======== Subject: The Lisa McPherson Trust becomes reality--Welcome to Clearwater From: Bob Minton Date: Wed, 03 Nov 1999 21:43:42 -0500 Message-ID: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 When Lisa McPherson joined scientology at the age of 18 in Dallas, Texas, I'm sure she believed that the next 18 years would be the best years of her life. Instead, 1977 to 1995 turned out to a living hell for Lisa that was full of lies, deceptions, disappointments and betrayal which is typical behavior for a destructive mind control group like scientology. This betrayal of Lisa's trust by scientology culminated on November 18, 1995 when she was incarcerated for 17 days of torture by scientology and her "friends" at the Fort Harrison Hotel. Lisa allegedly died on (but most likely before) December 5, 1995 like a caged animal and no one in scientology cared about Lisa as she lay dead with cockroaches feeding off what little fluids remained in her battered and bruised body. The Lisa McPherson Trust is a direct outgrowth of several very significant events relating to Lisa's death: A) the fateful call by Fanny McPherson to an attorney by the name of Ken Dandar who was and is both courageous enough and pure enough to withstand the assaults of scientology; B) the internet awareness campaign started by Jeff Jacobsen which helped bring the tragic death of Lisa McPherson to national attention; C) the death-bed request by Fanny McPherson to Ken Dandar that she wanted Ken to let the world know what scientology did to Lisa; and D) the continued courage of Lisa's remaining family led by Dell Liebreich to make scientology accountable for Lisa's tragic death. The Lisa McPherson Trust has been charged by the memory and suffering of Lisa McPherson and her family to be like the Surgeon General's report on cigarette packages and we will stick to the side of scientology as a WARNING to consumers that "scientology and all other destructive mind contol cults are dangerous to your health, your emotional well-being, your bank account and your very life." Lisa McPherson's memory will live on long past the minor footprint left by scientology on this planet. We at The Lisa McPherson Trust will see to that. I would like to add my enormous thanks to following people who have agreed to serve in various capacities for The Lisa McPherson Trust: Board Members: Peter Alexander Stacy Brooks Gabe Cazares Patricia Greenway Brian Haney Jeff Jacobsen Rod Keller Kim Krenek Dell Liebreich Ed Lottick Bob Minton Duncan Pierce Jesse Prince Several Board members will be active in staff positions but the real workhorses will be: David Cecere, Executive Director Kim Baker, Deputy Executive Director Mark Bunker, Multimedia Coordinator Grady Ward, Webmaster and Security Coordinator other positions are yet to be finalized. An Advisory Committee is being put together which so far consists of the following individuals: Gerry Armstrong Ida Camburn Ken Dandar Ray Emmons Steve Hassan Keith Henson Dan Leipold Arnie Lerma Margaret Singer Lawrence Wollersheim others TBA Again, many thanks to everyone who has agreed to be part of this exciting and dynamic effort to expose scientology and all destructive mind control cults. Sincerely, Bob Minton -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP Personal Privacy 6.5.1 iQA/AwUBOCDcfmgj/yM+AH/OEQJaawCgk0Wmz574ITAFFllknl935r0gLSMAniyR msiKSI8RsXT8pMZsmr60UW6n =cnyR -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ======== Subject: The Lisa McPherson Trust email addresses From: Bob Minton Date: Tue, 09 Nov 1999 21:29:51 -0500 Message-ID: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 You can currently contact The Lisa McPherson Trust by email at the following addresses: davidcecere@lisamcphersontrust.net ed@lisamcphersontrust.net <---- This will go to David Cecere too. stacybrooks@lisamcphersontrust.net bobminton@lisamcphersontrust.net Once we are operational in Clearwater and have our own server up and running, we will advise ARS of all email addresses. Mail for The Lisa McPherson Trust should be sent to P.O. Box 1049, Clearwater, Florida 33757. A phone number should be set soon and we will advise all interested parties. Please keep the ideas flowing to us. We need all the help we can get in the re-occupation of Clearwater. Bob Minton -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP Personal Privacy 6.5.1 iQA/AwUBOCjXUmgj/yM+AH/OEQIxqwCfRq8ujS01H+wDNhl0seGKJqxtDQQAoNYY EHgpprPM88uNRvraijFLu5wD =HMw2 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ======== Subject: The Legal Victory in Clearwater From: Bob Minton Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 13:52:35 -0500 Message-ID: <5u0o4ss2t4f559b09pgj27t5vp0tge35t2@4ax.com> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Having returned to the New Hampshire from Clearwater, I wanted to comment on the legal victory and the reciprocal restraining orders handed down by Judge Penick in St. Petersburg on December 2nd. Firstly, the open hearing before Judge Penick and his final decision were fair. That is all we ever really want from the Justice system in this country. Everybody won on this point. Secondly, CoS Inc., its Office of Special Affairs and Mr. Howd were shut down in their violent and harassive attempts to curtail free speech against the abusive and deceptive practices of CoS Inc. This is a temporary injunction in name only against CoS Inc. because their actions which caused this injunction against them are permanently on the record and will be used by others in the future when CoS are again tempted to suppress freedom. Thirdly, I was appropriately and temporarily restrained until May 30, 2000 from being within 10 feet of 17 CoS Inc. properties in Clearwater, Florida. Finally, most of us on ARS came here because we were advocates of free speech and vigorously opposed the heavy handed tactics used by CoS Inc. for forty plus years to destroy our rights and the rights of anyone opposed to CoS Inc. The Legal Victory on December 2nd in St. Petersburg, Florida went in favor of the free speech guaranteed to us by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That was the victory we all won in court last week. The loser was the organization we all know to be opposed to free speech when it is speech critical of their abusive and deceptive practices --- The Church of Scientology. "That all men have inalienable rights to think freely, to talk freely, to write freely their own opinions and to counter or utter or write upon the opinions of others" --- From the Creed of The Church of Scientology Inc. When will their hypocrisy ever end? Bob Minton -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP Personal Privacy 6.5.1 iQA/AwUBOEwFm2gj/yM+AH/OEQLRdQCeOWsNG+Hd5tmqI2E8nUz0oqfLMFIAnjkE RMVgUH0cNVMsfha0siwu8KFA =NrZv -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ======== Subject: The Lisa McPherson Trust: Mission, Objectives and Philosophy From: Bob Minton Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 21:00:05 -0500 Message-ID: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 The Lisa McPherson Trust, Inc. Mission Statement: To carry out the final wishes of Lisa McPherson's mother, Fannie, which were to expose the abusive and deceptive practices of Scientology and to help those who have been victimized by it. Statement of Objectives: To accomplish our mission, we will demystify and thereby make transparent the coercive processes and practices of Scientology. In this way, informed consumers can make an educated decision about whether Scientology can meet their psychological or spiritual needs. We will expose Scientology's abuses of the human, civil and privacy rights of its members and critics. We will reveal its deceptive advertising practices that border on consumer fraud. We will disclose its "religious practices" and conduct that violate civil and criminal law. However, we will of course respect the rights of all Scientologists to embrace any religious belief they may choose. We will assist former Scientologists to recover from their unique personal experience with the abusive and deceptive practices of Scientology. We will offer counsel to current Scientologists who choose to learn the truth about how Scientology uses deceptive mind control techniques to capture their hearts and minds. Our dedicated staff of counselors will provide the information, compassion and support to current Scientologists that will enable them to release the bonds of cult mind control. Finally, all of the people involved in the Lisa McPherson Trust will respect the dignity and innate human goodness of all current, former and recovering Scientologists. Our Philosophy: The Board of Directors, Advisory Committee and staff of the Lisa McPherson Trust includes a number of former Scientologists who have had first hand experience with Scientology's abuse, and they are all in some way still recovering from it. They are decent, caring and loving human beings who have freely chosen to help others who have made a similar uninformed decision about Scientology. Moreover, they are willing and able to share their innermost personal experiences in the Sea Organization or as Public Scientologists in order to counsel, educate and immunize others against the abuses and deceptions of Scientology. Scientology draws its members from a broad cross-section of society, and, like other destructive cults, uses a sophisticated combination of deceptive recruiting methods, false promises, hypnosis, behavior modification, sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation, information control, phobia indoctrination and other mind control techniques to entice and control its members. There is no shame in having been seduced into a group like Scientology. Likewise, there need not be any reluctance to leave after discovering that the organization is not capable of delivering on its promise of a road to total freedom. Real freedom begins and ends with the never-ending quest of the human spirit to be free. This perpetual quest is the single most important factor that keeps mind control from being irreversible. Organized Scientology claims eight million members, including anyone who has ever taken a course or bought a book. However, informed estimates indicate that there are at most no more than 200,000 active Scientologists in the world today. This apparent rejection of Scientology by 7.8 million people who have tried it is the single greatest testimonial to the fact that this organization does not deliver on its promises. The Board of Directors, Advisory Committee and staff of the Lisa McPherson Trust will do our part in Clearwater, Florida, to see that the human spirit of all Scientologists will always have a pathway to real freedom. Sincerely, Bob Minton, for and on behalf of The Lisa McPherson Trust -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP Personal Privacy 6.5.1 iQA/AwUBOFGeh2gj/yM+AH/OEQLFJQCeILzCwt3cJ/B4RJWgC9w7ueTTNQsAnRKp nWY763uCrUOx7kvCZ7KnkNT3 =XxCK -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ======== Subject: Will he rouse the gorilla? 12-11-99 The Tampa Tribune From: Bob Minton Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 21:47:37 -0500 Message-ID: Saturday, December 11, 1999 Bob Minton: Will he rouse the gorilla? Column by Rick Barry/of The Tampa Tribune CLEARWATER - There's been a truce in this city, albeit an uneasy one, between residents and the 4,000-pound gorilla that plopped itself down in their midst 25 years ago, and started rearranging the Tonka toys to suit its growing needs. Fighter airplanes circled for a while, and little squads of soldiers tried to tie it up, slow it down and examine its leavings to divine its intentions, and maybe some vulnerabilities. But over time it grew, and grew some more. And as it grew, it became stronger. And although its needs grew ever larger, its strength kept pace, and it continues growing unchecked. And, except for a few gnats now and again, and maybe the occasional dart, the beast largely has been left alone and become more docile, or seemingly so. Residents today go about their daily lives giving hardly a thought - OK, maybe there's the faintest anxiety pang - to its hulking presence. But now, a loud if unimposing parrot is building a nest in the great beast's backyard. And the carping bird is bringing a half-dozen similarly inclined parrots with him, and one weapon that could at least annoy the beast. Before we descend too deeply into parable hell, we should explain to those who've arrived since Lisa Marie left, we're talking here about the Church of Scientology, owner now of 37 properties in and around downtown Clearwater, valued at $40.1 million by Pinellas Property Appraiser Jim Smith. Of that, Smith figures $23.7 million worth are exempt from taxes since they are being used solely for religious purposes; another $16 million worth remain on the tax rolls. By paying just under $400,000 a year in taxes, Scientology is one of the city's top five taxpayers. Ah, but the newest taxpayer will soon be one Robert Minton of New Hampshire, Boston and London. He's buying a residence here as well as a building hard by Scientology headquarters for his Lisa McPherson Trust Inc. Closing is set for Jan. 1. On that day, things are going to get a whole lot more interesting around here. Ever the peacemaker, City Manager Mike Roberto says he'll gladly meet with Minton, and work to make him a part of this One City's One Future. Minton is going to make his six- member McPherson leadership group, four of them former top Scientology officials, available to counsel members of the church ready to leave and members' families eager to initiate ``interventions,'' to pull them out. And the foundation is going to try to get information to Scientology initiates who come to Clearwater and are cloistered, Minton says, to keep them from hearing the truth about their church - especially from critics. He'll also attempt to publicize Scientology's practices - guarded ferociously as ``trade secrets'' - so those who would join the church know what they're getting into, emotionally and financially - in advance. And he's going to bankroll it all himself, at least at first. If McPherson's family wins its lawsuit against the church, and collects, it will share it with the foundation, he said. He's already spent $2.5 million fighting Scientology, and he'll spend more to check an organization he believes ruins the lives of adherents - as well as critics, their friends and families. Minton swears he is not out to destroy Scientology. He concedes he couldn't do it if he tried: ``But if they want to be treated like a church, they should start acting like one.'' Scientologists shouted to him when he arrived earlier this month: ``Hey, what are you doing in OUR town?'' Well, if this is Scientology's city, he said: ``We're going to liberate this town.'' ======== Subject: Foe of Scientology plans move to area From: rkeller@netaxs.com (Rod Keller) Date: 16 Nov 1999 12:45:49 GMT Message-ID: <80rjlt$759@netaxs.com> Foe of Scientology plans move to area Robert Minton intends to buy property in downtown Clearwater. Meanwhile, a restraining order against him is extended to Nov. 29. By THOMAS C. TOBIN St. Petersburg Times November 16, 1999 The Church of Scientology came to court Monday hoping its No. 1 enemy, Robert S. Minton, would never again be allowed near church properties in Clearwater. Instead, church officials learned that Minton, a 53-year-old New England millionaire, plans to be much too close for their comfort. Clearwater lawyer Denis de Vlaming told Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Thomas E. Penick Jr. that Minton has purchased a building next to the Clearwater Bank Building on Cleveland Street, one of Scientology's signature properties downtown. Later, de Vlaming clarified, saying Minton will not be closing on the building for a few weeks. Either way, Minton wants to use the building as a headquarters for a new, anti-Scientology organization named after Lisa McPherson, the church member who died in 1995 while under the care of Scientology staffers. Minton also plans to live in the building, de Vlaming said. Scientology officials and their lawyers were surprised by the news. "I think it's more of his provocative action seeking to stir up trouble and, as he says, be in the face of Scientologists," said Mike Rinder, a top Scientology official. The plans came to light during a hearing on whether a temporary restraining order against Minton should be made permanent. The church secured the order Nov. 4, three days after Minton was arrested for misdemeanor battery, accused of striking church staffer Richard W. Howd. Minton was picketing in front of Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel with a companion, Stacy Brooks, who was training a video camera on Howd. At the same time, Howd was videotaping Minton, having followed him around town most of the day. Minton has said he was bothered by the proximity of Howd's camera. On a Scientology videotape, he appears to turn and push Howd. On tape, Howd's head and shoulders appear to snap backward before he spins to the pavement and lands on his back, remaining there for several moments. He was taken to the emergency room with small scratches above and below his left eye. De Vlaming called the incident "a self-defense situation" and said Minton would plead innocent. A prominent defense attorney, de Vlaming's last high-profile client was the Baptist leader Henry J. Lyons, who was convicted of racketeering and grand theft. Under the temporary restraining order, Minton must remain 150 yards from the Fort Harrison Hotel, the Clearwater Bank Building, which houses offices and dining areas, and 15 other local Scientology properties. The church argued that Minton has "committed a series of acts that seriously alarm, annoy, harass and/or threaten violence" to Howd and others Scientologists nationwide. Minton was arrested last year after a similar incident outside a Scientology building in Boston, but the assault charge was dropped. Earlier that year, police in Sandown, N.H., where Minton owns a farm, investigated after Minton fired warning shots into the air when four Scientologists allegedly trespassed on his property. No one was charged. Minton, a retired investment banker, has spent about $2.5-million to finance Scientology's critics and those who are in litigation against the church. He says Scientology abuses its members and critics. Church officials portray him as a violent, unstable interloper who has improperly interfered in litigation, most notably the wrongful-death case against Scientology filed by Lisa McPherson's family. The temporary restraining order was extended until Nov. 29 after de Vlaming told Penick he had just met Minton on Monday and needed more time to speak with his client, view the evidence and hire a First Amendment lawyer. If the order is made permanent, Minton would be prevented from driving his car through much of downtown Clearwater, de Vlaming said. "It would keep him from exercising his right to protest," he said. The church had its own First Amendment lawyer on hand Friday, plus two additional lawyers and eight staff members who carried boxes filled with documents and rolled in a television set for showing video of the incident. Minton was accompanied by Brooks, a consultant and Ken Dandar, the Tampa lawyer who brought the wrongful-death lawsuit.