Fox News just interviewed the "19 and Counting" Duggar sisters about being molested by their brother. Of course, they blamed everyone but their brother and their parents. Montel Williams had the best response:

IKR? He made a comment earlier in the week that was very spot on too! I don't remember exactly what it was but it was about the Duggar's and I was surprised that it was him.
Glad to know he is another one that is hip to scientology and their BS too.

He's channeling Sylvia Browne.

I am constantly amazed at the Byzantine complexity of the Scientology organization. I can imagine that Hubbard and his minions thought they were really "da bomb" when they came up with this structure. They probably congratulated themselves on how they would be able to tie any "wog" government in knots and how they would be able to "put ethics in" on the planet. (Why does the phrase "put ethics in" evoke the image for me of inserting a suppository anytime I hear it?) And Miscavige clearly benefits from this structure, as much of his legitimacy as the il supremo of Scientology rests on beating the IRS.

But the obsession with trying to protect their ill-gotten gains has distracted the cult in a way it sows the seeds of their own doom. They are completely unable to put a product on the market that people will actually want to buy. Dianetics was a fad -- big initial sales, then it fell off approximately as quickly as dancing the Macarena. 98% of the people who were introduced to Scientology had nothing to do with the organization after their initial contact. Only a small percentage of people who learned anything about the cult stuck around for longer than a month or two. And many of them stuck around only because of the coercive actions of the cult -- the punishment of "ethics handling," the high pressure financial scams, and the inculcated fear of "losing your eternity."

The fact that the cult still exists doesn't hide the fact that their product is ridiculous. I'm reminded of the Pontiac Aztek, a car that had the unique distinction of making many journalists' lists of the worst cars ever while it was still in production. In the article here, legendary auto industry exec Bob Lutz talks about what a disaster the Aztek was. A quote from one of the senior guys on the project is instructive:

One guy I informally interviewed about how the Aztek happened was one of the top guys on the project. And this guy, he looks at me and he says, "I'm proud of it." Proud of the Aztek? "Yup. That was the best program we ever did at GM. We made all our internal goals, we made the timing, and I'm really proud of the part I played in it." He had tears in his eyes. It was almost tragic. Everybody wanted to will this thing to succeed, and it didn't work. All the emotional commitment and pride in the program was that it achieved all its internal objectives. And it was probably one of the great defeats in his life, or in his career.

In other words, they did a great job of doing the wrong things, and ended up being a laughingstock. Like Scientology. "Booming the stats" of calls made that go straight to voicemail, e-mails that go unanswered, leaflets handed out on Hollywood Boulevard, and having absolutely no clue as to why the numbers that actually matter keep going down.

I'm not saying that we should back off because the cult's doom is inevitable; we should rejoice in the fact that this organization has an even worse reputation than the Pontiac Aztek, and is somewhere down there on the likability ratings scale, clustered with pedophilia, ebola, explosive diarrhea and the US Congress, so the number of new members that come in and "go Clear" is near zero. We should keep up the pressure to save those still stuck in the cult, but we should not worry about the impact of the forbiddingly complex and (so far) successful corporate organization. It won't save them, just like having the most energy efficient ice-maker on the seven seas would not have saved the Titanic.

Speaking of the Aztek, COB RTC David Miscavige is going big on the new Scientology Media
Productions sound trucks. The fleet of 10,000 SMP sound trucks will soon be motoring through the neighborhoods of America, Australia, England, and even the quaint upstate New York hamlet of Canada.

As they locomote through your wog neighborhood the SMP sound trucks will blast COB's speeches and "We Stand Tall" at 70 - 100 decibels. These vehicles will not leave your neighborhood until a minimum $1000 donation is made to the IAS.

http://i1284.photobucket.co...

The vehicle of choice for the new 500,000 strong band of Scientology MAA's is the 1964 Chevrolet Cadet. These MAA's will drive the world putting in Ethics whether you like it or not. And their first stop: Global Capitalism HQ where they will deal with a certain trouble-making SP!

http://i1284.photobucket.co...

We in Global Capitalism HQ will make sure that we're nowhere near the massive edifice that serves as the nerve center for our globe-girdling enterprise when you're out there. Instead of jockeying with Cultmobiles(tm) on the Manhattan streets, we'll be soaring through the friendly skies in our jets. I hate to break it to you but the Caproni Ca.60 that's at the heart of Fleet Admiral Miscavige's air force is no match for even my modest used Gulfstream V. It's the Edsel of airplanes.

Incidentally, we applaud COB's thoroughness in ensuring that the nationwide acoustic bombardment from the Scientology Media Mobiles will reach even the small rural village of "Canada," so they can feel like they are part of the rest of America and won't have to spend so much time on that collective fantasy that they live in a separate country.

http://editorial.designtaxi...

That's no problem. When the Scientology Sound Trucks reach our southern border, they'll find out that nobody speaks English. Words like 'poutine', 'pop', 'Timmies', and 'Eh' will leave them so confused they will be unable to cross the border.

It's how we chase away nosey American tourists like Mitt Romney.

That looks like Xenu's ride, according to Hubbard that's the kind of car they were driving 75,000,065 years ago.

YES ! That visit is long overdue !!!

Why aren't today's cars built like that? Because every once and a while, you have to change the tires!!! Stupidest design I ever saw.....

*cleans shotgun*

Just prepping for your run through my neighborhood COB. :)

Do Molotov Cocktails count as donations?

Only if you get a receipt.

Wow! That ought to really irritate people and cause even more problems for Scientology.

We should put a few ice cream decals on the side of that bad boy and they will invite us into every neighborhood!

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

OMC!! (Oh My COB) forgot all about that scene! Brilliant

Geoffrey Lewis! Funny scene, *and* there's a Scientologist!

"Nice Dreams", like the great Cheech and Chong of yore.

"We Stand Tall" - isn't that the Viagra slogan?

I remember the days when politicians drove around town in those before elections. Oh, did I just let on how really old I am?

They still do, around here. It's one of the great Fall sounds, like a football game, or spooky music.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Scientology is immune to noise regulations because they are a religion, right?

The Golden Automobile of Tech:
..
http://onscreencars.com/wp-...

I WANT one!

Thanks for the Aztec link. Most instructive.

"These things require a culture of complete acquiescence and intimidation, led by a strong dictatorial individual who wants it that way.

The guy in charge of product development was Don Hackworth, an old-school guy from the tradition of shouts, browbeating, and by-God-I-want-it-done. He said, "Look. We've all made up our minds that the Aztek is gonna be a winner. It's gonna astound the world. I don't want any negative comments about this vehicle. None. Anybody who has bad opinions about it, I want them off the team."

May Scientology soon be the Edsel of religions.

It's that already. Unfortunately, there are a large number of relatively wealthy weirdos who will pay a lot for an Edsel.

At least they don't make them anymore. If there were no Orgs there might still be those sitting at home with their frayed Dianetics books putting people into a light trance but the worst would be over.

^ This is probably the best scenario to hope for. Just enough around to serve as a terrible warning.

The States have never seen the Reliant Robin, but the video did make the round as a meme.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh...

Haaa! That was great! At least it was easy to push upright once it tips over.

I sometimes wonder if Scientology's corporate shell game is really effective, or if the authorities merely lack the political will to call them out on it, knowing that a well-financed all-out attack would follow.

One way to assess this is to ask if an established business 're-organised' itself in the same way as the CofS, with the apparent aim of making it very difficult for regulators to keep track of their assets, would they get away with it?

I very much doubt they would.

true, i think it's almost like if ONLY 1) they start killing people, attacking organizations with weapons and ONLY then will authorities do anything. to them, i think it's still HEARSAY? and it's a silly cult and people that are too stupid to get involved deserve what they get, we have bigger issues to deal with!...

Of course, the CofS are killing people. They don't wave guns about, but the suffering and premature death that its brought about by Scientology's withholding of medical care, the 'Purif' and Narconon (to name but three) has got to be considerable.

I believe the US has finally got around to prosecuting Quacks for dangerous and fake autism 'cures'. However, they are individuals with limited resources. Scientology is a organisation which is prepared to do whatever it takes to avoid liability - including spending huge sums of money. This is the only reason I can see for why they are left alone.

Ah, yes, prioritise "execution" at the cost of all else. I would laugh, but my heart wouldn't be in it.

One manager tried to impress a bunch of us engineers by going on about how he was all about "flawless execution" and so would we be. When I related this to a colleague he nodded sagely and said "Ah. So, he favours a trap-door, then."

These days I look back on it. In a decade or so, I might get 'round to adding laughing about it.

A fascinating discussion (with photos) of how GM got the Corvair so wrong: http://www.curbsideclassic....

This is corporate hubris writ large and deadly. The only smart guy was John DeLorean who refused to build a version of this rear-engined death trap in his Pontiac division.

The most dysfunctional organization on the planet, it wouldn't last a day if it had to operate without slave labor.

And less than half a day if it had to be taxes.

How long if it had to be honest and report any human rights violations and fraud ?

As long as it took to turn off the lights and shut the door.

That's speed of particle flow !

Scientology 2015: " They are completely unable to put a product on the market that people will actually want to buy. "

Everyone knows, the word "ethics" in putting ethics in refers to an anally inserted dildo.

Wow , I never had that one even close to right... despite studying the ethics PLs on the staff statuses and the Sea Org Intro to Scientology Ethics course !

"The fact that the cult still exists doesn't hide the fact that their product is ridiculous."

IMO, long-term members found the early processes to be powerful enough to keep them there for the long term. For example, Jason Beghe had this happen very early in his Scientology involvement, before he had any expectations or preconceived ideas about what he was "supposed" to experience. Beghe said most of his subsequent involvement was a disappointing search for experiences which were as enlightening as his early one.

"98% of the people who were introduced to Scientology had nothing to do with the organization after their initial contact."

That's pretty much true for most New-Age practices, no matter whether they are wholesome or exploitative. Only a small percentage stay in for the long haul.

The reason I say these things is not to justify or excuse Scientology. Rather, I think it's important to understand why intelligent and discerning people would join cult, or a group that has cult-like attributes. Minimizing their experience by saying it's all crap (To be fair, you haven't exactly said this, John P. I don't want to put words in your mouth) does not further this understanding. Understanding the motivations of cult members IMO can help us to reach them without alienating them. It also prevents us from putting a comfortable distance between ourselves and cult members. Most of us have believed untrue things at some time in our lives, or allowed ourselves to be emotionally or financially manipulated at a vulnerable time.

I guess we have all had incidents in our lives where what started out good turns bad. There must be examples of this in the financial industry, and many people who were caught short by sticking to investments when they should have known better. I can see where your expertise would be useful in separating emotion from sound financial policy.

As I've said before, there are gains that are possible from auditing. I don't say that the tech never works because that's just as unlikely, statistically, as saying it works 100% of the time. I have interviewed a number of people who did see significant permanent positive changes in their lives (getting a long-overdue divorce, etc) as a result of auditing.

But I believe that if a clinical trial were to be conducted, the percentage of a population people that got measurable specific improvement in life circumstances or emotional well-being over a long period of time from Scientology practice will be substantially less than that from either well-accepted psychological counseling models (cognitive behavioral therapy, etc) where rigorous studies of effectiveness exist. I also strongly suspect that the "win rate" from Scientology will be less than a placebo. Finally, I strongly suggest that measurable benefits will diminish rather sharply over time at a fairly rapid rate. In other words, I suspect auditing loses its effectiveness fairly rapidly and people are reduced to thinking in terms of vague and nebulous "wins."

All of the above sets up a nearly inevitable frantic chase for diminishing returns as you suggest happened to Jason Beghe.

None of this discussion needs to be had with a cult member in order to help pry them from the cult. I agree that the hardass school of blasting in and shouting "your religion is crap!" has reclaimed relatively few souls from the clutches of dangerous cults.

I also point out that I have said on multiple occasions that I could easily have gotten involved in Scientology and been a Sea Org member now instead of a minion of Global Capitalism HQ had the ball bounced only slightly differently. I went to school in a town with a relatively visible Scientology presence, and never actually ended up speaking to a body router. I am most definitely not one of the people who says "I never would have fallen for that."