Scientology pushes back in LA with 20 of their own billboards

 
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: The Aftermath Foundation stunned everyone by quietly posting 20 billboards in Los Angeles near Scientology buildings. Scientology’s response? After they failed to take down the Foundation’s signs, the church put up 20 of their own, Phil Jones reports. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

 
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Technology Cocktail

“We had a pc who constantly had low TA F/Ns. Upon checking his grip we discovered that he held the cans so tight that it caused his hands to sweat and part of the hand was actually off the cans. Adjusting the grip handled the false TA. This pc then started to cognite that he was really a fast pc after all and there was nothing wrong with him. We had another interesting one. This particular pc crossed her legs and had cans that were too big. By having her uncross her legs and recognizing that the can size was off and needed changing to 1 3/4” diameter aluminum tubing remedied her false TA.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1977

 
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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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Source Code

“I could read in this life when I was about three and a half years old. And then I went to school and they kept insisting that I learn how to read. And you know, I never learned how to read in school. I could read, only nobody ever heard that…You can read so then if anybody tries to teach you how to read and you won’t learn how to read and you can read, why nobody ever finds out about that. See? So you’ve had it. So, let’s say we were teaching a course on how to be a rocket jockey. How to fly a Mark 14 interplanetary scout ship. See, and we’re running a course on this. And we’ve got somebody and they had Mark 18s in their system and he knows all about flying one of these things, you know. Well, that’s fine you know. Here’s this, here’s that, and the instructor keeps saying, ‘Now just a minute. Hold it down now. Now, that is your circumlocutor.’ And the fellow says, ‘Yes, I know. And you pull it like this, and you go like this, and so forth; and it’s for vertical takeoff, see. Yeah, well now, what I do want to know is, you’ve got a couple of dials here that were taken off the later?’ And the instructor says, ‘Now just a minute, just a minute, that’s the circumlocutor.’ See. That guy has a hell of a time, see.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 22, 1962

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“Annabelle Buchanan is ordered back to the FSO Service Dept to properly turn over her desserts hat and regain the standard. This will assist already improved meals.” — The Commodore, May 22, 1971

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“I was living with an OT 2 and well I don’t have the label of being an OT because they never let me attest to it. So he assumes I have no power at all. But I can make the weather go the way I want, so the weather will follow me. If more people took more responsibility for the weather and learned how to manage like the buddhas in Thailand, you would get a more balanced game to play. These people are taking alien tech and using it to hurt us and create famine. If you had the ability to control the weather they wouldn’t be able to do this. I am keeping the weather going fine over here. You have a responsibility to handle your own area just like I do. If I were able to see outside this body I could handle it all. But I don’t, so maybe some others should get in there and learn it and take some responsibility themselves.”

Past is Prologue

1998: The Boston Herald published a story on the death of Philip Gale this week. “Alone in a 15th-floor classroom, MIT sophomore Philip C. Gale drew a physics formula on a blackboard showing what happens when a body falls from a great height. Then he slammed a chair through the classroom window and jumped more than 200 feet to his death, as horrified students watched from a plaza below. As evidence emerged that Gale was suffering from depression, students and staff wondered aloud about why the high-pressure school’s psychological safety net didn’t save him. And friends raised questions about whether his upbringing in a controversial religion – the Church of Scientology – played a part in his suicide. Gale had quit the church. Even so, he chose to kill himself on March 13, the church’s most important annual holiday marking the birthday of the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The suicide provoked intense debate on campus, and on the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology, about whether it was linked to Gale’s Scientology upbringing. And Munsey soon created a Web page titled ‘Who is Philip Gale?’ raising questions about a link between Scientology and the suicide. According to Gale’s friends, depression – or what he called ‘boredom’ or a ‘void’ – had long been masked by his irreverent sense of humor. The tall, skinny overachiever with close-cropped, bright red hair began to see his computer and music classwork as ‘inane.’ He spent hours banging on a drum set and playing computer games. Gale was still coming to terms with the sudden death of his father two years ago – at age 47 – of a heart attack, said Lauren McLeod, 22, a college friend who is now a reporter for the Concord Journal. And Gale had recently paid one visit to a therapist. He rarely talked about quitting the Church of Scientology, where his mother, Marie Gale, remained a prominent church official, the friends said.”

 
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Random Howdy

“I was attacked by an angry goose once. I still have that engram.”

 
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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. DA’s response to appeal brief due June 13.
— ‘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 June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal. Leah’s appeal brief due June 3.
— 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. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.

 
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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] Riley Keough’s bizarre fight to keep Graceland from being auctioned off
[TWO years ago] Scientology salutes ‘humanitarian’ couple for donating $33.8 million to building fund
[THREE years ago] When Scientology says it will ‘Clear the Planet,’ here’s what it means
[FOUR years ago] Holy Xenu, even we didn’t expect Scientology to be this big in Danny Masterson’s hearing
[FIVE years ago] Even more filmmakers who are helping out Scientology with its TV network
[SIX years ago] Scientology loses a whale: Major donor Michael Baybak dead at 77
[SEVEN years ago] Jack Parsons is getting his star-turn next month, but we’ll have to wait for L. Ron Hubbard
[EIGHT years ago] Google helps Scientology censor two more of our stories — maybe you can help us figure out why
[NINE years ago] Scientology makes you a god who can heal this horse just with your finger
[TEN years ago] DOX: How Scientology ensnares the unsuspecting in a series of binding contracts
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Hip Hop: Is there anything better in the world?
[TWELVE years ago] Meet Dennis Nobbe, Miami Chiropractor and Scientologist!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 22, 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

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone