Result: Respect For Their Elders

The general consensus emerging from my students’ papers is that the Norwegian princess is the leader of a relatively small, world-affirming client cult, associated with a much broader audience cult, that has emerged from the founders’ prior engagement in the cultic milieu and the New Age movement sensu lato – with some roots stretching back to esoteric currents of the 19th century, notably New Thought and the “mind cure”, with hints of spiritualism and Theosophy.

TMR's "Quote Of The Day" Is By A Norwegian Ex-Slave

"Wake up and leave. The entire church is based on slave labor and you know it. People suffer. People die! And you are worried about how to get money for your next spiritual enlightening session. SHAME ON YOU." 

 Somebody contact Barbara Walters for the exclusive interview.

BTW - I've got a better use for that money, if you're interested,...

 

Sai Baba: Feeding SF's Spiritual Hunger (Alone)

The anti-cult "community", if you can call it that, is pretty small; so I was surprised to discover Robert C. Priddy, who

...was 74 last September, am still healthy and with remarkably unimpaired mind and memory, untroubled by beliefs I once held and investigated until they collapsed, so that wider and deeper understanding took their place. It is liberating to defend the facts and truth that have been made known to me. [I was for many years the national leader of Sai Baba's organization in Norway]

Isn't that wild? No, not that Mr. Priddy made it to 74 in good health. That he held a set a beliefs, but "investigated until they collapsed, so that wider and deeper understanding took their place". Amazing, huh? Think about that:

A person can have deeply-held "spiritual" thoughts, which are supposedly the zenith of knowledge, but - once you look at them closely - they fall apart and make you smarter!

Whoda thunk it?

Anyway, as he said, Mr. Priddy is on the case of the "Living God" (and pedophile) Sai Baba, who doesn't look like he'll be a "living" god (and pedophile) for too much longer. Mr. Priddy's really upset because "the cohorts of massed doctors neglect their usual patients… the amount of time, energy and money that is being lavished by so incredibly many doctors – from India and abroad – is an affront to the majority of the populace most of which cannot afford one-thousandth of the treatment value Sathya Sai Baba is getting."

Ain't that the truth? The life-crushing poverty of India means homeopathy (water) is all most people get for "medical treatment" - which is one thing they have in common with Whole Foods shoppers - but most citizens of India don't have the people of San Francisco buying their incense, like Sai Baba does, so - whether they're abusing kids or not - they're just shit out of luck. You heard me:

Shit. Out. Of. Luck.

Isn't it funny how "spirituality" and "compassion" work?

What's The Point?

"The [Nobel] prize leaves Obama more open to ridicule. It confirms, as a defining narrative of his presidency, the gap between his supporters’ cloud-cuckoo-land expectations and the inevitable disappointments of reality."

-- Ross Douthat, never really mentioning how to close that gap - or how to get Obama's NewAge supporters heads out of "cloud-cuckoo-land" - or that many of those same supporters can be found working side-by-side with Ross Douthat, at The New York Times.

You Gotta Use A Little Reason,...

All Together Now

"Wikipedia, the giant online encyclopedia anyone can edit, has decided to block contributions from computers owned by the Church of Scientology, saying that it has changed copy to advance its own agenda."

-- ABC News.

"Norway is considering prosecuting some Scientology practices. The Ministry of Health and Care Services says that the use of the 'OCA' personality test in sales may constitute fraud as well as being part of a pattern of medical malpractice.

The statement came after three undercover journalists took the test. Scientology staff said they should buy a course to solve psychological issues. One was advised to avoid medical care; another was told she needed either a course or 'chemicals'.

A Scientology spokesman blamed individual staff and disclaimed responsibility. The test is notorious since a Norwegian suicided the same evening she received negative results and was subjected to 'hard sell' in a Scientology center in Nice, France."

-- Short News.

"The Church of Scientology in France went on trial on Monday on charges of organised fraud."

-- Reuters.

"The interior ministers of Germany's 16 states have launched an investigation into the activities of the Church of Scientology, hoping to assemble the evidence to support banning the U.S.-based organization from operating in Germany."

-- TIME Magazine.

Hey - You Environmentalists Forced Us To Use Food For Fuel (Or Here's Another Reason Why All Those "Evil Oil Men" Should Be Our Farmers)

"Milk is as high as gas. That's crazy."

-- Brenda Tanner, mother of two who is "no longer eating out", in Richard Wolf's article on "food insecure" Americans for USA Today.

"Four-dollar-per-gallon gasoline is cheap.

British motorists are currently paying about $8.38 per gallon for gasoline. In Norway, a major oil exporter, drivers are paying $8.73. In 2007, out of the 32 industrialized countries surveyed by the International Energy Agency, only one (Mexico) had cheaper gasoline than the United States. Last year, drivers in Turkey were paying three times as much for their gasoline as Americans were.

(Gasoline is also cheap compared with other essential fuels. A Starbucks venti latte costs the equivalent of $23 per gallon, while Budweiser beer runs $11 per gallon.)"

-- Robert Bryce, adding some perspective, while writing for Slate.com

Wake up, America:

You've been whining too long, picking on the wrong folks, and wasting your "true potential" on foolish New Age ideas and endeavors.

Now you've made a mess and, still, want to blame someone else - like Bush. But Bush didn't do it - you did - while he's been holding the line. Once you accept that, and start acting mature, things will get better. But not until.

Blame yourselves - for not paying attention.