President Barack Obama was reelected yesterday here in the United States and, at nearly 2 in the morning, gave a rousing victory speech.
“You voted for action, not politics as usual,” he said.
Action? Hey, we have some ideas about the kind of action the US government could engage in during Obama’s second administration.
We’re hurrying this morning to make an appointment, but we’d like to hear from our readers. Whether or not you supported the president’s re-election, do you think there’s a chance the government’s inaction on Scientology’s alleged abuses will change at all in Obama’s second term?
Last year, attorney Graham Berry started a White House petition asking Obama to look into the reasons the government had failed to investigate accusations of human trafficking in Scientology. Although that petition met the minimum number of signatures for a response, the White House begged off, saying that it couldn’t comment on law enforcement matters.
That was disappointing, because many of us wanted to know why the FBI, which at one time had been very serious about planning for a raid of Scientology’s International Base in California, suddenly dropped those plans in 2010.
We’re also constantly asked by new readers why the IRS doesn’t look into the way Scientology makes and spends money. While there seem to be numerous good reasons why Scientology’s tax-exempt status should be re-examined, we have never had any indication that there’s any will in Washington to make that happen.
On the other hand, Scientology is gripped in crisis and appears visibly weaker than when it brought the IRS to its knees in 1993. This year has been disastrous for the church, and the media is no longer afraid to write about its controversies. With a re-elected president now no longer concerned with campaigning, and a healthier economy on the way, could there be some chance that the climate for Scientology will also change with this administration?
We’d like to hear your thoughts on the matter.
