Heaven's Gate didn't commit suicide with poisoned beverages, they used phenobarbital, vodka, and plastic bags. You're thinking of the Jonestown cult.

Maybe they should have paid attention in kindergarten?

It's more fun to suggest they get a job. They either leave you alone or get uppity and provoke a confrontation that ends with them on the receiving end of pepper spray. Either way you win.

Repeat after me: "I'm sorry for the hassle officer, I was afraid he was going to hurt me."

NASA's an agency of the Federal Government, which brought you the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. This is one of the reasons why you can't take Republicans seriously when they say Government is no good at anything. Could you come up with a backronym that good? I doubt it.

Did they teach you how to be a smug superior asshole there or did you learn that on your own?

That would kill many churches. Property taxes alone would have bankrupted the UU churches that I've belonged to. That's a bigger deal than Federal taxes for most small churches; Federal corporate taxes generally apply to earnings, not revenue (did they teach you the difference in college?) and most churches don't run a surplus. Whatever comes in goes back out. Of course, having to file a Federal tax return would impose a non-zero cost, even if they didn't end up owing any money.

The ones that I belonged to were. They did good work in the community, without proselytizing (which is a protected activity under the free exercise clause, but never mind that) so I'm disinclined to support a public policy that's going to burden them with additional paperwork and expenses that they can ill afford.

It's one of the largest cities in Finland, which is the home country of Nokia....

I guess I have a problem with the unapologetic part. The United States is founded on a tacit respect for the belief structure of one's neighbors. Do we always live up to that ideal? Hell no. That doesn't mean we stop trying though. I would summarize my personal philosophy as "Live and let live."

Frankly, in the meat-space I try to avoid conversations about religion. They're like conversations about politics, whatever position you adopt is invariably going to piss 50% of the room off. When the conversation happens despite my best efforts I try my utmost to keep it respectful. Equating someone's faith with a belief in alien abductions is anything but respectful.

The United States has a history of successfully prosecuting Mafioso, including the highest echelons of leadership. Is it easy? No. Of course, it's not supposed to be easy to take away someone's freedom. :)

If Scientology is truly the "big fat global scam" (apologies to South Park) that its opponents believe it to be, well, RICO would seem to provide an appropriate solution. There are a non-zero number of people who actually believe the tenets of Scientology (hell, the Branch Davidians still have members) so the trick here would be separating the wheat from the chaff.

I honestly don't know enough about Scientology to say whether or not their activities rise to the level of RICO offenses. If the worst about them is to be believed it would seem that they do.

I think the motto is pretty silly myself but if it truly drives you insane I think you need some perspective. I can't recall the last time I even noticed the motto on the greenbacks in my possession. All I've ever noticed about them is the sad fact that I always seem to have Washington and Lincoln in my wallet never have Mr. Franklin. :(

Come back Ben, I miss you.....

The way you deal with an organization like Scientology is by bringing criminal cases against its membership, where applicable. False imprisonment, fraud, and so forth. Don't attack the religion itself, that's a recipe for disaster, but where members thereof break the secular law they should be held accountable. If Scientology is the big fat global scam (apologies to South Park) we all think it is, well, it shouldn't be able to survive its leadership going to jail.

The point is that having a superior product (which is debatable in the case of Nokia's OS, but whatever) is no guarantee of market success. Google had the critical mass to make their OS work and it's a mystery to me why Nokia couldn't see that. Or, for that matter, why Blackberry and Microsoft still can't.

Good for you. There are plenty of Atheists that feel the need to condemn people of faith; you walk up to that line yourself by equating their belief with a belief in astrology, fairies, and alien abductions. More militant atheists feel the need to preach their lack of faith to the masses in a manner that's every bit as obnoxious as a born again southern baptist, with a healthy dose of smug superiority added for good measure.

Personally, I'm Agnostic, because anybody (militant theist or atheist) that thinks they have all the answers scares the shit out of me. True believers in anything, religion, atheism, a political party, whatever, they are the people that frighten me the most.

Didn't you read the summary? It's a "fully electric" digital camera. If you want low light performance you need one with a gasoline engine. :)

That's a political non-starter, whatever the merits may be. If you think you're going to change the law to tax every church in the United States I've got a bridge to sell you. I wouldn't even support it; I've belonged to UU churches and every single one of them operates on a financial razor edge. Taxing them would push them over the cliff. I'm sure they're not the only ones.

I'm glad you interpreted my bad one line joke at the expense of a friend as an in-depth analysis of Nokia's bad business decisions.....