TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: With all that’s known now about Scientology after decades of court cases and journalistic exposes, it’s still kind of amazing to see that people are forking over huge amounts for the miracles sold by this group. We have two fun examples for you today. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“An enormous amount of knowledge goes straight into the analytical mind through mimicry. A little girl, for instance, who is raised with a dog is liable to mimic the dog and, like a recent case, get down on all fours and scratch the door to be let in. Men mimic selectively when they are unaberrated, unselectively when they are aberrated. In the case of the insane person who echoes vocally and muscularly any person before him, the mimic mechanisms of the analytical mind have been impinged on so heavily by engrams that unselectivity is the rule in the extreme. But the analytical mind is being forced from under to use its mechanisms. And the mechanisms are those of the analytical mind. Take out the engrams causing it—something like: “You have to do everything and say everything you see and hear”—and the mimic mechanisms of the analytical mind correct instantly and rational mimicry results.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950
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“Faith is a very fascinating subject. Faith can be artificially installed. You can take a person as a clinical experiment, hypnotize him and install the Great God Motaw. You tell him that the Great God Motaw is now taking care of his life, safeguarding him, looking after his concerns, will see that the future is all arranged for him, will see that all goes well and that everybody loves him, and will, beyond everything else, give him absolutely correct data every time he asks for it. The Great God Motaw, installed in such a circuit, more or less takes the whole computer, moves it over, and now he has the Great God Motaw sitting there. You can even install it so that the Great God Motaw has sonic, which is strictly hallucination.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 13, 1950
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“The Supreme Test of a thetan is to make things go right. I want every divisional officer to spot those on the ship who pass this test.” — The Commodore, July 13, 1969
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“You don’t turn someone who is seeking to rehabilitate himself to the authorities. Otherwise, there is no point in being a church, don’t you think? Involving HCO, OSA, etc, that’s perfectly OK and, in fact, expected for the protection of the group and to really get to the bottom of the situation. But the whole idea besides protecting the group first is to rehabilitate. I don’t see how the ‘authorities’ are going to rehabilitate anybody. Throwing somebody in jail and locking the door hasn’t rehabilitated anybody as far as I know. Do you know of anybody who did? There are ways to deal with any situation with the correct Ethics tools and to take full responsibility for scene (with every dynamic involved) without playing the cop. We are ministers, not police officers. We are a Church, not a police enforcement agency.”
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1995: Helena Kobrin, chief legal intimidator of Scientology, kept busy this week with several threatening letters, both to participants in a.r.s, and to their site administrators. Martin Poulter’s sysops suspended his account for one day last week while they investigated her complaint. Martin described the complaint this week. “Her complaint is specifically about a message I posted to a.r.s on Sunday, which contained a small extract from OT7 material. She demands that I remove this post from the Internet (which is, of course, impossible). She claims that the OT7 document is copyrighted *and* a trade secret. She is emphatic that Fair Use does not apply, specifically because the documents are *unpublished*. She also says that there is no Fair Use (Fair Dealing in England) defense to trade secret misappropriation. She claims that downloading of SCAMIZDAT is a breach of copyright and trade secret laws.”
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“Scientologists believe that the Narconon treatment can cure you of alcoholism and once completed you can drink in safety again. In fact from what I’ve read they sometimes make you drink before you leave to prove this.”
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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, oral arguments scheduled for June 25. 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. Now serving time in 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 June 19.
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. Oral arguments hearing set for July 23.
— 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 upheld on appeal. Scientology expected to file additional petitions before case can return to Kalra’s court.
— 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] L. Ron Hubbard 2.0 gets new attorney, and solves Scientology’s biggest problem
[TWO years ago] Mike Silverman: A popular figure in Scientology, an enigmatic figure after leaving
[THREE years ago] Mark Bunker: How I changed seats and freaked out Scientology last night in Clearwater
[FOUR years ago] ‘Arbitration,’ again: Here’s Scientology motion to derail new labor trafficking lawsuit
[FIVE years ago] Scientology’s response in Danny Masterson case appeal: ‘I changed my mind’ is not a defense
[SIX years ago] Kelly Preston dies; Lisa Marie Presley loses son to suicide; Scientology remains useless
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s targeting of children is only getting more blatant as the church struggles
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology scrambles to keep Miscavige out of forced-abortion trial
[NINE years ago] Pastor’s ‘premature’ announcement of July 22 event causes A&E to cancel ‘Aftermath’ taping
[TEN years ago] Hey, thetan: Scientology has a few questions for you
[ELEVEN years ago] Hey, Star magazine, why is Tom Cruise afraid of Aussie journo Bryan Seymour?
[TWELVE years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology lets slip the reason it still produces L. Ron Hubbard’s bad fiction
[THIRTEEN years ago] Leaving Scientology: Jon Atack Navigates the Labyrinth of Paranoia
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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 3,688 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,192 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,698 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,248 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,624 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,119 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,425 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,074 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,292 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,846 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,187 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,758 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,674 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,841 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,427 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,686 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,434 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,003 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,314 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,489 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,171 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,508 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,361 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,477 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,839 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,638 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,522 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,095 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,598 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,858 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,962 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 13, 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
