TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Chris Shelton goes deep on one of Scientology’s sneaky front operations that doesn’t get enough attention, and concludes that it’s actually the most successful of L. Ron Hubbard’s inventions. Scary! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“THE POWER (defined as light-year kilo-tons per microsecond) OF A THETAN IS MEASURED BY NOTHING ELSE THAN THE DISTANCE (defined as spherical spatial length) AROUND HIM IN HIS ENVIRONMENT THAT HE CAN CONTROL. And that is the power of a thetan; the totality of it, believe it or not. WHEN A THETAN EXERTS THIS POWER UNCLEVERLY, HE BRINGS ABOUT DESTRUCTION. And thus you get a Fascist State that destroys itself. It’s got the control but not good sense. And so that is where good sense and judgement enter in.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1982
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“There are lines of force in a galaxy. And these cookies had actually found how to detach matter along a line of force. And so they’d set a Magellanic Cloud loose along one of these lines of force and it would swing out of balance and move on out and engulf a system, and then swinging out further would engulf another system, and would spend an awful long time hanging around the system as it went by, you see? And frankly, these clouds would get to systems which they didn’t come near for maybe thousands and thousands of years. They didn’t direct these clouds intimately, they just set them loose and they would drift out through space. And these wise professors — I’ve never trusted a professor since — would sit around stroking their diplomas saying, ‘Well, this is the natural consequences of the disintegration of a galaxy. A certain period in the life of a galaxy, the Magellanic radioactive masses at the interior of the hub begin to disperse themselves out toward the rim. And this is known as the Keplin-Spreplin law and the Booplum-Booplin law, and the calculations are M to the gup-gup squared or the rippety-rip-bop to the tenth power.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 23, 1963
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“Psychology and psychiatry have been traced as the direct authors of Fascism and today propound the Fascist message of violence and death across the world. This tangled web is being laid out like a carpet from documents being unearthed from the Nuremberg trials of war criminals and other sources. We always knew they were bad. We did not know Psychologists and Psychiatrists were the men behind Hitler and the gas chambers. By documents unearthed there is no difference whatever between psychiatric doctrine now being voiced in the East and West and Nazi doctrines so abhorred by all the world. ‘Racial Purity,’ ‘eradicated minorities,’ ‘genes,’ the lot. So it all begins to fit into a pattern. We had to be fought, for the appearance of real mental tech on the planet spelled the end of Fascist usage of false mental tech to politically dominate the world. Until we came along they were winning very nicely. So that’s one reason it’s so important to establish Scientology in Europe and England. And we’re making it.” — The Commodore, May 23, 1971
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“LRH was a high volume thetan. My personal opinion was that he was probably controlling two bodies at once – Cecil Rhodes and Mark Twain. The similarities between Twain and Hubbard are rather amazing.”
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2000: The coming European release of Battlefield Earth has sparked articles on Scientology. From London’s Evening Standard: “John Travolta’s book-signing appearance at Waterstone’s Piccadilly branch today is no longer a lazy publicity engagement but an exercise in damage limitation. The American press has already dubbed his new film Battlefield Earth, based on L Ron Hubbard’s book and released here next week, as ‘the worst movie of the century’. The star’s links with Scientology, the controversial religion founded by Hubbard, has led to suggestions that the movie is a piece of propaganda. Commentators have seen in this story an allegory for Hubbard’s beliefs. Until now, Travolta has largely kept his faith private: when a Scientology scandal broke in France a couple of years ago, he fled the country rather than join in a public debate on the church’s operations. He insists that Battlefield Earth, which he fought for 15 years to make, is nothing but ‘entertainment and popcorn, good fun’. Others see in the film’s futuristic plot an allegory of Hubbard’s belief that humans are made up of clusters of spirits or thetans that were banished to the earth some 75 million years ago by a cruel galactic ruler called Xenu. One studio boss who refused the chance to make Battlefield Earth said, ‘It was risky. On any film there are 10 variables that can kill you. On this one there was an 11th: Scientology. It just wasn’t something anyone really wanted to get involved with.’ The idea that profits – if there are any – from Battlefield Earth merchandise might go to what Cynthia Kisser from the Cult Awareness Network describes as ‘quite likely the most ruthless, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen’ is another strike against Travolta.”
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“I love churches, cathedrals, mosques and I’ve visited more than few of them. I just don’t like what’s being taught in a lot of them.”
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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] Scientology has a Spotify channel, and it’s all that we hoped
[TWO years ago] The mostly forgotten ship that started one of the biggest Scientology legal cases of all time
[THREE years ago] Straight Up and Vertical: When is this jury going to deliver a result?
[FOUR years ago] How I know your Scientology files weren’t confidential: It was my job to dig through them
[FIVE years ago] How Scientology can make a tragedy worse, and then even worse again
[SIX years ago] AUDIO: Scientology recruiter says wrecked families small price for salvaged planet
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology tries stealthy opening of new drug rehab in Canada and gets stuffed
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology asks court to freeze Laura D’s forced-abortion case for a long-shot appeal
[NINE years ago] When a Scientology ‘body-router’ turns out to be the father you haven’t seen in 7 years
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s newest attack on Ron Miscavige: Could his son David be any whinier?
[ELEVEN years ago] Jon Atack: Stop making excuses for L. Ron Hubbard and the Snow White Program!
[TWELVE years ago] Richard Teague speaks out after his horrific ordeal at a Scientology rehab center
[THIRTEEN years ago] A Womb With a View: More Dianetics Just-So Stories
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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 3,637 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,141 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,647 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,197 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,187 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,573 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,068 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,372 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,023 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,241 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,795 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,136 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,707 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,623 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,790 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,376 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,635 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,383 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,952 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,263 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,438 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,120 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,457 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,310 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,426 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,788 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,202 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,587 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,471 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,035 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,547 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,807 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,911 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 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
