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From: kurtzman@uscvax.UUCP (Stephen Kurtzman)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion
Subject: Re: "Secular Humanism" banned in the US Schools.
Message-ID: <28@uscvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Oct-85 11:42:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: uscvax.28
Posted: Wed Oct  2 11:42:32 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Oct-85 03:44:21 EDT
References: <1072@ulysses.UUCP> <607@hou2g.UUCP> <5847@cbscc.UUCP>
Reply-To: kurtzman@usc-cse.UUCP (Stephen Kurtzman)
Organization: CS&CE Depts, U.S.C., Los Angeles, CA
Lines: 34
Xref: watmath net.politics:11343 net.religion:7900
Summary: 

In a previous entry I described how the FCC misused its power to take
a television station license away from a church. The FCC maintained that
there were numerous allegations of fraud and demanded to see all the records
of the church to determine whether or not said fraud had taken place. The
church claimed that donor records to the church were private and protected
from government intrusion by the constitution. The FCC disagreed. Lacking the
power to force the issue, lacking proof of any fraud, and lacking any
witnesses to come forward to even allege fraud they pulled the stations
license.

The response to the article by mmt@dciem was:

>
>Why is this harrassment?  Should all so-called churches be treated
>differently from other advertising agencies?
>These TV "churches" are mainly money-spinners, so why shouldn't they
>be investigated for possible fraud?  What does that have to do with
>religion, except for the unsavoury habit these people have of preying
>on the praying?
>-- 
>
>Martin Taylor
>{allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt
>{uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsri!dciem!mmt

Whether or not you agree with a religion you have no right in the United
States of America to try to destroy it. The FCC was trying to destroy this
church's television ministry. They succeeded in taking away a tv station
license, but from what I have heard this preacher is on a satellite and is
carried all over the country. So, the FCC really only wasted taxpayer money!

I believe that the preacher in question (Gene Scott) is a crackpot. However,
he does seem to be a sincere one. Neither you nor the FCC have the right to
silence a religious crackpot.