We want to thank the reader who made us aware that a newspaper we’ve long had a lot of respect for, the Oregonian, this week named Scientology’s pricey boarding school, Delphian, not only the best small business to work for in Oregon, but also the small employer, get this, with the best values.
Seriously. We’re not making this up. Delphian, the expensive prep school that for years has been known as the place where wealthy Scientologist parents send their children to be indoctrinated in L. Ron Hubbard’s “study tech” and to set them up for recruitment into Scientology’s elite hardcore, the Sea Org, is the small business with the best values in the state of Oregon.
Naturally, we wondered how something like this could happen.
It turns out that there’s a company formerly named WorkplaceDynamics that changed its name to the much hipper sounding “Energage” which has hit on a really clever way to drum up more business for its software subscriptions.
What Energage sells to businesses small and large is its service of keeping a business owner apprised of how much his employees hate his guts. Er, we mean, how happy they are with the way things are going.
Through the use of a subscription service that constantly subjects employees to surveys, a business owner can keep a watch on whether his or her workers are happy with the way things are going or are about to stage a mutiny. Or something.
Anyway, the promotion that Energage came up with several years ago was holding contests to name “Top Workplaces” in regions around the country, and it sells the idea to media partners like the Oregonian. How it works is, the Oregonian helps Energage raise awareness of the contest by promoting it in the newspaper, and then Energage does the hard work of flooding the businesses that bite with surveys for thousands of employees. The newspaper then gets free editorial content when Energage hands over the results.
After the winners are announced, of course, Energage has a whole new list of businesses it can hit up for paying subscriptions, and the Oregonian’s sales department has a list of winners it can hit up for ads. You want people to hear you won an award, right? How about a banner ad?
It’s all a slick operation.
Anyway, when one of our readers asked the Oregonian how it could end up naming a Scientology school as the best small business to work for in the state, an editor told her that it was Energage that did the surveys. In other words, don’t blame us, it was Energage that determined the winners. But how many readers are going to make that distinction? The winner was announced in the newspaper, and looks like any other article…
We sent an email to the editor who had answered our reader, and sent over these questions…
— Does what a company actually engage in as a business matter in this contest, or is it only based on how employees feel about it?
— If a company was fouling the environment as a major polluter in Oregon, but its employees felt good about their jobs, would the newspaper feel comfortable naming such a company a “top workplace”?
— Many former students of Delphian tell us that its primary function is to indoctrinate students into Scientology and prepare them for recruitment into Scientology’s hardcore “Sea Organization.” Does the Oregonian have anything to say about Delphian being selected for this award? And particularly for its “values”?
Although we had emailed an Oregonian editor with these questions, we received a reply from a representative of Energage.
“Important to note, this program is intended to measure the quality of workplaces based on the people who know them best: The employees. So, for example, with a school, we are not in any way trying to measure the quality of education, much in the same way with a manufacturer, we are not trying to measure the quality of the products. This program is based on an analysis of employee feedback.”
Our thanks to Energage for the response.
And to our readers in Portland and other wonderful places we’ve visited in Oregon, we are sorry to see that your paper of record has allowed itself to be used in this manner.
So what is it the Oregonian is endorsing? Here’s what Liz Gale told us when we asked for her thoughts. You might remember her from her appearance on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.
I essentially grew up at Delphian, though we called it “Delphi” back then. My parents were very close with the headmaster and his family in the 1980s. My brother, being the poster child for Scientology education success until his suicide at 19, paved the way for me at Delphian. I was afforded the special privilege of attending early in age (8 years old) and was enrolled year after year until I was 14 years old.
Delphi is an elite Scientology school, and it consists of basically two groups: the rich kids who attend classes and the staff members’ kids. Because the school is so amazing to Scientologists, it’s not uncommon for entire families to move to Oregon, live on campus and trade work for free tuition.
Delphi employs core Scientology tenets throughout every level of its administration and teaching. The way a student is taught, disciplined, handled during off hours (remember, it’s boarding school so there is so much more than just academics happening) – it’s all Scientology-based.
Delphi’s curriculum is all created in-house. ABLE books like “Learning How to Learn” and “Basic Study Manual” are required parts of curriculum.
When learning about ethics, logic, reasoning, manners, etc. – direct quotes are taken directly from L Ron Hubbard’s lectures, meaning that parts of the curriculum itself are essentially the scriptures of Scientology. They’re just packaged up as student curriculum of the Delphian franchise.
Delphi uses Scientology’s organization board to lay out their staff jobs and responsibilities. This means that even the staff are subject to Scientology discipline, are required to master Scientology philosophies, and are trained solely in Scientology handlings of children and families.
Personally, I didn’t do well at Delphi. I was always just a little too loud, too troublesome and I didn’t conform well enough to suit the adults around me. If it hadn’t been for my brother, they probably would have sent me packing long before they did.
Today, I live only 30 minutes from the Delphi campus. If I believed the Oregonian, I might apply for a job there. After all, they say it’s the number one place to work in Oregon for small businesses. What they don’t say is that if you want to work there, you must conform to Scientology in all areas of your life. You must submit to interrogations on the E-meter, to the written snitching reports (“KR’s”) by your fellow staff, and being watched 24/7 while having the unique job of enforcing Scientology tenets on minors.
When I was at the school, it was undeniably Scientology based. Here are a couple examples in action:
— When people got in trouble, they were subject to Scientology Ethics conditions, which included written confessions and manual labor. This was true for students of all ages and staff members.
— There are no other self-help resources (counselling, behavior modification or mental health help) on campus. The only self-help tools provided are Scientology-based.
Advertisement— Students studied Scientology scripture within the “Heron” curriculum. Parts of history, logic, reasoning, writing and sociology courses include lectures and quotes from LRH on these topics. As LRH’s works are considered the scripture of the church, it’s clear that Delphi is teaching Scientology scripture through their curriculum.
— Staff hired as teachers to this day need zero teaching experience and no degree in education. The teachings of LRH have higher value on campus. A highly trained Scientologist is likely to succeed far better than a teacher with a masters degree in education.
— E-Meters were employed in classrooms as part of extensive word clearing.
— E-Meters were employed in interrogations to ensure that students and staff are “telling all” in their required confessions.
— The Scientology Ethics book dictated how all crimes and punishments were handled on campus.
— All job titles were assigned by LRH’s management technology. This required full dedication of the entire staff, and extensive training in Scientology and WISE management, which was all done on site.
— Students were given Touch Assists, Nerve Assists, and were quarantined and provided PTS handling when sick.
— LRH’s study technology was required to be used by all students, and when it was not used, there were ethics consequences and repercussions.
— Scientology organizational staff members did regular fundraising and trips to Delphi. They kept tabs on any graduates who might join staff, purchase services or join the Sea Org.
— Students and staff members keep statistics for their “posts” and were assigned Scientology ethics conditions based on their statistics.
It’s a shame, really. The Delphian campus is beautiful and it has so much potential of serving children in our community. But, in truth, locals are wary. To sign your child up at Delphian is to sign them up for Scientology.
— Liz Gale
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Russia is banning Scientology again
Yesterday, we noted at our Twitter account that the Prosecutor General’s office of the Russian Federation had announced that it was designating “undesirable” two of Scientology’s entities: The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST), which is the Scientology entity that owns L. Ron Hubbard’s trademarks (it loans them to the nominally controlling entity in Scientology, the Religious Technology Center, or RTC), and the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), a business front organization.
In other words, Russia is banning Scientology. Again. (Sad trombone.)
We have learned by now never to get too worked up over what the bandit state run by Vladimir Putin says about Scientology, which always seems to find a way to get around the raids and bans which happen over and over again there.
But for some real information about what’s going on, we’ve asked our man on Russia, Chris Owen, to inform us about the latest developments. We expect a piece from him soon. In the meantime, you can review the dubious history of Scientology in Russia with his three-part series here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
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Jon Atack: A Master’s Degree in Coercive Control
“Linda and Rod Dubrow-Marshall talk with Jon about their pioneering Master’s degree in the psychology of coercive control at the University of Salford in the UK, and the three reflect why their program is a necessity for the future.”
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Sign up for a daily email when we post a new story on Scientology.
Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.
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“Somebody made a horrible mistake over at the FCDC the other day, by mentioning ‘between lives’ during the church service and learned immediately that he should have kept his mouth very shut.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 25, 1963
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“MIRACLE: In an org a man with fatal Hodkins Disease got a 25 minute touch assist, went back to the hospital and the disease was totally gone. They’d get many more if they just cut out the flubs!” — The Commodore, September 25, 1970
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“When Joe Biden says, ‘This is a fight for the soul of this country’, he is referring to those other beings, non-thetans, who are souls, and country means planet Earth since Thoth considers Earth as a whole, a country. The fight between Thoth and Christ is for Christ’s souls. Without Christ’s souls continuing to be imprisoned here, Thoth loses his matrix. Why? Because Christ’s souls power the Matrix. They are its battery. Ha! I just saw on TV, thousands of New Yorkers marching in the Climate Change Strike; the spiritual battle Thoth directed HAARP to create.”
1999: The Telegraph published an interview with Scientology celebrity Juliette Lewis. “‘I’m tired of taking myself so seriously,’ Juliette Lewis says, looking immensely serious. I think she means that she wants to put behind her a string of highly publicised personal and professional setbacks – her broken romance with heart-throb actor Brad Pitt, a painful battle with drug addiction and a period during which her acting career seemed to have self-destructed. After Pitt left, drug addiction and despair very nearly ruined her career. ‘I never liked drugs, but I saw them as my only escape from melancholy. Unfortunately, they affect me like poison and they turned me into this pained introvert.’ When her career went into a tailspin, her parents urged her to enter a drug rehabilitation clinic in Florida run by the Church of Scientology. Three years ago, on the set of The Evening Star, which starred Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson, she was in obvious distress. ‘I was barely able to get through it. Half the time, I was just going through the motions. The drugs were killing me. People urged me to get help and I did.’ Eighteen long months of treatment followed. She left Hollywood and spent the entire period of her recovery in Florida. ‘I rented a house down there and got a lot of help from Scientology. I learnt how to take control of my life again, and how to avoid being an enemy to myself. Now, for the first time in my life, I think I can cope with my career.'”
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“I’m guessing the Urban Land Institute isn’t aware they’re dealing with a posse of lunatics.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for November 10. Trial tentatively scheduled for February.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference October 7 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for November 19.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30, 2020 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition to US Supreme Court submitted on May 26. Scientology responded on June 25.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments scheduled for Oct 5.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27.
Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Serve Miscavige in an ad? Scientology honcho: ‘But you haven’t tried hard enough to find me!’
[TWO years ago] Hiding in plain sight: how Scientology nearly got away with its 1970s espionage campaign
[THREE years ago] Scientology rewards the celeb who bolted when her co-star went rogue
[FOUR years ago] Paul Haggis: Rathbun does what I feared, and outs ex-Scientologist we vowed to keep secret
[FIVE years ago] Scientology in Ireland is nearly dead: Here’s how Tom Cruise & the gang plan to bring it back
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s showdown in Belgium: Here’s our plan to cover an epic battle
[SEVEN years ago] What the Boston Globe left out of its story on Scientology yesterday
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology Catechism: Claire Headley Puts Our State of Clear to the Test!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,434 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,939 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,459 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,479 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,370 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,677 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,545 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,319 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,649 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,123 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,439 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,005 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,924 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,092 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,673 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,934 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,971 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,685 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,210 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 565 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,740 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,291 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,440 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,760 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,615 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,734 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,090 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,393 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,499 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,897 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,773 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,356 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,851 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,105 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,214 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 25, 2021 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post 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 new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | 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 | Shelly Miscavige, 15 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
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
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 | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
