What a week it’s been here at the Underground Bunker, and especially the last couple of days. We want to thank our readers and commenters for giving us a real boost. We’ve really appreciated the reactions that we’ve been seeing to the news here and elsewhere that you’re talking about.
Yesterday in particular: We were thinking it might actually be a relaxing day after finally getting our story about Trish Duggan and Ivan Gaspari and the Swiss jail out on Thursday, which took months to land. So we posted something fun, and you didn’t disappoint, with hilarious responses. But then Tracey McManus at the Tampa Bay Times dropped her bomb about the Whitney Mills lawsuit and we scrambled to post the complaint itself. Your thoughts about it were cogent and penetrating as usual. We really look forward to watching each development in that case.
And there was also news from Mike Rinder, as he posted an update at his blog about his health. He’s had such a good year dealing with a serious issue, it is troubling to hear that he’s facing a tougher road ahead, but we couldn’t help feeling good about his optimism. As ever, we are very concerned about our friend but amazed at how much work he’s been getting done. And of course, we’re still thrilled that he joined our most recent episode of the Group Therapy podcast.
Whew. That’s a lot. But this morning, we thought we’d go into the weekend reminding you that Scientology, despite all of the challenges it’s facing, never gives up. And of course, that means it wants, more than anything, your cold, hard cash.
But are things maybe getting a little desperate over there? We have seen few pitches from the church that have such a whiff of desperation as this one. In past years, fundraisers have been dressed up as parties, but we suspect that few Scientologists are fooled. They know full well that the events with their costumes and music are really only about opening up their wallets. But how blatant can it get when they try to convince you that it will be FUN to drain your bank account!
Yes, this is an actual email and flier that one of our readers received this week…
Dear [redacted] —
One of the maxims of the Flag OTC FUNdraising Team is that FUNdraisers are FUNdamentally FUN!
And do we ever have a veritable beast of a FUNdraiser coming up on June 29th: Our Summer Bash for Freedom. There’s already a ton of chatter about it within our Group — have you heard it, [redacted]? You’re just not going to want to miss the Summer Bash. Good news: there’s plenty of time to arrange your calendar so you can attend. RSVP to events@flagotc.org and let us know who you’re bringing. (Doing so today would be so theta!)
Take a look at the promo. Talk about FUN!
Our Summer Bash for Freedom has another FUN twist. In addition to FUNdraising for the Ideal Org of Puerto Rico, there are going to be folks there who are FUNdraising for the Ideal Org of Boston and even more folks who are FUNdraising for the Ideal Org of Philadelphia. Some joyful competition all in the spirit of games — and most importantly — freedom. Freedom from the reactive mind as the entry to the State of Clear is, after all, at the Ideal Class V Org. Imagine the miracles that await in the Caribbean and New England and Mid-Atlantic. And the HUGE role you’re playing in making those miracles come true.
And, [redacted], if you’ve got a hankering to help Puerto Rico keep its FUNdraising crown, please do a flow today at https://puertoricoideal.org/. (And let me know you’ve done so!)
Totally appreciate you, [redacted], for ALL you do!
With much love and mucho gratitude,
David
Flag OTC FUNdraising Team
Bonus items from our tipsters
As if your calendar wasn’t already full with Scientology fun!
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Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:
Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology
Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain
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Group Therapy: Our round table of rowdy regulars on the week’s news
I doubt there are many 40-80 year old scientologists that don’t know LRHs policy on fundraising.
They ALL know the points of KSW.
This fundraiser is in direct opposition to LRH.
Not that it was any good before this started in early 2000s it’s so much worse it boggles my mind how any of them stay. Even parents with children in - doesn’t every parent want the best for their child even if they’ve grown up believing in a scam?
That PUN-filled flyer is a PUNishing read. The psuedo-PUNdit should be PUNished for that promo. It was PUNdamentally bad and any decent PUN creator would PUNt them out the door. What a PUNk!
[Note: I would never usually do all the caps and even my puns are making me cringe.]