Here in the United States we are celebrating our independence, and we hope you are too, wherever you are.
Your proprietor decided that this contentious year he would go back to the very beginning and think about the forces that led a people to break bonds with received traditions of monarchy and subservience to ethereal powers.
Yes, we’ll be at Independence Hall in Philadelphia this morning, where it all started. It’s our first time to celebrate the 4th in Philly, and with the way things have been going in this country recently, with insurrections and radical theocracies breaking out, we thought it was a pilgrimage worth making.
As usual, however, we mark Independence Day by asking readers to tell us about their own declarations of freedom from Scientology indoctrination. What first led you to question your involvement in the organization? How did you negotiate the tricky path of leaving if you still had family members in?
If you’ve told us before about how you left Scientology, what’s changed for you in the last year or two? Has your conception of your Scientology experience changed over time? Would you have done things differently to leave the group if you could?
And for the never-ins, tell us which of the escape stories you find most illustrative, most exciting, most devastating.
And maybe most importantly, what advice can you offer to those under-the-radar types who today are sneaking a peek at this website as they consider whether it’s time, finally, for them to declare their own independence and dissolve the bands which have connected them to David Miscavige and the Church of Scientology?
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Now available: Bonus for our supporters
Episode 2 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers, and it’s a doozy: Claire Headley talks to us about the way she called out Tom Cruise on Facebook recently, and describes her interactions with him in surprising new detail, as well as revelations about Tom that came directly from David Miscavige! Meanwhile, we’ve made episode 1 available to everyone, it’s Marc Headley on what it must be like for Miscavige living in Clearwater, Florida. It’s Marc at his most irrepressible! Go here to get the episodes!
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“Moral codes are solutions to problems which aren’t announced. And you can therefore define a moral code, technically. A moral code is a series of solutions to problems which have not been confronted or analyzed. And you get upset about moral codes. ‘Thou shalt not drink pitchers of milk after three P.M. before thy parents,’ or something like this. Do you realize that almost all of those commandments which are in the Bible at this particular time, that we call the Ten Commandments, are prompted by some obsessive crimes that existed at that state of the game, and that several of these commandments are solutions to venereal disease? Isn’t that interesting? I think it’s fascinating.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 4, 1961
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“RADIO NEWS: I don’t know what happened to our daily radio news and ALSO why we use radio news. There’s nothing much on it. Recent radio news was carefully censored of all major actions. US news magazines and Herald Tribune headlines are available daily in the port. (By the way, the Manson trial prosecutor says Manson said nothing about Scn and was worlds away from it and BBC is sweating to find out WHO said it on their pgm! Fair shook them. Our PR people are all over them and our legal is sharpening up an axe. BBC has stuck its neck out a half mile.)” — The Commodore, July 4, 1971
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“What a messed up group of people who just steal, lie, talk shit all day about nothing and getting no where doing it. Causing upset to really good people. I don’t get it. There is nothing in you people I am interested in. I hate the day I got on Facebook and accepted friend requests from ‘Scientologists,’ people far from being friendly, I know now they just want your money. You should be ashamed, I know I’m disgusted. This is not LRH. It’s criminal. I actually have more respect for a criminal, at least you know what you get and they don’t pretend to be Holier-than-thou instead of mentally deranged posers thinking you represent LRH! The nerve.”
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2001: The World Institute of Scientology Enterprises announced a festival on L. Ron Hubbard Way in Los Angeles and other scheduled events. “This starts Friday night with a vital technical briefing for ALL Scientologists by Chairman of the Board RTC. This event opens at 7:30 pm with a special performance by the Golden Era Musicians. (Friday, July 6th on LRH Way.) Then on Saturday night, July 7th at 8:00 pm, attend the LA premiere of the new LRH music album ‘THE JOY OF CREATING.’ This will be a live concert of songs written by Ron and performed by the Golden Era Musicians and top celebrity Scientologists. It’s a perfect opportunity to introduce your friends and family to Scientology and will bring them way up tone scale! Then the next weekend, beginning Friday, 13 July and throughout Saturday and Sunday 14 and 15 July is the 12th Annual WISE US Convention at the Burbank Airport Hilton! The next Maiden Voyage Anniversary Event is on the 14th of July at 8:30 pm. At this event you’ll find out about a major triumph for Scientology that involves LRH admin tech in a bigger way than ever before! You’ll also hear landmark breakthroughs that will accelerate planetary clearing and make your own goals an actuality. On Saturday the 21st of July at 7:15 pm we will have the IAS Event where you’ll hear of some major victories against psychiatry! Additionally, you will experience an evening of special guest performers, and hear from IAS Freedom Medal winners.”
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“There aren’t enough Scientologists left in the world to fill a sports arena, let alone a stadium.”
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15. Nominated Elisabeth Moss to be an arbitrator in July 1 letter. Next hearing July 6.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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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] Jon Atack and Mike Rinder on Scientology’s wackiest book: ‘A History of Man’
[TWO years ago] On this day of declaring independence, we want to hear about your own fight for freedom
[THREE years ago] On this day of declaring independence, we want to hear about your own fight for freedom
[FOUR years ago] It’s ‘Declare your Independence of Scientology Day’ here again at the Underground Bunker
[FIVE years ago] Images from spy camera show Clearwater bar owner not only target
[SIX years ago] Tell us how you declared your independence of Scientology on this glorious Independence Day
[SEVEN years ago] Jon Atack: Looking back on a week of Scientology enturbulation in Toronto
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s ‘Disconnection’ policy foiled as Jeremy Powers reunites with his family
[NINE years ago] The Declaration of Independence: When Did You Join the Sons of Liberty?
[TEN years ago] Scientology Marriage Counseling Comes Down to This: ‘What Have You Done to Tom?’
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientologists: How Many Of Them Are There, Anyway?
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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 2,715 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,220 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,770 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,760 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,651 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,957 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,826 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,600 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,931 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,404 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,720 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,286 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,205 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,373 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,953 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,215 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,251 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,966 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,491 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 846 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,021 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,572 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,721 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,041 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,896 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,015 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,371 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,674 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,780 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,178 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,054 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,637 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,132 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,386 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,495 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 4, 2022 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, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), 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
