In article <38f2dc29.0@news2.lightlink.com>, Russell Shaw <rshaw@dancris.com> wrote:

> THE reason he is "highly regarded" is that he is wealthy.

I disagree. The reason Bob Minton is valued by critics is not that he has money, but that he uses his money to help people. The fact that this aid has been in the nature of helping those who are being steam-rollered and bulldozed and bullied by the Church of Scientology is probably irritating to you, but I know I'm not alone in feeling gratitude that he chooses to use his money to help, rather than hurt people. (Hubbard used the money he sweated out of his naive enthusiasts to develop yet more ways to bleed them and sucker yet more "meat bodies" into his own delusional sausage factory. Hubbard never gave one red cent to any charity, or to support any cause he believed in (largely I suspect because like any other con and cheat he believed in no cause greater than his own comfort and welfare); he couldn't even be counted on to support his own family.

Minton is certainly not above reproach. But he has chosen to spend his time (which is priceless) and money to create the Lisa McPherson Trust, and to support the work of photodocumentarians such as Mark Bunker, all in aid of helping to prevent the victimization of anyone like Lisa McPherson from happening again.

I call that a great contribution to freedom, and I call that noble.

--Barbara