Radio Air America heard in 84 states Mel Sembler: the Democrat's secret weapon Listen to 12-03-05 interview with John Gorenfeld revealing "the sordid sadistic history of Bush crony Melvin Sembler, aka Ambassador de Sade." AUDIO contact co-hosts attorneys Bob & Pap

11-26-05 Lawyer Exposed 'Bush Boys' Corruption -- Now Faces Jail Fintan Dunne's interview with Florida attorney Mark Adams on Break for News audio high speed audio dial up discussion

11-28-05 Sembler and Straight came up again last night on Radio Inside Scoop blog

update: 11-28-05 Jeb Bush ends 30 years of separation of the judicial from the executive branch by Wes Fager blog

update: 11-28-05 Jeb Bush selects Pinellas judges: merit or Republican politics? by Wes Fager blog

11-28-05 Jeb Bush's judicial appointments to date link

11-28-05 Jeb Bush's pending appointments of judges link

11-27-05 Judges Bill Overton and Amy Williams, Bernie McCabe and Anne Borghetti's DUI: the ole' Royal Court's double standard If you want to know about double standards in a court system, read about Judge Williams' former campaign manager's DUI. 6th Circuit

11-28-05 Florida Bar to Investigate Complaints of Improper Questioning of Judicial Applicants link

11-28-05 People for the American Way: Ordering the Courts--Right Wing Attacks on Judicial Independence in Florida in 2000 link

11-28-05 We are not alone We just discovered there are others tracking the political scene in the Sunshine State:

Florida Politics Blog
Florida Politics Web
Florida Politics Discussion
Saint Petersblog

11-28-05 TBRNews: The Corruption Corner Bill Frist, Tom DeLay, Rick Santorum, Grover Norquist, David Safavian, Jack Abramoff and the K Street project--articles by John Byrne and by Matthew Continetti. link

11-28-05 Judge Greer and the Schiavo justices link

11-26-05 British historian to face charges in Austria for denying the Holocaust link

11-26-05 Adult TV cartoon South Park explains the core beliefs of Scientology™ South Park is a cartoon, but this message is right on the money. If you don't know what Scientologists believe, just listen. turn audio on

11-28-05 In Fla., it's Jeb's judiciary by Martin Dyckman, SPT spt

11-26-05 Tom Crusie Kills Oprah using his super Scientology™ powers turn audio on

11-24-05 Letters to the editor I attend J.E.B. Stuart High School and until recently I was not a fan of Riddile. This past year however my views have changed slightly upon actually talking to the guy . . . letters

11-25-05 Sixth Circuit's Charles W. Cope link

11-25-05 Chief Judge Scheaffer addresses the Tiger Bay Club link

11-22-05 Behavior Modification Money Trail, The New Standard by Michelle Chen. This is a significant article. Twelve years ago Straight, Inc. was the biggest, most controversial teen rehab chain in the world. But ever since it was closed, WWASPS has taken on that dubious distinction. Now an independent paper has started looking at the money trail, the Republican Party and the similarities in these two treatment programs and the men behind them. Mel Sembler may have met with mixed success in being remembered in stone, but his grandchildren will surely read about him in print. link

11-26-05 Humiliation remembered project nospank

11-24-05 Sembler wants to build a Walgreens in Safety Harbor, Fl. but that old transportation harbinger surfaces once again story

11-24-05 Another Sembler proposed $100,000 million open air shopping mall--this one in Henry County Georgia link

11-24-05 Sembler Companies in Georgia link

11-24-05 Sembler CEO says that a few $500 contributions is not buying a Florida election--but two were from their Georgia Corporation(s) Earlier this month Sembler CEO Craig Sher defended $500 contributions to local elections from Sembler Companies and family members as not being influential. When we found that a couple of $500 gifts were actually 46 donations and these were only the tip of an iceberg we strongly disagreed in this report tampaindymedia version (blog version). Now we've noticed that two of the gifts were from Sembler Georgia companies. On June 29 SEMBLER ATLANTA DE VI, LLC and SEMBLER ATLANTA, INC. each gave $500 to Charlie Crist's campaign for governor.

11-24-05 Sembler projects under development link

11-24-05 Gay night life being squeezed in Atlanta link

11-24-05 Semblers brought up in discussion forum after 13 year old boy killed during restraint in a state sponsored therapeutic community in Georgia link

11-23-05 At Some Youth ‘Treatment’ Facilities, ‘Tough Love’ Takes Brutal Forms, The New Standard by Michelle Chen story

11-22-05 What killed Jesus Christ? an article on Senator Durbin, Ambassador Sembler and torture by Wes Fager link

11-23-05 Drug Free America Foundation Endorses House 'Medical' Marijuana Bill US newswire

11-23-05 Radley Balko read Ambassador de Sade and had a few choice words for Mel link

11-23-05 These Senators had buildings named for themselves at the appropriations conference they oversaw, but a savvy House laughed them down Matt Drudge

11-23-05 THE TRUTH ABOUT STRAIGHT, INC & TEEN CHALLENGE by Charles C. link

11-22-05 Ex-DeLay aide pleads guilty to bribery charge link

11-21-05 Ambassador Sembler comes to the rescue of Vice President for Torture The Chicago Tribune and the AP report that former ambassador to Italy M. Floyd "Buddy" Sembler, AO is among top GOPs who have pledged to raise $250,000 each for the legal defense fund of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. con't

11-17-05 William Earnshaw of ISAC fires a broadside at Straight's former national director Mel Riddile in today's Washington Post (p. VA 10). WP contact reporter Jay Mathews

11-17-05 Earnshaw (ISAC) plugs Straight story in Post last year too WP

11-17-05 News Is Busting Out All Over Former Straightling, now artist, Elizabeth Huey Journal Review

update 11-16-05 Straight, Dr. DuPont and starving kids with peanut butter Many readers know that Straight starved kids by giving them peanut butter choker sandwiches. But less known is that they sent their hired gun former Drug Czar Dr. Robert DuPont (the man who administered the contract to The Seed) around the country to declare in court proceedings that peanut butter was a staple in his own diet! This is a must read. blog

11-03-05 Father Cassian's Nov. 1, 2005 hearing postponed until Nov. 8 at 0900

11-17-05 Radley Balko saw the Kids video and he's concerned link

11-15-05 DFAF Advisory Board member and Chairman of the Board of Operation PAR (Betty Sembler's latest drug rehab) models for Scientology™ Last year Pinellas County Commissioner (Republican) Susan Latvala (whose husband Jack is the former director of the Florida state Republican Party) said, We'll have Clearwater Beach, Scientology City and Countryside." (SPT 7-18-04) Next day she sported a hot pink party dress and a feather boa for a Scientology™ charity. SPT 7-19-04 (with photo of Latvala in party dress) ..and Clearwater VIA

11-12-05 Ambassador de Sade, an Alternet story on Mel Sembler. Who will tell the Tribune? tampaindy

11-13-05 Dick's man in Rome Read Jesus' General's comments on Ambassador de Sade by Gorenfeld link

reprint 11-14-05 Sembler receives Tampa Bay Sour Orange Award for buying his ambassadorship the award... the sales' receipts11-15-05 DFAF's Susan Latvala sure is chummy with them clams link1 link2 link3 link4

11-15-05 DFAF Advisory Board member Daryl Rousson receives TRIBUTE TO AFRICAN AMERICAN ACHIEVEMENT — COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD from Ebony Awakening (a Scientology group™) link

11-15-05 Republicans lending respectability to the Church of Scientology™ link

11-08-05 The Bushes knew of Straight's abuses but continued to take Sembler's money and to praise him story

11-04-05 Warning!!! Don't drive while intoxicated. The story of Jacqueline, a truly tragic tale X Winos on Motrocycles

updated 11-13-05 The Conspiracy Theory: Was Straight some sort of Richard Nixon, CIA-NIH mind-control experiment gone awry?

10-26-05 The Italian Connection: What does Ambassador Sembler, AO know about the CIA leak? link1 link2

11-09-05 The Niger Uranium Deception and the "Plame Affair" by Gary Leupp. Ambassador Sembler's name continues to pop up.link

11-09-05 Straight, Inc. abused Karen Norton. Now it appears they defrauded her of hundreds of thousands of dollars as well. story

reprint 11-16-05 Florida's Supreme Court strikes down statue of limitations, allows abuse law suit 20 years later link

reprint 11-16-05 RICO and institutional child abuse link

11-13-05 Sembler's neighbor to handle legislation for gambling despite a gambling junket paid by the industry Florida Senate President Tom Lee said Wednesday he will let [Mel Sembler's neighbor] Sen. Dennis Jones, (R-Treasure Island), who was the beneficiary of a $48,000 gambling industry junket to Canada, handle legislation that will authorize slot machines in Broward County. [Florida's Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, (R-Orlando) is past president of Florida's Senate and is a member of Straight's Advisory Board (under its latest name--Drug Free America Foundation. H. Lee Moffitt, past speaker of Florida's House of Representatives is another DFAF Advisory Board member.] link

11-09-05 A strange alliance: two Christian churches buddy up with the Church of Scientology™ The Scientology cross is essentially a Christian cross with an X through it, prompting many church critics to suggest that Hubbard is crossing out Christianity. link

11-07-05 reprint Excerpt from video deposition of Miller Newton from the Lulu Corter trial video

11-04-05 HEAL reports on Bush's ties to the teen help industry link

Operation PAR: Betty Sembler's latest foray into the drug treatment market PAR

10-30-05 The Sembler's Drug Free America Foundation (formerly Straight, Inc.), America's foremost conservative think tank on drug policy, founded in deceit link

9-21-05 The Florida Holocaust Museum's 2006 Awards Banquest to be protested We have been informed that due to its ties to Straight officials, the museum's annual awards banquest will be protested again in 2006. Read our write-up on why protest the banquet here.

10-1-05 For the first time EVER, a Straight cofounder has been compelled to answer questions about Straight in a court of law. Betty Sembler's first deposition for PumpGate now on-line link

Lawsuits against WWASPS link

What hath Mel and Betty Wrought: the destruction of Shanna, a Texas girl by Shanna story

President Carter says no to Straight High Beam states that according to a report in University Wire, the newspaper for the Uni. of Central Florida, Mel and Betty Sembler once approached President Jimmy Carter for an endorsement of Straight. Carter said no because "the treatment shouldn't be worse than the drug." Sembler used to be a Democrat. Perhaps he turned Republican when Ronald Reagan agreed to endorse what Carter apparently would not. link

It has either been moved to an appropriate blog or to archieves. In mid July 2005 we started placing older articles into our archieves blog. Prior to that, older articles were placed in our archieves web pages, page 1 and page 2.

featuring Karl Rove as Porky Pig Src: www.toostupidtobepresident.com

It all started in California in 1958 at Synanon which declared itself to be a church in the 1970s. Women (like those in the photo) shaved their heads, men were "gamed" into sterilizations, women into having abortions. Wives were auctioned off, sometimes on a weekly basis--thus a woman might have several different husbands in a month. There were mixed, community naked weigh-ins and beatings.

Professor Richard Ofshe at Berkeley (who co-authored with Dave and Cathy Mitchell a Pulitzer prize wining book on Synanon and was used, along with Margaret Thaler Singer, as an expert witness to close Straight - Cincinnati) once published a paper called "Synanon: the failure that started a tradition." And indeed it had. Church founder Chuck Dederich called his method synanons (or The Game) of letting addicts assist in their own recovery by having brutal, verbal shouting matches.

The treatment industry likes the idea because (among other reasons) payrolls are low because medical doctors are not needed and addicts themselves are unpaid counselors treating themselves as well as other clients!--so almost anyone can open one. However they prefer to call themselves the more euphemistic therapeutic community. But even the Therapeutic Communities of America rejected Straight.

For our write-up on this bizarre church that once sued Time Magazine for $76 million for calling it a Kooky Cult, go here.