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Sharron Angle is running for office against Nevada Secretary of State Heller, according to a recent article in a Nevada paper. I wrote a reporter about her history with Scientology's front group programs and the NFWL. Hopefully, some people will pay attention and look at who is funding her. Could be another "quid pro cult" story coming along?

Here's what I wanted the reporter to know:

I read your article about the upcoming Nevada primary featuring Sharron Angle vs. the mighty truck racin' Secretary of State, Heller on Wheels.

It can hardly have escaped your attention that Scientology has been in the news a lot, lately! One thing in particular has made the headlines, Tom Cruise's invective against the pharmaceutical companies and perscription drugs, one of Scientology's more damaging whacky beliefs.

Sharron Angle has repeatedly supported Scientology causes. In 2003, there was an article in the Nevada Review-Journal, which mentioned a mysterious Arizona "humanitarian" who was willing to put up the money to fly the entire Nevada legislature to Mexico. The intent was to give them a tour of Scientology's "Second Chance" program in an Ensenada prison.

Second Chance is a program which sells Scientology's "Purification Rundown" as a detoxification method for drug abusers. The Purification Rundown, or "Purif," is an unscientific blend of notions from L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology and college dropout. There are concerns over the toxicity of the program. Dangerous doses of niacin are administered. There are many websites critical of the Purif. This one comes from Dr. Dave Touretszky of Carnegie-Mellon University:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/sources/reports/hogg.htm

Of course, you will want to look at the sites promoting the Purif as well:

http://www.whatisscientology.org/Html/Part03/Chp13/pg0241-a.html

The Purification Rundown is referred to as a 'spiritual' program, which is why the FDA won't touch it. However, they're also trying to market it secularly. It is part of Scientology's bogus drug rehab program, Narconon. ( http://narconon-exposed.org ) It is part of Criminon, a Scientology prison outreach.

It is part of Second Chance, the program Sharron Angle was seeking public funding for.

She obviously has no idea what she is endorsing, because the Purif has repeatedly been exposed as a scam and a religious service.

Sharron Angle is likely influenced by Bruce Wiseman, a Scientologist. He is the president of the Citizen Commission on Human Rights, a Scientology front group seeking to ban Prozac and other SSRIs. He is also the treasurer of the National Foundation of Women Legislators.

Sharron Angle is a member of the NFWL. She was the primary sponsor of bill AB134, a Scientology-supported bill restricting the use of Ritalin in public schools. Here's an excerpt from a proponent's statement, "Requiring or pressuring parents to give their children Ritalin and other dangerous prescription psychotropic drugs has become a major problem in our schools. "

It was a showpiece more than anything else. Schools don't force students to take psychotropic drugs.

Sharron angle was also behind a move to put the Scientology program, Second Chance, into Nevada's women's state prisons. This was in 2003, the same year the mysterious humanitarian was offering free airline tickets to Baja California.

Interestingly enough, the president of Second Chance is Joy Westrun, a Scientologist. And Joy Westrun is a board member of the NFWL. The links between Scientology and the NFWL are explained in more depth here:

http://www.lermanet.com/nfwl.htm

As stated earlier, Second Chance sells the Purification Rundown. Second Chance is Narconon warmed over. Second Chance, like Narconon, utilizes the same materials sold to Scientologists as religious. Both entities try to claim a secular distance from Scientology, and untruthfully state that their programs aren't Scientology, simply "based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard."

Last year, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a series of articles by Nanette Asimov. It was the account of how Narconon's drug education program had been found to be unscientific, misleading, and based upon junk science. Narconon's program was expelled from California schools.

Hawaii and Boston soon followed.

The Purification Rundown is the physical application of the theories that made educators boot them out of public schools.

http://stop-narconon.org

One more interesting thing to consider is the story of Margarita Lopez, a New York City councilwoman and supporter of the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, yet another entity dedicated to selling the Purif under a secular banner.

http://www.slate.com/id/2108471/

Ms. Lopez, it was revealed, had shuttled $650,000 in public money to the NYRWDP. And an internal Scientology email went out, urging members to vote for Lopez, as it was suggested they would benefit from the quid pro quo.

http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/quid-pro-cult.htm

Once word got out about Ms. Lopez' irresponsible support for a dangerous and useless program sold by a cult, her bid for borough president of Manhattan failed badly. She is, however, still schmoozing with Mayor Bloomberg, and has his support.

I would think that the citizens of Nevada would probably appreciate a warning here. No matter what you write, Scientology spokespeople will try to make it into a religious rights issue. They always do. It's a fraudulent, dangerous product they're selling.

In 2003, I emailed every single legislator in Nevada, warning them about the Second Chance program. And that anonymous airline ticket donor? Why, he turned out to be a businessman from Arizona. And Mr. Randall Suggs is, yep, a Scientologist.

--
--barb
Chaplain,ARSCC
xenubarb@netscape.net

"Imagine a church so dangerous, you must sign a release form before you can receive its "spiritual assistance."

This assistance might involve holding you against your will for an indefinite period, isolating you from friends and family, and denying you access to appropriate medical care. You will of course be billed for this treatment - assuming you survive it. If not, the release form absolves your caretakers of all responsibility for your suffering and death.

Welcome to the 'Church' of Scientology."

--Dr. Dave Touretzky
Peter Alexander

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