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 On Monday morning, we broke the news that Leah Remini was leaving the Church of Scientology over David Miscavige’s “corrupt management” of the organization.
It wasn’t until Thursday morning that the New York Post picked up the news and made it catch fire with the rest of the media. But well before the Post printed its story, celebrities in Scientology were scrambling to figure out how to deal with Remini’s departure. In particular, we’re told, Kirstie Alley was livid at Remini. Continue reading LEAH REMINI BLOWBACK: Kirstie Alley Calls for Scientology Celeb Strategy Session
 Our thanks to a sharp-eyed reader who brought to our attention an interesting page at the website of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The page contains an eclectic rundown of all the religious symbols the VA recognizes and will put on grave markers in our national cemeteries. If you’ve ever been in one of our national cemeteries, you may remember that some headstones carry symbols, some don’t, and you’ll see a lot of Christian crosses and Stars of David, and a few other types. We didn’t realize that there’s an official list of such symbols. And it’s interesting to see that the VA is rather catholic about it (lower-case “c”), with everything from Eckankar to Wicca to atheism (see photo, right) to the Hammer of Thor available for our fallen heroes of minority faiths (or no faith at all). Interestingly, there’s one symbol that is noticeably missing. Continue reading Someone Apparently Forgot to Notify the VA that Scientology is a Religion
 John McMaster A Piece of Blue Sky , one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He now has a new edition of the book out, and on Saturdays he’s helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on the Internet.This week, the media is buzzing about a woman who left the Church of Scientology after protesting the way it interrogates and discards people, and pits members against each other. Longtime Scientology watchers, however, know that these are not new concerns about the church. And Jon Atack makes that point by telling us what he went through when he left the church in 1984… Continue reading Leaving Scientology: Jon Atack Navigates the Labyrinth of Paranoia
 Now that “Pharyngula” author PZ Myers has spilled the beans, we can reveal that the University of Minnesota Morris biology professor will be joining us here as we read through L. Ron Hubbard’s epic 1952 work, A History of Man.
As we were nearing the end of our series with Vance Woodward blogging Hubbard’s 1950 masterpiece Dianetics, we looked ahead and thought it might be fun to give A History of Man similar treatment. And who, we wondered, would be best to help us analyze what Myers correctly characterizes as “Scientology’s version of evolution”? Why, an evolutionary biologist, of course! So we reached out to Myers, who was good enough to accept. As soon as we have a firmer idea for when our conversation on the book will appear, we’ll let you know. We have a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun. Continue reading Coming Soon to the Underground Bunker: PZ Myers!
UPDATE: See below — A possible smear site has just been registered! Former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder makes a great point on his website this afternoon: Now that news we broke Monday of Leah Remini leaving the Church of Scientology has spread like wildfire thanks to this morning’s front-page New York Post rewrite, will the church follow its usual playbook and launch an anonymous attack website to smear the King of Queens actress? What Rinder is referring to is Scientology’s predictable use of leering, salacious but anonymous websites that attempt to smear the reputation of former members who dare to speak out, or journalists who dare to ask impertinent questions. Previously, we wrote a lengthy story about one smear site in particular, which targeted former Scientology executive Marty Rathbun (pictured, at right). Continue reading Mike Rinder: Is the Leah Remini Anonymous Smear Website Coming Soon?
 Comments made on this blog, as well as some posted at Facebook and Operation Clambake, have been entered as evidence in the latest filing by the Church of Scientology in the federal fraud lawsuit brought against it by Luis and Rocio Garcia.
Yes, you read that right. The Church is making issue of mean things that some of you, our commenters, have said on this blog, and some of those comments have been preserved in the federal court record for posterity. At issue is a legal sideshow that has stopped the Garcias’ lawsuit in its tracks, and will now require an evidentiary hearing that has been moved back to September 26. Continue reading Scientology Asks For Judge’s Help Because You Were So Mean To Brian Culkin
 In January 2012, we spilled Scientology’s “Super Power” secrets — hundreds of never-before-published renderings of what the church’s monster new building in Clearwater, Florida was going to look like, from its basement to its executive offices on the seventh floor. Of particular interest were outlandish contraptions like the Smell Wall, Oiliness Table, Pain Station and other oddities on the building’s space-age fifth floor, where the “perceptics” of Scientologists would be tested.
But seeing all that strange equipment made us wonder: what was the “Super Power Rundown” itself, the special processing that needed a city-block sized, $100-million-dollar edifice that has been under construction for 15 years? What unutterable secrets would be going on in that building? Fortunately for us, a man named Dan Koon gave us a glimpse of some of those secrets. And now, more than a year later, Dan Koon is spilling the rest of those secrets for the public’s consumption. Continue reading Indie Scientologists Try to Spoil “Super Power” Release as it (Supposedly) Nears Debut
 Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
Claire, the farther you take us up the bridge, the more it feels like we’ve been here before. Are you telling us that we’re back to yelling at ashtrays again this week? CLAIRE: The next step on our journey is Upper Indoc TRs (Upper Indoctrination Training Routines). We did cover some of this earlier, when I first did these on the HQS course. Continue reading Claire Headley Shows Us That in Scientology, You Just Can’t Shout at Ashtrays Enough
 We just confirmed with a clerk at the Pinellas County, Florida circuit court that Denise Gentile — who was facing DUI and pot possession charges — pleaded guilty today to the lesser charge of reckless driving, and agreed to attend DUI school and pay several court costs and fines.
Last week, the Tampa Bay Times reported that on January 22, Gentile was arrested as she was driving her Dodge Durango erratically outside a rental property she owned. Under the driver’s seat was found a black vinyl bag with nine marijuana “blunts,” and Gentile was found to have a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit. Continue reading Scientology Leader’s Twin, Denise Gentile, Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge, Pays Fines
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On Monday morning, we broke the news that Leah Remini was leaving the Church of Scientology over David Miscavige’s “corrupt management” of the organization.
