Tom Cruise and his scientology are getting out of hand.

[Ragnar]

He is even trying to convert Oprah!

[GRLMGC]

1. ahahaha

He's pretty annoying. My friend told me that he was intrigued by War of the Worlds until he found out Tom Cruise was in it

[DanCa]

2. Is it true that Mike Nesmith of the monkees

allowed his first wife to die in car accident because he refused her a blood transfuision? I dont know if its true or not and what religion he is . I heard this today while flipping channels and thought i would ask.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

4. I think Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe ...

in blood tranfusions . I could be wrong though .

[Ragnar]

6. Well, I don't believe in Republicans.

Can we make them go away now?

[DanCa]

12. Rumour had it Jesus doesn't like republicans either

Why do you think he hasn't made a return appearance?

[dhinojosa]

43. He did, but as a african-american orphan child in Florida

who subsequently got lost in Jeb Bush's social services quagmire, never to be found again.

:sarcasm:

[Spinzonner]

3. Oh, you're just jealous because Tom is connecting with his inner Thetan

[devilgrrl]

5. The fact that Tom Cruise is still around is out of hand.

I am utterly perplexed by his popularity and his acting sooooo fucking bland! :banghead:

[wtmusic]

7. I'm with you

I thought "Top Gun" would be his last movie

[Montauk6]

21. Second that...

Born on the Fourth was his only/last shot at a breakthrough; Collateral notwithstanding.

[Endangered Specie]

9. This is true...

if it acts like a clam, has an IQ of a clam, joins a cult of clams, has a beard...

:evilgrin:

[Iris]

45. Yep! I agree with you devilgrrl.

Has this man every played a role that wasn't just him playing himself?

[Endangered Specie]

8. bwhahahaha!

those OT powers are really something arent they?

[tritsofme]

10. I broke my arm

will someone please take me to a reading room?

[oneold1-4u]

13. Scientology-L.Ron Hubbard-Tom Cruise

Has nothing to do with Christian Science-Mary Baker Eddy-Reading Rooms

[elshiva]

17. Yes! Christian Science is not the same as Scientology!!!

Thanks.

[Blue_In_AK]

11. Tom seems more manic than usual lately...

Off his meds, no doubt.

[Nabia2004]

16. He reminds me of a coke-head

[hlthe2b]

20. His mania certainly suggests BIPOLAR disorder...

Perhaps that is why he protests so much re: psychiatric drugs. (Wonder if it runs in his family and he knows it).

[Nomad559]

14. I posted the video

the other day. :)

Quicktime Media
http://www.zippyvideos.com/4018410466685.html

Windows Media
http://www.zippyvideos.com/107879962466705.html

[indigonation]

15. LOL!! good one

I never trusted Tom as a sex symbol, now I know he's a flake.

[roguevalley]

18. apparently Tom is a level seven or eight douche bag and is clear

of the thetans that infiltrated us all from the volcanos that XENU put into motion after killing everyone he could find on all the other planets.

Hmmm. That might explain my affinity for ploomeek soup.

Go read www.salon.com for a great read on him and his advancement to a higher being thing.

[CoffeeCat]

19. Ok, glad I'm not the only one...

I do not like Tom Cruise at all!

He's a horrible actor and I don't find him attractive, at all.

I thought he was cute in "Risky Business", but that's about it.

I have to say---that video of Tom zapping Oprah is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. Thanks for the laugh Rangar.

[1932]

22. Americans are free to believe whatever they want to believe.

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. Yes, and other Americans are free to make fun of them if they act

like a pack of imbeciles.

[1932]

24. Making fun of what he says is fine. Wishing that he didn't speak...

...his mind is a little narrow-minded, if you ask me.

There's a difference between confronting the ideas head on with counter-argument and satire, and arguing that he shouldn't even talk about what he believes.

[Rich Hunt]

25. good point

The answer to bad ideas is always more speech. If someone's idea is lousy, it's not the fact that they're espousing it that's bad. Get it all out in the open, I say.

[mondo joe]

26. How about wishing he'd become a hermit? Is that okay with you?

[1932]

27. Depends on why you wish he'd become a hermit.

[thebigidea]

28. why? Americans are free to believe what they want to believe, yes?

[1932]

31. ...and I thought DU was a place to debate and discuss those beliefs.

Thus, I asked a question in order to elicit the discussiona and debate.

[mondo joe]

29. Do I need to give you an application before I can make a wish, or

do you prefer some other process to approve my wishes?

[1932]

30. Hey, if DU to you is just a series of strap lines without engaging in...

...discussions and debates about the bigger issues, then feel free to reply to this post with another post like your last.

If you want to talk about how whether the repsonse to bad speech should be more speech, then let's talk.

[mondo joe]

32. You seem to have a lot of rules about what acceptable speech is. Feel

free to ignore mine.

[1932]

33. Typing that doesn't make it true.

And considering that you refuse to engage in a discussion about the issue beyond strapline replies, it's amusing that you consider yourself qualified to make such a broad conclusion about what you think I believe -- and especially one that is so far from what I have said so far in this thread.

[mondo joe]

34. I love when people claim to advocate for free speech by telling others

when they are engaged in acceptable speech.

I don't NEED to engage in a discussion or debate about it. I've drawn my conclusion. You can ignore it if you choose.

[1932]

35. So now asking someone to write longer replies and engage in debate is...

...anti-free speech?

I read a New Yorker article yesterday about a Christian College. The students explain their decision to go there by saying they just didn't want to go to colleges where they'd have to get in debates about evolution and other things they just didn't believe in.

I'm also reading Jim Wallis's book God's Politics. He says that the civil rights movement was the most successful political movement in history and the religious right's political movement of the last 20 years is one of the least successful (if you measure it not by Republicans winning elections but by what their stated goals are: no more abortion or gay rights, both of which have increased).

Wallis says the difference is that the civil rights movement made a public argument, got people on its side and then forced a change in politics. MLK's strategy wasn't to get inside the Democratic party and elect Democrats. It was to make an argument about civil rights, and change the direction the wind was blowing, and to force politicians to blow with the wind. Wallis says that the religious right has not made the public argument and instead, is trying to change politics without changing people's minds.. there's no public debate. Because they're not changing the direction the wind blows, they're not going to change society.

So, if you're comfortable knowing everything you need to know about free speech, if you're comfortable just posting strapline insults of someone arguing that it's better to have the debate, to discuss people's ideas (rather than ridicule them in hope that they'll shut up), then, to quote another post I read elsewhere today (which misquoted taj mahal) feel free to take that giant leap inside your mind. You're not going anywhere.

[mondo joe]

36. No. Your stance about what is acceptable speech is what does it, not

"asking" for a longer reply.

Thanks!

[1932]

37. Read post 25. If I can't get you not to misread my posts, maybe somebody

else's post can help you remove the splinter from your eye.

[mondo joe]

38. I'm more interested in #27. Thanks!

[1932]

39. Why do you wish he'd become a hermit? (edited)

I wish he became a hermit before he made Vanilla Sky.

But in my opinion (and I emphasize, "IN MY OPINION"--it's open for debate) I don't wish he'd shut up about Scientology or about BigPharma -- that's all stuff I wouldn't mind addressing with more speech.

Has anyone read City of Quartz? It has a great historical criticism of Scientology.

As for BigPharma, Cruise is right.

[mondo joe]

42. Here's the funny thing about free speech: I don't need to justify it.

I don't need to explain, I don't need to debate. I can, if I choose. But it's my call.

Enjoy!

[1932]

44. No you don't.

But by not, you're taking a giant leap inside your mind.

As Jim Wallis says, however, if you want to change society, you have to take the giant leap outside your mind and discuss and debate.

And if you're only taking the leaps inside your mind, then why post at DU? Only to criticize me for encouraging disucssion?

If you're so anti-debate and discussion, you're really wasting your time posting at a disucssion board.

[mondo joe]

50. You don't know what I've debated or discussed. You're not the arbiter

of what's acceptable, or what's a good use of time.

Thanks!

[1932]

51. Actually, since I'm reading your posts, I feel I know what you've said.

And your characterization that I'm trying to be an arbiter of what people should post is an argument that you're not going to be able to sustain by mere repetition.

Having said that, seeing that you don't have much else in your arsenal, I suspect that I'm going to see you continue to repeat it.

[mondo joe]

52. Anyone can review your posts to see you've established yourself as

the arbiter of what's acceptable.

Enjoy your time on DU!

[1932]

54. Au contraire.

What "anyone" can see is that you've latched on to an idea which you can't support, so, in lieu of an argument that I'm a conversational Stalin, you're just going to repeat over and over that I am in the hope that repetition is a subsitute for argument and that repetition will make it true.

[freedomburn]

41. The dude is a whack job. He's annoying as hell and a cultist.

He has done nothing that is not completely annoying since Risky Business. That movie with Penelope Cruz was entertaining, but he still sucks. What a kook.

[Iris]

46. Not only that, but he could be endangering an untold number

of new mothers and their babies. Or many other people who could really benefit from the drugs he so vehemently opposes.

His speech is irresponsible. He keeps saying he's "researched this" but I haven't heard him say he's published an article or paper about this stuff. In fact, I don't even hear him make any reference to anything book or journal or person - he just says stuff and expects people to take it at face value. He needs to get a job on FOX.

Not only that, but every time I see him in one of these interviews, he is twitching uncontrollably. What's that about?

[mondo joe]

48. Indeed. He's worse, in his way, than Bill Frist diagnosing T Schiavo.

He's free to try to interject himself into the room with a person and their physician. Too bad he's not held accountable for the outcomes.

[Iris]

53. Yep. I guess the answer is to teach people to think critically, but

we know how much credence that is given in "No Child Left Behind"

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dhinojosa]

40. I wish DU was like that...

but all my Christianity and Religion bashing always gets removed by the mod squad. I still don't understand why it is acceptable to bash Scientology, when I can't have fun with the others.

[Iris]

47. Speaking of hands,

watch him in interviews. His hands seem to twitch uncontrollably.

He could probably benefit from some of the treatments he so vehemently opposes.

[soleft]

49. You had me at To