Trump 2.0: Scientology sitting pretty as Trump names Pam Bondi his pick for Attorney General

After once and future President Donald Trump named Matt Gaetz, a loyalist, to be his pick for Attorney General in his incoming administration, former top Scientology executive Mike Rinder last week announced at his blog that Scientology would have nothing to worry about from the Department of Justice for the next four years.

Scientology sitting pretty as Trump names Pam Bondi his pick for Attorney General

A brief, weird history of brainwashing

On an early spring day in 1959, Edward Hunter testified before a US Senate subcommittee investigating “the effect of Red China Communes on the United States.” It was the kind of opportunity he relished. A war correspondent who had spent considerable time in Asia, Hunter had achieved brief media stardom in 1951 after his book Brain-Washing in Red China introduced a new concept to the American public: a supposedly scientific system for changing people’s minds, even making them love things they once hated.

But Hunter wasn’t just a reporter, objectively chronicling conditions in China. As he told the assembled senators, he was also an anticommunist activist who served as a propagandist for the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services — something that was considered normal and patriotic at the time. His reporting blurred the line between fact and political mythology.

A brief, weird history of brainwashing

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What’s Up With Linkin Park’s New Singer?

The media is whitewashing her connection to Scientology. She was raised in the ‘church’ according to Growing Up in Scientology! That said, the song isn’t too bad. As far as I’m concerned, no one will be able to fill Chester’s shoes!

In the end, it wasn’t actually the end for Linkin Park. The rock band is back with new music for the first time in seven years — and a new singer as well. Emily Armstrong joined the band, replacing the late Chester Bennington, who died in 2017. Armstrong has sung in the band Dead Sara since 2005, and makes her Linkin Park debut on new single “The Emptiness Machine,” sharing vocal duties with Linkin Park cofounder Mike Shinoda. (Colin Brittain is also joining Linkin Park as their new drummer, with Rob Bourdon not returning.) She joined the band on stage for the first time on September 5, and will feature on their new album From Zero, out November 15. But Armstrong’s addition has already been controversial, as fans scrutinize her history with Scientology and convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

What’s Up With Linkin Park’s New Singer?

Related:

Linkin Park’s Emily Armstrong Apologizes For Danny Masterson Support

Beyond Leah Remini: 25 Musicians Associated with Scientology

Listening to Linkin Park