Well thank goodness for that. It must be perfectly fine then, I suppose. Nevada Republican Senate candidate, Sharron Angle supported a prison anti-drug program that raised some controversy due to its ties to Scientology. Angle, in an interview, replied (italics mine):
Seeking to "clear the record," Angle told us "I am not even sure that the Church of Scientology fits into it at all. You have to make some quantum leaps here."
She noted "the program itself is a multifaceted program, and it had two protocols: one in the area of withdrawals, and it was a natural withdrawal system. As s you know, that can have some severe physical side effects and the cramping that was involved there required that other people be taught how to relieve the cramping. So that is where it said that people were being massaged."
"The second protocol was what they called the 'disintoxification,' which was actually sweating the drug out of one's system so that there were no longer any cravings for the drug. This is a very intense potassium, calcium, vitamin, mineral regimen, with a hot rock sauna that sweats the toxins out. Those two protocols were developed by [the late Church of Scientology founder] L. Ron Hubbard, and they had to give him credit. But it is not Scientology, but rather natural homeopathic medicine."
At No More Mister Nice Blog, Steve M. quips:
Oh. So, it's, um, not linked to Scientology, but it was devised by the guy who founded Scientology. And it's homeopathic! That's good, right? The Framers were homeopathic, weren't they?
I realize that "Republican/movement conservative opens mouth, and crazy shit falls out" really isn't news, but there are two serious points to be made here.
First, when a significant fraction of our representative bodies are batshit lunatic, it makes conservatives and the Fiscal Austerity nutters looks sane by comparison--this is not helping.
Second, I suspect the real reason Angle is worried about this revelation is that her theopolitically fundamentalist base does not like Scientology. At all. Christian fundamentalists do not want to vote for a Scientologist--to them, that's probably as bad as voting for an atheist (AAIIIEEE!!!). If this continues to get play, this could cost her votes among the base.
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Also: she says "it's homeopathic" as though that's supposed to somehow be *better*. "It's anti-science" A is somehow better than "it's anti-science" B?
somehow, an intense potassium, calcium, vitamin, mineral regime doesn't sound very homeopathic either. She doesn't even know her woo from the poo.
Forcing people into a hot rock sauna, or a mystical sweat lodge, is, for one, practicing medicine without a license, and could result in manslaughter, both of which are criminal acts.
I'm just saying.
#3: James Arthur Ray reference?
(For those who don't remember, he was arrested Feb 3rd after the deaths of two and hospitalization of 19 after a 2-hour long sweat-lodge session as part of his Spiritual Warrior retreat.)
#2 somehow, an intense potassium, calcium, vitamin, mineral regime doesn't sound very homeopathic either.
Maybe they just wave the empty bottles around.
Scientology, and its programs Criminon, Narconon, and Second Chance, all use L Ron Hubbard's Purification Rundown. Angle's obfuscation on this issue is confusing; if she just said "It was an error in judgment" and moved on, the issue would fade away. But her defenses of the program make her sound like she's taking a page straight from the L Ron handbook.
More: Angling for Scientology
There is no question about it I hope some Democrats who ridicule and target Angle's defense of the purif are aware enough to ask how different this idiocy is from some of their own stances on woo.
Ah dang, premature post. The words "There is no question about it" are an edit error and should be disregarded.
Continuing on, if Angle didn't know Second Chance was a Scientology program, and a bad idea, when she supported it in 2003 (which I find unlikely), then she surely would know by now, after the debacle with Second Chance New Mexico, 2009
News report of Second Chance skipping town (3 min) I'm sure Repubs would find this delightful.
"You have to make some quantum leaps here."
Actually, quantum leaps are rather small. So small that they are invisible to naked eye.