the subject which really was irritating for me personally, but so what which it was “Intelligent Non-Destroyers Exposing Programs of Extortion, Nullification and Disconnection to Emancipate a New Transparent Scientology” as right before I was going to tell everyone, Erica pointed out the unbelievable irony that the acronym for my name it turned out was I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T.S. so I said “Oh, come on, dang it! What are the odds?” so I checked it myself a few times but every time I did it came out the same so finally I realized it was too late and fate took the prize away from me by a fluke and I couldn’t get the toothpaste back in the tube because calamity had struck causing me to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory so I had to just throw my hands up and realize the name I had thunk up for all of us was maybe way too long like this sentence and maybe too hard to remember somewhat but I just wish she had said that before I got it on as a tattoo never realizing it was going to wrap around and around so many times.
Disinfected,
This is a whole different kettle of fish. You are going to have to up your game I’m afraid. That’s OK though, because a better game is the aim.
Barry,
The above post isn’t meant to be cryptic or a taunt. There IS a successful way to win that means win for all involved. That embraces the case and statutory law, as well as the senior truths. That last part is the challenge. And I don’t mean to ‘challenge’ by saying that. I mean that you’ll have to raise your sites. There’s a whole other ‘thing’ going on here.
This might have hit the HE comment thread! Good.
Thanks Huck for clarificaton.
As a 12 year old FLer, I twice get annually hit up big time for FLer donations SO DAY and XMAS time- that is centered around bonus time for SO members. So Members get their infrequent Bonuses at these specific times of the years, fact be told.
I had a soft heart for it, at first them got tired of it.
For the record please, stop bashing Patty Sims, she is a good hat= wrong target.
Being Dutch I am a big supporter of the Labor Laws. You provide good information WomanSetFree. A Lawsuit is just for draining the Church’s warchest. What you do with the money would be ones own choiche. Wouldn’t it be nicer to be able to give it to your favorit charity or aply it to help people or start up a project of intrest. I rather see that Green being out there working for the good instead of lining the pockets of DM and Church Lawyers.
You could even set up an Independant charitable fund with it together.
Thoughtful, I swear you thought of it first, I just picked up on your earth-pervading thought.
Love it!!!
=D
Thank you, CC. I will now go introvert as requested.
Kidding aside, you assume much and generalize freely. That will be my only response. (I think Marty censored my previous reply.)
Thoughtful – Too LOL hilarious!!!! Thanks for the comic relief!
Thoughtful,
That one is full of thought. I love it.
Thank you for your candor, Marty, with respect to the ethical question and spiritual consequences of turning in one’s friends for some meaningless tangible of a ‘bigger reduction’ in one’s freeloader bill. Needed to be said. You reminded me of a book LRH refers to within the body of his works – the reference escapes me now. I am speaking of Liam O’Flaherty’s “The Informer” (later made into a classic film by the author’s American cousin, the great director, John Ford (John Feeney).
More, I personally cannot stomach the so-called Basics arbitrary that has become so pervasive. The auditor in me is disgusted that the simple, usual action of getting people into the Academy to train to become auditors has been thrown out for what appears to be a lately-created set of services. Can no one see that a future dearth of the only beings capable of setting a spiritual being free is forthcoming? Forget the eval five years from now as to why there is an auditor shortage.
Further, what Darla above recounts in hers above is beyond the pale – buy more basics for some 4D purpose and you’ll get your Liability Formula approved on some fast track. It would not be hard to understand the bewilderment and disappointment someone in that situation might experience in the face of such a gross arbitrary. LRH would never, of that I am sure. If the notion of bringing ex-SO back ‘into the tent’ were really the goal, then wouldn’t anyone and everyone at step 4 of Liability be put on this same fast track? That the email from the organization/project refers to step 3 of that same formula as ‘amends’ shows a lack of understanding or deliberate mis-application of the Liability Formula.
Eleanor, your recommended film is on my list. I think the folks who have commented here are more on the money than I originally was. Once DM sets an arbitrary the entire structure literally revolves around it for years. In this case, sell books at all costs to justify his latest Stalin 5 year plan – even if they will never be read.
This is from one of LBV’s “Bed Time Story” posts which is very revealing as to what is really going on here. What pisses me off the most is that the org continues to pay rent to Miscavige and thus it’s a total scam operation, as the people donating are told the org must own and not lease the building so the org is not hindered with such payments.
So much money was being brought in for the “super power” building in Florida that Little Dickie thought, why not run this same scheme in every city where a church exists.
Under the International Finance Office is what is called the International Landlord Office. It’s their job to recreate the program run for the “super power” building at the lower city levels – and thus another 50 plus cash cows were born.
This handled two problems for Little Dickie. The first being the need for cash and the second being the need for smoke, mirrors and props for magazines and events to create the illusion that the church was actually expanding and actually doing something. Unfortunately by just pushing the building end of “expansion”, real expansion never occurs. In fact it is cut across.
Let’s take their organization in Montreal as an example. It’s been a small, struggling church with 10 to 15 staff for 20 years. It has a minuscule and limited number of active parishioners who have had their arms twisted and their pockets emptied to eventually come up with $4 million dollars.
This money is used to buy some big, old building that is supposed to be renovated and become beautiful. To do this, the public are told ANOTHER $4 million is needed which the parishioners don’t have.
The newly purchased building sits empty and the church continues to struggle in its existing location.
The Montreal church is completely insolvent, it owes bills going back for ages (like almost every Scientology church on the planet) and it is harder than ever to get the parishioners to pay for actual services that would help support the local church because they donated what money they had, direct to international management for the new building.
Okay, what happens if some rich parishioner actually gives so much money that the huge, beautiful building actually gets opened? You have the same 10 to 15 struggling staff with all their bills move into a building that is much more expensive to run and maintain and no way to support it.
The public think that at least the building is owned by their local church and they no longer need to pay rent. Not true. The new church is owned by the International Finance Office and the local church now pays them the rent. In the end no actual expansion of religious activities is created, in fact the opposite is true.
As a money-making scheme, it’s quite successful.
A city church like Montreal has always taken a lot of work to manage and only sends a few hundred dollars a week to management. Now, management has received $4 million direct from this one church as straight donations and there is no liability attached. Multiply this by more than 50 churches and you get the picture. That’s why the religious service aspect of the church has taken a back seat and the commercial real estate angle has taken center stage.
The most obvious thing in the lobby of a church used to be its chart of services, now it is a model of a building and a big thermometer colored in to show how much of the needed donations have been paid to date.
But Dad, how long can these people be gotten to donate their money toward a dream building that promises to be their salvation to their city before they realize they have been had?
Good question. So far it’s been 23 years in Clearwater Florida. The money is still coming in (approximately $70 million so far). The bank interest on $70 million is about $200,000 per month and there is still over $200,000 in new donations per month. When you realize that 85% of the Scientology churches in the world average well below $5,000 in weekly income and send only a few hundred dollars on to management, you can see the strategy here.
The city of Clearwater fines the church $2,500 per month for leaving the super power building unfinished. What a small price to pay. That empty concrete shell of a “church” sitting there in downtown Clearwater may be the most financially successful church ever in America.
It’s just so derailed and off purpose for a “religion”. I think it is being run down a dead end street, to say the least.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Good night, son.
My own thoughts on this.
David Miscavige is a bit smarter than I thought or sly like a fox. He will end up a Real Estate Mogol leaving the C of $ in ruins. It would not suprise me if he convinces the rest of Management to sign over the Titles or Deeds of most of C of $ Real Estate to him leaving him a millionair many times over.
I think his Real estate scheme might be his own private pension plan.
Jim Logan, just picking up on your response to Christie, are LRH HCOPL’s immutable, in your view, or just immutable by DM as trustee?
I guess I’m asking whether policy has the same status as tech (the bulletins) and shouldn’t be changed by genuine scientologists.
Genuinely interested, here.
Dearest Disinfected,
I profusely apologize if you felt the need to introvert, If the clay demo bit did it, I was just taking you up on your offer to clay demo to full conceptual understanding.
When I answered you, I was annoyed by what I felt was your effort to introvert Marty. But I will go the route Wind Horse goes, it is wiser not to op-term and so I will allow I over reacted.
I fail to see where I generalize freely, please clarify, I hate generalizing and will correct if indeed, I did. I thought I was very specific.
I wish you a merry Christmas, and I hope you understand my sincerity
Aye, I did not intend to imply we are fractious, I’m well aware free-zoners are part of the team. I recall there being a remark I much liked that we as a group are inclusive not exclusive. I was just annoyed and reacted in my answer.
Well, I knew it was you, so it must have been communicated at some other level. Not intending to deny credit to the other smart, witty and fun originator.
There are numerous instances of patents being filed in different countries for the same thing and about the same time. To me it just goes to show that great minds think alike.
As for the meaning of the acronym, I find it quite fitting. I think also that is great mission statement.
Cheers to you and merry Christmas. I’ll take the opportunity to say to you that I have tried numerous times to comment on your blog and it does not accept my comments.
Perhaps it is my proxy. Non-the- less all your articles are brilliant and those of your contributors and I find it as vital as Marty’s site. Thank you for that.
Heather,
Get a hold of an LRH issue, The Structure of Organization, What is Policy?
It’s in OEC Vol 0. If you have any trouble finding it or reading it, let me know in an email.
This policy is one of the clearest statements of the role of policy that I know.
DM’s fiduciary duties and violations of such, are a larger issue than I can express in this limited forum.
I appreciate the sincerity of your question and I think it would be better if you wrote me directly so I can properly answer the ramifications you allude to . OK?
CC,
Thanks for taking the time to clarify your comments for DisInf. I appreciated exactly what you said, the first time, and subsequently. No worries from me mate.
Thanks, Jim. I will do.
Thank you Jim,
As always a gentleman, a rare comodity this day and age.
“The new church is owned by the International Finance Office and the local church now pays them the rent. ”
Per another website this is no longer the case after it flapped in Sanfran. I can’t confirm either way.
I meant paying rent after it’s owned is no longer the case.
I understand. It seems to me a form of centralization having the International Finance Office (I keep being Amazed by how many departments there are in Corporate Scientology) own the churches now and all donation money that flies after it. This is all real estate. I can see that this Strategy will enrich David Miscavige as the single and soul owner of the Store of Miscaviology
would love to see that. Have a URL to share?
Can anyone else confirm this?
I thought I was “saving the world” when in SO, now after I got out and read all these articles I find out I was just making that evil dwarf richer and richer… makes me angry to think I was just a robot for 5 years. Also my brother when I wasn’t home PAID my freeloader and his freeloader with my grandfather’s money, my grandpa is so over SCN cause my dad borrowed several hundred thousand $ for his bridge, I say borrowed but I know he won’t ever see those money again. I’m even more hangry to find out we shouldn’t have paid the freeloader.