Scientology at San Diego Comic-Con: Toxic ‘disconnection’ on display again this year

 
It’s not all fun and games at the San Diego Comic-Con as far as the Underground Bunker is concerned.

We did have a lot of fun on Thursday when our friend, film reviewer Luke Y. Thompson, sent us photos of the ‘That ’70s Show’ display outside the exhibit hall and showed how Danny Masterson, after being convicted as a serial rapist, has been awkwardly erased from the display.

Again, if you didn’t see it before, the display at Comic-Con and the 2002 photo it’s obviously taken from…

 
This was rather amusing. But Luke sent us another image that didn’t have us laughing.

He thought we’d want to see the Galaxy Press booth at the convention, which is selling L. Ron Hubbard books and featured an image of a dragon. (It’s from the cover of the latest writer’s contest anthology)…

 
We appreciated that Luke sent us that shot, but what really caught our eye were the two women working the booth. The one nearest the camera looked like it might be Emily Jones.

And sure enough, when we went to the Galaxy Press page at Facebook, there was a shot of Emily, here on the left, working the booth.

 
Once again, Scientology’s exhibit at Comic-Con includes a very visible demonstration of its toxic “disconnection” policy.

When Phil and Willie Jones left Scientology, their two adult children, Emily and Mike Jones, were instructed to “disconnect” from them by the church. And for most ex-Scientologists who experience this policy, it means never hearing or seeing a trace of their former loved ones again.

But Emily Jones is different. Her job, promoting L. Ron Hubbard’s books at Galaxy Press, puts her in the public eye from time to time. So once again, we’ll post the letter that Willie wrote to her daughter and that we first posted some seven years ago.

To my dearest Emily,

First and foremost if you get a chance to read this I want you to know and understand that the decisions your dad and I have made, as imperfect as they are, were made based not only on the love we have for you and Michael but also having had the ability to view this from inside and outside Scientology.

You state in your response to the Tampa Bay Times that we were the ones who disconnected from you. I am not sure exactly what you were told, but nothing is further from the truth. After we received your letter, we tried to contact both you and Michael. We tried for almost a year and a half, calling every week no fail. We tried getting into Celebrity Centre and Author Services to talk to you personally. We were stopped every single time. After one of our visits to CC, we were told our only terminal is the IJC (International Justice Chief). We both know what that means, utter and complete disconnection from any and all Scientologist. That was the nail in the coffin. We knew in that moment we were 100 percent cut off. We were never allowed the opportunity to give you another side of the story.

In the following months we learned just how many families have been torn apart. I always thought Scientology was supposed to bring people together. But sadly, I found out just how many people were affected by disconnection and it was staggering. In failing to contact you we knew we had to do something not just for us but for all the families affected.

Emily, Michael, the charge that what we are doing is motivated by money is heart-wrenchingly sad. You know us! How could you think that we would choose money over our children? Deep down, I hope you truly know this is not the case. I want you to know that even if we were offered millions of dollars to go away and be quiet forever, my answer would be “never.” Never, Emily! Money is not the motivation! A family intact is much more powerful than that.

We may have a difference of opinion, but that doesn’t mean we cannot maintain a healthy relationship. Your dad and I love and miss you both more than you know. We will never disconnect from you, our arms will always be wide open no matter what you do in life.

Love always,
Mom

If you’re at Comic-Con today, think about stopping by the booth and suggesting, in a very friendly way, that Emily give her mom a call.

 
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Technology Cocktail

“We have many riches. We have a hard corps of trained Scientologists. We already know who our friends are. We’ve drawn the teeth of old-time psycho-therapy and we’ve lived down our sins. But more important we can and mean to clear the US. The finance for this project has been worked out very thoroughly. The job will only cost a few hundred million and, hold your hat, you’re going to make it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1959

 
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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 as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.

 
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner

 
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Source Code

“Now your understanding is that when you die, why somehow or another about 15 minutes later you appear in another body. Let’s look at this thing from a time disorientation basis. That is a lie. It takes 69 days plus. More than 69 days. See, this has upset some of our calculations. We’ve wondered what has happened to some of our people, why they didn’t show up again immediately, that sort of thing. You’ve gone as long as eight or nine years between death and birth. Now what happens — I’ll just give you a fast rundown on this situation — what happens is, you’ve got a compulsion to appear at the between-lives return-point. And, of course, you just do a disappear at death and an appear there. You don’t travel to there, see. It’s all nicely implanted and you’re supposed to arrive at this exact point. And having arrived at this point you go through the works. And the works consist of a false death given to you in pictures. You’re caught there and beamed in, and you get a bunch of pictures which they have taken — these aren’t your pictures — and it tells you all about the death you just died. Only that’s not the death you just died. They give you a completely false death.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 23, 1963

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“Today at 0900 we will move the bow of the ship over to the best fixed location of the port anchor which was researched last night. It’s just to the north of where we searched today. We will lower the port anchor and when secure, divers will go down the chain to see what an anchor looks like on the bottom and start a search radius from it. Have sleds ready again, they can stand off as we move forward.” — Capt. W.B. Robertson, July 23, 1970

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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Part of the road to becoming a god is to be willing to do anything and accept causation for anything. So you don’t mind being the one who made the dam burst. And with that, you gain control over the mockup. Then all you have to do is change your mind about what you want to have happen in the area and it all shifts around because now it is your dream rather than theirs which is controlling the projection of reality. And after the dam snaps back together and the devastation is erased by your postulates, the people are even more willing to agree with your being cause over everything because they like the results.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: Judge Thomas E. Penick this week issued a permanent injunction to replace the temporary injunctions against Scientology and protesters in Clearwater. “The Defendants have frequently picketed, protested, and demonstrated at the Plaintiffs facilities in Pinellas County, and Clearwater, in particular. Both sides have and continue to expend vast numbers of hours videotaping and ‘spying’ on each other. Such acts have heightened the tensions and frictions between the parties. During these picketing events, physical confrontations have erupted between the parties. When violence breaks out, the Clearwater Police have had to expend many work hours and taxpayers’ dollars to return peace and tranquility to the community. The frequency of the involvement of the Clearwater Police has constantly grown. Throughout the history of the conflicts and confrontations between the parties, all taxpayers of Clearwater, Pinellas County and the State of Florida have had to expend vast sums of money to compensate numerous governmental agencies of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government to administrate, enforce, maintain, prosecute, defend, and promulgate laws to nurture harmony and safety between these parties, and ultimately, the public as a whole. This financial hemorrhaging must be stopped. All branches of government need to move on and devote more time to other matters of public interest rather than to the antics of these parties.”

 
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Random Howdy

“L. Ron Hubbard is dead but that didn’t stop lawyers for Monique from introducing his works as evidence in a court of law. There is a paper trail for Joseph Smith leading back to the early 1800’s also. Evidence clearly demonstrates that L. Ron Hubbard and Joseph Smith were con men. Smith was a convicted con man. The Abrahamic religions are obviously too old for this.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentencing on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Trial scheduled for August 15.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— 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 at least through sentencing of Masterson on Sep 7.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Next hearing August 1.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

 
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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] PODCAST: Sunny Pereira spills secrets of Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre
[TWO years ago] The Scientologist who played a role in Tuesday’s historic Blue Origin launch
[THREE years ago] Scientology not only opposes Valerie Haney’s do-over, but wants $160,000 in sanctions
[FOUR years ago] Hey, slacker, come on back to Scientology — things are peachy now!
[FIVE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY CAVES: MISCAVIGE SETTLES FORCED-ABORTION CASE TO AVOID TRIAL
[SIX years ago] Scientology shifting front group strategy — it’s all about kids, kids, kids
[SEVEN years ago] Bomb diggety! It’s more Scientologists high on L. Ron Hubbard and the everloving ‘tech’
[EIGHT years ago] The Church of Scientology: A rollicking legacy of belligerence, profanity, paranoia, and violence
[NINE years ago] LIVE BLOG: The Elli Perkins story tonight on the ID Network, ‘The Scientology Cure’
[TEN years ago] Claire Headley: Scientology’s Own Rules Prove That it Uses “Disconnection” To Split Up Families
[ELEVEN years ago] The Master Screenplay: Scientology History from Several Different Eras Skillfully Woven Together

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 23, 2023 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, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), 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…

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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

 

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