You've got to wonder why Sheriff Baca is giving his support to
Scientology. Labelled a destructive cult in France and Germany,
Scientology's fifty-year history is rife with evidence of lies,
fraud, harassment, intimidation and abuse. Following FBI
raids on Scientology offices in the 1970s, the Scientology organization
was revealed as having perpetrated the largest domestic espionage case
in U.S. history. This incident, called 'Operation Snow White' by
the cult, involved the theft of government documents and bugging
government offices. Scientologists were placed in positions of
access. The raids recovered thousands of stolen documents taken
and squirreled away by the cult.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Snow_White
Following Operation Snow White, Scientology claimed that the
responsible entity, the Guardians Office, had been disbanded. In fact,
it was only renamed the Office of Special Affairs, (OSA) and continues
to investigate, harass and intimidate Scientology critics to this day.
So, why would Sheriff Baca be involved with
Scientology?
This is a complex question.
Association with Scientology has proven to be a political Kiss of
Death, when such a relationship is publicized. L. Ron Hubbard was
aware of the value in cultivating opinion leaders and
celebrities. In 1971, he wrote the following definition of
opinion leaders;
HUBBARD COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead, Sussex
HCO POLICY LETTER OF I I MAY 1971
OPINION LEADERS
"An "Opinion Leader" is that being to whom others look for
interpretation of publicity or events. Through wisdom, proximity to
data sources, personality or other factors including popularity itself,
certain members of the group, company, community or nation are looked
to by others for evaluation." |
Opinion leaders and celebrities are carefully cultivated by the
Scientology organization. This can include campaign donations, awards
ceremonies, invitations to celebrity-studded gala events,
and other perks. For example, here you can see Sheriff Baca
sharing face time with Scientologist/actress Sofia Milos, riding on the
Scientology 'Way to Happiness' float in the 2004 Hollywood Christmas
parade! Sofia Milos, incidentally, is now playing a new role as
the girlfriend of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. We
eagerly await Mayor Newsom's inevitable endorsement of Scientology
front groups as a result of this cunning placement.
http://www.scientology.org/en_US/news-media/briefing/2004/christmas/
Sheriff Baca is also featured prominently on other Scientology
websites, receiving awards and attending gala events at the Celebrity
Center. Indeed, he recently attended a fund raiser for Scientology
front group, 'Youth for Human Rights.' The event raised $50,000 for
this group, which; if you know anything about Scientology's abysmal
human rights record, is nothing more than an attempt to jump on yet
another 'social betterment' bandwagon. Scientology, to this day,
operates its version of a reeducation camp reminiscent of the prison
camps of Soviet Russia and China. Called the 'Rehabilitation Project
Force,' or RPF, Scientologists belonging to the Sea Org,
Scientology's paramilitary group, can be held against their will
indefinately. They live under conditions which violate their basic
human rights, denied sleep and decent food, their mail is monitored,
and they often have no contact with the outside world and family.
An overview of Sheriff Baca's relationship with the "Church" of
Scientology can be read here:
http://www.cultnews.com/index.php/2006/02/22/is-la-county-sheriff-scientologys-soup-du-jour/
Why
should citizens care about Sheriff Baca's relationship with Scientology?
Click here