[NOTE: Please see last night’s breaking story.]
The Orlando “Ideal Org” continues to pump out the recruitment hoopla, including a new video, and we thought we’d help them get the word out.
We think it’s important to keep in mind that one way that Scientology leader David Miscavige convinced followers to part with huge amounts of money for each new Ideal Org, many millions, was the notion that as soon as it opens its doors a new org will usher in a land rush of new people.
In practice, of course, that isn’t the case, and after its initial year a typical Ideal Org slides into somnolence. But the folks at the Orlando org are trying their best to get you to come down and sign a contract, and our hats are off to them.
Our readers are connoisseurs of Scientology videos, we’ve posted so many of them, so we’re looking forward to your assessment: How does this video strike you? Earnest? Eager? Maybe a bit too desperate?
Let us know.
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Remember Lee Baca? We certainly do.
We have a strange and sad item to relate today. We were talking to a reader of the Bunker yesterday who let us know that they were enjoying an outdoor meal in Pasadena recently when they were surprised to see walking down the street none other than former LA Sheriff Lee Baca.
Yes, that Lee Baca, whose tenure as sheriff ended in 2014 and was followed by his conviction in 2017 of obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI. We were familiar with him, of course, because he was a longtime shill for Scientology leader David Miscavige.
We noted in 2016 that even after he’d left office, he was still showing up for Scientology events (although he denied being a Scientologist himself, as far as we know).
His relationship with Scientology was so strong, when he was facing sentencing for his crimes Scientology sent letters asking his judge for leniency.
He was sentenced to three years in prison, and in 2020 he began serving it at a prison in Texas.
But he’s apparently out already, and said hello to our reader, who had greeted him on the street. He then said he had an event he was going to.
They then watched as Baca continued down the block, and then turned to go inside the Scientology Ideal Org on South Raymond Street.
(Cringe.)
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Bonus items from our tipsters
New Haven is on fire!
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Sign up for a daily email when we post a new story on Scientology.
Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.
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“Now be god as an infinite blackness, concentrated upon you, a thetan. Get how all powerful and how out-swelling you are, concentrated upon you, a thetan. Get what your regard for this thetan is. Now be very saintly as you crush its life out, and trap it forever. Oh, be saintly about it. OK. ” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 10, 1954
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“Now that we know about 3rd Dynamic Admin TRs it becomes obvious to see where they are out. LA area falsifies its stats by double-including bounced checks — once when first offered, once when collected. With no Debit invoice in between. Out TRs in accepting such a check. Out TRs in the simple matter of confronting an invoice enmest area. Out TRs in telling a Treasury staff member to DO IT RIGHT. Nobody even goes in and yells. Wherever there’s a lousy mess, somebody’s admin TRs are out. Getting something done is basic confronting. You can’t string beads well behind your back.” — The Commodore, February 10, 1971
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“Scientology really has helped me to become the god I am. I think a lot comes down to taking control of that surfboard (your mind) and surfing it into the parallel universe which interests you. If you understand that there’s probably millions of parallel universes and millions of versions of you and me, then this explains how we can always think something then pop into the universe where that is the case. Its like a computer game that’s got so many mission variations already coded on the CD that you can just select with the cursor whatever experience or mission you want and then it will occur. It’s the ultimate game, endless entertainment. We are universe surfing always anyway even if we don’t believe in it, it’s just that people are surfing into parallel universes where they are powerless, where they can’t affect the physical universe, that’s probably why the powers that be keep trying to scare us, they are getting us to go into and stay in the universes where we are powerless.”
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1998: The New York Post reported that U.S. President Bill Clinton has offered to help John Travolta with Scientology’s standing in Germany. “John Travolta says President Clinton offered to help him with a pet project – getting Scientology accepted as a religion in Germany – just as he was about to play a character based on the president. The movie is based on Joe Klein’s best-selling novel about a lying, womanizing Southern governor – modeled on Clinton – who is running for president.. George says the final product, set for release next month, is far more sympathetic to ‘Clinton’ than is the book. ‘You have to be dead not see that the film favors Clinton,’ admitted Travolta, who gained 20 pounds and streaked his hair gray to look presidential in the film. Travolta told writer Josh Young that just before ‘Primary Colors’ went before the cameras last April, the actor was in Washington to promote Scientology – a controversial belief Travolta and scores of other Hollywood types embrace. ‘The next day, I met with Clinton,’ Travolta told George. ‘He told me: ‘Your program sounds great. More than that, I’d really love to help you with your issue over in Germany with Scientology.’ For Travolta, Clinton reportedly went to the extraordinary length of assigning National Security Adviser Sandy Berger to be the administration’s Scientology point man. Berger briefed Travolta in the same manner he would a senior senator, George reports. A White House official said last night, ‘it is perfectly normal and logical’ for Berger to get involved in the Scientology issue because ‘it is in the general area of human rights concerns and this is something we have raised with the German government.'”
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“This idea that we’re going to gently coax these people out of the cult is rubbish. Let’s say there are 15,000 to 30,000 left in the world, do you realize how long this method would take? Your average ‘good’ Scientologist isn’t interested in having a conversation with any wog any more than your average ISIS, Taliban, Al-Qaeda member is interested in having a conversation with an Infidel. A fanatic is a fanatic.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference March 25 in Los Angeles
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Next hearing February 15.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ US Supreme Court denied Valerie’s petition Oct 4.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Scientology has said it will file an anti-SLAPP motion.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
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 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 at its peak: A 1991 confidential briefing to take you into orbit with OT secrets!
[TWO years ago] Another dog poisoned: Bobette Riales says harassment worse since suing Scientology
[THREE years ago] An Austin Powers Scientology party? Sure, anything to get locals to fork over cash
[FOUR years ago] Come on, people. Even Star mag’s own article doesn’t claim Tom Cruise has left Scientology.
[FIVE years ago] Can a celebrity Scientologist like John Travolta really commit murder under the rules?
[SIX years ago] On the 8th anniversary of the Anonymous protests, more signs of Scientology’s desperation
[SEVEN years ago] ‘You encourage people to leave the Church of Scientology’: The Mike Rinder deposition
[EIGHT years ago] MEDIA ADVISORY: Stop saying that Scientology is infested with big movie stars already
[NINE years ago] Tom Cruise Can Raise the Dead! …And More Scientology Sunday Funnies
[TEN years ago] Scientology vs Debbie Cook, Day 2: More Live-Blogging by the Voice
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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 2,571 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,076 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,596 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,616 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,507 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,814 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,682 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,456 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,787 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,260 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,576 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,142 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,061 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,229 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,810 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,071 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,107 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,822 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,347 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 702 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,877 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,428 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,577 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,897 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,752 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,871 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,227 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,530 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,636 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,034 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,910 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,493 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,988 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,242 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,351 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 10, 2022 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, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), 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
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
