A small point in the overall scheme of things, but something that struck home with me a few days ago. Jack is now attending pre-school. His school is part of a local Methodist church. They are located in the church facilities and are part of the church's programs. There was a parent-teacher-church meeting to begin the year that Christie and I attended. After talking with Jack's teachers we went into the church proper with all the other parents (there are a dozen different classrooms for children of different pre-school ages) and sat in the pews. The minister Opened the gathering with … [Read more...]
Wake Up The Government
This was posted on ESMB and then Karen De La Carriere reposted it to Twitter and Facebook. It is worth taking note. Letters from CONSTITUENTS are treated seriously by elected officials. The more US Congressmen there are who have been made aware of the issue, the greater the chance of something being done. The IRS is answerable to Congress. Sooner or later this is going to become an issue that one or more politicians will feel they can gain popularity with. When that day happens, the more there are to jump on the bandwagon the better. Writing to your Congressman IS an effective means of … [Read more...]
Tax Exemption Paranoia
Clearly, the Alex Gibney OpEd piece in the LA Times is still giving Miscavige heartburn. And he has no response other than a lame letter to the editor by his spokespuppet Monique Yingling. This is the latest appeared in the Razzline. Sent by a "public scientologist" from a "csi.com" (church of scientology international) email address.... All they can do is hope to generate "positive comments" -- using a "screen name"? Good luck with that. From: Xxxxx Xxxxx [mailto:xxxxx@csi.com] Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 3:04 PM To: Subject: "Scientology deserves its tax exemption" - LA Times … [Read more...]
Scientology Tax Exemption Panic
It would appear that the statements made in the wake of Going Clear by Alex Gibney have struck a nerve, especially his OpEd piece in the LA Times. David Miscavige has trotted out his second favorite scientology spokespuppet (after Karin Pouw), non-scientologist lawyer Monique Yingling. She strangely appeared to defend the non-practice of "disconnection" on Anderson Cooper, and also came to visit me one time to discuss whether I wanted to speak to my children and other family members. She is sort of a Girl Friday who fills in as an Ethics Officer/IJC and spokesperson when needed. She is … [Read more...]
Should Scientology Be Tax Exempt?
Should scientology be tax exempt? At the outset -- I am not a lawyer. I am certain those more knowledgeable than I can find fault with some imprecise terminology or descriptions I use. But I doubt they would disagree with the general picture I am trying to paint. Of course, the answer about scientology's tax exempt status for many people (myself included) is "No, they should NOT be entitled to special exemption from taxation." But why? And what is different about scientology than other exempt organizations? There is a long tradition of protecting religious freedom in the United … [Read more...]