08 March, 2009

Our Tax Dollars at Work - Funding Scientology

Count this high on the list of things we absolutely do not need to spend tax dollars on:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article about a program that funds tutors for underachieving students, including some tutors that use methods drawn from Scientology.

A tutoring agency in Cobb County with ties to the Church of Scientology has drawn critics along with federal dollars.

Applied Scholastics pledges to offer only secular lessons. But critics who lodged four complaints last year against the nonprofit --- which uses Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's teachings --- wrote they feared it wouldn't keep ideology out of the classroom.

State education officials began an annual inspection in February and will observe the group's tutoring this month. The review will include making sure Applied Scholastics' policies and teachings are geared toward secular instruction, officials said.

Here's the bind that Scientology is in. They want to be a religion because that means they don't have to pay taxes, but when it comes to getting funding for things like this they're better off not being a religion. My heart bleeds over this conflict.

I hope the conflict makes them esplode.

They can deny all they want, but facts is facts: they're a cult and a con game. Some of the poor dupes running this tutoring program may genuinely want to help the kiddies learn better, but I can guarantee you the higher-ups are looking at it as a prime indoctrination opportunity. If they want to pay for such shit, they can milk their followers a little harder. Leave our tax dollars out of it.

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