The press either isn't as interested as they were, or perhaps they don't have the inside scoop, because little has been mentioned lately about John Graziano, the victim and passenger of Nick Hogan.
But I recently learned that John has been moved to the Veteran's Hospital at Bay Pines (just outside of St. Pete Beach), and has undergone surgery to cover up the massive hole in his forehead which was left behind after the horrific accident caused by Nick Hogan's careless driving.
John is still in a vegetative state. However, when the surgeons were doing the reconstruction, they found to their surprise that John had more left of his frontal lobe than was previously suspected.
John will go home to his parents' home in October. At this point, no one knows what, if anything, he will regain of his mental facilities. The family remains hopeful due to this most recent discovery.
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Don't the Hogans live in the same cesspool that has been bought and paid for by the CULT of L. Ron Hubbard?
Lazy, Not exactly. The Scientologists and Hogans live in Clearwater, but it isn't Clearwater's fault.
Up through the early 70s, Clearwater was a beautiful town with pristine sugar-sand beaches. It was a retirement community for the most part, and very peaceful.
Because of this, the Scientologists felt that downtown Clearwater was prime pickings in the real estate market, and they've snatched up a lot of property because of this.
With the onset of the Scientologists, downtown Clearwater grew. And became a name on the map.
However, why the Hogans came, I don't really know. They're not Scientologists, and for the most part, few celebrities come here unless they are.
But the majority of Clearwater is NOT Scientologist or Hogan family, and that's the way they like it.
But the cult owns the town. I watched a you tube video where the city police told a man with a video camera he could not walk down a public street, because the cult was using it for a "private party".
Public street.....paid for with tax money.....cant use it because a cult is having a private party.....
Seems a bit odd, don't you think?
Lazy, the cult doesn't own the town, by far. However, they ARE insidiously permeating city politics, etc.
As for the incident w/ the police, that would happen with any church/religious group. Note that I think the Scientologists aren't entitled to church status, but the IRS caved in a long time ago, and here we are.
On Sundays, cops are always impeding traffic for churches. I don't see a difference (unless I misunderstand something).
The vast majority of Clearwater isn't Scientologist. Trust me, I know.
Police control traffic for churches here too.
But what they do not do is tell me "you can not drive on this public road" or "you can not walk down this public sidewalk".
I can drive on any public road I wish, and walk on any public sidewalk. I might have to contend with traffic delays, but I can still do it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPol_m8wm8Y
craaaaaazy people. There are crazy people in Miami too, but Clearwater takes the cake. By far. Miami may have more crazy people by numbers, but Clearwater's crazy population is by far more more insane.
Anyhow my point in all this somehow ties into the Hogans, and how they seem to be getting away with it. Maybe they have the cult on their side?
Lazy, Ok, that is a weird video. Very freaky and I don't know of the incident and never heard of it.
But it goes to show how unhealthy the Scientologists are. Wow are they ... creeeeeepy.
However, from what I can see, they got a street permit to use the street as a private venue. Other organizations can do the same thing, I assume, so the cop was merely enforcing the law, not the Scientologists.
Incidentally, when I was a teenager here, one of my friends coined the term 'Sciencommunists'. It's a good one, isn't it?
OH, but back to your saying the Hogans are tied in w/ the Scientologists: They're really not. This is a big enough area that it's able to produce kooks that aren't Scientologists.
Crazy people in cults scare the crap out of me. But I suppose as long as they only tie purple plastic bags over their own head then I can deal with it. Oh yea and you have to wear Nike shoes. The aliens behind the comet will only let you on the great Space Coaster if you wear the right shoes! It is like a secret handshake, only on your feet. Or something.
They have street festivals here too. Calle Ocho is the largest. But the cops do not say "If you are not a Cuban you can not be here". There are also street art festivals and what not, usually in the winter.
But since they use public streets, they can not be "private" events. The cops can only kick you out if you are drunk or are otherwise making an ass out of yourself.
The guy with the camera should have gone to a spy shop and got a hat cam.
Lazy, Agreed all the way around.
Those Scientologists confronting the reporter were really out there, weren't they? They're like the geeks that drooled on themselves in high school and dress in full regalia at Star Trek conventions...
The guy was not exactly a "reporter". He was just a critic of the cult. So the cult sent cultists to picket his home. Thats what they do. The go to your neighborhood with signs saying "this person is a religious bigot".
Then they go door to door, putting fliers with your photo saying that you are a religious bigot in everyone's mailbox. They also put the fliers up on utility line poles and stuff.
So the guy went to the street party with the camera (the cult seems to really hate cameras - probably because they know that the crazy shit the followers say will make it to the internet).
The "what are your crimes" part is interesting because that is how the cult controls people. To get the alien spirits out of your body (and become immune to the effects of all drugs - what kind of fun is that???) you have to clear yourself of all crimes. They keep whatever you say in a file, ready to use against you.
And in the cult, bring critical of the cult is in itself a crime.
And L Ron was a criminal. He was indicted on charges in the USA. This is when he had the cult buy a cruise ship which he lived on - out of the USA. To this day the cult boat is not allowed in any US port. It is on the USCG watch list and would be boarded and inspected if it ever enters US waters.
The group is actually very dangerous. Why they are allowed to exist in the open is a mystery.
http://www.xenu.net/
This is a great site for all sorts of good stuff, including stuff in L Ron's own handwriting. Also on this site are copyrighted "church" materials smuggled out by former members. There are audio recordings of L Ron and secret books / documents that you would normally have to pay a whole lot of money to obtain.
The next link is just a bunch of good stuff. Funny stuff. And a lot more.
http://www.scientomogy.com/
By the way, Narcon (Narcotics Anonymous) is a scientology front group. So if you run into any addicts DO NOT send them there. They will be better off as drug addicts than cultists.
Oh yea, and this.
www.scientomogy.com/stopscientology/
How the clowns are allowed to operate is beyond me.
Lazy may know more about this than I, but I always assumed that the cult started by Valentine Smith in Robert Heinlein's "Stranger In A Strange Land" was pretty much how the Scientologist's hierarchy was set up (I base this on what I've heard of the structure, plus the story that Scientology was the result of a bet between Heinlein and L. Ron Hubbard)
Got me there. I do not know what the cult is based on really.
I do know L Ron tried to make it as a science fiction writer - using not much science and a whole lot of fiction. But he could not sell books, because they sucked.
The whole evil Xenu story, which is supposed to be the biggest secret in the cult, only revealed to members when they obtain super powers (ability to fly, ability to move objects using only the power of the mind, ability to make a car run without a distributor cap, and so on), sounds like REALLY REALLY BAD science fiction.
By the way, the scientomogy links contain a smuggled audio recording of L Ron talking about how he visited the Van Allen Belt (area between the Earth and Moon) and how space is really not cold, it is hot. Due to all the sunlight up there. Oh yea and gamma rays can not penetrate the human body. And all kinds of other good stuff.
But by the time you are allowed to listen to these "advanced" recordings by the cult, you are in so deep that you have either killed yourself for being such an idiot to pay them all that money OR you have somehow convinced yourself that it has to be true - because you have given them all that money.
If they gave new members all this stuff up front nobody would be in it.
Daveawayfromhome is correct to a point. There IS a recorded declaration by L Ron that creating a religion is much more economically rewarding than writing a book.
Lazy, you wrote The group is actually very dangerous. Why they are allowed to exist in the open is a mystery.
It's not a mystery. They paid off and threatened enough high-level people to get it done. And, to some extent, they still do, although they've found that good PR and sugar coating go much farther than threats. So, they're much more socially acceptable than they were in the 70s/80s.
I've known many Scientologists locally (business acquaintances - as they're very active in the business/political arena) and have never had one problem with any of them. However, they had no reason to attempt to make my life miserable. I don't doubt for a minute that things would change rapidly if they were given any reason. But until they throw the first punch, we're OK.
If I were in a government position and some cult gave me shit, it would be on. The full wrath of the FBI and Secret Service would be on them with a quickness. Threaten me? Maybe you need to speak to Special Agent Bob. He can show you to the nearest federal prison where you can hang out for a few years.
Today I would attempt to use the powers of DHS to investigate the cult as a potential source of domestic terrorists.
I would also pressure the IRS to define a religion as a group based in belief without any basis in science that does not copyright any "religious materials or documents".
Is the Bible copyrighted? No, anyone can use it. Anyone can print it. Is the Torah copyrighted? No. How about the Talmud? Nope. Koran? Nope, not copyrighted.
But the government has no balls. And the real religions would bitch and cry over this proposal. So it will never happen, and Clearwater will remain a center for crazy cultists.
Lazy, It is actually very interesting to see how the Scientologists behaved when they first arrived in Florida, and how they behave today. I would love to see a sociological study on it.
Essentially they tried threats, physical attacks, breaking and entering, blackmail, and more. They tried it in the 70s with Mayor Gabe Cazares (and other public officials at that time), and it didn't work out well for them ultimately. But they put these people through a lot of hell.
Ultimately, it tarnished their reputation more than it helped it, so they hired some excellent PR people and have attempted to remake their image over the last 15 years or so. They've seen some success from it.
Current PR attempts include regular parties and banquets that all the movers and shakers are invited to (and most all attend), an elaborate Christmas display, charities and charitable pitches, etc.
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