TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: With John Travolta sporting a stunning and stylish new look at Cannes for the world premiere of his new short movie, ‘Propeller One-Way Night Coach’, we thought we’d catch up on JT, Scientology, and whether a certain someone was along for the trip. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“Pain and sex were the INVENTED tools of degradation. Blieve it or not, a being can be so overwhelmed by either, that he or she becomes an addict of it. Priests become flagellants and cut themselves to pieces with self-whipping. Torturers drool over pain. Lovers are very seldom happy. People do the most irrational things when overcharged with sex and prostitutes use it as a knowing stock-in-trade. Combined, pain and sex make up the insane Jack-The-Rippers (who killed only prostitutes) and the whole strange body of sex—murder freaks, including Hinckley, and the devotees of late night horror movies. Under the false data of the psychs (who have been on the track a long time and are the sole cause of decline in this universe) both pain and sex are gaining ground in this society and, coupled with robbery which is a hooded companion of both, may very soon make the land a true jungle of crime.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1982
——————–
“Time is a temperature. I don’t know what that temperature is in Kelvin, but now that I know that time is a temperature, I can find it. And the moment I find the exact temperature, I could make any area, at any given instant, timeless or speed its time up. I know that sounds very strange. But this is a great discovery in physics. Only you know about it, but it is a great discovery in physics. It’s rather a staggerer. ” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 26, 1961
——————–
“MELBOURNE: We served a writ on Anderson, the ‘judge’ of the Melbourne Inquiry for legal faults. Ian Tampion there got lots of immediate raw public congratulations and good wishes. Dianetic Auditing is starting up there and the org will soon be reestablished. Some real good people are on the grounds.” — The Commodore, May 26, 1970
——————–
“I think that Scientologist women make very bad lovers. They can not enjoy sex freely. I think that Scientologist women make very bad wives. They put Ron before their husbands. I think Scientologist women make very bad mothers. Too many have shown to be willing to kill their own children if somebody in a position of authority in the Church of Scientology orders them to do so. It would be better if the same way that Scientology states clearly that it does not encompass the eighth dynamic, it also would clearly state that it does not address, handle, or encompass sex and sexual relationships.”
——————–
1996: The Los Angeles Times published an article on Earthlink, the Internet provider founded by cult member Sky Dayton. “EarthLink’s expansion, however, has so far been privately funded by an eclectic mix of investors, including El Dorado Ventures, a venture capitalist firm; Warren Musser, president of Safeguard Scientific; and National Media Corp., an infomercial production company. Discussions on Internet news groups such as la.general and alt.religion.scientology and a World Wide Web site have focused on Dayton’s affiliation with the church – and on the actions of another Earthlink employee in battling church critics on the Internet. Dayton acknowledges that at the beginning, a large portion of EarthLink employees were Scientologists. With the company’s growth, though, the proportion has fallen to a small fraction, he says. Earthlink also used Hubbard management techniques in its early days. Dayton says the Hubbard methods are secular and have nothing to do with the religion of Scientology, and that in any case they are no longer in use at the company.”
——————–
“The ultimate goal of Hubbard’s bridge was to take all your money and then turn you into a slave once your money was gone. And if you did have enough money to make it all the way up the Bridge, the EP was hopefully insanity or suicide so you couldn’t sue Hubbard’s ass for fraud or spill the beans.”
——————–
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.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Memorial Day 2025: Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s bogus war injuries
[TWO years ago] TikTok battle between exes captivates the country — and has a Scientology angle?
[THREE years ago] Janis Gilham Grady and Mark Fisher: Taking you into Scientology’s abuses and its past
[FOUR years ago] Continuing to chat with a Scientology celebrity: On ‘SP’ Danny Masterson, and more
[FIVE years ago] Scientology chiros make pilgrimages to Clearwater before heading to prison
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s rising new anti-vaxx star, coming to a ‘re-open’ protest near you!
[SEVEN years ago] What California’s controversial new confessions bill means for Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] Karen Pressley on the madness of Sea Org life: ‘I no longer belonged to my dreams’
[NINE years ago] L. Ron Hubbard was no Bill Shakespeare, but here’s some of his early playwriting anyway
[TEN years ago] What you didn’t see on ‘I Am Cait’: Kate Bornstein and Caitlyn Jenner at Scientology HQ
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology denied: Karen de la Carriere stops a takedown attempt on videos at her channel
[TWELVE years ago] The David Miscavige summons, and other dire news for Scientology’s drug rehab network
[THIRTEEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Has Your Back!
——————–
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 3,640 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,144 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,650 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,200 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,190 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,576 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,071 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,375 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,026 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,244 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,798 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,139 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,710 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,626 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,793 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,379 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,638 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,386 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,955 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,266 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,441 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,123 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,460 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,313 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,429 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,791 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,205 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,590 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,474 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,038 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,550 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,810 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,914 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 26, 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
