TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: On the eve of our HowdyCon gathering, we’re remembering a significant anniversary in Scientology history: When founder L. Ron Hubbard, after months of setbacks, revealed that Dianetics had a very harmful side, and that he would use it to destroy his enemies. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The sincerely felt attempts by a psychotic’s family to reason with his aberration normally drive him farther into the pattern of his irrationality. Playing through the other side of the engram in which he is held will only result in his being caught more firmly by the engram. Even in the unusual case of a person in a family who is unaberrated enough to act rationally about a psychotic in his own family, there is still a problem of restimulation to be considered. The voice tones, mannerisms, methods of expression, emotional reactions of any member of a family will be found in the reactive bank of any other member of that family. This definitely does not preclude auditing by a member of the family, but it does mean that processing by a member of the same family is especially difficult for an uncleared auditor, and that the factor of unnecessary restimulation in the preclear must be taken into consideration.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950
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“Unfortunately, Black Dianetics is inherent in Dianetics. In 1945, this was all the Dianetics there was: how to drive people crazy, how to foul up political systems, how to restimulate individuals just by talking to them, without planting engrams. And in addition to this, how to interrupt life force in an individual. We haven’t gone into that very much. It is a wonderfully smooth way of committing murder.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 17, 1951
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“No one is to play the piano in A Deck Lounge without the written permission of Lt. Cmdr. Diana Hubbard.” — Lt. Nikki Freedman, Sun Deck I/C, September 17, 1971
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“Book one? Nobody cares about Book One. That faded away seven decades ago. You need to be less politically correct. What you need is celebrities who actually speak their mind. Not Tom Cruise. OTs, almost by definition, do not organize Book One events. One can’t be an actual OT and involve oneself with that, because it is a waste of time. Napoleon got things done. And he had R6. You are not an OT, and no one should treat you as such. You can’t get things done and refuse to support people who do. You are as causative as a mentally disabled person in a wheelchair. Scientology OTs, putting the tech aside, are probably some of the least effective beings on this planet. I haven’t seen good results. And that’s because of lower grades.”
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1998: Scientology’s Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is distributing literature in Hollywood blaming Psychiatry for the death of many entertainers. From the Los Angeles Times: “Nearly 235,000 members of the worldwide entertainment community have received a recent mailing from a Church of Scientology-based group that directly blames psychiatry and psychology practices for contributing to the deaths of such artistic legends such as Ernest Hemingway, Billie Holliday, Judy Garland, Vivian Leigh, Janis Joplin and John Lennon. Accompanied by a letter signed by 14 Hollywood types (and all Scientology members), including actors Jenna Elfman, Anne Archer, Juliette Lewis, Nancy Cartwright, Jason Lee and Jason Beghe, the publication, ‘Harming Artists: Psychiatry Manipulating Creativity’, alleges that several Hollywood tragedies came about because of the ‘betrayal’ of psychiatry or psychology, described as ‘an influence that left these artists dreadfully damaged, their foundations of strength and certainty torn away.'” From Mr. Showbiz: “Forget about drugs and booze. The real problem plaguing Hollywood, at least according to the Scientologists, are those dastardly and apparently deadly psychiatrists and psychologists. Some of the topics covered in the various essays in the publication include Marilyn Monroe: Killed by Psychiatric Drugs (‘This ‘candle in the wind’ was snuffed out by the psychiatrists pretending to help her’) and Kurt Cobain: Ritalin Harms ‘Teen Spirit.’ The missive adds that the ‘family’ of actors, directors, and producers has been ‘repeatedly ravaged,’ and points to the recent deaths of Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, producer Don Simpson, and INXS frontman Michael Hutchence.”
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“I’ve always wanted a goat. A small place in the country with a goat, a couple of pigs, some chickens, a duck or two and of course the usual cats and dogs…oh, and a semi-tamed crow or raven.”
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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] This is how Scientology is going to turn around its ship of state!
[TWO years ago] David Minkoff’s Scientology quackery: the psychiatrist expert’s assessment
[THREE years ago] A Julian Swartz production: The Scientology day-care from hell
[FOUR years ago] PODCAST: Jesse Prince is here to shake up your understanding of Scientology
[FIVE years ago] Scientology makes another attempt to defeat its terrible image, this time with Millennial OTs!
[SIX years ago] Scientology chiro Dennis Nobbe drops dead after being informed he’s going to jail
[SEVEN years ago] Why isn’t Scientology’s ship the Freewinds hauling emergency supplies to the Bahamas?
[EIGHT years ago] Visit to London Ideal Org shows that the Scientology bubble is still firmly in place
[NINE years ago] Scientology leader David Miscavige has empty buildings all over the world — here’s a rundown
[TEN years ago] With Jason Lee out, what does it mean for Scientology’s tightest celebrity clique?
[ELEVEN years ago] Surreal encounter at Scientology’s secretive Int Base shows up in Danish documentary
[TWELVE years ago] New leaked videos from the super beings at Scientology!
[THIRTEEN years ago] Jenna Miscavige Hill Talks to Us As Her Book Comes Out in Paperback
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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 3,754 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,258 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,764 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,314 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,690 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,185 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,491 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,140 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,358 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,912 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,253 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,823 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,740 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,907 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,493 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,752 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,500 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,069 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,380 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,555 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,237 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,574 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,427 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,543 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,905 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,704 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,588 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,163 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,664 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,924 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 16,028 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 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, 1995-2025 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
