How Scientology broke my spirit with its insidious methods of thought reform

 
Last month, Bruce Hines shared with us his gripping story of escaping from Scientology with a risky flight from New York. Today he takes us back a few years, to his lowest point in the Sea Org, Scientology’s dedicated corps that requires its members to sign billion-year contracts, and its notorious prison program, the RPF. We’ve heard about the Sea Org’s RPF before, but in this piece Bruce wants us to understand how Scientology’s policies work on the mind, and to help us understand how it can truly be a “prison of belief.” We hope you give it the attention it deserves.

I wasn’t sure I would write about this part of my life. But having recently watched a couple of documentaries about Scientology, I decided to give it a shot. I have the idea that someone reading this would think that I am exaggerating. Or that I’m just bitter. Or that I must have been very weak to allow it to happen to me. Or that it is like I’m talking about my ex, and so it is all one-sided and distorted. Or whatever. Maybe it is all of those things. But I promise that these things did happen.

Part of the difficulty is that I still don’t fully understand what happened and how it changed me. Writing this is an attempt on my part to gain some closure.

The events that I am about to describe took place over a period of about a month or six weeks, in July and August of 1998. Two or three weeks earlier I had graduated from the Sea Org’s Rehabilitation Project Force, of which I had been a member for over three years.

We referred to it as the RPF.

The RPF is something very foreign to the experience of the vast majority of people. It would take many pages to describe what the RPF is and how it came about, and the reader still wouldn’t fully understand. I have heard it called a gulag, though it wasn’t as draconian as what happened under Stalin. Still, it was a labor camp, and it was quite oppressive. I’ll just describe what happened and do my best to avoid all the jargon and acronyms used by Scientology.

The story starts after I had completed the RPF and was about to be promoted back into the Sea Org unit where I had worked beforehand. I was quite happy about this. Most people in my position would have to do menial work in a lower unit. I was sitting in a room with Guido Buchele, a Swiss guy in a similar situation to mine. We were having to study binders and binders of policies and programs. The idea was to catch up on the current plans and activities of the organization after three years of being away from it. This had been going on for a few days.

At one point I went to a telephone in that room to call someone about the place I would be living. At the time I was living in a dormitory with several other guys. I was supposed to be getting a room for me and my wife, from whom I’d been separated the whole time I was in the RPF. I wasn’t sure if I should be making a phone call during the time we were supposed to be studying those binders. But it was taking many days longer than it should have to get a couple’s room.

While I was on the phone, Scientology’s leader David Miscavige walked by the door and looked in from the hallway. He was the very top guy in a vast, international, multi-level network of sub-organizations. He was practically worshipped by thousands and thousands of people. He had put me in the RPF in the first place.

When he walked by the room, I didn’t think much of it, even though when he was around people generally walked on eggshells. He was very volatile and had a bad temper. One word from him could result in a person getting disciplined in some fashion or another. I was a bit uneasy about the fact that he had seen me on the phone.

I couldn’t reach the person that I needed to talk to about my room and sat back down to continue reading the binders. It was quite boring but I was doing my best to get through them. Suddenly, Miscavige walked into the room followed by four or five other people, all top executives. He always walked around with an entourage.

Years later, I came to realize that I made a big mistake right at that point. I didn’t stand up and come to attention. I just didn’t think to do so. I would have stood up had I been more with it. I think I was startled and somewhat in shock by the sudden appearance of those people in the room. While I can’t say what was going on in Miscavige’s mind right then, I am pretty sure that he took my lack of respect as a sign that I had bad intentions and undisclosed crimes. This is according to the Scientology way of thinking. It was like a guy in the navy on a ship remaining sitting when a top admiral walked in. It would appear to be some kind of willful protest. Except that Miscavige was considered to have a much higher status than an admiral – he was the guy in charge of saving the planet, and his organization was mankind’s only hope. In retrospect he was an extreme narcissist and sociopath who demanded the utmost deference from his underlings. But whatever.

In those situations Miscavige does most of the talking. He asked us what we were doing. Either Guido or I answered that we were studying those binders and why. He then asked me what I was doing on the phone. I explained about my living situation, but I knew that it was a bad sign that he noticed me being on the phone rather than sitting and studying.

He then said that he was going to observe the two of us doing interrogations using an E-meter, a device that operates on the same principle as a lie detector. It has various knobs and buttons and a needle that moves on a dial. By observing the needle motion while asking questions, an operator can supposedly uncover things in a person’s memory.

I’m not sure why Miscavige wanted us to do that. It is something we had done a lot while in the RPF. I guess he wanted to gauge our skill level after three years of doing such interrogations and supposedly having been rehabilitated. He wanted me to go first. l had been using those electronic instruments pretty extensively for twenty years at that point in time. I sat down at the device with Guido connected to it. One of the first things you do is set the sensitivity of the instrument. If the sensitivity is too high, the needle bounces around and goes off the dial frequently, making it difficult to follow. If the sensitivity is too low, the needle hardly moves. David took issue with my procedure for setting the sensitivity. I am quite certain that doing it the way that he wanted would result in the sensitivity being way off. It became clear to me that I understood the instrument better than he did. Of course, one would never dare contradict him.

In any event, that was enough for him. My demonstration was ended at that point. He instructed us to switch positions, which meant that Guido would be interrogating me. David told Guido to find out about the ethical lapses that I must have had going on right then. In other words, Miscavige had decided in a space of about 15 minutes, from the time he first walked by the door, that I was bad news. Though he was known to be very impulsive, his sudden adjudication was mystifying to me for many years, until I realized that I had gotten off on the wrong foot by not standing when he first entered the room. I guess that the fact that I did not immediately recognize his importance and status, by showing the proper respect, was evidence of my ethical failings.

Then Guido read off a standard list of questions and began following up on reactions of the needle. Miscavige and four other guys were standing behind Guido, watching me and the electronic instrument. It was quite unnerving. Miscavige from time to time would point out things that Guido should pursue. He acted annoyed and impatient, his weight shifting from one foot to the other. That went on for many minutes.

I knew I was in trouble. This was distressing because I had spent the prior three years rehabilitating myself and trying to show that I had become a better person. A while after everyone had left the room, another person came in and told me to report to a particular building on the property. There I was given an ethics interview by Claire Headley. These days Claire is a friend of mine (we both left Scientology) and she is a very nice person. Back then she was fulfilling her role in the Sea Org and was quite good at it. She was using the E-meter, trying to find out some bad thing that I had not yet revealed.

Confessing to bad acts and harmful intentions was the core of the RPF program. So I was accustomed to such interrogation. An odd thing about that practice was that it was considered better to divulge something, anything, as opposed to professing innocence.

Revealing one’s bad acts was considered to be a sign of responsibility. After an hour or more of Claire’s probing I did come up with something. I don’t remember what exactly. I’m certain it wasn’t a big deal. From experience I know that everybody has something they would rather not own up to. But, because I had spent over three years laying bare my whole life, I didn’t have much more to reveal. What I told was actually a re-wording of something I had talked about months or years earlier.

Nonetheless, I went to bed that night with a very uneasy feeling. Sure enough, the next morning, after I had gone back to my post, a guy named Chris Guider came to pick me up in the maroon Toyota pickup truck that he drove. Chris was in charge of the RPF. He was taking me back there.

I was devastated. In shock. Feeling some kind of numb terror. It was the lowest point of my entire life. It meant that I had been deemed to be unworthy to work on any post in that organization. It meant that I would again be segregated from my wife and friends.

It meant that I would be subject to interrogation regarding my evil nature for hours, seven days a week. I would be there for some indeterminate length of time, maybe years, living the strict routine of the RPF. Twenty-minute meals. Having to run everywhere, walking not allowed. Bunkbeds in crowded dormitories. Forbidden to communicate with people outside the RPF, unless addressed first. Earning $11 per week. Having my driver’s license and passport confiscated. A very exact and strict schedule. Two-minute showers. A lot of arduous manual labor. Lots of interrogation.

I rode with Chris in silence out to the RPF site. It was about a twenty-minute drive from the main base. Our route took us through a Native American reservation and then along a narrow, winding road through trees to a 500-acre property, owned by Scientology, surrounded by mountains high in the southern California desert. That road was the only way to the nearest town, which was about five miles away. There were security cameras, motion sensors, and a 24-hour security guard.

There were about fifty people on the RPF at that time. I remember looks of horror when Chris took me back. Most of those people had been there for at least a year or two hoping to “graduate.” It was hopeful to most of them when I and three other people (including Guido) had finally made it out. Seeing me come back was disheartening to them. That made me feel even worse.

Much of the following several weeks is a blur to me. Some of the memories from that time are vivid. I was immediately put on the RPF’s RPF. That was as low as one could go. I wasn’t even good enough to be part of the regular RPF. I could not speak to other members unless I was spoken to first. My food was their leftovers. I had to perform ten hours of the most distasteful physical labor every day, with two and a half hours of “redemption” time. I was kept away from other RPFers and had to sleep separately. I was constantly under guard by another RPF member who, unfortunately for them, had to stay near me to observe what I was doing and make sure I didn’t try to escape.

That first night I was made to sleep on the concrete floor of a small shed. I lay in a center aisle about three feet wide with wooden shelves holding paper files on either side. It had no window, but just a door to the outside. Two people, Mark Treasure and Janadair Hockaday, regular members of the RPF, were assigned to stay up all night outside the shed to make sure I didn’t do anything I shouldn’t. They leaned a large, heavy baking pan against the door from the outside so that it would fall over and clang if I opened the door. I had only a couple of blankets as bedding. I lay there having a hard time sleeping, thinking about how I might be able to escape.

At one point, I got up and carefully pushed the door open just enough to get a finger onto the baking pan. Then I could open the door the rest of the way while keeping the pan from falling and making a noise. I didn’t know if someone could see the door opening. I could hear Mark and Janadair talking in a make-shift shelter where meals were eaten by the RPFers. I probably would have been able to sneak away without them noticing right away. I certainly did consider it. Because of a number of factors I just walked to the bathroom about a hundred feet away across the camp. I made no effort to be quiet, so my guards, acting very surprised that their alarm system didn’t work, heard me.

So what were these factors that kept me there that night? It was about 3:00 a.m. and very dark. Beyond the camp, out in that hinterland, there were no lights at all. For miles around there were steep hills with thick clumps of cactus, sage brush, and some poison oak. You could hear coyotes howling in the distance on most nights. Rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and black widows were common. It was even a mountain lion region. The only viable way out, especially in the middle of the night, was on the road that led into the place. That road went through the middle of that Native American reservation, and those people were not friendly to the cult members. That road and its adjacent areas would also have cars and motorbikes and people on foot searching for me as soon as it was noticed that I had left. It would be about a five-mile hike to get to the nearest town and then it was not obvious to me what I would do there at that hour. And that would have been only if I made it past the perimeter of motion sensors around the camp, which would alert a security guard who was supposedly in a guard booth several hundred yards away on the property.

Those were the physical barriers. The mental barriers were probably even more effective. I had just been through a very stressful couple of days, during which I had been interrogated for hours and sent back to the rehabilitation camp. My state of mind was not conducive to confidence or clear thinking or forthright action. Part of the cult indoctrination included the idea that anyone who would leave that organization was insane. Literally. Also, anyone who wanted to leave was guilty of hidden crimes of a serious nature. If I were able to get away, I would be excommunicated — “declared a suppressive person” in Scientology jargon. That means that I would not be allowed to have any communication of any kind with my wife, with my children, nor with my friends in the cult. Life outside that organization was considered to be horrible. I would be forfeiting any chance of my own eternal well-being. Finally, what was probably the biggest deterrent in my mind was the belief that I would be betraying mankind’s only chance of salvation.

I returned from the bathroom to the little shed and tried to sleep. I wasn’t sure what awaited me the next day.

In the morning I was given manual labor to do, which continued until evening with a short break for lunch. I was accompanied full-time by a young guy from Mexico, who would occasionally yell at me. I think he was trying to curry favor. Being tough, uncompromising, and able to get mad were considered very positive traits in the Sea Org. It was in the middle of the summer in the desert. I don’t know what the temperature was, but it was hot. Temperatures in the 100s were not uncommon there. That summer, high temperatures of 115 degrees once and 113 degrees twice were recorded. I remember being up on a structure screwing corrugated metal onto some posts to make a roof. That building, which had no walls, would be a work area for the RPF. I was directly in the sun for hours, standing on metal sheets.

At one point that day, a security guard walked by, maybe 20 or 30 feet away. He was a member of the Sea Org, but not in the RPF. That was his assigned post. He wore a special security uniform. I saw him and told him that I did not want to continue being there and that I was requesting to leave the organization. He just ignored me.

After a few days, I was joined on the RPF’s RPF by a guy named Rich Gilbert. I had known him for about 20 years by then and we were friends. I don’t remember what bad things he had done to deserve that fate. But at least I had some company. Two of us could not fit into that little shed to sleep, so we were put into a laundry room during the night. We had sleeping bags, or some kind of bedding, that we put on a concrete floor between some washing machines and dryers. The one door had a large heavy stone placed against it from the outside to keep it from opening. One night I decided that I would make a run for it. At about 3 a.m. I got up as quietly as I could and pushed hard against the door to open it. I had to shove the stone across the ground. My plan was to bolt down a nearby trail and try to get to the road leading to town. I was hoping that the night guard would be on the other side of the building, or something, and not see me. This was a new guard and I thought there was a chance he would not be on the ball. No such luck.

As soon as I stepped out of the door he was right there. Due to my state of mind, and all the reasons to not escape that I explained above, I did not have much persistence or vigor in my flight attempt. I know, I should have pushed past him and kept walking. I just didn’t have it in me. Soon I was surrounded by other people. They were all coaxing me, cajoling me, reasoning with me – leaving would be a big mistake according to them.

That type of work continued every day for a month or so. While it was arduous and unpleasant, that was not the worst part of my time on the RPF’s RPF. It was the mind-control techniques that I went through in the evenings that really got to me. My desire to leave lasted for many days, but eventually, gradually my thinking shifted. If I ever hoped to get out of the RPF’s RPF, and out of the RPF at all, I would have to examine my intentions (evil) and actions (harmful) that resulted in me being unable to live up to the expectations of the Sea Org. A main part of this soul-searching was called Step B. This was a section of the cult’s public policy, and not expressly for the re-programming camp. The wording of this action is:

“B. Requires a public announcement to the effect that they realize their actions were ignorant and unfounded and stating where possible the influences or motivations which caused them to attempt to suppress or attack Scientology; gets it signed before witnesses and published broadly, particularly to persons directly influenced or formerly associated with the former offender or offenders. The letter should be calculated to expose any conspiracy to suppress Scientology or the Scientologist if such existed.”

Steps A to E were intended for a person who had been declared to be a suppressive person. That’s a big deal. It was like being told that you are an anti-social personality or a sociopath. In Scientology, it meant that the person had a deep-seated inclination to harm or destroy, and to keep other people from doing well in life. Such a person was kicked out of the cult and forbidden any contact with any members of the cult.

So, there I was in the RPF’s RPF, with a very controlled and tight daily schedule, doing manual labor for ten hours a day, and had been told that I am evil to the core. For two and a half hours in the evening I was supposed to write my Step B. That meant that I would sit and write all of the suppressive (i.e. extraordinarily bad) things that I had done in my life, including the destructive intentions that led me to do such things. The things that I wrote would get reviewed by Chris, the guy in charge of the RPF. He would adjudicate whether I was doing this action properly and let me know how I should change my approach.

This went on, day in and day out, every day, for many weeks. My write-up would not be approved as complete until it was clear that I realized, for real, that I was a suppressive person; that I was motivated by destructiveness; that I was not fit to be around other people in the cult; that I wished only harm on other people.

So, again, this raises the question, why did I go along with this? I could have just refused, right? I could have demanded that I be allowed to leave. That is one of the commonest criticisms of people who got involved in cults – they didn’t have to participate. Maybe by describing the lowest point in my 30-year involvement in that group will help me gain more clarity myself.

I do know that people in extreme religious sects, in radical political groups, in extreme business organizations, and in other things, can come to believe in things or to act in ways that most others would consider crazy. Thought reform is a real thing. It occurs often subtly and gradually over time.

I felt I had to conform. I believed that, otherwise, I would lose everything. Of course, in retrospect, I could not lose everything, but it still seemed like everything. A common cliché in Scientology was, “The way out is the way through.” When things became tough, one just had to persist and the situation would improve. Another cliché was that a person is responsible for their own condition. I was there because of my own decisions and actions, no matter how it might appear that things had been done to me. It was up to me to make it right and I was being given that opportunity.

Other aspects were the repetitive and demanding nature of the daily routine. Wake up, get dressed, don’t dare to be late, run to the mess hall, eat in ten minutes, clean, work hard in the hot sun, run everywhere, eat lunch in twenty minutes or less, clean up, more toil in the hot sun, a fast shower and change, a quick dinner, clean up, two and a half hours of introversion, examining how I had been devoted to suppressing others and mankind my entire life, to sleep for about six hours on a concrete floor, repeat. For days on end. It becomes sort of hypnotic. Or numbing. Or exhausting. There was little opportunity to think about how senseless it all was.

During that time I received Scientology’s version of a trial for my misdemeanors, crimes and high crimes. It was conducted by four members of the RPF under the direction of some people over the RPF. Of course I would be found guilty of everything. Those RPF members would never dare to do otherwise. I admitted to everything that I was charged with, as from experience I knew it was far better to accept responsibility and be repentant and remorseful. If I tried to defend myself, I would appear irresponsible, justifying, blaming, playing the victim. The trial found me to be treasonous and that I must perform hours of extra work to make amends. There is a lot of cult jargon and official pronouncements that always went along with that kind of trial. The whole thing was perfunctory and really didn’t change anything regarding what I needed to do, but it did serve to further knock me into submission. It was actually a kind of ritual.

Through it all, I lost a sense of myself. That is, I came to at first doubt, and then abandon, who I was as a person. Then the Sea Org could retrain me, or reform me, to be someone more suitable. To become a contributing and productive member of Scientology, devoted to their ends.

Somehow I got through it. I can only get glimpses of what else happened during those many weeks. Eventually my write-up of all my suppressive acts was accepted – it demonstrated that I had “confronted” and accepted my bad acts without trying to justify them. That I was aware of my destructive nature and was not trying to blame anyone else for it. It was written in my own hand and signed by me. It was posted on a bulletin board where everyone could read it. I had to formally write in a prescribed format how I had gotten my head straight, and ask every member of the RPF to sign that they would allow me to be a regular member of the RPF again.

I was at that point fully with the program. I was ready to go through all of the many steps that are required to get off the RPF. I wanted to be able to go back to the main base and get a post where I could contribute to the cult accomplishing its goals. It was a relief to no longer be on the RPF’s RPF, even a sense of freedom. It felt good to have the other RPFers being friendly and accepting and encouraging to me. I had been working with those people for years and many were friends. I was no longer being shunned. I was willing to do whatever to “make up the damage” and rehabilitate myself.

I ended up spending another three years on the RPF.

And, yes, the mind control worked. But only temporarily. I eventually woke up.

— Bruce Hines

 
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Source Code

“Before we developed a good port PRO [Public Relations Officer] actions and good local area PRO actions, were very often in trouble. We were in trouble in the most remarkable ways. But it wasn’t really Scientologists that got us into trouble. The biggest amount of trouble that happened in Spain was a commercial licensed engineer who turned homo and was that way with hired Spanish hands who then went to the police and complained about this English engineer. And he was dismissed and the whole thing was handled. But it still sits in the office of information in Spain. See? Not as a handled situation but that there’s something, you know? And they’re having a lot of trouble lately with hippies. They aren’t counting the communists that they’ve got in their midst — Minister of Defense, Minister of Shipping, Franco’s first adjutant, second aide, Chamberlain — they aren’t counting these guys, they’ve gotta get these hippies. You see it has no political sense at all. If you knocked off every hippie in Spain you would not have strengthened its political position a minute.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 21, 1969

Avast, Ye Mateys

“GEOFF BARNES is to assign himself a suitable condition for negligence while QM resulting in the injury of VIXIE. The gangway was off its slide board showing negligence as QM, the spring lines of the vessel slack and untended showing neglect of duty and the accident was not logged by him. The surges of the ship unrestrained by lines caused the gangway which had no board under it to trip on the railroad track on upend while Vixie was coming aboard, throwing her to the deck, seriously spraining her leg. Geoff Barnes beginning at midnight is to stand the next 24 hours of gangway duty without relief and starrate the QM pack within 10 days. He is transferred to the deck force where, he can become more experienced.” — The Commodore, October 21, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“All the promises of people on this planet are vapor. Except LRH. After millions or trillions of years of being lied to, he’s the one guy who ever told me the truth. You think I’m not gonna follow that guy? Ha! If I was ever going to be loyal to anyone, it’d be Ron.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1997: Gerry Armstrong reported that Scientology is threatening the producers of a UK TV documentary on L. Ron Hubbard. “As is probably well known 3BM Television has produced for Channel 4 a documentary biography of Hubbard. Scientology representatives have been threatening Channel 4 to prevent the airing of the program. The threat is of obtaining an injunction based on the charge that 3BM induced me to breach the 1986 settlement ‘agreement’ and the Marin County California judgment which prohibit me from speaking about Scientology, Hubbard and so forth. 3BM did not induce me to breach any agreement or judgment. The fact is I am willing to communicate to anyone about Scientology or Hubbard and my experiences therewith at any time and require no inducement. But even if I had been induced, the ‘agreement’ was obtained illegally; and even if it had not been obtained illegally it is illegal on its face.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Do you really think a guy who texts ‘YSCOHB’ to people has the self awareness to realize that Kirstie is making his business look bad?”

 
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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 December 17 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.’ US Supreme Court denied Valerie’s petition Oct 4.
— 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 November 2.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9, 2020 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. Awaiting a ruling.

 
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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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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] SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Aussies bow to Tommy Davis, but he can’t kill ‘dirt file’ story
[TWO years ago] David Miscavige at Scientology’s IAS event: What he claims, and what’s really going on
[THREE years ago] Scientology and hurricanes: Providing storms of comic relief in one disaster after another
[FOUR years ago] KID CORPS: Scientology’s internal documents lay out its disturbing ideas about children
[FIVE years ago] TOM CRUISE PENTHOUSE IN SCIENTOLOGY’S SPIRITUAL MECCA? WE HAVE THE PLANS
[SIX years ago] Laura DeCrescenzo answers Scientology ‘religion’ gambit on eve of key hearing
[SEVEN years ago] Vance Woodward files motion to reconsider his dismissed lawsuit against Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] The Flaw In Scientology’s Religious Outrage Theory: A Man Named Steven Gregory Sloat
[NINE years ago] Sunday Funnies: Let’s Put Scientology Kids to Work!
[TEN years ago] Scientology and Forced Abortions: Testimony of an Enforcer

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 21, 2021 at 07:00

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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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast