Tag Archives: “mark rathbun”

Monique Rathbun vs. Church of Scientology

 

In January 2016 Tony Ortega, Ray Jeffrey, and Mike Rinder began a campaign of vilifying Monique Rathbun and me. Aided and abetted by the latter two Ortega falsely accused Monique (and then later me) of settling her lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. For those many who considered that a logical result for a lawsuit, he converted a mundane alleged development into the crime of the century by positioning Ray Jeffrey as a knight in shining Underground Bunker armor who was ‘backstabbed’ by Monique by “fir[ing] her entire legal team, seek[ing] settlement” and “shitting” on Jeffrey and Krew. Jeffrey attempted to corroborate the myth with friendly Ortega “interviews”, false statements to legitimate media, and ‘leaks’ of false information. Consequently, the ASC faithful swallowed the idea that we illicitly settled with Scientology as an article of faith. Long ago, I gave Ortega and krew several opportunities to correct the record. When they didn’t, but seemed to move off the subject, I allowed bygones to be bygones. But, there apparently are no bygones for one-trick-ponies. Recently Ortega was on the podcast trail regurgitating the same rot. His assclown confederates Mike Rinder and Leah Remini joined him, piling on in their own podcast and even dragged Jeffrey out from the boondocks and into the fire. As intended, all of this has resulted in yet more Remini/Rinder/Ortega/Jeffrey inspired vandalism directed at Monique.

So, as clearly invited by the troika and their lawyer, we will expose the falsity of the propaganda campaign and the ASC dirty tricks it was designed to conceal. Before I get to the meat and potatoes of the happenings of 2015/16, I’ll spend this first post addressing the freshest lies of Rinder, Remini and Jeffrey in their podcast and Rinder’s recent post on the subject. They lie at such a blinding clip it is difficult to keep up.

Rinder introduced the Jeffrey podcast on his blog with what served as the foundation for Ortega’s 4 year big lie campaign:

“While the matter was pending before the Texas Supreme Court, Monique Rathbun fired her lawyers and dismissed the lawsuit…

It came as a complete surprise to everyone.

Soon thereafter the Rathbun’s purchased a new home.”

The foundation and the narrative was completely fabricated. When Ray Jeffrey told Ortega in January 2016, and Remini and Rinder in 2020, that he was blinded by surprise with his removal, he was lying like a flatfish. When he pled that he had no idea why he was fired, he was intentionally lying. In 2016 when Ortega reported that Rinder was as surprised as anyone else by the firing, Rinder was lying through his teeth. And Ortega was lying when he quipped about Rinder’s ignorance, “and I believe him.”  In 2016 when Jeffrey dramatically pled to Ortega that he spoke out to assure the ASC bots that he did not abandon Monique Rathbun, he was flat out lying.

Their scientology home purchase tin-foil-hat conspiracy theory is absurd on its face to anyone with a single-digit IQ.  In his post promoting the Jeffrey podcast interview, Rinder discloses the deed to our home.  He states – and restates on the podcast – that we purchased it after Monique’s January 2016 firing of Jeffrey and krew; prima facie ‘evidence’ Scientology paid for our house.  He just invents a false sequence, trusting the bots will ignore their own lying eyes. Take a close look at the document. It is dated nearly an entire year before the krew was fired. This is a perfect example of what Rinder does day in and day out with ‘facts’. That he continuously gets away with it with ASC bot adoration is testament to the cult-like nature of the sect.

Remini and Rinder repeat the oft-repeated Ortega line that yours truly was unemployed and that’s the double proof of pay off. In fact, unlike Rinder, I have been continuously employed in a self-employed capacity since I left Scientology in 2004.  In fact, every penny of the down payment for our home was paid by proceeds of my employment – which had no connection whatsoever with anything even remotely related to Scientology.

What is more insulting is that Mike Rinder knew for a fact that Monique had for years been employed as a high-level executive in a major HMO prior to and at the time of the execution of that deed.  She could have easily paid for it; but didn’t have to because I too, unlike Rinder, was gainfully employed.

Rinder’s second pillar for the conspiracy theory was also used to paint himself as a victim.  (Keep your eye on the ball on this one. It demonstrates how the 25-year head of OSA – Scientology’s legal and intel arm – can act as a victim in a series (Aftermath) for hundreds of thousands of dollars.) That was his invented claims that he was set up for a treacherous backstab by Monique and me.

First, he recalls communications that could never have happened, but in Rinder’s tinfoil clad head. He said “at the same time they stopped communicating with their lawyers and fired them, Marty stopped communicating with me.” He then said that Monique and I allegedly told Rinder and Christi that they should keep their guard down because we ‘would never abandon’ them by doing “anything that would prevent us (Rathbuns) from assisting you (Rinders) in any lawsuits you may bring based on what has happened in the appeals court.”  In fact, Monique and I never spoke to Rinder and Christi on the phone. The last time we even saw them together was three years prior to the appellate court decision and Jeffrey’s firing.  Rinder hadn’t spoken to me on the phone for nearly two years before the decision and the firing of Jeffrey.  So he is either claiming I am clairvoyant,  or – as per usual for this bird – his assertion is pure invention. In either event, Monique and I have yet to do anything to this very day that would “prevent us from assisting (the Rinders) in any lawsuit” they may choose to bring whether based on any appellate decision or otherwise.

Finally, my final communication of any sort with Rinder was in response to Rinder begging me to be his phone pal; and that occurred nearly a year before the firing of Jeffrey. Not only did I reject his offer, I spelled out in detail why it was that I had no desire for him to continue to act as my lapdog. This communication was in writing and sheds light on all of the conspiracy theories alluded to by the entire tin foil hat krew (Remini, Rinder, Ortega, and Jeffrey).  All of them were quite well schooled on my rift with their ilk, years before the canning of the ethics-challenged shyster.  Here it is in full:

On 3/22/2015 at 1:30 AM, howdoesitfeel@hushmail.com wrote:

Mike,
Thanks for this.  I understand your feelings and they are
mutual when it comes to the only thing we potentially still share
in common: defense from a common source of attack. Even there we
fundamentally disagree on how it is best dealt with. Beyond that
for some time now we have gone in directions diametrically opposed.
For three years I have increasingly advocated growing up and out of
the scientology game and transcending the scientology installed ‘us
vs. them’ mentality of the former community.  That resulted in the
former crowd (indie and anti) marginalizing me and my family in
ways I find far more offensive than scientology’s overt efforts to
destroy.  To me, it was sort of like when Malcolm X said he
preferred to deal with Southern whites more than he did Northern
whites; because in the South you knew exactly where you stood,
while in the north they smiled in your face while stabbing you in
the back. Rather than get into the pointless ‘he said, she said’
drama of the ‘arc break handling’ game (a sort of covert control
mechanism in itself incidentally) to explain it all, suffice it to
say that I was plugged in enough to know exactly who said what to
whom till I tired of the silliness of it all.  Ultimately, the
experience validated and strengthened my direction. You clearly
chose to perpetuate and apparently make a living on perpetuation of
the ‘us vs. them’ mentality in the former community.  If you kept
up with my blog you’d know that I consider that regressive and
antithetical to healing and growth. I think you look at its
popularity as validating or empowering somehow. I look at
popularity as more evidence of its pernicious nature, and
ultimately its cancerous effect on growth and dignity. Out of one
pack and into another – reinstituting the mob behavior patterns
intalled by scientology in the first place.  I find that the more
people subscribe to it the less able or willing they are to reason,
heal and grow. I also consider that it strengthens and fortifies
Miscavige and the scientology organization. It is apparent to me
that even Miscavige understands that given the apparent increase in
resources to destroy our family the more I counsel people out of
the scientology fray entirely. Multiple, truly independent,
measured, factual witnesses to abuse – with no vested interest in
scientology’s demise – are far more powerful than anti clubs
obsessing and railing at every scientology faux pas. From an
exterior view, the anti movement and scientology is one big vortex
of hate. And as it continues to regress (and if you were to
dispassionately review the history of the past six years – it most
certainly is a regression) the tone, mentality, and behaviors of
the one-time ‘sides’ becomes increasingly a single mutually (or
self-) perpetuating dissonance. I haven’t drawn these distinctions
between our paths explicitly publicly out of personal respect for
your feelings and livelihood; even though appeals to continue
the’us vs them’ ridicule and hatred game directly competes for
minds that would otherwise be interested in transcendence. So, I
move on. The spontaneous emotions that NBC put on display can be
better understood perhaps now. I walk alone and I trust you
understand why.
Marty

Tony Ortega is fond of saying “Look, who benefits from what Marty Rathbun is saying. That is all you need to know.”  Right, cultic us versus them – and say nothing further – close your mind to it, thought stop!  As much as Remini, Rinder, Jeffrey and Ortega love to speciously argue about my allegedly inexplicable ‘inconsistencies’, that statement to Rinder (which has many times been verbally delivered to Ortega, Jeffrey and Remini) has been as consistent as the Northern Star for as long as they have known me.

 

Make no mistake, it is not my inconsistency – but instead my consistency – that motivates them to smear, lie about and cheat me and Monique Rathbun. That they continue to do so, many years after the fact of my apparent presence in their filthy world, speaks volumes as to the character of each of them.

 

When you see the details of what this krew was really up to in late 2015, early 2016 you may also come to appreciate how heeding my March 2015 advice might have saved one or more of these bots from becoming part of something more destructive and mendacious than those they make a living out of smearing.

Investigation Discovery

Last year I spent a day with Investigation Discovery (ID) filmmakers outlining the story of my involvement with scientology.   They took what they considered interesting and created a one hour piece from the several hour interview.   A preview can be seen at this link, Investigation Discovery.

ID’s Crime Feed blog also features an interview with me, Crime Feed link.

Interview with Esquire.com

 

Marty Rathbun Is Scientology’s Public Enemy No. 1.  And He’s Okay with That.

Good vs. Evil

 

Choosing a side and then obsessively resisting against another side causes one mental and spiritual dissonance.  One doesn’t get relief from one’s dissonant self by changing sides and carrying on with resisting.  Agreeing to resist and then resisting is the trap.  Many a trap sells jazzed up forms of resistance.  Inspection of the salesmen on either side of most dramatic conflicts shows close parallels to those whom they invite you to resist.  Intuitive people can even perceive their similar exuded discordant wavelengths.

An easy mark for resistance recruiters is someone who has been deeply conditioned to resist.  Such folk are sitting ducks for re-enslavement by entrainment. Resisting against that which you once resisted for appeals to the denialist mind looking for return to the seeming comfortably numb stasis of two-valued thought.  It is the lazy, short-sighted condition experienced by those practicing denialism.

Both sides in denialist conflict depend upon one another for the continuation of their chosen crusade, in some cases even for their very identities.  All the while what you consider of the other side is precisely what it considers of you.  In the world of scientology this week while the post ‘Scientology’s Vortex of Hate’ was current, a prominent scientologist twittered that those interviewed in the documentary Going Clear were akin to ‘Nazis’ talking about Jews.   Meanwhile, one of those alleged ‘nazis’ publicly dropped the same ‘N’ word on scientology twice.   Two-valued logic thinking prevails: black vs. white, right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, God vs. the devil, America vs. the Nazis.

It is a game where everybody ultimately loses. Into the matrix one goes joined with and thoroughly dependent upon his nemesis for his very continued being.  One can even wind up difficult to distinguish from his enemy in terms of language and behaviors.

Transcending is often accompanied by some discomfort and some new thinking; and that requires a tad of courage.  The mechanics are similar to those employed in addiction rehabilitation.   The way out of the matrix is not paved for the pack-minded weak.  That is not to say it requires great effort.  It does require some discipline to learn the skill of letting go.

The simple minded on both extremes of the scientology ‘war’ will no doubt deal with this as denialists do with reason.  It will likely be categorized with a label convenient to stopping thought or contemplation, like ‘a call to apathy’, or ‘lack of compassion’ or ‘an apology for the enemy.’  For those perhaps capable of looking beyond the most immediate emotional impulse, and appreciating nuance and paradox, I leave you with a passage from the Tao Te Ching.

Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water.

Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid.

Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice.

Therefore the Master remains serene in the midst of sorrow.

Evil cannot enter his heart.

Because he has given up helping, he is people’s greatest help. 

True words seem paradoxical.

Scientology’s Vortex of Hate

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard developed a complicated knack for sucking all who defied him or failed to comply with his dictates into a vortex of hate.  Virtually all of his closest associates who expressed the slightest doubt or disagreement with him were driven by Hubbard to wind up hating him with a vengeance.  A careful study of Hubbard’s history suggests the cycle was intended.  It garnered him all manner of hysterical calumny that he deftly turned into exhibits in demonstrating hate-filled ‘bias’ against  him and his creation, scientology.  And so it goes with his brainchild scientology and his successor David Miscavige.

In the early fifties Hubbard lectured to his followers that he considered that no group could survive for long absent a well-defined, hate-filled enemy.  He candidly admitted that he ‘chose’ psychiatry (generalized as ‘psychs’ to rope in virtually all mental healing arts and sciences) as scientology’s enemy out of convenience.  It worked well for a while.  Several prominent psychiatric and psychological societies worked feverishly to check or stop scientology in its tracks.  While the psychs were hard at it, scientology saw its greatest expansion, drawing close ranks to energetically fight off real (albeit largely self-created) threats to its survival.  Ironically, fifty years later scientologists came to believe as an article of religious faith that psychs are inherently evil, while psychs came to consider scientology little more than a harmless fringe cult.   Scientology sought refuge in the guise of religion and achieved a sort of immunity from the consequences of its crimes.  But it came at a cost, parking itself in time as a mid 20th Century anachronism.

As society itself evolved and hating lost its social acceptability, scientology lost its expansion-driving underdog, under-siege appeal and cohesiveness.  Its numbers have been gradually declining since the mid nineties when the last serious threat to its continued existence was overcome.   I use the term ‘last’ decidedly, notwithstanding the scientology infotainment blogs’ End of Days prophesying with the airing of ‘Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.’  While the documentary will have an effect on the size of future potential new membership it will do little to change or alter scientology’s course.  (For more on that score, see Vice.com interview.)

Over time Hubbard and scientology fine-tuned their ethics system and organizational pattern to replicate its policies of hatred creation toward anyone who doubted or questioned any aspect of Hubbard or scientology.  The cycle seemed to go:  a) someone exposed scientology abuses or criticized its practices, b) scientology harassed the person to the point of driving him into a rage causing the whistleblower to become a crusader,  c) as scientology’s smears and attacks escalated in their audacity and dishonesty, the crusader naturally clustered with others similarly situated folks for support, (scientology all the while encouraged such clustering pursuant to principals set forth in Hubbard’s recommended text The Art of War) d)  as the cluster was then attacked as an ‘anti-scientology’ group,  its members developed a hate-filled culture, took scientology’s bait and started responding in kind, d) scientology then pointed to the character of hate-filled counter attacks as proof the attackers were haters.  Ultimately, haters hate, they wind up hating each other and the groups having no purpose beyond scientology’s demise accomplish little beyond steeling up scientologists to fight yet more battles.

You can see that same cycle playing out today.  Scientology forums read more and more like scientology’s propaganda sheet ‘Freedom.’  They are replete with name calling, expressing glee at every enemy faux pas, assigning evil motives to any and every enemy utterance or move, pronouncing hyperbolic end of days scenarios for the enemy, even targeting for distrust and enmity anyone who does not exhibit its own culturally devolved standards of ridicule and hate.  Their heaping praise and kudos on those mostly closely adhering to the company line verge on cult-like.  The tone, intelligence and tolerance levels are no different than scientology’s itself.  Their leaders have become as obsessed with scientology as scientology’s leading lights are.  Their sense of right and wrong becomes nearly identical (albeit reversed in vector) to scientology’s.

Scientology’s instilled ‘ethical’ values can be summed up in two clauses:  Whatever or whoever supports and forwards scientology is good; whatever or whoever detracts from scientology is evil.

Similarly, the anti-scientologists’ creed could read:  Whatever or whoever supports and forwards scientology (or, in extreme cases, is even neutral on the subject) is evil; whatever or whoever detracts from or attacks scientology is good.

Sadly, what apparently few of the former friends of Ron and ex-scientologists grasp is that when scientology successfully sucks one into its vortex of hate, one has lost and scientology has achieved its objective.

It is relatively easy to get former scientologists to go this route since they developed such simplistic denialist thinking patterns as scientologists.  They simply reverse the target and carry on as before in the comfort of a new group of like-minded pack members.

It is a regressive cycle.  It involves segregation, devolution, and descent.   It may give one an outlet for a cheap, temporary sense of relief, purpose or importance but at the end of the day it does not achieve its purported aims.   Paradoxically, it often has the reverse effect than that intended.  It winds up fueling scientology’s drive to expand numbers, resources and influence.  That perhaps is not surprising given the fact that that was scientology’s purpose for creating the vortex of hate in the first place.  Ultimately, scientology’s gloating, self-professed conquerors in fact wind up as unwitting agents of scientology itself.

Conversely, the only effective route to individual healing and growth is greater understanding.  Not surprisingly, it is the practitioners of that process that scientology attacks with the most resources and vigor.

Scientology and Religious Freedom Restoration Act

The blowback over Indiana governor Pence’s signing into law ‘The Religious Freedom Restoration Act’ has gone viral.   Prominent citizens, politicians and human rights groups are aghast as the act’s potential for instituting discrimination against those who don’t toe the line to fundamentalist Christian sexual orientation standards.  In defense of signing the act into law Indiana’s governor Pence has said it was based on the 1993 federal ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act.’  See New York Times for more on the Act.

What perhaps few know is that one of the most energetic proponents of the federal act that serves as Indiana’s model was none other than the church of Scientology.  Scientology crows about its achievement on its own website:

“In 1991, Scientologists supported passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was signed into law on November 16, 1993. The Church of Scientology International was an active member of the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion, a broad-based religious and civil liberties group that strenuously worked for passage of the act.”  Scientology website

Scientology was so involved in its passage that its president was invited to the White House for the President Clinton’s signing of the original federal act. (President Heber C. Jentzsch crowed about it on Larry King Live)

What scientology doesn’t tout is that it shamelessly exploited the Act even before its final enactment.  As it was wending its way through Congress, which scientology was directly and indirectly lobbying, scientology was using its imminent passage as leverage in obtaining tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.

Scientology has used the federal Act for more than two decades to not only discriminate against the LGBT community, but also to immunize itself against charges ranging from human trafficking, to wrongful death, to fraud.

Scientology cited to the act in successfully dismissing criminal charges against it in the case of Lisa McPherson, a 36-year old woman who died in scientology’s custody on its premises.  St Petersburg Times

Recently scientology successfully argued for dismissal of a high profile lawsuit for fraud brought by former members in Tampa Florida, citing to the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  The Underground Bunker

Coincidentally, the highly publicized documentary ‘Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief’ premieres this Sunday on HBO.  Its director and producer have both been quoted far and wide of late questioning how scientology gets away with the abuses they chronicle in the film (including its tax exempt status).  They need only examine more closely the current media fire emanating in Indiana to find a considerable part of the answer.  Folks concerned with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act who look deeper might find that it potentially carries far more grave consequences than currently meet the eye.

The Active Ingredient in Scientology

The most active ingredient in scientology is not of scientology.  It was with us long before L. Ron Hubbard.  It has evolved and will continue to long after scientology ceases to attract headlines.  The seed of scientology’s rise and fall is Hubbard’s and scientology’s manic efforts and extreme measures taken to bottle and own and sell it (reference ‘Truth’).   This point is fleshed out a bit more in the latest post at the The Underground Bunker.

It is discussed in greater detail with Larry Flick on the Morning Jolt on sirius xm.  To listen to it do the following:

a. Go to the following link, Morning Jolt.

b. Go to the green bar ‘OutQ on SoundCloud.’

c. Scroll to ‘Marty Rathbun Blows The Lid Off Scientology…’

Scientology Wiretaps Cruise/Kidman Home

Hear the details:

NBC Today Show

False Prophets

Any teacher or prophet who does not genuinely wish, encourage and enable students or adherents to ultimately learn and discover beyond what he has to impart is really no teacher or prophet at all.

False teachers and prophets use the learning process as a means to control or enslave rather than to empower or free.

No matter how eloquent or compelling a teacher or prophet may appear to be, whether he is leading one to heaven, purgatory, perdition or ignorance can be predicted by applying this simple standard.

Scientology Losing Its Teeth

It is heartening to see that established, credible media is now seeing the reality of what we set out to accomplish six years ago and suggested we had accomplished a year ago.

On 10 February 2014 we posted Miscavige’s Obsession With the Rathbuns.

On 24 February 2015 the New York Times posted Scientology’s Chilling Effect.