TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: It’s happening! Scientology watchers gather today and we look forward to seeing you there. ALSO: The Danny Masterson civil lawsuit gets a trial date, and the City of Clearwater balks at its own citizens telling it what to do regarding its subservience to Scientology! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The major problem in processing a psychotic is accessibility. There is, at present, no established procedure for accomplishing this. It has been a recognized problem for many years, and a number of techniques have been devised, but this is one area in which the auditor must rely on his own improvisations. One factor works in favor of the auditor. He knows the anatomy of the engram, and knowing this, is able to understand many types of behavior that are utterly incomprehensible to persons who do not have this knowledge. In addition, the degree of accessibility required for dianetic processing is much smaller than that of many other ways of dealing with a psychotic. An auditor who has once gained the attention of a psychotic for ten minutes should be able to accomplish enough in that ten minutes to make the problem of accessibility much simpler from then on. One of the most gratifying things about dealing with a psychotic is the rapidity with which he responds to processing. Even if the amount of attention released to a psychotic seems incredibly small (one yawn, a few tears) the resulting stabilization of his behavior in present time may be astonishing.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950
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“The fellow wants to get out of the woods and there are two trails. And one trail lies much deeper into the woods and the other trail goes out on to the plain. And all you have to do is put up a sign at the crossroads and point to that trail which goes deeper into the woods and say, ‘This way lies freedom,’ you see, and you’ve promptly trapped a lot of people.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 18, 1963
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“I was looking over Base Order No. 29 from 1967. There is no reason really it had to suffer such radical changes except that it was never checksheeted and packed for posts. The large amount of know-how in Flag Orders was never fully mimeo filed and related to posts by checksheet. This also solved a long standing mystery. The officer corps of some professional armies is terrible while their enlisted ranks up to non-comm are excellent. Germany lost 2 wars because of this. The US armed forces are remarkable examples of this. Suddenly dawn broke. The duties of everyone are well and totally written up and published right up to the top non-comm. Officers from low to high never had to learn any of this, even built up contempt for such knowledge and had no such plain texts for their own duties. I’ve seen it in commercial companies and elsewhere for a long time. Never could figure out why leadership was so poor even for excellent troops or workers. Well, there it is. Hats, texts training in the lower echelon and almost none in the upper.” — The Commodore, September 18, 1970
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“Imposing Scientology like Islam could not be done out of gradient. That would be done first on a Scientology country first. Processes for the lower levels are very simple. Change of environment and betterment of conditions is one.”
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1999: Der Standard published an article on Scientology’s use of last week’s U.S. State Department report to justify itself in Austria. “The Scientology Church, which is controversial in Austria, feels that its criticism of the federal government has been validated by the US State Department report, ‘Religious Freedom 1999 in Austria.’ In it the U.S. administration primarily regards the federal laws for religious denominations and the legal entity of the Federal Center for Sect Issues ‘with concern.’ A delegation of the U.S. Helsinki Commission and the State Department testified to administration representatives on a visit to Austria in March that the two laws were not in agreement with ‘the European Human Rights Convention or other international treaties.’ Discrimination and ‘social mistrust’ against members of non-acknowledged religions described as section was criticized. However, the Austrian Constitution guarantees religious freedom on principle, and this right is respected in practice.”
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“One of the few things I agree with the Scientologists on is that the whole Vistaril thing is weak. Vistaril, a/k/a hydroxyzine, is one theetie-wheetie drug. You need to take a whole bottle of this shit to even remotely get a buzz. Vistaril has never been considered a true psych drug. I know it is an antihistamine, anti itching agent. That’s how I first encountered it. The point is that us trying to say it’s a psych dug like Valium is absurd.”
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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] Scientology mega-donor Tom Cummins: How can a deathless thetan make a will?
[TWO years ago] Joe Reaiche, 1958-2024: Former Aussie rugby pro turned Scientology whistleblower
[THREE years ago] ‘Ellen’ from the Scientology ‘Day Care from Hell’ story comes forward
[FOUR years ago] Bombshells in Danny Masterson case: Grand jury testimony, and evidence against Scientology
[FIVE years ago] VIDEO: Scientology turns to rock ‘n’ roll to save its soul, and you’re invited!
[SIX years ago] Scientology celeb Danny Masterson to be arraigned today for raping three women
[SEVEN years ago] Scientologists facing felonies try ‘sovereign citizen’ gambit in tense L. A. court hearing
[EIGHT years ago] Giving Scientology TV a run for its money — it’s the premiere of the Bunker network!
[NINE years ago] Moss wins Emmy for portraying totalitarian cult victim and doesn’t care what you think about it
[TEN years ago] In the wake of raids, Scientology’s sneaky consulting front shrinks markedly in Russia
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology about to throw its Harlem party — and we need your eyes and ears!
[TWELVE years ago] RATHBUN SUIT: Scientology’s last swipe in its anti-SLAPP appeal before hearing next week
[THIRTEEN years ago] Scientology’s “Bridge:” Claire Headley Gets Us to CLEAR!
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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 3,755 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,259 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,765 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,315 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,691 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,186 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,492 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,141 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,359 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,913 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,254 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,824 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,741 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,908 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,494 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,753 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,501 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,070 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,381 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,556 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,238 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,575 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,428 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,544 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,906 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,705 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,589 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,164 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,665 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,925 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 16,029 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 18, 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
