Iraq on the Delta

In honor of this shitheap and boat anchor in Bethel Island, CA being on the market for a year and counting, here is another classic article on "The Blue Sky Ranch".

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Iraq in 1992

I'd put a picture of the Blue Sky Ranch in Bethel Island here
but it's pretty much the same thing.

OK, so it's actually called "The Blue Sky Ranch" or "the farm". And it's not really in Iraq, it's in Bethel Island, California.

It is a fine example of a big idea poorly formed, poorly executed, badly planned and based on faulty assumptions and reckless disregard for good sense - just like us in Iraq!

The Blue Sky Ranch was conceived by Bill Duby as a peaceful country estate where animals and crops may be raised and the congregation could assemble for religious retreats or recreation. It would be "the people's farm" were we could come to release the pressures and stress of the city and our daily lives. We could indulge in the calm of the country while releasing the cares of the world.

Well not really, I guess, but that's how the dead bastard presented it to us.

We soon learned the Blue Sky Ranch was anything but the people's place for relaxation. Instead, we worked our collective ass off to prepare the ranch to raise livestock that died, crops that never sprouted and to build structures for pampered animals - Robin Dumolin and Angela Silva.

We actually did construct buildings for animals. Some of them had beds and a shower - for the two-legged variety of animal.

In any event, we worked and worked and worked on that farm. Bill Duby made it clear: Angela Silva wanted no one there unless the people were working or paying.

Sometimes it seemed like we were working and paying at the same time.

Regularly, the envelope was passed around. "Donations" were demanded from the congregation (especially and very forcefully from the ministers) to give money for construction, animal food, animal purchases, animal care, animal transportation, bullets to kill the damn animals when they got sick...

Not even the trash got a free ride. As there was frequently more debris from the various construction projects than could fit in the single household trash can we had available, the guys with trucks were usually pressed into service to haul away garbage. Where that garbage went was of no concern to the leaders. Just as long as it was hauled away somewhere. I saw where some of that garbage went - it didn't go to the landfill. And if you needed at least some reimbursement for gas, disposal fees and whatever other expenses incurred from dumping the leader's trash, you'd be told to pass an envelope of your own (which sometimes came back empty) or usually, you'd just get a foul look and a curt remark like: "that's your problem".

Anyway, we were made to pay and pay big. After we paid our money, we paid with our sweat. We were constantly cajoled, threatened and embarrassed into "contributing" our labor to the Blue Sky Ranch.

After all, it was for the church of the people. The Blue Sky Ranch was the place by the Spiritual Rights Foundation created at Bethel Island, CA for the people of the Spiritual Rights Foundation.

So we thought.

Over time, Bill made more and more crazy modifications to the property. His first foray was to build a 12-foot high fence - much higher than necessary. Not only was the fence that tall vulnerable to the strong winds of the Sacramento River Delta, it was totally illegal. Only shorter fence would be allowed.

So after we spent the money to buy the materials and sweat in the blazing sun to construct it, the county building inspectors arrived and ordered the fence taken down.

Later, out buildings were constructed. Fund raising drives were held to purchase building kits, trees, equipment, farm animals and just about anything else you would find on a farm.

That infamous envelope was passed around and a psychic club waved above our heads ready to crash down on the guy who hesitated to dig deep and give, give, give his hard earned wages to the spiritual farm of the people.

We paid for a lot of things on that farm. Our donations were made in cash, or check mostly. Some took advances on their credit cards or just charged it. But those donations were all made to the Spiritual Rights Foundation - we all thought the "SRF" farm was indeed owned by the Spiritual Rights Foundation.

Nope.

That farm which Bill Duby called "The People's Farm" while screaming at us to work at it, then "The Blue Sky Ranch" when he tried to lure people to visit, is actually a property owned by Robin Dumolin and Angela Silva. I know. I looked it up in the Contra Costa County Recorder's Office. They have the deed recorded there. The previous owner sold it to Robin and Angela, not SRF.

Click to Enlarge

So if that property is owned by two individuals and not the "church", why is it that SRF-ies are giving their time, money and whatever else to build and maintain that property? No one is being paid - at least none of the cult members are. And one cringes when he thinks of the money spent there.

That money was paid out for at least until September of 2010, when no other than Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin transferred the Blue Sky Ranch to the Spiritual Rights Foundation - a non-profit corporation where they serve as President and Vice President, respectively.  While for anyone else, transferring property to a non-profit would be seen as charitable.  For those two, transferring a property they own to a non-profit they control looks a little less than on the up-and-up.  Especially now as the property is up for sale.

That the farm has outlived its usefulness to the Witches of Ellsworth Street is pretty obvious.  Because of their current reversal of fortune, they are pretty much unconcerned about the money spent there (since most of it came from the followers) and are more concerned about getting out of it all they can.

But a lot of money was spent there. There were outbuildings for animals, equipment, supplies constantly being erected on the farm. So many outbuildings were constructed and so many vehicles were parked on the farm property the neighbors thought there were illegal immigrants living there.

The main residence was a mobile home, still on its trailer wheels and all.  Before the purchase, a law requiring buildings to be raised above flood level was passed. The previous owners were able to keep the home flat on the ground as they owned the farm prior to the law.

After he purchased the farm, Bill learned he had to raise his cheap mobile home trailer up on three-story high stilts if he wanted to keep it. The county insisted and insisted and Bill kept putting them off more and more. Bill sent person after person to speak with the county building officials trying to get an exemption. In the end, after years of wrangling, SRF could not keep bamboozling the county officials and finally had to raise the cheap mobile home up above the flood level. Why they didn't just get rid of the mobile home and find alternate ways to stay there was never said.

I imagine that Robin and Angela were not willing to drive in Bill's luxury RV and spend their time in there if there was a perfectly crap mobile home to stay in. If it had to be lifted in the air, then we will just get the followers to pay for it, just like they paid for everything else.

At any rate, the building was raised in the air. There was two stories of empty space between the ground floor (basically, just a concrete slab) and the mobile home on the top floor. Not being one to miss an opportunity, Robin and Angela started thinking and asking themselves what to do with the new space created underneath the now-raised building.

The solution: construct a dormitory, a kitchen and meeting space.

You can debate the wisdom or reasonableness of that concept forever. But the leaders made it clear to their followers: a dormitory in that area was quite illegal.  So SRF members were sworn to secrecy and construction was conducted quietly behind closed doors and tightly closed blinds.

Illegality was never an issue for SRF. They just went ahead and built out the sleeping quarters and kitchen. I know. I installed the floor coverings there.

So, if you were so unfortunate as to be trapped at the Blue Sky Ranch in Bethel Island during a flood you would find yourself housed in a dormitory that would eventually be underwater. I'd wear a life jacket if I were there in winter.

Worse yet, if you were caught in that dormitory in an emergency (like a guy going postal, fire or earthquake) you would find no way to escape. Why? Because in their infinite wisdom, SRF installed the small, narrow windows you would find in a maximum security prison throughout the sleeping quarters of the dormitory. The windows aren't just too small to bring in any real light, they are simply too narrow to climb through in an emergency. You can stick your arm out of them and wave for help, though. In an emergency, the leaders will gladly answer your call by holding out a last will and testament for you to sign (with the hand you are sticking out the window) leaving everything you have to them. Hey, you didn't think they would rescue your ass, did you?

Maybe the tiny widows were intended. After all, the leaders say you would suffer a spiritual death if you leave SRF. Installing windows far to small to use in an emergency would certainly keep you from leaving the holy confines of SRF to escape into the evil world. You should be happy they are keeping you from an untimely worldly death.

Instead, you'll suffer a spiritually enlightening death by drowning, fire, earthquake or at the hands of a madman with a gun because you can't escape the illegal dormitory through the stupidly small windows. And when the building collapses because the shifting, settling concrete slab it sits on finally gives way, you can rest in peace in the dormitory underneath the blessed and holy mobile home that smashed you into a human pancake.

Sounds good to me. Feeling suicidal? How about a trip to the next Blue Sky Ranch retreat? It'll work better than a rope.

The farm was built with a vision - maybe not a clear and well-formed one but a vision nonetheless. Bill wanted to build a spiritual paradise where his flock can live, work, retreat and work, attend life-affirming self-development classes and work, raise livestock and a few crops and work, and celebrate their leader and the Spiritual Rights Foundation while working.

Bill envisioned a community of spiritually aware people thriving and developing the farm - a collection of buildings and other support sheds strategically placed throughout the property with meeting halls and other building for special computer and internet work available.

The only problem: he couldn't do any of that. The land wasn't zoned for it, so all of that was illegal.  Bill famously complained about the law not allowing him to do what he wanted, so he did it anyway.

Besides, the farm was built on swampland. It is right next to the Sacramento River Delta and sits on loose, sandy soil. The main building on the farm is placed on a concrete slab and raised three stories in the air. Unfortunately, that slab is sinking and shifting - exactly what you would expect from an un-stabilized concrete slab poured on swampland.

The neighbors are not happy with it either. What with all the cars and traffic that appeared, the nutty, almost haphazard construction of outbuildings, the groups of too-giddy people congregating and making odd noises in this quiet place, the long-time residents were leery and suspicious of the people and the things that happen there.

At first the farm was a hub of activity with livestock being trucked in from animal auctions and their dead bodies being buried not long after. The death rate among the livestock was said to be about 90%. Trees were planted then pulled up dead. The muddy fields were filled with dirt to dry them but equipment got stuck anyway.

Horses were brought in then quickly sold when they discovered horses need to be fed, watered and exercised every day. Other animals lived at the SRF farm. Just not for long.

And that meeting hall? There is a dormitory in the illegal second floor, but for the most part it is unfinished with an unfinished stairway smack in the middle of it and unpainted, poorly built walls standing around the unfinished floor.

How about the other buildings? Apart from a few sheds still in use - most are empty.

The enthusiasm for the farm waned faster than Congress' interest in health care.

Now, the farm sits mostly idle. There are a few die-hards who remain, but only a very few of the dozen or so remaining at SRF have interest in the farm. The rest go there because they have to.

Whatever the vision of the Blue Sky Ranch was in the beginning, it has turned into a nightmare with unfinished projects, neglected opportunities for productive activities and illegal, unsafe and potentially lethal dormitories and facilities.

Or maybe that vision was a hallucination. That might explain the whole mess.

Shock The Monkey

One of the things many of those who have survived the evil experience we have suffered at the Spiritual Rights Foundation is a long lasting fear of the unknown and a mortal dread of becoming a useful and vital part of the world around them.

I've seen people who are scared for no damn reason, people who won't speak about their experience even after eagerly shilling the cult on the public airways and the internet and people who hang onto the thought that doing anything in the public interest or because it is morally right doesn't apply to the Spiritual Rights Foundation only because the Witches of Ellsworth Street might consider it vengeance.

On hearing that sentiment, my first thought was "fuck the fucking fuckers".

After that, I thought there might be a reason for the reticence.

Well think about it...

While we were confined inside the iron gate of the Academy for Psychic Studies, weren't we required to exhibit the kind of "energy" and "vibration" acceptable to the leaders?  Wasn't that enforced by whoever the corpulent turd of the day happened to be?

Think about what happened to people who didn't exactly fit the expectations of the leaders.

I'll tell you one of them:
I was sitting in the shithole the Academy called the "basement space" clearing my own basement space of the kind of crap essential for the conduct of a fulfilling life.  I guess that's why the Witches of Ellsworth Street wanted it cleared as the only fulfillment valuable to them is the fulfillment of their cauldron with as much money as you have.

While practicing the mind control methods the Witches loved to perpetuate, I heard the infamous Reverend William Duby conducting a session of spiritual and loving healing with a follower using more profanity than even I could possibly use in a sentence, more threats to conduct bodily harm than a prison gang and more idiotic reasoning than anyone with a good education and moral upbringing could have ever imagined.

Duby had asked for requested demanded a home makeover, complete with hardwood flooring, cedar planking in the closets, a steam room as well as other such bling to the modified double-wide he shared with Angela Silva.

When the follower (who operated the sham enterprise "Liberty Construction" for Angela Silva - who in turn, received a cut of "Liberty Construction" revenues before expenses) balked, citing the cash position of the sham company (and implying if Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin would stop dipping into the company pot, there would be plenty of benji's to accomplish Duby's demand), Duby went ballistic and entered his own unique method of healing through personal degradation, physical threats and forced labor.

That's just one of the stories.  Of course, you might say once Duby kicked the bucket and who's ashes were scattered at the "Blue Sky Ranch" for the goats to piss on, the Academy became a gentler, warm and nourishing place.

Seriously?

What with Angela Silva demanding more money to support her botox treatments and Robin Dumolin demanding money to buy leather suits, whips and special boy-toys, things not only got intense, they were getting strange.

I remember the ministers of this spiritual cesspool were gathered together one fateful evening to receive another of Angela Silva's rant and raves.  That Robin Dumolin was out of sight only meant she was oiling up a whip and sandpapering her strap-on.

During this session (where you needed to apply a large glob of Vaseline beforehand) Angela  announced to the faithful ministers that she had overheard one or two of them conveying information that was outdated or otherwise inaccurate.  Never mind Angela never did something sensible like create a handbook or binder of up to date Academy policies - that would make changing her mind and doing whatever the fuck she wanted more difficult.

In response to the perceived misdeeds of the few, Angela prescribed that ALL ministers are henceforth forbidden to speak to any person who has come to the Academy for Psychic Studies for the first time unless that minister is selling an overpriced class, worthless psychic reading or idiotic self-help product.  Any other communication would require approval unless that communication was in the context of a reading, in which case speech was allowed but only if it is not too much so they can pay more for another visit where you still can't talk to them but you can say something in a reading when they pay but if you say too much she will issue a OFL of an undetermined amount.

OK, makes sense to me...

Anyway, that single act of confusion and despotism created an atmosphere of not only fear but paralysis.  No one made even a simple decision without asking Angela Silva what should be done.  Class instructors regularly had to consult with Angela Silva about answering questions posed by the students - should an answer be given, and what would it be.  

One such event happened after I out-ed the infamous church service where the Bishop herself announced that the Academy for Psychic Studies and Reverend William Duby are the incarnations of "Jesus Effing Christ".  Shocked students of the demented "Year Class" soon asked their instructor if the Bishop really did say that and did she mean it.

The instructor ran to Angela Silva in a panic - how can this be answered?  Angela's response: "tell them I listened to the whole tape and found she never said that".

You see, the truth was never Angela's strong point.

So was life at the Academy for Psychic Studies.  Confusion, paralysis and fear were the order of the day.  We all wore doggie shock collars around our necks.  We tread lightly around the precepts and perverse value system of the Academy for fear of the shock that would come if we got too close to the border or if Robin Dumolin pressed the button on the remote because she was bored, we would get a thousand volts burst through our lame asses.

No wonder everyone is still scared.

Karma Chameleons

I dated a girl who looked like this.

Well, I thought she was a girl...

Karma

You've heard all about Karma.  For most, it's the good or bad one engages in during their life.  For most, continuing on blissfully unaware or deliberately ignorant of the impact they have on the lives of those around them and of the world they live in is their way of dodging the Karmic payment that will come due at some point.  At least, that's what most people think.

What's it really all about?  Well, what seems to be the most accepted is it's about recognition of your personal impact and awakening to your interconnection with the world with compassion and understanding - which are things the leaders of the Academy for Psychic Studies have never been willing to accept and are likely to not understand.

What about the teachings?  Didn't the head psychotic Bill Duby continually say "I dated Karma and she was a bitch.  Now I date Grace and she is divine."?  At the same time, didn't Bill also talk about Karma in terms such as "Karmic debt" and "the laws of Karma" and so on as if he was dating Grace downtown while doing the wild thing with Karma in his Winnebago?

As he was with all things, Bill Duby had little real understanding of Karma.  Or Grace for that matter.  I guess he really didn't understand much more than how to run a con.  Anyway, current thought ties the belief in Karma to a belief in reincarnation.  I won't go into details but if you understand Karma is a Buddhist belief and that reincarnation is a key belief of the Buddhist faith that's pretty much the basis for what I'm saying here.

Bill being the psychotic con man who would sell his own mother a deed to the Brooklyn Bridge, tried to tie Karma to whatever crackpot Scientology theories he thought he learned from Lewis Bostwick and the free crap Scientology printed on a book of matches.  Of course that didn't pass the smell test but he crammed it down our throats anyway.

Bill tried to tell us there is a Karmic debt for your misdeeds (which is somewhat true) and that you have to atone for that debt (which is utter crap).  At the same time, he said Grace was the pathway to forgiveness - and since your path to Grace meant you had to fill up Angela's payola envelope, display your empty pockets to Robin's scowling face and endure the tantrums from Bill's deranged mind, you might find that path pretty damn rocky.

Near the end of Bill Duby's reign of terror, he claimed there was no real reincarnation but you do hang around as a spirit in someone's body unable to control actions but able to influence thought and emotion unless you have achieved his level of enlightenment - and you can't work out your Karmic Debt without a body to do it.  Essentially he was telling us we were all Karmic-ly Screwed.

So, all that talk about Karma and your need to repay your Karmic Debt didn't have a meaning since there was no way to restore balance in your soul.  

Even after Bill's psychotic rant that reincarnation was not linked to Karma, that notion of Karmic Debt still remained.  However as Bill dropped as dead as a poisoned rat by then, there was no one who cared enough to keep ramming that point home but Angela and Robin kept rummaging in people's pockets to collect another Karmic Payment anyway.

What's this all about?

Well, like a chameleon, Bill changed his message to suit his own perverted purposes.  When his purpose changed (like maybe Robin wanted another vacation in Europe or Angela wanted to take another shopping spree at Macy's) his message changed to create more interest and raise more money.  He took what little he knew about what little he read about and played it against our own ignorance in those areas (and his own warnings to stay away from those teachings, if we knew what was good for us) and built a tall tale so elaborate, arcane and utterly impenetrable, it looked exactly like the thing it was not: the truth.

That kept us all in a state of confusion and instilled with us the desire to learn more so that someday, somehow, we may attain the level of knowledge Bill had attained.

Obviously, we never knew the spiritual brass ring kept getting moved farther and farther away.

You don't have to believe in Karma, Grace of anything else.  Really, you don't.  However, if you do teach it, at least get the fundamentals right and teach with an honest heart.  That's what the guy who inspired Buddhist thought - and the notion of Karma has been saying for a long damn time now.  If Bill had bothered to listen - aw crap, Bill never listened to anyone, did he?  No wonder his notion of Karma is all messed up.

For Bill and the Witches of Ellsworth Street, you have to wonder: if they do believe in Karma and all the crazy and weird concepts they concocted from the toxic waste in their noggins, you have to wonder what kind of Karmic restoration is waiting for them, what will they have to do to correct it and how long will that take?

Damn good thing Karma requires reincarnation - something tells me they'll be at it a long time.

So maybe Karma really is a bitch?

  

A Guest Post:: Work Will Set You Free at the Academy for Psychic Studies

OK, watch this video first.

It will make one hell of a lot of sense

considering what we had to go through.

Our first Guest Post is from "Anonymous".

I think you'll find this post interesting and informative.

At the Academy for Psychic Studies, there is a strong emphasis on performing manual labor or other "work" for the benefit of the cult and its leaders.

The work was usually called either a "love project" (meaning you were expected to use all your available free time working for no pay in furtherance of an Academy for Psychic Studies commercial enterprise or the benefit of the leader's property holdings such as the "Blue Sky Ranch" in Bethel Island CA, and you'd better "love it" or else...) or (and this is for real) a work "party", where you could "party" with your fellow inmates toiling in the blazing sun or freezing cold.

The work assigned (sorry, that should be "agreed to" - my bad...) by the men was generally construction work involving a great deal of manual labor . The work assigned (sorry, that should be "agreed to" - my bad again...) to the women ranged from clerical work to lighter construction tasks.

Of course, the work was closely watched - not for quality but only for its quantity. Most slave labor projects at the Academy for Psychic Studies (which, I guess, was all of them) were completed in somewhat less than professional quality. Some looked like one of those DIY project gone wrong you would see on HGTV. Others, like the "self-help" recordings were nearly good-looking but had enough flaws to have that amateurish patina to them.

But, the work all got done. Not well done, but somewhat done. The Academy for Psychic Studies' Health and Wealth recordings were all completed even if no one purchased a single one of them (and these days, few even consider Health and Wealth recordings for anything but overpriced drink coasters). The rooms were painted and renovated for new students who never arrived.

At the "Blue Sky Ranch" the farm houses, all built on swampland, were remodeled and renovated by inmates of the warm and nourishing Academy for Psychic Studies concentration camps in preparation for relaxing weekend psychic trance retreats.  Of course none were paid for their labor.

And when those relaxing and rejuvenating retreats were held for the benefit of those who worked for free to create that blessed retreat space, they had to pay some $300 have a day of relaxation.  In their infinite wisdom (and because some of the SRF inmates still had a few bucks hidden under the mattress) the leaders would allow no one onto the "people's farm" unless those people were working or paying.  Later, those farm houses were seen sinking, consumed by the swamp.  I guess God has a sense of humor after all...

Help me inaugurate this guest post by adding your comment or a story of your own. Remember, you can email it OR use the anonymous drop box on my MSN SkyDrive.


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Arbeit Macht Frei -the Nazi slogan meaning “work sets you free” was put over the gate to the concentration camp.

At SRF they follow a similar slogan with their work projects. Every weekend or sometimes during class times they would put you to work as a slave.

There was no reward (or pay) from the cult for doing this; actually you were treated worse for doing this work.

What was the reason for these work projects? A very simple reason: free labor that was used to benefit the cult leaders directly.

They even had the gall to lie and say that you were working on your own place implying that you would be taken care of when you retired.

Many slaved working on their Blue Sky Ranch in Bethel Island only to find out that it was the personal property of the cult leaders. As many find out the hard way, you are used for free labor and thrown away as if you were a McDonald’s hamburger wrapper, all at the whim of the Cult Leaders.

If you questioned all this work they would say that you were becoming more spiritual by doing your work projects. That was hard to swallow when you realized that all the Cult Leaders themselves never lifted a finger except to record how much work you did and even dispute that you didn’t work enough.

The actual slogan they have hung in their school is “Freedom is the Essence of Life”, and then they would explain to you that you needed to work in order to become more free,

When you noticed that your friends were becoming poorer and were being stolen from there would be a Staff meeting to tell you what a scumbag you are which was how the Cult leaders publicly humiliated any people that they feared were not following their wishes.


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I guess you can say at the Academy for Psychic Studies, not only would work set you free, you'll work for free as well.  But of course, work is an important part of your spiritual growth and unfoldment.  And since your spiritual growth and unfoldment is an eternal process, you'd better roll up your sleeves and get to work.

One woman there suffered from Multiple Sclerosis.  We all knew it.  So did the leaders.  Instead of giving her accommodation for her illness, she was given trance after trance after trance to believe she wasn't sick - only stubborn.  This woman would drive hundreds of miles a day at the leader's orders and would work like a woman possessed (and I suppose we were all possessed - by devils in dresses).   After many years of this beneficial trance and working for the cult day, night, weekends, holidays, sick days and vacations to achieve spiritual growth and unfoldement despite her illness, she died.

I just read the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign at Auschwitz has been stolen.

Now we know where it wound up...


                                         

Draining The Snake

As the one thing the Witches of Ellsworth Street covets more than anything else is money, money, money, the best way to give them indigestion, high blood pressure and insomnia is to make them spend more of it than they prefer.  Since they have no stomach for an expense of more than zero, I'd say it's a low bar to hurdle.

Of course, I pounded them hard with a winning lawsuit.  I pounded them again by tipping off the Contra Costa Building Inspection Division there was something fishy going on at the Blue Sky Ranch.  That right there cost the Witches of Ellsworth Street tens and tens of thousands of dollars.

I say it's high time to push them up to the six-figure space.

Now, these expenses don't need to be grand slams.  It was one hell of a lot of work to crush them in court and even more work to create a complaint that compelled the building inspectors to act.  There's some ways you can help the public, potentially even your own neighbors: get the word about this dangerous cult out to the world and keep it there.

That's right.  It's called supply-side economics Witches of Ellsworth style.  They demand their tributes.  We prevent their supply.

The current trajectory of the Academy for Psychic Studies is such that they are dumping (dribbling, actually) their cash reserves downward bit by bit.  That the Blue Sky Ranch cost them plenty in fines, engineering studies and repairs is just the latest in their travails.

Now is the time to press forward to prevent the Witches of Ellsworth Street from obtaining what they want to restore their perverse glory.  It's time to tell the public of the toxicity in the Academy for Psychic Studies.  It's time to ensure those who would be ensnared in this web of lies and exploitation are never trapped.

Take a moment to do something.  Make a comment - anonymously would be great as there is no damn way the Witches will be able to know who you are.  I defeated their attempt to force me to identify anyone who posts a comment and strengthened my commitment to your freedom of speech.

If someone asks about the place, pull them aside and give them the lowdown.  If you can make a rating on Yelp!, all the better.  Marilyn has done that already.  Again, there's nothing the Witches can do to you.

We all know there are things the Witches are doing that fall outside the law.  Some of it is just outside.  A lot of it is well outside.

Blow that whistle.  Take that one step forward.  If you are knowledgeable of any potentially illegal actions, write to the appropriate agency.  As a whistleblower, you will be protected if your report is made in good faith.  All things considered, your knowledge there is something that even feels a little shady, you would be protected even if your report turns out to be not actionable.

Since the Witches (Robin Dumolin in particular) have brayed loud and long about "the spirit of the law" over "the letter of the law", they'd have to admit your report in the spirit of the law is nothing more than doing exactly as they taught.

So tell the government.  It's not vengeful.  It's more like telling the cops there one hell of a lot of people speeding down your street.  It's a report.  Law enforcement will decide what will happen and they will be the ones the Witches will have to face.

It is more like Duby's perverted sense of karma - which was exactly like penance or setting the scales right.  Only for you, it's more like setting your own scales in balance while society benefits.

I for one, am glad to have done my part.  I also know there is more that should be done to right the wrongs the Witches of Ellsworth Street have perpetrated.  Your one step forward will be the one step backward the Witches will take to the gates of Hell.

That's something we can all look forward to seeing.

  

STRIPPED!

Well, it's all done.  The infamous Blue Sky Ranch has been stripped of all it's perverse glory and reverted to a half-finished storage unit.

Take a look at this:

Before

After

Angela should feel a lot better about this whole dust-up.  The inspectors allowed them to leave the fucking oak staircase.  I'm sure that will add thousands to the home's value.

Of course, if someone buys this confused and disorganized mess can finish out the space with all the things Angela Silva had to throw out.  That will happen only if someone actually buys this heap of garbage.

Looks like there are some soffit-like items added to the place.  I can't tell what they are for and I really wouldn't want to find out either.

As these pictures are posted on the page that advertises this mess online, they are not taken on the sly.  These are actual publicly available pictures.

So now that the price of the Blue Sky Ranch has been dropped to a mere $479,000.00, do you think it's worth the money?

Yeah, I don't either.

Welcome to the Academy for Psychic Studies! - Now Fuck Off!

Here's what you'll see at the Academy for Psychic Studies' San Jose
location two days, four days, five,
crap, you'll be greeted this way every damn day -
especially if you won't hand over your wallet.

If anyone were to be unfortunate enough to accidentally stumble into the Academy for Psychic Studies in San Jose, they'll likely be greeted by an individual who's social skills aren't very good.  In fact, you'll wonder if this guy was raised by wolves.

Now, I feel pretty OK that this guy had a good upbringing and was socially acceptable and aware of good manners in a previous life.  However, once this person got involved in the perverse, demented and socially inept ecosystem of the Academy for Psychic Studies, all of that went away.  Far, far away.

Now that I think about it, that lack of social graces and general manners isn't limited to just one individual.  It's pretty much endemic to the whole fucking place.

When the leaders scream at their followers at staff meetings and loot anyone who hasn't made their monthly mandatory voluntary donations and when any shortcomings displayed by the leaders (which is one hell of a lot) are blamed on the inability of the followers to complete impossible tasks, or their failure to accomplish an objective that is continually changed and forever moved just out of reach, I guess the followers are just doing to each other as the leaders have been doing to them.

We know how the leaders pummel their followers and loyal "staff" over the head with demands to make a million dollars a year for the leaders.  We know how the arrogance and pure disdain the leaders have for anyone but themselves and their golden child is so visible that the remaining faithful few show an outward appearance of submission while keeping an ember of individuality smoldering.  Even the public is finding out the Witches of Ellsworth consider people as nothing more than stacks of money to be consumed until every last penny has been thrown into the cauldron.  No surprise the public is steering clear of this useless and dysfunctional organization.

So, wouldn't a few days in charm school help the remaining faithful to turn that frown upside-down and make lemonade out of the lemons the Witches shoved up their uh, pockets?

Suuuuurrrrrre....

If you had to meet a crushing and never-ending demand to raise the Witches' flagging fortunes and if you had to face them to report you were unable to complete an impossible task and achieve an unattainable objective, how do you think they'd respond?  And how would you look after a few weeks of that?  Worse, what kind of countenance would you present to the public after all that punishment?

I'll bet you'd have that smile turned upside-down in no time.


I believe someone who has suffered at the hands of the Witches of Ellsworth Street is reflecting on that experience right now.  This person is not the only one who suffered, nor is this person the only one who is reflecting on that experience. I do also believe if it is true that person is indeed in deep reflection over their involvement in the Witches' reign of terror, they'd be looking at this blog at the present moment - whether at home or away.

We have all been reflecting on the Witches' plight, reflecting much on what we did to perpetuate that demented despotic regime and our role in covering up the insane and psychotic activities that underlie all the crazy and stupid decisions made in the name of spiritual enlightenment.

I mean, why did anyone look the other way when they knew Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin were clearly putting their most loyal and productive followers and supporters into indentured servitude, demanding large percentages of the follower's incomes for no other reason but they wanted it?

Why did people believe the tall tales spun by the Witches when each of their legal defeats were re-positioned as spiritual victories?  The Witches fought incompetently to deny good and decent parents the right to raise their own children in a upright and moral manner (with an education appropriate to the child's talents and interest) and instead maintain the child under the special tutelage and spiritual guidance of the Witches' perverted brand of child development.

Why is it, the Witches pronounce with the authority of a Supreme Court Justice, those who have left the Spiritual Rights Foundation/Academy for Psychic Studies are in a state of spiritual hell, when the divinely-departed have found perfect freedom?

And for those of you who argue the spiritual forces of the psychic universe are indeed acting to confront the dark forces who would dare to expose the divine practices of the Witches (like this blog, for example), start thinking of this:

• The Academy for Psychic Studies has been experiencing a net LOSS of followers since the late 90's
• The Academy has LOST their legal complaint against this blog (so badly, they were forced to offer me a full release of anything I may or may not have done to them at any time and the court ordered they pay my legal expenses - that is as bad a defeat as you can get without going to prison).
• The Academy has LOST their bid to influence the divorce and child custody cases of several men and women ex-members.
• Once this blog became established, the net LOSS of Academy followers per year went up drastically.
• The number of new victims for the Clairvoyant Training Program dwindled so low, that when the only two students of that psychotic program quit, the CTP was LOST for good.
• The Academy for Psychic Studies LOST their most loyal follower and their "church" bishop thanks to the Witches' demands for more and more and more money.

Gee, I sense a pattern here.

No wonder the remaining few at the psychotic Academy are foul and unfriendly.  For them, there's nothing to be gained by being nice.

There is a silver lining, though:  they won't be doing any more love-bombing.

  

Bent Over and Punked

Well, the Witches of Ellsworth Street have been thrown over a barrel and given the punking they deserve.

As disgusting as that image may be, it's not a bad thing.

Take a look at this recent printout of the Contra Costa County building inspection records - records that are PUBLIC, which you and anyone else can look them up and read them you fucking SRF troll.

The confusing structure had to be gutted of all illegal items.  As I read the law, that means all wall board and studs must be removed, the floor coverings must be pulled up, the lighting (such as it is) will have to be removed, the ceilings will be torn down, the baths completely removed and the walls creating the San Quentin dorms will have to be cut down.

That leaves only the outer walls as an allowable item.

What's worse is that the plumbing will have to be sealed and the electrical service reduced to a few outlets guarded by GFCI protection circuits.

Angela Silva's pride and joy, the idiotic ground floor will have to be completely torn down.  Even the walls and ceiling will have to go.  Because the finished oak staircase is not constructed from flood-resistant materials nor is it build to withstand a 100-year flood (which is the standard) it will have to go as well.

Many of the older male members of SRF (which I guess WAS all of them) recall a time where they dropped a couple of Benjis in the Witches cauldron to spend a weekend in the Lake Tahoe retreat center for a relaxing weekend of removing the floor coverings and doing a hell of a lot of other work.  As the Witches were too cheap to obtain a dumpster for the removed parquet wood floor coverings, they resorted to igniting a pile of flooring in the fireplace, feeding a few pieces of parquet at a time as the fire blazed until the entire heap of old flooring was burned to ashes.

There's similar parquet flooring in the now former Blue Sky Ranch but I think it will not face a cremation ceremony officiated by the now former ministers of the SRF cult.  However, I think most of them will be happy to light a match to that fucking oak staircase as it is emblematic of the bizarre thinking, wasteful ways and excessive entitlement displayed by the Witches - Angela Silva in particular.


In fact, I'll bet they'll add Angela and Robin's effigies to the pyre.

The Blue Sky Ranch just keeps confusing...

Looks like the Contra Costa County Building Inspectors took a gander at the plans for the Blue Sky Ranch.  Just like us, they were pretty darn confused at what in hell the Witches of Ellsworth Street intended when they built the thing.  In fact, one of them calls the project "a very confusing project"

What did they expect?

It's confusing to understand what this place is all about as well as why it was constructed in the first place.

Well, I'll just leave it at that.

Why The Blue Sky has a purpose or reason for being is beyond me too.

I can't tell if this is another of the Witches' labyrinthine and convoluted schemes to dodge whatever they want to dodge or if it's just another Blue Sky Ranch blue sky ideas.

Either way, the work to undo the evil that was done is underway.

I just hope it won't be re-done later.

Making a Mezz Out of the Blue Sky Ranch

The newly remodeled Blue Sky Ranch!

built like a brick... house

Well, the Witches of Ellsworth Street have their work cut out for them.  Actually, it's the crap mobile home they had us slave over at the Blue Sky Ranch in Bethel Island that's getting cut out.

The Witches built out an illegal second floor (a "mezzanine" technically) in the amazingly illegal main structure.  The second floor was finished with drywall, outfitted with a single shower and toilet and two dormitories that were intended to cram so many people in them, they would look like one of Tyson's chicken factories.  However, unlike Tyson's chickens you'd approach the bunk beds in your cramped sleeping quarters by way of an authentic hand-built oak staircase.

Any of us with the Academy for Psychic Studies Healing Retreat experience know there is less attention paid on attendee comfort and more attention paid to the Witches getting paid as much as possible.  Installing adequate facilities cuts into the Witches profits.  Why can't you twelve people learn to use that one shower and single toilet?  If you can't wait, you'll need to learn how to piss in the field and jump in the goose pond as the bathroom line could be as long as the line of convicts in the Witches Kangaroo Kourt.

Of course, the purpose of that mezzanine was to entrap as many people there as possible (one weekend at a time) so the Witches can collect $300 or so from each of them for the privilege of roasting in the hot sun, freezing in the winter's cold and being packed six at a time into rooms better suited for two.  That the windows were so small you could barely wave your hand out them in an emergency was a stroke of genius: when the people attending a retreat were caught in a flood, they would be easily eliminated and the bodies would be hidden until the surviving inmates returned to put them in the ground with the rest of the dead animals.  How about that!  No Witnesses!

So, I guess that's why the Blue Sky Ranch is still on the market for a still-outrageous price.  It's also still being touted as a luxurious corporate retreat.

I can tell you as a guy who's been on corporate retreats: this ain't no luxurious corporate retreat.  Well, it would be the first corporate retreat where I would have to dance around the goose shit and cow dung on my way to the outdoor shower and shit house (located next to the pig pen - I'm NOT kidding).  So, I guess it's got value there.  Why would we corporate types want to have a place where there are adequate facilities to feed us during the day, pour booze for us all night and allow us to nurse our hangovers in spacious meeting areas while we try to make our way through a presentation of quarterly objectives and market analysis?  The Blue Sky Ranch has a decrepit barn, Tuff Sheds smelling of horse turds and an abandoned chicken coop with a forgotten bird or two left behind.  The Witches of Ellsworth consider those to be more than adequate accommodations for those of us who know how to wear a suit as they usually consider cramming their followers in those facilities while the second floor mezzanine was under construction.

Eventually that second floor was completed but somewhat below the Witches high expectations.  To enhance the illegal second floor mezzanine to the high standards of the rest of this shithole, the Witches will be making a few minor amendments to their floor plan:

That the shower, toilet, sink, lighting, dormitories, parquet wood floor coverings, wall boards, wall studs, window trim, ceiling, insulation and white trash curtains from K Mart have to be permanently removed doesn't matter.  I mean, wouldn't the Blue Sky Ranch be still unbelievably valuable as a corporate retreat center even though there's no place to, you know, retreat?

No matter.  Such a uncomplicated and uncluttered space is completely in character for this bucolic rural retreat.  Why, plumbing, lights, ventilation, finished floors and safety from drowning and emergency exits would just plain spoil the pristine beauty of the Blue Sky Ranch and Bethel Island.  The corporate types will be glad to leave their complex world of creature comforts behind to sleep on a dirty, unfinished floor in a building that could kill them while they grope around for a light switch that isn't there.

So, when the Witches finally get to the point where they are demolishing that ground floor space, removing the cabinetry, appliances, furniture, wall boards, wall studs, ceiling, tile floor and more white trash curtains from K Mart, at least they'll still have that fucking oak staircase.  What a great thing to have in your storage space!  Imagine the value of a real, hand-built oak staircase situated in an area where you can't have lighting, plumbing, bedrooms or anyone who might see it.  I think I'll install an oak staircase in my own garage so I can show I can be as stupid, careless, and have the same disregard for safe building practices as Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin.  Oh, and wasteful too.

When Angela and Robin were able to use their cat 'o nine tales to whip the slaves into erecting this homage to exploitation, they cried of their poverty and that we of little faith and spiritual inferiority were doing all we can to take advantage of their generosity and renege on our commitment to sweat, bleed, empty our wallets, drain our savings and charge up our credit cards to create a community in the swamp.

We were always taunted with pleas to give to them so they can complete their monument.  The Witches would always be quick to take our money and slow to ever give it out.  Did they feed anyone who worked for them?  Did they pay any of the cult members who worked for them?  Were any of the cult members recognized or thanked for their hard work?

Well... no.

Instead, we were all berated for not giving all the Witches wanted us to give.  We were demeaned when slaving away on our free evenings and weekends was seen as inadequate.  We were driven to work harder than we had ever worked before to complete a demented and warped vision on a farm that (at least at the time) was the personal property of the Witches themselves.

That the Witches now have to remediate the Blue Sky Ranch at the point of the building inspector's pen is the one shining light in the dark cavern that is our experience with the Academy for Psychic Studies.

However satisfying it may be, I don't see it as comic and spiritual retribution.  It's more simple than that.  

It's just plain justice.

Blue Sky Ranch Back From The Dead!

And you thought they didn't believe in resurrection...

Astounding!

It's back on the market, although it's 9K cheaper.

You have to wonder what is happening there.

At that price, it's going to be tough to get financing.  The mortgage lenders will want you to have National Flood Insurance, which would be really hard to get if the place is still illegal.  Maybe they'll try to seller finance the thing - which would be a good thing.  It's good because they'll be stuck with worthless paper and a buyer can hold it over their heads if he discovers there's nothing he can do with the property.  Also good because they'll likely get only someone who is crazy enough to buy it and is probably crazy enough to do something, well, crazy.

I have a hard time believing the county inspectors will just let it slide with just a fine.  Maybe the cult found a loophole?

One thing is for sure, the interior shots that caused the ruckus are conspicuously absent from the listing.  It's pretty much standard operating procedure for the Spiritual Rights Foundation.  If there is something they don't like or are uncomfortable with, just pretend is isn't there.  Kind of like all the people who got screwed.  Or maybe like all the shenanigans they have been up to these past decades or so.

Amazing.  I am not sure if the Spiritual Rights Foundation is trying to sell the property despite the problems or if those problems suddenly went away.  I am sure there hasn't been enough time to complete all the inspections or demolitions they needed to do.  At least, the building inspection division isn't showing any progress besides an application for a permit.

My read of the law says the required repairs are, you know, required.  Who has to do that may be a function of who owns the property at a particular time.  Maybe they got a delay in enforcement so they can get this den of iniquity sold.  So, it may be that the new owner will have to make repairs.

If that is the case, my sympathies go to the buyer - if there is one.  I also believe if there is a buyer and that he does get pissed off (likely if he's stuck with up to $80K of repairs and loss of property value) he may try to track down anyone who was there to witness the construction and knows that the Witches were well aware of the impropriety of their actions.

How about that?  Erase some pictures and the problems go away!

So, no more talk about how the Witches are not following "the teaching"!  Looks to me like they have done some erasing in their spaces and have "blown" some pictures when they met with "resistance".

Now, let's see how much these pictures blow back on them.

The Blue Sky Ranch - Da Witches r Pwned!

Click it for ticket!

So as you know, the Spiritual Rights Foundation has pulled the decrepit Blue Sky Ranch from the market some time in March or April.  Now we know why.

The Building Inspection Division of Contra Costa County has issued a notice of non-permitted work for the Blue Sky Ranch, listing several items that must be brought into compliance.  This notice is dated March 15, 2012 so I would guess the place was pulled a couple of weeks after that.

As the Blue Sky Ranch is in a Special Flood Hazard Zone, the kinds of things you have to do when building a structure is much different that it would be anywhere else.  It's also more expensive and really doesn't add much market value to the home.  Things like keeping living areas out of the flood plain, allowing for flood waters to flow through a structure and properly securing those structures to the ground is just the beginning.  Obviously, the Witches of Ellsworth Street didn't pay attention to any of that.

The list of items that need to be addressed is pretty long.  It looks like this:

Insp. Type
101 Foundation - Piers
102 Foundation - Forms
103 Foundation - Slab
104 Sheer Nailing - Interior
105 Foundation - Bond Beams
106 Structural - Underfloor
107 Insulation - Underfloor
108 Structural - Roof Deck Nai
109 Framing
110 Insulation - Framing
111 Structural - Firewall
112 Structural - Partywall
113 Fireplace/Rebar/Foundation
114 Structural - Exterior Lath
115 Structural - Misc/ TBAR
116 Struc - Sheetrock/Greenboa
118 Wetwall
119 Other/R-form
120 Building - Final
124 Window Replacement
125 Foundation - Slab Garage
126 Shear Nailing - Exterior
127 Dryall
203 Pool - Pre Final
204 Final - Pool
301 Plumbing - Ground
303 Plumbing - Shower Pan Test
304 Plumbing - Rough
305 Plumbing - Under Fl
309 Plumbing - Gas Test
312 Gas Meter Release
320 Plumbing - Final
401 Electrical - Power Pole
402 Electrical - Conduit/Under
404 Electrical - Rough
406 Foundation - Ufer Ground
409 Electric Meter Release
420 Electrical - Final
503 Mechanical - Rough Sheet M
520 Mechanical - Final
604 Foundation - Driveway
610 Grading - Clean Water
620 Grading - Final

In a nutshell, the Witches have to undo, remove, repair, and rebuild all the things they did in the ten years of construction they got their slave labor to build.

This event essentially restores the Blue Sky Ranch to a legal and safe condition. As the neighbors were always leery of the events happening there and were themselves concerned about possible problems that would occur if there were a flood, I guess they'll be pretty happy to see all of it going away.

It also wipes away the impact the Witches had on their followers, removing the stain of their participation in this un-permitted and illegal action.  I put in the floor coverings there, laying wood parquet on the second floor dormitory and tile on the ground floor.  That will all have to come out.  While no one like to see their hard work just wiped away, I feel a lot better that my actions will not contribute to the misfortune of another whether it's an unknowing buyer (who would be stuck with making expensive repairs) or maybe someone who came for a relaxing weekend and was injured or worse.

As for the Witches, the construction conducted at the Blue Sky Ranch was known to them to be illegal.  In fact, Angela made it a point to tell her slave labor to ensure curtains were drawn, materials were delivered in a discreet manner and all interior work done with doors closed so no one would see what was going on there.

There was discussion after discussion of the plans for the Blue Sky Ranch, that in order to turn it into "The People's Farm" where we could pay top dollar to spend a weekend in the heat, mosquitoes, animal dung and unsafe dormitories secrecy must be maintained.  It was clear from the start the work would be not permitted by Contra Costa County and we needed to protect the Blue Sky Ranch from the prying eyes of the building inspectors if we wanted to have "our place".

Every day I was there digging, sawing, hammering and doing all kinds of construction labor the need for discretion was always reinforced.  Even in the heat, the curtains were drawn, windows closed, doors locked and entry was made through a door hidden from the street so no one would hear or see the work being done.

So paranoid were the Witches, even the windows in the dormitory were the small slit-like windows you'd find in San Quentin - although without the bars so no one could see into the dormitory.  Actually, the bars were unnecessary as the windows were so goddamn small, no one could get out through them in the event of an emergency.

Despite the fear of having to be in compliance with the building code, construction proceeded at full pace with dozens of outbuildings erected, plumbing installed, electrical wiring laid out, water and sewage systems put in.  How a pool got put in there is beyond me.  The Witches of Ellsworth Street, Angela Silva in particular, directed the construction and approved all the work.  Angela, at least, seemed to take pride in the work.  She was especially proud of a staircase built with oak balusters, handrails and treads.  Too bad for her, that's probably going to have to be removed.

For the last ten years of construction, we all knew the work there was illegal.  We did it anyway.  We didn't have much choice.  Men in particular were told to "work at the farm" to cleanse themselves of the effects of female energy, control energy, "diddling" energy, or to restore their value to the Witches and their closest followers.  No matter the transgression, the sentence was the same - work at the farm.  

Men whose wives were unsatisfied advised to work at the Blue Sky Ranch for redemption.  Women who were seen as unsatisfactory by the Witches were sent to work at the Blue Sky Ranch.  It's not just North Korea that engages in "reform through labor", the Academy for Psychic Studies had its own penal colony smack in the heart of the Sacramento River Delta.

I know of at least two men who were spending most of their time slaving away at the Blue Sky Ranch on construction projects so they could redeem themselves in the eyes of their spouse or all the women at the Academy for Psychic Studies.  This redemption went on for years and years, with no end in sight and no sense their work did anything more than enrich The Witches.

So while all the work was actually conducted by the followers of this psychic cesspool, it wasn't the followers who were responsible for creating this mess.

You can see who is.

That the Blue Sky Ranch will essentially be torn down with little or nothing left of it may be satisfying to some.  To others, they'll be celebrating the Witches being held to task for their folly, their disregard for safe building practices and the law.  To me, this situation brings to a close a frustrating and demoralizing chapter of the Academy for Psychic Studies book.  That we were exploited into working on a property that had little value to us (but quite a bit to the Witches as they owned it) and that the possibility of causing a huge unfavorable impact on the community is too much to bear.

Now that the Academy for Psychic Studies and the Witches of Ellsworth Street have to correct this situation, that burden is relieved and we can all feel better this legacy of corruption, exploitation and overall bad intent will no longer exist.

So many horrifying things unrelated to the illegal construction happened at the Blue Sky Ranch, its too much to talk about.  A few of those things are documented in Steve Sanchez's book "Spiritual Perversion".  Many of us recall how women were screamed at for just trying to do something useful, men were worked hard without compensation, meals or acknowledgement and through it all, the leaders sat by in their air conditioned quarters or luxury RV doing nothing but complain about our poor attitudes and laziness.

Those memories won't go away.

The Blue Sky Ranch will.