The Illuminati are not the Free Masons.

[exchemist]

Thanks, as I knew nothing about them, I skimmed this link's text and was reminded of man I knew when still in high school. He was one of the transmitter engineers, I did their summer vacation shifts for at Radio WCHS.

He was paying some one of an organization to help him "regress into his prior lives" but having trouble getting back thru the pain of his birth - more time / with his coach required still, he said. - With out saying it, I thought: "What a racket his organization had." He would say little about the organization but once he had experienced his prior lives, he would be "qualified" to help others. (Get the organizations certification and could charge them, of course.)*
I could not remember the organization's name, so I google searched: "Society teaching prior life regression means"

After finding that produced 20 pages of "hits" I stopped clicking on "next" - Quasi-secrete societies are alive and well. One great way to part fools from their funds, it appears, as unlike self help professional, no state regulates who is quailed to give "aid in regressing to your prior lives" to better understand your psychological make-up now.

* Sort of a mental help version of herbal life or fuller brush, just skirting the edge of an illegal chain letter fund raising plan.

Scientology is a similar sort of scam. The joke there is it was actually founded by a writer of sci-fi and fantasy stories. You'd have to be a real idiot to go in for that, but……..

 

[Billy T]

Scientology is a similar sort of scam. The joke there is it was actually founded by a writer of sci-fi and fantasy stories. You'd have to be a real idiot to go in for that, but……..

thanks. Yes his group was Scientology - I just could not drag up a 60 year old memory of the name, but knew I would recognize it if I searched. Related items in memory are more easily recalled after one is - I now remember Ron Hubbard was the founder. - I wonder how many millions he has made from that scam?

This guy was strange. WCHS's transmitter was somewhat isolated but a road passed in front of it. An ice-cream "giggle bike" (three wheels with well insulated box between the front two) passed by every summer day* and always stopped at the station to see if he could make a sale (and to rest little). It keep the ice cream cold with some "dry ice." One day just at shift change time, 4PM, both he and I were there when it stopped. I bought something and bike driver open the small square lid on top to take out my order. This guy then stuck his head into the box - only cold CO2 gas inside. When he went limp, I understood he had passed out and saved him.

* I only did vacation replacements shifts in summers - went to high school at other times. The four engineers each got three weeks, so that was at least 12 week pay at a 1st Class FCC engineer's salary plus even better, when one wanted a day or two off they called me, and paid me in cash. I did this mostly on winter weekends. I guess I can admit now, that cash sum was never taxed; although the IRS got its cut as officially he was working, not me.

 

[Kristoffer]

L. Ron Hubbard's grave should be turned into a latrine.

He was a shitty sci fi writer and an even shittier "prophet".

I still wait in anticipation for the day that his shitty cult becomes illegal.

 

[Billy T]

... I still wait in anticipation for the day that his shitty cult becomes illegal.

You probably will have a long wait; but its tax exempt status first lost in 1963 and then regained in 1993 is quite likely to end soon.

... {For} millions of people who have seen Going Clear on HBO, and millions more who have read books by Lawrence Wright, Jenna Miscavige Hill, and so many other ex-members the focus has become the fact that Scientology doesn’t deserve tax-exempt status. It is not a non-profit and certainly not a public benefit. It is actually a harmful, controlling organization invented by a sick man and run by a paranoid lunatic.*

The reality is that Scientology is nothing more than a manipulative, controlling business that has been scamming and harming people for decades. Their time is very limited, and when they lose their tax-exempt status and religious recognition, it will open the flood gates for those who have been harmed to get some retribution through civil litigation.

Rather than individual litigation, a broad class action suit would seem to me to the most efficient way to get small fraction of funds (hundreds of millions of dollars) swindled from millions of people back and more importantly via seizure of assets, shut this scam down. Every US tax payer has been financially damaged, but that lost taxes can not be recovered.

* Paranoid lunatic" is in part a reference to fact he hired and paid 10,000 dollars per week to private investigators to follow his own father who became disillusion with the "church." Other PIs were paid the same weekly sum to follow (in one case for 25 years!) high positioned earlier member who "disserted."

 

[Dr_Toad]

I seem to recall that the members like to stomp on furniture..

 

[exchemist]

I seem to recall that the members like to stomp on furniture..

Just came across this, having not been in here for a few weeks, and wondered what you were referring to. Is there some ludicrous example of Scientology in action that I have missed? what was it about?

 

[el es]

Tom Cruise couch jumping?