Some uplifting news in this season of giving. Our wonderful friends and neighbors, Matt and Tiffany McKeown got together with the other families on their cul-de-sac with the idea they could do something to help others. This is a shot of the gang, with Matt and Tiffany front and center. A couple of days later, Matt asked if Christie and I could drop by for a bit. A contingent of the neighbors were there when we walked in. They proceeded to explain the get-together they had had a few days earlier and that they had collected $570 which had been donated to Child USA. They became aware … [Read more...]
A Billion Years Event: Scientology is Losing Its Mind
On Wednesday November 30th I am doing an event at the University of Pennsylvania with Professor Marci Hamilton. This is causing great consternation in the hallways of OSA/Stand League. They tweeted about it using my daughter's account and even created a new video where she whines how she just got a "copy and paste" reply to her form-letter complaint to UPenn. Seriously, only scientology could come up with something like this -- a whineTweet for Thanksgiving. I thought Thanksgiving was supposed to be a day when you remember what you are thankful for, not an excuse to circulate the … [Read more...]
The Problem of Child Sex Abuse
Two recent stories highlight the issue of child sexual abuse in religious organizations -- this time not the Catholic church -- but rather the Mormons and the Southern Baptists. Unfortunately, organizations that should provide a safe, nurturing environment too often harbor sexual predators. There are three primary reasons for this in my view: Organizations that cloak themselves in the mantle of religion tend to remain outside the scope of societal protections against abuse. Particularly in the United States, where the First Amendment has been interpreted over the years to preclude … [Read more...]
Child USA Gala
I am out of town attending the annual Child USA Gala celebration, so there will be no Thursday funnies this week. I will leave this posting up today and tomorrow. I encourage you to visit the Child USA website and learn about the good work of the organization. This is a wonderful organization I learned about through Professor Marci Hamilton when she so graciously agreed to appear on The Aftermath to help us all understand the limitations and possibilities of the law in dealing with scientology's abuses. Marci is a highly respected law professor at the University of … [Read more...]
Statute of Limitations Reform — Child USA
I am honored to be on the Board of Child USA. It is an organization doing a great deal of good for many, many victims of abuse. Part of the important work is changing the arcane Statute of Limitations (SOL) laws. For a simple explanation why this is so important, this is from the ChildUSA website: Child USA submits testimony in legislative hearings considering SOL reform, with the goal of seeing states extend and eliminate SOLs. This year, we: Submitted written testimony in 5 states and assisted in many others, with 8 states improving their SOLs thus far. Provided input on … [Read more...]
“The Aftermath” Song
Thursday night we witnessed a wonderful performance by a very talented young woman at the annual ChildUSA Gala. McKenna Gray composed and performed her latest song, "The Aftermath": These are the lyrics: THE AFTERMATH VERSE 1 We don't get to choose where we grow up Or who stays in our lives when we are young. What happens behind closed doors is something we could never stop. Don't believe the lies they told you. It was never your fault. CHORUS: This isn't how it was meant to go. It's so easy to lose who we are in the undertow. But we're not just some rubble left … [Read more...]
Religious Protections Run Amok
This is a thought-provoking, and somewhat alarming article by Professor Marci Hamilton, Founder and CEO of Child USA Marci appeared on The Aftermath and was part of the team who filed the civil lawsuits on behalf of the Masterson victims and Valerie Haney. She is one of the country's foremost experts on First Amendment Law as it relates to religion. Marci eloquently and persuasively highlights something I have often said, conservative Supreme Court justices are overly zealous in their efforts to protect religions, and the umbrellas they establish allows scientology to get away with … [Read more...]
David vs. Goliath
This is a wonderful profile on Professor Marci Hamilton, a real champion of human rights. Marci appeared on The Aftermath and helped us a great deal. Through this we came to find out about her amazing organization, Child USA. Both Leah and I are Ambassadors for Child USA and I accepted Marci's invitation to join the board. The work being done is helping victims across the United States. If you don't know about it, read the article, check out the website, follow on social media and participate in any way you can to supporting Child USA. It is making a difference for victims of … [Read more...]