TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: In a heated meeting last night that included one councilmember accusing the Save the Garden movement of financial corruption, Clearwater’s city leaders once again voted 3-2 to bow to Scientology and disregard their own residents. We have the details. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Dianetically wise person could avoid much of the possibility of marital misnavigation. Suppose a man is seeking a mate, or is courting. He should find out whether his prospective bride likes her papa. Be wary of a woman who dotes too much on papa. The woman, picking a man, would look with a calculating eye on the man’s association with his mother. If he loves his mother dearly, really devotedly, and does exactly what mama says and when she says it, let him alone! He is a bad risk. Likewise, if he hates his mother viciously, take the nearest exit.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1951
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“Your thetan has to be able to tolerate three kinds of space in order to endure at all in this universe. This universe isn’t any savage beast sitting there. It’s just a sort of an inanimate boobytrap which we have made ourselves, really. And then we victimized ourselves with it, so we have all been betrayed. This universe couldn’t have had a better purpose in going forward so that everybody could be the, have the beautiful sadness of having been betrayed. And yet you look into it, the only person that can betray an individual is himself.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 6, 1953
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“HYGIENE: Step up all hygiene standards, personal, berthing and food. With the turn of cold weather I’m going further north. There is a bit of flu about and the World Health Organization has not been doing all that well in keeping ports’ public health in good shape.” — The Commodore, November 6, 1971
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“It is not easy to stay afloat, especially now. Scientology doesn’t have a good reputation, so to make a decent living out if it is hard. Being somewhat Indie is easy, but to try it 100 percent for a living, that is hard.”
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1999: CNN newsreader Greta Van Susteren is the subject of a story in this month’s issue of George magazine, including her relationship to Scientology. “Raised as a Catholic, Van Susteren apparently left the church after marrying Coale, who was already a Scientologist, and she converted to his faith. Both Van Susteren and Coale have reached senior levels in the Church of Scientology, having passed a stage called ‘The Bridge to Total Freedom’ some time ago. But for Coale, Scientology is not just a church; it is a business. He has represented fellow adherent Lisa Marie Presley in her divorce from Michael Jackson. His firm, Coale, Cooley, McInerney & Broadus, has employed Loretta Miscavige, the mother of David Miscavige, who is currently the head of the church. Scientology’s ‘spiritual headquarters’ are located in Clearwater, Florida, where Van Susteren and Coale keep a vacation home. Friends of Van Susteren’s are at a loss to explain what appeal the church holds for her. Several surmise that her relationship with Coale is the determining factor. In any case, her colleagues at CNN consider her religious affiliation to be immaterial. ‘We’ve all looked for it,’ says CNN veep Gail Evans. ‘I’m a Jew. If people went at me about my religion they way they do Greta, there would be defamation groups all over the country.’ In 1994, Van Susteren and Coale used WISE to arrive at a settlement for their ex-partner Phil Allen. Also a Scientologist, Allen said he had been introduced to the church by Van Susteren after he joined her law firm, and relied on the church for help in overcoming marital problems. GEORGE obtained documents relating to the Allen separation that show Van Susteren can slip easily into the strange jargon of WISE arbitration. Participants file ‘knowledge reports,’ counterfile ‘false reports,’ and disclose information about each other in ‘Things That Shouldn’t Be’ reports. The detail in these documents is remarkable: In one of them, Van Susteren reports that a colleague at the firm, a man only tangentially related to the arbitration but a new adherent to Scientology, indulged in pornography and that she had found women’s lingerie under his desk. True or not, neither claim appears to have much relevance to the dispute with Allen. According to Van Susteren and Coale’s version of events, Allen had a problem with ‘honesty and candor.’ As a result, Allen was ‘in liability’ to them, which made it necessary for him to be ‘handled’ by a Scientology counselor. For Scientologists, being in liability is a result of committing ‘overts’, the church equivalent of a legal tort. The only way to get out of ‘liability’ is to write a ‘liability formula’, a written plan on how to make up for the offense to the church and the injured party. In a September 1994 letter to Allen, Van Susteren alleged that he had confessed to committing overts against her, Coale, and the law firm – acts that created ‘enormous enturbulation,’ a phrase apparently unique to Scientology.”
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“I understand where you’re coming from but the bottom line is that Scientology is a con and conning people is illegal, regardless of whether the victims are dupes and suckers.”
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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] Valerie Haney forced to go an unprecedented 15 days in Scientology ‘arbitration’
[TWO years ago] Priscilla Presley asks for more time to answer explosive new version of Florida lawsuit
[THREE years ago] Tom Cruise goes black tie for Scientology at ‘Patrons Ball’ in England
[FOUR years ago] Deposition: Scientology’s targeting of Paul Haggis that isn’t speculation
[FIVE years ago] Heads on pikes: L. Ron Hubbard’s lasting legacy of ruthlessness in Scientology
[SIX years ago] Scientology looking to force Danny Masterson’s accusers into ‘religious arbitration’ today
[SEVEN years ago] Kansas City gets its first Scientology wedding: We solicited some advice for the young couple
[EIGHT years ago] Juliette Lewis wants on ‘Red Table Talk’ — and here’s what Jada Smith should ask her
[NINE years ago] Tracking Scientology’s claims about membership — a new digital project with Jonny Jacobsen
[TEN years ago] After Scientologist is outed, leaders he fooled still stick up for his quack drug theories
[ELEVEN years ago] Jefferson Hawkins: What those Scientologists in yellow T-shirts at a disaster scene really want
[TWELVE years ago] RIFFER MADNESS: Scientology leader David Miscavige goes smeary in new court filing
[THIRTEEN years ago] More Questions About Scientology-Style Drug Rehab And Insurance — This Time in Michigan
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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 3,804 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,308 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,814 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,364 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,740 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,235 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,541 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,190 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,408 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,962 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,303 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,873 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,790 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,957 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,543 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,802 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,550 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,119 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,430 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,605 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,287 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,624 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,477 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,593 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,955 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,754 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,598 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,213 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,714 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,974 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 16,078 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 6, 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
