The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) flourished under the Bush
Administration.
Big Oil and Big Tobacco were “Chimp’s” friends. They could do no
wrong, and, when they did, CEI was handed a lot of money to cover it
up.
Those days are over. Saudi Arabia is worried about competition from
oil producers such as Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. They
want nothing to do with OPEC.
Tobacco’s always been a losing proposition.
So where does CEI turn for money? After all, they have bills to pay
down there.
The answer: Scientology and Sarah Palin!
Scientology, you say? Yes, Scientology, not as unlikely as it seems.
Scientology was built on junk science. Xenu, the galactic tyrant,
dropping hydrogen bombs on Hawaii. Man evolving from clams. Radiation
lurking in fat cells. Thought having mass. Calculus doesn’t work, and
it is part of a black magic operation anyway.
Strange stuff, to be sure, but no stranger than some of the ideas CEI
has pushed. DDT-makes you live longer. There is no global warming.
Trees pollute more than cars. Heating a gas makes it heavier.
CEI employs people with the job title “expert” when “spin doctor”
would be more appropriate. Some of the main “experts” at CEI are John
Berlau, Myron Ebell, Marlo Lewis, Greg Conko, and Clyde Wayne Crews.
Scientology is having problems right now. Its high school dropout
leader, David Miscavige, abused staff members physically and the
practice spread throughout Scientology. A few people may be gullible
enough to believe that Xenu unleashed teleporting cats on the “loyal
officers” but who wants to be slapped?
Scientology also has a long history of opposition to psychiatry.
Thomas Szasz, though not a Scientologist, shares this belief, and has
been supportive of Scientology.
Rushing to defend Szasz is Jacob Sullum, of Reason Magazine. Reason is
closely affiliated with CEI, and this, of course, is the beginning of
the latest plot at the Competitive Enterprise Institute-repairing
Scientology’s image.
The plan seems to be systematic propaganda attacks on selected mental
health professionals. Sadly, they have targeted those who specialize
in helping orphans. What is Scientology’s problem?
Through Sullum and Szasz, Ebell and Berlau have enlisted quite a cast
of players.
First, Jean Mercer. She’s a psychologist, but has never held a license
to practice, and has never seen a patient. She has no practical
experience, but she seems to be the best they can do. Mercer runs a
blog on Psychology Today. When people came to the blog with honest
questions about Mercer’s background and affiliations, she resorted to
censorship!
Mercer collaborates with Larry Sarner. Sarner is very interesting.
Sarner tried his hand at inventing voting machines. The voting
machines did not work, and the result was a financial scandal. It was
not as big as the Bernie Madoff fiasco, but the potential was there.
One of Sarner’s “victims” was Peter Paul Luce, son of Henry Luce. Why
do we mention this? Well, Scientology L. Ron Hubbard claimed that
Henry Luce and his “black magic organization” invented calculus!
Sarner and his wife, Linda Rosa, run a blog on child torture. Yes,
child torture, and there’s little doubt they’ll soon enlist Lynndie
England and Alberto Gonzales as guest bloggers.
Then there’s Monica Pignotti, another very interesting person. She was
a Scientologist, but, to her credit, she abandoned it. Some time after
abandoning Scientology, she became a well paid practitioner of Roger
Callahan’s “Thought Field Therapy” and “Voice Technology.” Like
Scientology, these are very expensive “secret methods” for diagnosing
and curing diseases.
Pignotti abandoned Callahan, apparently to collaborate with Mercer,
Sarner, and Rosa. She’s no stranger to CEI, though. At one point she
participated in a lawsuit with Andrew Langer. Langer, an outspoken
opponent of free speech and dedicated supporter of John Berlau, left
CEI to for his own think tank, the Institute for Liberty.
Preliminary news reports suggest that Langer will be stepping down
from the Institute for Liberty to work on the Sarah Palin 2012
campaign-another surefire losing proposition for Langer!
Charly D. Miller describes herself as a retired paramedic, author, and
consultant. Her website contains material Larry Sarner calls
“incisive” but others find it merely insipid.
You may have trouble finding her work, as it often contains copyright
violations, and the owners have forced her to remove it from the site.
Last, but not least, Brooke Oberwetter. Does the name sound familiar?
Her father, James, was George Bush’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia! She
left CEI to establish “DC Signal” which is a telecommunications policy
consultancy. Since there’s not a lot of money to be made ghostwriting
outgoing voicemails, DC Signal seems ideally positioned to coordinate
the Scientology-CEI project.
Would you like to know more?
http://particleprincess.wordpress.com
http://sapphiretruth.wordpress.com
http://medicalcrackpots.wordpress.com
