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 For years, people like Mary McConnell and Carnegie Mellon University professor Dave Touretzky have worked tirelessly to get the word out about the deceptive practices and documented abuses at Scientology’s drug rehab program, Narconon.
Several recent deaths at Narconon’s flagship facility in Oklahoma have received a lot of attention lately, but Touretzky urged us to look into a 2008 death in the Atlanta area and an ensuing lawsuit. We wrote several stories about the death of Patrick Desmond (pictured) and the stunning allegations of deception in the documents of that lawsuit. But now, McConnell and Touretzky’s perseverance is really paying off. Starting yesterday, a coordinated investigation by Atlanta radio and television stations kicked off a multi-part series, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is also reportedly getting in on the act. It’s Armageddon for Narconon in Georgia. Continue reading Scientology’s Georgia Drug Rehab Hit with Double-Barreled Media Onslaught
 By now you’ve no doubt either seen Paul Thomas Anderson’s film The Master or you’ve read about it. You’ve probably heard from writers like yours truly who say that the film is filled with references to Scientology’s early history, while some reviewers, unfamiliar with that history, seem to think the Scientology in it is only a faint backdrop.
In each of our radio interviews, we’ve taken pains to point out that Anderson had written a script that was much more steeped in Scientology than what made it to the screen. That’s not surprising. Anderson researched and wrote his script years before it came time to actually lens the thing. It isn’t hard to imagine that the sheer fervor he obviously had for Scientology history had waned somewhat by the time he got actors in front of a camera. But one thing’s for sure — at one point, Anderson was planning more of a Scientology expose than what ultimately made it to the screen. We thought we’d do an occasional series about some of the things in Anderson’s script that ended up on the cutting room floor (or perhaps, will be restored in the DVD extras). We’ll start today with the scenes of Freddie Quell’s first meeting with The Master. Continue reading Secrets of The Master: Elements of Scientology That Didn’t Make It into the Film
 So where were we? Oh yeah, we remember:
Just about every day, we receive the latest wacky and tacky fundraising mailers put out by Scientology orgs around the world. Thank you, tipsters, for forwarding them to us! On Sundays, we love to reveal them to you. Things here in the underground bunker have been a bit chaotic of late. Sirens keep going off, circuits are out of whack, the booze is barely holding out. The cats are a wreck. But we’ve rallied, and data is streaming in as we try to keep an eye on all things Scientology-related that are happening around this backwater planet. So let’s get to what the bunker’s pneumatic tubes brought us this week along with a much-needed delivery of Chinese takeout. Continue reading Scientology Sunday Funnies!
 We can only hope that Michael Lewis — Operating Thetan Level Eight and Homo Novis Übermensch — will see fit to cancel his appearance at a scheduled “Admin Scale Workshop” that is scheduled for Scientologists at the Advanced Org Los Angeles tonight at 6 pm.
Lewis is a gung-ho Hubbard enthusiast, and helps run a Valley mission. But we’re feeling very sympathetic for what he’s gone through this week after his son, Sons of Anarchy actor Johnny Lewis, apparently ran amok, killed his landlady, and ripped apart her cat. The 28-year-old then leapt or fell off his landlady’s roof and the impact killed him. Continue reading Michael Lewis (Johnny’s Dad) Scheduled for Scientology Event Tonight
 Johnny v. Luka: Who’s nuttier? We were intrigued when we learned that several years ago, Canadian murder-dismemberment suspect Luka Magnotta had professed to be a Scientologist, and wrote in a blog post, “I wished every night that Tom Cruise would adopt me.” As far as we could tell, however, Magnotta’s actual involvement with Scientology was either exceedingly tenuous or nonexistent. That isn’t the case with Johnny Lewis. The Sons of Anarchy actor was a second-generation Scientologist, the child of prominent church members of the highest order (they’re OT8’s), and he also had extensive involvement with Scientology’s troubled drug rehab program, Narconon. And as for his suspected crimes, he’s giving Magnotta — who carved up a friend on camera and mailed his body parts to different recipients — a pretty good run for his money. Continue reading Johnny Lewis Vying with Luka Magnotta for Title of Wackiest Scientology Madman
 Jim Fleming asked great questions as we were interviewed at public radio studios in midtown last week. The program is “To the Best of our Knowledge,” out of Wisconsin Public Radio, and we’re told it will go out on the PRI network to stations around the country.
Earlier, we’d talked with John Hockenberry for WNYC’s national program “The Takeaway,” and we were on with our colleague Scott Foundas on KCRW’s program “To the Point.” But this latest piece for Fleming is our favorite. The interview was part of a multi-part show called “What We Believe,” and it featured a great talk with Hugh Urban, the Ohio State professor who has done such good work on the history of Scientology, and an interview with Marc Headley on his time working at the Int Base and being audited by Tom Cruise (and talking with ashtrays!). And as long as we’re giving out links, we’ll point out that Maureen Orth’s Vanity Fair article is now online in its entirety.
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For years, people like Mary McConnell and Carnegie Mellon University professor Dave Touretzky have worked tirelessly to get the word out about the deceptive practices and documented abuses at Scientology’s drug rehab program, Narconon.
