Kim Jong Duby

I'm glad I never saw this.  I guess

Robin is glad she never saw this either.

 
After taking a look at psychdoctorate's blog on the Berkeley Psychic Institute, I ran across the entry on "Gaslighting".

The wikipedia definition of "gaslighting":
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse. It involves an increasing frequency of systematically withholding factual information from, and/or providing false information to the subject, having the gradual effect of making the victim anxious, confused, and less able to trust his or her own memory and perception. A variation of gaslighting, used as a form of harassment, is to subtly alter aspects of a victim's environment, thereby upsetting his or her peace of mind, sense of security, etc

In SRF's zeal for control or their members, news from the outside world or events were always interpreted for the members. Reading, watching or listening to the news was not exactly forbidden but was discouraged. Listening to such information was said to "get into your head" and would disrupt your spiritual growth. The leaders would interpret the news and relay that information back to the membership.

Since the founder would always say "God doesn't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing", he would always give incomplete, contradictory or incomprehensible instructions and information.

Many couples (such as myself and my wife) were separately told conflicting instructions and information. Women were told that men were not to be trusted under any circumstances - all men except the leader Bill Duby, that is. Men were told that women could only make emotional decisions and that they were to be the "head of the woman" by any means necessary.

All of the leaders would give different and conflicting depending on who they gave the information to. If a student resigned or was expelled, the real circumstances of their departure was never revealed. However, many different stories about them were circulated to the members. We would hear of former woman students "she was more interested in men" or "she was more interested in buying clothes" or "she could not blow her family pictures". Men were treated less kindly, with things like "he is just a taker and not a giver", "he has wolves in his space", "his energy is bad and we can't trust him" were some of the things said about male ex-members.

The truth was always obfuscated. History was conveniently revised (a great example was Bill's personal history). Events were given an official interpretation - an interpretation that had little with reality or reason.

We've all heard of the exaggerated and fabricated stories concocted by the loyal Apparatichiks of fine democratic dictators such as Stalin, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Kim Jong Il. Now we can add Kim Jong Duby to the list.

I've never been there, but I think I know what life in North Korea is all about. A Dear Leader. An impossible personal resume that no follower dare challenge. Supernatural skills that are unverifiable and unwitnessed.

And there was the fear: The constant fear of being called out as a fraud. The fear of being labeled "Judas".

The fear of the repercussions.

Those in cult-owned apartments found themselves constantly wondering when the cult leadership would present them the "opportunity" to move. Occasionally, these moves were favorable. More often, though, the move was from one rat-bag apartment to another, smaller one. Some found themselves moved from a semi-comfortable bedroom to a less private and even less comfortable portion of living room, separated by only a thin curtain - a curtain that you would have to provide yourself, if you wanted a modicum of privacy.

I've known members abruptly evicted from their apartments and housed in trailers, decrepit motor homes or unceremoniously dumped in the back yard with only a sleeping bag. Once removed, those members (always men) were not let back into the buildings for more than brief periods, even in the middle of winter or in stormy weather.

While manipulation of information was subtle, the physical relocation and disorientation was sudden and severe. Married men were in constant fear of being removed from their homes at any time by the wave of a leader's hand.

One could be sent to SRF's Siberia for a determinate time or sentenced to an endless journey through the SRF gulag. It all depended on how the leadership felt that day.

But in the end, members were subjected to an endless merry-go-round of packing and unpacking; moving in and moving out; having roomates and living alone.

I'm not surprised that the people there are incapable of making wise decisions. Apart from having crappy role models, after twenty years on a merry-go-round how could you see straight?

Talking out the side of your mouth

Hey, Cee-Lo must have heard
Angela's inspirational speech!

One of the things we heard often at the Spiritual Rights Foundation is to "let go and let God". We were also told often to let go of the painful past; love yourself first, then try the world on for size; judge it today, wear it tomorrow.

And this profound homily often related by the holy leader Angela Silva: "fuck you".

If you are an SRF-ie, I am sure you are wondering why a decrepit heathen infidel such as myself would dare to quote such pearls of wisdom in a derisive atmosphere such as this blog.

It is because, only in this blog is there an environment where deconstructing the pithy and unenlightened dicta vomited by the Spiritual Rights Foundation leadership is possible.  Besides if you are reading this blog as a current SRF-ie, I'll just borrow Angela Silva's inspirational homily: "fuck you".

Have any of you noticed that the down to earth homilies we ex-culties endured were applied so rigidly to we underlings but not so much to the leadership?

Ever notice that we got hammered hard if we said anything even slightly critical about a fellow member? Meanwhile any of the leaders could say whatever they wanted to whomever and at any time.

Do any of you remember being embarrassed, demeaned or insulted in front of everyone? And who was the one doing it? Can you see their faces?

Did the leaders judge you? Did they ever hold against you what they held against others who look, sound or resemble you in some minor way?

When did any of them "let go and let God"?

Did they ever take their own advice? Did they ever live by the same principles they wanted us to live by?

Or did they often say "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" as they threw insults at you and rummaged around your pocket for lunch money?

Ever catch them lying? Ever hear incomprehensible and nonsensical justifications for their bizarre actions?

Yeah, so it's not much of a deconstruction. But I'm not in a deconstructing mood tonight, I think.

But how about it? What kind of hypocrisy and double-speak do you remember coming from the current leadership? How about leaving a comment describing that?

Let us know what those are. Or, maybe reminisce and reflect on your own. Either way, if you look at those crazy statements as I have, you will probably have one of those moments. Like that time when you realized girl in sixth grade didn't come to your house because she was interested in you, it was because she wanted to copy your homework.

Academy for Psychic Studies and Scientology

Hey, I had a random thought:  did anyone recall Bill Duby corralling us for hours of trance then in his usual post-traumatic rambling began to talk about principles somewhat related to Scientology then blurted out:  "You guys didn't know you were learning Scientology, did you?"

And related to that, wasn't there a plaque with a black background and etched golden lettering on a medium brown wooden base that honored both Lewis Bostwick and L. RON HUBBARD?

Or maybe that is one of my projections...

I know people who swear they heard Bill Duby say he was teaching Scientology.  I recall it, but maybe not as clearly as they.

Any of you who do recall, please leave a comment.  It will make a lot of things make sense.  And if Bill did indeed teach Scientology, I don't know what to say about THAT.

I'm hoping you would.  Leave a comment.  And let's see if there really is an SRF/Scientology connection.

Stop the Silence

That symbol was a rallying cry in the 80's. Back in the day, people with AIDS and HIV were not only very sick, they were left on their own without the help they needed and without representation in the government and society they needed to help them survive.

I'm sure you know how that was handled. I hate to think about it, much less write about it. Although I will tell you something that was a fairly common attitude at the time. I was dating a girl in Southern California. One Sunday, we attended church with her parents. Just before the service, we were conversing and the subject of AIDS came up. Her mother turned to me and said, "We believe AIDS is God's punishment to the gays" and left it at that. No, I didn't date that girl much longer after that.

Back in the day, we as a society chose to keep the issue of those with AIDS and HIV a secret - as if you could catch it by talking about it. The White House senior staff advised our president, Ronald Reagan, to take no position and to stay silent. By speaking out, the president could cause a national controversy and a loss of his conservative political base, they counseled.

It wasn't until some time later, that President Reagan and the First Lady realized revealing the issue of AIDS was an issue of simple decency. It was their duty as America's First Couple (and that of the President) to preserve human dignity - especially to those with AIDS. So, they responded. They spoke out in favor of providing support and funding to help those with AIDS.

Once the issue of AIDS was supported, the public respond with new supportive attitudes. President Reagan approved millions to fight the disease and improve attitudes. The ultra-conservative Surgeon General told people to use condoms to protect themselves and agreed he had to help do something. New treatments for HIV/AIDS were developed in a fairly short time and those infected were saved from a terrible fate. Many of those with HIV infections were able to maintain a normal life.

I can't imagine what would happen if the Reagans remained silent. How would the epidemic of AIDS have progressed? How many lives would be lost?

Before I wrote this blog, I had to deal with my own state of silence. I had to deal with my own sense shame and the acceptance of personal punishment sent from above. I had to deal with my sense of staying invisible and my fear of inciting controversy and the possibility of losing people who I once knew.

What woke me up was the sense that I was like a can of soda sitting in the sun - it wouldn't take much to make a fountain happen.

And fountain it did. As I said earlier, I saw this blog as a kind of internet graffiti - sometimes seen but rarely noticed. And for a while, that is what happened.

I have evolved this blog from my own need to vent to creating a public service. Giving the other side of the story to an otherwise unsuspecting public. Revealing the true events the Spiritual Rights Foundation does not want anyone to know and speak the true insight the Spiritual Rights Foundation would otherwise suppress.

And we have stood tall in the face of the petty tyranny displayed by the Spiritual Rights Foundation. SRF filed a lawsuit intended to silence us. They failed. We successfully defended their despotic and maniacal action to suppress us. By doing so, we have defended YOUR rights to speak the truth; YOUR rights to speak your mind; YOUR right to associate with whom you please.

Still, of all of us involved in the SRF quagmire, only a few have dared to speak out in various ways through the news media and their own publishing activities.

But many remain silent. They sit like that can of soda on a hot day, waiting for someone to pop the tab so they can vent the unrelenting pressure.

I know that pressure. I know the pain of having to contain the outrage, the pain, the sense of unfairness of the rule of petty tyrants.

And know many who feel the same.

Maybe someone like you.

If you want to say something but are afraid of rocking the boat, think of this: how much of a spell is the Spiritual Rights Foundation keeping you under?

You may find the spell is nothing more than a man behind a curtain.

Are you afraid of repercussions? I'll tell you this: they have nothing on anyone.

Especially you.

There is a group of many people who blazed the trail for you and defeated the petty control tactics, the outlandish behavior and the abuse. Several brave parents brought their stories to the news media and the courts. They restored their relationship with their children and healed the damage wrought by SRF.

I fought a frivolous suit and successfully defended your right to speak your mind.

If you want to speak, if you need to speak, now is the time.

The only question is: what would you like to say?

You can speak for your own healing.

You can speak to get the SRF monkey off your back.

You can speak to help others who may fall into the cesspool of abuse as we have.

You can speak out publicly. You can speak in private. You can speak to a professional. You can speak to your friends, your neighbors, your family.

Speak out to someone. Find someone who will listen and someone who can help. Some of those people are listed on the right side. Speak with them. They will listen.

You and I have suffered through the unrelenting pressure to hide. The fear of disclosure, the shame of being deceived.

And even now, the Spiritual Rights Foundation tries to exert the fear and oppression only a despot can engender.

To capitulate will begin the silence of your mind, the submission of your spirit, the suppression of your voice that will certainly lead to the death of your soul - a death at the hands of a cult.

A death at the hands of petty despots.

If "freedom is the essence of life", would you continue to hide silently in the darkness or emerge from the shadows to embrace life in the light of truth?

Will you conduct your own act of decency and come out of the shadows to restore your own sense of human dignity and preserve the dignity of those who shared your experience?

It's your choice now.

Are you content to allow your soul to die?

Or will you emerge and live your life?

Many of you might prefer to remain silent. Some of you may think you must remain silent.

Of course, you have every right to be silent.

I will leave you with this thought, though:

SILENCE = DEATH

====================================================

Here are comments from the original post:
Anonymous said...

Here is a scene that is an example of what Mike is talking about: Bill Duby, the cult leader, went on for hours, talking about me in the third person to the class about how sick my soul was and comparing me to others who “stole money” from SRF and who were now “asleep,” or in other words, in a state of spiritual death. He painted all those who had left SRF as having fallen into karmic ruin, or as power-tripping fools whom he had completely defeated mentally, or as people who had basically become psychologically debilitated or insane from messing with the teaching.

When we heard this, part of us was vengefully delighted that we were doing so much better than those who had left, and the other part of us was full of dread and determined to never suffer such an unthinkable fate.

Rev. Bill often said, “I am happier here in my misery as a prisoner of the teaching than most of you are in you freedom.” During his usual monologue, he occasionally got Rev. Ang and Robin to say something devastating about me, and sometimes addressed me directly for an answer. They went on to tell their plans of what they were going to do with me. As they talked about me in the third person, I found some distance between myself and them.

I was shaken beyond my capacity and knew this was not right. I knew at this point that I would have to leave. The thoughts of the horror and hatefulness of the place were growing stronger in my mind, but concurrently I still thought Rev. Bill was an authority and that he had spiritual power.

It was strange how the two antagonistic thought patterns coexisted in my mind. Because I still feared Rev. Bill as an authority, I was deeply doubtful and concerned about my own moral standing with God.

This is where the two diametrically opposed thought patterns started to merge and I would have to sort it out, one painful, fear-filled thought at a time. I was desperate. I had to find a way out of this nightmare.

July 16, 2009 1:46 AM




Mike Kawahara said...

Thanks Steve.

You spoke out about your experience and revealed the truth about the abuse, lies and cruelty you endured. By doing that, we have seen you regain your life and find the strength to continue.

I found Steve and others who have been candid about their experiences with SRF and have been open and communicative about their disappointments, anger, frustrations and guilt were more able to find healing and recovery - things they longed to receive from the very cult that abused them.

To stay silent about the abuse is the beginning of a long, difficult road. To maintain the lie, to keep up appearances, to "fake it until you make it" works like a Vycodin for your soul. You might feel good for a while - a long while even. But that issue remains, the pain returns and you'll need another dose - putting you on the destructive cycle of pain and healing SRF used to exploit and control you.

Staying silient about your plight continues the SRF trademark of hypnotic control, leading to the death of your soul and the elimination of your spirit for life (YOUR life).

To speak out may be rocky at first, but with the support of others who share your experience, you will find the road will be easier to navigate.

You will find you can life your life and enjoy it.

You can live your life without fear.

Please see my post about our pledge.

Our hands are open and the coffee pot is on. And we won't make you pay for a cup.

I'll even pick up a nice, fresh bag of Peet's for you and a dozen Krispy Kremes.

Joy makes some mean baklava as well. It's all yours.



Marilyn Daily Junkins said:

I left SRF 19 years ago after 7 years of tyranny.

The last two years, after I was "ordained" were brutal, horrific years of shame and torture where I felt I was living in two worlds without anyone to whom I could really talk; who could really understand what I was going through. I knew I couldn't speak with Angela, Robin, Debi or Bill ... they would only make me feel worse, or demand money to heal me.

What a relief when I left SRF and discovered my own inner healing over time.

Even after all this time, I was so glad to find Mike and Joy's blogs and to learn that I was not alone in my experience.

Thank God the two of you, Steve, and Mason, all had the courage to speak of your experiences and free yourselves from the bondage of Bill's mind.

I hope that the others still there can find the way out and SRF can be disbanded without ruining any more lives. Friend me at Facebook to get my email address.

Academy for Psychic Studies - Piling it Higher and Deeper

As there are no more culties to work at the Blue Sky Ranch,

Robin Dumolin and her friend are forced to work it themselves.
And it looks like Robin dragged a follower's child along

to shovel the stuff she's full of.

Looking back at my internment at the Academy for Psychic Studies, it amazes me how much unmitigated BULLSHIT flowed from the mouths of Rev. William Duby, Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin.  It was equally amazing (again, looking back) how they were able to use deception and idiotic and unprovable crap to make both Bill Duby and the Witches of Ellsworth Street look not only holy and on a spiritually elevated plane of existence, they were utterly unabashed about amplifying an event to cement their grip on power and on the minds of their followers.

I recalled the event where Rev. Bill Duby supposedly survived a serious bout with Type II diabetes.  Our information was Mr. Duby drank some kind of herbal health remedy which triggered a massive diabetic incident requiring serious medical care.  It was also said this incident was among the worst in medical history - which would result in death for a person less enlightened and less able than Bill to handle the severe energy of illness.

That no one ever saw the man in the hospital or saw his health records, nor had they seen any evidence of him being seriously ill (the bottle of medicine to treat diabetes sitting on Bill's desk does NOT indicate Bill's condition was serious) was never ever discussed.  That the Witches and Bill were the only source of the story was never brought up for question.  We just took it for granted that Bill was indeed as ill as he said - just like we all took it for granted Bill was a chihuahua expert (which one commenter still believes).

Bill's claim - and SRF lore, has Bill claiming his blood glucose levels were well over 2000 mg/dl, the highest ever seen by the medical staff and it was only Bill's spiritual strength that allowed him the chance to survive it.

Bill first claimed he was suffering from Type 1 diabetes - the insulin dependent type.  However, I never saw him with insulin and syringes.  He took pills.  Now, I know a few people who have Type 1 diabetes.  They never go anywhere without insulin.  One of them had a insulin pump implanted in her abdomen.  I know - I saw it frequently.  Don't ask how I saw it or what I did with it.  Later, he seemed to modify his claim saying he actually has Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes for which he only has to take pills.  I know that as well, as he kept repeating Type 2 diabetes to me like a mantra.

It's utterly impossible to have Type 1 diabetes then abruptly have Type 2 diabetes as those conditions have completely different causes (genetics and environmental trigger vs. eating crap food and not exercising) and come from different processes in the body (you can't make insulin vs. you are eating so much crap, your body can't process and detoxify it).  As there was intense secrecy over Bill's condition, there's no way of knowing what that crazy bastard really had.

While it is possible in theory to have a blood glucose level of over 2000, there's just no way anyone can verify Bill's levels were that high or if he took the actual level and edited it to serve his own purposes.  That secrecy thing still floated in the air.  If you asked a question, you would be pummeled until you were no more than a grease spot.  I personally believe, based on his habit of telling tall tales, Bill's blood sugar wasn't quite that high - but it was probably pretty damn high anyway.

The actual blood sugar level aside, that Bill amplified his health situation and exploited it to consolidate power and influence over his captive flock leaves a stench over the whole incident.

Recall the atmosphere at the Academy for Psychic Studies at the time.  People were running around in circles, convinced there was some kind of psychic attack on Duby, the Witches and the Golden Child.  Energy work abounded.  All followers, newer ones and veterans of the abuse alike were scrutinized for any dark energy and poor attitudes towards the Academy and all it stood for.  Those who were seen as dark servants of evil were immediately singled out.

Now look at the aftermath:  the troops were rallied, alliances were formed, loyalties were tested, those with the dark energy of evil were not only singled out, there were stripped bare and drawn and quartered in front of the gathered followers so their disease wouldn't contaminate the premises.

A global energy clean-out was prescribed.  All those affiliated with the Academy were cleaned out - of money as well as energy.  So, I guess that's the real reason the troops were mustered.

Anyway after Bill was released from wherever he was hiding out, he diagnosed everyone with diabetes.  To anyone's knowledge, no one actually had diabetes.

That didn't stop Bill from insisting everyone in his line of sight march directly to a physician for a blood glucose test whether they needed it or not.  Bill proclaimed those who were identified as holding dark energy be marginalized and immediately transported to the local emergency room for a blood test that could have been easily done at a routine physical.  Concerned followers purchased tests, special diets, herbal remedies and other useless items to control a condition they never had.  All in all, thousands of dollars were wasted for the quack remedies and unneeded medical expenses.

After Bill completed his grand rounds and diagnosed everyone he saw with diabetes, he approached me as I was chugging some water on a warm day.  Bill said thirst was a sign of diabetes and asked what my blood sugar looked like.  My reply: I just got a physical with a complete blood work-up.  All my blood chemistry is completely within normal range.  The look of disappointment on his face was unforgettable.

I guess his days as a diabetes doc were numbered after that.  There was no talk of diabetes ever again.

By then, Bill's perverted objective was reached and the damage done: wives were convinced their husbands were suffering from diabetes and were ascribing all manner of character flaws and personality disorders to not just their husbands but all men they encounter due to diabetes.  Even when physicians and laboratory results proved no medical problems, Bill and all the Academy women persisted in their assertion the men were stricken with diabetes and the odd and annoying behavior only they saw was the result of said disease.  Bill had succeeded in creating so much tension in relationships and among the followers using his own disease as a conduit, his grip on their reality and his Witches' grip on the followers money was assured.

Just like the chihuahua craze where Bill positioned himself as an expert on a topic he barely knew, he used the opportunity to press forward a secret and perverted agenda using another topic he knew not a damn thing about.  Rev. William Duby amplified and perverted a personal situation to reinforce his evil control over this followers and cemented his Witches' stranglehold on the assets and influence of the followers.

But that was all done in the guise of spiritual enlightenment and his dubious psychic prowess in identifying the energies that ruled our bodies.

***********************************


Courtesy of Spiritual Perversion, here is a short account of the weekend Bill realized he had diabetes and found a way to stay out of sight and create havoc on what was said to be a weekend of trance and relaxation:

Everyone wanted to get out of there, but when all the beginning people had left, Ang called an emergency ministers meeting. We were commanded to attend. Ang admonished all the ministers for falling apart and being too dependent on Rev. Bill and not upholding the teaching without him. During the meeting we found out Rev. Bill had had a diabetic convulsion when he drank a bottle of some kind of new age cough medicine concoction Robin had made for him.

Ang said in severe tones, “His blood sugar count was up to almost 2000, which was the highest the nurses had ever seen. The doctor said he should have died with blood sugar that high. He didn’t die because his body can handle so much energy and because he has so much psychic power. As psychics we have to be aware of the energy on the planet. The planet is going through a transition, or in other wards, a growth period. Rev. Bill was under intense psychic attack from the astral planes. All weekend Robin and I were working on healing the planet, and healing Rev. Bill. The dark forces that can’t have it were trying to destroy Rev. Bill because he is one of a few enlightened people on the planet. You ministers let the dark forces run rampant through your spaces, competing with each other, backbiting and whatever.

“Mason, I don’t want you to ever talk to the women the way you did during the retreat in this house. We have to bond together now and show greater dedication to Rev. Bill and the teaching if we are going to survive. Those of you who can’t have it can leave. Rev. Bill is under a great deal of stress and has suffered. For now on I don’t want anyone coming to him when he is trying to relax at the computer upstairs. His room upstairs is his sacred space and you have to show him total respect. You women don’t be going to him to solve your little problems. You know how he just gets set off.”

It was clear Rev. Bill had coached her on much of what to say. Later Rev. Bill told us the same thing, except in his more intense and detailed way. After he had berated all of us in class, he called Mason to his back apartment to talk. Mason was very tense and on guard. He tried to stay on his best behavior because he knew he was the bad guy. Rev. Bill started speaking to him from his bed in buddy mode about diabetes and how Mason was exhibiting many of the systems of it. Rev. Bill said that Annie agreed with him and had confirmed that Mason showed many of the symptoms. Mason said that he felt tired and worn out but he didn’t think he had diabetes. Rev. Bill became very intense and began to rip into Mason for his inability to “hear him” and for his disrespect for women and the teaching.

“You are going to lose everything including your soul if you don’t listen to me on this one.” Rev. Bill told him. “You need to go the hospital to get checked out for diabetes.” Mason disagreed and tried to leave the room. Rev. Bill went into a fury, and some of us saw them as Bill followed Mason out onto the porch. We saw Rev. Bill yelling and Mason throwing his hands up, angry and resistant.

This was the beginning of the end for Mason. Rev. Bill characterized him as a full-on Judas. Rev. Ang confided in me—and others, one at a time—that she hated Mason because he was causing Rev. Bill a lot of stress, which was partly the cause of Bill’s diabetes. We all agreed with Ang. We felt Mason deserved to be shunned for his “selfishness and disrespect” and for “delighting in entertaining dark forces.”

Rev. Bill went on a crusade about diabetes. He taught us all about the symptoms of it and how most of us had them. He had everyone checking their blood sugar counts every day. At his suggestion, several people bought little diabetes kits to test their blood sugar. This all seemed a little weird, even pathetic, but as usual we were all eager to please him. He even started a cafe downstairs that served a properly balanced meal that the hospital recommended for Rev. Bill. Rev. Bill said he had Type 1 diabetes and the rest of us were borderline Type 2. I wanted to laugh at it all, but I needed to show my support too.

The day after he came back Rev. Bill asked me how I felt and I told him I felt tired and out of sorts. He sat down and took time to talk to me about all the symptoms of diabetes. Rev. Robin came in and sweetly reminded me that I had promised to fix her kitchen sink, so I left to work on it. As I worked on her sink, Robin kept zipping back and forth walking in her swift, focused manner. I loved it when she stopped in the kitchen for a time and talked to me. The friendly attention from an attractive woman did me wonders. After a while Rev. Bill came in and again gave me special attention, even confiding to me about how it was in the hospital for him. He said I had several of the symptoms the doctor had talked about such as being tired, pissing a lot, blurry vision, and so on. He told me that I could spend the night at the Academy for a few more nights to be in the healing energy. I didn’t particularly want to do this, but it seemed like a warm and approving gesture on his part, so I did.

The next day he came in and asked me how I was doing in a friendly manner. I told him I felt tired. He said, “God I feel this weird pain in my chest and my first chakra. Have you felt that? What is that energy?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I‘ve been kinda feeling that too.”

He ran through the diabetes symptoms and claimed I had at least half of them. I acted concerned, as it seemed very important to him. He insisted that the best way to cure oneself was to get hooked up to the IV units at the hospital. I told him I didn’t think that was necessary, that I was basically okay. He kept pressing the point. He said I could stay at the Academy a couple of more days till I felt better. I really didn’t want to do this.

  Both Linda came Bill became more intense in their insistence that I needed to go to the hospital and get checked out. When Rev. Bill said, “Linda, you really need to take care of this man; his ego is getting in the he way of common sense,” Linda jumped on the bandwagon, demonstrating great concern, and they both kept up the pressure. I objected saying it wasn’t necessary and the hospital would end up sending a big bill. I knew Linda agreed with this because she was always freaked out about money. But Rev. Bill said, “Money means nothing when it comes to your health, and besides, hospital bills are the last thing creditors go after. You guys have no havingness. You don’t believe I’m clairvoyant.”

I felt horrible, but I finally agreed to go. Linda took me.

Over the next week Rev. Bill kept up the pressure on me, and we went to three different hospitals. I seemed to have been chosen as some sort of guinea pig in his mind, although he was doing the same thing with the others. He coached me, in the presence of Ang, Linda, or Robin, on the right way to talk to the hospital staff so they would be concerned enough to hook me up to the IV. Linda took me each time, but the results of the blood sugar tests were always normal. The last time they actually took me in, but the doctor found no basis for hooking me up to the IV, and I couldn’t persuade him to do so. This was such a horrible waste of time and money, and I felt wasted.

When we came back from the third hospital, Rev. Bill said, “You almost had it. Why can’t you just fake being sick, Steve? You need to be more convincing to get in there. You need this, but your ego just won’t let you get into it. Show him how to do it, Ang. You can’t acknowledge how sick you are and show it for the same reason you can’t go into trance—you have to be in control. To go into trance you have to be able to give up control. I’ve told you that a thousand times, but you can’t learn. You got your family in your head. Your brain stem is shot.” He became very heated and kept trying to get me to practice faking it. At this point I simply refused. It reminded me of being in my parents’ room one time as a child when they were trying unsuccessfully to get me to emote what my problem was; I felt too shamed, guilty, and embarrassed to do anything. I knew what he was trying to get me to do was absurd; I knew that even Linda didn’t want to go to another hospital with me, though she wouldn’t say anything.

Rev. Ang, Linda, and Robin were in the basement room while Rev. Bill kept working on me hour after hour. When Rev. Bill went to take a piss, Ang took me outside and said, “Steve, can’t you see this man is very stressed out? Can’t you just go along with this for his sake?”

“Ang, I am not sick. The tests are okay, it’s not necessary, and it’s a waste of money.”

She said, completely sincere, “Why don’t you just pretend to be sick to take the stress off this man?”

“That’s ridiculous!” This was so absurd I laughed. It was so unfair. I was fascinated by her blindness. She just got mad at me. She had meant it and refused to see anything wrong with what she said. In that moment I mentally shifted further away from her and all of them. I told them I wasn’t going to the hospital anymore, and that I was going to go home now.

They all got upset, but I took off and walked the two miles back to my apartment in the middle of the night, leaving the car with Linda. The next day at Rev. Bill’s behest I got word from Ang through Linda that I was being taken off of everything. They said I was too stressed out and my ego was out of control. For two weeks they said I should just stay at the Russell Street property and not go off it. I was supposed to just rest; I was not to go to work at Liberty, not to go to Santa Clara, not play basketball, not go to the movies, not go anywhere. Linda would take care of Santa Clara and make sure I had food; Don would take care of Liberty.

This was a sad, depressing, lonely time. My life was a nightmare. I couldn’t let them do these things to me, but it was all set in motion. I wanted to work and see people. That’s what kept me sane. I sensed the stupidity, humiliation, and insanity of my life, but it was excruciatingly painful to face it. I was devastated, lonely, and lost. I got away a few times to play basketball, take a walk, or get something to eat.

I slept a lot during this time when I was supposed to stay on Russell Street. One night I had an awful nightmare that repeated itself with variations. I dreamed I was captured by enemies. I was an officer being held in an underground place by three men, and at first it seemed I was going to be let go. But when I woke up from sleeping in my dream, I found myself bound up. They had wrapped my whole body in large bandages that were very tight. I was terrified. The wrappings over my face made it difficult to breathe. I could get air only slowly and with much effort. I painfully needed air, and I panicked. What was worse, the bands around my chest didn’t allow my chest to expand far enough to take in hardly any air. I couldn’t get enough air to satisfy my body. My arms and legs were wrapped so I couldn’t move them. It was maddening to not be able to breathe. I was suffocating and felt like going insane with rage toward my captors. I was enraged at the humiliation of my helpless situation. I wanted to struggle against my wrappings and my captors, but this caused intense pain, so then I pretended I was okay. I couldn’t breathe. My only recourse was to be very still, but I felt a horrifying humiliation of being faceless, as if my identity were being erased. I woke up from this dream in a fog. It caused a tired ache in my head that lasted a long time.

After two weeks I was allowed to go back to work for Liberty and to my Academy in Santa Clara. I felt tired than before.

**************************************

The whole diabetes episode, once exposed, amply displays the insane control exerted by Bill Duby, the complicity engaged in by his Witches and the unwitting enablement conducted by the followers (especially the wives).

Bill was so insane and so ignorant of a topic he believed he knew expertly, he attempted to manipulate Steve Sanchez into "faking" the results of a lab test as if Steve were taking the DMV driving test.  Worse, Angela Silva was complicit in Bill's insane demand and worked to push Steve into a waste of time and money that could have adversely affected his health - an unneeded treatment for a diabetic crisis.  Even worse, they pressured Steve's wife to go  along and ensure he went with the program. The situation is more than a shocking use of undue influence: that Steve could just talk a physician into an unnecessary treatment for a condition that didn't exist was just plain stupid and potentially dangerous.

Any physician who ordered a treatment for a diabetic emergency when no such condition exists is conducting malpractice, plain and simple.  That's not my ego talking, it's common sense and one of the legal standards for determining malpractice.  Even if the physician "hooked up" a bag of IV saline to Steve, he had no good reason to do it.  Would you want to have a doc like that in practice?

Further, what would you think of a "minister" and his spiritual wife who coerces someone into a unneeded medical treatment only because they want him to do it?

Yeah, I thought so.

The Academy for Psychic Studies - Whatever you call it, it's still a cult.

Hey, the Academy for Psychic Studies
is advertising again!

Rev. William Duby would always diffuse the claim his cult was actually a cult. Bill would make plays on the word "occult" (spelling the word "oc-cult") or using the Webster's Dictionary or an arcane historical definition of what a cult happens to be.

Bill would frequently say (even in print!) he didn't care if anyone called his cult a "cult" because everyone is already in a cult. He would define families, schools, places of employment - all the things we participate in every day as a "cult". Even his attorney would parrot the claim that everything else is a cult as well. Of course, neither Bill nor his attorney would ever directly answer whether or not the Spiritual Rights Foundation and it's subsidiary the Academy for Psychic Studies was a "cult" or not.

Bill took extraordinary steps to deflect and re-direct any inquiry into whether he was a cult leader or not, never answering yes but never saying no either.

I know there are many idiots who rely on that same technique to dispute claims that one group or another is a cult or not. They are either too deluded to see that Webster's only defines words in the context of general language usage or they have a purpose to deflect attention from the modern, accepted definition of "cult".

People like William Duby and others like him have a stake saying a cult is no big deal. He would frequently say he never set up a cult - he set up an anti-cult because it has radically different practices than the cults of our families, schools, workplaces, places of worship, supermarket or dance hall. He would tell us his cult was a better cult because it's not like any other cult - but it's not really a cult.

In fact, many "cults" say the same, then turn around and sue for defamation when anyone calls them a cult. Certainly, the Spiritual Rights Foundation filed a lawsuit claiming they were offended that I call them a "cult" and that it's not true anyway. However, their attorney was quoted in print saying "To a person, anything can be called a cult." essentially throwing a bucked of dishwater on their complaint. Bill Duby's incoherent ramblings saying he's got a cult because every other group is a cult anyway and it's kind of not but really is a cult just nailed that coffin shut.

So, I decided we should take a look at what makes a cult and how modern social science defines a cult.

That definition is, of course, very different from what you'd find in Webster's. So all you social science wannabe's who are going to cry out I don't know what the hell I'm talking about when you read the below, keep in mind that I have an education in Sociology. That's the study of groups. A cult is a group. Therefore, it's OK for Sociology to define a cult. You can ask the professional Sociologists (especially those who study cults) about it if you want. Clue: Sociologists are found in Universities. Those are schools. You know, those places you don't like anymore because they make you think and it makes your brain hurt - you fucking SRF troll.

Unfortunately, those culties who really need to read that above paragraph will ever understand what we all do: that there IS a definition of a CULT and that definition is well accepted and is under continually under review.

And those of us with experience with groups of this kind can tell we have seen and have been affected by the characteristics for a long, long time.

===============================

Marcia Rudin's 14 Common Characteristics of a Cult

1. Members swear total allegiance to an all-powerful leader who they believe to be the Messiah.
2. Rational thought is discouraged or forbidden.
3. The cult's recruitment techniques are often deceptive.
4. The cult weakens the follower psychologically by making him or her depend upon the group to solve his or her problems.
5. The cult manipulates guilt to their advantage.
6. The cult leader makes all the career and life decision of the members.
7. Cults exist only for their own material survival and make false promises to work to improve society.
8. Cult members often work full time for the group for little or no pay.
9. Cult members are isolated from the outside world and any reality testing it could provide.
10. Cults are anti-woman, anti-child, and anti-family.
11. Cults are apocalyptic and believe themselves to be the remnant who will survive the soon-approaching end of the world.
12. Many cults follow an "ends justify the means" philosophy.
13. Cults, particularly in regard to their finances, are shrouded in secrecy.
14. There is frequently an aura of or potential for violence around cults.

==================================

How do those criteria map onto your experience at the Spiritual Rights Foundation?

• Didn't we have to acknowledge Bill Duby and Angela Silva as spiritually perfect beings?
  Didn't we have to sign bogus documents swearing we wouldn't disclose what happened to us?
  Wasn't Bill Duby's supporters fond of reciting his Duby-ous achievements?
  
• Weren't we told we had to turn off the "critical factor of our conscious mind"?
  Weren't we told to "get out of your head" and accept the teaching?
  
• How many of us were led to believe we would find something completely different from what we were given?
  
• Weren't we all dependent on their "healings", their recognition? Weren't many of us dependant on their rat-bag housing? Didn't we hear that we were part of an elite spiritual community? Weren't we dependant on that "support" system for our daily life?
  Weren't we tricked into accepting that the holy leaders of this dysfunctional and worthless organization knew how to run our lives better than we did?
  
• How many of us were taunted with "don't you want to give to your church"?
  How often was "the envelope" passed around whenever a group of people were assembled?
  How did you feel if you didn't give "your share"? What was that song they sang every church service? Wasn't there a line about how you should not "renege a bit on what you ought to pay"? How did that feel? Were you feeling as guilty as the rest of us?
  
• How many men were messengers or construction laborers? How many women were housecleaners?
  How often did Bill say the men "went into 'business' for themselves and the women cleaned houses"? How many of us had our careers go down the tubes?
  
• Didn't the leaders live in comfort and drive luxury cars while we had crappy cars and sweated out the end of the month, hoping we could eat?
  
• Did anyone get paid for working on "the farm" or creating materials for "Health and Wealth"?
  
• Wasn't news from the world interpreted for us?
  Didn't Bill give us the "enlightened" view of the world?
   Weren't the faithful few cloistered behind wrought iron fences?
  
• How many of us lost our spouses, children and had our family ties destroyed?
  How many women were cursed at, insulted, demeaned, abused? How many of the children? How many of the men? Who's family came first? Certainly not yours.
  
• Didn't Bill Duby tell us we are working on ourselves for the "next world" not this one?
  
• How many of Bill and Angela's insane tactics were truly for the benefit of their followers and the world?
  
• Did anyone know how much money came in? How much went out?
  What happened to the rest of it? Where is the money we lost there? How much money is in the leader's real estate holdings and how much money went into providing a comfortable lifestyle for the leader's family? No one but the leaders know.
  
• When one of the SRF members says on the radio that he was more than tempted to come down to my home to "deliver a healing", how much potential for violence would there be?
  How about "Santa"?
  Given Santa's behavior, given how aggressive he was with his child and other members, given that firearms are present among the cult members, what conclusion would you have?

I don't know. Maybe this is a helpful, beneficial and benign spiritual organization. So maybe it's not a cult.

If you believe that, you may be a current cult member. If you are not, I have a bridge to sell you.

But if you do believe that the Spiritual Rights Foundation is a cult, just take a look at their "American Spirit Newspaper" of the inspired writing of Rev. Bill Duby. It's on the web right there on their site.

You'll find plenty of data there and plenty of support that even the Spiritual Rights Foundation has to believe it is a cult as well.

It's a planet for slow learners

Crap! Wrong Picture!

This is the one I really wanted. Doggone this interweb thing...

Actually, I guess the first one wasn't so bad after all.

It's a planet for slow learners.

It's another one of those endearing homilies we heard at the Spritual Rights Foundation almost every day. We never heard what it meant - that was said to be evident. We did wind up hearing it a lot.

I never recalled seeing any examples of what constitutes slow learning. Well maybe when I reflect on the wasted years I spent there. I did see a recent example, though: I'm reading the absurd cease and desist letter sent us by the Spiritual Rights Foundation.

First, since the SRF attorney, William J. (Will) Rogers, filed this letter in Superior Court as part of an idiotic libel complaint, it is public record. I and every other American are free to post, read, email, copy, print or use it to wipe up cat vomit.

Second, you'll see how low these people will stoop to silence the people's side of the story.

Third, in case you are afraid this letter caused this blog to close or become restricted in its activities, I can tell you: the cease and desist letter FAILED, the lawsuit filed by the Spiritual Rights Foundation FAILED, the plaintiffs were legally declared FAILURES and said plaintiffs were forced by the Superior Court to pay money to ME.  The court also declared ME as the prevailing party.

So, that's why this blog remains and I'm about to tell you how we responded (in a nutshell).

Now, on with the - uh, well, here's the letter:


His first paragraph is:

"The defamatory statements are numerous and wide-spread throughout your media. Your frequent and blatant references to SRF and ISHI as cults are actionable as libel. Your statements that Rev. Robin and Rev. Angela "scheme" to take money and property from church members, and that they "enrich" themselves from church funds, and that they are "continuing [Rev. Bill Duby's ] legacy of insanity and unrestrained hate", are false, offensive, and constitute libel."

The term "cult" was one that the SRF CULT brushed aside long ago. Here is a quote from the guy who wrote the above:

Petaluma attorney Will Rogers, who represents the Spiritual Rights Foundation, argues that according to the dictionary definition, any organized mainstream religion could be called a cult. "To one person," Rogers says, "the Catholic Church can be considered a cult." -- East Bay Express, "Consider the Children" By Will Harper, October 10, 2001

So, the guy who wrote that it is libel to say SRF is a CULT, is on record saying: Who gives a damn if you call SRF a CULT? So's the Catholic Church!

Libel is the action someone can take if a person tells a lie in writing. There's a lot more to it but that's it in a nutshell. We know that Robin and Angela don't have jobs. We know that the church is paying them a stipend. That, I don't have a problem with. I do know that as soon as someone gets a little bit of gain in their life, Angela and Robin have their hands out.

As soon as she was sure I would receive a modest inheritance, Angela reinforced the concept of the tithe. After I was gone, she ranted and raved that I left because I wouldn't tithe my inheritance to the church. I didn't tithe because I had serious doubts about what the money would be used for. It certainly would not be spent on me.

Instead, I saw lots of money going into church operations that had little to do with serving the church itself. Operations like the venerated Blue Sky Ranch.

We thought this ranch was "the people's place". A place for relaxation, meditation and recreation. Instead, we were told we were not welcome at the Blue Sky Ranch unless we were working or paying. Isn't that an unusual policy for "the people's place"?

I later discovered the Blue Sky Ranch - always represented as church property, was titled to Robin and Angela in the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder's office. Many members of SRF, myself included, donated money to SRF for the purchase of the property and for maintenance. That money was paid to SRF, then tendered to someone to fund supplies and operations on a property Robin and Angela own. In fact, we donated money to SRF to support the purchase of the Blue Sky Ranch thinking it always was a church property.

I'm not the only one shocked and disgusted by that revelation. Everyone who heard it felt the same. I'm just the first to say it out loud.

Bill said to me several times that the church helped him attain personal prosperity and prosperity for Robin and Angela as evidenced by the nice vehicles they drive and their ability to buy anything they want. Bill bragged about having his women well taken care of financially. He told us we men were responsible for maintaining our woman's standard of living, which he demonstrated by showering his women with praise and riches.

Now, how in hell do you create that kind of wealth on a preacher's pay? And if you did, where did the money come from? The Lottery?

Do those two "scheme" to take property? Well, yes. Blue Sky Ranch. The Kawahara Residence.  Who else lost inheritances or other windfalls to the Witches of Ellsworth Street?  I remember one time when we all went to Lake Tahoe for a weekend of gambling and other perverted activities.  A member received a large winning from gambling.  Immediately afterward, one of Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin's tithe collectors appeared literally with a hand thrust out and demanded their cut.  It was paid.

Another ex-member was made SRF legend when she received property from her family as part of her inheritance.  She (wisely) vamoosed soon after and was from that day on, debased for preferring to raise a family and live comfortably rather than submit to selling the property and giving Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin a huge amount of cash year after year.  Not only did Bill Duby curse this person, so did Angela and Robin.

Angela Silva said to the gathered ministers: "Goddamn Kawahara doesn't want to tithe (his inheritance to the church)". A yearly ten percent tithe to SRF (over which Angela presides) would bankrupt me in a short time. And as SRF conducts no charitable activity nor does it endow any members who engage in long, dedicated service to them with stipends, I had a serious problem seeing Angela drive a Cadillac and own real estate while the rest of us bounced along in clunkers and swept cockroaches out of our SRF-owned apartments.

It's my money and I'll decide if I want to spend it on my wife and family or see it go to another luxury car for Robin or Angela. I chose family. Angela's track record of personal enrichment and outburst in front of the ministers shows clearly who she favored.

I know of others who lost property. And it's not just real estate. It's cash and other items given as a tithe. If could purchase land, own luxury cars and buy anything you want, travel as much as you desire and have no concern for your retirement and future while not working a day of your life, wouldn't your neighbors wonder how in hell you can do that?

As far as the unrestrained hate and so on goes, the snarl on Angela's face when she said to me "Sell that goddamn house!" was enough for me. Could you picture her face as she denounced me in front of the ministers? No one receives more hate than a person who doesn't give Angela money.

Others relate several times when Angela and Robin railed with emotion so high it reminded them of the insane anger expressed by Bill Duby himself. The Revelations Class students faced the brunt of that behavior then and continue to this day.

Unrestrained hate is their way of healing, you know. And if you object: well, you are just projecting you own spiritual shortcomings on the pure and humble servant of the church spitting in your face.

False? Not when several people have told me all the things I relate in this blog. Not when my sources are from print or court cases involving SRF. And especially not when my sources are ex-members hungering for the chance to come forward without repercussions.

Libelous? Not a chance.  That was proven when I beat their ass in court.

Offensive? Well, I'd be offended if my ill-gotten gains were threatened and the fresh young spirits I need to grow and sustain my dysfunctional organization never make it to my doorstep.

Besides, the First Amendment protects content a lot of people will find offensive.  I mean, Maury Povich is still on the air, isn't he?


Second Paragraph:

"The YouTube videos, some with pictures of _____, are clearly intended to destroy _____ reputation and business as a hypnotherapist. The references to _____ daughters demonstrate a reckless disregard for the rights of others, as well as a disregard of common decency."

You know, I always wondered why Angela, Robin and ____, demonstrated a reckless disregard of others or eschewed any semblance of common decency when they degrade, insult, ridicule, browbeat and otherwise berate the members of SRF and in some cases, their own life partners for imaginary and inconsequential infractions.

Has anyone at SRF been on the receiving end of an Angela Silva tirade?  Has anyone received the stink-eye from Robin Dumolin?  Of course, they have and of course all of us were upbraided in front of as many of our peers, spectators, innocent bystanders, children and chihuahuas as could be mustered.  I have seen men and women reduced to quivering and utterly destroyed ghosts of themselves at their hands - especially Angela's, for any kind of imaginary crime.

Maybe I should have some compassion for them. Perhaps I should understand their total lack of human decency and disregard for the rights of others are a product of emotional abuse, mind control from the evil influence of a madman. Perhaps their behavior is mere projection, or a result of receiving a vaccine as a child or watching too much Oprah?

Aww screw it. When was their own compassion any more than superficial? When was their own human decency any more than you would find in a crack house? When did you ever see them operate without a quid pro quo?

When they have to face the consequences and take their medicine, their bluster becomes silence. Their bravado turns to fear. Their inviolability reveals chinks in the armor. They become a giant with clay feet.

_____ was not at all bashful when KRON came to shoot a pleasant, breezy segment on her World Hypnosis Day. But come back and ask her about Steve Sanchez's book "Spiritual Perversion" or raise questions about how she conducts her hypnosis practice (as KRON did), she suddenly becomes camera shy.

And if a humorous YouTube video contains a picture of _____ (the same picture she uses in her self-promotion materials and on the web) _____ is aghast.

Maybe she had a bad hair day when that picture was taken.

As for the intent to destroy the ISHI "business" - when is providing information to an otherwise unsuspecting public, speaking out truthfully about your own experience and those of many others unlawful, indecent and libelous?

It's not per law but apparently, it is to the squeaky hamster wheel in the noggins of Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin.

I guess they concocted their scheme while reading "Consumer Reports".

In Joy's blogs, there were no direct references to _____ daughters, as claimed by Rogers. Basically, Joy described the situation the "kids" were in without using their names.

When Joy retold that situation on YouTube, those "kids" later revealed themselves by posting critical and outright hostile comments under their own names and identified themselves as _____ adult daughters At the same time, posts from others (who we believe were SRF members or their adult children) were left with similar threats and hostility. Presumably, those comments were left at the direction of the sisters.

The two daughters (both in their twenties - certainly well beyond wearing footies and Strawberry Shortcake undies; in fact, one daughter describes her favorite activity as "going drinking") never offered any kind of correction or told their side of the story.

Instead, they hurled personal insults at Joy then left their true names and real, correct email addresses, daring others to respond using taunts, excessive profanity and invective. One such commenter even left threats to come to our home to deliver "spiritual retribution" in person. The others were satisfied with leaving the usual "bitch" and "cunt" comments to Joy.

Anyway, the comments left by the sisters were anything BUT an attempt to set the record straight. Instead, they focused their hate, their need for revenge and desire to silence any open commentary on the public lives of the very public Angela and Robin at Joy and myself.

The sisters accomplished exactly what they wanted: Joy and her viewers felt physically threatened, I felt physically threatened and commentary on YouTube was chilled (that's a legal term, not a street colloquialism) to the degree that no rebuttal was possible.  These comments were becoming very close to a terroristic threat.

It was because of the threats and unacceptable conduct of the adult daughters that all comments on the YouTube channel were deleted and the two adult daughters were banned from commenting on Joy's YouTube page.


The purpose was to restore a civil atmosphere for open discourse and stop the sisters from their efforts to incite not just hostility but to create fear among the participants and compel silence through intimidation - just like their spiritual godmothers do all the time.


Unsaid in Rogers' letter was that Joy offered reinstatement to any banned party. All they had to do was promise to refrain from leaving threats. As of today, there has been no reply. (and as of today, Rogers points to Joy's statement that the sisters were banned for threats attacks and bullying, and Joy's offer to reinstate banned persons as "proof" that JOY posted all the statements that were actually made by the sisters. If you can figure out what that does for the Spiritual Rights Foundation other than make them look like exactly the things their ex-members say about them, please tell me.)

Given all that happened, maybe Joy has a case against the sisters.

At any rate, the sisters moved on to Joy's blog where they continued their attack on Joy using similar language and the same hostile and combative posture. Only this time, there were two differences: their posts only flirted with unacceptable and threatening commentary and they were neither banned nor were their comments deleted.

Since our blogs on Blogger is an open and public forum, there is no way to exclude an individual from reading or participating in your blog. If your blog is public, anyone can read it. Anyone can comment on it. You still retain the ability to approve comments but that doesn't stop someone from commenting or reading.

So in the spirit of Blogger, the sister's choice words were left on the world-wide billboard of Blogger for public discourse. And boy did those two start hating it.

Their comments gained no support from their counterparts this time. Instead, after they left their taunts, their insults and basically pissed off everyone reading the blog, a return salvo was fired from the readers giving the sisters a taste of their own medicine. Neither Joy nor I participated.

I suppose the look on the sisters' faces was something like the look on my niece's face when she realized that needle the doctor was holding wasn't going in her ARM.

I stepped in to tell the sisters to stop acting like 5 year olds fighting for space in the sandbox and start acting like the smart young women they are. Joy stepped in to calm them down as well despite the degrading treatment she endured from them.

To her credit, one of them soon realized what she was doing and made a polite exit. I was happy to see she came to her senses. She was always the smarter one. The other remained defiant, vowing to keep fighting. But we never heard from her either.

All in all, the "flaming remarks" the Spiritual Rights Foundation has alleged Joy made on her blog and YouTube channel were posted by the sisters and others whom the sisters may have directed to make those comments. Not Joy, not me not anyone else.  The sisters and their colleagues were solely responsible for posting hostile comments intended to intimidate other participants.

Third Paragraph:

"The acknowledgment by Ms. Butler that her blog and video contain "flaming remarks", and Mr. Kawahara's boast that he "takes the credit" for SRF's cessation of the broadcast of church services, demonstrate malicious intent. You cannot shield your malice with your disclaimers that your speech is protected under the First Amendment. The First Amendment has never protected malicious speech."

Here, Will got everything just plain wrong. It is as if he never read Joy's blog or YouTube channel - actually, he did but he clearly didn't understand it or misrepresented it. Or maybe his clients read them and told him what to say. Either way, it would turn out to be a very bad move.

As I just described, the "flaming remarks" were left on YouTube and Joy's blog by _____'s own adult daughters and others believed to be SRF members or their adult children in a direct personal attack against Joy. Again, those comments never addressed Joy's statements but only insulted her with degrading and extraordinarily hostile and profane language.

In her statement, Joy only pointed out she had to remove flaming remarks from others and ban those who left them. She never made hostile or flaming statements to the members, staff or children of SRF.

In my "Drinking with the Woman at the Well" post, I joked that I turned the tables on SRF and commented on the craziest broadcast of a church sermon I ever heard.

When they learned of my commentary, SRF responded by pulling the plug on all broadcasts.

Now, the Spiritual Rights Foundation may have pulled their broadcasts because of what I said about them but it was their decision to discontinue them. And their action was in response to one person (me) standing up on only one occasion saying "what a load of crap!".

Well, if a broadcaster has to dump his show after only one person says at only one time: "this is a load of crap!", we wouldn't have Rush Limbaugh on the air.

Apart from getting the kind of feedback a public statement will attract, the absurdity of one person bringing down a whole series of live broadcasts is a better joke than I could have ever made. They are on shaky ground just on that alone.

What is even shakier, is Rogers tries to say SRF does not control their broadcasts - I do. I didn't know I was their boss but since Rogers says I am: Robin, Angela, YOU'RE FIRED!

Anyway, he got the concept of "malice" totally wrong. When a law student read his letter, she said "this guy is not very good at all." I told her "unfortunately, he graduated from your law school."  She reached for a Tylenol.

In the context of the First Amendment, "malice" means the writer knew his statement was false or should have known it but wrote it anyway. And in context of the First Amendment, the actual term is "actual malice".

Jokes are not considered malicious.

Making a statement that someone finds embarrassing is not malicious.

Speaking your mind is not malicious.

The truth is not malicious.

All the above is malicious only in the mosquito-infested swampland of the SRF mentality.

The First Amendment does not protect "actual malice", it's true. But let's face it, even a first year law student knew the free speech exercised on this blog is anything but "actual malice".  I knew that through many years of college studying at the bar - Clancy's Bar on "L" Street. In fact, I'm late for class now - we're studying the effect of distilled spirits on, uh, well... All right, we're going to slam some Jagermeister, OK?

At any rate, this blog IS an expression of free speech. The only ones who think otherwise is the leadership of SRF.  Too bad for them, the Superior Court smacked them down as well.


Last Paragraph:

"You have ten days from the date of this letter to remove all references of my clients from your blogs and video posts. If you fail to do so, my clients have instructed me to assert all their legal remedies against you. The remedies sought will include injunctive relief, monetary damages, attorney fees, and punitive damages."

Obviously, I gave Rogers the finger while I assembled our secret weapon: a First Amendment attorney who was salivating at the chance to kick their ass.  A few days later, we received a badly photocopied pile of papers about the thickness of a slice of baloney, crudely stapled.

Their muddy complaint asked for damages at about $700,000.00. There was a single page printout of my blog - of a post that had nothing to do with their complaint. There was a single page printout of Joy's YouTube channel showing absolutely nothing related to their complaint. And a copy of his idiotic cease and desist letter.

They also wanted to determine the identity of the anonymous posters (how they would do that was unstated) and for what purpose was also unsaid.

Our response was a sledge hammer to the forehead: a Demurrer and Anti-SLAPP motion (which is called a Special Motion to Strike).

In support of those motions we clipped several articles in SRF's own American Spirit Newspaper, printed several pages of SRF's own website, reproduced several pages of news articles regarding SRF, added legal documents filed by SRF, included legal documents filed by persons with court cases involving SRF members, attached our own written declarations of our experiences with SRF - well, you get the idea.

Our motions and supporting information were almost four (4) inches thick. We didn't include a single slice of baloney.

Making unfounded, unsubstantiated legal claims only because someone said something you didn't like (or maybe didn't understand, in SRF's case) sounds very much like a reckless disregard for the rights of others and a disregard of common decency. Would you agree?

Our response, thanks to our brilliant and talented attorney, is intended to restore balance and affirm our rights by using the law as a shield, not a sword.

Judging from what happened lately, the SRF sword is getting mighty dull.


It's a planet for slow learners. And we are stuck with the slowest.


update: We won. They won't try to trample on your First Amendment rights any more.


New Update: they are trying to duck our demand to pay our legal fees. Not only will their argument not work, it can't possibly work. Film at eleven.

Even Newer Update:   We got a court order forcing them to pay our legal expenses.  As their tantrum cost them over $50,000.00, I would imagine they aren't going to pull a stunt like that again.