It’s only April, but we already have a leading contender for Scientology mother of the year!

 
We’ve run a number of stories in the past about Scientologists giving up their children to the organization’s staff and Sea Org, which can be brutal places to work for almost no pay. It’s been hard to read about people like Mirriam Francis, whose mother seemed so much more focused on Scientology than her own flesh and blood, or Lori Hodgson, who fought so hard to keep her children out of the Sea Org but only saw them pulled away from her.

And we always come back to Laura DeCrescenzo, who joined the Sea Org at 12, and was punished when she admitted to missing her mother during her 90-hour work weeks with never a day off.

We’ve seen many commenters wonder, who can do this? Who can honestly believe that it’s a good idea to put children into a brutal work force with no hopes of schooling, let alone college. Who values Scientology’s “expansion” over the futures of their children?

Well, we had all of those things in mind when a tipster forwarded to us the following Facebook post put up by a Scientology mom. We debated whether to hide her name or not before deciding ultimately to cover it up. Why? Well, we wanted you to see the mind at work here, the calculation, the utter dedication to a dying organization that demands total loyalty — and we don’t want to distract that by having people try to hunt down or pester this woman. She’s already in a prison of belief as it is…

 
And while we were looking through this woman’s public Facebook timeline, we found this entry from last year. Sure, this woman can remember what it was like to have hopes and dreams, and expectations that she might go into a number of different careers. But not for her daughter? Maybe, just maybe, she’ll remember that younger self and her dreams, and it will help her to get out of the situation she now finds herself in…

 
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Bonus items from our tipsters

Speaking of the Orlando Ideal Org, we got an update from one of our readers: “Progress has really stepped up. The construction materials that were previously stacked in the parking lot and in job-site storage containers are all inside now. Work crews were here on Sunday. Looking very Miami South Beach style from the outside now.”

 
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Make your plans now!

HOWDYCON UPDATE

We’re only two months out, and Chee Chalker is working hard to make sure things are going to run smoothly at this year’s HowdyCon in Chicago, June 21-23. As in past years, we’re looking forward to meeting readers of the Bunker, culminating in Saturday night’s main event.

The biggest difference this year is that our Saturday night event is separate from that evening’s dinner. Chee is setting up an inexpensive pizza dinner that you don’t need to pay for ahead of time, after which we’ll walk over to the theater where our event, hosted by Chicago Fire star Christian Stolte, will take place. Because it’s a separate event, we’re asking that you pay $10 each to get into the Saturday night event, which will help us recoup what the Bunker paid for the venue. (We have never made a penny on our HowdyCon meetups, we only try to break even.)

Please email your proprietor (tonyo94 AT gmail) in order to reserve your spot for Saturday night’s main event. Seating is limited, and we’re going to have some really interesting people on stage and they may make a few announcements that you don’t want to miss.

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 23, 2018 at 07:00

E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2017 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2017), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news