Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: Hillary Clinton - clueless From: tilman@berlin.snafu.de (Tilman Hausherr) Date: Sat, 22 Jun 1996 09:38:37 GMT I can now add the first lady to my list of clueless politicians. And it hurts me deeply that scientology used children for its scam - considering the known abuse and neglect that scientology practices. ==== L. RON HUBBARD QUOTED ON QUILT AT WHITE HOUSE St. Petersburg Times TUESDAY June 4, 1996 By: DAVID DAHL WASHINGTON - It was, in the capital's parlance, a "meet and greet" photo opportunity at the White House. So, there was a smiling Hillary Rodham Clinton. There were the foster families from Pinellas County. There was the "Hands of Hope Quilt" decorated with 250 brightly colored hand prints. And there on the quilt was . . . a quote from Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Unbeknownst to Mrs. Clinton or her staff, the group greeted warmly by the first lady last Tuesday is headed by two Scientologists and promotes Hubbard's controversial beliefs as part of its promotional literature. "We were not aware that it is affiliated with the Church of Scientology," Lisa Caputo, Mrs. Clinton's press secretary, said Monday upon hearing of the group's connections. "It was a very quick hello." After that quick hello, the president of the Hands of Hope Quilt project put out a news release that took note of Hubbard's works and reported that one of the White House visitors had presented Mrs. Clinton with a copy of one of Hubbard's books. Describing the quilt, the news release says: "A quote from the renowned humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard runs through it, "A good stable adult with love and tolerance in his heart is about the best therapy a child can have.' " "It so perfectly says what our message is," explained Marsha Friedman, a Scientologist and president of the Hands of Hope Quilt project. Hubbard died in 1986 but remains a central figure in a religion that still is trying to shake a tarnished reputation. In the 1970s, before he died, Scientologists bugged an IRS office. In the mid-'70s, the Scientologists secretly bought land in downtown Clearwater and began what became a long and stormy relationship with the city. Practitioners travel to Clearwater and pay thousands of dollars to receive Scientology religious services. Some former members and other critics, though, complain that Scientology is a cult. In 1993, the IRS sided with Scientology and ended a lengthy tax dispute with the organization by recognizing it as a religion. The church says it has cleaned up its act since the trouble of the '70s. Along those lines, the Church of Scientology has hosted a Christmas Party for foster children for the past seven years, according to Friedman. The quilt was created at the party, she said. Friedman said she worked for months to set up a meeting with Mrs. Clinton. Florida Sens. Bob Graham and Connie Mack sent perfunctory letters urging the Clintons to meet with the Hands of Hope Quilt group - with no mention of any Scientology connection. "It is my pleasure to forward to you a request from 500 foster children (from) Pinellas County, Florida," read Graham's November 1995 letter. Finally, it happened. Caputo said Mrs. Clinton saw the brief get-together - similar to hundreds the first lady participates in - as a chance to visit with foster families. As is customary, an official White House photo was taken. Reached by telephone Monday, Friedman insisted she is hiding nothing, because there is nothing to hide. She said the quilt project is not affiliated with the Church of Scientology. "This is not about the church or the church's controversy. It's really about the children," she said. "I am not a representative for the Church of Scientology . I am a business owner. I am a mother. I am a grandmother." Friedman, a Clearwater public relations executive, said she is a member of the church. She said other Scientologists include project executive director Ben Kugler and quilt designer Gracia Bennish. The Scientologists were in the delegation that saw Mrs. Clinton last Tuesday, along with ten children and seven parents and several foster-child advocates from Pinellas County who are not members of the church. Among those in attendance was Marie Wooster, a veteran foster parent from Pinellas County who is not a Scientologist. She said she believes the quilt project - and its members who are Scientologists - are filling a need in the community by promoting foster parenting. "They have never really tried to push their religion on anybody," Wooster said in a telephone interview. "If they hope to gain more through their association with us, I'm afraid they will be sorely disappointed." STATIONERY STUMBLE St. Petersburg Times SUNDAY June 9, 1996 Yanking the welcome mat? What did Hillary Rodham Clinton know and when did she know it? Not about Whitewater. Not about the White House travel office. Rather, some in the Church of Scientology are raising the question about their visit with the First Lady late last month. Mrs. Clinton met briefly with a group of Scientologists and Pinellas County foster parents and children May 28. The group - called the Hands of Hope quilt project - showed the First Lady an embroidered quilt that includes a quotation from Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Her press secretary, Lisa Caputo, said afterward that Mrs. Clinton and her staff didn't know the controversial organization was associated with the quilt group. Not so, insist the Scientologists. "There was no intention whatsoever to be deceptive in any way," said Sue Taylor, spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology International in Washington. After the Times reported the visit Tuesday, Taylor showed a reporter a letter sent to Mrs. Clinton's scheduler a few weeks earlier that clearly linked the quilt effort and the Church. The letter from Hands of Hope president Marsha Friedman mentions that the Church of Scientology opens its Clearwater auditorium to foster children each year for a Christmas party. The letter also notes that the quilt the group planned to present to Mrs. Clinton includes Hubbard's quote. Caputo said last week that she couldn't find the letter. "As far as I'm concerned, this is much ado about nothing," Caputo said. "The point of this whole thing is foster families and kids." Taylor, the Scientology spokeswoman, keeps two large scrapbooks of press clippings about community projects her organization does. She doubts, though, that stories about the trip by the Hands of Hope project will make her book. St. Petersburg Times Tuesday June 11, 1996 Quilt story was distorted Re: L. Ron Hubbard quoted on quilt at White House, June 4. It's truly amazing how a reporter with the intention to find a bogeyman in any story can do so with even the most innocuous of events. All he need do is take editorial license with the actual circumstances, alter some quotes, and voila! He has a story with implications of conspiracy and impropriety. That's precisely what occurred with your rendition of how Pinellas County foster children created a beautiful piece of artwork which gave them the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to the White House and meet first lady Hillary Clinton. As someone intimately involved with the event, I and hundreds of others who contributed to this project know that the actual story was as follows: 1. Volunteers from all across Pinellas County, as well as some major corporations in the United States, helped contribute to the Seventh Annual Foster Children's Christmas Party, for which the Church of Scientology opened up its auditorium and graciously served as host. 2. Over 250 area foster children had the opportunity to have their handprints traced onto beautiful fabrics which would then become part of the Hands of Hope quilt. 3. Quilt artisans from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties donated their talents to hand-sew each brightly colored handprint onto a black velvet background and adorn each with trimmings of lace and beads. 4. More volunteers poured in their donations to fly these children and their foster parents to the White House for what will become a lifelong memorable event for these children - meeting with the first lady and proudly presenting their magnificent masterpiece. The quote from L. Ron Hubbard that was sewn throughout the quilt stated it best: "A good stable adult, with love and tolerance in his heart, is about the best therapy a child can have." This project exemplifies the love and stable environments hundreds of foster parents provide every day to the children in our communities who are not fortunate enough to be born into stable and loving homes. The fact that your paper twisted this story because the project was headed by three Scientologists is the ultimate in bigotry. Had Ms. Friedman, Mr. Kugler and Ms. Bennish (who headed the Hands of Hope Quilt Project) not been Scientologists , would your paper have instead concentrated on their Jewish heritage to spew venom on this story? Martha Savelo, Clearwater Clearwatergate? Re: L. Ron Hubbard quoted on quilt at White House. This article reports that first lady Hillary Clinton greeted visitors to the White House who turned out to be associated with the Church of Scientology, a Clearwater-based group founded by L. Ron Hubbard. Congress should investigate this incident. Sen. Alphonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., who has worked so diligently on the Whitewater affair, would be an excellent choice to head up the investigation. If President Clinton is re-elected in November, this new probe will provide Sen. D'Amato with full-time employment for the next four years. First we had Watergate; then we had Whitewatergate. Now we can have Clearwatergate. Joseph A. Mahon, St. Petersburg Slipping standards When I moved here 16 years ago, I thought the Times was one of the finest and most independent newspapers in the country. Unfortunately, in the last six to eight years I have noticed a considerable decline in the quality of the writing and content. On any full page of text, I can now find at least one typographical error or other mistake. Even your editorial page has diminished in quality, by being too self-righteous, calculating and agenda oriented. Consider your recent article on a quilt presented to Hillary Clinton, which contained a quote from the founder of Scientology (L. Ron Hubbard quoted on quilt at White House, June 4). I read the entire story, trying to figure out what it was doing in the newspaper. The only possible reason is the implication that Scientology is sinister, and that its members secretly penetrated the White House with a quote from Hubbard. However, what made this story so offensive was the injection into the article of unrelated and outdated information concerning the "bugging" of an IRS office some 20 years ago, and the secret purchase of property in Florida (like Disney's secret property purchase). I am not a Scientologist and I do not support their church. However, I do know that many fine people, including celebrities like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Priscilla Presley, are Scientologists, and I also know that Scientologists have always strongly supported the proper moral upbringing of their children. The quilt with the quote seems an appropriate gift to one who has just written a book based on the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child." With this perspective, I found the article to be offensive and unprofessional, fueled by an outdated and unnecessary vendetta. Nicholas Glover, Odessa ======== Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: ClearwaterGate confirmed From: tilman@berlin.snafu.de (Tilman Hausherr) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 20:19:44 GMT Isn't it funny that the scienos pretend that the quilt group is not a scientology front group ? Here it is, in the spam: http://drn.zippo.com/news-bin/wwwnews?alt.religion.scientology/159844 Subject: "THE HANDS OF HOPE" QUILT Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 07:15:58 GMT From: julius@mighty.org (Julius Hutton) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The newsgroup ars has been subject to lies and distortions regarding the Scientology religion. This short extract from "Freedom" magazine is to provide a more accurate picture of what Scientology is and the type of actions it is involved in. -------------------- A special surprise highlighted this year's party -- unveiling of the unique and magnificent work of art entitled "The Hands of Hope Quilt -- A Creation of Joy and Love by Foster Children." Created by Scientologist and renowned artist Gracia Bennish, whose paintings of endangered animals appear on billboards across the country, the 10-foot-square quilt is now adorned with more than 230 brightly colored hand imprints of foster children sewn onto it, with the name of each child embroidered on his or her handprint. Bennish invited artisans from throughout Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties to volunteer their time and talent to sew the quilt by hand. The exuberant and intricate work of art contains a quote by L. Ron Hubbard from the book, Child Dianetics: "A good, stable adult with love and tolerance in his heart is about the best therapy a child can have." So many can share the rare beauty of this symbol of universal love and care for foster children, the quilt is being exhibited around the country. The first stop was the Clearwater Building, where it is currently on display. It will ultimately be presented to the First Lady, Hillary Clinton, at the White House. One visitor described the quilt as "one of the purest expressions of love I have ever seen." "Magnificent," and "awesome," are the usual response. Marie Wooster, former president of the Foster Parents Association of Pinellas County, said "The Hands of Hope quilt project brings national attention to the plight of foster children, the work being done by foster parents and the community to nurture these children so they become happy and productive members of society." For more information go to the following URLs: http://www.scientology.org http://www.lronhubbard.org http://www.dianetics.org Copyright (c) 1996 Church of Scientology International All Rights Reserved