TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Alex Barnes-Ross spills the beans about our gathering in September. He’s got information about who’s going to be at this year’s HowdyCon and how you can make sure you’re with us as we have a great time. Also, what the heck is a HowdyCon, anyway? [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“If a Mission or Field Auditor believes one of their pcs to have gone Clear, they must send the pc and his folders to their closest qualified org which has a qualified C/S, for adjudication and a full Dianetic Clear Special Intensive, as required. NOTE: No auditor or C/S nor any other person must evaluate for a pc on this nor feed or coax him to any cognition, which is a Comm-Evable offense. Clears are made through auditing, not by feeding cognitions to pcs. This is important as someone who has not made Clear will not make it on the OT Levels.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1981
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“I said, ‘Go ahead and fly through the air,’ to a preclear once in a very careless moment. Preclear had said something about flying all to pieces, or going up in the air, and I said, ‘Well, go ahead and fly through the air.’ It was a bad thing for me to do, because I was disgusted. I was disgusted with the preclear, and I actually mirrored it. And the preclear took it as an auditing command and looked at me blankly and said, ‘How am I supposed to do that?’ Well, I could have said at that moment, ‘It’s a mis-command. I didn’t mean it.’ But I didn’t. I picked the preclear up and made him fly through the air. And I said, ‘See, you can do it.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 15, 1957
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“SLIDE-TAPE SHOW: Geoff Barnes and Al Bornstein are highly commended for their excellent slide-tape show about Flag. As you read this it has already been exported to the various continents, having left the ship at 0600.” — The Commodore, March 15, 1971
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“If people have thought that a few thousand hours was a long time to spend on NOTs then they are in for a shock when they start OT 9. I am guessing 20,000 hours for people in good shape.”
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2002: Keith Henson reported a protest at the Toronto Scientology org. “Chris Wood and Android Cat met Gregg and me at noon. As usual I was across the street. Brisk day for flyers, some of Kristi’s ‘Is Scientology breaking the law’ and a batch of a posting by Poopsy Charmicheal. Right after I got on station a Scientologist came by and told me to quit what I was doing and go away. He said this about 6 times. Later I had a guy in shades try to get in a fight with me. He claimed he had spent much time with Scientologists and they had never tried to suck him in. I asked him if he was a scientologist and he claimed that I was defaming him. He seemed in shock to discover I had a tape recorder in my pocket. Bob Hill and Brian McPherson put in an appearance. Gregg had considerable interaction with Bobby. Bob was posted after a while out on the corner to keep Scientologists from taking a flyer. A street person was giving Gregg a lot of trouble. After a while the street kid started getting violent – supposedly because Gregg’s patter included a mention that the city would not subsidize a Hell’s Angel’s clubhouse but is providing a tax subsidy to Scientology. Gregg has this really funny section where this street kid is told he is on tape. Total dismay ‘What!’ in a high-pitched voice then ‘Oh F***’ and then he splits. Later Gregg read OT3 and clears the Scientologists from the street. The cops arrived from Gregg’s request. Gregg told them the street kid was gone.”
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“I (and my parents) got my high school teacher fired for trying to use EST to teach us algebra. This was after he threw me out of the class for pointing out to him that EST was a cult and what he was doing was illegal and against school policy. This was like ’73 or ’74.”
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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 March 9.
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, which is now fully briefed. Awaiting the setting of an oral arguments hearing.
— 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. Oral arguments hearing on March 3.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration. 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] Site report: Scientology not looking very ‘Ideal’ these days
[TWO years ago] Aftermath Foundation billboard pulled down, and ClearChannel isn’t saying why
[THREE years ago] Scientology leader David Miscavige doing business in Florida: The evidence
[FOUR years ago] Is Scientology so desperate for new suckers, it would hand out snacks on Sunset Blvd?
[FIVE years ago] Scientology whistleblower Steve Fishman: Out of prison and getting younger every day
[SIX years ago] Report: Scientology cancels LRH Birthday, but still spreads quackery about coronavirus
[SEVEN years ago] Tom Cruise, John Travolta and some other rare celebs made Scientology event in Florida
[EIGHT years ago] What do you want to see in Leah Remini’s third season of ‘Scientology and the Aftermath’?
[NINE years ago] Sheriff’s deputy on what Scientology does behind its gates: “That’s not my business”
[TEN years ago] Scientology disconnection rips apart another family, this time affecting a familiar face
[ELEVEN years ago] ‘Going Clear’ subject Tom DeVocht gets a lesson in Scientology’s social media surveillance
[TWELVE years ago] Ryan Hamilton files two new suits against Scientology’s drug rehab network — in California
[THIRTEEN years ago] VIDEO: What Did You Lose in Scientology?
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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 3,568 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,072 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,578 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,128 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,118 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,504 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,999 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,303 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,954 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,172 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,726 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,067 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,638 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,554 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,721 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,303 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,562 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,314 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,879 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,194 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,369 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,051 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,388 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,241 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,357 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,719 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,130 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,518 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,402 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,966 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,478 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,738 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,842 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 15, 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
