It may not appear in the sacred writings of any religious figureheads but my informal spiritual, political and professional credo is this: If you've angered the Church of Scientology without breaking any laws, you're probably doing something right. In the most hilarious case-in-point this week — as brought to light by the newly-launched media venture 404 Media — the right thing you're probably doing is exercising your right to repair.
That's what appears to have sparked an outraged letter to the U.S. Copyright Office from a Church of Scientology-affiliated company, Author Services, on Aug. 10. In the letter, the Scientology-tied group is demanding a carve-out in right-to-repair laws that would almost certainly cover the Church's special "auditing" device — the E-Meter, also known as the electropsychometer, as the shame-dowsing bunk boxes are more commonly known. The Church describes the electronic device, which was originally invented by a chiropractor named Volney Mathison, as a "religious artifact."
