For The Umpteenth Time: Friendly-Looking Church, Nice People, Likely Story; That's What

"Critics implore journalists to write about poor Sea Org members, who work long hours for almost no pay, are eternally stressed out and underfed, and who are discouraged from having children and encouraged to get abortions.

When my Scientology sources ask me why I don't seem interested in writing about that part of the Hubbard universe, I try to explain how easy it is for a church supporter to fend off that kind of criticism -- which is exactly what happened in Goodstein's piece.

Life in the Sea Org is brutal? Well listen, moron, you signed a BILLION-YEAR CONTRACT to worship and work for a 1930s pulp science fiction hack who invented a religion that believes space aliens have taken up residence in your body -- what the hell were you thinking?"

-- Tony Ortega, making me wonder why anyone has to beg journalists to report on killer cults - I'd think they'd know a good story when they heard one, even if the people are stupid - but then, maybe, I don't know as much about contemporary journalism as I do about contemporary cults, which would help explain why my dumb ass is reading The Village Voice.