Scientology takes Manhattan with 'biggest gala ever in the Big Apple'!
We can never get enough of Scientology’s wacky fliers that report on its fundraising activities, which tend to be very long — and this newest one, from New York, may be the longest ever!
But hey, what a great occasion, with some of Scientology’s biggest whales gathering at the Plaza Hotel and at the Edison Ballroom on 47th Street for the splashiest party we’ve ever seen them throw here in town.
The reason? Raising money for the Ideal Org planned for Long Island. An empty office building in Melville has already been purchased, but it typically takes ten or twenty million more to bring a location up to church leader David Miscavige’s specifications for one of these gleaming new cathedrals he’s been opening around the world since 2003.
The Ideal Org in Manhattan just off of Times Square was one of the first, opened in September 2004, and now an “alliance” of Scientologists in the Greater New York area has been asked to fork over the millions for the new shrine on Long Island and turn all of New York “Ideal,” which will help in the larger goal of turning the entire country “Ideal.” Hip, hip, hooray!
It’s the usual hype, with Scientology fundraising official Brandy Harrison giving a “briefing” on what’s needed to get Long Island over the top, and the local whales then goaded into forking over new sums.
One really remarkable thing emerges in these photos: Ubiquitous Florida mega-donors Tom Cummins and Jim Bridgeforth, who made their fortune in electricity deregulation, were both on hand as avatars of Scientology financial subjugation.
Bridgeforth receives a certificate for achieving “215 Humanitarians”: That’s Scientology-speak for $21.5 million in giving just for Ideal Org projects. (A “Humanitarian” is $100,000, and “New Civilization Builder” is $1 million.)
And then Cummins receives a certificate for 700 Humanitarians, which is $70 million!
On the IAS side, we knew that Cummins was somewhere around $55 million, and so Tom, with about $125 million just in giving to the IAS and Ideal Orgs, is really in the stratosphere, trailing only Trish Duggan (around $400 million) as the wealthiest of the church donors.
Scientology may be struggling to attract new members and staff its existing facilities, but long ago Miscavige changed directions from founder L. Ron Hubbard’s focus on selling books and making auditors to bank everything on big donations from wealthy members, and with marks like Cummins and Bridgeforth supplying tens of millions each, Dave has plenty of scratch.
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The criminal organisation known as the “church” of $cientology might want to take Manhattan, but I’m sure they will never take Berlin.
For such a hyped and with no expense spared event, you’d think it would’ve been black tie. They look like a bunch of wogs. 😆