Email Author Tony Ortega

2012 Stories by Tony Ortega

• Scientology Campout: Commenters of the Week!

  published Feb 18, 2012

  It never seems to be a quiet week here in the underground bunker where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. The cats had barely settled down from our brief trip to Texas when the bat sign... More >>

• Debbie Cook: "I Have Seen L Ron Hubbard's Technology Create Many Miracles"

  published Feb 17, 2012

  Scientology took on Debbie Cook, Debbie Cook kicked Scientology's ass, and now...Scientology winsr This afternoon, former Church of Scientology executive Debbie Cook posted a public thank you to her ... More >>

• Scientology on the High Seas: LRH on the "Wogworld!"

  published Feb 17, 2012

  In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sail... More >>

• Scientology's Secret Ranch: Where LRH Will Reincarnater

  published Feb 16, 2012

  Last week, we had a bit of fun publishing detailed maps to Scientology's super-secret underground vault locations. The vaults are the project of the Church of Spiritual Technology, a hush-hush entity... More >>

• SCIENTOLOGY'S DISGRACE: AN OPEN LETTER TO TOM CRUISE

  published Feb 15, 2012

  Dear Tom, It's time for you to start talking publicly about Scientology again. Your religion is in serious trouble. In 2005, you ended a longtime policy of not talking about the church by suddenly ... More >>

• Scientology's Shocking Treatment of Children Held in a Suburban Labor Camp

  published Feb 14, 2012

  Shocking news this morning from journalist Bryan Seymour in Australia. In a story for the program TodayTonight that took him more than a year to put together, Seymour blows the lid off a re-educatio... More >>

• Anonymous vs Scientology: Chanology's Quadrennium in NYC

  published Feb 13, 2012

  We got a little confused by the International Dateline and what not -- hey, you try converting Sydney time to New York and see if it doesn't leave you dizzy -- so that big story we were promising to... More >>

• Scientology Sunday Funnies: Fresh Meat in the Windy City!

  published Feb 12, 2012

  Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to ment... More >>

• Scientology Dramaturgy: Commenters of the Week!

  published Feb 11, 2012

  Things back at the underground bunker are peaceful and calm -- the cats dig the new scratching post, we hear, and they're finally getting some quiet time while we're on the road frantically trying to ... More >>

• VIDEO: The Debbie Cook Interview

  published Feb 11, 2012

  We can't remember a time when the attorneys of the Church of Scientology gave up on a case like they did today when they withdrew their request for a temporary injunction that would keep Debbie Cook... More >>

• Scientology Waves the White Flag in Texas: The Debbie Cook Interview

  published Feb 10, 2012

  I'm sitting in a remarkable conference happening right now with Debbie Cook, her husband Wayne Baumgarten (pictured above), their attorney, Ray Jeffrey, and several other journalists. It's just a few... More >>

• Scientology vs Debbie Cook, Day 2: More Live-Blogging by the Voice

  published Feb 10, 2012

  We're heading down to the courthouse now to begin talking to folks before the action heats up again. Yesterday afternoon, Bexar County district judge Martha Tanner said that she'd begin day 2 of the ... More >>

• Scientology on the High Seas: "You Chilluns Will Get Shoes"

  published Feb 10, 2012

  NOTE: This is our regularly-scheduled Friday morning feature about L. Ron Hubbard aboard the Apollo. Our second day of reporting from the Debbie Cook hearing begins soon. Please check back for that co... More >>

• Scientology vs Debbie Cook, Day 1: Our Totally Unscientific Handicapping

  published Feb 09, 2012

  What an amazing time we had reporting from the Bexar County Courthouse today as Debbie Cook testified in the lawsuit filed against her by her former employer, the Church of Scientology. We got back t... More >>

• Scientology, Deep in the Heart of Texas: The Voice at the Debbie Cook Hearing

  published Feb 09, 2012

  Update: For a wrap-up of today's hearing and some analysis of the day's performances, we now have this new piece. Today, former Scientology executive Debbie Cook will try to convince a Bexar County, ... More >>

• Scientology's Gag Reflex: The Church's History of Enforcing a Vow of Silence

  published Feb 08, 2012

  Tomorrow, one of the most remarkable legal hearings in the litigious history of Scientology should unfold in a Texas courtroom. Two weeks after filing suit against Debbie Cook, the former executive w... More >>

• Scientology Headaches: Another Felony Count for Exec; Anonymous Anniversary Saturday

  published Feb 07, 2012

  There's so much happening in the world of Scientology watching right now, we can hardly keep up with it all. Most of our attention is being taken up with the Debbie Cook lawsuit and its big hearing on... More >>

• 5 Biggest Lies in Scientology's 2-Minute TV Ad

  published Feb 07, 2012

  We keep seeing Twitter reactions as people are stunned to see a 2-minute ad for Scientology show up on network television. We've written earlier about the negative reactions the ad is getting as it ap... More >>

• Scientology's Secret Vaults: A Rare Interview With a Former Member of Hush-Hush "CST"

  published Feb 06, 2012

  Over the years, we've talked to a lot of former Scientologists, many of whom worked at the church's secretive desert headquarters in Southern California, "Int Base." They were cut off from their famil... More >>

• Scientology Sunday Funnies: The Denver Miracle!

  published Feb 05, 2012

  Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to ment... More >>

• Scientology Wants It Both Ways: The Church's Opposite Legal Strategies In Florida and Texas

  published Feb 04, 2012

  Back in November, the St. Petersburg Times uncorked its best expose of the Church of Scientology yet -- "The Money Machine," a look at Scientology's incredible appetite for fundraising among its membe... More >>

• Scientology Jurisprudence: Commenters of the Week!

  published Feb 04, 2012

  The underground bunker might need some new paneling after the way we were bouncing off the walls this week. I mean seriously, how are we going to keep up with all of this Scientology newsr It's like t... More >>

• Scientology Cartoon Tops Reddit: We Talk to its Creator, Abbey Neslen, 18

  published Feb 03, 2012

  A "rage comic" created by an 18-year-old college sophomore in Bozeman, Montana has grabbed the attention of Reddit users tonight. At more than 100,000 views, the cartoon, titled "What the Church of S... More >>

• Debbie Cook's Motion Denied: Scientology's Restraining Order Remains in Place Until Thursday Hearing

  published Feb 03, 2012

  As we reported yesterday, Debbie Cook, who is being sued by the Church of Scientology for speaking out to her fellow church members in a New Year's Eve e-mail, filed a motion to dissolve a temporary r... More >>

• Scientology on the High Seas: Squirrel Cookery!

  published Feb 03, 2012

  In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sail... More >>