You may remember that after Mark Bunker got himself elected to city council in Clearwater, Florida, he came up with what we could only describe as a modest proposal:
Instead of fighting Scientology, why doesn’t Clearwater turn its creepy Scientology-dominated downtown into a tourist attraction?
Most people probably thought Bunker was joking. But one entrepreneur realized that Bunker might be on to something.
Ted Reinhard tells us that he’s a tour operator who, like so many others, was hit hard by the pandemic and the decimation of the tourist industry.
“I’ve been a tour operator working around the world since 1999. Mostly Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Central and South America. Before that, I worked with Florida Main Street, helping downtowns and their businesses recover and thrive statewide. With COVID, all international travel ground to a halt and I was looking for something to do locally,” he tells us.
After seeing Bunker’s video, Reinhard decided to take up the councilman on his idea. He founded a new company he calls “Cult City Tours,” and after some testing, he officially opened for business this week. He leads a one mile, one hour walking tour through downtown, showing off Scientology landmarks in its Flag Land Base.
“We’re starting off slow, with three tours a week that I’ll be leading. As the number of tours grow, we’ll add staff to keep up with demand,” he says.
We asked if the city itself was involved in any way, but he says it isn’t.
“Other then granting our license to operate the tours, we’ve been on our own,” he pointed out.
And the church?
“The church has been noticing us more and more. It’s impossible not to. I’m decked out with gold braid the thickness of a ship’s rope, glitter ribbons, 2nd place Spelling Bee medals, fringe sided epaulettes hanging two inches past my shoulders, and enough gold service stripes to make any tinpot dictator blush. We call it ‘Commodore Obvious.'”
When your proprietor has walked around downtown in Clearwater, we pretty quickly picked up multiple tails, Sea Org goons with walkie talkies. Ted says he’s had similar reactions.
At first, he says, plain-clothed security pretended not to know what the Flag Building was. “The next tour there were big guys on the street corners along our route, but just standing there, playing with their phones, not moving. Yesterday we had vehicles circling yelling ‘Lies!’ as they drove past taking pictures. Really it’s been little more than a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. But it’s what the clients come expecting, and the church delivers right on cue.”
Hey, that sounds kind of fun. Ted tells us you can book an upcoming walking tour at the Cult City Tours website.
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Leah Remini podcast: Phil Jones
Phil and Willie on their wedding day
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“You can do this trick yourself if you want to: Hypnotize somebody and have them go home and go to sleep. Then after they get home and go to sleep, so forth, you walk over in your astral body and wake them up and talk to them and give them a message and tell them they are supposed to call you at 10:15 the next morning and tell you the house is on fire. Then you come back in your astral body and get back inside yourself and you go to sleep yourself. At 10:15 the next morning, why, they will call you up and say, ‘I don’t know why, but I have a terrific compulsion to tell you the house is on fire.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 2, 1952
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“There is squirrel tech. In this an auditor runs off beat non-standard processes. We’ve long since handled this. There is squirrel admin. People who have out admin TRs and do not know basic lines add to standard lines or knock them out. We are working to handle this with OEC, FEBC and Admin TRs now being done and further developed. There is also squirrel cookery. This normally arises from not having the proper ingredients to hand (supply failure) and not having anyone to wash and slice and peel raw materials so they can be cooked. A standard meal comes from planned menu, correct supply, correct preparation of raw materials and following the exact recipe. From this comes edible meals. This goes into other lines of tech as well.” The Commodore, February 2, 1971
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“Once I reached OT 17 I regained the abilities I was looking for. Freedom from other determinisms across all time and space. To continue on up the CBR Bridge would be to accept the rules of a new game to be played in this universe, basically changing the rules under which this universe was created. I was involved in the creation of this universe with its eight dynamics, I don’t want more dynamics. I don’t want new rules. I want ethics put in in this universe across eight dynamics with the existing rules. I don’t believe this can be done as a humanoid. The next few years will determine whether this can be done or not. I don’t want to be pan-determined in this universe. If I wanted that I would create my own universe and ask others to join and follow my rules. It has been seven to ten years since I have looked at the CBR Bridge so I may have forgotten some of the pieces so perhaps I have some of this incorrect.”
1996: Larry Wollersheim has won his case in the California Appellate Court, in which he charged Scientology under the SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute. Scientology posted an official comment on the decision. “The decision by the Second Appellate District Court is an unfortunate example of what Dr. Bryan Wilson of Oxford University in England — who has testified as an expert witness on religions before courts and governments all over the world — described as the ‘pervasive climate of punitive intolerance’ which has impeded attempts by the Church of Scientology to win fair justice in certain courts.”
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“As a 49ers/Patriots fan with 8 Super Bowl wins between them, I feel Jimmy’s pain.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Next conf to set prelim, March 24.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to March 2.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. March 8: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
Concluded litigation:
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs.
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: 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] Professional ham hock Grant Cardone: I’m giving up the Super Bowl for Scientology
[TWO years ago] The presidential candidate, the controversial guru, the Scientology lawyer — and us!
[THREE years ago] David Mayo, 1940-2017: Scientology’s top technical wizard and target of ‘Fair Game’
[FOUR years ago] Fed up with Scientology disconnection? Be there to dedicate the new ‘Call Me’ billboard Feb. 18
[FIVE years ago] The particularly bad timing of Monique Rathbun’s decision to fire her attorneys
[SIX years ago] The shocking case of Scientology mistreatment of the mentally ill you haven’t heard
[SEVEN years ago] Philip Seymour Hoffman found dead in New York, reports the Wall Street Journal
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology Mythbusting with Jon Atack: The Tomato Photo!
[NINE years ago] Scientology in France: Still Guilty of Fraud
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,200 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,704 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,224 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,244 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,135 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,442 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,310 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,084 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,888 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,204 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,770 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,689 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,857 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,438 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,699 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,737 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,450 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,975 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 330 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,505 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,056 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,205 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,525 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,380 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,499 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,855 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,158 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,264 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,666 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,538 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,121 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,616 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,870 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,979 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 2, 2021 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
