ARCHIEVES

archieves 1-11-05 to 1-22-05

2006-10-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

7-22-06 South Park's spoof on Scientology pulled from air. "Trapped in the Closet", a South Park spoof on Scientoloy first aired in November 2006, was scheduled to be re-run this past Wednesday, but was pulled form the schedule at the last minute. The segment is the best true overview of this controversial religion and can be seen here. story

5-16-06 Have the Sembler's violated medical privacy? Well Mel Sembler is suing his former employee Ray Bradbury for violating his privacy. In the process has Sembler used medical privacy records obtained from Straight against Mr. Bradbury? And if so how many other former clients are the Semblers holding medical data on? story

1-24-06 Maia Szalavitz article on "Tough Love" makes front page of Sunday's Washington Post story

1-23-05 WWASPS: No More Nightmares at Tranquility Bay? by John Gorenfeld Gorenfeld shed's light on the controversial WWASPS programs and gives hints of what is in Maia Szalavitz's new book Help at any Cost link

1-22-05 MELVINSEMBLER DOT COM--a new link to THESTRAIGHTS DOT COM The link, MelvinSembler.com points to theStraights.com. It should not be mistaken with Shelby Earnshaw ' s excellent web page on Sembler's misdeeds at MelSembler.com. Of course Mel Sembler's own web page remains at Sembler.com

1-22-05 When Love Is Not Enough A new book reinvents Mel Sembler's idea to alarm kids in bedrooms link

2-18-06 George Bush and his "buddy" Mel Sembler Jeb Bush calls Betty Sembler "Mrs. Ambassadorable." Now brother George calls her hubby Melvin "Buddy" Sembler "buddy." link

1-22-05 Underground network moves children from home to home link

1-20-05 WWASPS: Growing number of Internet discussion forums talk about the Republican-backed WWASPS behavioral modification program story

1-18-05 Update your links to include Fight Institutional Child Abuse link

1-17-05 Winter Garden, Fl: Sembler has come up with $9 M to widen State Road 50. Now its up to the local citizens to find $23M and the rest of Florida to front $23 M story

1-17-05 Kirstie Alley says, 'Scientology Couldn't Help Me Lose Weight' story

1-17-05 WWASPS: Robert Lichfield and political contributions to Republicans link

1-13-05 WWASPS:Academy at Ivy Ridge announces it has withdrawn from WWASPS press release

1-13-05 Winter Garden, Fl.: Pollution and the cost of doing business with Mel Sembler. link

1-11-05 Environmentalists go after Sembler plan to fill a stream and wetlands in Canton, Ga. Environmental groups are challenging Sembler's plan to fill in a mile stretch of stream and a half acre of wetlands so it can build a shopping center. Environmentalists say the Cherokee darter is an endangered fish that would be threatened by Sembler's proposal. STORY

1-11-05 PumpGate: Court denies Sembler's request to retain Judge Rondolino as trial judge On Dec. 30, Sembler's attorneys filed a motion to retain Judge Rondolino as the trial judge for PumpGate. On Jan. 9, 2006 the court denied the request.

Archieves 11-28-05 - 12-29-05 and 1-5-05 to 1-7-05

2006-10-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

1-7-05 Sembler bails from Centro Ybor STORY

1-6-05 Dead: James T. Russell, former states attorney for Pinellas County, Florida. He just could not believe Straight was abusing kids so he gave the Semblers the protection from law enforcement they needed to work their handicraft STORY

1-5-05 Think Progress - Abramoff: The House That Jack Built A must read summary on who's in Abramoff's pockets LINK

1-5-05 Lobbyist Melvin Sembler: update on national influence buying First of all let's call a spade a spade. Melvin Sembler is not, foremost, a political fundraiser. He is one of the most successful lobbyist of our time who raises money for the Republican Party as part of that lobbying effort. Continued

1-5-05 GOP Scandal Scorecard by Wayne Madsen LINK

reprint from 11-13-05 Sembler's neighbor to handle legislation for gambling despite a gambling junket paid by the industry STORY

1-5-05 Florida Congressman Mike Bilirakis took 11 fact finding trips to Las Vegas--all perfectly legal, of course LINK

1-5-05 US Rep. from Florida Tom Feeney accepts junket from Abramoff When Jeb Bush ran unsuccessfully the first time Betty Sembler was his finance cochair and Tom Feeney was his running mate. Later Feeney received a contribution from Abramoff and took a Scotland vacation on Abramoff.

1-5-05 What does Mel Sembler know about all this? Jack Abramoff has been donating money to the Republicans since at least 1994 when he donated $1,000 to Oliver North's campaign. From 1997 to 2000 Mel Sembler was Finance Chairman for the Republican National Committee. What does he know, if anything, of Abramoff's machinations? CONTINUED

1-5--05 Fired Up America: GOP Culture of Corruption LINK

reprint from 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

12-27-05 Former Sembler gossip columnist joins 6th Circuit Grievance Committee by Wes Fager. For 15 years The St. Pete Times was the world's foremost authority on Straight's abuse. So why is the new Tash Times the world's biggest promoter of Straight's founders? Read about the Times' gossip columnists. story Related article: story

12-06-05 Straight founder Mel Sembler lobbies Republican commissioners and wins another rezoning request--this one in Seminole Our STORY perm link ....RELATED STORIES: Sembler has a history of getting elected officials to vote his way against the advice of their own staffs Our STORY Sembler contributions to local elected officials Our STORY

12-29-05 Even the German's are talking about Mel and Betty link

12-28-05 Rev. Doctor L. Ron Hubbard discovers cure for the common cold link

12-27-05 Fight Institutional Child Abuse features Sembler and the abuses of Straight link

12-23-05 Add spammer Charlie Crist to your black list In 2004 Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist pushed for new legislation to let him prosecute companies that send "unsolicited and deceitful commercial e-mail." Now he's sending "elect me for governor" spam himself. story

updated 12-24-05 Mel Sembler is one big hypocrite--Sembler's op-ed on human rights by Wes Fager story permalink

Mel Sembler is not the only guardian of human rights with an anti-drug message in Pinellas County, Florida. The Scientologists are just as concerned. link

12-23-05 The Little Yellow House deal: Church member sells home and "donates" half a million dollars to cover future Scientology™ courses to last her a life-time story

12-23-05 Lawmaker seeks probe of teen boot camps to root out possible fraud, abuse SLT

12-22-05 Tampa's Centro Ybor: Sembler's gigantic $41.6 million folly makes it to MSNBC (includes the trolly deal) folly

Archieved articles 12-2-05 thru 12-19-05

2006-10-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

12-17-05 Todd's story (Straight Sarasota 81 - 82) by Todd story

12-19-05 CANNONFIRE: Republican Child Abusers by Joseph Cannon STORY

12-19-05 WWASPS giving heavily to them Republicans STORY

12-19-05 Abuse at Straight Springfield LINK

12-14-05 The joke of the year. Mel Sembler tries to stall his trial by going to Israel for the Passover. Our STORY

12-17-05 Rigorous Intuition Board having a lively, knowledgeable discussion on Sembler and Straight LINK

12-17-05 Uhurus say Sembler partner Daryl Rousson sold out the black community LINK

12-16-05 It hasn't gone unnoticed by Joshua Marshall and Justin Raimondo that the man raising money for Libby is the man who was in charge of the Italian Embassy when the forged uranium documents showed up there STORY [Mel Sembler has spent his entire adult life trying to be recognized publicly. We think it is a just matter of time before these guys learn who he really is.]

12-16-05 Exclusive - Florida Bar Raises First Amendment Issue In Tampa Attorney Case STORY

12-14-05 Wikipedia, the Internet's free encyclopedia, adds Melvin Sembler and his Straight program wikipedia sembler straight

Representative George Miller (D-Ca.) Introduces Legislation to Curb Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs link

12-10-05 Parent Advocate has a problem with Straight's former national executive director, Mel Riddile, receiving high school principal of the year award. PA is an independent watchdog on public policies and schools in the United States.LINK

12-03-05 Deputy mayor of Paris leads protest against Scientology™ while Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala models a hot pink party dress (with feather boa) for them. Dep Mayor Anne Hidalgo Commissioner Susan Latvala

12-10-05 Seventh Steppers renounce their Straight graduation status in droves Our STORY

updated 12-02-05 Sembler Company CEO Craig Sher doesn't think $500 contributions from Mel Sembler and gang can influence politicians. We disagree. The blog version only has been updated.blog version tampaindymedia version

updated 12-02-05 Update on Sembler political contributions buy

Archieved articles 11-14-05 through 12-19-05

2005-12-28T09:51:00.000-08:00

update 11/14/05George Bush's chINAgate Straight founder Ambassador Melvin Sembler and his hometown Congressman C.W. "Bill" Young scheme to get US taxpayers to buy a $113 million monument in Rome and name it after themselves When Al Kamen and The Washington Post first broke the story of the $83 million Mel Sembler / Congressman Bill Young monument to themselves, he only covered half the scheme. He missed $30 million to modernize their memorial; $50 million to replace the causeway out to the Florida island Mel lives on; $3 million to build a research center for Ms. Sembler's latest drug rehab venture; and $10 million for a skeptical Italian project for an AIDS vaccine. The Post gave both Sembler and Young its Narcissism Run Amok Award for 2005 tampaindy dcindy italyindy who's covering the story Wash Post expose

11-16-05 Sembler's failed first attempt to get a monument erected to himself In 1991 while he was ambassador to Australia, a proposal was made to the St. Petersburg, Fl. Chamber of Commerce to build a stone monument to Mel Sembler's Greatness. The bill was submitted by a business partner of Straight's attorney. But the proposal was voted down when the local paper editorialized, what would the monument be Two hands majestically reaching out for hundred-dollar bills? our story

11-16-05 Sembler may have been foiled a second time to get a St. Pete monument to His Greatness, but Craig Sher's last dinner with the Chamber of Commerce was clearly a Sembler show? our story

Darlene Love's Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) with Paul Shaffer last night on David Letterman VIDEO

12-19-05 Wayne Allen Root's Millionaire Republican link

12-16-05 Blast from the past: The firing of Big Ray Blanton for selling pardons and the woman who stood up to him Jewish World Review

12-15-05 Dick Cheney's Last Throes by Ray McGovern, AlterNet. Cheney, whose unbridled chutzpah has led him to take credit for being the intellectual author of U.S. policy on torture, has become such a glaring liability that his tenure may be short-lived. STORY

12-15-05 The End of Democracy in Ohio? by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, Free Press New legislation passed by Ohio Republicans may just institutionalize those famous "voting irregularities." STORY

12-13-05 Reverend Doctor Miller Newton has another friend besides Betty Sembler Our STORY.

12-10-05 Deadly institutional restraint claims its 20th victim in Texas. A staffer at Star Ranch in Travis County, Texas smothered to death 12 year old Christening "Mikie" Garcia while allegedly restraing the troubled child in an effort to keep him from hurting himself. STORY

12-10-05 Suicidal Former Straight client Bradley Martin remains on death row in Pennsylvania, but the judge has granted a new sentencing hearing. He cited the abuse Martin sustained at Straight as a mitigating circumstance in the murder he later committed. Ray Bradbury and Wes Fager are working with Mr. Martin's legal appeals team. Bradley Martin is not the only former Straight client with major issues. Read this recent posting on Fornits (a Straight Survivors' discussion forum). LINK

12-02-05 Buzz: The St. Pete Times has a blog blog

11-30-05 This story is a heartbreaker There is a divorced man in California who picks up his four year old daughter for visitation. Whenver he does he claims she is covered in brusies. con't

12-03-05 Newsweek puts focus on LDS church founder The cover story of Newsweek magazines that hit newsstands Monday [Oct 10] focuses on the 200th birthday of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith, who the magazine refers to as "prophet and polygamist, mesmerizer and rabble-rouser, saint and sinner." deseret news

11-16-05 Sembler's failed first attempt to get a monument erected to himself In 1991 while he was ambassador to Australia, a proposal was made to the St. Petersburg, Fl. Chamber of Commerce to build a stone monument to Mel Sembler's Greatness. The bill was submitted by a business partner of Straight's attorney. But the proposal was voted down when the local paper editorialized, what would the monument be Two hands majestically reaching out for hundred-dollar bills? our story

11-16-05 Sembler may have been foiled a second time to get a St. Pete monument to His Greatness, but Craig Sher's last dinner with the Chamber of Commerce was clearly a Sembler show? our story

12-02-05 Farkas says he will answer Senate inquiry on Canadian gambling junket See Times Also see related article on Sembler's neighbor state Senator Dennis Jones.

12-02-05 Polk County circuit judge reprimanded by Florida's Supreme Court link

11-29-05 Tampa Bay business leaders Lee Arnold, Jr., Judy Genshaft and Mel Sembler among organizers of Tampa Bay's $100 million American Comerce Bank link

Pinellas Commissioners to vote today (Dec 6) on Sembler zoning request for Seminole. We want to set the record straight.

2005-12-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

update: 12-06-05:0330 Sembler Company has requested that a parcel of land in Seminole, Fl. be rezoned from industrial to commercial. The staff for the Pinellas Planning Council recommended no, but the elected commissioners ignored its own staff and voted yes. The next step is for the Board of County Commissioners to vote. Problem is its staff has also recommended no. Will the county commissioners ignore their own staff too? We have conducted a study which shows that Sembler Company has a history of getting its way with county commissioners even though their own staffs recommend against Sembler.

The Seminole vote occurs tomorrow morning Dec 6, 2005. Due to the short lead on this story, for the second time in our history we have published a draft report. Major updates will be made to this report over the next few days. If you can make it to the hearing tomorrow to express your views, please do. Sorry for the short notice.

Tues. Dec 6, 0900
5th floor Assembly Room
County Courthouse
315 Court Street
Clearwater. Latest update is to part 2.

Watch proceeding live 12/06:0930 video. Here's the agenda. Local Pinellas County users can watch the proceedings live on Channel 18 on both Bright House and Knology Cable systems. See Ch 18's calendar for rerun times.

Links to our study:

Our study part1
Our study part2

Archieve 11-23-05

2005-11-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

11-18-05 Call for Straight and 2nd Gen. Straight Insurance policies If you have a copy of an insurance policy from any year from any of these programs, we would like a copy. If you or your parents sued then they or their attorney should have a copy. Contact us for mailing instructions at us@thestraights.com.

update 11-17-05:1200 Straight's Joy Margolis reporting: A 12 year-old girl was raped at Oasis the day after Hurricane Wilma hit Southwest Florida Oasis is youth shelter run by Lutheran Services of Florida. "They didn't provide the appropriate direct care," stated Lutheran's spokesperson (and former Straight spokesperson) the ever beautiful Joy Margolis. You might recall Ms. Margolis' memorable statement about a 2000 incident in another Lutheran run youth home--Lippman Family Center in Broward County, Florida. A kid hung himself and staff came in took six Polaroid pictures while he was dangling, gurgling before their eyes. No one cut him down though someone finally called 911. Spokesperson Margolis made this public statement, "Taking pictures like that is not our practice because nothing like this has ever happened there before." Duh. Today the child is braindead. There is a claim on Fornits that Ms. Margolis' work with Straight predated her time there as spokesperson. Listen to Joy Margolis once telling LA Times reporter John Hurst that Straight tried to stop the abuse. How could she not tell her boss Mel Sembler about her report whether he was in Sydney or Tampa? News-Press 11-16-05 on Oasis.... LA Times on joy and Straight . . . Also read faith-based Joy

11-18-05 Pathway has a judge. Pathway Family Center is a 2nd generation Straight in Michigan and Indiana. Now it has a judge on the board. link

Reverend Doctor Miller Newton back in Bankruptcy Court story

reprint 11-14-05 A court has ordered the Church of Scientology™ to pay a former parishioner a half million dollars for engaging in a SLAPP suit against him story

11-15-05 Straight-infiltrated Operation Par sending referrals to Narconon™ -- a Scientology™ front group link

11-15-05 Controversial Pinellas County groups fair well under Republicans: Gov. Jeb Bush declares "Betty Sembler Day" and Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst declares "Narconon Day" link

11-15-05 An open letter to Susan Latvala from a rightfully concerned citizen link

Late Oct 05 - early Nov 05 posts

2005-11-22T01:57:00.000-08:00

With two ambassadorships already under his belt, we think his background in brainwashing and thought control uniquely qualify him for the ambassadorship to Red China story

10-19-05 Congress urged to help regulate boarding schools SLT

11-08-05 The St. Pete Times, which normally won't report beyond Sembler's garden parties, reports on Sembler's influence buying of local elections. Did somebody leak Gorenfeld's article to them? SPT

11-03-05 Sembler and Sher back Jeff Danner (formerly with city planning commission) for St. Pete city council link

11-03-05 Tom DeLay indicted in campaign finance probe House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R, Tx.) has been indicted by a Texas grand jury on a charge of conspiring to violate political fundraising laws. USA Today the indictment GOP PAC sued over alleged campaign fraud

10-30-05 One Hundred Fifty Thousand Hits! At 2034 EST on October 30, 2005 we had our 150,000th hit. Thank you loyal readers for your continued interest in this seemingly never-ending saga.

10-20-05 Betty Sembler thinks Ray Bradbury should become "prey." But she clarifies it to mean "followed", not "followed and killed." See Ms. Sembler's deposition, p. 67.

update 10-27-05 Mel and Betty Sembler: issues with human rights and civil liberties link

10-27-05 Panel to begin work regulating youth homes link

10-19-05 Mock them using another name: Clam attorneys order site satirizing Tom Crusie to change its name story cruise web sit

10-26-05 J.A.I.L., a proposed amendment to imprison unethical Florida judges link

10-23-05 After 30 years a former psychologist at Odyssey House comes forward link

10-23-05 Alleged corruption, nasty politics and judicial impropriety in Pinellas County Florida spreading via The Washington Post, theStraights dot com, The Reader's Digest and now North Country Gazette in upstate New York link

update: 10-24-05 Dr. Mel Riddile, formerly national director of Straight, Inc. and formerly director of Straight - Springfield, has been named 2006 MetLife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year MetLife PR Wes Fager writes to NASSP link

10-24-05 The Washington Post extols Dr. Riddile for his award link letters to ed Leigh Bright sends letter to the editor to The Wash Post and to theStraights dot com link

10-21-05 The Saint Petersburg Times slow in reporting on alleged fraud in mayor's family buinsess and other stories about shoddy newspaper reporting by The Times by Mark Adams, Esquire link

10-18-05:1500 You don't send me flowers anymore: Is Sembler trying to buy off Tampa's ABC Action News too? blog

10-17-05 Is there intelligent life on Treasure Island? or why won't the Sembler's stop PumpGate an editorial by Wes Fager

Late July 2005 - mid Sept 2005

2005-11-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

9-16-05 Class Action Law Suit Against Straight spin-off Growing Together There is talk of a class action suit against Growing Together. Contact attorney Barry Silver for information. contact

8-1-05 Ambassador Sembler, Judge Greer and the Great Cooper's Point Land Scam hurt the Little General's Gubernatorial chances story

7-28-05 Sembler violates Florida voting laws trying to buy a governorship story

7-30-05 Ambassador Sembler's crowning achievement after 8 years of diplomacy--fitting Bush's entourage with Brioni suits while nullifying thousands of Italian protesters without resorting to bicycle barricades link

Calvina Fay faces off with Ethan Nadlemann on NewsHour link

The web page Child Abuse Leads To Drug Abuse previews Mel Sembler's Straight program link

Why Mel Sembler will never let there be closure on Straight by Wes Fager blog

Felony exploitation of children? link

For second time Sembler tries to have an open forum in spite of his past. link

The Washington Post gives Mel a Narcissist Run Amok and The Times gives him a sour orange, while he gives Dick Cheney a silver apple AP

Jury finds Drug Free America Foundation (formerly Straight Foundation) Advisory Board member Darryl Rouson guilty of trespassing Darryl Rouson is head of the St. Petersburg chapter of the NAACP, a Sembler business partner, a former Pinellas County assistant states attorney, and a member of Drug Free America Foundation's Advisory Board. He is also a recovering cocaine addict. Last year he was in the Purple Haze, a tobacco store, asking a sales person how a glass pipe could be used to smoke cocaine. Asking not as a user, but as an advocate against the sale of drug paraphernalia. He was asked to leave, refused and wound up this week in court. The judge has withheld adjudication, placed Rouson on probation and sentenced him to community service. link

The O'Reilly Factor vs. Calvina Fay link

Youth Truth reports on Mel Sembler and Straight link

The Cubans blast Sembler again, this time in Granma link

Speak Forcefully links to Republican Child Abusers link