So many Clearwater professional people, trades people and business owners (and employees) are dependent for a large portion of their income on the sheer numbers and overwhelming presence of the Scientologists who have flooded this small city.
I know, I live 15 minutes from Clearwater and have friends who have lived there for decades.
Leni
Michael Schiavo's attorney has - what many would call - "strange" affiliations, interests, and beliefs. Here are a couple of links:
[1] Investigative Group To Expose Schiavo’s Lawyer’s “Voices”
spirit daily ^ | 3/28/05 | by Trimelda C. McDaniels
Posted on 03/28/2005 7:14:06 PM EST by molli mi
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1372634/posts
"Excerpt:
George Felos is not just a lawyer for Michael Schiavo in the Terri Schiavo “right to die” case. He heads a religious organization that believes death by dehydration and starvation is a religious solution for the severely disabled. Felos knows this because he hears voices that tell him when someone wants to die this way and this is his gift as an agent of God.
This information comes from Shadow Rose, a small non-profit investigative group incorporated in Idaho that focuses on domestic violence and sexual abuse. The head of the organization, Trimelda C. McDaniels, found this information in Mr. Felos’ book, “Litigation As Spiritual Practice," (Blue Dolphin Publishing –2002) and feels that his role as a lawyer in the Schiavo case is based upon his religious beliefs that the removal of feeding tubes from the disabled are a form of profound, religious expression.
“Felos clearly states that he hears voices in his head that tell him when someone wants to die this way,” Mc Daniels said. “ He is adamant about being used by God to help people out of their bodies into the next world by removal of feeding tubes and even ‘willing’ them to die with his mind.” [snip]
[2] In his book, Felos claims to hear the voices of the comatose asking for "release"
Litigation As Spiritual Practice (Amazon.com) ^ | 3/28/05 | George Felos
Posted on 03/29/2005 3:27:06 PM EST by Aquinasfan
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1373276/posts
Exerpts from the reviews on Amazon:
About the Jews, George Felos wrote, "The Jewish people, long ago in their collective consciousness, agreed to play the role of the lamb whose slaughter was necessary to shock humanity into a new moral consciousness. Their sacrifice saved humanity at the brink of extinction and propelled us into a new age." (pg 240)
Felos further wrote, "If our minds can conceive of an uplifting Holocaust, can it be so diffucult to look another way at the slights and injuries and abuses we perceive were inflicted upon us?" (pg 240)
Describing the period he was separated from his ex-wife, "that weekend I experienced rage. Savage, unadulterated, and murderous rage." (pg 6)
Felos wrote about his ex-wife, "To her, I seemed unattractive, sexually unexciting, balding, boring, and just not enough fun to be with....she didn't need me anymore. For her, marriage to me inflicted a fate worse than death. She admitted that for the past year or so she had wished for my death, and whenever I flew hoped the plane would crash." (pg 7)
About his anger towards his ex-wife, "I was on fire, fueled by thoughts of bludgeoning and tearing her apart." (pg 23)
Describing the period he was recuperating from his divorce, "it consisted mostly of dreams of being tormented in some inferno." (pg 27)
"Mrs Browning, do you want to die? Do you want to die? - I nearly shouted as I continued to peer into her pools of strikingly beautiful but incognizant blue. It felt so eerie." (pg 63)
"Whatever your opinion about tube feeding, the hard fact was it now stood between Mrs. Browning and her death." (pg 64)
“As Mrs. Browning lay motionless before my gaze, I suddenly heard a loud, deep moan, scream, and wondered if the nursing home personnel heard it and would respond to the unfortunate resident In the next moment, as this cry of pain and torment continued, I realized it was Mrs. Browning. I felt the mid-section of my body open and noticed a strange quality to the light in the room. I sensed her soul in agony. As she screamed I heard her say, in confusion, ‘Why am I still here … why am I here?’ My soul touched hers and in some way, I communicated that she was still locked in her body. I promised I would do everything in my power to gain the release her soul cried for. With that the screaming immediately stopped. I felt like I was back in my head again, the room resumed its normal appearance, and Mrs. Browning, as she had throughout this experience, lay silent. “I knew without a doubt what had transpired was real and dispelled the thought as intellect’s attempt to assert its own version of reality.”
(pg 73)
While on a plane trip, Felos thought "I wonder what it would be like to die right now?" (pg 181)
Felos felt that God told him, "You are more powerful than you realize." (pg 182)
About the Estelle Browning case, "I still got a kick that evening seeing myself on the TV news, notwithstanding my frequently displayed countenance in the media of late."
"If I had to urinate, I didn't wait until the next commercial, I immediately got up and went. On the first urge to defecate, I left for the bathroom rather than making one more phone call." (pg 292)
"I can truly say my wife was enamored with me. I suppose power and success really are potent aphrodisiacs-as my spouse had made particularly evident our previous night at the Governor's Inn. " (pg 246)