Mel Sembler in the blogosphere (and news)...

[dqueue]

I noticed <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://talkleft.com/new_archives/015794.html">TalkLeft</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> had a brief post about <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Sembler">Mel Sembler</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->. TalkLeft provided a number of links to recent blog posts about Mr. Sembler, thanks to his fundraiser for Joe Lieberman.<br><br>Go read <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2006/09/lieberman_fundr.html">Majikthise</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> on the topic. Her father researched and wrote <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.thestraights.com/essays/beyerstein_report_on_straight.htm">a report</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> on The Straights back in the 70's. There are some interesting comments that follow the thread, too. <p></p><i></i>

[sunny]

Calling robertdreed! He's an expert on Sembler, who has <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>never</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> been up to any good. Nasty, that one. <p></p><i></i>

[chiggerbit]

Too good not to post, dq.<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2006/09/lieberman_fundr.html">majikthise.typepad.com/ma...fundr.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Lieberman fundraiser ran the Abu Ghraib of rehab<br>Have you heard about the Beyerstein-Lieberman-GOP-Beyerstein connection? <br><br>Republican big shot Mel Sembler threw a fund-raiser for Joe Lieberman this week. In addition to being a close personal friend of Dick Cheney and the chair of Scooter Libby's legal defense fund, Sembler is a major figure in the War on Drugs. He founded a chain of treatment centers called Straight, Inc. Before that, he helped run a "tough love" treatment program called "The Seed." In 1974, a congressional investigation found that The Seed was getting government money to practice experimental mind-control similar to that inflicted by the North Koreans during the Cold War. Perhaps disturbingly, experimental mind control wasn't illegal, per se. But it would have required a ton of extra paperwork for The Seed to carry on. So, Sembler founded Straight, Incorporated in 1976. Straight continued to abuse teenagers under the guise of treatment until 1993. The organization has been sued dozens of times and staff members have faced criminal charges. <br><br>My father, Barry Beyerstein, investigated Straight in the early nineties and wrote a a report on the psychological abuse that was taking place under the guise of treatment. <br><br>I didn't realize that Holy Joe's new fundraising friend was the head of Straight until my friend Evan emailed me yesterday. He happened to find my dad's report on the internet while he was researching Sembler. <br><br>See my post at Firedoglake for more details, including Sembler's embarrassing penis pump problem.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=chiggerbit@rigorousintuition>chiggerbit</A> at: 9/23/06 10:32 am<br></i>

[chiggerbit]

Say, isn't ole penis-pump Mel still Ambassador to Italy? I kept wondering what Gladio role he played in the CIA kidnappings over there. <p></p><i></i>

[chiggerbit]

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/images/20050407-2_wf1g6250jasjpg-515h.html">www.whitehouse.gov/news/r...-515h.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[chiggerbit]

OMG, Mel is Jewish. I would have placed all my spare money on him being right-wing, super-fundie Christian, what with him owning those concentration camps for misbehaving kids--the fundies seem to gravitate to that kind of thing, it seems to me. <br><br>Oh, and he's apparently no longer Ambassador. Now, how do I find out just when it was decided to retire him? Hmmm... <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=chiggerbit@rigorousintuition>chiggerbit</A> at: 9/23/06 1:07 pm<br></i>

[Et in Arcadia ego]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Before that, he helped run a "tough love" treatment program called "The Seed." In 1974, a congressional investigation found that The Seed was getting government money to practice experimental mind-control similar to that inflicted by the North Koreans during the Cold War.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>My mother and twin Uncles were all three in the Miami-based Seed program for some time. <p>____________________<br>Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night.</p><i></i>

[sunny]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>My mother and twin Uncles were all three in the Miami-based Seed program for some time.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <br><br>Oy. <p></p><i></i>

[Et in Arcadia ego]

That I forgot to add was highly unsuccessful in treating their drug/behavioral problems.. <p>____________________<br>Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night.</p><i></i>

[chiggerbit]

Ack, you poor mom and uncles, if the following is true. From the Wiki link above:<br><br>"...At one time, STRAIGHT, Inc. was the leading juvenile rehab business in America. Samantha Monroe, now a travel agent in Pennsylvania, told The Montel Williams show this year about her experience there overcoming beatings, rape by a counselor, forced hunger, and the confinement to a janitor's closet in "humble pants" -- which contained weeks of her own urine, feces and menstrual blood. During this "timeout," she says she gnawed her cheek and spat blood at her overseers. "I refused to let them take my mind," she says of the program. The abuse took years to overcome. Ms. Monroe said her mother was told by counselors that her daughter was a liar and encouraged to trick the girl for her own good. On 10 November and 13 November 2005, Reporter John Gorenfeld spoke live on these allegations against former Ambassador Sembler on a nationally syndicated radio show, Mark Levine's Inside Scoop on Washington in shows entitled "This Bush Crony Has Blood on His Hands!" [2] and "The Bush Crony Who Tortured American Teens, Part II" [3]. The blogs attached to these radio shows are replete with comments from listeners who claim to have been brutally mistreated in one of Mel Sembler's centers...."<br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[Et in Arcadia ego]

My uncles came out ok, and have done very well for themselves through their lives, but my mom was screwed and stayed that way until her death a few years back.<br><br>Can't blame it on the Seed, per se, but it did nothing to help, that much I'm sure of. I don't remember as a child hearing my family discuss any of these allegations about the Seed, but that's two phone calls away, and now I'm interested in asking them both about their experiences.. <p>____________________<br>Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night.</p><i></i>

[dqueue]

Also mentioned from the comments on <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2006/09/lieberman_fundr.html">Majikthese</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->, there is mention of Synanon.<br><br>A reader writes:<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>1984, you've hit the nail on the head: Straight, Inc. is a direct descendent of Synanon (via The Seed).<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>When one folds, another simultaneously emerges. Who bankrolled these ventures? <p></p><i></i>

[seemslikeadream]

<!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://thestraights.com/pickets/fl-holo-011704/signs2.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://thestraights.com/images/conf2002/sign.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://thestraights.com/articles/melsembler-bio.htm" target="top">thestraights.com/articles/melsembler-bio.htm </a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://thestraights.com/pickets/fl-holo-011704/fl-holo-report.htm" target="top">thestraights.com/pickets/fl-holo-011704/fl-holo-report.htm</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br>David Lopez Blass released from Straight-descendent Growing Together, Oct 29 Heat from John Kerry and Florida Democrat candiate Jeff Fisher helped secure the release of David Blass. link aA new site shed's light on Growing Together. link There is a petition out to grant full Constitutional rights to David Blass and to all clients at Growing Together. petition <br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://thestraights.com/index.htm" target="top">thestraights.com/index.htm </a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br>It is worth the pain giving a glance to its new friend, Sembler ambassador. His Excellency Melvin Floyd Sembler, beyond to being "extraordinary and plenipotentiary Ambassador in Italy", is also a "distinguished citizen" of the Scout, has had a medal from the National Conference of the Christians and of the Hebrew, it has had the Humanitarian Prize of the center Hebrew Golda Meir/Kent, but above all he is ex-president of the International Council of the Centers Trades them. <br><br>In fact, Sembler is not sure a diplomats of profession. For the precision, he is a former-vendor of feminine underwear, become one of the main constructors of centers trades them of the United States. <br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://thestraights.com/articles/sembler-italian-kelebekler.htm" target="top">thestraights.com/articles/sembler-italian-kelebekler.htm</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><br>They run very close to really performing psychic murder. Marge Robertson, executive director of the Cincinnati Chapter of the ACLU, speaking of Straight, Inc., from Cincinnati Post <br><br><br>Jeb Bush linked to Straight school as advisor. <br> As many of you know a Congressman from Florida has alleged that kids in a drug rehab program in Florida "hacked the vote."<br><br>Turns out that Jeb Bush is an advisor at said school.<br><br><br><br>As of October 11, 2001 Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida and brother to the President of the United States, is on the Advisory Board for Straight which now calls itself the DFAF (Drug Free America Foundation, Inc.) And so is his wife Columba! James W. Holton, Commissioner of the Florida Transportation Commission, is on the board of directors of the DFAF. It should come as no surprise to see Jeb Bush tied to DFAF, after all Betty Sembler was his finance cochairman. And then there is SAFE. Straight-Orlando closed on August 14, 1992. On that very day Michael Scaletta Straight - Orlando's executive director (taking Loretta Parish, Straight - Orlando's marketing director, with him) opened SAFE, Inc. out of the same facility Straight had used. In the morning the kids had been in Straight; after lunch they were in SAFE. In late 2000 TV station WAMI from Miami, Florida did a two-day exposition on SAFE. Because Governor Jeb Bush had previously visited SAFE he had been contacted while the segment was being produced to get his thoughts of SAFE. Even though he had been told that the segment was going to be controversial, Jeb Bush sent the station this letter of endorsement of SAFE! Even without Jeb and Columba, the list of names on Straight's Advisory Board is nothing short of extraordinary!. Here they are: <br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.thestraights.com/news/index.htm#jeb-dfaf" target="top">www.thestraights.com/news/index.htm#jeb-dfaf</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[robertdreed]

I appreciate the postive mention, sunny, but I don't consider myself an expert on Mel Sembler. The website <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.thestraights.com/index.htm">www.thestraights.com/index.htm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> seems to be on that case, though. <br><br>I recommend googling Sembler's name along with that of Arnold Trebach, too. Trebach has helped in some of the litigation against Straight, Inc. <p></p><i></i>