TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Central to Scientology’s announced new media campaign are three TV ads that church leader David Miscavige revealed to the audience at the October IAS gala. But it’s a series of the campaign’s new billboards that have been getting noticed, and not in a good way. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“In Dianetics, the EP of a chain is erasure, accompanied by an F/N, cognition and good indicators. You wouldn’t necessarily expect rave indicators on a pc in the middle of an assist, under emotional or physical stress until the full assist was completed though. What you would expect is the chain blown with an F/N. Those two things themselves are good indicators. The cognition could simply be ‘the chain blew.’ In Scientology, End Phenomena vary with what you’re auditing. An ARC Broken pc on an L-1C will peel off charge and come uptone gradually as each reading line is handled. Sometimes it comes in a spectacular huge cog and VVGIs and dial F/N, but that’s usually after charge has been taken off on a gradient. What’s expected is an F/N as that charge being handled moves off.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1974
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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 [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
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“Let’s go back to this problem and see if there isn’t a little bit more to be known then about an individual who will not exteriorize. We’ve got the DEI cycle — desire, enforce, inhibit. At first he desired to mobilize MEST, and then MEST began to enforce its mobilization upon him, and then he started to inhibit it. We will find this for instance between a man and a woman who are ill-matched sexually. We will find a woman who is tremendously demanding sexually, may at first attract some fellow who is fairly normal, and there will be a period there when he is perfectly willing to satisfy her. This passes rapidly into a period of where he begins to believe it is being enforced upon him, and this will pass rapidly into his refusal. And so you’ve got desire, enforce, inhibit. And he will not only inhibit his sexual outflow toward her, he will simply start inhibiting it toward all women. He does it by classes, non-specific. And so we find him then becoming sexually impotent in ratio to the amount of sexual performance which has been demanded of him. Rather sad thing, isn’t it?” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 20, 1954
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“Div IV did not put any rat guards on our lines and now a rat has been seen aboard. What does it matter to make up super duper rat guards if you don’t use them!!” — Capt. Mary Sue Hubbard, January 20, 1970
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“Finally I am here! It’s a great feeling, being verified and acknowledged as Clear. God knows how long and how many sleepless nights I’ve suffered from the uncertainty and invalidations of it. Words cannot describe the millions of things going through my mind right now. I’m just grateful that I’m where I am right now. The future is brighter than ever!”
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1996: A new Dianetics infomercial contains an astounding scene with an alleged medical doctor, as this anonymously posted transcript describes. “Don Westrun (Athlete): I’d always had neck problems. And when I would turn my neck and rotate my neck I could … I could feel real stiffness, almost kind of a crunching sound, and … I’ve been told by doctors that it was from hockey, and.. and, you know, sport related injury, and … In that session I had a big win. And the first thing I noticed was my neck wasn’t stiff any longer. The pain was gone, it hasn’t come back. Dr. Janis Johnson (Medical Doctor): Well I’ve realized, from my, my twelve years … of medical practice, that if you don’t get to the source of the problem, all you do is cover up little symptoms on the surface. You don’t really get to the bottom of it – you don’t really solve it. Dianetics gets to the very bottom. The very underlying, source of the problem. Therefore that’s how it, it takes care of it! That’s, that’s why these problems don’t keep coming back. That’s why it handles it completely.”
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“Clear Cognition: You mocked up your reactive mind. OT8 Cognition: You mocked up the Space Opera, your past lives and your BT infestation. The trigger for the OT8 cognition is the line ‘the Pilot says: I’m mocking this up.’ The desired End Phenomena is ‘Now that I know what I am not, I am ready to find out what I am’.”
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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, 2023. Appeal brief due by December 23.
— ‘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 February 24, 2025.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud, awaiting sentencing.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1.
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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] Here’s Danny Masterson’s motion for bail while on appeal, in all its pricey detail
[TWO years ago] TODAY: Arguments on Scientology honcho David Miscavige being served in trafficking suit
[FOUR years ago] Danny Masterson arraigned on rape charges, enters a not guilty plea
[FIVE years ago] Scientology staffers react to Xenu, and hit up the ‘Reckless Ben’ team to work for eternity
[SIX years ago] Scientology uses celebrities and police as props — military veterans, it’s your turn!
[SEVEN years ago] Garcias decry Scientology kangaroo ‘arbitration’ and ask judge to reinstate fraud lawsuit
[EIGHT years ago] What Scientology can tell us about a 20th of January like no other
[NINE years ago] The Church of Scientology of Latter-Day Dolts: Video evidence of the fall
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s first ‘Clear’: L. Ron Hubbard intended to return as his daughter Diana’s son
[ELEVEN years ago] Tales from Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre: A new film, and a new death
[TWELVE years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Says It Bought a SUPER BOWL Ad!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,150 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,645 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,160 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,710 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,700 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,086 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,581 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,885 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,756 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,308 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,649 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,216 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,135 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,303 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,885 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,145 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,181 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,897 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,461 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,776 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,951 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,633 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,970 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,824 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,939 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,301 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,710 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,108 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,984 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,549 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,060 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,316 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,424 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 20, 2025 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), 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
