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It’s early days yet, but it does seem we can acquit Sharron Angle herself of belonging to the Church of Scientology. But she did forcefully advocate introducing Scientology backed programs into Nevada prisons. Why?
A group of Scientology critics offer this explanation:
In the early years of [the 2000s], there were efforts in the Four Corners states to place Scientology front group programs into prisons at taxpayer’s expense. Sharron Angle, a Nevada legislator, worked very hard to convince her fellows on the legislature that a Scientology front group called Second Chance would be a good program for Nevada prisons. Second Chance is another Scientology entity which sells the dangerous Purification Rundown. After an email campaign to inform the legislators of the truth behind Second Chance, it was nearly unanimously decided that public money could be better spend [sic] elsewhere. Only Sharron Angle was still supporting it, expressing her bewielderment [sic] at the Legislature’s refusal to adopt it into their state prisons. Had Ms. Angle done any research outside of listening to Scientology representatives, her confusion would have been easily cleared up.
Interestingly enough, Ms. Angle is a member of the National Foundation of Women Legislators, an organization which has been around since the 1930s. However, the NFWL’s current treasurer is Bruce Wiseman, a Scientologist and president of the Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights, a Scientology front group aimed at discrediting and destroying psychiatry and mental health programs. Also on a NFWL board is Joy Westrum, Scientologist, and president of Second Chance.
It is no coincidence that Scientologists are on the board of the NFWL. It gives them an opportunity to connect with legislators from all over the country. The NFWL claims to have several thousand members nationwide, and some of them wind up supporting and endorsing Scientology’s fraudulent programs.
So the good news for Nevada Republicans is that Angle is not personally a member of the notorious Church.
The bad news: She seems to be a gullible person, easily deceived by persons with sinister agendas. Thanks, Tea Party!
Scientology must be broken. The Clinton IRS decision to give it tax-exempt status was a travesty that must be reversed.
Yeah, we’d be better off with a (minimum) of 2 more years of Harry Reid as Majority Leader. Keep attacking, Frum…you’re a liberal Democrat’s wet dream.
Angle is yet another Teabagger nut case. At least she defeated the “Chicken” lady so not sure which utter looney tunes was the worst.
Reid will win this in a cakewalk.
“So the good news for Nevada Republicans is that Angle is not personally a member of the notorious Church. The bad news: She seems to be a gullible person, easily deceived by persons with sinister agendas.”
Gee whiz. How is she any different than anybody else? I seem to recall the mysterious case of the vanishing WMD’s in Iraq a few years ago which turned out to be non-existent. Yet the U.S. media hacks bought that line hook, line and sinker and shoveled night after night.
As a Democrat I must say thanks you Tea Party, keep up the good fight.
Palin 2012, now that’s a liberal’s wet dream.
ok enough of the bad side or negative remarks ok scientology has endured and came out the other side of the most grueling gov scrutiny of any organization ever edured and has endured ridicule and even pres nixon’s remember “he’s not a crook” enemies list and came out looking ok enough for our gov yes that means you and you and you (by the people for the people) ok’d scientology as a tax exempt non profit organization passed the most grueling scrutiny of the IRS and you think you know enough to make negative remarks . well tell you what, look in any library IN THE WORLD any college, university, and maybe any high school library and you will find at least one book writen by L Ron Hubbard.SO GO AHEAD AND TRY TO STOP SCIENTOLOGY OK GOOD LUCK.OH BY THE WAY HE’S IN THE GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS AS THE MOST PROLIFIC WRITER OF THE 20TH CENTURY AND MOST TRANSLATED AUTHOR EVER SO LIKE I SAID GOOD LUCK…
JUST IN CASE YOU’RE INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT FOR YOURSELF WHAT ALL THE HUBBUB IS ABOUT HERE’S SOME WEBSITES: SCIENTOLOGY, DIANETICS, THE WAY TO HAPPINESS (A COMMON SENSE GUIDE TO LIVING ON THIS INSANE PLANET) OH JUST AS AN ASIDE ONLY 25% OF TEENAGERS CAN FIND WORK. IS YOUR CHILD COMING UP INTO A SANE CIVILAZTION? :NARCONON, CRIMINON, APPLIED SCHOLASTICS AND, WORLD INSTITUTE OF SCIENTOLOGY ENTERPRISES W.I.S.E WHICH HAS A COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTATION THAT WORKS SO WELL THAT ANY GRADUATE OF THAT COLLEGE NEVER HAS A PROBLEM FINDING WORK SO DO YOU NEED A JOB? THERE’S MORE BUT JUST TO MENTION A FEW GOOD HUNTING FIND THE TRUTH FOR YOURSELF OK.
Terry, Lowden would likely have survived the Chickens for checkups gaffe if she just fessed up and said it was a stupid thing she said and we all say stupid things sometimes, which is true for most about everyone. But Angle is a geniunely stupid woman with a ton of crackpot ideas.
THE PRESS NEVER HAS ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT ANYBODY, THAT’S FOR STARTERS, AND POLITICIANS ASK ANY INDIAN IF THEY TRUST OUR GOV OR HOW ABOUT THAT HEALTH CARE PLAN THE NOBODY WANTED? OH I SAW A STATISTIC THAT WILL SCARE THAT PANTS OFF YOU. IN THE FORTUNE 500 COMPANY LIST THERE ARE 10 COMPANIES THAT MAKE MORE PROFIT THAT THE OTHER 490 GUESS WHAT THEY SELL : PHARMACUETICALS . DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY EVER HARMED OR BRANDED BY PSYCHIATRY? SEE CITIZENS COMMISION ON HUMAN RIGHTS WEBSITE IF YOU CARE ENOUGH TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT IT’S YOUR PLANET THAT YOU’RE PASSING TO YOUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN ETC.DRUGS GET INTO THE GENETIC LINE…
The Progressive Pulse – Lunch Links // Jun 9, 2010 at 12:04 pm
[...] kind words for alcohol prohibition (a heady stance for the state that includes Las Vegas), backs wacky Scientology-based programs in prison, takes a Dr. Strangelove-esque line on water flouridation, and backs the deeply disturbing [...]
des, free your mind from its prison. Contact your family again, they’re worried about you. The only “suppressive persons” in your life are the Scientology cultists exploiting you. And never let anyone “audit” you to get embarrassing blackmail material to hold over again.
Carney // Jun 9, 2010 at 11:08 am
“The Clinton IRS decision to give it tax-exempt status was a travesty that must be reversed.”
On that we agree. Government shouldn’t be subsidizing religions of any kind.
Understand your agenda and this is your site, Frum; you can say anything you want.
The Tea Party will triumph.
Smarg // Jun 9, 2010 at 12:34 pm
“The Tea Party will triumph.”
Yes, in its effort to drive away moderate Republicans and Independents and ensure that more Democrats get elected who might not otherwise have.
As nutty as Scientology is, I don’t draw a huge demarcation between it and pretty much any other religion. Whether you believe in Scientology, The Desert Zombie, Joseph Smith, Allah, Buddha, Krishna or King Tut, they are all stupid in my mind. Although I will grant that Scientology requires a special level of stupid. (Then again, so does Mormonism)
I look forward to the day that a political candidate emerges and says with full conviction: “I believe in the natural world and the scientific method. I do not believe in any ancient mythologies from a bygone era.”
That would be music to my ears.
She has shilled for Scientology? Good grief what has the Nevada GOP gotten themselves into…
So the good news for Nevada Republicans is that Angle is not personally a member of the notorious Church. The bad news: She seems to be a gullible person, easily deceived by persons with sinister agendas. Thanks, Tea Party!
And the list of prominent Republican women who are about as smart as houseplants continues to grow. When the hell will bright and capable women starting rising up in the GOP ranks?
Um, no, “Centrist” (actually extreme Leftist). My opposition is Scientology-specific. They’re not a real religion, science, charity, or educational institution, but rather a sinister cult and a moneymaking scam.
Diomedes: I look forward to the day that a political candidate emerges and says with full conviction: “I believe in the natural world and the scientific method. I do not believe in any ancient mythologies from a bygone era.”
I trust there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian.
– Thomas Jefferson, letter to Waterhouse, June 26, 1822
Of course, that’s after he was no longer a candidate …
“Thanks, Tea Party!”
David, as an ex-GOPer (ok, truth be told, I’m an ex-RINO, at least according to shrill, blonde talking skeletons on tv), I honestly think that the GOP needs to lose and lose big in 201o if they are going to have any hope of returning as a viable party anytime soon. I mean, lets face facts: the GOP is not winning back either house this fall. Winning the Senate is virtually impossible, and while they may pick up seats in the House, the numbers really aren’t on their side for even getting to the 51% mark. So that leaves us with the question of what happens afterwards?
The Democrats have figured out how to get the political center, at least in the 2006 and 2008 elections. They ran anti-abortion candidates in anti-abortion districts, they ran liberal candidates in liberal districts, and benefited from a backlash against the hard-right policies of GWB. The “tea party” seems to have taken this to heart and tried to do the exact opposite. They’re actually running from further to the right than the GOP has been even in GWB’s time. They want more spending on the military. They want more intervention in foreign wars (Iran anyone?). They want more tax cuts, regardless of their affect on the budget. They want more hard-right conservative social issues (Angle not only wants to keep marijuana illegal, but wants to outlaw alcohol as well??).
It really is as if they’re trying to govern with the 23% of Americans who feel like they do…
The only problem is, if some of the wackjobs and crackpots really *do* win in November and show some signs of success, it will just encourage them to be even *more* extreme, even *more* outside the mainstream viewpoints. You would think that the polls showing Palin to be an extreme drag on the presidential ticket in 2008 (leading to the worst loss of a presidential candidate since Dukakis in 1988) would’ve shook up the political establishment, but no, Palin is actually more popular than ever in the Republican party. If Rand Paul (and god forbid Angle) win in November, you can absolutely expect a Sarah Palin presidential nominee in 2010.
This hard-right turn by the GOP really does have the potential to be years in the political wilderness… They’re all counting on a devastated economy and public’s unhappiness with the current administration, but Obama is actually above where Ronald Reagan was at this point in his presidency. It could be a LOOOOONG time before the GOP comes back in any type of worthwhile, opposition party.
My opposition is Scientology-specific. They’re not a real religion, science, charity, or educational institution, but rather a sinister cult and a moneymaking scam.
Yeah, and their leaders aren’t real religious leaders either, just hypocrites. Not like Pat Robertson. Or Jimmy Swaggart. Or Joel Ostein (who, I must admit, creeps me right the hell out). Or Jim and Tammy Fae. Or Oral Roberts. Or the Pedophile Protecting Pope.
Of course, you know what they say. The difference between a religion and a cult is the number of its members.
Ms. Angle is apparently very close to the “Oath Keepers” which appears to be a group convinced that the current government is about to take away their freedom. Is that the same gang that talks about the North American 10 lane super highway between Canada and Mexico?
Maybe it will be a very good thing for the Republicans to get trashed in November. It may give them a chance to take a long and hard look at what they are about (as opposed to what they are against). Ms Angel has a rather impressive list: Anti booze, anti drugs, anti Social security (for young people), a strict constitutionalist (but is apparently keen on seeing some of the constitution being changed), pro Scientology (or gullible). And rather keen on the Oat keepers.
A rather impressive resume, Harry must be laughing right now. There must of been a rather boozy and loud party at the democrat’s party headquarter in Nevada
Ideological Purity looks like it may backfire (yet again) and allow an incumbent who had a real chance of losing to be re-elected.
It will be fun watching the ads that will be put out about this woman and her beliefs and “policy” decisions…………..
I tell you David, the GOP 2010 looks increasingly like Labour 1980′s. Disconnected from the vast majority of the electorate, and convince that they are right and everybody else is wrong. Of course labour in the 80′s was preaching at the altar of Marx and Lenine, but you get the picture.
Its a long road out of purgatory, and if the hard right makes inroad in 2010, 2012 will be a strange thing.
Scientology is worse than you think! Research ANY of the following: David Miscavige, Jason Beghe, Nancy Many, Tory Christman, Lisa McPherson, Tommy Davis, Marc Headley, Paulette Cooper, Scientology kids, Scientology RPF, Scientology disconnection. There are many, many others. The list of internal crimes and ruined lives is very long. Scientology is a cult.
Carney // Jun 9, 2010 at 1:01 pm
“My opposition is Scientology-specific. They’re not a real religion, science, charity, or educational institution, but rather a sinister cult and a moneymaking scam.”
Government shouldn’t be subsidizing — via tax breaks — religions of any kind, whether or not you deem them worthy. Period. The moneymaking scams of Scientology are no more or less sinister than the moneymaking scams of the Catholic Church.
centristNYer says:
“The moneymaking scams of Scientology are no more or less sinister than the moneymaking scams of the Catholic Church.”
That’s nice. Get some anti-Catholic propaganda in when you can. All in a day’s work isn’t it.
What a creep.
@dante:
I would have agreed with you a year ago that the GOP is still living in denial, and needed a solid spanking to jar them out of whatever dream they’re inhabiting now . . . but today, I think it might be too late.
The “shock therapy” idea would only work if the GOP had enough rational people left to raise a loud voice saying “Take the f##king hint, people! We’ve got to change course!”. But as you alluded to, those voices have been mostly driven out of the big tent as RINOS. Now the response to voter rejection is just getting louder and louder — “We need to get more extreme! Voters are disgusted with how centrist we are, and that’s why they voted leftie Democratic! Hardcore Right-Wing Extreme Purity will attract all the mainstream voters!”
(yeah, I never understood this logic either)
The Great RINO Purge of 08-09 has (IMHO) crippled the GOP’s ability to think rationally. If the majority of the party is comprised of whack-a-doodles now, then the “pilots” of the party are going to have to chart courses that they want, which is just creating a vicious cycle of driving moderates away, encouraging the party to go even more Right, which just keeps magnifying the problem.
WillyP // Jun 9, 2010 at 3:38 pm
“Get some anti-Catholic propaganda in when you can.”
You can tell that to my Catholic friends who tried to get an annulment and had to shop around to different churches, each one with their own pricing system for it. Or maybe you’d prefer to share your thoughts with one of the thousands of young people who were abused by their trusted priests and spent years trying to live with the shame of the experience.
I’m not the creep here, dude.
I’ve said this before (Please note this is a very simplistic analysis) The Democrats lost in 1968 because they had gone over to the “granola eating fringes”. The riots in Chicago basically turned their traditional union working slob/southern Democrat power base into GOP voters. In 1972 they felt they had not been “liberal enough” so they nominate McGovern against Pres Nixon. The plank the Democrats adopted was basically to the left of Lenin. McGovern lost so bad he didn’t even carry his native state. He lost to a President that was under the cloud of Watergate.
Fast forward to 2008: GOP loses because the majority of Americans are moderate and they were running a campaign that frankly, frightened me. I was going to vote for McCain but his choice of Gov Palin as VP scared me away. I’m certain the “tone” of the GOP in the campaign was enought to scare almost anyone with a working set of neurons away.
Now, with the loss of both houses and the Presidency the GOP feels it lost because they weren’t “pure” enough. They are nominating people from the fringes who would normally be swept aside and would turn off any rational voter. The Tea Party and Club for Growth have insured that only “ideologically pure” conservatives will run. As seen in a few races already it isn’t working. (Yes there are some “wins”) Someone here said the only reason Scott Brown won was because the Tea Party didn’t notice him until it was too late for them to change anything.
Will there be some wins ? Yes. Will they gain control of anything ? Doubtful.
By the way, am I the only one that finds tremendous irony in a Tea Party candidate being a Scientologist? Or at least, loosely affiliated with that church?
Curious how they will reconcile that with their evangelical base. Anybody got any popcorn? This should be good.
Didn’t Charles Manson learn and master Scientology in prison? Honestly this is pointless, at worse she may have fallen for some reform the prisoners scam.
andydp,
Left of Lenin? Wow, were they the left of Mao too, force us all into rice harvesting communes to sleep in monitored dormitories
She has also come out against fluoride. The good news with that is if they ever come around to remaking Dr. Stranglove, they know who to get to play the General Jack D. Ripper character
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjL9g3s6Fro
Diomedes,
Look at Greta Van Susteren, who was appointed media nanny to the Palins
I’m confused… are we to understand that Scientology is a “notorious” church but the people that believe in Jesus are… what? rational? reasonable? non-gullible? As far as I know, every prison has a minister and prisoners are routinely coerced into cults, be they christian or Islam (I’m not sure how many Jews are created in prison, but I’m happy to throw them into the mix as well).
The point is that a fairy tale is a fairy tale and a cult is a cult. Just because Hubbard invented his nonsense a lot more recently than those that conjured up the second to last variation on the superstitions of Egypt doesn’t make it any less eligible to be taken seriously by those that like to live in the world of make-believe.
Tea Party Candidate Supports Scientology : XENU TV // Jun 10, 2010 at 4:00 am
[...] the major problem surrounding Scientology’s front group but it’s good to see that Scientology’s stank is stinking to Angle as she continues her campaign. [...]
……all I know is this woman is a gift to the Democrats……….Scientologist or Scientology fellow traveller……a distinction without a difference surely…….anti fluoridization…….wants to end social security and privatize medicare………wants to shut down the ed dept……believes there’s a link betwen “forced abortions” and breast cancer……and there’s plenty more for a well funded Democrat to make hay with……Reid will be back
“Centrist”, seriously equating Scientology as a whole with Catholicism as a whole is yet another example of your extremism, and the misleading nature of your nick/handle here. You still haven’t identified a SINGLE issue stance you take in serious contention between the US right and left where you come down on the conservative side.
Carney // Jun 10, 2010 at 10:08 am
“Centrist…You still haven’t identified a SINGLE issue stance you take in serious contention between the US right and left where you come down on the conservative side.”
Actually, this has been answered on numerous occasions. Perhaps if take your tin foil hat off, it just might penetrate.
CentristNYer // Jun 10, 2010 at 10:23 am
……….I wouldn’t equate the Catholic Church with Scientology…..it’s longevity and considerable theological underpinning are worth something……on the other hand it is built around a fairy story as you say and it has killed many more people and committed more crimes……….and not in ancient history either……..it’s tolerance and then cover up of the physical and sexual abuse of minors has essentially been a criminal conspiracy……my wife’s devout catholic btw…..she’s welcome to her beliefs but it doesn’t alter the facts
“Centrist”, seriously equating Scientology as a whole with Catholicism as a whole is yet another example of your extremism…
Well for one thing, Scientology never murdered thousands of people in the name of god.
There are good Catholics and there are good Scientologists, but I believe that the upper echelons of both organizations are corrupt and depraved.
ottovbvs // Jun 10, 2010 at 10:34 am
“……….I wouldn’t equate the Catholic Church with Scientology…it’s longevity and considerable theological underpinning are worth something”
I wouldn’t disagree. My point was only that both have scammed members in one way or another and that it wasn’t up to people like Carney to determine what’s a religion and what’s not (ie, government shouldn’t be in the business of deciding whose fairy tale is more believable). That’s why there shouldn’t be automatic tax breaks for churches.
LFC gets it right: “There are good Catholics and there are good Scientologists, but I believe that the upper echelons of both organizations are corrupt and depraved.
I still can’t believe we spend so much time on nothing states like Nevada.
Should be given the same weight as Puerto Rico in Washington.
Reid’s a Mormon….Angle or Reid, so what’s the difference again? One person’s faith is another’s cult.
Nevada deserves what they get if they pick a fringe wacko with no connections over a wacko that is already leader.
Her view on Social Security is a death blow and Reid is an old operator and will win.
Scientology is worse than you think!
Nobody gives a crap about her religion.
If she believes in snake handling and talking in tongues that’s her business. If she tries to legislate her idiotic religious views then it becomes my problem.
Carney “Centrist”, seriously equating Scientology as a whole with Catholicism as a whole is yet another example of your extremism, and the misleading nature of your nick/handle here. You still haven’t identified a SINGLE issue stance you take in serious contention between the US right and left where you come down on the conservative side.
Since when is labelling Catholicism a cult a “leftist” position?
Wasn’t it Bob Jones University that proclaimed on their University Website that Catholicism and Mormonism were both cults?
http://www.beliefnet.com/News/2000/03/Bob-Jones-Reposts-Mormon-Catholic-Cult-Reference.aspx
If Bob Jones University is a portion of the American Left, then we’ve drawn a line where there really isn’t anything left on the Right, is there?
balconesfault, labeling Catholicism a cult, or equating it with Scientology, is an extremist stance in general, and like much extremism that rather blends together, can fit into various forms of extremism – left or right, Protestant or atheist, you name it.
Carney – I agree that it is an extremist position. Not necessarily because it’s wrong, mind you – for example, in 1840 abolitionism was an extremist position – but because it deviates from the way the vast majority of Americans currently see things.
For what it’s worth, at the time of our founding, the view that Catholicism was a cult was actually the centrist position in America. There was in fact a serious debate over whether “Papists” could ever be good citizens, since their first loyalty would always be to directives from a foreign Pontiff, and not to any secular government.
It is hardly inconceivable that 200 years from now the majoritarian view in America will be that Scientology and Catholicism are equivalent in standing.
My main concern was, and you did address that, in your kneejerk labelling of NYCentrists position as “leftist”.
Ironically, for most of American history Catholicism was one of the prime drivers of liberalism in America. It’s only because the Cardinals of the Catholic Church in America have decided to largely ignore encyclicals dealing with social justice, and toss in with the Protestant Evangelical community to fetishize the abortion issue above any other political concern, that the Church leadership came to be an affiliate of the Republican Party.
Balconesfault
This might seem like a bit of a leap, but reading your comment about the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Republican Party just made me wonder about N. Gingrich’s recent conversion to Catholicism. Nothing about him strikes me as particularly spiritual and since he has been married multiple times, I’m not even sure how he was able to pull it off and get permission from the Church; call me cynical, but I confess that I question his motives; could there be political advantage in such a conversion? I apologize in advance to anyone of genuine faith who I might be offending by doubting the sincerity of this particular convert.
Republicans condemn Sharron Angle as a NUT!!! - Why We Protest | Activism Forum // Jul 28, 2010 at 8:23 am
[...] not an half-witted extremist like Angle. The original Frum article is posted on Frum's website at: Angle’s Scientology Problem | FrumForum As can be seen there, even Frum is quoting another source, "A Group of Scientology [...]