I am fascinated by this case and hope it will be half as interesting as we all know it can be. I, too, have made a batch of popcorn and await further details.
Having said that, I am also fascinated by some of the snarky and passive-aggressive attacks leveled at Mark Baker in this thread and the "CoS Sues Debbie Cook" thread. I suspect few of us posting here are lawyers and our arguments, from the perspective of interested observers, are just as valid as anyone else's.
But not Mark's apparently. He's freely admitted he's not a lawyer, isn't giving legal advice and is simply expressing his opinion.
Nope. Not good enough, Mark. Either agree that this case has the potential to blow the church completely out of the volcano or keep your IANAL mouth shut. There's a good lad, speak when spoken to.
Mark seems to have raised the hackles of a few (I'm thinking of HH, Axiom and, to a lesser degree, Rene, who seems to have at least retained a sense of humor and wit). I suspect this is for two reasons:
1. He's expressed a belief that this case will be decided on the relatively mundane questions of contract law and not, as we'd all wish, on the question of whether or not DM is a raving loon.
2. He has the temerity to speak calmly, not rise to the bait and not stoop to sarcasm or ad hominem attacks like others have chosen to (#9
here, #218
here, #160
here, among others).
Look, I don't know Mark, I'm not an ex-scientologist, I mean no disrespect and, for all I know, Mark is a complete a-hole who regularly kicks puppies and reveals to little children that Santa is a myth.
And from everything I've read, he certainly doesn't need a nobody like me to rise to his defense.
But I have to say, as an interested outsider, someone who has read through many posts here and elsewhere, knows enough about the CoS to not get too lost in some of the more acronym-laden threads. . .some of y'all are coming off as prissy and unwilling to engage on the actual issues of the case (issues that have been raised before in thousands of cases establishing case law and even, more relevantly, in other Scn cases where the Church has won on narrow rulings on that which the courts have jurisdiction over).
Yes, we'd all like this to be the case that tears the church apart and lands DM in jail. Give me a minute, I need to drool on the fantasy for a second. . .okay, I'm back.
Yes, we'd all like Debbie to get in front of the judge and say she was coerced into signing the NDA and she personally saw DM making and selling meth in the CST vaults, Breaking Bad style.
Yes, we'd love this to be Ali/Frazier ('75). And Mark has readily admitted he'll admit he was wrong if that happens.
But if it turns out to be more Holyfield-Tyson II, I've seen little to indicate some of you would be willing to do the same.
Final thought: Maybe y'all are friends, you're all in the backroom back-slapping each other and just having a laugh because, at the end of the day, anyone who wants the CoS to never again hold sway in anyone's lives, are all on the same team.
If THAT'S the case, then I'll owe everyone here MY apology. I'll give it in advance and you can hold it in escrow. Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong, certainly won't be the last.
End outside rant.
You may all return to you original (and vastly more interesting and important) programming.