TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Scientology is suing Los Angeles to turn over LAPD records regarding a couple of controversies: Allegations by Chrissie Bixler that Scientology was responsible for the death of two of her dogs, and leaked information about Shelly Miscavige reported by Yashar Ali in 2023. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“If you were to walk through an insane asylum and say, to each patient you met, ‘Come up to present time,’ as an authoritative command, you would get a small
percentage of complete recoveries. In one instance when this was done, those on whom this had been done got up in «group session» that night and volunteered how glad they were to be here. What would have happened is that the person would have come out of his past track incident or incidents and would have moved up to present time and sanity. While this process is not a ‘sure cure’ for all insane, it does demonstrate the point. Those on whom it did not work can be supposed to have been just too mired down in their backtrack.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1980
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“Man is continually representing to you that he owns a body, and he doesn’t. He steals one. And Freud was looking for guilt. Do you want to find some guilt? Let’s look that one in the eye for a moment. The very thing he owns with he stole and he knows he stole. And somebody comes along and grabs him and throws him into the clink or something for having run off with a couple of teaspoons from the local manor or something, and he goes into a complete fit. Why does he go into a fit? He thinks he’s going to be tried for his basic crime in this life which is the theft of one Homo Sapiens, which is kidnapping.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 23, 1953
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“JANIS GILLHAM is assigned a condition of LIABILITY for goofing up an LRH Conference recording resulting in that one side of the tape did not record. I am assigning myself a condition of NON-EXISTENCE for not testing recorder before the recording started.” — Msm Anne Tidman, January 23, 1971
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“Ultimately the truth is that each of us is here by our own choices, perhaps naively without understanding the consequences, yet it is our own choices and compromises that have ultimately led us through the entire cycle of creation to where we are now. Whilst someone else is responsible for the problem and the solution. The person is basically at total effect. This is a lie, and a trap, a prison of disbelief the person has chosen to adopt as a way of protest. The responsibility is elsewhere with someone else. This is false. A neat trap.”
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2000: From letters to the editor of the St. Petersburg Times: “I am a board member for the Lisa McPherson Trust and I take issue with the statements given by the cult of Scientology’s spokesman, Marty Rathbun. First, I am not an outsider, as Mr. Rathbun claims. I own a residence in Tampa and only moved here after the company I work for moved from downtown Clearwater because of the dark and threatening nature of the cult and its not-so-well-hidden agenda. The cult of Scientology has managed to insidiously insert itself into the very threads that control the business community of downtown Clearwater. When asked by the Lisa McPherson Trust to assist in finding office space downtown, I ended up going to every high-rise office building in downtown with vacant office space. In each case, we were turned down. When asked, some of the property managers were honest enough to say that they’d been contacted by the cult. We knew this to be true because we were followed by private investigators the entire time we were visiting these buildings. So when Mr. Rathbun says the reason we’re here ‘is to harass people,’ all I can say is that they accuse others of what they are guilty of. The Trust will produce the truth about Scientology and its management, the lies they tell their members and why they are trying to stop the trust.” — Patricia Greenway, Tampa “So why does the Times give Robert Minton all this ink? Could it be that you are merely a propaganda mouthpiece for the psychiatric/pharmaceutical cartel that is turning our children into drugged zombies through their label-and-drug-children program? Since Scientology is the only effective opposition to their plans and has highly effective methods of helping children to lead drug-free lives, this cartel is inevitably found to be backing people like Minton.” — Larry Byrnes, Clearwater
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“Typical Space Ozzie & Harriet ‘Remember the good ole days before all the perversion and permissiveness that lead to the downward spiral?’ reactionary bullshit. Except for the Space Opera, Scientologists have the same mindset as your average teabagger, fundie christian, conspiracy nut, gun lovin’ closet Nazi wingnut. I suggest we round them all up and send them to the FEMA camp called Branson MO.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, waiting for 2nd Appellate District court to set a hearing date. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence (eligible for parole in two to three more years). Awaiting transfer to state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for Feb 2.
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 respondent’s brief is due February 11.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal. Appeal fully briefed. Motion to replace Jane Does’ AI-tainted brief denied by court. Awaiting a court hearing date.
— 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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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, 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 spends $26 million to double the size of its European HQ
[TWO years ago] Did Marc and Claire Headley just find Shelly Miscavige’s new location?
[THREE years ago] DONOR DRAMA: Stunning new data on the life cycle of a Scientology whale!
[FOUR years ago] Scientology on the Autobahn: Selling blue sky to the Germans and Swiss back in the day
[FIVE years ago] Tom Cruise doesn’t want you to visit his camera-heavy condo in Scientology’s mecca
[SIX years ago] Where in the world is Scientology leader David Miscavige?
[SEVEN years ago] Never forget: Scientology calls exes liars, but spells out its own abuses in documents
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology celeb Kerri Kasem marches for religious freedom in Hungary
[NINE years ago] Scientology wastes no time making a move on the new president, but where does Trump stand?
[TEN years ago] Whale watching, 2016 edition: Who’s keeping Scientology afloat?
[ELEVEN years ago] VIDEO LEAK: Another segment from Marty Rathbun’s deposition — his ‘Liability Formula’
[TWELVE years ago] Ray Jeffrey on Scientology in the courtroom: ‘Constantly getting tripped up on the facts’
[THIRTEEN years ago] SCIENTOLOGY SUED FOR FRAUD OVER REFUND SCHEME, MORE PLAINTIFFS TO COME
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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 3,517 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,021 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,527 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,077 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,067 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,453 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,948 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,252 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,903 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,121 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,675 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,016 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,587 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,503 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,670 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,252 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,511 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,263 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,828 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,143 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,318 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,000 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,337 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,190 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,306 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,668 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,079 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,467 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,351 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,916 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,427 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,687 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,791 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 23, 2026 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter.
Our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is 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, 1995-2024 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2024), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
