Ugh.
Freedom Media and Ethics has put out another video on Tony Ortega linking him with the infamous BackPage.com and discussing how his paycheck at the Village Voice was created through their money-making efforts. They also show how he defended BackPage.com and the way it made money for him.
But I thought Tony Ortega was a champion protector of women and girls? How could that be if he condones child prostitution and endorses adult prostitution – known to objectify, exploit and enslave women?
It’s another attack on Tony. But is it accurate? Can Tony sue for defamation of character? Libel?
If Tony doesn’t sue them, does that mean everything in this video is true? What, if anything, does that say about Tony’s character and what he is peddling on his website every day?
We need to discuss this and what it means about Tony.
Let’s see what the Tony Ortega apologists have to say.
Apologists will view anything that isn’t praise, tv time, name in online media, as an attack! And as it’s an attack, it’s all a bunch of lies, because: 1. well gosh, he told us it was a bunch of lies 2. he doesn’t like bullies, says so himself 3. he speaks up to defend women and children and 4. he’s told us everything THEY say is a lie.
Plus bonus 5: If they started to realize the reality that his crusader persona is just a veneer and he’s really different behind a keyboard, then that means their whole foundations will be shaken, cracked, possibly collapse. They’ll realize the similarities of the bunker and Scientology, how they’ve been manipulated to think certain ways, how they’ve been caught up in group think. Then they’ll think of things they’ve done that they normally wouldn’t have done and feel the normal human feelings of guilt, shame, and anger–at themselves for getting caught up in that. All the hours every day, all the days of the week, all the weeks of the years. Caught up in a group think ‘cult’ like group that is suppose to be against a cult, but they’ve mimicked that cult in many ways.
That’s too much for some people to contemplate so they stay with the status quo even if they have inklings things aren’t right. Or they just back off a bit and gradually leave quietly. But the web doesn’t give up people easily. “You can check out anytime you like…” Unless you’re banned, or write something about your realization of what you were in 😀 It’s difficult.
As for the video, well I can’t bring myself to watch it. I will comment on your mention of him suing, possibly, for defamation of character, or libel. He did defend backpage, we know that. Now did his whole paycheck come from that? I highly doubt it. That’s not something we’d be privy to, nor should be. Will he lose work because of the video? No. And I’m gonna guess things like this are run past attorneys before being published–imagine if some of Ortega’s stuff had had to go past an attorney! A lot of it wouldn’t be coming back to haunt him now. Since you mentioned suing, I can imagine people will be encouraging him to do so. Maybe his webmaster could finally have a case to try?
Miss Tia wrote:
This is a brilliant, insightful and devastatingly clear understanding of what happens to human beings – not just “cult” members – when they get caught up in tribal loyalties in human groups. If there is anything that someone should have learned from being in a cult – it is exactly this.
Great post, Miss Tia.
Thanks. I wouldn’t have known this if this I didn’t have that first hand experience.
I can’t believe you have fall’in for this OSA you tube video. Or are you being a wise crack?
You make this post the same time Marty posted on his blog a new video.
Here’s how to increase your internet speed for free:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRmMkiTB_uE
And another, How to get free cable TV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m50ShwNcTyE
I also want you to buy the latest Mark 8 E-Meter, it’s sensitivity is much greater than the Mark V which Hubbard used to develop clear and OT, LOL
I know you feel betrayed by my lack of loyalty to the anti-Scientology Cause.
But you have to remember, I’ve learned to try my best to remain loyal to the truth, and not to any person or group.
Here’s why: When, after 22 years of writing as an expert on Scientology, last year when Tony Ortega suddenly learned that L Ron Hubbard was a pedophile and began “exposing” all the “endorsement” of pedophilia by Hubbard – and “exposing” all those Scientologists like you and me who “condoned” pedophilia when we were Scientologists – if I was loyal to the Anti-Scientology Cause more than to the truth, I would have to forget about all my experiences in Scientology and go along with Tony’s Crusade.
But Tony’s Crusade to expose all the pedophilia in Scientology is a lie. There was no endorsement or condoning of pedophilia in Scientology. And you and Leah Remini and Tony Ortega actually know it. In fact, the only person who ever “condoned” pedophilia in Scientology was Mike Rinder as head of the Office of Special Affairs, because he is the one who suppressed all those victims and kept them from going to the police.
But that is the truth that isn’t part of any Anti-Scientology messaging.
So being more loyal to a person or group, rather than to the truth, eventually makes you believe in lies.
Been there, done that, Gib.
And I thought you had, too.
So we are discussing these ideas. And I don’t care whether they came from Tony Ortega, the Church of Scientology, or anyone else.
Scientology is the cause of people not reporting to the police. I feel like you want to take these people in Scientology and say it’s just them alone that are responsible for the abuses. If I see a child being molested or beat or worked to death i would have no qualms about notifying the police. If I am in Scientology on the other hand I will have qualms about calling the police and you Alanzo know that as well as anyone.
This is what I am trying to get across on twitter. You have now taken your fight to the very peop!e trying to stop the abuses. You will never find a person walking this earth that does things and uses the language exactly like you want because nobody else is you.
Allison wrote:
In most situations, the first impulse of anyone who sees a crime is to call the police, and this is the impulse of the overwhelming majority of Scientologists, too. But in the top-down authoritarian world of Scientology, that impulse was squashed – not by any belief in Scientology – but by the people whose job it was to “handle legal flaps”. And those people were the Office of Special Affairs. They were the authority in Scientology which took control of these situations and forbade any scientologist from going to the police about anything without notifying them first.
In order to be enculturated into a the morals and acceptable behaviors of any group, someone has to teach you, and even threaten you into not acting on your first impulse. In almost all cases those orders came from Mike Rinder as the one running the Office of Special Affairs for David Miscavige.
You make it seem like children being molested, children being beaten, and children being worked to death were all over Scientology. That is part of the false picture that Tony Ortega has been painting every day for 6 years. And this is a real problem, Allison. It’s on the order of the lies that LRH and DM constantly told Scientologists in order to control them.
Here’s an example. Ortega wrote an article about “child labor” being used to lay the bricks on L Ron Hubbard Way.
I was there. I helped lay those bricks, too. And yes, children helped, too – WITH THEIR FAMILIES, RIGHT NEXT TO THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND MOTHERS AND FATHERS. It was a community effort, and it was actually very cool. Very similar to the “raising the barn scene” in the movie “Witness”.
But Tony Ortega made you believe that it was like children being put to work in the salt mines. Can you see how you are being manipulated by this guy?
What do you want me to do, Allsion? Just shut my mouth and be a good boy while people on my “side” lie through their teeth?
Sorry. I learned that lesson in Scientology. I’m not going to be doing that.
This is me applying that hard-won life lesson, right here on AlanzosBlog.
You are going everywhere but to the point.
1. Ortega did’t tell me children were working 60+ hours a week they did.
2. LHR himself talks about all problems being taken to the church not outsiders.
Scientology fosters the us versus them or as you like to say tribalism to the 10th degree that is not miscagive or rinder or even rathbun that is Scientology.
1. Have you ever heard or seen any child taken away from any scientology Org or scientology parent by child protective services?
And don’t give me conspiracy theories on how scientology bribed the cops. Just consider that question next to all the hysterical accusations made over and over by anti-scientologists.
You also have to put these stories into perspective. When did these accusations occur for what time period? Are these still going on? Are they actionable now?
My point is that we need some evidence and some non hysterical perspective here to balance out the accusations.
It’s time. Don’t you think?
2. Here is the L Ron Hubbard on that:
Otherwise there is no policy that I know of (or can remember) by lrh that you can not a report a crime to the police. If anybody can produce it I’d love to see it.
So please show it.
Not all accusations are true. And if they are but they happened 20-30 years ago what are we supposed to do about it but hysterically knash our teeth?
He’s only consistently written about Scientology since 2008, with only 3 articles between 1995 up to then. I know you know this Alanzo. Just putting it out there for others, because I know it becomes ingrained “22 years of Scientology reporting”. Nope!
This has links for the reporting since ’95, and to be fair, I’ve never known Ortega to say he’s reported on Scientology for 20+ years. He says since ’95 which is technically true. But others make the association of 20+ years and he doesn’t correct them. Also links, to his own articles at previous publications, to his hoaxes. Including the 2 girls who were kidnapped, raped, and were rescued by him being shot to death by police.
http://misstia.com/research.html
Thanks for posting your link.
Believe it or not I was just at your website and I was going to post this myself! This is an excellent and rarely seen public display of Tony Ortega’s career.
We’ll be seeing more from you on this subject, soon, right Miss Tia?
I don’t plan on it! If you’re referring to what we discussed on the phone, I thankfully never heard from them again–which sort of resolved that for me! 😀 Though things I’ve written online can, of course, be used by anyone.
Alanzo, first of all, I am not betrayed by your lack of loyalty to the anti scientology Cause.
And I too remain loyal to the truth, which is the scientology so called religion is supposed to produce a “clear” and then the “OT”, none of which happened or will ever happen with scientology religion. I am loyal to that Cause, which is stating no clears or OT’s.
Isn’t that the truth? Or do you believe otherwise?
How many times are you going to ask me that?
well, why not answer the question there are no clears or OT’s, yes or no?
If you answer yes, then you know scientology as a religion is bunk, a false religion which cannot produce a clear or OT.
If you answer no, then you have doubts and believe scientology as a religion can produce a clear and then OT. And can you logos it? Or logically explain there is a clear and or OT? And prove it?
Which is it?
Gib –
You need to write up your overts and with holds. You can no longer see the clears all around you and the OTs flying around in the sky.
All your overts are lowering your theta perceptions and have you stuck in the MEST universe.
Come on buddy. You know you’ve got to be OT to go OT.
PS: I know why you keep saying this over and over. You secretly want someone to send you the exact right LRH reference that will finally handle your case and get you back on the bridge.
Well we are mostly out of scientology here Gib. You should go over to milestone two for that.
when you throw in “provable bullshit” like saying that Leah’s show is full of made up stories then you totally negate everything you’re trying to say – so in essence I would have to say that this whole video is total bollocks…. [and you know what I think of Ortega].
I would agree that this particular line in this video is a lie. Those stories are true, and ethical Scientologists should do something to get rid of David Miscavige and to clean up their Church.
But one lie does not make the whole thing a lie – does it?
Yes. The demonstrated capacity to lie makes all other statements suspect.
I agree that they continually shoot themselves in the foot. It’s amazing that even when they have real facts, Scientology can’t just report them in a straight way.
But Tony did defend Backpage.com. He did use the real names of two girls who had survived kidnapping and rape to make a joke of their experiences. He did endorse prostitution. And he did come very close to condoning the child rape that occured through Backpage.com – he certainly did nothing about it but write an article attacking a woman who was trying to expose it.
That’s what’s so ironic about Tony Ortega’s use of the words “endorse” and “condone” in connection with pedophilia in Scientology.
The irony here blows my mind, actually.
You need to find the original statements, not someone else’s interpretation or spin. As you know, it is pretty easy to misrepresent what a person meant to say by selectively quoting what they did say.
This would be strengthened by finding the original documents.
All of that stuff is a matter of public record and has been written about by critics of critics with the same slant for years. He’s never been prosecuted. OSA made a smear video – what’s new? Oh yeah, a guest appearance by Rathbun.
Yes. I thought that was interesting too.
Is it just like me when I use snippets of videos and embed them on my blog with out peoples’ expressed permission, or, like Tony Ortega says, is it proof that Mark Rathbun is working for the Church of Scientology now?
I mean once he puts them out onto the internet, can he say that everyone else but the Church of Scientology can use them?
OF COURSE the CoS is going to publish anything that criticizes their critics and does so convincingly and with a lot of actual facts. Duh!
It’s unbelievable how so many anti-Scientologists consider that Marty’s videos PROVE he made a deal with the CoS. Just shows how utterly irrational they can be that they would conclude he MUST have given them permission – even though they’ve seen that videos are embeded all the time on blogs, both in blog posts and the comments sections. It’s just another example of ASC members themselves being sheeple – like they accuse Scientologists of being.
Totally off-topic but I’ve recently had some independent corroboration [i.e. there’s no way these people know each other] that scientology [celeb center and all it’s off-shoots] is going to be embroiled in all this sexual predator stuff that is nothing to do with Danny Masterson.
From what I’ve heard it has to do with Brett Ratner and that Ratpac thing that he did with James Packer that was “greased” by Tommy Davis…. now that seems normal for backroom Hollywood shenanigans but somehow the fact that Tommy Davis is a closet gay [not that there’s anything wrong with that] threw a spanner in the works and some sexualities were misread and passes made …. where it gets juicy is that Davis found out enough about these “secret islands” [Geffen/Epstein et al] and who visited them that the whole precarious [secret sexuality] scientology celeb world is freaked out as Davis holds more sway than Miscavige….problem being that if push comes to shove he’ll have to come out of the closet.
The ongoing implosion [even if this stuff is bullshit …although I’m pretty sure at least half of it is true] is going to be spectacular!
The real issue in this video is not Ortega, whom I can barely tolerate, but that It is a vicious smear video on Leah Remini. Is there anything that Leah has presented in her show which is untrue? I have experienced some of the things she is exposing even in my own life.
Neither Tony’s not this website is apparently interested in any balance at all. You’re both absolutists, manning the barricades on your side of the fight. Personally I had many great wins and found many truths in my 35 years in Scn, but I am also ( as an “sp” now) quite aware of the CoS’ dehumanizing abuses as well.
Want to have nuanced discussions on a subject? Skip the internet.
Leah Remini’s stories of abuse, I believe, were all true. But her statement to the Hollywood Reporter to kick off Season 2 that Scientologists believe that a 7 year old girl should not shudder at a kiss from a grown man, even a passionate one, was untrue. And her recent statement that the reason that Danny Masterson has not been charged with rape by the LA County DA’s office is because Celebrity Centre raised money for the LAPD is hysterical, irresponsible, fully of conspiracy theory think, and quite probably completely false. It is certainly inflammatory.
Also, her inability to produce 1 Scientology crime on her show – even with the guy who ran OSA for 25 years sitting next to her – makes me question her claim that she ever wanted a “federal investigation”.
So yes, the Scientology video gets it very wrong about Leah Remini, but that certainly does not mean there is nothing to criticize. I did not become a critic of Scientology and take all their shit for so long to end up lying about them in order to create an angry mob running on lies like Tony does, and like Leah does in these instances.
So I will write about liars and demagogues no matter what “side” they are on.
How is that an unbalanced, absolutist stance, Joe?
Isn’t the unbalanced and absolutist stance having to support Leah Remini at all times – even when she lies?
I think the main theme that should be promoted by EX’s and Anti’s is that there are no “clear”s and “OT’s”, I think that should be discussed in the media as opposed to getting all into people’s lives and the religious aspect of scientology. I think it should be exposed not that scientology is a religion under the Constitution but that it says it is a religion and the purpose of this religion is to produce a Clear and then OT. So I think the media should discuss this idea of Clear and then OT. Afterall, isn’t the purpose of dianetics and sceintology is to go Clear and then OT?
I think all discussion about dianetics and scientology should examine Hubbard’s ideas about “clear” and then “OT”.
And I think current members of the Dianetics or scientology should be allowed to counteract this claim that, I make, there are no clears or OT’s.
Leah Remini and the Aftermath and A&E have said several times the COS will not respond or discuss. LOL
What do you think? Isn’t what we should be discussing here on your blog Alanzo or in the media? As far as scientology being a religion? Or can it produce a “clear” and then “OT”?
Shouldn’t we be discussing that in the wider range of things?
Oh in the widest possible way.