Cult News

“TomKat” finally made it down the aisle with a 7-month-old baby in tow.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Scientology vows were sealed with a reported 3-minute-kiss, until someone yelled, “stop,” though perhaps they might have just said, “cut.”

An Italian castle near Rome was rented out for the marital production that reportedly was budgeted at about $10 million, which is easily the going price for an independent film.

The supporting cast included David and Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez and husband Marc Anthony, Jim Carey and girlfriend Jenny McCarthy, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Richard Gere and a “cameo” appearance by Brooke Shields.

Shields has apparently forgiven Cruise for bashing her on national television. Scientology’s “Top Gun” used the actress as an example of what’s wrong with taking medication for depression, apparently an “unpardonable sin” for the star and his church.

Speaking of Scientologists, quite a few of Cruise’s religious brethren attended the nuptials, such as John Travolta. 

The head of Scientology’s New York City branch made the invitation list, but not Oprah Winfrey, even though she practically launched the couple on her show.

Maybe Cruise’s handlers didn’t want to remind anyone about his past performance as a “couch jumper.”

Oprah still sent a gift.

Tom Cruise chose as his “best man” Scientology’s “top dog” David Miscavige, the man who appears to be leader for life of the controversial church, which many have called a “cult.”

Reportedly some Hollywood notables were “no shows.”

Needless to say Cruise’s former employer Sumner Redstone, the man who dumped the actor from Paramount largely for talking too much about Scientology, wasn’t there.

The wedding vows, like all things Scientology, were hatched from the head of its creator L. Ron Hubbard and seemed more like stilted dialog lifted from a corny 1950s movie than a typical marriage ceremony.

During the service the Scientology minister asked the bride: “Do you take his fortune at its prime and ebb and seek with him best fortune for us all? Do you?” The bride responded: “I do.” Then the minister said: “Good then, I am sure you will and surer yet that you’ll fare well and staunchly as a wife.” To Cruise, he said: “And when she’s older do you keep her still? Do you?” He replied: “I do.” 

What’s interesting to observe in Hubbard’s version of wedding vows is the complete absence of any reference to God. And to the bride’s parents who are staunchly conservative Roman Catholics, any mention of Jesus.

Scientologists don’t believe in the bible, God or Jesus and are taught if they reach “Operating Thetan Level Three” (OT III), about “implanting,” which is done through space alien technology. Later, reportedly at OT VIII, they learn not so flattering details about how Christianity fits within that framework. 

However, Katie Holmes parents both attended the wedding and told People Magazine that they were “very happy” to be there.

And why not?

The pre-nuptial agreement reportedly negotiated in part by the father of the 27-year-old actress provides that she will receive $3 million dollars for each year that she remains “Mrs. Cruise,” plus a California mansion. And if Katie Holmes can somehow manage to make it to her 11th anniversary, she could hit the jackpot and get half of the 44-year-old actor’s entire fortune.

The bride’s parents may also be smiling because the Scientology ceremony their daughter participated in is not recognized by their church. So some day, just like Nicole Kidman the last Mrs. Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes can get an annulment and still walk down the aisle the second time in a Roman Catholic Church.

It was reported that Andrea Bocelli sang Ave Maria at the reception. However, Bocelli later told the press that he did not attend the Scientology event, because of his Catholic faith.

Was the Italian tenor’s reported rendition of Ave Maria at the reception meant to be a peace offering to placate the bride’s family? 

Kidman and Cruise’s ex-girlfriend Penelope Cruz sent gifts.

No word from Mimi Rogers, the first Mrs. Cruise, who once complained that about their sex life.

What advice would these exes give the new Mrs. Cruise?

MSNBC says that the Katie Holmes should “forget about marriage counseling” if there are problems, because as Tom Cruise told Matt Lauer, psychology is a “Nazi science.”

L. Ron Hubbard, Cruise’s hero, wasn’t that successful at marriage either. He was divorced too, but unlike the actor was also accused of bigamy.

Hubbard’s first wife said she had trouble leaving him and claimed the former Sci-fi writer subdued her with a “hammerlock, causing strangulation and thus preventing any outcry” and later ran away with their baby daughter.

Let’s hope that Tom Cruise isn’t planning to follow his hero’s example if things get tough.

Hubbard’s third wife, if one questionable union is counted, Mary Sue Hubbard did time in federal prison over a Scientology-related criminal conspiracy. 

Hopefully Katie Holmes will never experience such harsh housing. 

Things don’t seem to look that promising though. When all the festivities were done in Italy the groom, his bride and “best man” reportedly flew away together.

Not exactly romantic, but maybe it is somehow spiritually fulfilling to bring the head of your church along to begin married life.

And news reports have noted that the height difference between Cruise and Holmes may be an issue for the actor, who is at least two inches shorter than his latest spouse. Apparently he was concerned enough to stage a wedding photo, which makes him look taller.

Tom Cruise is supposedly set to begin shooting a new movie with Robert Redford in January.

Katie Holmes has no reported career plans, other than of course being Mrs. Tom Cruise, which pays rather well.

Many have said that this much publicized romance and marriage is little more than a scheme to help the middle-aged actor’s career and give his public image a boost.

The Italian wedding was “branded” a “Scientology stunt.” And it was revealed that the couple had actually already “officialized” their marriage before departing for Italy while still in Los Angeles.

But can a $10 million dollar wedding somehow make Tom Cruise a hot Hollywood star again?

Despite the price tag for the production it’s unlikely to count at the box office. 

Tom Cruise may actually be morphing into something of a celebrity oddity much like Michael Jackson, another superstar that began his descent into pop culture irrelevance with a reportedly contrived Scientology marriage.

Follow-up: According to repeated media reports Katie Holmes is so unhappy with her honeymoon that she wants another one. Reportedly the bride and groom were accompanied on their honeymoon by Scientology leader and Cruise’s “best man” David Miscavige. But a spokesperson for the chairman of the controversial religion told the press, “This is so stupid. I don’t know how many times I have to say it: It is absolutely, 100 percent not true. Mr. Miscavige was not there.”

Carol Seidman, the self-proclaimed leader of the seminar-selling group known as the “Miracle of Love,” claims she speaks for a “higher power.”

Seidman’s followers call her “Kalindi La Gourasana.”

However, a local newspaper reporting about the group named it simply the “Kalindi Cult.”

Ms. Seidman, once the sidekick of self-styled “channeler” David Swanson, says that she has been channeling his power since her mentor’s death some years ago.

Well, that’s what Kalindi’s followers believe.

And Seidman is good at gathering followers, especially rich ones.

The group largely based in San Diego promotes “The Intensive,” which is an introductory six-day Miracle of Love seminar.

During the days of mass marathon training there is “screaming and crying…dancing and laughter. Seminar participants are hugged, praised, coddled and cradled. Their brains flood with endorphins; they feel purged, released, euphoric. Hearts fill with love for everyone in the room…they are experiencing…God’s energy” reported San Diego City Beat. 

Some say it’s more like “brainwashing.”

Has Kalindi concocted a formula based upon older more established seminars such as the Forum and added a dash of “Ms. Maharishi“?

CultNews recently received YouTube links that show Seidman performing for her faithful.

In one clip the 52-year-old becomes nostalgic, and dances to 1960s pop music after telling followers that her version of enlightenment doesn’t prohibit “sex,” “hamburgers” or “rock-n-roll.”

If you want to see this middle-aged guru shake her tailfeathers click here.

In another clip Seidman is somewhat less of a joke.

She eerily warns seminar attendees that in order to expose the “beautiful gem” inside of them they may have to rub away some “evil.”

To see Seidman holding forth about polishing off the “darkness” click here.

Miracle of Love is registered as a “nonprofit.”

However, whether it’s dancing carelessly festooned in feathers or pontificating comfortably from her overstuffed throne, Seidman seems to be doing well.

Miracle of Love is largely based in San Diego and at least one “Intensive” was held in the La Jolla Marriott Hotel.

Kalindi likes to keep her followers carefully organized within “group houses,” supervised by appointed “spiritual leaders.”

Interestingly, one California man ended up less than enlightened. He was sentenced to a year in jail over a kidnap plot that reportedly centered on recovering $3.8 million lost by members of the group.

It appears dancing Kalindi is swinging pretty big assets.

Note: Don’t be surprised if these clips are quickly removed from YouTube subsequent to this report, point and click soon before they are gone.

Tonight the Los Angeles affiliate of Fox News will broadcast a deeply disturbing report about a “cult” that flogs its own members publicly as penance after a bizarre mock trial.

The Fox News 11 report tonight about the group called “Jesus Christians” will air at 10 PM on the West Coast exclusively in the greater Los Angeles area.

American-born Dave McKay, a self-styled holy man that has been called a “cult leader,” created “Jesus Christians” after leaving the group “Children of God,” a notorious “sex cult” known for sexually abusing children and sending its female members out to raise money as “hookers for Christ.”

The so-called “Jesus Christians” is a much smaller group of less than a hundred, but McKay has managed to grab attention around the world through sensational stunts, such as encouraging his followers to give up a kidney as an organ transplant to total strangers.

The British press accordingly has called “Jesus Christians” the “kidney cult.”

60-year-old McKay seems to have an insatiable desire for attention and will apparently do almost anything to feed his ego.

The Fox News report about “Jesus Christians” tonight includes coverage of its staged mock trial, which culminates in the sentence carried out of public fogging.

The trial features a family that struggled to free a teenage son from McKay’s influence.

“Jesus Christians” has a history of recruiting minor children, a practice that has gotten the group into serious trouble.

McKay appears to be following in the footsteps of Claude Vorilhon known as “Rael,” leader of the “Raelians,” another group with a penchant for staging publicity stunts to garner attention for its leader.

The often-ridiculous Raelians are best known as the “clone cult,” due to the claim that they had somehow cloned the first human. A story that got the group worldwide attention, but turned out to be little more than a joke.

However, former members of the “Jesus Christians” see McKay as anything but amusing and say they were manipulated and exploited within the group some now consider a “cult.”

Some former members have been posting comments about the group on an open forum message board provided by the Ross Institute of New Jersey, which is the sponsor of CultNews.

McKay himself, endlessly concerned about his public image, has at times posted at the board too.

One thread at this forum is titled “Australian Cult” and has been open for more than a year, with posts added as recently as today. 

Other threads discuss the recent public whippings and various other egocentric antics of the man labeled a “sick cult leader” in California. 

McKay apparently planned the beatings for months, which are included in the report tonight on Fox 11.

This drama can be seen as little more than retaliation against the family in Los Angeles that opposed him. Their teenage son, an outstanding student and athlete, deserted his goals and family to follow McKay.

Perhaps the only visibly positive portion of the Fox 11 report tonight, is that Dave McKay is one of those being beaten, a man that many feel deserves some punishment for the many people he has hurt. 

The Fox 11 report is a unique and startling inside look at one of the most bizarre and potentially dangerous “cults” in the world today. A compelling lesson about how controlling such groups can be, which is probably not quite the message McKay imagined or wanted.

CultNews doubts that anyone can beat some sense into Dave McKay, but this news event underscores the damage that can be done to individuals and families at times, “in the name of God.”

Rev. Ted Haggard has stepped down as the President of the National Association of Evangelicals, which includes 30 million American members amidst a growing scandal about his personal life.

Haggard has admitted that he bought illegal drugs from a gay prostitute reports ABC News.

Mike Jones, a “male escort,” says that Rev. Haggard paid him for sex regularly over a period of three years and that the minister liked snorting methamphetamine “to heighten the experience” reported Times Online.

The disgraced minister has “confessed to the overseers” of the 14,000-member New Life Church he led in Colorado Springs, Colorado. And Haggard has “temporarily stepped aside” pending the results of an internal church investigation concerning the allegations.

Haggard, married and the father of five was named by Time Magazine as one of the top 25 most powerful evangelical leaders in the United States.  

The 50-year-old minister told the press, “I bought [methamphetamine] for myself but never used it. I was tempted, but I never used it,” he repeatedly insisted. 

However, Haggard’s claims sounds eerily like the much-ridiculed remarks of Bill Clinton who once told the press that he “experimented with marijuana a time or two,” but “didn’t inhale.”

Carefully parsing his words Haggard says he received a “massage,” but that he never had sexual relations with the prostitute.

Maybe that depends upon what your definition of a massage is? 

Many Christian fundamentalists are embarrassed by the recent disclosures about the minister including Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, another powerful evangelical leader and close associate of Haggard.

Ted Haggard was an outspoken opponent of gay marriage, but he may have favored gay prostitution.

“It made me angry that here’s someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex,” said Mike Jones the “male escort” that exposed Haggard.

“I just want people to step back and take a look and say, ’Look, we’re all sinners, we all have faults,” Jones added.

Amen?

No doubt that’s a sentiment that Rev. Haggard will be counting on.

Note: Paul Crouch, the president and founder of Trinity Broadcasting Network paid an employee a $425,000 settlement, who alleged that he had sex with the televangelist to keep his job reported the Los Angeles Times.

Madonna seems to be trying to “reinvent” herself once again as a globetrotting celebrity humanitarian, supposedly following in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie and Bono, but it appears that she has stumbled badly.

The 1980s diva adopted an African baby only to have that act raise questions about her motives and morality.

Perhaps it wasn’t good press, but generosity that motivated the former “Material Girl.” However, her public statements seem increasingly conflicted and confused.

Discussing her new baby boy David’s religious future she said, “If David decides he wants to be a Christian, then so be it,” and then added, “I believe in Jesus and I study Kabbalah, so I don’t see why he can’t too” reports the BBC.

However, how can the child make up his mind about religion when his mommy apparently can’t?

Madonna, formerly a Roman Catholic, now celebrates Jewish holidays and festivals through the religious organization known as the “Kabbalah Centre,” founded by Philip Berg, now effectively run by his wife Karen and their two sons Yehuda and Michael.

Little David has already been spotted wearing the “red string” amulet sold by his mother’s spiritual mentors.

Madonna’s rep, Liz Rosenberg, told Jeannette Walls at MSNBC this was to protect him from “the unfriendly stare and unkind glances,” more commonly called the “evil eye.”

Experts on Jewish mysticism have frequently criticized the Kabbalah Centre, which has been called a “cult,” for its crass commercialism. And the group has no meaningful status within the organized Jewish community.

Madonna likewise hasn’t much standing amongst Christian leaders, other than frequent denouncements, most recently for her concert crucifixions.

So where does that leave little David?

Should he follow mom’s example, a woman that seemingly believes in certain chosen and combined facets of two religions simultaneously?

Has Madonna become something like a so-called “Jew for Jesus“?

Welcome to the confusing world that this celebrity’s kids must inhabit.

Madonna has dismissed critics of her adoption as “racist” claiming, “A lot of people have a problem with the fact that I’ve adopted an African child.”

However, CultNews thinks baby David may “have a problem,” trying to form a consistent identity under Madonna’s influence.

Follow-up: Madonna was ridiculed about her adoption. Dressed in drag as the “Material Girl” for the MTV Europe Music Awards comic Avid Merrion did a send-up of the diva’s dance number from last year backed up by “little people” gyrating in baby clothes reports The Independent online.  “I’m getting too old for this s***.” Merrion mugged. And then the comic told the audience mimicking the star, “I’ve been getting a lot of hoo-ha from the press recently just because I bought a baby. But I’m Madonna. If I want to buy a baby I buy a flipping baby.” 

Critics have called Chuck Anderson the founder of “Endeavor Academy” a “cult” leader, but his followers prefer the moniker “Master Teacher” (MT).

Now it seems that this strange self-proclaimed Wisconsin “miracle worker,” reportedly a retired real estate broker and rehabilitated alcoholic originally from Chicago, wants to be a regular on the “New Age” lecture circuit.

That is, with a little boost from pop guru Deepak Chopra.

Anderson is featured along with Chopra for the coming “World Wellness Weekend” at the San Jose Civic Center and Convention Center in California next week.

MT is advertised as “a fully illuminated mind” that will “assist and accelerate the experience of resurrection and enlightenment.”

However, in December of 1999 CBS “48 Hours” ran a not so flattering report about Chuck Anderson. “The Academy: Miracle or Cult?” was the blurb that the network used to describe its investigative piece.

“At the Endeavor Academy, almost all decisions are made by Anderson,” one of MT’s students told CBS.

The Endeavor Academy was once known as “God’s Country Place” and according to a 1991 report filed by Kalie Picone MT “promises that he will enlighten everyone that follows him, and he promises that it will happen soon. He says only his followers are on the list to ‘get out of here’ and go home with him. They plan to ‘flash out’ of here together.”

Sounds eerily like the California cult known as “Heaven’s Gate” led by Marshall Applewhite, who offered his students the “Last chance to advance beyond human” and that he would take them to “the true Kingdom of God.” When his followers commited suicide in 1997 the group believed that they would “flash out of here together.”

Endeavor Academy was linked to suicide in Australia.

One former student Ian Hamilton wrote a book about his days with the group titled “Awake among the Sleeping,” which raised serious questions about whether MT is leading his pupils to “enlightenment” or on “a road to nowhere.”

What does it mean to become “enlightened” according to Anderson?

Well, Picone says she found out that “to be enlightened, [students] had to make a commitment to MT and give up everything. And that “they know they are enlightened” when “they recognize who MT really is.”

And who is Chuck Anderson really?

Picone says she was told that MT didn’t like to appear in public, give interviews or talk to anyone on the phone, because “people will try to kill the Christ if they know where He is.”

“The Christ”?

Wasn’t it David Koresh that was supposed to be the “Lamb of God”?

MT teaches from an essentially benign book “A Course in Miracles” (ACIM), but not everyone that believes the book agrees with Anderson.

ACIM is a work supposedly authored by “Christ” as “channeled” by Helen Schucman.

Those that dispute MT’s interpretation of ACIM include Kenneth Wapnick of the Foundation for a Course in Miracles (FACIM), who worked closely with Schucman.

So why would the controversial leader of a group called “an insidious and destructive cult that is responsible for the mental breakdown of some of its members” be featured at a “Wellness Weekend”?

And why would someone as media savvy as Deepak Chopra want to share billing with someone like Anderson?

“Wellness Weekend” star Chopra is being promoted as one of the “top 100 icons of the 20th Century” and he will deliver the keynote address November 3rd at the San Jose Civic Auditorium to launch the event.

Chopra who is both medical doctor and pop culture philosopher has become well known on public television.

Sponsors for the “Wellness Weekend” include KTEH/KCAH Public Broadcasting, KBAY Radio and the San Jose Mercury News.

At the top of the sponsors list is “A Course in Miracles International,” which is an organization controlled by Chuck Anderson and his followers. At its Web site the weekend event is touted as an opportunity to see “Master Teacher and Deepak Chopra.”

“An Invitation to A Great Experiment” features two of Anderson’s devotees explaining how he transmits the truth that there “is no world.” This seems to be accomplished through what the group calls “mind training.”

Apparently Anderson and his followers believe he’s the real star and should get top billing, even though Chopra is the big draw at the coming California event. And they seem to have their own agenda as can be seen through another video “Purpose Of This Gathering.” 

It also appears that MT no longer fears facing the public outside of his academy and will talk to anyone, that is if they pay the price of admission to the “World Wellness Weekend.”

CultNews thinks that Deepak Chopra, M.D. might consider giving MT a checkup.

It seems that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the old guru that briefly provided spiritual guidance to the “Beatles” during the 1960s, wants to influence American kids through public schools.

However, concerned parents upset this plan, in California’s bastion of liberalism Marin County and were unwilling to put out the welcome mat for Maharishi.

Amidst allegations that “Transcendental Meditation” (TM) taught by the guru was a “religion” and a “cult,” the program proposed by Terra Linda High School principal Carole Ramsey was ultimately withdrawn reported Associated Press. 

The funding source for this proposed program was eccentric film director David Lynch, who was willing to pay $175,000 through his foundation for 250 students and 25 staffers to practice Maharishi’s meditation.

A long-time devotee of the guru Lynch seems to spend more time traveling to promote TM lately than making movies.

One Marin parent said at an open public meeting that TM was “the beginning of a whole new philosophy of life.” And that it works “by putting people in trances, and when you’re in a trance you’re more suggestible” reported NBC 11.

Principal Ramsey insisted instead that the practice is “about quieting your mind” and “actually very good for your brain,” she said.

The principal allowed an open discussion last week, but it blew up in her face.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s religious,” pronounced yet another parent and opponent of the proposed program.

This is not the first time Maharishi’s followers have attempted to get their guru’s mantras into public schools within the United States.

During 2004 there were several attempts reported across the country.

According to one report filed by Associated Press TM fans were pitching their beliefs at public schools in “New York, California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and other places.”

Barry Markovsky, a University of South Carolina sociologist labeled such efforts “stealth religion.” And almost 30 years ago in 1977, U.S. District Judge H. Curtis Meanor ruled against TM being taught at public schools. 

However, that didn’t discourage the faithful who kept plugging away at a number of venues through often through front organizations.

Working through the “National Committee for Stress-Free Schools” Maharishi’s disciples were “aggressively promoting…in major cities, including New York City,” according to The Journal News. 

And in North Carolina a charter school garnered controversy when it announced a TM and “Natural Law Curriculum.” However, it was deemed inappropriate for public funds to support what is essentially seen as a religious practice. Ultimately the school board voted down TM as part of its educational program.

TM supporters also tried to enter schools within Lexington, Kentucky.

In all of these attempts, much like the recently proposed Marin “wellness” program, Maharishi’s followers pitched a program they claimed would somehow lead to a decrease in blood pressure and discipline problems, improvement in grades and the lowering of stress levels.

But critics repeatedly questioned the research regarding TM, which has been characterized as “skewed toward positive results.”

The Middle European Journal of Medicine found that out of 700 studies on TM spanning 40 years, only 10 were conducted in the clinical tradition of using strict control groups, randomization and placebos. Of those 10, four of the studies recruited subjects that had already shown an interest in TM.

Peter Canter a researcher from the Peninsula Medical School of the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in the United Kingdom concluded, “there is a strong placebo effect going on which probably works through the expectations being set up.”

It seems David Lynch hoped to avoid controversy with the recently proposed school program in California, by putting up the funding himself.

However, despite this demonstration of devotion to his guru, Mr. Lynch will not be gaining any new disciples for Maharishi and his teachings in Marin.

One of the most successful groups called “cults” that ever recruited on a college campus was the so-called “International Church of Christ” (ICC) founded by Kip McKean.

McKean, a former campus minister let go by the Houston Memorial church of Christ in 1977, formed a splinter group often called a “cult” by its critics.

Beginning in the late 1970s and through the 1980s around Boston the group grew, and ultimately peaked reportedly at about 200,000 members, mostly recruited at colleges and universities across the United States and eventually around the world.

McKean, a charismatic, controlling and authoritarian leader, contained and manipulated his followers through something he labeled as “discipleship.”

This hierarchical system required that every member of his church, with the notable exception of McKean himself, be assigned to someone called their “discipling partner” to “seek advice” from.

That “advice” influenced such things as decisions about school, dating, family involvement and visits, virtually every aspect of an ICC disciple’s life.

But the ICC discipling system led to serious problems including students dropping out, emotional breakdowns and in some situations suicide.

The organization began to stumble structurally during the late 1990s due to mounting media attention, its accumulated bad press, criticism from former members, increasingly serious complaints from current members and at times even some of its leaders.

All this took its toll, and eventually there were more former members of the ICC than current members. Morevoer, numerous colleges and universities banned the group, which effectively cut the ICC off from its most meaningful source for new recruits.

Former members began to organize and effectively networked through the Internet, speaking out increasingly against ICC practices and McKean, who was once compared to the apostles Peter and Paul.

Ultimately Kip McKean was forced to resign through a series of events and his once loyal subordinates staged something like a “palace coup” toppling the imperious leader and taking over the kingdom he largely created.

But it seems that you can’t keep an old “cult leader” down.

McKean ended up in Oregon and has been attempting something like a “comeback.”

Still able to “fire up” at least some of the old faithful, McKean took over the Portland Church of Christ. This church then became his launching pad for what is now called the “International Christian Church.”

Kip McKean, now in his fifties, but with an ego that apparently requires regular feeding, was once named “…the greatest living treasure that God has given the kingdom on the face of the earth…”

And though the new “ICC” is comparatively quite small, it is growing through an old formula called “church plantings.” This formula consists typically of sending out teams of “disciples” to start up new cell groups in other cities, which then are frequently fed by student recruits from nearby schools.

There are now McKean-dominated groups in Eugene, Chicago, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.

The old ICC itself continues to decline. According to its own numbers the organization membership has dropped to below 100,000.

In the “old days” growth was touted as proof that “God” was on McKean and the ICC’s side.

Based upon that past claim what can the ICC or its old leader say now given their respective reduced followings?

Perhaps McKean and his old followers blame everything on an “attack of the Devil” and/or the “evils of the world”?

Whatever the rhetoric it’s unlikely that Kip McKean will ever again regain the following he once had during his “glory days” as “the greatest living treasure.”

But the aging and notorious “cult leader” appears still committed to creating continuing cause for concern and at times grief.

Scientology may not fare too well as fodder for the popular cable show “Nip/Tuck.”

The successful dramatic series about two plastic surgeons in Florida has included Scientology as a recurring story line lately.

TV squad quipped, “I’m sure Ryan Murphy and Co. have put together a story that will be both shocking and informative.

Murphy the show’s creator rather cryptically once said, “You read so much in the press about certain famous people who are Scientologists, but the media pushes it aside as a joke. And clearly it’s not a joke for millions of people. I’m not for it. I’m not against it. I was just curious as to what it is, what they believe in, and how it changes life and how it destroys life,” reported the Los Angeles Times.

Some pundits speculated that Murphy might mean that the show would go soft or “politically correct” on the so-called “new religious movement (NRM).”

But maybe not.

Most recently “Matt” (played by John Hensley) has been sucked into the seemingly sinister church, often called a “cult,” by a featured player named “Kimber.”

The two were seen literally sweating it out together.

But instead of a hot sex scene, the couple was doing what Scientologists call the “purification rundown,’ a religious ritual that includes stints in a sauna combined with swallowing down large doses of niacin and some cooking oil.

This bizarre treatment supposedly rids the body of “toxins,” which Scientologists believe is stored in body tissue indefinitely without their “cure.”

Matt’s doctor dad Sean (Dylan Walsh) probably wouldn’t prescribe this remedy for his son to purge drugs. Scientology founder and former pulp fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard concocted this remedy.

In the last episode it seems Sean actually thought so little of Scientology, he hired a “deprogrammer” to save his “brainwashed” boy.

However, Matt managed to escape and later his Scientology friends helped him to pack up and move on.

What’s next?

Will Matt declare his mom and dad “Suppressive Persons” (SPs) and then “disconnect” from his parental units altogether through another Scientology religious ritual?

Meanwhile Brooke Shields, the actress once bashed for using anti-depressants by Scientology hero Tom Cruise, has been cast as a psychiatrist in the show. Psychiatrists seem to be the equivalent of “Satan’s minions” to Scientologists.

Stay tuned.

It seems like Murphy is stirring a mean pot for his plot line.

Tomorrow night is the next installment.

If there is a movement concerning spending money foolishly on frivolous lawsuits Keith Raniere of Albany, New York may well be its “vanguard.”

Raniere who runs a seminar-selling company called NXIVM (pronounced nexium, like the “purple pill” for acid reflux), insists that his students call him “Vanguard.”

Mr. Raniere is the former head of “Consumer Buyline,” a multi-level marketing scheme that went bust in the 1990s.

But this business failure doesn’t seem to have taught him much.

Consumer Buyline went broke over litigation.

It almost seems that Keith Raniere believes he can sue his way to success.

Maybe that’s what students (called “Espians”) learn through his “Executive Success Programs” (ESP)

Raniere has sued Dr. John Hochman twice, a prominent California cult expert, over his report “A Forensic Psychiatrist Evaluates ESP (Executive Success Programs).”

That report was published by the Ross Institute of New Jersey (RI), the sponsor of CultNews.

First, Raniere through NXIVM sued Hochman in New York, but when that lawsuit was dismissed due to venue (location), the ever vigilant and litigious “Vanguard” waited awhile and then filed again in California.

The preposterous litigation claimed among other things, that the psychiatrist had somehow violated Raniere’s “trade secrets” by quoting his writings in a critique of ESP programs.

The doctor’s conclusions contained in the report were not very flattering.

Hochman wrote, “The ESP Intensive appears to be a gateway that encourages participants to attend further training sessions or seminars, and get friends and family to do the same. In a general sense, the goal is integration of individuals into a subculture – however, a particular kind of subculture. It is a kingdom of sorts, ruled by a Vanguard, who writes his own dictionary of the English language, has his own moral code, and the ability to generate taxes on subjects by having them participate in his seminars. It is a kingdom with no physical borders, but with psychological borders – influencing how his subjects spend their time, socialize, and think. Increasing involvement serves to increasingly distance participants from their relationships in a manner that is slow and subtle, and thus not at all obvious to them.”

It didn’t take long for the hammer to fall yet again in court regarding Raniere’s latest litigation.

CultNews has learned that late last month California federal Judge Manuel L. Real dismissed the lawsuit filed against Dr. Hochman with prejudice, which means it cannot be filed again.

In short order the judge signed an order pulling the plug on Raniere’s legal effort.

So has the self-proclaimed “Vanguard” finally “seen the light” through this recent ruling in sunny California?

No.

Per his persistent pattern of behavior, Mr. Raniere has filed an appeal.

Readers of CultNews may recall that this is exactly what “Vanguard” did when he lost in his effort to purge Dr. Hochman’s and other critical articles from the RI database through a requested injunction.

When Raniere was denied his injunction request, he appealed unsuccessfully all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Losing apparently means nothing to Keith Raniere.

When it comes to wasting money foolishly on frivolous litigation, “Vanguard” may indeed be a leader.

Raniere’s motto seems to be, “if first you don’t succeed, lose, lose again.”

Some might wonder, how a former failed businessman like Keith Raniere can afford all the legal fees associated with such lengthy litigation?

The answer appears to be by using other people’s money.

That is, cash coughed up by the wealthy members of that “subculture” known as NXIVM.

Scientology, an organization that is well known for its harassment lawsuits, historically set the precedent for such litigation. The strategy seemed to be that it didn’t matter if the controversial church won, just as long as legal expenses bled its perceived enemies.

However, things are not working that way for NXIVM and “Vanguard.”

The University of California is paying John Hochman’s legal bills. And the Ross Institute has received generous pro bono legal help from noted attorneys Douglas Brooks and Thomas Gleason.

And in a recent development one of the most prestigious law firms in New Jersey, Lowenstein Sandler has joined in, also providing help pro bono.

Lowenstein Sandler is the distinguished law firm that defended RI in a harassment lawsuit filed by another seminar-selling company called Landmark Education.

Lowenstein Sandler attorneys Peter Skolnik and Michael Norwick lawyered Landmark into a corner, which led to its General Counsel Art Schreiber ordering a “strategic retreat,” deciding it was better to dismiss the lawsuit than go on.

It is doubtful that the self-proclaimed “Vanguard” will do the same.

Keith Raniere, who says he’s a “genius,” apparently hasn’t quite figured out the futility of his legal spending spree.

By the way, CultNews has also learned that Raniere’s “top dog” at NXIVM Nancy Salzman, a registered nurse who prefers to be called “Prefect,” has opened yet another seminar-selling business called “Jness.”

The company’s Web site says that Jness is based upon “the principle that is not male” and that “if we, the human race, are to come into a new age, it will be necessary for the old balance of principles to change.”

Is nurse Nancy serious, or is this just pretentious rhetoric from “Prefect”?