Scientologist OTV Senator Candidate

A Scientologist running for office is a rare phenomenon. Only by refusing to discuss their religion can they hope to avoid tackling the inevitable, difficult questions about Scientology's history of fraud, abuse, totalitarianism and bigotry that will arise.

Such a prodigy is Yvonne Schick; Texan, libertarian, Scientologist, and candidate for Senator. Miz Schick isn't just any Scientologist, either. She is a deeply invested and indoctrinated follower of L. Ron Hubbard. She has made it all the way up to OT V in the Scientology heirarchy of achievement. The Operating Thetan levels are expensive and intensive mindwash. At OTIII, they have spent roughly $300,000 to learn about Xenu, the evil galactic overlord who imprisoned beings from many planets, flew them in DC8s with rocket engines to the prison planet Teegeeack (earth) and blew them up in volcanos with hydrogen bombs. All of our problems today stem from these lost alien souls, or thetans, sticking to your body and mistaking themselves for your elbow or pancreas. Ms. Schick is also on an exalted list of people who have donated $100,000 to Scientology.

You say it's absurd to pay that kind of money for this ridiculous piece of Hubbardian space opera? Chances are, anyone who isn't a Scientologist would agree with you. Yet, Miz. Schick continued on up the "Bridge to Total Freedom" after completing OTIII. She is currently at OTV.

Schick has dedicated a significant amount of time and money in her pursuit of Scientology excellence. Her accomplishments are listed on the 'Truth About Scientology' website, a database compiled from Scientology publications.[1]

Not only is Schick an OTV, she has also attested to the state of Clear. This state is described by Scientology's official website as follows; "Clear is the name of a specific state achieved through auditing, or a person who has achieved this state. A Clear is a being who no longer has his own reactive mind, and therefore suffers none of the ill effects the reactive mind can cause."

The Scientology organization has toned down its claims about the State of Clear. Earlier claims included:
* never has colds or accidents,
* has a soaring IQ,
* total recall of his entire life from conception on,
* has cancer (possibly) and other physical deficiencies repaired,
* can compute in seconds what the average person needs 30 or more minutes for
* is the first case of a truly rational person.[2]

Old volumes of Dianetics include this gem from L. Ron Hubbard;

"Something that usually happens to a Clear is that his sight gets extraordinarily improved, if it has been bad while he was abberated. And if this is payed (sic) a little bit of attention he will after a while have optimal sight."

This led to an astonishingly funny anecdote about one of Hubbard's early lectures. From Bare-Faced Messiah:

`The problem for many people involved in Dianetics was that they accepted every word Hubbard said as literal truth, rather than a framework around which you could do things. I remember at a lecture one night he told people if they did this or that they would no longer need to wear glasses and that they would be able to throw them away forever. He pointed to a big bowl at the bottom of the steps leading up to the rostrum and at the end of the lecture people were throwing their glasses into this bowl. Don Purcell was one of them.

`Hubbard thought it was a great joke. He told me about it afterwards, making a snide remark about Purcell and describing how he took off his glasses, threw them into the bowl and groped his way out of the lecture hall. Hubbard was laughing that people would do something like that just because of what he said. Of course, it didn't work. Like every one else, Purcell had a new pair of glasses in a couple of days.
-- Interview with Chapdelaine[3]

As a Clear, I wonder how Yvonne Schick parses her superior state with her need for glasses?[4]

The State of Clear, in Scientology, is really a mere rank in the heirarchy, as well as the beginning of Scientology's "bait and switch" fraud used to lure people to the higher levels.

When a person begins Scientology training, they start with Dianetics, where they learn that all their problems stem from their "reactive mind," a part of the mind that is riddled with traumatic whole track memories called engrams.

The whole track refers to not just this life, but your entire history of past lives. Scientologists believe the body to be a vehicle, while the thetan returns in cycles of reincarnation.

The Reactive Mind is, in Scientology, something that may be eradicated. Once disposed of, you are rid of all the harmful engrams that have been holding you back, and you are ready to proceed onto the OT levels, where you learn that your problems weren't caused by engrams, but by Body Thetans, the dead spirits of Xenu's murdered space aliens. Of course, Scientology can teach you how to remove them, for a price. That is the switch. Just when you think all your problems in life are solved by going Clear, a whole new set of impediments are presented.

Apart from this fraudulent bait and switch, there are many other reasons to be wary of a Scientologist candidate, particularly one as deeply indoctrinated as Ms. Schick.

One reason is Scientology's "prime directive" Scientologists must follow. That directive is, "Keep Scientology Working," or KSW. This can include, but is not limited to; lying to promote Scientology, funneling public money to Scientology front groups, placing Scientologists into positions of trust and access, and befriending/influencing opinion leaders in community, state, and national government.

One horrific and shocking example of KSW was revealed following FBI raids on Scientology offices in the 1970s. Called 'Operation Snow White,' this extensive project placed Scientologists into government offices, wiretapped government phones, and bugged government buildings. Operation Snow White was the largest domestic espionage case in U.S. history. Hubbard's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, and several co-conspirators took the rap and did jail time. Hubbard himself went into hiding for the rest of his life.

The organization has learned how to be subtle since Operation Snow White. In the past two decades, we have seen legislators inexplicably seek public funding for provenly fraudulent Scientology programs such as Narconon, Criminon, Second Chance, and the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project. These programs all involve exposing vulnerable people to Scientology teachings and rituals, specifically the roundly debunked Purification Rundown.[5]

There is also a huge push by Scientology to get its literacy programs into public schools.

Who are these Scientology supporting legislators? It is suspected that many are members of the National Foundation of Women Legislators, an organization founded in 1938, and fairly recently infiltrated by Scientologists, who occupy positions in the organization and use these positions to reach and influence lawmakers.

Scientology is clearly aware of the potential benefits from joining such organizations. Bruce Wiseman, former president of Scientology anti-psychiatry front group Citizens Commission on Human Rights, admitted as much while begging for money needed to join the NFWL.[6]
He is now the treasurer of that group, and there are now several other Scientologists in various positions within the NFWL.

As part of an effort to control information about its 50 year history, Scientology regularly violates the basic human rights of members, ex-members and critics, including efforts to censor the internet. A recent case involved the removal, based on a fraudulent copyright claim, of over 4000 videos critical of Scientology from Youtube.[8]

When challenged on its behavior, representatives try to divert the focus to religious persecution. Or, in Yvonne Schick's case, ignore the issue entirely.

When asked why her Scientology allegiance was missing from her official bio, Ms. Schick responded this way;

"My position is that religion is a very personal matter and it is not necessary to bring religion into government. Our country was founded by people fleeing religious persecution. The freedom to practice one's religion free from government controls was fundamental to the founding principles. And perhaps even more fundamental is the human right to freedom of religious expression. I refuse to use an elected office or even a political campaign to impose my religious view on others or even to promote them.

Suffice it to say that my personal values, which are informed by my spiritual views, include the basics of most all religions including respect for the life, liberty, and property of each individual."

When further pressed by the writer for more details, she said, "I apologize. I felt I answered the two questions you asked; i.e., why it wasn't in my bio and the significance to a potential voter. Yes, I am a Scientologist."[7]

Of course, with her extensive list of completions online, there would be little point in denying her status as a Scientologist. However, it is hoped that she will have some hard questions put to her about her position on Scientology's criminal and human rights abuses. Perhaps she could further explain how her views differ from those of Scientology, particularly with regards to "respect for the life, liberty, and property of each individual."

One would want to ask why this candidate belongs to an organization that has such a history of fraud, criminality, extortion and abuse. The paramilitary and intelligence agencies of Scientology have no parallel in other religions.
Other repugnant practices involve the destruction of families, and the incarceration of recalcitrant members in the Rehabilitation Project Force.

Will Ms. Schick defend these practices, or simply refuse to discuss them as a "religious" issue?

It should be noted that Scientology is not considered a religion in several countries; the UK, Germany, and Israel rightly define it as a corporate venture. Scientology worships nothing but money, as did its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard wrote millions of words in scores of books instructing his followers on everything from how to market Scientology to how to fend off critics. His prolific and sometimes rambling discourses constitute the gospel of Scientology, its structure and its soul. Deviations are punishable.

Indeed, Hubbard's goal for global control under Scientology rule is a grim one. I would like to hear Ms. Schick's response to the following Hubbard quote:

"Did you ever read poor old George Orwell's uh... 1984? Yes, yes,
that's wonderful. That would be, could be, the palest imagined
shadow of what a world would be like under the rule of the secret
use of Scientology with no remedy in existence."
-L. Ron Hubbard PDC Lecture #20

[1]http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/y/yvonne-schick.html
[2]http://www.xenu.net/archive/lrhbare/lrhbare03.html
[3]http://www.xenu.net/archive/books/bfm/bfm11.htm
[4]http://www.yvonneforsenate.com/images/RE_Favorite%20cropped.jpg
[5]http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/01/cautionary-tale-of-poor-science.html
[6]http://www.lermanet2.com/scientology-in-government/wiseman.htm
[7]http://forums.enturbulation.org/7-general-discussion/yvonne-schick-28670/
[8]http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/09/massive-takedown-anti-scientology-videos-youtube