Forced Worship

Amethyst House is still requiring AA attendance in violation of State and Federal Law

2013-10-31T13:42:00.001-04:00

A reader posted the recent comment:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Amethyst Foundation, Inc.: Actual Consumer Review...":

I've been dealing with this for 9 months now and this is my first DUI with no history of alcohol or other abuse. Initially I went to my screening and was told that it's not pre determined that I'll need an evaluation which costs $200. So I filled out the first form. The second form was all about my financal status and standing. After filling that out the woman took it out back to enter the info and gave me the third form. When she came back out she said I would be required to do an evaluation. I kept my mouth shut, but seriously? I haven't even done the screening questionaire, only the general info and financial paperwork. A week later I did my evaluation and was given 9 weeks of after care and 6 self help sessions to go to AA. I completed the weekend course, my 9 after care sessions, my 6 AA meetings and I'm still waiting on Amethyst to send the paperwork to the DMV. I've called a few times and they Ssay that I've got to wait 3 more months, each time I call they say this. The Court initialaly said 9 month loss of license with eligibility to get it back after 90 days and the completion of the program. Now I have another hearing with the dept of safety to see if I need a breathalizer installed in my vehicle when I get my license back because amethyst turned my paperwork over to them. This is my first DUI!!!! and I have a clean record.
This foundation is awful to deal with and whatever you do don't get upset with them or you will end up with anger management classes as well. Just ask the 2 guys in my weekend course.
Oh and AA??? Absolutely a religious organization. I went to 6 meetings. 4 dealt entirely with peoples discussions with god.

So, despite the NH legislature expressly forbidding AA attendance in a recently enacted law, Amethyst continues to force people to go to AA and partake in religious activity.

I broke the law. Fine me, imprison me, take my license away--just don't force your religion on me.

WMUR Story on Amethyst's Abuses?

2013-07-26T17:56:00.003-04:00

A reader posted the following on Forced Worship:

"i have had it with this foundation i have contacted the tv station wmur and i want to talk to everyone who has or had problems with these people, not on the computer where they can see im dead serious on taking them to court a robert kelly and kim think they are god, i despise these so called people who think they can run our lives and call us alcholics when they never even met me or spoke to me people please contact asap at 423 453 0102 asap leave message if i dont answer ill get back to u after work i need to hear fron you soon as the tv station wants to get on this soon thanks debbie"

I'd love to talk to reporters at WMUR! Also, I invite everyone willing to speak out against Amethyst to join. They have been abusing their authority for too long!

Now is your chance to do something. Seize the moment.

Forced Worship now at 20,000 hits

2013-01-04T15:16:00.001-05:00

The hits keep coming at Forced Worship. I'm happy that readers are finding this content useful!

I'm not so happy to hear reports that Amethyst is still ordering people to go to AA and otherwise abusing their authority. This is now against the law!

Contact the Governor's Office and/or Director Harding.

Newly updated New Hampshire State Law Forbids AA Requirement for IDIP Aftercare

2013-01-04T14:36:00.000-05:00

Good news! Amethyst Foundation, Inc., and other NH IDCMPs can no longer require AA or any other type of religious or spiritual-based program if a "client" objects:

Under section: He-A 507.04 Service Plan Development, in effect as of January 1, 2013:

(i) IDCMPs may include in a client’s service plan a recommendation for, but
shall not require, the client to participate nor make participation a
requirement of program completion, in any 12-step program or any type of
religious or spiritual based program if the client raises any objection at
any time to participating in such a program.

If you are told to attend AA as part of your aftercare requirement, tell them "no" and you will not have to. If religion is part of any non-AA program, simply raise an objection, and you will not have to continue attending such a program as part of your aftercare requirement.

What if Amethyst Foundation responds to your objection by telling you that you are free to attend any self-help group you can locate? They said this to me, knowing full well that only AA was available in New Hampshire and that I would have to travel, without a license, to Massachusetts to attend an alternative, non-religious program such as Rational Recovery or SMART Recovery.

Having to go out-of-state to attend a non-religious self-help group as an alternative to AA will now be considered an "undue burden." You cannot be required to go to Massachusetts to attend a non-AA self-help group. (AA is still the only self-help group available in the State of New Hampshire.)

To ensure compliance, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has implemented
comprehensive oversight measures, including inspection of records, participant feedback, and undercover IDIP participants. Both IDCMPs like Amethyst Foundation and LADCs performing aftercare will be monitored.

There still exist tough penalties for being found guilty of a DWI offense, but at least forced religious indoctrination will no longer be one of them.

Here's where to complain about Amethyst Foundation, Inc.'s abuses

2012-10-05T12:52:00.002-04:00

I've put quite a lot of effort into writing this blog. I hope it's been helpful. Judging by your visits, it has. This blog has nearly 12,000 total hits now, with an average of over 30 hits a day. Obviously, many of you have gone through what I did and are likely as infuriated as I was.

I've also contacted several government officials and legislators, as well as civil rights organizations. I've done all I can: now it's your turn. Change will not happen unless you make your voice heard. Only by voicing your complaints will Amethyst Foundation, Inc. be held accountable. Your silence will assure that they continue to abuse their power with impunity, and that others will suffer.

These are the people you should send your complaints to:

Governor Margaret Wood Hassan
Office of the Governor
State House
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603)271-2121 (phone)
(603)271-7640 (fax)
Email: governorhassan@nh.gov

Director Joseph P. Harding
State of NH Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Community Based Care Services
Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services
105 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603)271-6110 (phone)
(603)271-6105 (fax)
Email: jharding@dhhs.state.nh.us

Don't bother sending your complaints to Amethyst or the Department of Safety--they will not care.

If you don't complain, nothing will be done. Amethyst Foundation's abuses will continue. And, believe me, both former Governor Lynch and Director Harding are aware of these abuses. In fact, they've had to step in before to stop them. I contacted them and got my license reinstated within two weeks (Amethyst was trying to permanently revoke it, even after I had successfully completed all of my assigned aftercare.)

I'll maintain this blog with updates. In the meanwhile, good luck to all of you.

Atheos

NH House panel backs bill further punishing DWI arrestees

2012-05-12T11:03:00.002-04:00

I recently found this article by Ted Siefer, the Union Leader's State House Bureau correspondent:

CONCORD – Repeat drunk drivers could be required to use an ignition interlock device when their driving privileges are restored under a bill backed unanimously by a House committee.

The House Transportation Committee voted 10-0 Tuesday to endorse Senate Bill 282, which was passed by the Senate in February.

The bill would allow the Commissioner of Safety to request an administrative hearing before returning the driver’s license or driving privileges to anyone who was convicted for drunk driving, aggravated drunk driving, reckless driving that involved alcohol, negligent homicide that resulted from drunken driving, or being a habitual drunk driver.

Under the bill, offenders could be required to use either a standard interlock or “enhanced” device, which takes a photo when users breathe into it, for a period of one to two years.

The bill is one of several being pushed by the Department of Safety this session in an effort to crack down on repeat drunk driving. Last month the Senate passed a House-passed bill, HB 482, which would require anyone who tries to circumvent an interlock device to use the enhanced device and face other penalties.

A full House vote on SB 282 has not yet been scheduled.

Here's the official version of the proposed bill:

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve

AN ACT authorizing the commissioner of safety to require the installation of an ignition interlock device as a condition of restoring driving privileges in certain instances.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Department of Safety Authority to Order Ignition Interlock Device Installation. Amend RSA 265-A by inserting after section 36 the following new section:

265-A:36-a Department of Safety Authority to Order Ignition Interlock Device Installation. The commissioner of safety may require an administrative hearing prior to the restoration of the license or driving privilege of a person whose license or driving privilege was revoked or suspended as the result of a conviction of any offense under RSA 265-A:45, RSA 265-A:2, RSA 265-A:3, RSA 265:79-a where alcohol was involved, RSA 262:19, or RSA 630:3, II, and, upon a finding that the safety of the person and of other users of the highways would be enhanced thereby, may order the person, as a condition of restoration of his or her license or driving privilege, to install an ignition interlock device in any vehicle registered to that person or used by that person, for not less than 12 months nor more than 2 years, subject to the same conditions and prohibitions as if the interlock was ordered by a court under the provisions of this subdivision.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.

(Note that this bill says nothing about "repeat offenders." The Union Leader is the worst example of "journalism" I've ever encountered. It's usually rife with factual, spelling, and typographical errors.)

I lost my driving privileges, due to a 1st Offense DUI in NH, for almost a year. This was mainly due to the holy rollers at Amethyst Foundation punishing me for my "willfulness" (their actual words) in objecting to being forced to go to religious AA meetings. During this period, I spent thousands on car rides to and from work (and mandated AA meetings).

Bill 282 now provides additional hoops to jump through once you complete your aftercare: an administrative hearing. Administrative hearings, as I have posted before, are dangerous. Unlike a criminal or civil court proceeding, administrative hearings do not afford the defendant much in the way of procedural protections. Administrative hearings, in the name of judicial expediency and efficiency, often make quick, cursory, and subjective determinations. See my previous post entitled: "16 Red Flag Hearings: 14 Affirmed, 0 Reversed, 2 Remanded "

While restoring driving privileges on the condition that an ignition interlock device sounds reasonable (I would have gladly done this if it meant I could drive to work), it will likely open the door to further administrative requirements such as more aftercare being assigned, extra fees, and extended suspensions of driving privileges. I see nothing in this bill that would restrain the administrative judges from doing this.

Further, ignition interlock devices (IIDs) are quite expensive. In California the average cost for an IID is about $2.50 per day. Some companies additionally charge around $75-$100 for installation. You will also need to pay fees approaching $100 each month for the maintenance and calibration of your ignition interlock device. Additionally, you will need to apply, and pay the fee, for a special IID license. So, under NH Bill 282, the minimum one year IID could cost you around $1,300.

All this for a 1st Offense DUI, and after you complete your aftercare. Again, my concern is that once forced into the administrative court hearing, you are relatively helpless to the whims of administrative judges, who, in the past, have not shown much leniency (or fairness, in my opinion).

A fairer version of this bill would allow the use of IIDs during the suspension period. Unless you live in Manchester or Concord, there is no public transportation. Private rides cost $50-100, each. Drivers on Craigslist are unreliable and sometimes dangerous. Many people lose their jobs because they cannot afford this expense. That's too harsh a penalty.

Not to the people at Amethyst Foundation, though, who will take glee in your suffering. They are all former drunks who had to go through the same punishment, and will love to make you go through it, too. Maybe, I'm sure they hope, you'll become a born-again Christian in the process, too.

Forced Worship reaches 7,000 hits

2012-04-24T12:37:00.002-04:00

Forced Worship has reached 7,000 hits. While I am happy that this blog is being found useful, I am disturbed that there remains such a need for it.

Please feel free to look at some of my earlier posts for an understanding of what you need to do to get your driving privileges back. The licensed alcohol and drug counselors (LADCs) who determine whether or not you deserve this believe the standard AA religious pseudo-science:

you have a disease called "alcoholism"

the cure is to admit this and ask for God's help ("hit your knees")

this cure requires nothing less than the complete abstention from alcohol

This is what places like Amethyst Foundation, Inc., and those that work in the recovery industry, want from you. We all know how deluded this is. The crime for what you've been arrested is for driving while impaired, not being impaired. It is not against the law to consume alcohol.

Go along with this charade and do your best job at acting to make them believe you. Do not show any sign of "willfulness," intelligence, or independent thought. AA is a cult, and these AA-trained LADCs want mindless, subservient, stupid followers to recruit. Pretend that you are one of the "pigeons" they want.

Otherwise, they will punish you by assigning perpetual, expensive "aftercare," and, perhaps like me, an attempt to permanently revoke your driving privileges (despite it having been only a 1st Offense DWI).

Be very careful until you get your license back. Good luck.

Amethyst Foundation, Inc.'s 2010 IRS Form 990 -- More of the $ame

2012-04-16T18:44:00.002-04:00

I've previously posted on the outrageous amount of money Amethyst Foundation, Inc., brings in, all tax-free.

Well, their IRS Form 990 for 2010 is now available and shows more of the same:

a whopping total revenue of $1,165,753.00, of which $1,161,774.00 is entirely program service revenue from the state.

And, apparently, Amethyst Foundation, Inc., operated in the red last year, with expenses of $1,185,201, including:

$557,353 in wages (!) Really?
$76,623 for Director Bob Kelley's salary
$35,476 for office supplies (!!) I saw one old HP inkjet printer when I was there.
$109,868 for "all other expenses."

And if you buy that, I have some swampland in Florida I'd like to sell you.

My Post to the Ripoff Report on Amethyst Foundation, Inc.

2012-02-22T10:55:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure why I waited this long, but I finally got around to posting my experience with Amethyst Foundation, Inc., on the RipOff Report website:

Several years ago, the state of NH privatized its impaired driver intervention programs, or IDIPs. They are now all run by private organizations, of which Amethyst Foundation, Inc (aka "Amethyst House") is the largest. Supposedly a "non-profit," Amethyst Foundation, Inc., nets well over a million dollars a year, all of which is tax-free. They list one employee, Bob Kelley, on their IRS statements. NH law mandates that you go to the closest organization, which for most people in the state means going to Amethyst Foundation. They have a virtual monopoly. Additionally, to ensure that the "customers" continue to roll in, Amethyst Foundation employs several experienced, influential lobbyists that apply pressure on NH State Representatives to maintain strict penalties for DUIs. Bob Kelley has a sweet scam going, and it's all legal.

I admittedly made a huge blunder resulting in a 1st Offense DUI. Though I had already paid large court and administrative fines, I was resigned to doing the IDIP program which met once a week for four weeks. I was not prepared for what I would encounter there.

Most of the people that work at Amethyst Foundation, almost without exception, seemed bitter with the hand that life had dealt them, had a hateful, puritanical streak, treated clients like garbage, and were all too happy to exact punishment for the slightest infraction. I suspect that most were former heavy alcoholics who had gone through the highly religious Alcoholics Anonymous program to stop drinking (they "hit their knees" in AA-speak, found god, and got dry). I suspect that their cognitive abilities were affected by their past alcoholism, rendering them absolutely incompetent at their jobs. I was pressured from day one, and throughout the IDIP program, to attend AA and get a sponsor.

I told them that AA has been ruled by both Federal and State Courts to be a religious organization for purposes of the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment. Despite this, and the fact that this was my first DUI, they assigned six months of twice weekly mandatory attendance at AA meetings. At each meeting, I was pressured to pray, listen to these people's ignorant, holier-than-thou, pseudoscience rantings based on the Big Book written by Bill W. (really, the radical puritan/evangelical Oxford group--google it). At the end of every meeting, members hold hands and recite the Lord's Prayer. Nonbelievers are treated with contempt, scorn, and pity--this was perhaps the most egregious of the insults.

I complained in writing, sent certified/return receipt requested, to Amethyst Foundation, Inc. throughout this procedure. Most of my letters were ignored. The responses I got dripped with contempt. Mr. Kelley went so far as to even attempt to mislead me over the phone into exhausting my one administrative hearing so that I wouldn't have another one for a year.

In addition to attending AA meetings, I also had to see a Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor, or LDAC, weekly, for four to six months. This person was also a hard-core AA true believer. These meetings consisted of him, not trying to help me with any supposed alcohol problems, but with trying to convince of god's existence and how wonderful AA is. I had to pay him for this privilege.

The LDAC told me that Amethyst Foundation, Inc., punishes people who complain by taking their licenses away permanently or effectively doing so by ordering extensive aftercare. When I completed my initial aftercare of AA and LDAC meetings, I received a notice from the Department of Safety of an Administrative Hearing requested by Amethyst Foundation to permanently revoke my license. This occured despite the fact the I attended, with verification, all required AA meetings, and obtained a positive evaluation by my LDAC.

Luckily, I had written to the Governor several weeks prior, whose staff then contacted the Head of the NH Dept of Health and Human Services. I updated the Governor's staff on what Amethyst Foundation had done. The NH Dept of HHS then reprimanded Mr. Kelley, including sending him a written notice that mandating AA attendance was illegal. I got my license back within a week.

Supposedly, Amethyst Foundation has been ordered to stop all aftercare self help group attendance. I doubt that they will do this. The staff there are on a religious mission to save people by getting them to go to AA. They are really religious prohibitionists that want to eliminate all alcohol use, not just merely prevent future DUIs. History has shown that you cannot stop religious zealots.

Surprisingly, I'm really not angry at what happened. I'm more saddened and disappointed that in this day and age such backward religious zealots can still do such harm. I thought that we, as a country that so highly values individual rights and freedoms, had moved beyond that long ago. Ironically, this occurred in NH, the "live free or die" state. How hypocritical and ignorant some NH residents are.

Forced Worship Reaches 5,000 Hits

2012-02-03T16:23:00.004-05:00

Visits to this website have reached over 5,000!

Lots of people are, apparently, still being assigned attendance at AA meetings as part of "aftercare" by Amethyst Foundation, Inc. If this has happened to you, please note that:

Several Federal District Courts and State Courts, including the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, have ruled AA to be a "religious organization" for purposes of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Coerced attendance at AA as part of your aftercare is illegal.

Amethyst Foundation, Inc., will often try to direct you to attend a "self-help" group as part of your aftercare, knowing full well that the only self-help groups available in the state of New Hampshire are AA. They will then respond to your complaints by stating that "you are not being required to attend AA and are free to attend any self-help group you can find."

Should this happen, immediately inform Amethyst Foundation, Inc., the Governor of New Hampshire, and the Director of the State of New Hampshire Dept of Health and Human Services in writing, by certified mail/return receipt requested. This should solve your problem.

In the unlikely event that this does not provide relief, file, pro se, for a preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

There is no reason to attend AA or any type of self-group as part of your "aftercare." Yes, it was wrong to drive with a BAC over the legal limit. But that does not justify your being punished by the religious zealots of Amethyst Foundation, Inc., REAP, Serenity House, and others of the "recovery industry" with forced participation at cult-like, religious AA meetings.

Newt Gingrich, Big Book Thumper

2012-01-04T14:42:00.002-05:00

In this Youtube video from a 2011 Republican Candidate Debate, Newt Gingrich states,

"there was a part of me that was truly 'hollow' ...and finally, a banker, who was a friend of mine from Georgia, gave me 'the two books that make up Alcoholics Anonymous'"

The two books Gingrich is referring to are "The Big Book," and "The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions."

Gingrich went on to say:

"Now...I wasn't drinking, but I had precisely the symptoms of someone who was collapsing under this weight" [referring to his hollow feelings].

Reading the Big Book and trying to understand where I had failed and why I was empty and why I had to turn to God. I think if I had not had that experience, that intervention, that I would have collapsed totally. And that was really the beginning of turning my life around...I've been blessed."

I don't know what is more frightening: The idea of this idiot being President, or the thought of people being so ignorant as to actually vote for him.

More from Bill W., Cult Leader

2011-12-13T13:24:00.000-05:00

It's simple: you either go to AA, conform complete to its covenant, or you die.

Update: AA removed these videos from YouTube. Even they are embarrassed by what their founder says.

Bill W. speaks of "The Only Way..."

2011-12-13T13:13:00.002-05:00

Straight from the cult leader's mouth. Religion is everything to AA.

Again...I don't mind so much if people wish to do this foolishness on their own time. People are free to do or worship how they wish. Even more so in New Hampshire, the "live free or die" state.

However, it is wrong, legally and morally, for a State government to force non-willing participants to attend what is, in essence, an undeniably religious organization.

Oh...and don't tell me "AA has changed," because it hasn't. They still strictly adhere to the tenets of Bill W.'s "Big Book" which they regard as their bible.

Update: AA has removed these embarrassing and disturbing videos of their founder. I'll find them and repost them myself.

It revealing that AA has done this. They don't stand behind what their leader says and what is written in the "Big Book." They feel the need to hide it from viewers of Youtube. What hypocrites.

Forced Worship Celebrates 4000 hits!

2011-10-19T12:11:00.000-04:00

This tiny blog got over a thousand hits this week!

AA didn't work for Debra Oberlin....apparently

2011-10-18T13:49:00.002-04:00

Former president of MADD arrested on DUI charge

By Cindy Swirko
Staff writer

Published: Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 11:58 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 11:58 a.m.

A former president of the defunct local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving was arrested recently by the Gainesville Police Department on a DUI charge.

Debra Oberlin, 48, was arrested after she had difficulty on a field sobriety test. She registered a .234 and .239 on breath alcohol tests. Florida's legal limit for driving is .08.

Oberlin, a Realtor, had no comment when contacted Thursday by The Sun.

On Feb. 18 at 1:10 a.m., an officer spotted Oberlin driving erratically on Northwest 19th Street, swerving and crossing lanes, an arrest report states. Oberlin was pulled over in the 3600 block of Northwest 39th Avenue.

The officer wrote that Oberlin smelled of alcohol and had watery, bloodshot and dilated eyes. The report states that Oberlin told the officer she had four beers.

Gainesville's MADD chapter existed for several years in the 1990s before closing in 1996 because of lack of financial support. Oberlin was the chapter president for three years.

Disclose.tv - Former President Of MADD Arrested On DUI Charge Video

Blogger Jeremy Witteveen (Le Café Witteveen) posted a blog entry entitled "I love you, Debra Oberlin" and got this response:

"This hippocritical bitch should be public beat to death or better yet,turned over to any 100 of the thousands whose lives she helped ruin with her holier than thou bullshit,and let them deal with her.It would be too much to ask for that the system will subject her to the full extent of the law. They will probably coddel her because of the income flow she helped create."

Mothers Against Drunk Driving "was originally formed by Candice Lightner, who later left the organization. In 2002 she said that MADD 'has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned ... I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving.'" MADD, like AA, the "recovery" system, and IDIP providers here in New Hampshire like Amethyst Foundation, Inc., Serenity House, Inc., REAP, Inc., don't want to eliminate drinking and driving--they want to eliminate drinking entirely in keeping with the religious/cult doctrines of AA (while making quite a nice, tax-free, profit doing so).

Good job, AA! You took an organization that once had merit (MADD) and ran it into the ground, trampling people's civil liberties, creating a legion of people that absolutely despise you.

The Heresy of the Twelve Steps

2011-10-18T12:58:00.000-04:00

The fundamentalist, former drunks who run AA (and the entire "industry" including Amethyst Foundation, Inc.), if they had functioning intellects, would quickly realize that the Twelve Steps are heresy. But, either by choice, or by past alcohol use, or genetics, or a combination thereof, they don't. I'll spell it out for them:

"I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me." 1st Commandment

In the Alcoholics Anonymous program, you can use anything for your "God" or "Higher Power". A.A. has lots of stories of people using a bedpan, a teacup, a doorknob, a stone, a teddy bear, a mountain, a motorcycle, or "Good Orderly Direction" for their "Higher Power". You can pray to any Golden Calf, stone idol, or Higher-Powered item of Household Hardware that you like. One of the more ridiculous word redefinitions that A.A. offers us is, you can make the word "G.O.D." mean "Group Of Drunks". The LADC I was mandated to see told me, therefore, that my atheism was no excuse not to like A.A.

A.A. founder Bill Wilson ("Bill W.") wrote:

"I must quickly assure you that A.A.'s tread innumerable paths in their quest for faith. ... You can, if you wish, make A.A. itself your 'higher power.' Here's a very large group who have solved their alcohol problem. In this respect they are certainly a power greater than you, who have not even come close to a solution. Surely you can have faith in them. Even this minimum of faith will be enough."

--Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, William G. Wilson, page 27.

Given that most Christians believe in the holy trinity (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost), I don't think many of them would think kindly to praying to a Group Of Drunks, or seeking and doing the will of a bunch of drunkards. Also, how would Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or Jews feel about being told this?

But then, that's assuming that people that go to A.A. think. They don't.

In addition, the Twelve Steps talk about "God as we understood Him". Members are allegedly free to define God however they imagine or understand "Him" to be. Bill Wilson told A.A. recruiters to

Stress the spiritual feature freely. If the man be agnostic or atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to agree with your conception of God. He can choose any conception he likes, provided it makes sense to him. The main thing is that he be willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he live by spiritual principles.

--The Big Book, William G. Wilson, Chapter 7, Working With Others, page 93.

Obviously, this makes A.A. incompatible with atheism. Atheism is the non-belief in a higher power. But A.A. members just see an atheist's nonbelief as another fault (like his alcoholism in denial) that needs to be cured. God will cure the poor sap's atheism--he just needs to be dragged in to A.A. meetings.

How about making my higher power Satan? Or Hitler? Or Wotan, Thor, Loki, etc...? Some of the people I've meet at A.A. meetings are absolutely insane. They have truly drunk the cool-aid and are full-blown cult followers. I'm sure some of the things they understand god to be would get them committed if anyone looked at A.A. with any degree of scrutiny. (A.A., for some reason, likely ignorance, gets largely a free pass by society, despite it being a religious cult which is completely ineffective at treating alcoholism.)

Bill Wilson emphatically repeated that doctrine in the Big Book:

        Despite the living example of my friend [a sober Ebby Thacher] there remained in me the vestiges of my old prejudice. The word God still aroused a certain antipathy. When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me this feeling was intensified. I didn't like the idea.   ..

        My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said,"Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"

      That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last.

        It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start from that point. Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend. Would I have it? Of course I would!

        Thus was I convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we want Him enough. At long last I saw, I felt, I believed. Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes. A new world came into view.

--Big Book, 3rd Edition, William G. Wilson, Chapter 1, "Bill's Story", Page 12.

We were now at Step Three. Many of us said to our Maker, as we understood Him: "God, I offer myself to Thee — to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!" We thought well before taking this step making sure we were ready; that we could at last abandon ourselves utterly to Him.

--A.A. Big Book, 3rd Edition, William G. Wilson, page 63.

Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstance.

--The Big Book, 3rd Edition, William G. Wilson, page 100.

You might be thinking that this is just "The Big Book" and A.A. doesn't really follow it strictly. You would be wrong in thinking so. You will very quickly learn that "The Big Book" is the absolute final authority and is never to be questioned! Bill W. is viewed as a near-God by these people. This, despite his well-documented abuse of his wife, infidelity, narcissism, and his utter failure at being sober (he cried out for whiskey on his deathbed).

The blind, cult-like obedience to the religion of A.A. extends beyond the meetings in church basements. In New Hampshire, the agencies entrusted with carrying out court-ordered Impaired Driver Intervention Programs (IDIPs), such as Amethyst Foundation, Inc., REAP, Inc., and Serenity House, Inc., are owned, operated, and staffed by A.A. members. Staff members spread the gospel of A.A. during IDIP classes, declare everyone an alcoholic (either admitted or in denial) and order mandatory A.A. attendance as part of the aftercare that virtually everyone is assigned. Also, as part of the "aftercare" is mandatory counseling sessions with Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselors, who happen to espouse...yes, that's right, the tenets of A.A.

In essence, the state of New Hampshire let A.A. infiltrate a significant component of the government. (And I haven't even mentioned A.A.'s role in New Hampshire's prisons, parole hearings, professional disciplinary proceedings, and others yet...I will later.) The entire recovery industry is reaping in huge (tax free) revenue while indoctrinating new member into their A.A. cult. It's a great scam, and I'm sure the smart ones at the top are laughing their way to the bank. The stupid ones being exploited merely think they are saving souls.

Here's one final secret about A.A. members: they lie. They lie because they believe they are saving souls and that they know better than you. I've caught people at A.A. meetings (and at Amethyst Foundation, Inc.) red-handed in the act of lying, with well-documented evidence, and they still shamelessly maintain they are right.

If you are at the mercy of these people and need your license back, you need to understand the personalities you are dealing with. These are people who think they are fault-less and perfect because god has revealed to them the truth. They take pity on you. With the power they have been entrusted by the state they will bend you to their will. Play dumb. Reveal no will, backbone, or free-thought. Lie, as they will lie to you. Escape their clutches, get your license back and flip them the bird in your rear view mirror as you drive away.

If there were a god, and the Ten Commandments, these people would surely be going to hell.

Atheism: Ready for Primetime!

2011-10-08T11:10:00.002-04:00

It's great to see an admired, lead character in a popular prime time television program trash religion. This makes me optimistic about the future of society.

Forced Worship Celebrates 3000 hits

2011-10-03T10:18:00.001-04:00

Though it doesn't sound like very much, three thousand hits is actually a fairly impressive number for a little blog like this.

Good luck to those of you who are going through what I had to go through.

Would you like your story heard? Send it to me!

16 Red Flag Hearings: 14 Affirmed, 0 Reversed, 2 Remanded

2011-10-03T10:01:00.023-04:00

Looking for Justice by holding a Red-Flag Hearing? Don't Count On It

The Department of Safety, Bureau of Hearings, has posted a Compendium of Superior Court Cases. Under "I. Substance Abuse Completion Requirements" there are listed sixteen red-flag hearings, or appeals of decisions made by Amethyst Foundation, REAP, or other administrators of IDIP programs. Of those sixteen hearings, none were reversed.

"90 meetings in 90 days"

Keskula v. Beecher, 04-E-142, (Merrimack, Lewis, 07/19/04) AFFIRMED
Referred to further counseling by LADAC; Petitioned for, and after a hearing, Hearings Examiner entered as his disposition the indefinite suspension of Petitioner's driving privileges and further directed that he attend 90 self-held group meetings in 90 days, and securing a low-risk alcohol evaluation from a LADAC …; Petitioner disagreed; appeal filed; HELD: "The Hearings Examiner acted within his discretion in making the rulings and determinations … There is ample support for the conclusion that the required aftercare was warranted in this case."

Charming. Ninety meetings in ninety days is an old AA slogan. It is how new people ("pigeons" in AA slang) are recruited. Like other cults, AA tries to insulate new member from the outside world during the period of indoctrination. There's no evidence that this helps in maintaining sobriety at all.

Issues of effectiveness aside, ordering AA attendance, which this clearly is doing, is unconstitutional.

All of these courts have ruled that Alcoholics Anonymous is a religion or engages in religious activities:

the Federal 7th Circuit Court in Wisconsin, 1984.
the Federal District Court for Southern New York, 1994.
the New York Court of Appeals, 1996.
the New York State Supreme Court, 1996.
the U.S. Supreme Court, 1997.
the Tennessee State Supreme Court.
the Federal 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, 1996.
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh District, 1996.
the Federal Appeals Court in Chicago, 1996.
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, September 7, 2007.
the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 2006.
the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 2005.
the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, 2006.

The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear challenges to those rulings, or to change or over-turn those lower court decisions. By letting them stand, the Supreme Court has made them the law of the land.

In the case of Grandberg v. Ashland County, a 1984 Federal 7th Circuit Court ruling concerning judicially-mandated A.A. attendance, the court said:

Alcoholics Anonymous materials and the testimony of the witness established beyond a doubt that religious activities, as defined in constitutional law, were a part of the treatment program. The distinction between religion and spirituality is meaningless, and serves merely to confuse the issue.
— Wisconsin's District Judge John Shabaz

Really, could the law be any clearer than that?

"Conflicting LADACs"

Reyno v. Beecher, 05-E-603,(Merrimack, Fitzgerald, 01/18/06) AFFIRMED
Referred to further counseling by LADAC; suspension sustained after hearing with conflicting testimony from more than one LADAC. Program disagreed with LADAC. Hearings Examiner held that Petitioner must follow program's recommendation. Court affirmed in a short one-line opinion.

Bastille v. Beecher, 05-E-055,(Rockingham, McHugh, 04/27/05) AFFIRMED
Referred to further counseling, suspension was sustained after hearing with conflicting LDACs. Director ordered counseling. Court ordered Petitioner to submit to a new LDAC evaluation. Evidence was sufficient to sustain order, but time was up and court ordered restoration after it reviewed additional submissions by petitioner about two weeks later.

The bottom line appears to be: In a contest of opinion between an Amethyst Foundation/REAP/Serenity House LADC vs. your outside expert, you lose.

"The Court may not 'Second Guess' the Examiner's reliance on the Reports, as to what weight and credibility to assign them."

Gregoire v. Beecher, 04-E-0063, (Strafford, Smukler, 07/07/04) AFFIRMED
Referred to further counseling; did not comply and at a hearing, the Hearings Examiner ordered Petitioner to show compliance; Petitioner argues that although the examiner was correct in reaching the foregoing conclusions based on the evidence before him, the evidence upon which he relied was inaccurate. HELD: Petitioner has not met his burden of demonstrating that the examiner's decision was unreasonable or unlawful. "The Court … may not second-guess the examiner's reliance on the reports or his determination, as to what weight and credibility to assign them."

Oeser v. Beecher, 02-E-50, (Cheshire, Groff, 8/19/02) AFFIRMED
After a hearing ordering aftercare, Petitioner appealed raising "the following five issues on appeal: (1) …sentence has been served and her license must be restored; (2) … was not granted a hearing; (3) … license must be reinstated after 1-year; (4) hearing violated … right to due process and the DOS regulations; (5) … counselor is unqualified and the tests used … to determine her risk of re-offending were unreliable." Court held: "clearly the statute provides for continued revocation of the license of a person convicted of a DWI offense beyond the 1-yr period, if the person fails to meet the further counseling requirements. The Court finds that there is no evidence the hearings officer failed to follow the departmental regulations in the conduct of the hearing, or failed to give … a full and fair hearing in complete accord with all constitutional requirements of due process. Finally, the Court finds that … has failed to establish as a matter of law that the counselor was unqualified or that the tests were unreliable. The Court finds that the hearings officer's acceptance of the counselor's opinions and recommendations for treatment were reasonable."

Ferris v. Beecher, 01-E-42, (Strafford, Mohl, 4/6/01) AFFIRMED
Referred to further counseling by CADAC; after hearing the Hearings Examiner agreed with the CADAC and concluded that petitioner's alcohol abuse problem was not under control and that he was at risk to be a repeat DWI offender; appeal filed; petitioner considers himself only a "problem drinker" and argues that his test scores were inaccurate because he answered the questions based on his life style habits in 1998 as opposed to the present, as directed to do by the CADAC. The Court held: once petitioner demonstrates compliance with the program and is not at risk to recidivate, he can then petition to be decertified as an Habitual Offender.

So not only will your expert witness be wrong, the court will too, and it must defer to the wisdom of the Amethyst Foundation/REAP/Serenity House LADC! Nevermind that to be a LADC requires only a rudimentary training, and not even a high school diploma, which is driven by christian fundamentalist ideology that is unconcerned with issues such as fairness. Retribution, punishment, and "saving you" for your own good is all that they are concerned with.

I Don't Care If People Don't Like Me

2011-09-21T18:56:00.001-04:00

Senator Franken got it almost right with his character, Stuart Smalley. But Stuart is kind and assumes the best in people (just not himself). The twelve-steppers of AA, founded on Christian born again fundamentalism, aren't They are full of fear, intolerance, and hate. The audience of SNL wasn't (and probably still isn't) ready for this type of honest depiction, however. It's still taboo to criticize religion. Hopefully people will start to see these psychotics for the irrational, dangerous, lunatics they are.

Naturally Incapable of Rigorous Honesty and Suffering From Grave Emotional and Mental Disorders

2011-09-21T18:46:00.002-04:00

Every AA meeting opens up with this prayer:

Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. There are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.

If you have any independent thought, you will soon grow extremely tired of its astounding degree of condescension, blaming, arrogance, and shockingly blatant effort at manipulation.

"Rarely have they seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path"

Wow. It sounds like AA is very effective! This is a lie. Even AA admits it. They qualify this statement by "thoroughly." If it doesn't work for you, it's your fault--you didn't follow their (simple) path thoroughly enough. It's your fault! You can't even follow a simple program!!

The truth is that people who quit on their own have an equal, if not higher, success rate than those that follow AA's path. The problem isn't with the person, it's with the program. AA simultaneously falsely legitimizes itself as effective when it is not, and then bashes the poor alcoholic when AA doesn't work for him/her. Charming.

"Men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates."

This is perhaps the most condescending statement I've heard anyone utter. The idea that a group of deluded, unthinking, unquestioning sheep could know myself better than I do is outrageous. They can't even accurately assess their own lives or critically assess the AA program. They unquestioningly accept what Bill W. says as the truth. If they are unable to question themselves critically, they are in no position to do so to me. But they do, and take pity on me as a hopeless case...an "unfortunate" who they turn their backs on.

People who fail are either:

"naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty"

I always snorted when someone said this. If AA members lived in a manner demanding rigorous honesty they would realize:

that AA has been repeatedly shown, using rigorous double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, to be utterly ineffective in achieving sobriety. The likelihood of success is just as high in those that stop drinking on their own. One major study showed that people who attend AA are 9-times more likely to binge drink, compared with those who do Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT). Even AA's triennial survey admitted to the ineffectiveness of its program. But AA members reject these pieces of evidence. They are in a constant state of denial, which is ironic because that's how they dismiss others (like myself) who disagree with them.
that the evidence for a Christian God, which is what AA is based on, is nonexistent. Combine this with the many suspect, self serving reasons to believe in such a god (fear of death, fear of others unlike us, fear of change, selfloathing, etc...), and all this god talk begins to sound like a type of psychosis. I heard many testimonies about personal visits and conversations from God by people in AA meetings. I was scared that such delusional people were, not just walking the streets, but approved of by society.
they are, in no way, superior to me in being capable of being honest with myself. Not only am I incapable of being rigorously honest, but I'm naturally incapable of even grasping it! I was evidently born defective mentally, and cannot operate at the high plane of mental functioning that average AA members are able. And even more, I'm so stunted intellectually and/or morally that I'm incapable of realizing it!
they were wasting half their lives at AA meetings in dark damp church basements where all anyone ever talks about is how great the program is, how close to death they were, and how they would be dead if it weren't for AA. Say it enough times, and people will believe it, maybe, is what they are shooting for. This is also called "brainwashing." Look into it.

"suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders"

I guess my doctors are all incompetent. I must be bipolar or schizophrenic and they missed it. Maybe I should trust AA instead of them, especially since they're so rigorously honest, unlike my physicians.

"many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest."

So all you have to do to succeed at AA is have the capability of being honest. I guess "honest" really in the language that AA uses means "gullible." It certainly doesn't mean believing the truth. It means believing the lies that AA tells you, and then spouting off constantly about how wonderfully it works.

This mean-spirited, "kick 'em when their down," attitude is common to christian fundamentalists. It's not the version of Christianity taught in the older, more traditional forms of Catholicism, Protestantism, or other religions. The christian "born again" fundamentalists are a sick, twisted, selfish, and hateful lot.

I don't know which is more shocking to me: that society has such a beneficent view of the AA, or that people in AA can be such gullible idiots. Society doesn't really know that much about AA. Most people only know of someone who has gone to meetings. If they had gone themselves, or have read the lunatic rantings of Bill W. in the "Big Book" that is read like scripture in every meeting and followed with blind obedience, I'm sure they would think differently.

The sad fact of the matter is that there are many people truly helpless at the hands of alcohol. They are decent people who, for some reason, cannot stop drinking. They are suckered into the scam that AA will save them, if only they are subservient enough and give up all critical reasoning ability. Why trust medical researchers and physicians, when you can trust a former drunk's uncritical, uneducated religious rantings in the basement of a church? The fact that AA preys on these, the real "unfortunates," is the worst aspect of this entire sham.

Atheists Aren't The Ones Who Are Arrogant

2011-09-21T17:19:00.001-04:00

During my IDIP courses at Amethyst Foundation, Inc., the LADC who was "teaching" told me repeatedly that my "arrogant atheism" prevented me from ever being able to deal with my "drinking problem."

I encountered this same insanity during the AA meetings I was forced to attend (especially when I refused to hold hands in a circle and pray with those losers).

You know what's arrogant? Thinking that the supreme being is interested in your sorry ass or your whining about your "drinking problem." That's the height of arrogance.

It's also the height of stupidity. But if you've been through this, you already know how stupid these people are. Willful ignorance is a prerequisite to being a LADC, and it's why they drank to deal with their problems before being certified to push their nonthinking ideology on others. I'd rather they had stayed the pathetic drunks they were.

Wanted: Civil Rights Attorney

2011-09-21T17:00:00.001-04:00

I've been contacted by several people who, like me, are deeply offended by being forced by the state of New Hampshire to attend AA meetings that are religious, ineffective, and insulting to anyone with any degree of intelligence. We would love to file a class-action lawsuit in Federal Court on Establishment Clause grounds.

Are there any seasoned civil rights attorneys out there who would be willing to help? This abuse of power needs to be stopped. If so, please email me at AtheosAmericus@gmail.com

Would You Like To Guest Blog?

2011-09-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

I'd love to hear from anyone wanting to guest blog on Force Worship! It will be anonymous, of course. Email me!

(Note: be sure to exempt AtheosAmericus@gmail.com from your spam filter.)

Getting a Good DUI Lawyer

2011-09-13T14:12:00.004-04:00

Finding the Right Attorney is Very, Very Important

When I was arrested for DUI, a lot was at stake: jail time, huge fines, etc... I went to one of the most reputable law firm in New Hampshire. It would seem a logical choice, but I ended up getting crappy representation from an inadequately supervised junior associate who was too afraid and insecure to admit when he didn't know something. I trusted him because he worked for a highly respected law firm. This was a mistake. I ended up making wrong, uninformed (and expensive) decisions--some of which I actually had to correct for him by filing court paperwork later. To add insult to injury, the guy was a former cop who just dripped with a snarky, judgmental, "you deserved it, so stop whining" attitude. I really felt ripped off.

My advice to anyone looking for a lawyer to is surf the web and look for attorneys that show a passion for criminal defense work in general, and DUI defense in specific. DUI laws are grossly unfair and extremely punitive. Because of hysterical MADD lobbying groups and religious AA prohibitionists, state legislators, district attorneys, sheriffs and other elected officials are pressured to enact and enforce ridiculous DUI laws.

Good attorneys know this, and they know that good citizens are being unfairly punished and need good representation. Their passion will show in their websites. A good DUI lawyer will blog about DUI laws, defenses, and legislation, etc... and I'm sure they would have done a better and cheaper job then the jerk I hired.

Here are some sites that impressed me. I wish I had checked them out:

Eugene C. Struckhoff, III, Lothstein Law Office, PLLC, Concord, New Hampshire

Gene Struckhoff ("Citizen, Lawyer"), a graduate of Harvard Law who has been defending individuals since 1969, has a long essay entitled "The Importance of Defending DWI/DUI Cases." I couldn't help but be impressed with this.

Mark Stevens, The Law Offices of Mark Stevens, Salem, New Hampshire

Mark Stevens specializes in DUI representation and is extremely experienced at it, as indicated by his online attorney profile. He went to law school at Massachusetts School of Law, which is not a very good law school. But the truth is that law school really doesn't teach you how to be an attorney, practicing law does. Getting into Harvard Law really only shows that you got (very) good grades as an undergraduate and scored (very) high on the LSAT. Stevens looks good, and his passion for what he does is evident.

Daniel Hynes (aka, "The NH DWI Guy"), The Law Offices of Daniel Hynes, Nashua, New Hampshire

I was very impressed with Hynes's plucky attitude. He's gotten great reviews on Google and Yahoo. He does mainly DWI cases and has a lot of experience. His passion for his work comes across in his website videos, his online guidebook to DWI defenses, and extensive website DUI-related material. I feel that anyone who takes the time to write and make available content like this has a passion for what he does, and would likely do a great job defending you. He also seems aware of and sensitive to the expense of representation. Hayes went to University of Albany (Criminology Major) and then to Western New England Law School. Again, Western New England Law is not Harvard Law, but I'm not sure how meaningful the difference is in reality.

Ryan Russman, Russman Law Offices, Exeter, New Hampshire

Russman looks very experienced and accomplished. A graduate of Suffolk Law and author of two books on DUI defense, he offers extensive resources on his website and is impressive. As a semi-finalist in both the ABA National Trail competition and Suffolk Law third year moot court competition, he's probably a great attorney if you have to go to trial. He has great customer reviews, too.

I'm sure there are other great attorneys out there. You should look for someone who specializes in DUI cases, is smart, and is passionate. Passion is indicated to me by the degree of intellectual curiosity shown on their websites and their accomplishments. The attorneys above have written books on DUI defenses, have specialized training in DUI law, and even teach CLE courses on this stuff. They have taken the time to create excellent websites.

Keep in mind that if you go to the firms above, you may very well be represented by a supervised, junior attorney. But be careful. Get assurances that they are competent and well supervised.

Though the attorney I hired worked for an impressive law firm, and was under the supervision of one of it's partners, he was a joke (an expensive one).

Do you know of a good attorney? If so, email me!