TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Ah, the Gaimans. You can’t talk about the history of Scientology in the UK without taking them into consideration, can you? And so it’s interesting to get a new glimpse of the matriarch of the family, still staying loyal to the cause. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“There are many methods the analytical mind has to protect itself even against the reactive mind. Possibly in another hundred thousand years, given that his personal and cultural aberrations had not destroyed Man entirely, the analytical mind would have more fully evolved protective mechanisms. The trend it has been taking, however, has not been toward the self-clearing of the reactive mind. This is probably a problem somewhat like the newly commissioned ship commander who, though victimized by an unruly crew, yet, by naval orders, cannot rid himself of their mutinous presence. His recourse is toward self-protection in the interest of greater ability to command and safeguard his ship. It may be that in studying his crew he finds a method of making the recalcitrants null and void without hurting the manning of his ship. Evolutionarily, the analytical mind is going in the direction of self-protection and higher authority. The second method, voiding the power of the mutineers without hurting the crew, is the sudden interjection of Dianetics which deintensifies engrams without hurting the ship but, on the contrary, increasing the ability of the ship as a whole by getting all the crew to work with enthusiasm and cheerfulness toward the goal the captain appoints.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950
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“If we don’t know how to date accurately, we are soon going to have a case which isn’t producing any tone arm action. Well, there’s the importance of dating. The greatest importance of dating is accuracy. Now, this doesn’t mean accuracy down to the last microsecond. You can still do approximate dating. Of course, it makes my brains creek a little bit when somebody says 10.5 trillion trillion years to me. I can see this enormous span, don’t you see, of the life term of this planet, according to modern science, can be dropped into that date at random! Approximately 10.5 trillion trillion years ago. You could just drop this solar system’s whole history, you see, into that date several times and never miss it! Well, is it 10.51? 10.52? Oh, my God. Do you know what you’ve got there? The difference between 10.51 trillion trillion years ago, and 10.52 trillion trillion years ago? You go figure it out some time, and you see what I mean. That’s a lot of years. Vast panorama. And your brain will go ‘creak’ underneath this sort of thing.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 17, 1963
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“The watches have been worrying about submarines and radio messages. The radio message was a call to all ships for weather data and barometer readings from Radio Marseille. The ‘sub’ seen on radar yesterday appearing at 5.5 miles, 15 minutes later vanishing at 6 and then much later reappearing at 15 miles and vanishing was probably a whale. They hang around here, what few there are left in the world.” — The Commodore, July 17, 1969
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“I think it is most unlikely that LRH would return despite the never-ending rumors. More likely he will have gone off to sow some seeds elsewhere. He knows, and has pointed out on more that one occasion, that this universe is a universe of plenty and when one is sowing seeds, one doesn’t just sow one. Speculation: There are billions of planets and stars in our galaxy alone, some of which might be more acceptable to such knowledge now that it has been worked out and it would not surprise me if he is elsewhere spreading the word, as it were.”
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1999: U.S. Representative Mary Bono is speaking out about Scientology’s relationship with her late husband, Sonny Bono. From the Washington Post: “Since her election to the House, Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.) has gotten two visits from emissaries of the Church of Scientology, including one from well-known church adherent John Travolta. The California Republican’s late husband was a devotee of Scientology, but church officials did not find a receptive audience in Mary Bono. Bono tells George magazine that Sonny Bono ultimately became disenchanted with the church. ‘Sonny did try to break away at one point, and they made it very difficult for him,’ the congresswoman says. Bono says she told the Scientologists who visited her House office that she will deal with any ‘legitimate concern’ they have. A church official denied to the magazine that there had been any estrangement with Sonny Bono.”
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“When you get to the end of OT 8 he tells you that everything up until then was a BIG WHOOPS. Sorry kids, I had it wrong all along, but now I’m on the right road to total freedom. Wheeeeeeee!”
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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] Young actors, are you auditioning for a part, or for Scientology?
[TWO years ago] ‘Going Clear’ is at Netflix, and Scientology still doesn’t want you to see it
[THREE years ago] Scientology and statistics: How L. Ron Hubbard’s fetish for bureaucracy lives on
[FOUR years ago] A 2004 photo reminds us of Danny Masterson’s punchy DJ persona. But will his jury see it?
[FIVE years ago] How many Scientologists are in your town, part two: Getting down to the details
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s antivaxx warrior Leigh Dundas unleashes another amazing Two Minutes Hate
[SEVEN years ago] Leah Remini’s ‘Aftermath’ nominated for another Emmy: Tell her your favorite scenes
[EIGHT years ago] In Colombia, Scientology’s ‘Casa Hubbard’ has a pretty interesting neighbor
[NINE years ago] New book peels back the cover on Scientology celebs and their legendary acting coach
[TEN years ago] VIDEO: A look inside Scientology’s program to rally Russian members after police raids
[ELEVEN years ago] The Surviving Scientology podcast: Growing up in the Age of Miscavige
[TWELVE years ago] Texas appeals court gets Scientology leader David Miscavige out of testifying in harassment lawsuit
[THIRTEEN years ago] Scientology Claims No Forced “Disconnection” — So Tell Us About Yours
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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 3,692 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,196 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,702 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,252 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,628 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,123 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,429 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,078 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,296 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,850 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,191 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,762 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,678 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,845 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,431 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,690 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,438 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,007 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,318 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,493 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,175 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,512 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,365 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,481 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,843 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,642 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,526 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,099 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,602 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,862 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,966 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 17, 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)
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates.
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
