We’re sure that the parents who recorded the video we have for you today are very proud of what it shows. Their son, whose name we couldn’t quite catch but that we’re glad isn’t clear anyway, gives a short “graduation” speech this past Friday at the Dublin Scientology Ideal Org and for them it is probably quite charming and inspiring.
After all, isn’t it something to see an 8- or 9-year-old thanking Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard for his tips on how to study properly?
But the ex-Scientologists who read this website will probably have a very different reaction when they see this short clip.
Talking to many of you, over the years we have compiled a damning picture of Scientology as a system of thought that enslaves the mind in a totalitarian environment which, in part, weakens the family bond. Children who grow up memorizing Hubbard’s “folk psychology” (Lawrence Wright’s great description) can spend years in adulthood trying to throw off their shackles.
We’d like to hear from former Scientologists who grew up in the church about what Hubbard’s ideas did to their minds, their families, their ambitions, and their wallets.
Meanwhile, for those of you in Dublin wondering what’s going on at the Ideal Org on Firhouse Road, here’s some idea. We expect it will make little sense to you, and that’s no surprise.
And let’s keep up with a video theme today. It turns out that all of this criticism about Scientology you’ve been seeing in recent years is a lot of hooey.
At least that’s what the fascinating Tommy Scherer says in a video he posted this week.
According to his various online bios, Tommy is from Long Island and lives in Southern California where he runs a roofing business and was a songwriter part time. In 2011 he branched out, writing his first self-published novel, Soul Wars, based on some out-of-body experiences he’d had earlier in life.
In the video, he explains that he’s been a Scientologist since 1977 or 1978, and has never run into any “Xenu” character. (This may true. Only those who reach OT 3 hear about this notorious character in L. Ron Hubbard lore.) He brought up Scientology in a previous video and got a big reaction, and so he decided to address the criticism of it, which he says is baseless, and the critics never mention all of the miracles that take place in Scientology. Hey, what’s up with that!
Let’s give Tommy his opportunity to explain things.
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Today’s Scientology happy news. Yes, an excerpt from an actual press release put out by the church this week.
The International Day of Friendship was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 in the belief that “friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.”
“We love bringing a diverse group of people together and demonstrating the power of friendship,” says Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology.
The Church of Scientology partners in this effort with The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee, which provides a community betterment program based on the book The Way to Happiness by L. Ron Hubbard. The initiative is predicated on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others — and that without the survival of others, neither joy nor happiness is attainable.
This year, the International Friendship Day theme was “sharing the human spirit through friendship,” and the Nashville event embodied this with dialogue between those of many different faith traditions, from Baptist and Catholic, to Scientologist, Jew, and Latter-Day Saint.
“People need to come together and be friends,” says Rev. Enoch Fuzz, pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church. Fuzz and Fesler have been working together on this annual event for over eight years.
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Now available: Bonus for our supporters
Episode 7 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers, and it’s a conversation with Geoff Levin about Scientology’s celebrities and which ones are most likely to defect. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 6 available to everyone, with Pete Griffiths on running a mission, Sunny Pereira dishing secrets of Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Centre, Bruce Hines on the crazy life in the Sea Org, Jeffrey Augustine on recent Scientology court cases, Claire Headley exposing Tom Cruise, and Marc Headley on what it must be like for David Miscavige living in Clearwater, Florida. Go here to get the episodes!
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“There was Scientology One, that’s for the public. That’s your PE-level Scientology. And we’re putting out a plea to one and all to please contribute any data they think is vital and necessary to be in this. And then there’s Scientology Two, which is healing, which we haven’t had too much to do with. That’s care of the body, and so forth. And HPA/HCA levels probably get quite a bit of Scientology Two. And then there’s Scientology Three, and that’s advanced auditing, advanced Academy courses, that sort of thing, leading up to the area of Clear, such phenomena as we’ve had in the past. Now, it doesn’t happen to be a well wrapped up area, because we jumped off of that area to go into Scientology Four. And this occasioned even some of you quite a few headaches, because there was a necessary speed-up in research, and the place to research toward, of course, was OT. Now, that’s Scientology Four. And the material which you’re learning right now is Scientology Four. And then there is Scientology Five. And Scientology Five is the social, political, organizational levels of Scientology. This is a takeoff from the level of OT. And that isn’t just Scientology applied to political problems. That would be a misnomer although it would read like that in a textbook, and so forth. That isn’t that at all. It’s actually what does an OT do about it? That makes quite a different subject, doesn’t it?” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 8, 1963
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“HALF RATIONS: As soon as the new proper system for serving food is fully functioning the order re half rations will be cancelled.” — The Commodore, August 8, 1969
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“The fact is that Ron had established similar entities in the past such as the Church of American Science and Spiritual Engineering to cover the contingency that the Church would be seized by hostile forces that were inimical to total freedom and were in terror of anyone outside their area of control gaining OT abilities. My speculation is that the success of CIA’s Remote Viewing program and their previous failures to discredit and invalidate the subject since they couldn’t seize control of it with Mary Sue in charge of the Guardian’s Office made them consider another ways and means. In other words a covert take over of the subject which they in my opinion succeeded at by placing it in the hands of a totally compromised individual.”
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2001: A Scientology press release promoted the anniversary event held recently at the Celebrity Center in Los Angeles. “The names on this year’s lengthy guest list included, Jenna Elfman, Leah Remini, Catherine Bell, Danny Masterson, Lynsey Bartilson, Marisol Nichols, Michelle Stafford, Jennifer Aspen, Nancy Cartwright, Marissa Ribisi, Erika Christensen and Jason Lee. Celebrity Centre President, Susan Watson, said, ‘the popularity of Scientology and Mr. Hubbard’s works within the arts mirrors the Church’s overall growth, with nine million members in over 120 countries and eleven ‘Celebrity Centres’ in cultural centers around the world such as New York, Paris, London, Vienna, Nashville and Las Vegas as well as the International center in Hollywood.’ The fifteen hundred-or-so guests at the soiree not only received a copy of a new musical CD entitled, ‘The Joy of Creating,’ they witnessed the hip-hop legend, ‘original human beat box’ Doug E. Fresh, Broadway’s Carl Anderson, jazz great Chick Corea and Australia’s number one female vocalist Kate Ceberano, performing variations of Mr. Hubbard’s poem that declares, ‘The greatest joy there is in life in creating. Splurge on it!'”
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“According to Hubbard the average Black South African thought Apartheid was too lenient.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial scheduled for October 11, pretrial conference August 17.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.
Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filing amended complaint on August 2.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25. Scientology petitioning US Supreme Court over appellate ruling.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior 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] Tom Cruise’s Scientology superpowers, No. 14: Helping at the scene of a car accident
[TWO years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 25: DirecTV and filmmakers buffing Dave’s channel
[THREE years ago] ‘Aftermath’ supporters put Scientology on notice in its own ‘spiritual mecca’
[FOUR years ago] Fake medals and kiddie diddlers: Scientology’s cruise ship scandal gets even worse
[FIVE years ago] Stephen Colbert: Do you believe Scientology is a religion at all? Leah Remini: No
[SIX years ago] Whale watching update: Your 2016 mid-year guide to who’s propping up Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] Why is the press so timid about outing Scientology’s many front groups?
[EIGHT years ago] DOX: Here’s Monique Rathbun’s response to Scientology’s appeal of its anti-SLAPP defeat
[NINE years ago] LEAH REMINI FILES MISSING-PERSON REPORT ON SCIENTOLOGY LEADER’S WIFE
[TEN years ago] VOICE EXCLUSIVE — VH1’S Mimi Faust On Scientology: ‘At 13, They Told Me I Was a Freeloader’
[ELEVEN years ago] A Scientologist’s Open Letter to the Village Voice and its Readers
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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 2,750 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,255 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,805 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,795 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,686 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,991 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,861 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,635 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,966 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,439 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,755 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,321 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,240 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,408 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,988 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,250 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,286 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,001 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,526 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 881 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,056 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,607 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,756 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,076 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,931 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,050 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,406 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,709 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,815 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,213 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,089 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,672 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,167 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,421 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,530 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 8, 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
