Why Not A Religion By John Grisham?
I mean, what kind of moron takes his medical advice from a mediocre (at best) sci-fi writer? Here's the latest on TomKat and the silent birth:
“A woman who wants her child to have the best possible chance will find a doctor who will agree to keep quiet especially during the delivery, and who will insist upon silence being maintained in the hospital delivery room as far as it is humanly possible,” Hubbard wrote.Scientologists have spoken out in support of Cruise and the silent birth principle despite rumors and media criticism.
The “Mission Impossible” star this week denied one tabloid magazine report that he had bought an adult pacifier to muffle the moans and groans of his 27 year-old fiancee.
According to another report, large posters have been given to the Catholic-raised Holmes reminding her to “Be Silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable.”
Scientologists John Travolta and his actress wife Kelly Preston were among those explaining the method. “Screaming is fine....it’s the words. If you can avoid saying certain phrases and words...Of course you’re going to groan and yell. It hurts. Just keep it to the minimum,” said Preston, mother of two.
“As a mom, I am going through a very painful experience and my child is going through a very traumatic and painful experience. So I didn’t want to say anything that could affect him later in life,” Preston added.
She seems to have no problem bringing him into what Time magazine called a "cult of greed." Here's a link to the whole article, by Richard Behar. Yeah, it's a little old, but it's pretty fascinating.
Fark had this today:
http://tinyurl.com/eeu7b
It comports well with my experience at the Hemet compound last fall.
People who get into Scientology are inherently contentious, credulous and needy (but sober) personalities. The 'training' they receive nourishes these weaknesses to the benefit of their superiors and the detriment of humanity viewed whole. (I have similar feelings about Wahhabism.)
It's a shame that someone (Hubbard/Miscavige) has studied human nature with an eye to exploiting and reinforcing these traits. (I have similar feelings about Wahhabism.) But in the final analysis, these are deeply human characteristics. These assholes were going to be moving around on the surface of the planet at some point anyway.
We can wish that Scientology didn't have tax-exempt status, but it's nice to have them concentrated in certain geographic positions... This will make it easier to call in air strikes if things get out of hand. Meanwhile, let's not pretend they'd all be nice people if only the Church of Scientology weren't around.
If there were a choice of alternate universe from legal fiction writers, I'd go with Turow... He has no sense of humor, but his middle-aged characters have good sex.
Crid at April 8, 2006 10:21 PM
I had my first child--a large, strapping 9 lb. baby, and didn't have any pain meds, except for a glass of wine when my water broke. Honest, I'm not exactly a pioneer woman, but it wasn't THAT bad. Yes, it hurt like a sonofabitch, but it's not I was screaming the place down. Getting sewn up hurt more. It's more mental preparation and breathing and all that stuff. But L. Ron never squeezed anything weighing 9 pounds out of his ass, either.
KateCoe at April 9, 2006 4:55 PM
One can never know for sure.
Amy Alkon at April 9, 2006 7:03 PM
Amy!
!
Crid at April 9, 2006 7:24 PM
Sorry, I've been just terrible all day. Eric started it with the Thai business! Or, that sounds like a good excuse, anyway!
Amy Alkon at April 9, 2006 9:26 PM
As a now eight year resident of Clearwater, I do my best to follow Scieno advice and not scream uncontrollably when driving through a downtown business area that in the past decade has been almost completely surrendered to COS headquarters and all that entails.
SteveHeath at April 10, 2006 10:04 PM
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