We’re always interested when Scientologists run for public office, which isn’t very often. In 2020, we wrote about a former Sea Org member running for city council in the Oregon town of McMinnville (she lost). There was a married couple who each ran for office in Nevada (one of them, Brent Jones, did serve as [...]]]>

We’re always interested when Scientologists run for public office, which isn’t very often. In 2020, we wrote about a former Sea Org member running for city council in the Oregon town of McMinnville (she lost). There was a married couple who each ran for office in Nevada (one of them, Brent Jones, did serve as a state legislator but failed in his bid to move up to lieutenant governor). And also in Nevada, we’ve had some questions about a perennial candidate there.

Now, we’ve learned about something a little different. Victoria Palmer, an independent Scientologist — someone who practices the ideas of founder L. Ron Hubbard but outside the confines of the official Church of Scientology itself — is running in Seattle’s November city council election.

And it’s the way we learned about Palmer’s candidacy that is maybe the most interesting thing about it.

Noted indie figure Rey Robles has announced a return of his “Theta Alliance,” which has an annual convention in Reno but hasn’t met since the pandemic hit.

In his flier, Robles noted that the Scientology “Free Zone” has been fractured in recent years, and it was time “to bring together all in the independent field practicing the works of Scientology and Dianetics including all developments.” The convention (with a $250 entry) will be taking place over three days, August 11-13 in Reno, and three speakers are featured on the flier.

The first is Robles himself, who is a very colorful figure. He said he had “sorcerer powers” on CNN’s 2017 Believer episode about the independents, and we also noted that at one time he was offering followershttps://tonyortega.org/2019/10/04/for-100-scientologist-sorcerer-will-share-secret-of-living-to-150-and-we-have-the-secret/ the secret of living to age 150 for only $100.

The second speaker featured is Trey Lotz, a longtime stalwart in the independent field whose endorsement helped LRH 2.0 gain some traction with indies.

And the third speaker listed is Palmer.

 
Here’s how Robles describes her…

Lifelong Scientologist, Class IV, OT 3

Leading the Way to Freedom

This presentation will rekindle your purpose for freedom. Victoria will share the story of how her persistence ended the oppressive mandates in her state, bringing freedom to the environment. She is now a candidate for Seattle City Council.

That sent us looking up Palmer’s campaign website. We didn’t see any mention of Scientology on it. Her “about” page was mostly about her anti-mandate advocacy:

The COVID pandemic response by government authorities in Washington state was excessive and created huge injustices and casualties. Lockdowns, face coverings and mandatory vaccination caused incalculable damage to the physical, mental, and financial well-being of Washingtonians. I became an outspoken advocate for those damaged by this government overreach. I started with a campaign of signs on the streets and freeways around Seattle and built up to over 20 organized marches in the Seattle area – including a march of almost 1000 people through downtown Seattle in January 2022….

Our efforts were effective in ending vaccine mandates in many private businesses. I helped others facing unfair mandates successfully keep their job or stay in college. Our outcry helped bring the early ending of the statewide public and employee mask mandates in 2022…

We were curious, though, whether Palmer attributed any of her success fighting state mandates to her background in Scientology. We asked her about that in an email, and we’ll let you know if she gets back to us.

Palmer, who says she’s new to politics and isn’t affiliated with any political party, is one of five announced challengers to District 6 incumbent Democrat Dan Strauss, who is seeking a second term. So far, he’s garnered about a dozen endorsements from state legislators and other local officials.

We’re not sure if Palmer has a strong chance to unseat Strauss, but those OT abilities have to give her an edge, no?

 
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Technology Cocktail

“We’ve got 2,500,000,000 preclears. We can somehow control ourselves long enough to make a few auditors. They are made by direct, blunt instruction, the tougher the better. They are unmade by a lot of super saccharine sympathy about their poor, hopeless little cases.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1958

 
——————–

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 as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.

 
——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney

 
——————–

Source Code

“We used to be tolerant about [the University of] Chicago. Most of us wanted to go there because you only had to go a couple of years before they handed you a sheepskin and we were bored. But this outfit uttered this asinine statement: ‘We have tested all the techniques of Dianetics and found out it didn’t work.’ Well, in the first place it’s asinine because all the techniques of Dianetics didn’t exist in published form and were not available to them to test, see? So right away, that was nonsense. For instance, I know of techniques that were released at the first foundation in Elizabeth which have never seen the light of day; I have never seen them published or anything else. Matter of fact, I saw three or four splinter groups suddenly start up on stuff that was merely designed to take care of one PC or something like that, and then they decided that this would apply to all PCs and so forth. There are several brands of therapy which are adrift today which simply consist of one technique developed for one PC at Elizabeth. So for any outfit to grandly look down its nose and say, ‘We have tested all the techniques of Dianetics,’ you know? Well, what a statement, see? They haven’t got them to test. How would they even know if they had tested all the techniques? Right away they are irresponsible. And then to say they didn’t work would also be asinine because if they had tested even sloppily, they would have gotten some result someplace, unless they were simply uttering a publicity statement to protect the vested interest.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 18, 1964

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“NEW RUNDOWN: The original Rundown of last November variously called and numbered, is now to be exported to eligible orgs as the New-Life Rundown, to be given in their Dept 10s It is a high-priced successful package. It requires Class IX to Supervise it. It must not be confused with a Life Repair. It literally gives one a new life. It does not supplant any grade or OT level. It has been smoothed out and is highly successful. The Rundowns Flag has been doing lately are above it. It will handle any special case. It’s a doll. Our Dept 10 is grooving in on it.” — The Commodore, June 18, 1971

——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“The difference between Free Zone Scientologist and (American) Independent Scientologists: Free Zone Scientologists practice Scientology outside the Church since the early 80s as led by Captain Bill Robertson. American Indies left the church mainly 10 years ago (around 2009) and were indoctrinated into believing that Free Zone Scientologists are squirrels.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

2001: LA Weekly published an article on Keith Henson, a refugee in Canada after being convicted in California of interfering with the Scientology religion. “Henson, a Palo Alto computer consultant, was in custody at the ‘super-maximum-security’ Metro West Detention Centre on a Canadian immigration warrant. The warrant was based on Henson’s April 26 criminal conviction in Hemet, California. Henson was found guilty of a single misdemeanor count of interfering with a religion. To those familiar with a ferocious five-year war between the church and its Internet critics, it comes as no surprise that the religion was Scientology. Earlier this month, Henson was freed, pending a hearing on his application for political asylum in Canada. Henson, who says he did no more than post nasty Usenet messages and picket Scientology locations, claims the church set him up. The case is likely to raise questions of how far a religion can go to protect itself from dissidents, and of free speech on the Net. Skeptics have long congregated on alt.religion.scientology (ARS), a lively but not exactly headline-grabbing Usenet group. In 1995, Scientology tried to shut the site down. The retrospectively ill-advised attempt was followed by denial-of-service and ‘sporging’ (forgery and spoofing) attacks, which raised the hackles of the hardcore Net community. A new generation of anti-Scientology activists was born. Alt.religion.scientology now is one of the most popular Usenet groups. ‘Scientology’s action had the psychological effect you would have seen of a gang of thugs riding into a Midwestern town and burning down the newspapers,’ Henson said.”

 
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Random Howdy

“So Kim shoots the ex-girlfriend and her entire performing ensemble and makes the families watch, and then sends them to labor camps. I bet C.O.B. pleasures himself fantasizing he had that kind of power.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs asking permission for interlocutory appeal.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— 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 at least through June 28.
— 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.

 
——————–

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology: Put Bixler case on hold while we hit up the US Supreme Court about ‘arbitration’
[TWO years ago] Goodbye to a Scientology watcher we will dearly miss: Molly Kell, 1960-2021
[THREE years ago] How will Scientology react to Danny Masterson being charged with rape?
[FOUR years ago] Wise Beard Man on the ballot in Scientology’s mecca? Mark Bunker on why he’s running
[FIVE years ago] Another sign Nation of Islam members are moving from Dianetics to full Scientology
[SIX years ago] Scientology caught red-handed breaking government restrictions — and without penalty
[SEVEN years ago] When you postulate upon a star: L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology’s funny made-up words
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s slush fund: Jeffrey Augustine takes apart the fictions of the IAS
[NINE years ago] Scientology fires legal salvoes at the Garcias, and Vance Woodward fires back
[TEN years ago] What Scientologists at War Left Out: Some Annotations on Channel 4’s Documentary

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on June 18, 2023 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, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), 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

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone

Since we posted Scientology’s own very fun photo essay about what it’s like to be a pilgrim at the Flag Land Base, Scientology’s spiritual mecca in Clearwater, Florida, we’ve heard from a couple of our sources about what things are like there, contrary to the church’s propaganda.

Our first [...]]]>

Since we posted Scientology’s own very fun photo essay about what it’s like to be a pilgrim at the Flag Land Base, Scientology’s spiritual mecca in Clearwater, Florida, we’ve heard from a couple of our sources about what things are like there, contrary to the church’s propaganda.

Our first source tells us that they’ve been dealing with the decompression that comes with leaving the organization, and what it’s like to realize that you’ve been misled for so many years.

I thought, as most public Scientologists do, that we were an ethical group. But that turned out to be a total lie. Unfortunately, Scientology has figured out how to convince people how to ignore the media, and we went along with it as we did not want to spend months and lots of money on ethics programs at Flag. This may be a reason why Flag continues to do well while regular orgs are mostly failing. The “ethics” programs are much harder, longer and more rigid there than at local orgs where you can be on courses but never checked for what you are reading about Scientology. Once you get to Flag you know that you can never look at the negative stuff. Flag has a big ethics department with a large number of ethics officers who interrogate every person as they arrive. You are never allowed to say anything negative about Flag or David Miscavige. For quite a while, you could get out of lower conditions immediately by making a large donation to the library campaign. After a while that was eased off as it was against what LRH said but never totally went away.

As you know, Flag is advertised as the “friendliest” place on earth. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, members believe the hype and you cannot say anything negative. Almost everyone I knew who went there ended up staying many weeks if not months longer than they planned as they were lied to regarding the amount of time and money required and they were not allowed to leave. In order to leave, one has to meet with one of the senior people and say you are totally happy with the service, even if it was a miserable experience. Of course if it was miserable, you also wonder what is wrong with you since other people are so happy. For years I wondered why I didn’t feel like I got what I thought I should. Then I started to realize that most of the abusive people in my life were long term Scientologists, and I started to wonder how these people could be so nasty and abusive after decades in Scientology. Eventually, I realized that Scientology does not handle abusive, nasty individuals, it just makes them more convinced that their behavior is justified.

At Flag, you run into at least 1 or 2 people a day who are running around getting signatures to get back into group for their liability ethics conditions. I have seen people doing these conditions, which also require contributions (usually money but not always) to the group even though their supposedly harmful acts had nothing to do with group such as masturbation, cheating on spouse, watching porn etc.

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I never saw staff members do conditions based on being abusive to public, but then again harmful acts toward public by staff were never publicized and no amends was done to the public person. I had a non-Scientology friend tell me recently that anyone who joins a cult must have something wrong with them (even though she seems to like me). The great majority of Scientologists I have known are good people who really want to help others and most of them would be horrified if they knew the truth about Hubbard or Miscavige. Many still believe that auditing can cure cancer, even though I have never heard of a single cure, but Hubbard said it and anything, no matter how stupid, he says must be true.

We also heard from another source, who told us that conditions at the Flag Land Base are currently dire.

Flag is inundated with people with COVID. Floors and floors of their hotels are filled with sick Class V Staff and Sea Org members. Each room is stuffed with multiple sick people.

They’re trying to keep it under the radar, but with the hundreds of Class V staff in training, it’s pretty much impossible.

We have no confirmation of this, but if you know something about the current situation at Flag, we’d really like to hear it.

 
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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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Source Code

“The one thing by which the communist profits in Australia and Suid-Afrika are the laws against perversion. The state, of all means, is regulating how you are going to perform the sexual act. I think that’s very interesting. I’ve seldom seen any police officers in my bedroom. And I’m afraid if I did they’d have short shrift. Of course, I have had the people the police officers are supposed to restrain trying to crawl into my bedroom windows and a few things like that, you know, but that, of course, they wouldn’t be interested in. Now, what are they doing? They’re just trying to invent some new withholds, aren’t they? I think that’s fascinating, because the communist uses blackmail of this particular kind as a means of controlling heads of state. In other words, if the state itself lends its weight to punishment of withholds, see, it has just laid itself out to be crazy. Because now, anybody in the state can be blackmailed so as to overthrow the state, because the state will punish the overthrow or the withhold. Do you understand this, or any part of this?” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 20, 1962

Avast, Ye Mateys

“LOCAL PROPERTY: I rode the motorcycle Mary Sue gave me for Christmas out to see some property we bought. Arthur Hubbard, my test rider and mechanic in chief, acted as guide on his bike. He took me way out in the green countryside on the excuse he didn’t know any other route to the property. We circled back and found the right place right on the edge of town. Anything for a ride. It’s a very nice property. Several apartments, 18 bedrooms on one upper floor, a dozen garages, a big buss garage, four classrooms and a gym, and a lot of other bits. Our sign is up and well lighted at night. Our caretaker is a very nice chap. The place is well built of stone and masonry, quite pretty in fact. We intended it for light manufacturing but have not put it to use as yet. We own quite a bit of property over the world. Will be acquiring more as well as some countries.” — The Commodore, February 20, 1971

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“According to LRH this is not so. Men are not created equal. According to LRH, there are higher order thetans and ‘puppet society’ thetans. In the Bill Robertson cosmology, there are Source Thetans, created thetans and several hierarchies of thetans. The spiritual world is not ‘democratic’.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

2001: From the National Review on the split between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman: “We will likely never know what went wrong between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, but a recent article in the New York Post suggests that Tom Cruise’s Scientology was a big part of the problem. Apparently, Ms. Kidman is disenchanted with the controversial religion, and does not want her children to be reared in it. Even if one ignores the number of fairly sinister stories told about Scientology, some of its precepts reflect the sort of ideas that put it squarely in the lunatic fringe. Scientology, after all, is an easy target with its oddball technology, goofy jargon, and, reportedly, a secret creation myth that revolves around the activities of the wicked intergalactic ruler, Xenu. Scientologists, of course, should be free to believe whatever they want, but it does not say a lot for the state of this nation’s critical faculties that their philosophy has won as much acceptance as it has.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“All you need to do to strike spiritual gold is to tell the mutant killer apes with the over-developed brain stems that death is not the end and that they’re more than just another species of animal.”

 
——————–

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
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for April 8.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Hearing held on February 15, awaiting ruling.

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.’ Valerie asks for March 15 hearing on motion for reconsideration.
— 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.

 
——————–

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Has Scientology’s cruise ship, the Freewinds, made its last voyage?
[TWO years ago] Blacks not ready for the vote: L. Ron Hubbard’s damning 1960 harangue supporting apartheid
[THREE years ago] Tony Ortega: Musician, songwriter, and steel executive, 1938-2019
[FOUR years ago] How L. Ron Hubbard tried to hoax the FBI, and ‘brainwashed’ politicians of the far right
[FIVE years ago] Louis Farrakhan: Nation of Islam will stand by Scientology as Leah Remini ‘goes in hard’
[SIX years ago] Why Scientology’s petition to the Texas Supreme Court mentions a dildo, and other surprises
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s Orwellian methods of control explained in a new book by Jefferson Hawkins
[EIGHT years ago] Scott Pilutik helps us evaluate Scientology’s petition to Texas appeals court
[NINE years ago] Oklahoma Drug Rehab Bill Passes Senate: Scientology’s Narconon Days Numbered?
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s OT Powers! A Hubbard Holiday Miracle

 
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——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on February 20, 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

 Last night, Tracey McManus uncorked another stunning scoop at the Tampa Bay Times: New Clearwater City Manager Jon Jennings and Scientology leader David Miscavige have come to a meeting of minds, with a deal in the works to begin to revive the city’s Scientology-soaked downtown.

We talked to city council member Mark Bunker last night about [...]]]>

 
Last night, Tracey McManus uncorked another stunning scoop at the Tampa Bay Times: New Clearwater City Manager Jon Jennings and Scientology leader David Miscavige have come to a meeting of minds, with a deal in the works to begin to revive the city’s Scientology-soaked downtown.

We talked to city council member Mark Bunker last night about the deal, which he says gives him major misgivings as long as Jennings keeps characterizing it as Clearwater “partnering” with the controversial church.

“I’m not ready to go ‘hip, hip, hooray’,” Bunker told us.

We’ve explained several times why David Miscavige covets a 1.4-acre parcel of empty land in downtown Clearwater, and why he essentially went to war with Clearwater when the owner refused to sell it to him and sold it to the city in 2017.

At the time, Miscavige was showing city leaders renderings of downtown buildings that he would give facelifts to in order to attract new businesses, but only if he could get his hands on the parcel. But the previous owner, the Clearwater Aquarium, didn’t want him to get his hands on it, and sold it to the city for $4.25 million, spurning Miscavige’s wild $15 million offer.

Now, nearly five years later, Miscavige is finally getting his way. It was revealed by McManus that three buildings owned by Scientologists will go through renovations in order to attract businesses to the Cleveland Street corridor, and in return Jennings said he would be seeking a land swap with the church so Miscavige could finally get his hands on the parcel he wants so badly.

In other words, it’s basically the same thing Miscavige was pushing for five years ago. And the first step will be the renovation of the three downtown buildings. The land swap will come later, and McManus pointed out that it’s not clear yet what city will receive in the trade.

“There has been no swap as of yet,” Bunker pointed out to us. “We haven’t really gotten any details beyond the fact that, through the generosity of David Miscavige, he’s convinced three parishioners to fix up those three buildings.”

Who those three parishioners happen to be isn’t known. As McManus points out, Florida law doesn’t require the building owners to reveal their identities.

Bunker says that the building upgrades can be done without the approval of the city council, but any land swap would require a vote. And so Bunker says he and others are going to make sure any contract for a swap includes plenty of conditions that the church will have to meet.

As for the three buildings being renovated, Bunker says it’s important to put it in its proper context.

“This is the bare minimum. What do you do with an empty building? You fix it up and put a business in it and make money. That doesn’t mean we should be Scientology’s ‘partner’,” he says.

As McManus pointed out in her piece, the three buildings being set up for businesses would not be tax exempt, and the owners would have to pay taxes on them. And these presumably wouldn’t be Scientology-related businesses that come in to lease them.

We’re reminded of the Lucky Anchor, a bar that was at one time owned by Clay Irwin. Although it was in a building on Cleveland Street owned by a Scientologist, there was nothing Scientology-related about Clay’s tavern. (Clay sold to another owner who just recently got the news that he’s being evicted by his Scientologist building owner, as McManus also pointed out.)

Making sure there’s that arm’s length between the church and the businesses on Cleveland Street will be important, Bunker points out.

“That’s why we can’t say Scientology is our partner. If people think, ‘this is Scientology’s downtown,’ they will continue to stay away.”

 
——————–

Tom Cruise’s first manager speaks out

Really good piece at the Daily Mail last night with an interview of Eileen Berlin, 84, who was Tom Cruise’s first manager when he was a starry-eyed 18-year-old in New York hoping to break into the movies.

Lots of good stuff about Tom’s early years in the business. And some fun lines at the end about Tom getting into Scientology, after he had left New York for LA and replaced Berlin. (Tom was lured into Scientology by Mimi Rogers in the second half of 1986 and they were married on Dianetics Day, May 9, 1987.)

‘I think Tommy was the perfect candidate for Scientology,’ she said. ‘He’d told me he didn’t know anyone in LA and needed support. He didn’t believe in therapy but he obviously needed help and Scientology was there for him.

Berlin said she wasn’t surprised that all three of his marriages – to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes – ended in divorce.

‘I was just shocked that he had three marriages and that they lasted as long as they did.’

Fun stuff.

 
——————–

Your proprietor with Trevor Heasley

 
——————–

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.

 
——————–

Source Code

“I just had a phone call from California, by the way: A girl who was on the handbook — fifteen hours, really, on the handbook, running it through — went down to a secretarial course (never seen a typewriter before), sat down and read the chart, spent ten minutes reading the chart, sat down at the typewriter with blank keys and started writing at twenty-five words a minute. Here sits an atom bomb. That atom bomb is a complete threat to this whole society, culture, your body, your civilization.” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 18, 1952

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“REGRET: I am sorry that Ethics has to be stepped up. But each day a few more omissions land on my desk. The FSO and FAO have not formed up and the FB and myself are having to carry the load.” — The Commodore, February 18, 1971

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Outside this universe there is no time. There is only this huge movie we see creating itself more and more into the future. Since all of this movie is present outside the physical universe, a being can enter into any time period he wants if he has the level of awareness that allows him to do so. I was sent to this period of time as a new creation. The purpose was and is to raise the vibrations of the planet. This will, by itself, align this period of time and alter the future to make everything better. There were a million of me created from one of the Gods. They might be operating bodies on or off the planet. Most are Orbs that are directly connected to source so they are all around the planet raising the vibrations of the planet. I would say there is less than 10 of me operating bodies on this planet. The rest would be Orbs just observing and raising the vibrations.”

Past is Prologue

1999: Adweek published an article this week on the controversy over anti-Scientology advertising on public buses. “The ads were purchased by Former Scientologists Speaking Out, which asserts its First Amendment rights were violated when the ads were removed. ‘When you look at the board’s definition of political advertising, it is limited to that for candidates running for office,’ said Ken Dandar, the ex-Scientologists’ attorney. ‘They now have a nonprofit organization that is willing to sue them if they don’t do the right thing.’ Scientology lawyer Paul Johnson said the PSTA should move to strike any noncommercial ads from public transportation, or else the county could see ‘hate organizations like the KKK’ running ads on its buses. ‘This is important stuff under the First Amendment, but the American Association of Advertising Agencies believes that advertisers should be able to advertise,’ said John Kamp, a Washington, D.C., attorney at the 4A’s. ‘I run a business. I don’t want to limit commerce, but this has created a real problem in Clearwater,’ said Bob Clark, a PSTA board member and Clearwater commissioner. ‘There’s no question in any person’s mind that these were attacks, and as a public official … when I saw them, I was very upset.'”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“I was just ruminating that Manson probably got the idea for ‘creepy crawl’ from some Scientology experience.”

 
——————–

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.

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.

 
——————–

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientologist and accused Ponzi schemer learns government has 13 MILLION documents on him
[TWO years ago] In Scientology’s Sea Org, the terror originates inside your own head
[THREE years ago] Is Beck divorcing Scientology along with his wife? Here’s the evidence for and against.
[FOUR years ago] Scientology opened an ‘Ideal Org’ in Salt Lake City yesterday. We have its secret plans.
[FIVE years ago] Augustine: Why is it so hard to find a Scientologist in good standing?
[SIX years ago] David Miscavige wastes no time once the stay is lifted in Monique Rathbun’s lawsuit
[SEVEN years ago] TAMPA SHOWDOWN: Scientology’s religious exception faces mini-trial today
[EIGHT years ago] Going three feet back of your head: Scientology’s Original Operating Thetan Level Six!
[NINE years ago] Tom Cruise Under Oath: We Have His Deposition Questions!
[TEN years ago] Scientology Campout: Commenters of the Week!

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on February 18, 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

Beginning on December 18, we revealed that we’d been talking to a new source inside the Church of Scientology. The Insider, as we dubbed the source, provided a stark description of Scientology’s current situation in a number of detailed posts. (See here, here, here, here, and here.)

One of the claims [...]]]>

Beginning on December 18, we revealed that we’d been talking to a new source inside the Church of Scientology. The Insider, as we dubbed the source, provided a stark description of Scientology’s current situation in a number of detailed posts. (See here, here, here, here, and here.)

One of the claims the Insider made was in regards to the pandemic, saying that Sea Org members at the Pacifica Area Command — the “Big Blue” Los Angeles headquarters complex on Fountain Avenue — were required to get vaccinated but also to lie about it to “publics,” non-employees of the church. Why? Because Scientologists tend to be anti-vaccination, and might stop spending money at PAC if they knew the Sea Org staff had gotten their shots.

The Insider made numerous other claims, and in subsequent weeks we’ve received confirmation of the picture they painted from other sources.

And now, another source has come forward to confirm the Insider’s account — and this time, it’s in regards to the Sea Org and vaccines.

This separate source sent to us a “Things that shouldn’t be” report written in November by the mother of a Sea Org worker at PAC base. It appears to confirm what the Insider said, that workers there were forced to be vaccinated regardless of their doubts, and that they were supposed to keep it quiet from publics. But this mother found out and is not happy, and expresses her own anti-vaxx views about Covid.

Here’s the report as we received it.

24/11/2021

Things that shouldn’t be

Today I learned from my son who is in the SO at PAC that he received the vaccine, along with many other SO members. It was the first time I had heard from him in some time and he was asking me a lot of questions about the vaccine and whether I had gotten it. Of course I said no and started to pull the string on his questions because his comm seemed odd.

He eventually told me everyone on the base is required to get the vaccine, and if they don’t agree to get it, they are being forced to stay in iso rooms by themselves even if they are not sick. He knows of many if not all senior base terminals and CMO have now been vaccinated.

My son is an adult and he is free to make his own choices. However when I asked him why he did it, he admitted he felt pressured into it. He said when the first vaccine came out orders came down from management about getting the staff to get it. The MLO distributed some write up that had a bunch of false data about how safe/effective the vaccine is. He read the booklet but still didn’t want to get vaccinated. Eventually he was tired of the isolation and not seeing his wife and being treated like an ethics particle and just agreed to get it.

This is totally unacceptable – first that it is happening and second that he felt he had to lie because he didn’t want to get in trouble for telling a public who is his own mother! We know the vaccine is just awful and that it does nothing to protect against anything anyway!

As a Scientologist, an OT and his mother I feel I must make this known. But I don’t really know what else to do because clearly this is a worldwide program and not isolated to PAC.

Also, for the last 2 years of the lockdown my son has not moved on the bridge at all – and it doesn’t sound like very many people on staff are. Hello! This is the perfect time to make a bunch of OTs! Who deserves the levels more than the SO at a time like this?

 
We’ve previously written about Scientology’s public pandemic response, an attempt to turn the health crisis into a public relations opportunity. Scientology printed up thousands of copies of a booklet it distributed around the world which gave out basic advice about keeping distance, washing hands, and wearing masks.

Scientologists were deployed to the field looking like they were wearing hazmat suits and carrying around various cleaning solutions and sanitizers. Particularly in South Africa, teams of Scientologists were dispatched to police stations and schools and businesses, offering to sanitize offices with something called “Decon 7.”

At its website, meanwhile, Scientology carved out a special section where you could download those booklets and more, and it was titled the “How to stay well prevention resource center.”

That was 2020. But since vaccines became widely available about a year ago, Scientology hasn’t said a word about the inoculations. It’s still putting out advice about masks, hand-washing, and social distancing, and nothing about the jab.

And now, these two independent sources paint an even stranger picture for us. While publicly Scientology leader David Miscavige is trying to portray his organization as a leader in the pandemic response with its “sanitation teams,” the church says nothing about vaccines, knowing that its members tend to be anti-vaccination. Meanwhile, Miscavige allegedly forces his Sea Org workers to be immunized in order to keep the money flowing, but instructs them to lie about it in order not to alienate the anti-vaxx “publics.”

What a bizarre “church.”

 
——————–

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.

 
——————–

Source Code

“Scientology is liable to be around for a long time, because that really isn’t a split terminal. Somebody’d have to dream one up which ran a parallel to get a total throw-out of the subject called Scientology. But then it throws itself out, which is the only thing that makes it safe to have around. Probably the only subject on Earth today which solves itself without liability or continuance of itself, which is quite interesting. It’s a safe subject.” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 4, 1957

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“Odd time of the year to speak about Christmas. But in this case it’s a statistic. Public Popularity increase over the world was very marked this last Christmas. The general public response was up very nearly 35% over previous years. The volume of public cards to me personally would indicate an increased popularity of Scientology by a full third! Gifts were 40 – 45% higher than in previous years. While it was a joy hearing from so many at the time, now in retrospect, it can be viewed as confirming a general public upsurge. My hard working personal staffs here and in other areas were impressed with the increase. In previous years it was already enormous. My staffs work for many weeks after Christmas caring for the flow, the address corrections and tabulations and do an excellent job of it. So the full picture is now in and the fact emerges. Public Popularity has increased a full third.” — The Commodore, February 4, 1971

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Is religion and spirituality all part of the trap to keep us down involved in MEST as we appear to be? Auditing is the only answer to get rid of charge. It is that which holds us trapped and doing crazy things. If we wait until we can do it perfectly, we won’t ever do it. A lot of engrams got run from those who simply read DMSMH and did it even poorly. If we fight the Corp Church we take our eyes off the ball, create a game and problem that will hang in time and achieve nothing. Let’s just get on with clearing the planet. The church tells us to be careful: That’s suppression. LRH gave us a gift. Let’s get busy and use it. It is the most fun you can have.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

1999: From Hannoversche Allgemeine: “The ‘El Pais’ newspaper reported, on Saturday, that starting June 1, proceedings against 18 leading members and adherents of the organization will be initiated before a court in Madrid. Included among those members is Heber Jentzsch, the Scientology President from the USA, for whom the state attorney’s office is asking 30 years in prison. In the indictment, Scientology is described as an ‘extremely dangerous organization’ which more resembles ‘a sect’ than a church. The state attorney posted a total of twelve charges to the accounts of the accused. Among the charges are tax evasion and formation of an illegal association. Adherents of the organization are alleged to have been financially
exploited and subjected to ‘brainwashing.’ Also stated was that in the treatment of drug addicts, Scientology had applied methods which are detrimental to health and which have no scientific basis.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“Raining on other people’s parades is one of my specialties.”

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for February 8. 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
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— 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.

 
——————–

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientologist David Gentile charged by feds in $1.8 billion Ponzi-like fraud scheme
[THREE years ago] Mark Bunker: Clearwater’s Officer (now Chief) Slaughter oversaw the Scientology detail
[FOUR years ago] Are you Sci-Curious? Here’s Scientology’s 2018 Super Bowl ad
[FIVE years ago] Scientology’s Super Bowl ad: Here’s your sneak peek at what it’s going to be like
[SIX years ago] When David Miscavige was riding high with ‘The Basics’ — Scientology’s 2008 New Year’s event!
[SEVEN years ago] LEAH REMINI IN TALKS TO SUE SCIENTOLOGY: MIKE RINDER TESTIMONY
[EIGHT years ago] It’s a make-or-break day for Monique Rathbun vs Scientology in a Texas courtroom
[NINE years ago] Best Twitter Reactions to Scientology’s Super Bowl Ad
[TEN years ago] Scientology Wants It Both Ways: The Church’s Opposite Legal Strategies In Florida and Texas

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on February 4, 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

 Latin American music fans were stunned to learn that Argentinian-born Diego Verdaguer, a 70-year-old Mexican national who also had Italian roots, died in Los Angeles Thursday afternoon of complications from Covid-19.

Verdaguer was a major name in Spanish-language music, with 2.2 million followers at Facebook, and his albums had been nominated for Latin Grammys in 2009 [...]]]>

 
Latin American music fans were stunned to learn that Argentinian-born Diego Verdaguer, a 70-year-old Mexican national who also had Italian roots, died in Los Angeles Thursday afternoon of complications from Covid-19.

Verdaguer was a major name in Spanish-language music, with 2.2 million followers at Facebook, and his albums had been nominated for Latin Grammys in 2009 and 2015.

He was also a Scientologist. Scientology’s own publications show that Verdaguer went Clear in 2016 and did the Student Hat in 2020.

In November, just two months ago, he posted this image of himself holding the infamous L. Ron Hubbard book “A History of Man,” one of the most bizarre of Scientology’s texts.

 
Most significantly, Verdaguer took part in the June 2020 “Stay Well Concert” (see image above), performing his song “Di-Di-Di-Dime (Te-Te-Te-Tell Me).” The concert, hosted by actress Erika Christensen, was part of a campaign by Scientology in the early months of the pandemic to seize on the health crisis as a public relations opportunity.

Scientology put out thousands of booklets containing basic advice about washing hands, wearing masks, and keeping distance. But as we noted later, that was 2020: Since vaccines became available to the public early in 2021, Scientology has said nothing about getting inoculated against the disease

Almost immediately after the news of Verdeguer’s death broke, the media in Mexico began asking whether he had been vaccinated, and came up with a series of anti-vaxx sentiments posted by his wife, singer Amanda Miguel, on her social media feeds.

El Universal noted that in April 2020 Miguel had said that “Covid might be the vaccine” and that it might contain “microchips,” and in July she denounced vaccine mandates. SDP Noticias, meanwhile, noted that Miguel had derided “propaganda to force us to get the experimental vaccine.” (An Amanda Miguel is listed in Scientology publications, with only a brief involvement in 2002.)

 
With the controversy over Miguel’s statements about Covid building, last night the AP reported that Verdaguer’s publicist in Mexico, Claudia López Ibarra, said that Diego had been inoculuated. “Yes, he was vaccinated … but the virus attacked him in the U.S. when the Delta variant was present,” she said.

El Heraldo de Mexico was one of the few news outlets that pointed out Verdaguer’s connection to Scientology, and noted that in October 2020 the singer gave a television interview and expressed the belief that Covid-19 was a man-made creation. “I think it is something that was created by evil minds, that is something manipulated, and that we are in this game of living and in this world and we have to recognize that there are evil people and that is a reality,” he said.

Last month, our new insider, an “under the radar” source in the church, claimed that Scientology leader David Miscavige had forced Sea Org members to get vaccinated but then instructed them to lie about it, knowing how much Scientologists in general tend to be anti-vaccination.

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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Source Code

“The entirety of physics and the natural sciences pursues from a degradation of the mind. Awfully broad statement, but a very true one. If every place you’ve ever been is related to where you are, you’ve had it. It says at once you never could have had, and promises that you never can have, another universe — which I think is very cute; it’s a total trap.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 29, 1957

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“All semblance of anything that could be called ‘Hippiness’ must be eradicated for the next month. Better get started now on haircuts and beard off or trim. Be sure you haven’t only got miniskirts. The PRO mock up for your next month is very proper personal appearance. Clean cloths, clean braid, clean shirts for the officers. Lots of baths. Sleek personal appearance is the watch word for the next month. It fits in with why you are going on this cruise.” — The Commodore, January 29, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Dear New Era Scientologists, I am feeling very festive at the start of this 2020. 20-20 is the year everyone’s eyesight opens up! The Commodore’s technical advancements deserve a big party. Better yet, I think we should have a big party every month just to celebrate how great a bunch of people we all are. I could easily organize a big party to mark 2020 as the best ever New Era milestone. New Era individuals could be encouraged to celebrate on an appointed date in all of the principal areas where we reside. How say you?”

 
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Past is Prologue

2000: Sister 2 Sister magazine carried an interview this month with Scientology celebrity Isaac Hayes about the World Literacy Crusade. “I’m the international spokesperson. It brings literature to the inner city. We feel like the culprit in the demise of the inner city is illiteracy. When a person can’t read or write, they’re a victim… Q. So how is it that we’re going to be the ones to save it [the world]? A. Because at the end of the day, we are still the most spiritual people on this planet. We are special because we are spiritual and that’s why I have taken up Scientology. Because Scientology really knows who we are and it teaches us who we really are, as spiritual beings in this universe. Q. Don’t people think of Scientology as a cult? A. Of course they do, but they do that out of ignorance. You ask them what Scientology is, they can’t tell you because they don’t know. That’s irresponsible. But there are groups who want to control, and if they find anything that will try to free people, they will try to wipe it out of existence. Scientology will not go away.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Does anyone else here understand how hard it is to explain to a complete stranger that your relative is a Scientologist?”

 
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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 hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29.

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. Case appealed on Dec 23. 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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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 anti-masker Leigh Dundas absconds to Mexico, Jan 6 video of her turns up
[TWO years ago] Tom Cruise’s sister Cass the real superhero in the family, now with Scientology SUPER POWER
[THREE years ago] Accused rapist Danny Masterson hangs out with pal Ashton Kutcher at Scientology wedding
[FOUR years ago] Joy Villa’s ex-manager on the ‘pro-life’ Grammys dress: We’re not fooled this time
[FIVE years ago] Scientology recruits a new ally — a real life ‘Forrest Gump’
[SIX years ago] Scientology puts out a new ‘media guide’ that is as honest as you would imagine
[SEVEN years ago] How Scientologists are dealing with the buzz around Alex Gibney’s ‘Going Clear’
[EIGHT years ago] The best parts of Steven Mango’s ‘documentary’ on Scientology’s Celebrity Centre
[NINE years ago] Mike Rinder on “The Hole” and How He Escaped Scientology
[TEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: May the Force Be With You!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 29, 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

 Our new inside source has another message for us, this time going into more detail about Scientology’s response to the pandemic.

 I wanted to better explain how the Covid protocols actually went into effect, and what that looked like as a Scientologist. The first indication of something happening was that the 2020 LRH birthday event (March [...]]]>

 
Our new inside source has another message for us, this time going into more detail about Scientology’s response to the pandemic.

 
I wanted to better explain how the Covid protocols actually went into effect, and what that looked like as a Scientologist. The first indication of something happening was that the 2020 LRH birthday event (March 2020) was cancelled. There actually hasn’t been a single international event since then.

It started with the Stay Well booklets and the Volunteer Ministers stuff. But what the public didn’t see is what was happening inside the org. At some point, the time line is a little foggy, the orgs were simply ordered to close their doors. A select number of staff had to live in the building. They were required to fog and clean with liquid Decon 7, multiple times a day, even though they were the only ones in the building. This went on for months.

Then the orgs opened up again suddenly. As part of of this, all public had to be shown a series of videos produced by management that explains how the church is addressing COVID. Basically, it’s just a bunch of B roll of them spraying rooms, streets, furniture etc, with Decon 7. But the videos also made some very false claims about how Covid spreads. They claim that the virus can multiply if left on a surface. This is false. Of course, fortunately they had the solution: Decon 7.

It’s important to illustrate that there is nothing wrong with Decon 7 if USED PROPERLY. Just as there is nothing wrong with bleach or ammonia if used properly. But if used incorrectly, it can be incredibly dangerous. That is what the Church is doing with Decon 7. They are dangerously misusing it.

The videos also demand that public carry around D7 with them at all times and disinfect everything from their car steering wheel to their grocery bags. The video showed a graphic of someone spraying their GROCERIES with D7. All Scientologists were told that in order to be on services, they had to wear a mask and gloves at all times while not in their home. They were also required to follow ALL the other mandates of the videos. If you refused, you were told that you could not be on service until you complied.

At Flag (in Clearwater, Florida), you are Meter checked every time you come for service. They ask if you’ve violated any of the protocols. Of course, a tremendous amount of people refused. And simply weren’t allowed on service.

Remember, the program claims that if the protocols are followed, no one should get sick for any reason. As this is obviously not how anything works, people would get sick. Whenever this would happen, the org would come under fire for having “allowed them to violate the protocols.” Staff were comm eved (court martialed). Public were comm eved.

I also know of Scientologists who have died of Covid 19. The local org gets blamed. [Note: We’ve also reported on a few of those deaths here at the Bunker, — ed.]

The other thing to understand is that the Class V staff are mostly NOT in favor of these protocols. But, as with a lot in Scientology, it’s easier to comply, to just go with it, than to resist. The punishment for resisting, even if the person resisting is fully backed by LRH written material, is too gruesome, the Scientologist thinks, to undertake.

It’s difficult to get an actual number on this, but by my estimation, I would say that a third of active Scientologists outright refused to follow the protocols and were vocal about it. Another third didn’t outright refuse, but quietly disagreed. And the final third just go with it, no matter how they feel about it.

The Sea Org have it far worse. There is no opportunity for vocal disagreement. No one would dare. Many at the PAC base haven’t been allowed to leave the base since 2020. Even now, hardly anyone is getting any time off.

Probably the most ridiculous of the protocols is the quarantine mandate. How this affects public, staff and Sea Org members is slightly different. For the public, it means paying to stay in one of the SO hotels for two weeks during the mandatory quarantine, before being allowed to go onto services. Usually at the public’s expense. For staff, it meant that if you had so much as a runny nose, you were sent home for two weeks.

I want take a minute to point out something on this. Anyone that has been on staff in the past knows how hard it is to get off if you’re sick. Unless you’re quite literally dying (and even then, not always), you stay on post. “Mist on a mirror” and all that. That’s how it’s always been. Now, all of the sudden, you get to take two weeks off if you get sick. These are people who wouldn’t be permitted to take two weeks off for their own mother’s funeral, and now, if they so much as cough, they get to go home.

This creates a horrible dilemma for the staff member. They “like” the protocols, because they get to have more time off than they’ve ever had. It’s a bind. It’s very cruel. There are also a significant amount of Class V staff that are not able to be in the org because of the adverse reactions to Decon 7. They are sent home and made to call publics to come in for services. But it sure beats being at the org. This creates a situation where the staff hate it, but also kind of don’t want the protocols to end. But the Sea Org had it the worst.

Quarantine in the SO means two weeks in a room alone. You have nothing to read unless you brought something. You have no way to communicate to anyone outside. You have no way of knowing when you will actually get out. Why they insist on “two weeks,” I don’t know. It’s just one of those arbitrary things. But many spent months in there. Either consecutively, or recurringly. The quarantine space was on the upper floors of the big blue Scientology building that anyone will recognize.

The only time the SO member gets to leave their room is while it’s being fogged and wiped down with Decon 7. Then they are immediately shoved back in there – in complete violation of the safety protocols the Decon 7 manufacturer provides. So it’s not only complete isolation, you’re being actively poisoned. And if you show any symptoms of illness, you get to stay in there even longer. If that’s not torture, then what is?

And that was all still BEFORE the vaccine mandate. Once the vaccine mandate was issued (in August of 2021), everything changed.

Imagine this, you’re a perfectly compliant Sea Org member. You’ve never violated a single protocol. When they say “Jump,” you say “How high?” But then you’re told to get the vaccine. Maybe you don’t want to. Maybe you have had a lifetime of false information on vaccines shoved down your throat, and you BELIEVE that it will irreparably harm you. So you refuse. Well now you get to go to “quarantine,” until you change your mind.

You weren’t displaying any symptoms of illness. You always wore a mask and gloves. You would have brushed your teeth with Decon 7 if they told you to. But now YOU are going to “quarantine” any way. If you give in and take the vaccine, you’re told not to tell the public or your family about it.

L Ron Hubbard wrote something he called the “Code of Honor.” In it he says that one’s integrity is more important than their immediate life. Sea Org members are being forced to violate their own integrity. It’s not a matter of whether the vaccine is “correct” or “incorrect.” The issue is being forced into doing something that violates your subjective understanding of what is good and bad. Understand that this almost more damaging to them mentally than even the insane work schedule they follow, or any if the cruel and unusual punishments. Because those punishments don’t fundamentally violate their integrity. They think that’s helping them be better SO members.

Perhaps, if any had the opportunity to research the vaccine themselves, these SO members would take it of their own accord. But they aren’t given that opportunity. Not only that, and this is crucial, taking the vaccine did not improve the situation for them. Everyone was told that if everyone’s vaccinated, the mandates would be lifted. But the only thing that changed is that the public no longer have to quarantine when coming to PAC Base for services. Everything is still in effect. The masks, the gloves, the quarantine. Everything.

Here you have a situation where people have been forced into doing something which fundamentally violates their integrity. Sea Org members are forced into doing a tremendous amount of horrific things which, to anyone not in the group, seems absolutely insane. But it doesn’t violate their integrity. Being forced to work 20+ hours a day fits into the framework of “saving the planet”. Taking a vaccine and being forced to quarantine for weeks or months, doesn’t.

This is a unique situation in that the cognitive dissonance has never been greater amongst staff and Sea Org members. In response to this, management is clinging on to personnel even tighter. But this will ultimately just drive people out faster. If you’re under the radar and reading this, please speak out. You don’t have to publicly leave the Church. I think it’s better you don’t. But use your position to expose to the world what’s actually going on.

Scientology is inching ever closer to the edge of ruin, and your information could be the push needed to send it into complete free fall. Don’t wait.

— An Insider

 
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Continuing our year in review: The stories of June 2021

Early in June we went beyond the Covid bailout loans that had gone to Scientology organizations and looked at the individual Scientologists who had scored bailouts, from Rebecca Minkoff to Grant Cardone.

Still marveling over how things had gone at Danny Masterson’s criminal preliminary hearing in Los Angeles the month before, we couldn’t help wondering whether David Miscavige was calling the shots in Masterson’s defense.

On June 7, we were back in Los Angeles and covered another set of hearings — both criminal and civil — in Danny Masterson’s case. Gosh, it’s fun to be there in person. After the criminal arraignment, Masterson was asked how he felt and he said, “I feel fantastic.”

We had earlier reported that Danny Masterson was pursuing some bizarre federal litigation over his Hollywood Hills home, was acting as his own attorney, and was refusing to pay his mortgage. In June we noticed that not only had his lawsuit been dismissed, but the bank that held the home’s note was making some moves suggesting that Danny’s time was running out to make good on his payments. Not long after we noticed that, he put the house up for sale.

New Ideal Org grand openings have been on hold because of the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped the constant pressure of fundraising. And in June we got leaked a pretty amazing look at the kind of rah-rah money grubbing that’s been going on for the Austin Ideal Org.

On June 17 we had another bombshell over at the Daily Beast: Text messages seized from private investigators who had stalked Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez for Scientology. Wow!

The next day, we dealt with a crushing loss. Molly “Puget Buckeye” Kell succumbed to cancer, after sharing her ordeal with other commenters. We posted a collection of her comments to remember what a wonderful member of our community she was.

Minor Scientology celebrities Kerri Kasem and Rebecca Minkoff went out on public relations campaigns in June. Hip hip, hooray.

On June 24, we let the cat out of the bag that Ron Miscavige was nearing death, and was trying to raise some money to help his wife Becky with funeral costs. Of course there was no help coming from his son, Scientology leader David Miscavige who had unleashed a ferocious and constant “Fair Game” campaign against his father since Ron’s defection in 2012.

Four days later, we broke the news that Ron had left the building and published a warm remembrance by his co-author, Dan Koon. We appreciated Ron in so many ways, from his really quite great musicianship as a professional trumpet player, to his compassion for others who had been victimized by his son David. We were glad that we’d been speaking with him since shortly after his 2012 escape, and eventually met him in New York. He is greatly missed.

 
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2020: Scientology orgs were being boarded up for questionable reasons. Danny Masterson’s stepdad Rusty Tweed was sued for running a Ponzi scheme. Mark Bunker got bizarre records requests from Scientology. LA’s DA finally charged Danny Masterson for three rapes. And we pointed out there was a good reason he changed his DJ name in 2004, the year one of his alleged rape victims went to the LAPD. Derek Bloch wrote us another killer piece, on disconnection. And why Tom Mesereau’s private investigator might become a key witness for the prosecution>

A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2019: Chris Owen demonstrated how L. Ron Hubbard sought to prop up the apartheid government in South Africa in 1960s. Mark Bunker announced that he was going to run for city council in Clearwater. A national legal team starts its onslaught on Scientology, filing a lawsuit on behalf of Valerie Haney. Journal claims L. Ron Hubbard never falsely claimed to have a college degree, so we published a letter to prove it. HowdyCon took place in our ancestral homeland, Los Angeles. We didn’t get invited to Tommy Davis’s wedding.

A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2018: Chris Owen uncovered a previously unpublished and damning testament by the ‘world’s first true Clear,’ John McMaster. Actress Erika Christensen dropped a few interesting details in a conversation with Dax Shepard. HowdyCon was held in Chicago, and we revealed the cover of our new book with Paulette Cooper. Actor Christian Stolte was the star of the show with a song about Scientology. Sunny Pereira had three big pieces about a shooting in Portland, more about how children are raised in Scientology, and another slice of Sea Org horror.

A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2017: Leah Remini’s stepmother Donna Fiore was being hounded by Scientology for dirt on her stepdaughter. Handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff stepped up her support of Scientology front groups. Marty Rathbun started posting attack videos against his former allies, prompting responses from your proprietor, Gary Morehead, Victoria Britton, Paul Haggis, and John Brousseau. And HowdyCon 2017 went down in Denver.

A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2016: We marked Muhammad Ali’s passing with a look at a Scientology video he was in. We published Dani Lemberger’s “declare.” And we broke the news that Leah Remini was shooting a television series.

A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2015: We wrote about that time Jim Jones talked about Paulette Cooper from his Guyana compound. We wrote about a person in our book, the inspirational Len Zinberg. We did some live-blogging from the epic Toronto conference organized by Jon Atack. We broke the news that Scientologist Ponzi schemer Reed Slatkin had died. Some poor schlub went to prison after trying to hack Mike Rinder and your proprietor on behalf of Scientology. And we had our biggest audience yet with Paulette Cooper in Clearwater, the belly of the beast.

A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2014: Another distressing disconnection story: Where is Sami Sterne? A rare audio recording captures L. Ron Hubbard and his wife Mary Sue using an e-meter to come up with the space cooties portion of Scientology. Why we think Original OT 8 is not a hoax — the George White story.

A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2013: Channel 4’s documentary about Marty Rathbun, Scientologists at War, Neil Gaiman’s Scientology history behind his novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and Joe Childs on Denise Gentile’s blunts.

 
Five of our favorites from the most-upvoted comments of June 2021:

June 5: theetie weetie (aka Sunny)

Miscavige truly believes he is the smartest man in the world. And that just cracks me up to no end.

June 9: Science Doc

Danny might find it’s difficult to do a quick sale on the house with a lien from the bond company. This family is aggressively stupid.

June 17: Andrea “i-Betty” Garner

From the Daily Beast article: “The next day, Greene staked out Lopez’s apartment by Madison Square Park, and he and Lance joked about how Remini looked in a press photo, trying to decide if she was pregnant or not.” It’s the 21st century and still women are being mocked and degraded for their appearance. We know cruel name-calling is a go-to for Scientology on their fair game pages targeting women, so it’s no surprise that their PIs also look at a fantastically successful woman and feel the need to tear her down for her appearance. Leah Remini on a bad day is more beautiful than most of us on a good day but, frankly, that doesn’t even matter. What matters, and will continue to matter until it stops, is that this still happens. Please, don’t be that man.

June 18: chukicita

Molly. I don’t think I knew her name. I wish I could have told her how much it helped me, that she shared parts of her struggle with us with such grace and humor. Helped me understand a dear friend going through much the same, who also walked on this week. Her posts were among those I always read. She was always looking out for others, even as she faced incredible challenges of her own. It is nice to know that she also was loved by others who didn’t even know about the Bunker. What a beautiful example she set, our sweet Molly. Rest in power, Puget Buckeye.

June 28: Geoff Levin

Even though I knew this was coming for awhile, it’s never easy to lose a friend and someone who was a good person to everyone he touched. I performed with Ron a few times which was fun. And I was glad I could give back to him by using my musical and recording skills. Ron earned my respect and admiration. He was loved by many and that will not go unnoticed in the big picture.

 
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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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Source Code

“A good manager or executive works hard hour by hour to keep the show on the road but always with a long-term view as well. And he intends that org and staff will prosper. The auditor in Post Purpose Clearing will get a lot of glib answers. The stats, the honest ones, and the true long-term performance of the executive, measured by the health of his zone of responsibility, tell the tale and should be consulted when in doubt.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 26, 1981

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“SECOND DANGER FORMULA: (1) So that the Ship can get upgraded to EMERGENCY the following actions are to be done as indicated: (1:1) All Divisional Heads are requested to do a full star-rate check-out with the STO on the ‘Second DANGER Formula,’ (HCO PL 07 Feb 70, steps A-G). Time Machine Order 48 hours. (STO to inform FMAA at the end of 48 hrs of those who have checked-out.) (1:2) All Divisional Heads are requested to submit a complete and realistic application of the ‘Second DANGER Formula’ for their Division in writing to 3rd Mate, (CC). Time Machine Order of one week. (2) The intention is that the ship will be upgraded to EMERGENCY for the New Year, (AD 21).” — R.S. Prior, FMAA, December 26, 1970

Overheard in the FreeZone

“I’ve been told (scouting various sites and listening to interviews) that certain ‘aliens’ envy human bodies for their sensitivity and ability to emote and feel with sensitivity. Apparently theirs are constructed for war and space duty, and have a pretty drab existence (but less pain and injury — the apparent trade-off in this place and time). That said, auditing doesn’t seem to work as well on bodies being loaded down with animal flesh and animal products and chemicals that the body wasn’t designed to process. Living in such a body can sometimes indeed, fit the description of ‘hell.’ Expecting auditing to make a well and happy body without some attention to detox (Purif), seemingly can’t go too far for too long. Hence, the Purification Rundown.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2000: The Kalamazoo Gazette reported that Scientology has purchased a hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan. “The old Hart Hotel in downtown Battle Creek is being acquired by the Church of Scientology, which will renovate the 1930-built structure over the next three years. Local officials say they view the purchase as favorable for the community in that there will be an investment in historical and cultural assets, and perhaps an economic impact in the area, if church members frequent nearby restaurants and hotels.” An anonymous report was posted to a.r.s this week that the Royal Oak location of Scientology has closed. “The Royal Oak, Michigan Scientology office has shut down. There is now a bright shiny new ISP operating out of their former offices.”

 
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Random Howdy

“You’re better off trying to kick dope or booze at home than going to a Narconon. It would be safer and a hell of a lot cheaper. For 100 bucks you could get some benzos, Imodium, and prilosec and you’d be better off and safer than going to a Narconon cold turkey death camp.”

 
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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 hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29, 2022.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for January 18.
— 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 January 22 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.

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: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. 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.

 
——————–

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Is David Miscavige boarding up orgs in anticipation of inauguration riots?
[TWO years ago] Scientology has its dukes up for Boxing Day, but we’re still thinking of warmer days
[THREE years ago] Nation of Islam takes a bigoted swipe at Leah Remini and the ‘Jews’ behind her show
[FOUR years ago] 2017: In June, Rathbun became Scientology’s attack dog, but we got mile high in Denver
[FIVE years ago] Why would an academic speak up for Scientology? Dr. Stephen Kent has an answer.
[SIX years ago] On Boxing Day, we remember the last time Scientology tried to knock out the press
[SEVEN years ago] Give Scientology $1,000 and all you’ll get is this lousy T-shirt
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s 2013 in review: Madness set in as spring arrived!
[NINE years ago] Narconon Georgia Facing Closure: It Shouldn’t Have Taken a Death
[TEN years ago] Scientology Video of the Year: The Vote Is In!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 26, 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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 Our insider sent over another communication, this time to help explain the rise and fall of the “Chase Wave” racket in Scientology that we’ve been describing here thanks to a previous source who leaked us a document. In that document, Scientology registrars (“reg” or “regges” for short) were encouraged to lie to Chase Bank in [...]]]>

 
Our insider sent over another communication, this time to help explain the rise and fall of the “Chase Wave” racket in Scientology that we’ve been describing here thanks to a previous source who leaked us a document. In that document, Scientology registrars (“reg” or “regges” for short) were encouraged to lie to Chase Bank in order to open up massive zero-interest accounts for Scientologists and burden them with debt. This led to a backlash and the ending of the practice just a couple of years ago. Here’s the insider with more.

 
I just wanted to better explain how the Chase Wave started, and how and why it ended.

I don’t remember the exact year, but it was probably 2013 or 2014, when LA Ideal Org was taken over by the Sea Org. Prior to this, it had been Class V staff. The staff were given the option of being released from their contract immediately, or finishing the contract but not being allowed to re-sign at LA org. Most chose to leave. Shortly after being taken over by the SO, LA became the top producing Ideal Org on the planet.

In 2014, they were regularly making $500,000 a week. I saw the statistics at the time, in the building. They were really doing that. LA was quickly put on a pedestal. A “training program” was put together to teach Class V staff of other Ideal Orgs how to be like LA. What the program consisted of was a few LRH references, and then an apprenticeship with an LA org reg. Once they’re on the apprenticeship, that’s when they’re introduced to the Chase Wave stuff. Because this was an international training program, this practice became a worldwide phenomenon.

I want to describe some of what went on in a bit more detail:

The run of the mill practice was to get someone to apply for a bunch of credit cards, using their “household” income. So, if the young Scientologist lives with their parents, then the parents income goes on the form. Most of the cards applied for were “zero interest for X months.” This was all done with this idea that you can just transfer it to other zero percent interest cards after it expires.

Some public Scientologists even set up “businesses” to help people get credit and loans for Scientology services and Ideal Org donations, and somehow making a cut. Of course, that plan doesn’t work. The zero percent runs out, and you’re stuck paying thousands, just in interest. Many Scientologists have declared bankruptcy over it.

But even this wasn’t enough for the regges. The pressure was too much. As they began to actually make money, the demand for them to keep doing it increased. In order to get the money in more quickly, they started doing what they called “bridging” the loan.

So, Joe Blow Scientologist Public at Flag wants to do Super Power. He doesn’t have the credit to do it, but the reg is fairly confident he can get him the credit. The reg wants that money in TODAY. But credit cards take time to come in the mail, and all that sort of thing. So what they did is go to a few public (and honestly I don’t know how they convinced people to do this) but they would get someone to give them $35,000 to hold onto for these cycles. Instead of waiting for Joe Blow’s credit card to come in, they debit it off in his name from that account, and then pay it back when the card comes in. Joe never even knows who the money came from.

It started to break down because they started “bridging” before they had the funds secured. Joe Blow submits for approval for a card. Instead of waiting for confirmation, they bridge it (with someone else’s money). The card gets denied a few days later, and now Joe can’t pay it back. So, what happens then?

Well, you can’t give them a refund. But they want their money. So the options were 1) a personal loan from the public who made the agreement. 2) putting the money “back on account.”

1 failed almost invariably – for obvious reasons.

2 worked, but created enough upset to bring it to the attention of higher ups.

There was also other stuff going on, like the regges would run peoples’ cards without their permission, and then if the person complained, act like they thought it was authorized. If the person continued to complain its “you’re not asking for a refund are you?” And it would shut them up. Had this happen to me.

This is how every reg cycle since about 2014 to the end of 2019 was done. It was so successful at bringing in money, that any other forms of regging became immediately obsolete.

Another thing to understand is that once they ran out of public, they started regging the staff. Class V and Sea Org members racked up tens of thousands, paying for their own Bridge – something that should have been free to them.

SO members from all over the PAC base were paying to do their Purif at LA org. Of course, all of this is being reported up-lines as “incredible expansion,” and “new highest evers.”

I don’t know exactly how, but somehow COB [Scientology leader David Miscavige] caught on to this.

Just prior to the pandemic, he put on a big briefing for the staff at PAC. He removed every single reg on the planet from their post. I’m dead serious. It was the biggest reorganization I’ve seen in Scientology. They basically had to re-staff the reg network from existing Sea Org members. As well as figure out what to do with the former ones.

I don’t have all the details on how this was addressed, but I know that many were comm eved [court-martialed] and declared [excommunicated]. Some were threatened with legal action or being reported to the police (kicked to the curb), others were sent to whatever they’ve substituted for the RPF. But I haven’t heard from some regges that I’ve known for 20 years. They’re just gone.

Many public who had paid money to “bridge” were given their money back, and many staff who had paid for services had their credit debt taken over by the SO. No, seriously.

Don’t mistake this as me advocating for COB. I find it completely disturbing actually. The pressure brought upon these regges. What other option did they have? Who’s going to be the person to stand up to it and say “this is wrong and we should stop doing it”. No one. Had anyone done that, they would have been attacked, called counter intention, suppressive, and so on.

But then Miscavige gets up there and cancels it. Well, what now? There’s no money left. Well, ironically, from their perspective, thank god for COVID 19…

Here’s why I think that:

Covid took attention away from the MASSIVE financial scandal. It also allowed the Church to get, who knows how much, in PPP and SBA loans – which is the only way I can imagine any of the orgs are surviving. But it’s just delaying the inevitable. The demon will get his pound of flesh, in my opinion, because of the bank fraud.

It’s a Federal crime and It’s actually also a crime per Scientology justice codes “obtaining money under false pretenses” I am nearly certain that every Ideal Org in the USA from the last eight years has at least one instance of a public committing bank fraud in order to make donations. Most commonly, this was done by having the person get a business loan, ostensibly to fund their business, and then they turn around and give most or all of it to the Church.

You have to understand that it’s a matter of “the ends justify the means” as far as Scientologists were concerned. Regges would brag about their skill at pulling one over on the credit card companies. There was this entire atmosphere of “we have the inside line.”

When in reality, it was just tired overworked people, doing what they’re being told to do. What option do they really have when it’s the difference between sleeping or not sleeping. How many people can really say they would have had the integrity to be the ONE willing to stand up to the MANY. Especially when the many feels they are literally saving the world, and your objection to their crimes, means objecting to “freedom of all mankind.” It’s a snake that eats its own tail.

When I said that it was put an end to prior to the pandemic, this is what I mean. Do I think that there are still people getting credit cards and perhaps even bank loans to give it all away to Scientology? Absolutely! But if so, it’s done quietly and off the main lines of the org.

Just imagine the chaos ensuing right now. All these public and staff racked up thousands in credit, and then COVID hit. How were they paying for it? They weren’t. Consider for a moment how many active Scientologists are up to their eyeballs in debt. It’s most of them. How else was anyone going to pay for Bridge? Scientology public have very little money. There the wealthy few. But by and large, the well has dried up. The orchard is bare. That’s why again, I agree that Scientology is on a precipice.

I really hope that someone else who’s still in speaks out now. Don’t wait. We have a chance. It may be a slim one, but if no one speaks out for two years, it will have slipped away.

As Scientology loves to say The time is NOW!

— An Insider

 
Proprietor’s note: We’ll point out that “bridging loans” are actually a longtime practice in Scientology. Chris Shugart, for example, described it quite well in his 2018 book “Fractured Journey” about his experiences in the 1980s, when he was pressured to make several bridging loans to other Scientologists trying to pay for their courses.

We also asked our insider for their thoughts on the devastating leak from the NY Ideal Org, showing alarmingly low statistics and high debts for overhead which Mike Rinder posted at his blog yesterday. Here’s what our insider said:

 
I’m not shocked about the stats. I am encouraged that someone in the org is willing to leak them.

Covid has decimated the staffs. People have left in droves. Some haven’t officially routed off, but are not on post because of the adverse reactions to Decon 7. This is very common.

The staff are mostly not in agreement with the protocols. Many, I suspect, are reaching their breaking point as Rinder’s source must have.

They begrudgingly comply. The program said it would be a “brief period.” Yet it’s lasted almost two years. It’s true that Purif may not be delivered by class V. But it’s also SRD. Yet all the Sea Org orgs still deliver both services. Just another way they’re robbing the Staffs of their publics and decent pay.

There is no official reason given that I know of for WHY they can’t deliver these services.

— An Insider

 
——————–

The celebs come through for R6 Christmas

Scientology’s celebrities came through as Scientology once again co-opted a holiday, Christmas, that its founder said was just an implant forced on human beings by Xenu the evil galactic overlord.

Happy to help out with that deception this time was Jenna Elfman, Erika Christensen, and Michelle Stafford, pictured here in a Scientology press release. Also on hand was Nancy Cartwright as the annual celebration telling “Christmas stories” and giving the LAPD a big check was held in Hollywood.

 
Deceiving the public about what your “church” is all about: It’s the reason for the season!

 
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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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Source Code

“Hitler didn’t have any trouble with a large section of his population. He just put them all in concentration camps and that was it. And it’s that kind of a game if you want to look at it. It’s not the game of government and who will we elect and democracy über alles, or something, it’s not all that kind of a government. It’s just the kind of a government, well, there they are nicely out of the running, everybody is out of the running, isn’t that nice. And things are just barely ticking over, and we’re not going to be troubled by those fellows from the 18th Panzer Division that put up such a hell of a fight on Exnoo. We’re not going to be troubled with them anymore because we got them implanted very nicely, and they’ve all been sent down to Earth, and the mores of the society there will take care of everything And they will never be in circulation again as space jockeys. It’s that kind of thinking, you see?” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 20, 1961

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“Kindliness note: FEBC students and public students are no longer thrown overboard at Flag. It went out in ’68. We haven’t thrown anyone overboard for just ages. There hasn’t even been a low condition assigned on Flag for a couple of years. However, with new recruits aboard and the decks getting dirty…” — The Commodore, December 20, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“For those who wonder if I’m a Scientologist, all I can say is: If LRH is the individual I think that person is, I’m pretty sure I’d take a bullet thru the head for that individual. If I felt quite sure it was the best possible way to keep the only Scientology I believe in going.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: The St. Petersburg Times reported that Scientology has purchased an empty apartment building in Clearwater. “The Church of Scientology has purchased a vacant 13-story high-rise downtown that will house more than 600 new staff members in another step in Scientology’s unprecedented expansion in the city. The church last week closed the deal to buy the nearly 2-acre property for $5-million from a nonprofit corporation, BEF Inc., which does business as the Oaks of Clearwater. Scientology leaders have had their eye on the property, known as Oak Cove, for years. It is within two blocks of the massive Flag Building under construction downtown and across Osceola Avenue from the western facade of the church’s Fort Harrison Hotel complex. In the past, city officials expressed concern about the church’s possible acquisition of Oak Cove, considering it a prime piece of property for downtown redevelopment. The high-rise sits on Clearwater’s bluff overlooking Clearwater Harbor. On Wednesday, City Manager Bill Horne said simply, ‘Any kind of residential living in the area has to be construed as a plus for downtown.'”

Random Howdy

“12:35! Oh shit, there goes another day shot to hell.”

 
——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29, 2022.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for December 21.
— 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 January 22 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.

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: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9, 2020 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: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.

 
——————–

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology social media: Planetary conquest still on track even as orgs are boarded up
[TWO years ago] Phil and Willie check up on a Scientology eyesore, and a prisoner of The Hole resurfaces
[THREE years ago] Bill Franks, 1946-2018, appointed by Hubbard to ‘reform’ Scientology after Snow White scandal
[FOUR years ago] AUDIO: David Miscavige’s claim that Mexico has officially recognized Scientology as a religion
[FIVE years ago] The fight over the secrets on a Scientology spy’s seized laptop that no one is talking about
[SIX years ago] Augustine: Compton scam rehab and ‘literacy crusade’ have vanished since raid
[SEVEN years ago] Jon Atack looks back at his final Scientology auditing session — and how he broke free
[EIGHT years ago] Tom Cruise drops his disastrous suit against Bauer Media and its magazines
[NINE years ago] Scientology in 2012: John Sweeney, Paulette Cooper, and More Look Back on a Year of Crisis for the Church
[TEN years ago] Scientology Kids: Fully Indoctrinated by 18

 
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——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on December 20, 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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 We had quite a reaction to the leak from our “Insider” yesterday, who laid out a dire situation for Scientology as the pandemic drags on…

— Sea Org members in Los Angeles were required to take the Covid vaccine, but because Scientologists are so anti-vaxx by nature, the SO members are required to lie about getting [...]]]>

 
We had quite a reaction to the leak from our “Insider” yesterday, who laid out a dire situation for Scientology as the pandemic drags on…

— Sea Org members in Los Angeles were required to take the Covid vaccine, but because Scientologists are so anti-vaxx by nature, the SO members are required to lie about getting vaccinated in order not to upset public members coming for services.

— Scientology continues its early-Pandemic PR relations act by masking up and wearing gloves and spraying surfaces with disinfectant “Decon 7” daily, even though it’s long been known that risk from surfaces is minimal. The use of the toxic Decon 7 is so overdone, it is threatening the health of Scientologists.

— The ‘Chase Wave’ was a real phenomenon that was shut down after it caused backlashes from banks, and regges were punished as scapegoats.

— With Scientologists tapped out financially, harassed and bullied over their health, and events still on hold, the organization is on a precipice.

We asked for some reactions to this description of the chaos gripping Scientology. Here was Mike Rinder’s reaction:

Fascinating insight. It all rings too true. There are some specifics that match closely with things I am hearing from another Ideal Org that I will be putting on my blog soon.

This Scientology response reminds me of the over-the-top reaction to the Y2K predictions of economic and societal collapse at the end of 1999. There was a massive effort within, overseen by Shelly Miscavige at the time, to purchase food and “self-sufficiency” necessities, from generators and batteries and gold coins to use for barter when currency became useless etc, etc. It was a HUGE deal and it was treated VERY seriously.

Scientology takes things to ridiculous extremes. It seems to go along with the fundamentalist mindset. Always extreme all the time.

I found it amusing that they have to hide their vax status from the public. I can imagine Miscavige dictating the super strict requirements to ensure he was protected — which is what all those measures are no doubt about. Nobody else has the authority needed to implement blanket orders on all Sea Org members. But they know their public and were right to keep it secret. What a contradiction: Hubbard the anti-medical, government conspiracy pusher has fostered a largely anti-vax conspiracy theory group of people who are now led by a germaphobe paranoiac who insists on draconian measure to keep himself safe. Reads like something out of Mission Earth.

 
And from our “Chase Wave” source…

The biggest story within Scientology is the coercive vaccination of Sea Org members alluded to in yesterday’s story. While you and I are happy to get the vaccine, as you know Scientologists are rabidly antivaxx. Currently Sea Org members are being made to read a Church-produced materials on how they should get vaccinated as their only source of information on the Covid vaccine. If the Sea Org member still doesn’t want to get the vaccine they are taken off post, put in isolation (a bedroom by themself), not allowed to contact family and separated from their spouse until they agree to get vaccinated. Some Sea Org members have been in this type of isolation for months.

The amazing thing is the public Scientologists don’t know this as the Church dares not tell them because most public are so antivax. An article encouraging your under-the-radar readers to ask their SO friends and family over the Christmas holidays if they’re been vaccinated might be really impactful. If there was any way for you to get that pamphlet from your other sources it would also be a big deal. Of course the Church will destroy everything if they know you’re after it.

All that said, I think the use/misuse of Decon7 is a much bigger story. I am trying to get some more on this for you.

 
Chris Shelton weighed in…

The Church is actively causing its own demise with the enforcement of its own cult-level protocols. One can only marvel at the karmic justice of this while at the same time lamenting the fact that actually well-intentioned staff and Sea Org members are having to suffer so painfully for their fanatical devotion to a destructive cult.

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When the Basics were first released, there were blows almost every week for quite a while when the most draconian of controls and disciplines were enacted at Big Blue. This sounds like a very similar environment has now been created within the entire Scientology world, not just in the Sea Org. In fact, this sounds significantly worse than the Basics and believe me, I never thought I’d see things get so bad again.

I’m blown away by the idea that enforced isolation has become such a fad across the Sea Org. I can only wonder what Miscavige must be thinking to order such a thing at all levels. There is zero question – absolutely none whatsoever – that Miscavige is the brainchild of this disaster.

I agree that the three things listed by the Insider are big problems for Scientology, but because I have to be honest, I don’t see the Church of Scientology being brought to its knees by any of these things or a combination of them in the next year.

I agree that the Masterson case is very important. But any reasoned look at Scientology’s litigation history and the court’s history with Scientology has to allow for the possibility of legal runarounds and the Church’s involvement being minimized if not outright banned in the court. At the end of the day, the only one charged with a crime in that court room is Danny Masterson.

I am not quite as optimistic that a single bank fraud incident is a keystone to bringing the Church down. It is common sense and obvious that a federal crime should indeed threaten their tax exempt status, but that assumes a LOT of steps between the crime being committed (which we know has happened) and law enforcement and then the courts actually doing something about it, and then the IRS stepping up to do something about it after that case is successfully tried. Lots of dominoes lined up there and so far not one of them has fallen despite lots of very good reasons we all thought they should.

If the Church’s handling of the pandemic is as bad as the Insider describes, I think we are going to indeed be hearing from a lot more people in the not-too-distant future about their Scientology escape and abuses they endured. This treatment, especially sustained over too-long a period of time is tantamount to torture and that’s not what keeps people in a cult. Whether MIscavige has just lost his mind or he’s so paranoid about catching COVID that he’s enforcing all this or a million other possible reasons for this madness, I can honestly say I’m surprised to hear that things have gotten so bad so quickly and I look forward to hearing further corroboration and reports from the Insider and others. Scientology is always nothing if not interesting but now I really am wondering if this accelerated abuse might not really bring that end we all want to see.

 
We also heard from Claire Headley…

I know I’ve heard many stories that line up to what the new insider is talking about, particularly in relation to credit card and bank loans. As for that now being a thing of the past, sure, I’ve no doubt that was “announced” – just the same as it was after the Time magazine disaster in the early 90s, and several times since then. Scientology will always be a money-grubbing, statistic driven, commercialized organization pushing hard to add money to their coffers. Given that fact, it is inevitable it will continue, in whatever form it has now transmuted into.

In relation to the pandemic, yes, I’ve heard corroborating statements from a few sources in relation to gloves and masks. As for the spraying, that doesn’t sound like much of a stretch to me. Same for quarantines, and shutting down the orgs. First pandemic, so no doubt they came up with some crazy answers to that, as they do with everything.

In relation to the vaccine: Personally, my experience was not that all Scientologists are anti-vaxers. Anti psych? 100 percent. Anti psych drugs? Absolutely, no question, no doubt about it. But in the case of vaccinations, at least in my 30 years in Scientology, I never thought nor experienced that everyone was anti vaccine. Maybe 50/50, but even that, seems high to me. Certainly I wasn’t raised anti vaccine, and my mother wasn’t either. There were a few times when flu shots were provided and administered to all Base staff in the years I worked in Hemet, as another example. Perhaps there was a massive vaccine push in Pac. I know I’ve heard of other areas where it was absolutely optional. For what that’s worth.

And lastly, to this insider, if you have, in fact, woken up and are exposing the truth, please consider breaking free entirely and starting your life over. That would make complete sense and be the logical thing for you to do. The Aftermath Foundation would love to help you make a fresh start! And undoubtedly, you have plenty of useful information you can provide to authorities once you’re free. I would certainly be concerned if you’re planning to stay just to leak information. Either way, best of luck!

 
As for our insider, they sent along this image of a document that they say was issued fairly early in the pandemic, which helps corroborate what they told us yesterday…

 
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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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Source Code

“There’s a fellow by the name of Einstein passed some laws relating to the speed of light. And you get up to the speed of light, I understand, and you stop right there. And I hope that they don’t hear about this out in the outer planets there, because they’d have to drop those speedometers off. Because these boys going two or three times the speed of light there, as they just start to travel, would be embarrassed if they knew they couldn’t do that. And so somebody’d better inform them before they’re embarrassed by having this discovered about themselves.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 19, 1953

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“The Port Anchor Chain was not washed and mud is reported in the chain locker. This should be run out and cleaned up properly.” — The Commodore, December 19, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“The MEST universe is basically a theta trap. So some OT abilities does not work until you’re inside a meat body.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

2000: The Deseret News reported that Scientology will host Santa Claus at an event at the org. “The Church of Scientology, 1931 S. 1100 East, will host Santa Claus for Sugar House-area children starting at noon today. Santa will listen to all the children’s wishes, and the public is invited. The Church of Scientology’s sermon at 10 a.m. Sunday at the church will be ‘How to Aid Your Fellow Man.’ People of all faiths are welcome.”

 
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Random Howdy

“The comments sections on the CCHR vids on YouTube are this uber weird mix of Scientologists and the mentally ill who gravitate to this bullshit because it justifies them not taking their meds. It makes for some very unusual reading.”

 
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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 hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29, 2022.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for December 21.
— 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 December 17 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.

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: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9, 2020 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: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.

 
——————–

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Secrets of Scientology ‘Super Power’: The best testimonial we’ve seen yet
[TWO years ago] ‘Have you got a head?’ — Listen in to Scientology as a wacky group experience
[THREE years ago] Scientology threatened to sue over last night’s episode, settled for sliming Leah & Mike instead
[FOUR years ago] KID CORPS: Scientology wanted cadets as young as 6 dealing out justice to each other
[FIVE years ago] Live-blogging Leah Remini’s special episode tonight: Get a load of these miscreants!
[SIX years ago] Witness: Compton scam rehab was a special Scientology project — how high does it go?
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s Craigslist expert issues new instructions after so much ad flagging
[EIGHT years ago] How Scientology ‘ethics’ creates your very own Truman Show
[NINE years ago] L. Ron Hubbard’s “Secret Lives” — A Channel 4 Classic
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s Scourge, Paulette Cooper, Visits with the Voice

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on December 19, 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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 For several days we have been communicating with a new source who claims to have devastating inside information about the current state of the Church of Scientology.

This source is well inside the church itself, and is in a position to continue to bring us information about what is going on. So for that reason, we [...]]]>

 
For several days we have been communicating with a new source who claims to have devastating inside information about the current state of the Church of Scientology.

This source is well inside the church itself, and is in a position to continue to bring us information about what is going on. So for that reason, we are going to do our best to protect their identity and position. For now, we wanted to show you a lengthy message they gave us summarizing what they say is the damage the pandemic has done to the organization, and the impossible situation that many current Scientologists find themselves in. We are stunned by this information, and we are looking forward to reactions from our longtime experts in the field. Here is this source’s summation of Scientology’s current chaos.

 
When the pandemic struck, the Church’s response was a program which laid out “protocols” that all staff and all public Scientologists had to follow. These included wearing a mask and gloves at all times while not in your own home, as well as other rigid mandates, some of which bordered on impossible to follow.

The most ridiculous mandate was that the staff of Class V orgs had to keep a statistic of “Number of Sick or Ill public and staff.” In order to advance to the “second phase” of the program, there had to be a continuous statistic of ZERO sick staff or public. I’m not just talking about Covid. It demands zero illness of any kind. The program claims that if the protocols are followed, there’s no reason anyone would get sick. Additionally, the local area had to show a reduced number of Covid cases.

I know of no Class V org in the US that has advanced to the next phase of the program.

As an addendum to this, the staff were required to clean the building with Decon 7, from top to bottom, every single day. They still do this to this day. The chemical which they are using is safe when used as per its instructions. That’s not what they’re doing. They’re overusing and misusing it.

People are having severe reactions to being exposed to this chemical. Fainting, rashes, diarrhea, epileptic seizures, migraines, strokes. All of that has happened to staff and Sea Org members. The church ignores or actively covers it up.

Any staff or public found to have been “violating the protocols” were hit with Justice. I know of many people who were comm eved because they got sick. [A “committee of evidence” or “comm ev” is Scientology’s version of a court martial — ed.]

There are people who have been torn off of the OT levels I-III (the supposed “non-interference zone”) to be comm eved for getting sick.

The Chase Wave stuff was basically put an end to officially by COB two years ago, just prior to the pandemic. [Scientologists refer to leader David Miscavige as “COB,” for “Chairman of the Board.” — ed.] Every reg on the planet, save one or two, was removed from post. Many were declared. And honestly, it wasn’t just Chase. It was every and any financial institution that would give them money. All of the Ideal Orgs were funded with money obtained under false pretenses. The credit fraud is one thing, but the bank fraud will sink the ship.

I mention this only to illustrate this point: prior to the cancelation of this stuff, pretty much all donations were being done this way. That’s for Bridge, IAS, Ideal Org, everything. All of my donations (which are considerable) were done this way.

The reality is, Scientology is exorbitantly expensive. Your average Joe Scientologist doesn’t have the cash.

So, if that’s not happening any more, where’s the money coming from?

All the Class V orgs actually shut down for seven months in 2020. This was, in some cases, due to local government mandates. But most orgs were not required by law to shut down. This is unprecedented. Never in Scientology’s history have all Class V orgs been shut down, until now. And it was done by order of COB. (Which ironically LRH said was an act of Treason.)

This was particularly egregious because the Sea Org bases were never closed down. They were allowed to continue delivering services. So, all the public who would have been doing services at their orgs, bringing them what little pittance of an income they would get, vanished.

Now of course, like with anything in Scientology, the Sea Org didn’t make it easy. If you wanted to go do your Bridge at LA org or Flag, you had to quarantine for two weeks, at your expense, in their hotels. Some were made to sign a document stating that they would be comm eved if they got Covid. [“Flag” is a reference to the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida, one of Scientology’s “Advanced Orgs,” along with Los Angeles. The “Bridge to Total Freedom” is the increasingly expensive progression of auditing levels offered at these locations. — ed.]

You have to walk around the base with a mask and gloves at all times, living in more fear than usual. But the public had it easy when compared to the staff. As I said, I know of many who were comm eved.

One example of this is a guy who was a staff member himself and ran a business which employs several staff. A customer of the business was diagnosed with Covid. No one else got sick from the encounter, and yet the Owner/ Staff member was comm eved for having “endangered the org” because all of those staff had to quarantine for two weeks. Basically you’re not allowed to earn money at the org because we’ve closed the doors and stolen all your public, but you’re not allowed to make money privately either, because you’re endangering the org.

But the Sea Org have it worse. At PAC, prior to the vaccine mandate, all the protocols applied. Masks, gloves, D7. But their quarantine was a little different. [The “Pacific Area Command” or “PAC” is the name for Scientology’s headquarters in Los Angeles on Fountain Avenue, also called “Big Blue” — ed.]

You are made to stay in a room alone for a minimum of two weeks. There’s no reading material provided, you have no communication outside of written letters (which may days to get answered). In some cases, water wasn’t even provided unless specifically requested, and paid for, by the Sea Org member! After the two weeks, you take a Covid test. If it’s negative and you have “no symptoms” then you get back to work. If you still have “symptoms” you’re stuck in there indefinitely.

Now of course, the use of a quarantine to mitigate the spread of disease is a perfectly reasonable idea. But Scientology has a way of turning the reasonable into insane. They will send you to quarantine if you so much as sniffle. Not only that, but if someone in an office of 20 people didn’t feel good (Not had Covid, just didn’t feel good!) the entire office would be sent to quarantine for two weeks, just to be safe. Some people spent months in quarantine. MONTHS. With no contact other than someone bringing you food, and the daily spraying of toxins.

As a side note: per the Decon 7 instructions, any room cleaned with the spray or fogger is meant to be allowed to off-gas for several hours and all surfaces must be wiped with water to ensure no Decon 7 residue remains. They didn’t do that. It’s spray spray spray, get back in your room. It’s just basically a very heavy-handed method of control. And virtually no one is getting time off. Most of them haven’t left the PAC base for almost two years.

Then the vaccine mandate comes out. You have to understand that most Scientologists, especially the Sea Org, are incredibly antivax.

Someone I know, a Sea Org member, was once written up and seen in ethics for “supporting big pharma” after she encouraged someone to get their kids the polio vaccine.

These people are seriously against vaccines.

Just imagine. Ordering them to get vaccinated is to them like ordering them to commit “out tech.” Many refused.

All who refused were sent into “quarantine” because by not getting vaccinated, they were “endangering the group.” Someone could have followed every protocol and mandate to the letter for almost two years, and then because they refuse the vaccine suddenly they’re a danger to the group and need to removed from it? It’s imprisonment.

Most broke after a week. The entire time, they’re being yelled at and berated by their seniors for not “doing the right thing” so they come back on post. They were told it was THEIR FAULT they were in there. After everyone broke, and it was reported that every Sea Org member had been vaccinated, PAC base lifted its “mandatory quarantine” for public. The registrars were very happy to use this as a grab for the public. Which is basically just extortion.

If you went to Flag, in Florida, you’d have to pay almost $2,000 just in accommodations, in order to quarantine. So it became “Come to AOLA and save money because you don’t have to quarantine.”

Of course, if anyone asks why only PAC base has this, no one will give you an answer (that the Sea Org staff are vaccinated). The Sea Org staff are instructed to lie if asked about it.

My own family, when I asked them if they had been vaccinated, lied to me. I’m not even anti vax! They lied because if it became known to Scientologists, there would be outrage.

I want this to be seen by those on the fence. Those who are fed up with this bullshit, but haven’t quite made the leap.

Seeing it will make these people realize that they’re being lied to. How they feel about vaccination doesn’t matter. It’s the lying about it.

You said that Scientology is on a precipice. I couldn’t agree with you more.

In my estimation, there three things which in combination could result in the total destruction of the organization in less than a year:

1) the outcome of the Masterson case.

If it is demonstrated in court that Scientology scripture forbids the reporting of criminal activity among members, the door will open to litigation like never before. And they probably wouldn’t be able to go the arbitration route either.

2) the Bank Fraud being committed.

I know about a lot of bank fraud committed. Credit Fraud is one thing, but this a federal crime. One single case would be enough to demand the IRS revoke tax exemption

3) the Church’s handling of the pandemic.

This is what’s happening RIGHT NOW in Scientology and has never happened before. You hear the same kind of stories of abuse over and over again. This is different. This is new. And it’s destructive.

— An Insider

 
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Jon Atack and Jeffrey Augustine

 
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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.

 
——————–

Source Code

“Let’s take the ant kingdom. The ants have been granted beingness. The ants themselves are not a beingness — that is, an independent beingness, such as a thetan. And here we get an oddity; we get an oddity in behavior in terms of ants. You go around and trifle with an ant. As a thetan, you go around and you start pushing around an ant: put a beam through his head, short-circuit out some of the working parts, make him walk in small circles, and you immediately start getting this, the idea that there’s something someplace that is getting awfully mad at you. Funny, isn’t it?” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 18, 1953

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“MISSION ACCOUNTS UK: COMMANDER HANA ELTRINGHAM and FELICE GREEN are very much welcomed back. They did a fine job straightening up accounts at WW, SH and Pubs. As an added bonus they found Pubs was owed about £300,000, nearly 3 times what it owes and that SH was owed over £90,000 and £50,000. SMERSH is noted as active in Edinburgh in the form of our being worked on to make us unpopular. Well, they can try. The Mission did a great and very long job. They are highly commended.” — The Commodore, December 18, 1968

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Everyone’s postulates work. They are all working. Old postulates, present time postulates, and future postulates. Problem is, people don’t always know what their postulates are, they are busy convincing themselves that their latest show is the ‘true me’ to the point they don’t even realize they are lying about their own postulates. It isn’t about changing reality according to your will, that is just a side show for an OT showing off when done overtly. When done covertly, it is just painting a false picture around a person by feeding them false information. Future is determined by individual and individual+majority placing their agreed upon ideas of the future there. Individuals mostly not know what their postulates are, many exceptions to this of course, and also they not know that their first postulate is not know. You have to be able to not-know that you are not knowing in order to keep the game (with all its random factors) of life in motion.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1999: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an article including mention of the PR activity for the L. Ron Hubbard book A Very Strange Trip. “The very late L. Ron Hubbard had a best seller for a week. His book, A Very Strange Trip, was published in July and oddly enough appeared on The New York Times best-seller list, then vanished. And did I ever get into trouble with the Church of Scientology for poking a bit of fun at the book and the church. The church doesn’t have a sense of humor and never gives up on its critics, first writing a letter to the editor about me, then demanding a meeting with the boss. Even then, they had the last word (or do I?). Just so I wouldn’t forget, the church in St. Louis sent along two of its big books that now take up space on the end of my desk just in case I need to know quickly what Scientology is and how L. Ron’s e-meter works. A columnist for another newspaper wrote about the book and reports that he received the same treatment, first telephone calls to his editors seeking his home telephone number, then letters and demands for equal time. Then he wrote a sequel, ‘How rigor-mortis affects penmanship,’ or ‘How dead is he?’ and the fur fairly flew again. He’s sworn off L. Ron and the Scientology L. Ronnettes for good. It’s not worth the grief, he says.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“I think it’s safe to say at this point in the proceedings that the reason things are so bad in the unchurch of Scientology aren’t due merely to Miscavige being dumb or incompetent. It’s obvious that he is a purposeful sadist who actively enjoys plotting new ways to torment his captive flock. He’s King Joffery, he’s Ivan the Terrible. He’s freaking nuts.”

 
——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29, 2022.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for December 21.
— 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 December 17 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.

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: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9, 2020 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: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.

 
——————–

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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Oof: Jane Doe #1’s own attorneys flubbed and ID’d her and her IP address in court documents
[TWO years ago] Why the IRS will likely do nothing about Mormon and Scientology illegal slush funds
[THREE years ago] Leah Remini asks ‘Where is Shelly’ as the Church of Scientology turns 65!
[FOUR years ago] When love triumphs over Scientology: A fairy tale of New York for the holidays
[FIVE years ago] Oh look, Scientology started a blog, and it already won an award
[SIX years ago] Compton scam rehab clinic definitely a Church of Scientology operation, witnesses say
[SEVEN years ago] Rick Ross has a new book that will help you get someone out of Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] Happy Birthday, Church of Scientology!
[NINE years ago] Joel Sappell Finds Former Scientology Enforcer Marty Rathbun To Be a Reluctant Whistleblower
[TEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: In the Sea Org at 18 and on Top of the World!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 18, 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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 The second week of March in 2020, as the pandemic was hitting the US, she was aboard the Freewinds in Curaçao.

An OT Scientologist, she’s very dedicated to the church, and she posts about it fairly frequently on Facebook, giving us a look at how the last couple of years has gone.

We thought we’d take a [...]]]>

 
The second week of March in 2020, as the pandemic was hitting the US, she was aboard the Freewinds in Curaçao.

An OT Scientologist, she’s very dedicated to the church, and she posts about it fairly frequently on Facebook, giving us a look at how the last couple of years has gone.

We thought we’d take a detailed look at how one Scientologist couple, at least, has weathered the storm.

On March 14, 2020, she reacted to news that the country was shutting down by posting advice from Scientology about keeping safe in a dangerous environment.

She linked to Scientology’s “How to Keep Yourself & Others Healthy” pages and to The Way to Happiness. She posted the “Spread a Smile” video with a “This is great!” on April 12.

With everyone in lockdown, she focused on gardening and cooking, and baking banana bread with her granddaughter.

On May 2, she posted Leigh Dundas’s speech from a boat in front of the state capitol in Sacramento. (We wrote about that around that time, and you can see it here.)

On May 5, she posted Scientology’s claim that it had no Covid cases at its Los Angeles headquarters. “I’m very proud to be part of Scientology for over 40 years,” she said.

On May 10, she posted an L. Ron Hubbard quote about a woman’s role in our society: “In the custody of Man is the current world and its activity and structure. In the charge of woman is the care of the person of the human being and his children. Almost sole custodian of tomorrow’s generation, she is entitled to much more respect than her chattel period of the past gave her. It is not, then, any wild Utopian thought that woman can be placed above the level hitherto occupied. And so she must be placed if the childhood of tomorrow’s generation is to reach any high standard, if homes are to be peaceful and unharassed and if society is to advance.”

On May 18, she posted a broadside from Rand Paul: “Of course, some minor shutdowns and inconveniences would happen with COVID. But trillions of dollars and 30 million job losses later, we have to ask — how long can we sustain this? I’m afraid the answer is not much longer. I stood up to the public health official’s scare tactics in the Senate this week.”

On May 27, she posted a Ron Paul quote: “Masks are just a form of psychological manipulation.”

On August 15, she and her husband celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary. They went out to a steakhouse to celebrate.

On August 27, her husband celebrated his 70th birthday.

On November 25, she indicated that she was in Aruba and doing the quarantine before going to the Freewinds. She also acknowledged to a friend that she planned to put her San Diego County house on the market the next month in preparation for moving to Texas. It was startling news for their friends: She had lived in the San Diego area since 1979.

After two weeks in quarantine, she was on the ship for a week, and then home for Christmas. She planned to go back to the ship soon.

On Valentine’s day 2021, she and her husband celebrated the quick sale of their California home with their realtor and looked forward to their move to Texas. It was a hot market, and in three days they had nine offers above asking price. In the meantime, they tried to visit as many of their favorite local restaurants as they could.

On March 7, they made the move. They would be staying in a rental home while their new house was being built.

Asked why they had moved, she explained that her son and grandchildren were nearby (although a daughter was still in California) and financially it made sense for them. But also, “California is disappointing me after all these years….California was driving me crazy politically.” In particular, she said how much she admired Texas Governor Greg Abbott and linked to a post about him removing mask mandates in the state. She also liked that Dallas was a hub and she could easily fly to Aruba to get back to the Freewinds.

On June 19, she posted a link to a story celebrating Leigh Dundas and her fiery, anti-vaccine advocacy.

On July 14, she posted a link to an anti-vaccine video and the next day to a post from CCHR. The day after that, she posted an image from the custom cover she had ordered for The Way to Happiness booklets that would have her own photo on the back. On the front was an image of Texas bluebonnets (see photo above).

On July 26, she was happy to be going to a gym again. Also that day, she posted a message from Ron Paul calling the prosecution of Jan 6 rioters political “show trials.”

On August 5, she delivered Scientology front group literature to her local police.

On August 15, she marked their 22nd wedding anniversary.

Then, two weeks later, she posted this…

 
In the post and two follow-ups, she didn’t hint at what had suddenly killed her husband, and none of the hundreds of commenters asked.

When, a couple of weeks later, someone asked how she was doing, she replied, “I still don’t have my energy or strength back and that’s annoying. But I do as much as I can and then rest and then do as much as I can and then rest again until this damn thing is over with.”

She then appeared to recover and has resumed posting photos of her grandchildren.

Our researcher who helped us with this story has been sending us similar posts about several other OT Scientologists who have died suddenly in recent weeks.

“Usually, when anyone posts about someone dying, everyone asks what happened, and asks for details, right? It’s like Scientologists are mostly avoiding mentioning what happened when somebody dies now. It’s strange. There’s a dearth of public Scientologist obituaries too. I wonder if Scientologists have been told to not publicly reveal the cause of death or any details when one of them dies of Covid now. Because it goes against their ‘Stay Well’ propaganda maybe? At this point, if you refuse to get vaccinated, and you get Covid, you pretty much ‘pulled it in’.”

 
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Bonus items from our tipsters

 
Spooky images from last night’s Halloween celebration at the Scientology Hollywood Celebrity Centre.

Our tipster says it was pretty empty.

“Not too many people in the garden. There were some people having dinner at Renaissance and that’s it.”

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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Source Code

“I hypnotized, one time, the staff of St. Elizabeth’s. Told them they’d heard a good speech and left the stage. They all came around afterwards saying, ‘What a good speech that was you gave!’ That was a mean thing to do. That was certainly backing out of it, wasn’t it? But it was in the early career of Dianetics and I felt very much like backing out of it. I was preceded by someone who told all of them how bad it was over ‘Ron-ward.’ They might afterwards have suspected my knowledge of the mind, but certainly not my knowledge of hypnotism. It’s very easy to hypnotize groups.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 1, 1956

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“The cause of war is incompetent government. The cause of ‘secret intelligence wars’ is incompetent intelligence services. We have no intention of getting loused up here so be alert and handle it both as ship organization and with your own personnel PRO ashore. We are honest legitimate people. Where we go money flows in. The enemy must not be permitted to cut income off from our local friends because Jewish international bankers hate anyone who help such a country as this.” — The Commodore, November 1, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“My reality on the whole track has expanded many times over. My postulates work far far better. My self determinism and pan determinism is exponentially greater. In many sessions I found myself blowing huge chunks of stuff that had derailed me many times through the years and it’s no longer anywhere around and I don’t think I could re-mock it up if I tried!”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: Activist Rose Paul died this week in Florida. “Rose Paul lost a daughter to Scientology in the mid 1970’s. Rose Paul was an anti-Scientology activist for many years. She was a long time fighter. At the University of Miami they gave her a table and she handed out materials to new students for many years, telling them about the dangers of cults, of course she stressed the most killer cult of all – Scientology. Rose Paul’s daughter is on staff in Scientology in Clearwater. Rose Paul’s daughter is Nina Palmer stationed in Clearwater. Nina disconnected from her mother in 1976. She did not show up when Rose died nor did she ever visit her in the past 25 years. Rose Paul was a wonderful woman as many of us know and felt her love and care. Rose Paul participated in the picket Clearwater in march ’96, she was 85 years of age at that time.”

 
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Random Howdy

“If Hubbard hadn’t created Scientology, no one would even remember him.”

 
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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 hearing set for November 10. Trial tentatively scheduled for February.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30, 2020 at the Eleventh Circuit
— 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: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments scheduled for November 2.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9, 2020 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: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.

 
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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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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] Checking in with Scientology social media to see how the world takeover is going
[TWO years ago] Kansas City going Ideal! Scientology’s grand opening is tomorrow — will Dave be there?
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s new survey is a hoot — we’re itching for your answers!
[FOUR years ago] The first Scientologist with ‘Super Power’ gets super spanked by bankruptcy judge
[FIVE years ago] Hillary Clinton has considered David Miscavige’s appeals lawyer for the US Supreme Court
[SIX years ago] Jonny Jacobsen: Reflecting on the first week of Scientology’s criminal trial in Belgium
[SEVEN years ago] Jon Atack: Are cult members — like those in Scientology — unduly influenced?
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology Surprise: An Interview With OTVIIIisGrrr8!
[NINE years ago] Nathan Baca: Scientology’s Nevada Drug Rehab Program Is Completely Unregulated

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 1, 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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast