If there is only one book you are going to read about Scientology, let it be Russell Miller’s epochal biography of L. Ron Hubbard, Bare-Faced Messiah.
Not only does it debunk Hubbard’s tall tales about himself with the actual documentary evidence, but it is told with such wit and sagacity that you will find yourself amazed that anyone ever took L. Ron seriously.
We’re lucky enough to have met Russell a couple of times and written about him on occasion, and now Karen de la Carriere has done us all a favor and interviewed Russell about the Fair Game he experienced for exposing Hubbard as such a blowhard.
Karen’s very excited about this opportunity to interview one of the greatest figures in this field, and we’re excited to hear your reactions to it!
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Technology Cocktail
“Children’s Security Check (Ages 6—12) What has somebody told you not to tell? Have you ever decided you did not like some member of your family? Have you ever taken something belonging to somebody else and never given it back? Have you ever pretended to be sick (ill)? Have you ever made yourself sick (ill), or hurt yourself to make somebody sorry?” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1961
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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 [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman
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“Now, you’ve got the Havingness Process established. And you say, ‘Where isn’t that wall’ or whatever it is, see, whatever the Havingness Process is. ‘Thank you. Where isn’t that wall? Thank you. Where isn’t the ceiling? Thank you. Where isn’t the floor? Thank you. What have you withheld from a home?’ And the guy goes figure, figure, figure, think, think, think, clank, clank, clank, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure. ‘Well, in a past life I used to take all my money down to the pub and I never gave any to the wife. I withheld money from the home.’ And you say, ‘Thank you. Where isn’t the wall? Thank you. Where isn’t that ceiling? Thank you. Where isn’t that floor? Thank you.’ Got the idea?” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 16, 1961
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“More Enormous Events never before seen or held are scheduled for the GRAND WORD CLEARING FESTIVAL! The night of the 22nd, at Sea, at 8PM the Great Radio Show WAR OF THE WORLDS will be played in HCI by LRH Personal PRO. The WORDS that caused riots in the US. These words pouring out of US Radios caused whole towns to empty! Unbelievable bone chilling realism brought direct to this upstat crew. Fantastic, never since heard! Imported at VAST expense solely for this yacht with the express permission of ORSON WELLES himself. Watch this billboard for even further stellar events!” — The Commodore, September 16, 1971
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“There is a connection between race and the tone scale, some races are more likely to be 1.1 than others, then they end up gettting kicked out of many european countries and they claim people are mean racists when its like ‘um maybe you guys have some real bad culture business practices’.”
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2000: Jeff Jacobsen reported attending a meeting of Citizens for a Better Clearwater, a community group in which many Scientologists participate. “There seemed to be quite a few Scientologists there; Bennetta Slaughter, Susan Cook, Mary Story, plus a few other faces I recognized. Reverend Al Buttnor and Mary DeMoss came in just as most people were leaving. Bennetta seemed to have a position of authority there. They are planning a cleanup day, a Food festival day, a Jazz festival, and a renovation of an alley. They had a schematic of the alley, a sample mural they wanted to put on the Coachman building wall (Scientology graciously offered to prepare the wall for the artist), and a plan to raise the money – sell bricks for the pavement (see my other post about that). The plan is to make a mural on the Coachman building, put plants and benches in there, and tear out the asphalt and put in bricks. You can buy a brick, and put a message on it that will stay there forever! Right next to the Coachman building!”
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“Their only real motivation is to eliminate the competition. All the humanitarian shit is window dressing.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— ‘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:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, first hearing set for Dec 4.
— 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. Next hearing set for Sept 26.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Next hearing Nov 6.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
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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’s arbitration contracts are ‘unconscionable,’ say trafficking victims
[TWO years ago] New witness spills tea on Danny Masterson, ‘The Ranch,’ and attorney Andrew Brettler
[THREE years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 14: The Los Angeles Times
[FOUR years ago] Charles Barkley becomes a slam dunk photo opportunity for Scientology
[FIVE years ago] Scientology’s surprisingly weak attempt to turn Hurricane Florence into PR gold
[SIX years ago] Disconnected at birth — another infuriating Scientology saga
[SEVEN years ago] VIDEO: City council candidate exposed as Scientology spy in live public hearing
[EIGHT years ago] ‘Fundamentalist’ Scientology means chasing the ideal of Neo while turning your back on family
[NINE years ago] Scientology says it’s received $5.7 million from Google in advertising grants
[TEN years ago] TOM CRUISE IN CLEARWATER: Scientology Gathering Big Names For Product Launch
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Dodges a Bullet in Australia: Church Told to Pay Workers, Says “We’ll Get Right On That”
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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 3,154 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,669 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,219 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,209 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,090 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,394 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,265 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,370 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,817 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,159 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,725 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,644 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,811 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,393 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,654 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,690 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,406 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,970 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,285 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,460 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,011 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,142 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,480 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,335 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,454 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,810 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,113 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,219 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,617 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,493 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,058 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,571 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,825 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,934 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 16, 2023 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, 1995-2022 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…
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
