Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology's harassment of Paulette Cooper titled 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.' He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world from an undisclosed location in an underground bunker he shares with four cats and one of them wrinkly Shar Pei dogs. Despite his super-secret security protections, you can still reach him pretty easily by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you'd like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.) [Header image courtesy John Rickard]
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Is David Miscavige winning? Scientology seems to be on a roll, but is the law about to step in?

[David Miscavige in Ventura]

 In 1995, when she first emerged online after mostly vanishing from the field ten years earlier after a court settlement, journalist Paulette Cooper was congratulated by Scientology watchers for all that she’d done to expose Scientology’s abuses while surviving one of the fiercest Fair Game campaigns of all time. []

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DRONE FLYOVER: Saturday’s Scientology ‘Ideal Org’ opening in Ventura, California

 An anonymous drone pilot captured the scene at Saturday’s Scientology ‘Ideal Org’ grand opening in Ventura, California, providing some stunning views of the []

What daredevil ‘Mad’ Mike’s fatal rocket launch had to do with promoting a flat Earth

 “Mad” Mike Hughes, aged 64, died February 22 when his home-made steam-powered rocket crashed into the desert near Barstow, California. A video shot for an intended television show “Homemade Astronauts” to be aired on Discovery, Inc.’s Science Channel shows that the parachute which was supposed to brake the descent deployed prematurely and was torn off []

Judge rejects Roger Stone’s motion to step down from case for praising juror ‘integrity’

[Judge Jackson and Roger Stone]

Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective…

Roger Stone moved Judge Jackson to recuse herself from hearing his motion for a retrial (which motion is the reason he’s been remanded to prison). The basis for the recusal motion was nonsense — arguing that because the []

For once Scientology gives up on Ideal Org, settles for a fancy ‘mission’ instead

 This week Scientology opened an ‘Ideal Mission’ in San José, Costa Rica. They have abandoned the plan to open an Ideal Org in the capital city and have sold the property they purchased for that purpose. As they did in Panama, an Ideal Mission will have to serve in place of Latin America’s third Ideal []

Scientology tries to keep high-profile Philly attorneys out of Danny Masterson lawsuit

[Can attorney Brian Kent, right, get into court to take on Miscavige and Masterson?]

Oh, you had to know this was coming.

A series of very important hearings is coming up in the lawsuit filed by four women who accuse Scientologist actor Danny Masterson of raping them. They’re suing Masterson, the Church of Scientology, and its leader []

Thanks to some Scientology OTs, you can now rent a cabin only a mile from Shelly Miscavige!

 Has it really been more than five years since Alex Gibney’s movie Going Clear premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah? Ah, the []

Appeals court strikes down Florida law keeping ex-felons from voting because they’re poor

 Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective…

Ignoring debate drama to impose vote-related courtroom drama instead.

The 11th Circuit yesterday unanimously shot down Florida’s poll tax targeting ex-prisoners (specifically ex-felons, excepting convictions for murder and sexual violence), whose voting rights Florida citizens restored via a 2018 ballot referendum (“Amendment 4”), []

Blacks not ready for the vote: L. Ron Hubbard’s damning 1960 harangue supporting apartheid

[Hubbard in South Africa, 1960]

We have a very disturbing audio recording for you today, a 1960 lecture by L. Ron Hubbard that the Church of Scientology would rather that people []

California is going ‘Ideal,’ and Scientology is on fire about it

[Ventura’s new org, almost ready for its closeup]

On Saturday at 1pm, Scientology leader David Miscavige will preside over another “Ideal Org” grand opening, but this one is extra []