White House Rejects Scientology Petition: Why That's Not All Bad News - Village Voice (blog)19 November 2011, 1:03 amBy Tony Ortega
A wail was heard across the land tonight.
Just as we were leaving the office for the evening, we were notified that thousands of people who recently signed a White House petition about Scientology had received e-mail notices that the Obama administration would not, in fact, respond to the petition.
The petition, started by attorney Graham Berry, did meet its minimum required number of signatures. But
you can see here why the White House says it can't respond:
Thank you for signing the petition "EXAMINE THE GOVERNMENT'S FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY CRIME, FRAUD AND ABUSE." We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on WhiteHouse.gov.
The We the People Terms of Participation explain that "the White House may decline to address certain procurement, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or similar matters properly within the jurisdiction of federal departments or agencies, federal courts, or state and local government." The Department of Justice is charged with investigating federal crimes and enforcing federal criminal laws. Accordingly, the White House declines to comment on the specific law enforcement matter raised in this petition.
We understand why signers of the petition are disappointed. But after the jump, we'll explain why we're actually encouraged -- at least a little -- by Obama's response.....
more at
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/11/white_house_rej.php
