Tony Ortega wrote this piece recently, covering the scientology petition to the US Supreme Court in the Masterson civil case claiming their "First Amendment rights" are under attack because the California Appellate court ruled that its "arbitration" contracts are invalid when they commit torts against someone who is no longer part of their organization. I have warned previously about the problem with conservative judges Religious Protections Run Amok and Scientology "Arbitration": They make up the rules as they go along Once again, this problem arises. Two amicus briefs were … [Read more...]
Episode 42: Listener Questions Part 5
We answered more "Listener Questions" this week. These are some of our favorite episodes and we really appreciate the questions people send in. This one was especially fun and I think you all will enjoy it. We talk about the last chapter of Hubbard's life which is documented in the Epilogue of Lawrence Wright's brilliant Going Clear. This is an excerpt detailing what Steve Pfauth, one of the handful of people with Hubbard at the end of his life had to say. We talk about Hubbard's succession and mention the issue appointing Pat and Annie Broeker which Miscavige had … [Read more...]
Scientology’s Tax Exemption
I happened to pull up this posting from April 2015 and in re-reading it I thought it important enough to repost here today. With The Aftermath on Netflix, many new people are being exposed to the horrifying truth about scientology for the first time. And many have the same question as those who have been in the know for some time. How is it that scientology can be tax exempt? This is a pretty good essay that explains in some detail why it should NOT. And it addresses a bit why it hasn’t changed. Unfortunately, with a conservative majority now firmly entrenched in the US Supreme Court, … [Read more...]