TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Yesterday Danny Masterson’s Scientology-assisted criminal appeal was denied, and we posted the entire ruling. We then asked our appellate expert TX Lawyer to give us his assessment of the court’s 89-page opinion, and of Danny’s future options. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Preventive Dianetics is the heart and soul of accident prevention on the highways. It is an old, old saw with traffic departments that ten percent of the drivers cause ninety percent of the accidents. I’ll go further and say that one hundred percent of the accidents are caused by engramic restimulation. If it’s a mechanical failure, it means somebody failed in design; his ability must have been inhibited a bit for him to have failed so signally in design based upon principles in which he was so thoroughly educated. Or a mechanic might have had a headache that morning when he was fixing the steering apparatus, and so didn’t quite seize down the bolts. Or the highway department might have been just a little bit careless about all this: a couple of engrams on the subject ‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyway,’ maybe, on the part of some workman, and the sign that should have been there isn’t there.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1951
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“The condemnation of science is long overdue and, what do you know, has already occurred on the European continent and has occurred even in a more advanced state in England. Today the word science is so bad that when I started calling what we’re doing Scientology I got in to a minor revolution. It wasn’t anything but the fact that the English people today believe that science has let them down but thoroughly. And anything with science connected with it is something they rather smile sarcastically about. It’s not that they’re interested in humanity. They just know science doesn’t work. And what do you know, they’re drawing right back out of science. They are not following scientific method worth a nickel.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 28, 1953
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“AOLA: It is reported very quiet there — still peaceful. People very polite. No hum. No body traffic. Way below confusion. My guess is when our CO Mission hits it will go up into total confusion, find a major stable datum, began to cool off, find the new CO and begin to be an org again. A Former CO of AOLA is flabbergasted at the number of 41 staff members to run an AO. AOs run on high volume with half that many. We are putting in a big stable datum. The terminal of a ‘backed up CO.’ The two orgs we’ve sent ‘backed up COs’ to are zooming! Here goes the third.” — The Commodore, October 28, 1969
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“The fundamental principle of Scientology is in the defining of the nature of our being. We are spiritual beings who do not owe our existence to any Creator or God. In Christian terms that is the ultimate heresy. However, it is also fundamental that we survive in this universe as a co-existence which is God. Our survival is irrevocably entwined with that of others. We are immortal beings who have become involved in games after games of increasing complexity until arriving in this latest manifestation which entrapped most into fallacious concepts.”
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1997: The Detroit Free Press carried an article this week on the Germany/Scientology debate. “By her own account, Germany’s top Scientology hunter is doing a great job. She ran the Scientologists out of the real estate market in her hometown of Hamburg. She convinced the local banks to deny Scientologists loans. And this month, the Scientology school across the border in Denmark may finally shut down. Scientologists call her ‘the new Goebbels,’ after Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, and U.S. officials have criticized her tactics. But Ursula Caberta, director of Hamburg’s anti-Scientology task force, has no plans to back down. ‘We know people working in Scientology …intend to eliminate the German state. Here, we’re trying to stop it,’ Caberta said in an interview in her office earlier this month. She offered a sweet smile. ‘In America, they obviously are much farther along.’ Caberta is one of the most influential members of a growing battalion of German officials arrayed against the Church of Scientology, a Los Angeles-based spiritual movement founded in the 1950s by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. According to Caberta, Scientology is a blueprint for world domination. It calls for the creation of a new world order, she said, in which Scientologists alone would be permitted to marry, procreate and exercise other rights. As part of their plan to ‘clear the planet,’ Caberta said, Scientologists are even breeding something like a new race. ‘In America right now, you have the second and third generations of clear and pure Scientologists, brought up entirely in Scientology schools,’ she said. Scientologists call this analysis absurd and say Caberta is drawing conclusions about the church by reading Hubbard’s science fiction. ‘We have nothing to do with political games or purposes. Nothing,’ Hackenjos said. ‘Basically we’re no different from any other religion, except for the fact that we’re a very modern religion,’ said Mary Anne Ahmad, the church’s director of special affairs in Chicago, who was working in Ann Arbor last week. ‘We were the first major religion to come out of the 20th Century.'”
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“Being an old school punk/junkie I wish I had a buck for every bad thing I’ve ever heard said, written or depicted about people of my ‘ilk.’ Never mind all the verbal and physical assaults me and my friends had to endure back in the day from the supposedly ‘normal’ people. It goes with the territory called ‘freak.’ Get use to it. Wear it as a badge of experience.”
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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 heard and submitted, waiting for ruling. 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. Scientology’s attempt to gut the case failed, and appeals court upheld. Back to trial court in December.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 17 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. Case returning 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. Hearing on arbitration motion set for March, 2027.
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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 attacks Leah Remini’s ‘Fair Game’ lawsuit in new appeal briefs
[TWO years ago] Tom Cruise once again shows up for Scientology gala in the UK
[THREE years ago] PODCAST: Big protest planned for Scientology in England, and Alex fills us in
[FOUR years ago] Danny Masterson shatters suppression, Scientology style, as his trial heats up
[FIVE years ago] Israel’s Ministry of Justice threatens to ‘dismantle’ Scientology’s Tel Aviv Ideal Org
[SIX years ago] Scientology chiro pleaded guilty to fraud, but we may get to see a sort of trial anyway
[SEVEN years ago] Thetan-tastic: Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas skewer Scientology on ‘The Kominsky Method’
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology so desperate for Narconon patients, new offer drops all pretense of separation
[NINE years ago] Ray Emmons, 1942-2017: Clearwater’s cop who sniffed out Scientology’s secrets
[TEN years ago] Talking with Tiponi Grey, who quit her Scientology job and announced it on YouTube
[ELEVEN years ago] Troublemakers: The women who won’t keep quiet about Scientology
[TWELVE years ago] Finally, Scientology has an answer for last year’s Super Bowl power outage
[THIRTEEN years ago] Scientology’s Trust Issues: A Possible Garcia Legal Strategy?
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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 3,795 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,299 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,805 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,355 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,731 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,226 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,532 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,181 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,399 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,953 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,294 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,864 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,781 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,948 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,534 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,793 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,541 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,110 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,421 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,596 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,278 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,615 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,468 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,584 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,946 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,745 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,589 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,204 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,705 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,965 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 16,069 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 28, 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, 1995-2025 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
