And in answer to the question, I guess that the criminal organisation known as the "church" of $cioentology has been able to milk "the religion angle" for both tax benefits and legal protection. In the United States. Other countries are also shying away from using existing human rights laws to stop the organisation from violating the rights of its victims.
Data protection acts, such as the GDPR (in Europe) and CCPA (in California) should be used much more aggressively by critics and ex-victims.
The answer to,that question is an unfortunate twist on the golden rule. “He who has the gold rules.” Chipping away at their vast stores of wealth will undermine their foundations to the degree that at some point they will hopefully fall.
Ron Newman is one of the heroes of the ASC and the entire world wide web. He and his web site were instrumental in getting fair use used and applied to the internet.
Why is the Clampire still around? Because they still raise funds and still have members willing to publicly shill for them. The '92 IRS agreement did not save the Clams, it just let them charge less for their 'fee for services' business plan. If Goldberg hadn't caved in, $cientology would be in the same corporate boat as Amway and other multilevel marketing companies.
But it probably would still be operating in the same way is operates today. In an earlier ruling the Supreme Court ruled that $cientology was a business and not eligible for tax exemption. The IRS had all the legal world behind them in '91 and '92 and could have resisted all of the $cieno lawsuits against their agents. But Goldberg bailed out and got all those nasty lawsuits against his agents dropped. I am certain that the employees of the IRS liked that, but Goldberg did a great disservice to the body politic by allowing 501c3 status.
Love your bike trip--thanks for sharing, Tony. I've never been involved in Scientology, but I was involved in various organized religions and didn't stick around when I felt something wasn't quite right. The only reason I can think of why Sci is still in business is people either have their head in the sand or conform to every rule enforced by Sci. We heard that in the trial--the girls were NOT allowed to report to Law Enforcement--say what???!! I've always been a rebel, so I can't understand anyone joining or remaining in any cult.
They are still in business because the staff and members would be lost with no high purpose to keep them interested in being alive. What would they do with their lives that made them feel important and special? Work for Goodwiil, run a soup kitchen, care for the homeless. Scientology is so rah rah glamorous and keeps the adrenaline pumping. Here it is WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN SAVE THE WORLD! That’s my answer to Ron’s question. They would be lost without the cult.
Tony, you’re such a champ. Terrific story, great punchline question. Maybe the answer is they’re not actually in business all that much. They’ve got their whales, and a couple of orgs are pulling in a couple of people, and Flag is making millions. Is that “in business?”
Ron Newman is a hero.
And in answer to the question, I guess that the criminal organisation known as the "church" of $cioentology has been able to milk "the religion angle" for both tax benefits and legal protection. In the United States. Other countries are also shying away from using existing human rights laws to stop the organisation from violating the rights of its victims.
Data protection acts, such as the GDPR (in Europe) and CCPA (in California) should be used much more aggressively by critics and ex-victims.
The answer to,that question is an unfortunate twist on the golden rule. “He who has the gold rules.” Chipping away at their vast stores of wealth will undermine their foundations to the degree that at some point they will hopefully fall.
Ron Newman is one of the heroes of the ASC and the entire world wide web. He and his web site were instrumental in getting fair use used and applied to the internet.
Why is the Clampire still around? Because they still raise funds and still have members willing to publicly shill for them. The '92 IRS agreement did not save the Clams, it just let them charge less for their 'fee for services' business plan. If Goldberg hadn't caved in, $cientology would be in the same corporate boat as Amway and other multilevel marketing companies.
But it probably would still be operating in the same way is operates today. In an earlier ruling the Supreme Court ruled that $cientology was a business and not eligible for tax exemption. The IRS had all the legal world behind them in '91 and '92 and could have resisted all of the $cieno lawsuits against their agents. But Goldberg bailed out and got all those nasty lawsuits against his agents dropped. I am certain that the employees of the IRS liked that, but Goldberg did a great disservice to the body politic by allowing 501c3 status.
Love your bike trip--thanks for sharing, Tony. I've never been involved in Scientology, but I was involved in various organized religions and didn't stick around when I felt something wasn't quite right. The only reason I can think of why Sci is still in business is people either have their head in the sand or conform to every rule enforced by Sci. We heard that in the trial--the girls were NOT allowed to report to Law Enforcement--say what???!! I've always been a rebel, so I can't understand anyone joining or remaining in any cult.
They are still in business because the staff and members would be lost with no high purpose to keep them interested in being alive. What would they do with their lives that made them feel important and special? Work for Goodwiil, run a soup kitchen, care for the homeless. Scientology is so rah rah glamorous and keeps the adrenaline pumping. Here it is WE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN SAVE THE WORLD! That’s my answer to Ron’s question. They would be lost without the cult.
Tony, you’re such a champ. Terrific story, great punchline question. Maybe the answer is they’re not actually in business all that much. They’ve got their whales, and a couple of orgs are pulling in a couple of people, and Flag is making millions. Is that “in business?”
I really enjoyed your trip and thanks for the photos.