Veterans Day 2021 showed once again that Scientology spokespeople continue to lie about L. Ron Hubbard’s questionable war record. As the Bunker reported on November 30, Clearwater Scientology spokesperson Pat Harney put out a press release to mark Scientology’s involvement in a Veterans Day event in Clearwater. She claimed that Hubbard – a US Navy lieutenant during World War II – suffered “life-threatening injuries” during his service.
It’s remarkable that Scientology is still claiming this, 35 years after it was first exposed as a lie. We’ve covered the truth before, so we turned to Chris Owen, author of “Ron the War Hero” – the definitive account of Hubbard’s wartime career – to explain why Scientology still makes this debunked claim. Why does Scientology still claim Hubbard was seriously wounded during the Second World War? As Chris explains, it has no real choice. It wasn’t just another of Hubbard’s many tall stories. It’s a claim that is foundational to Scientology and has been required reading for every Scientologist for the past 56 years.
The claim comes from Hubbard’s January 1965 essay, “My Philosophy,” in which he wrote:
Blinded with injured optic nerves, and lame with physical injuries to hip and back, at the end of World War II, I faced an almost non-existent future. My service record states: “This officer has no neurotic or psychotic tendencies of any kind whatsoever,” but it also states “permanently disabled physically.”
And so there came a further blow – I was abandoned by family and friends as a supposedly hopeless cripple and a probable burden upon them for the rest of my days. Yet I worked my way back to fitness and strength in less than two years, using only what I knew about Man and his relationship to the universe … Yet I came to see again and walk again.
“My Philosophy” is not just another of the many thousands of hastily written memos and articles that Hubbard penned during his 34-year career as Scientology’s founder and leader. The essay is his most iconic justification for Scientology’s existence. It’s displayed prominently in Scientology orgs, on Scientology websites, and even in a glossy video.
Oddly enough, before writing “My Philosophy” Hubbard was much less extravagant in claiming war wounds. He told Scientologists in a 1958 interview that when he was at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital he “wasn’t sick, I was just banged up.” In an early 1960s interview he stated that he had spent “the last year of my naval career in a naval hospital. Not very ill, but I had a couple of holes in me – they wouldn’t heal. So they just kept me.”
So was Hubbard ever ‘crippled and blinded’? Scientology certainly thinks so: it says that his claim “is referencing wounds sustained in combat on the island of Java and aboard a corvette in the North Atlantic.” However, there is no record of Hubbard having been anywhere near Java, nor of having served aboard a corvette in any ocean, nor sustaining any wounds in combat at any time (or indeed ever seeing combat in the first place).
Instead, his Active Duty Fitness Reports – which cover a period from March 1941 to his final active service assessment on December 6, 1945 – show a range of fairly minor if annoying ailments. These included deteriorating eyesight, conjunctivitis, haemorrhoids, urethral discharges (likely caused by a sexually transmitted disease), arthritis, and a duodenal ulcer for which he was treated at Oak Knoll.
They do not record any combat injuries, which is hardly surprising given that none of the vessels he served on engaged in combat during his time on board. Most notably, there is no sign that Hubbard himself ever claimed to the Navy that he had suffered combat injuries. His own list of ailments comprised:
Malaria, Feb 42, Recurrent;
Left Knee, Sprain, March 1942;
Conjunctivitis, Actinic Mar 42 (eyesight Failing)
Sporad. Pain Left side and back, undiagnosed, July 42;
Ulcer Duodenum, Chronic, Spring 43;
Arthritis, Rt Hip, Shoulder, Jan 45.
The Veterans Administration rated Hubbard only 10 percent disabled when he was discharged in December 1945. Hubbard appealed, claiming that his sore eyes meant that “I can’t read very much and I have severe headaches which radiate backwards. This handicaps me in my research work when I’m working on my writings.” His stomach trouble limited his diet, and his bad hip meant that he “can’t sit any length of time (at typewriter or desk) and restricts me to warm climates.”
Did Hubbard believe his own claims? There certainly seems to have been something going on with his health. Measurements of his eyesight show a marked deterioration during his active service, though his eyes were far from perfect at the start. As early as 1929, his eyesight was rated too poor for him to pass the Navy fitness examination, though this was discounted due to an urgent need for manpower when he joined the Service in 1941. He claimed to have fallen off a ladder on a ship in mid-1942, which could well have accounted for his sporadic back and side pain, and medical examinations confirmed the existence of an ulcer. Some of his other claimed ailments were more dubious. Although arthritis was diagnosed at one point, an August 1951 medical examination found no clinical evidence of it.
In his so-called ‘Affirmations’, written around 1946 or 1947, Hubbard affirmed various positive mental and physical states in an apparent effort to boost himself through positive thinking:
Your ulcers are all well and never bother you. You can eat anything.
You have a sound hip. It never hurts.
Your shoulder never hurts.
Your sinus trouble is nothing.
The [foot] injury is no longer needed. It is well. You have perfect and lovely feet.
When you tell people you are ill, it has no effect upon your health. And in Veterans Administration examinations you’ll tell them how sick you are; you’ll look sick when you take it; you’ll return to health one hour after the examination and laugh at them.
No matter what lies you may tell others, they have no physical effect on you of any kind. You never injured your health by saying it is bad. You cannot lie to yourself.
His statements suggest that he genuinely believed that he had painful physical ailments and wanted to minimize their effects, while at the same time exaggerating them for the benefit of VA doctors in his quest for a bigger disability pension.
His biggest problem, however, was likely psychological. In October 1947, he wrote to the VA requesting that he be “treated psychiatrically or even by a psychoanalyst” after suffering ”long periods of moroseness and suicidal inclinations,” which caused him to try and fail “for two years to regain my equilibrium in civil life.”
He struggled to resume his pre-war writing career after leaving the Navy in December 1945 and only sold a handful of pieces to magazines between 1946 and 1948. Whatever authorial spark had sustained him in the 1930s, it had clearly deserted him by the time the war was over. His apparent hypochondria never left him – in the 1960s and 1970s he tormented his Sea Org ‘Messengers’ with obsessive demands for spotless surroundings and scent-free clothes.
Hubbard’s salvation was his development of Dianetics in 1949-50, which earned him a short-lived fortune. However, although Dianetics and early Scientology were explicitly marketed by Hubbard and others as delivering cures even for serious conditions such as cancer, he did not make exaggerated claims about sustaining war wounds.
In Look magazine’s December 5, 1950 issue, he said that had suffered from “ulcers, conjunctivitis, deteriorating eyesight, bursitis and something wrong with my feet,” which matches well with his Naval medical record. Similarly, in a 1952 lecture, he said that his disability was “arthritis and ulcers and a couple of other minor things”, which he claimed Dianetics had “knocked out” and had resulted in the loss of his “naval retirement”. He made no claims of having suffered “grievous wounds” when he was examined by VA doctors in August 1951.
It was not until January 1965 that Hubbard began making prominent public claims that he had been severely wounded during the war. What could have prompted such a change?
A factor that I think has been underestimated by many of Hubbard’s biographers over the years has been the extent to which he was driven by, in Prof. Stephen A. Kent’s evocative phrase, “malignant narcissism.” I’ve come to appreciate in the course of writing a new book on Hubbard’s life how much his actions were driven by knee-jerk responses to short-term challenges or crises. Consequential events in Scientology’s history can often be linked to individual events, and even individual media articles. As the American Psychiatric Association puts it, a malignant narcissist “may react with disdain, rage, or defiant counterattack” to events that bruise their ego.
The writing of “My Philosophy” seems to fall into this category. At the time, Scientology was facing the worst crisis in its history – the Board of Inquiry set up by the Australian state of Victoria, under the chairmanship of Kevin V. Anderson, QC. Scientology had already experienced years of frequently lacerating criticism in the Australian press. Bad publicity and public complaints had led inexorably to political pressure for a public inquiry into Scientology.
The result was Anderson’s inquiry, which savagely condemned every aspect of Scientology when its very comprehensive report was published in October 1965. The report led to bans on Scientology in three Australian states and, indirectly, to the imposition in the UK of restrictions on Scientology and a visa ban on Hubbard himself in 1967.
The storm had not yet hit Scientology when Hubbard wrote “My Philosophy.” On December 14, 1964, the Anderson Inquiry finished the hearing of formal evidence. It had sat for 160 days and heard evidence from 151 witnesses, including leading Australian Scientologists. Hubbard, though, refused to appear. At the start of December he ordered his representatives to end cooperation with the inquiry, complaining that the inquiry had become a ‘witchhunt.’
Hubbard appears to have planned to travel to Australia in early 1965 but decided not to do so, probably for fear that he would be subpoenaed by the inquiry. Anderson indicated in December 1964 that he would “consider a final address being made to [the Board] by a responsible person respecting scientology interests,” to go alongside the Board’s own final address in February 1965.
“My Philosophy” was published in January 1965, a few weeks after the end of the inquiry’s public phase. It is possible that Hubbard intended it to be Scientology’s final address to the Board of Inquiry, though it does not seem to have been used as such. The entire 1,209-word essay was clearly meant to be an extended apologia for Scientology and for Hubbard himself. Both had come under harsh public criticism, and the essay alludes to the hostility that Scientology faced.
Hubbard tried to delegitimize his critics by claiming that Scientology was opposed by “the slave master” and “bigoted men,” and was “not very popular with those who depend upon the slavery of others for their living or power.” “[O]ne should keep going despite heavy weather for there is always a calm ahead,” Hubbard wrote optimistically, as “the old must give way to the new, falsehood must become exposed by truth, and truth, though fought, always in the end prevails.”
Nearly half of “My Philosophy” deals with Hubbard’s claims about his own life story. It ranges from his much-exaggerated childhood wanderings in Asia (in reality, teenage tourist trips with his parents) to his wartime career and his subsequent development of what became Scientology. It was in this context that he introduced the claim that he had been “blinded” and “lame[d]” with crippling permanent disabilities.
Hubbard had good reason to exaggerate his own significance. He had been particularly harshly criticized a few months earlier by Dr. Cunningham Dax, the director of Victoria’s Mental Health Authority, who told the Inquiry that Hubbard’s writings showed evidence of the writer being mentally ill. Dax claimed that some of Hubbard’s comments “could only have been written by a person emotionally disturbed, and in some passages highly sadistic.” Documents seen by the Inquiry highlighted Hubbard’s role in ordering Australian critics of Scientology to be investigated by private detectives. Not surprisingly, the Inquiry’s final report was very uncomplimentary about him.
Hubbard’s preemptive response was to present himself as a person of extraordinary experience who had done extraordinary things. It was no longer sufficient to present himself as merely the victim of “arthritis and ulcers”; now he had to be a fully-fledged war hero who had nearly made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He also had to defend himself from charges of being a mentally unbalanced quack, which he did by presenting himself as a selfless philosopher who had dedicated his life to helping and healing others – starting with himself.
“My Philosophy” never served its likely intended role of countering the Inquiry’s February 1965 summing-up, but it came to serve a much more important role for Scientology. It provides ready answers for Scientologists to the many criticisms which Scientology and Hubbard have attracted over the years. The essay portrays Hubbard as a good and wise man who had sacrificed much to help others and Scientology as a force for good in the world.
Hubbard’s claims have obvious parallels with the story of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection, though it’s hard to say whether he himself ever made this connection. Hubbard’s supposed war wounds were his own personal Calvary: he sacrificed his health for others, just as Jesus submitted to crucifixion, and through his own personal qualities he redeemed himself, just as Jesus’s divine nature led to the resurrection. Jesus had died and was resurrected to atone for mankind’s sins; two thousand years later, Hubbard had found a way to recover from his war wounds and find a new path for mankind. Now, he wrote in “My Philosophy”, Scientology could “show Man how he can set himself or herself free.”
So it’s no wonder that Scientology cannot break away from Hubbard’s claims to have sustained war wounds. In its own way, it’s as foundational as the Crucifixion and Resurrection are to Christianity. This point did not escape Scientology’s former principal spokesperson, Tommy Davis, when he was challenged on Hubbard’s war record in an interview. If it was true that Hubbard had not been injured, he admitted, “the injuries that he handled by the use of Dianetics procedures were never handled, because they were injuries that never existed; therefore, Dianetics is based on a lie; therefore, Scientology is based on a lie.”
— Chris Owen
——————–
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.
——————–
“As long as religion brings solace to man in any way, shape or form, as long as churches stand in any way for the spiritual freedom of man, psychiatry will not really be able to progress, whatever its end goals are. Therefore, our rebuttal to any such attack is that psychiatry should not be permitted to wipe out a small church and then go on to a bigger church and then go on to a bigger church, and so take it all over. And also that the Minister of Health, as we have just told the press, has no right whatsoever to comment upon religious beliefs or practices. And in addition to that, that they are telling us that we must not do something we are not doing. Now, this is the yickle-yackle that appears in the world. The public at large is in actual fact getting ready to turn. Much of it has already turned. They see something very rotten in this idea of attacking Scientology. They are sick of this, see, because it’s gone on too long. And we hear cross comments of this particular character here and there. And they’ve gone too far and they’ve said too much! And they are now talking to a hostile public on the subject. It’s up to us to make sure that this is the downfall of all suppressive practices in that line.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 13, 1966
——————–
“Lots of fan mail and FN VGIs from people on the FSO on Valuable Final Products. I hope we can get in any corrections and additions. Send them to LRH Comm Ship. Funny but it’s like gold. Before one sees real gold dust in a miners pan, he can be fooled by anything. He thinks mica, bright rocks, fool’s gold, anything is gold. Then you show him real gold and never afterwards does he fail to recognize it. Can’t be fooled at all. It’s that way about a list of actual valuable final products. Once you see what sort of they are for a department, div or org you can’t ever be fooled.” — The Commodore, December 13, 1970
“The last 20 years under DM particularily, has been devastating….It’s my belief that a real program aimed at recovering every single Clear and OT ever made, along with a generous Amnesty, wherein they were met with 100 percent standard, Ethics officers, CSing, Auditors and Admin Terminals would create the greatest renessance in the history of the subject. The result would boom orgs and the inflow of new (FSMed) public in ways never, ever seen, not even in the haydays of Scientology.”
——————–
2001: Blackbird, a new book by Janet Lauck describes her life, including childhood experiences with Scientology. From a review on Salon.com: “Jennifer was 7 when her mother died. Her family then went from living a middle-class life in Huntington Beach, Calif., to a disjointed existence in Downtown Los Angeles. Her father married ‘Deb,’ a member of the ‘Freedom Community’ church, a pseudonym Lauck uses for what was in actuality the Church of Scientology, and then had a fatal heart attack. At age 10, Lauck and her brother, Bryan, were orphans and left in the care of their cold, authoritarian stepmother who attempted to break the little girl’s will. Lauck writes of being mistreated by ‘Deb,’ sexually molested by a counselor at a church-run summer camp and, finally, abandoned by the awful stepmother, sent at age 10 to live by herself in one of the church’s group homes and to earn her keep by working as a janitor’s assistant at a local school. Years later her brother committed suicide.”
——————–
“Future membership growth for the Church of Scientology has been effectively terminated by the Internet and Anonymous and the old guard critics. Its name is MUD. It’s definitely headed for Shakerdom and that was the original goal. As far as bringing DM to justice and the government doing anything about that, I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29, 2022.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for December 21.
— 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 February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— 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 held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
— 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.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] More Scientology orgs boarded up, our readers report: What’s going on?
[TWO years ago] Scientology will try to force Danny Masterson accusers into its internal ‘arbitration’
[THREE years ago] Scientology reveals it has a secret donor with an NFL connection giving millions
[FOUR years ago] Defeated in court, L. Ron Hubbard’s son boasted about spreading lies in new FBI document
[FIVE years ago] LEAH REMINI TO LAPD: COUGH UP PROOF THAT YOU CHECKED ON SHELLY MISCAVIGE
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s latest filing in the Trout Run zoning fight: We bleed for all religions
[SEVEN years ago] Jonny Jacobsen: New Scientology legal setbacks in Belgium, France, and Holland
[EIGHT years ago] Monique Rathbun back in court today: DAVID MISCAVIGE WILL BE DEPOSED, JUDGE DECIDES
[NINE years ago] HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATING SCIENTOLOGY FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING
——————–
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 2,513 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,018 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,538 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,558 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,449 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,756 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,624 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,398 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,729 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,202 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,518 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,084 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,003 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,171 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,752 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,013 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,049 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,764 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,289 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 644 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,819 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,370 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,519 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,839 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,694 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,813 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,169 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,472 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,578 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,976 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,852 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,435 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,930 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,184 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,293 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on December 13, 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
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
