PODCAST: Mark Bunker on Scientologists stealing his campaign signs

 
With a little more than a week before election day (and with early voting already underway), it was great timing for Mark Bunker that Tracey McManus revealed in the Tampa Bay Times this week that Clearwater police determined it was a couple of Scientologists who were caught stealing Bunker’s yard signs.

So we checked in with Wise Beard Man about how the miscreants were caught, what they’re doing about it, and how his campaign has been going otherwise.

We also brought up some other Scientology news to get his reactions, and of course that turned out to be a lot of fun.

As usual, you can listen to the podcast or watch it at our YouTube channel, below…

 
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Technology Cocktail

“The CONTACT ASSIST is remarkable when it can be done. The patient is taken to the area where the injury occurred and makes the injured member gently contact it several times. A sudden pain will fly off and the injury if minor lessens or vanishes. This is again a physical communication factor. The body member seems to have withdrawn from that exact spot in the physical universe.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1969

 
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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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Source Code

“I blew up a whole writing class one time. It’s a wonder they all didn’t leave school. Actually, they relegated it to sort of getting the professor to reprimand me. It was the short story class of Harvard — excuse me, ‘Hah-varrd.’ They made the mistake of having a series of lectures from successful writers. And each one of these gave them a short series of lectures. And all of these people were in a class called Creative Writing. And they were very nicely dressed children. And so my lectures were very well received, and so forth, right up to a point….Because what I told the class that caused them to completely blow up was, I said, ‘Well,’ I said, ‘when you’ve written a few hundred thousand words, why, then you’ve got a style. And it’s taken me about I think, about a hundred thousand words before I had any inkling of any kind of a style.’ And I suddenly noticed, I looked around, I had a class in front of me that was in a state of shock!…It had never occurred to those damned fools or that professor that writers write! And this had nothing whatsoever to do with their education. I know that’s an unbelievable experience. It left me in a state of shock. ‘Well, Hubbard’s an awful bad fellow.’ Never forgave me. I was probably used as a horrible example in that school for years.” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 9, 1965

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“AOUK is the highest GI since September 1969! The International GI is the highest since 5 May 1969! Yet several orgs GIs were missing on it due to telex delays! So the FB and production of FAO are showing up where it counts. This is the direct result of renewed Flag industriousness, the teams we are sending out and the on the ground hard work of willing staffs. All have a part in producing such wins, storesmen, engineers, the whole crew.” — The Commodore, March 9, 1971

Overheard in the FreeZone

“I relate to Beingness as the primary assumption of a Cycle of Existence, Here and Now which may then be differentiated by relative location in space. For me time is relative location in space. Reality is Here, beyond the dissolution of the mechanical conditions of existence, Mind and the separateness of Identity. Reality as Agreement is exactly that: MEST Agreements and Allegiances. In truth reality is a condition of Isness beyond existence and it is composed of everyone. The reality of people. Life is a product of Imagination, identity I, You, He, She, It, We, You plural, They and Mind which generates the Void of Potentiality and results in Existence through the assumption of Beingness as Source.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: Peter Alexander posted to a.r.s concerning the construction of the Super Power building in Clearwater. “When I was still a public member of Scientology, I contributed $100,000 to the SuperPower Building, and was privy to inside information about the project. According to Bruce and Chairman Roger, the registrars, and the SuperPower project leader, the purpose of SuperPower and the new SuperPower building was to ‘undercut’ the gradient for all of Scientology. They explained that no matter what level people attained in Scientology, they still had ‘out ethics’ which were preventing them from realizing their gains. This, they said, applied to OT8’s and OT7’s, and well as people lower on the bridge. This was a tactic admission that Scientology’s OT levels were not working, and additional hypnosis/brainwashing was required before anyone could become OT. They invited me to several luncheons with Matt Feshbach. Matt was, at the time, the only public person who had been allowed to complete SuperPower. He described one particular rundown, in which he ran and ran around a ‘maypole’ in a circle. He told me that all the members of the upper management of RTC had also done this, and the other SuperPower rundowns. These SuperPower rundowns amount to about the same level of brainwashing as the Chinese Communists used during the Great Cultural Revolution, where they could ‘re-educate’ even the toughest souls into complete submission. I met with Ken, the Scientology Project Architect and went over the building plans. One of the main features of the building is a large, circular room with a maypole in the middle for the ‘running’ rundown. The rest of the building includes a new auditorium and new auditing rooms. Clearwater will become the number one Robot Factory on the planet, or so the Scientology management believes. What will actually happen is that this brainwashing will ‘take’ for awhile, then wear off, leaving the victims of the cult damaged, and probably broke. We’ll have more and more broken, defeated people wandering the streets of Clearwater.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Hey, a free trip to America and free rice and beans probably sounds pretty good to a fairly large segment of the world’s population.”

 
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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. Sentenced to 30 years to life 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. Next pretrial hearing March 26, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, motion to strike/anti-SLAPP motions by Scientology to be heard January 9, 2024.
— 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: motion to file new complaint, hearing on March 20.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, hearing on March 26.
— 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] Scientology documentary resurfaces, and it leads to a foreign exchange program!
[TWO years ago] Scientology and Ukraine: While some back Putin, Volunteer Ministers see an opportunity
[THREE years ago] Civil case on ice (for now), and will Danny Masterson show for next criminal hearing?
[FOUR years ago] Scientology attempts to clean up its balloon mess by clearing beach of syringes
[FIVE years ago] William Burroughs at Scientology’s ‘Saint Hill Manor’ in 1968, before his discontent
[SIX years ago] Scientologists bombarded to attend Hubbard birthday events, and this is our favorite flier
[SEVEN years ago] As Louis Theroux’s ‘My Scientology Movie’ hits U.S., troubling news of co-star Marty Rathbun
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology ‘disconnection’ billboard to be a block from David Miscavige’s office & residence
[NINE years ago] Scientology documentary ‘Going Clear’ participants getting harassed, threatened
[TEN years ago] Video Vault: When Scientology basked in the success of giant cucumbers
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Mythbusting with Jon Atack: Xenu the Galactic Overlord, Part 1!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 9, 2024 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

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone