Jim Lippard / The Decline and (Probable) Fall of the Church of Scientology

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/d/7/5/c/event_170575132.jpeghttp://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/d/7/7/a/event_170575162.jpeg

FFRF - Valley of the Sun Chapter Meeting, October 2012

Jim Lippard presents

"The Decline and (Probable) Fall of the Church of Scientology"

Jim's talk will give some highlights of the Church of Scientology's history, its doctrines, and recent events that seem to indicate an accelerating decline in the organization. He will also be doing a live e-meter demo with the same model of e-meter that L. Ron Hubbard used to use. Jim Lippard is an author, skeptical activist and an authority on Scientology. He has been following the antics of the cult for many years. He has authored many magazine and journal articles, including "Scientology v. the Internet: Freedom of Speech and Copyright Infringement on the Information Super-Highway (http://www.discord.org/%7Elippard/skeptic/03.3.jl-jj-scientology.html)" and "The Decline and (Probable) Fall of the Scientology Empire!" ( http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/the-decline-and-probable-fall-of-the-scientology-empire/ ), published in Skeptic magazine.

Jim Lippard Bio:

Jim Lippard founded the Phoenix Skeptics in 1985 and was its executive director until 1988. He was editor of The Arizona Skeptic from 1991-1993. He is the former president (2003-2005) of the Internet Infidels, former webmaster for the Skeptics Society (1994 to 1997), and a co-founder of the newly formed Phoenix Area Skeptics Society (PASS). He is the author of The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah on the Secular Web, a contributor to Ed Babinski's Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists, Joe Nickell's Psychic Sleuths: ESP and Sensational Cases, Gordon Stein's Encyclopedia of the Paranormal, to Skeptic magazine and ‘Reports’ of the National Center for Science Education. Jim is an IT security professional at EarthLink. He has a master's degree in philosophy with a minor in cognitive science, and is currently a Ph.D. student in Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology at Arizona State University.

In addition to Jim’s presentation, I’ll also have some updates from last weekend’s FFRF Annual Meeting in Portland, our FFRF-VSUN lawsuit against Gov. Brewer, and I’ll tell you why your vote on certain Ballot Propositions can really tick-off the religious fundamentalist bullies at the Center for Arizona Policy! Vote NO on Prop 115! (shifts current judicial selection via State Bar “Merit Selection” process to appointment by the Governor) , and YES on Prop 204! (continues 1-cent sales tax to fund education).

This meeting should be a fun one so don’t miss it! See you there!

Anne Mardick, President

At the cashier, tell him/her you are with the Freedom From Religion meeting. We have the back room reserved. You may partake in the “all you can eat” buffet breakfast for the special negotiated price of $8.50. (You must say you are with the FFRF group or will not get this discounted price.) Or if you prefer to skip the meal, tell them you are just attending the program, not eating, and they will gladly point you to our room.