It seems that Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has taken on Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard as a cause to crusade over, using both his title and office to add weight to the claims of both.
CultNews has reported before how the Sheriff seems to have become a shill for Scientology promoting its various programs and attending its fund-raising events.
This month Baca was featured within the magazine International Scientology News (Issue number 33) gushing about how wonderful the founder of Scientology was and his supposed precepts remain.
The following statement is seemingly attributed to Sheriff Baca complete with photo within the Scientology publication. A copy of the quote as it appears is posted a Web site administered by David Touretzsky, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and critic of Scientology.
“The story of L. Ron Hubbard can be found in the time to understand the information that he provides, the wisdom that it brings to dealing with life’s needs and therein the real story can be told. And the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people, who have been exposed to what his ideas are — it’s all about goodness, it’s all about improving yourself, it’s all about finding a way to empower other human beings. It’s reverence for life. Those are important things.”
Can Baca be so ignorant and poorly read that he doesn’t know about the actual teachings of L. Ron Hubbard and only understands what Scientology’s public relations department churns out?
Does he think that Tom Cruise going “crazy” is proof of “improving yourself” through Scientology?
Or is it that the sheriff has somehow benefited through his association with the controversial church many call a “cult”?
Perhaps Scientology’s rich patrons have contributed to his political campaign fund?
Maybe the sheriff should do a little more reading about Scientology before he agrees again to stand up for its programs and lend his name and the weight of his elected office to its schemes.
The “real story” behind Scientology can be easily understood by reading the seminal cover story run by Time Magazine back in 1991 titled “Scientology: The Cult of Greed.” Rather than being “about goodness” Time reported, “In reality the church is a hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner.”
A more recent article published by Rolling Stone magazine titled “Inside Scientology” published this year offers examples of former Scientologists fearful about retribution from the church Baca says is “about goodness.”
“I’m terrified” one tells Rolling Stone, while another says, “The church is a big, scary deal.”
Does this sound like the result of an effort to “empower other human beings”?
Baca claims there is a “reverence for life” evident within the teachings of Hubbard through Scientology.
But how can this be seen through the way the church handled Lisa McPherson? A devoted Scientologist in distress who was taken to a Scientology facility in Florida for treatment and ended up DOA at a hospital 17 days later?
Lisa McPherson’s family didn’t think Scientology demonstrated a “reverence for life” so the sued the church for wrongful death. After years of legal wrangling the church paid the family off rather than take its chances before a jury.
What about the “story of L. Ron Hubbard”?
At best his biography appears to be a bit muddled. One judge declared that Hubbard was “virtually a pathological liar when it [came] to his history, background and achievements.” And according to one report the “Scientology’s founder’s family [was] far from what he preached.”
A recent article in Slate and another in Salon that describes Hubbard’s writings as a “crackpot rant” hardly portrays a man known for his “wisdom” as Baca describes him.
So what “information” does the sheriff rely upon before lending his name to promotional efforts?
Apparently not the information provided through the mainstream media such as the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine or reputable wire services like Associated Press or Reuters.
Instead, it seems that Baca prefers to believe whatever his Scientology handlers tell him or provide as reference material.
Los Angeles County voters might well want to consider whose interests Sheriff Baca is serving before casting their ballots in the next election.
Is the sheriff becoming a shill for Scientology or is he consistently representing the best interests of his broader constituency?
Unfortunately not enough people read this site or voted for that matter. Now we have to endure, at least 4 more years of Baca. What a shame. Everyone keeps saying that the incumbant is hard to beat. Beating this incumbant would have been easy if all the people who didn’t like him would have just taken the time to vote.
Clearly the “cult extremist” (who are the minority) are more dedicated to their ideas and fulfilling them, than the average hard working “joe” (who is the majority) who complains about Baca and his antics, but fails to show up on election day
It wasn’t money (war chest), name recognition or the fact that more people “like Baca”, that got him re-elected. It was poor voter turnout!
You think the Sheriff’s Department was getting bad! Stand by, it will only get worse. Low morale, translates to poor police work, which translates to more crime, which raises the odds that we will all be victimized sooner than later. I thank God that I at least have the ability to protect myself!
It is amazing how people can vote for him.
His Scientology affiliation is just one problem. He is also corrupt in his handling of concealed weapons permits, and in fact just yanked the permit of someone who ran against him, contrary to all normal practices:
http://californiaccw.org/posts/list/283.page