Evolutionary psychologist, Satoshi Kanazawa, at the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ from a large national U.S. sample and found that people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher IQs. This applied also to sexual exclusivity in men, but not in women. The findings will be published in the March 2010 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly.
The IQ differences are not surprising to many of us. They do show how certain patterns of identifying with particular ideologies develop, and how some people's behaviors come to be.
"The adoption of some evolutionarily novel ideas makes some sense in terms of moving the species forward," said George Washington University leadership professor James Bailey, "It also makes perfect sense that more intelligent people, people with more intellectual firepower are likely to be the ones to do that."
Religion did not help people survive or reproduce necessarily, but goes along the lines of helping people to be paranoid. "It helps life to be paranoid, and because humans are paranoid, they become more religious, and they see the hands of God everywhere," Kanazawa said.
Atheism "allows someone to move forward and speculate on life without any concern for the dogmatic structure of a religion. Historically, anything that's new and different can be seen as a threat in terms of the religious beliefs; almost all religious systems are about permanence," he noted.
The study takes the American view of liberal vs. conservative. It defines "liberal" in terms of concern for genetically nonrelated people and support for private resources that help those people. "Liberals are more likely to be concerned about total strangers; conservatives are likely to be concerned with people they associate with," he said.
Given that human ancestors had a keen interest in the survival of their offspring and nearest kin, the conservative approach, looking out for the people around you first, fits with the evolutionary picture more than liberalism, Kanazawa said. "It's unnatural for humans to be concerned about total strangers." he said.
The study found that young adults who said they were "very conservative" had an average adolescent IQ of 95, whereas those who said they were "very liberal" averaged 106.
NOW THIS EXPLAINS SO MUCH DOESN'T IT?!?
Friday, February 26, 2010
I Made Some Home Made Chili
Hello All, The man in this clip is not me but I just had to post this because it is just too funny.
Enjoy,
Engineer Of Knowledge
Billie Holiday singing "Love For Sale"
John McCain took this song and in every spot where the word LOVE appeared he replaced the word VOTES.
Thank you John for selling out the people of the United States that you were supposed to represent but as we all know....You just can't compete with that Insurance Industries' Money now can we. Just like Charles Keating back in 1989....their money buys the best Repensentation does it not Senator?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
The Berlin Airlift of 1948
After WWII the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under their control. This was the first major international crises of the now Cold War and the first of many later such crisis. Their aim was to force the Western Powers to allow the Soviet Zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city. As the Russian General Molotov noted, "What happens to Berlin, happens to Germany; what happens to Germany, happens to Europe.”
President Truman called a meeting of his staff to see how we could keep West Berlin, a total of two million people needed to be feed and fuel to be supplied for heat so the German people would not to freeze to death. All the General’s and military experts on President Truman’s staff said that to fly in supplies could not be done. We only had a total of 37 DC-3’s or C-47’s in Germany and the amount need to supply the population of West Berlin was physically impossible. President Truman just sat there listening to all of his experts without saying a word. After all had presented their case with the negative news that it could not be done, President Truman asked for a vote with a show of hands and again it was a unanimous vote that what was being proposed was just not feasible.
At this point President Truman stood up, faced everyone at the meeting and simply said, “DO IT,” and adjourned the meeting walking out.
In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. The British Air Commodore Reginald Waite calculated the resources required to support the entire city. His calculations indicated that they would need to supply seventeen hundred calories per person per day, giving a grand total of 646 tons of flour and wheat, 125 tons of cereal, 64 tons of fat, 109 tons of meat and fish, 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes, 180 tons of sugar, 11 tons of coffee, 19 tons of powdered milk, five tons of whole milk for children, three tons of fresh yeast for baking, 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables, 38 tons of salt and ten tons of cheese. In total, 1,534 tons were needed daily to keep the over two million people alive. Additionally, the city needed to be kept heated and powered, which would require another 3,475 tons of coal and gasoline.
Of course it took a revolutionary change and advancement in aviation at this time. The best airports in the U.S. at this time like LaGuardia or O’Hare needed 20 minutes between landings and takeoffs on commercial flights. To make the Berlin Airlift to work the cargo planes carrying the supplies landed and took off with these same DC-3’s and C-47’s every 45 seconds!!
By the spring of 1949, the effort was clearly succeeding, and by April the airlift was delivering more cargo than had previously flowed into the city by rail. The United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and other Commonwealth nations flew over 200,000 flights providing 13,000 tons of food daily to Berlin in an operation lasting almost a year.
The success of the Airlift was humiliating to the Soviets, who had repeatedly claimed it could never work. When it became clear that it did work, the blockade was lifted in May. One lasting legacy of the Airlift is the three airports in the former western zones of the city, which served as the primary gateways to Berlin for another fifty years.
Now where I am going with this history lesson that can be applied currently is today when President Obama meets with the Whining Republicans in Congress on the Health Care Reform, President Obama is going to hear a unanimous vote of what is being proposed is just not feasible and cannot be done. My advice to President Obama is to emulate President Truman in 1948 and simply say in no uncertain terms, “DO IT!!", adjourn the meeting and walk out.
President Truman called a meeting of his staff to see how we could keep West Berlin, a total of two million people needed to be feed and fuel to be supplied for heat so the German people would not to freeze to death. All the General’s and military experts on President Truman’s staff said that to fly in supplies could not be done. We only had a total of 37 DC-3’s or C-47’s in Germany and the amount need to supply the population of West Berlin was physically impossible. President Truman just sat there listening to all of his experts without saying a word. After all had presented their case with the negative news that it could not be done, President Truman asked for a vote with a show of hands and again it was a unanimous vote that what was being proposed was just not feasible.
At this point President Truman stood up, faced everyone at the meeting and simply said, “DO IT,” and adjourned the meeting walking out.
In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. The British Air Commodore Reginald Waite calculated the resources required to support the entire city. His calculations indicated that they would need to supply seventeen hundred calories per person per day, giving a grand total of 646 tons of flour and wheat, 125 tons of cereal, 64 tons of fat, 109 tons of meat and fish, 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes, 180 tons of sugar, 11 tons of coffee, 19 tons of powdered milk, five tons of whole milk for children, three tons of fresh yeast for baking, 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables, 38 tons of salt and ten tons of cheese. In total, 1,534 tons were needed daily to keep the over two million people alive. Additionally, the city needed to be kept heated and powered, which would require another 3,475 tons of coal and gasoline.
Of course it took a revolutionary change and advancement in aviation at this time. The best airports in the U.S. at this time like LaGuardia or O’Hare needed 20 minutes between landings and takeoffs on commercial flights. To make the Berlin Airlift to work the cargo planes carrying the supplies landed and took off with these same DC-3’s and C-47’s every 45 seconds!!
By the spring of 1949, the effort was clearly succeeding, and by April the airlift was delivering more cargo than had previously flowed into the city by rail. The United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and other Commonwealth nations flew over 200,000 flights providing 13,000 tons of food daily to Berlin in an operation lasting almost a year.
The success of the Airlift was humiliating to the Soviets, who had repeatedly claimed it could never work. When it became clear that it did work, the blockade was lifted in May. One lasting legacy of the Airlift is the three airports in the former western zones of the city, which served as the primary gateways to Berlin for another fifty years.
Now where I am going with this history lesson that can be applied currently is today when President Obama meets with the Whining Republicans in Congress on the Health Care Reform, President Obama is going to hear a unanimous vote of what is being proposed is just not feasible and cannot be done. My advice to President Obama is to emulate President Truman in 1948 and simply say in no uncertain terms, “DO IT!!", adjourn the meeting and walk out.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
God Reports That Dick Cheney Suffered His Fifth Heart Attack Today
Today God struck Dick Cheney with yet another heart attack again today for his punishment of his lies and hateful Nihilistic statements at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
I spoke with God and God told me he was thinking, “The Conservative Political Action Conference? That sounds like there should be people blowing shit up at that thing. What’s up with that?”
The real facts are that CPACer’s are just a bunch of Blowhards standing around talking about how the world is going to hell, and something needs to be done about it…. Blah, Blah, Blah.
Well God did decide to do something about it…God took it out on Dick Cheney, as he suffered his fifth heart attack.
Yes God is very angry with Dick Cheney for his desire to invade a bunch of countries undeservedly, provide they have oil reserves, accuse people of abetting terrorism, and dodged the draft when it was his time to serve pretending to be some sort of HERO and such.
Well I want to tell God this, “Quite messing around and just kill him out right so the rest of us can be done with this Flaming Asshole already, OK!!!”
What’s Ya Smokin, Grandma?
More Older Americans Report Smoking Marijuana
I had to pass on this story from a local news paper out of Delaware that did a story today that reported of an 88 year old Grandma who has learned how to relax: A glass of red wine, a crisp copy of The New York Times, some classic music from her time period, and every night like clockwork, she lifts a pipe to her lips and smokes marijuana.
Long a fixture among young people, use of the country’s most popular illicit drug is now growing among the AARP set, as the baby boomers who came of age in the 1960’s and 70’s grow older.
The number of people 50 and older reporting marijuana use in the prior year went up from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent from 2002 to 2008, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The rise was most dramatic among 55 to 59 year olds, whose reported marijuana use more than tripled from 1.6 percent in 2002 to 5.1 percent.
Observers expect further increases as 78 million boomers born between 1945 and 1064 age. For many boomers, the drug never held the stigma it did for previous generations, and they tried it decades ago.
Some have used it ever since, while others are revisiting the habit in retirement, either for recreation or as a way to cope with the aches and pains of aging.
One 88 year old grandmother walks with a cane and has arthritis in her back and legs told the reporter that she finds marijuana has helped her sleep better than pills ever did.
The political advocates for legalizing marijuana say the number of older users could represent an important shift in their decades-long push to change the laws. “For the longest time, our political opponents were older Americans who were not familiar with marijuana and had lived through the “Reefer Madness” mentality and they considered marijuana a very dangerous drug,” said Keith Stroup, the founder and lawyer of NORMAL, a marijuana advocacy group. “Now, whether they resume the habit of smoking or whether they simply understand that it’s no big deal and that it shouldn’t be a crime, in large numbers they are on our side of the issue.”
The drug is credited with relieving many problems and aging: aches and pains, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and so on. Patients in 14 states enjoy medical marijuana laws, but those elsewhere buy or grown the drug illegally to ease their conditions.
Among them is Perry Parks, 67, of Rockingham, N.C., a retired Army pilot who suffered crippling pain from degenerative disc disease and arthritis. He had tried all sorts of drugs, but found little success. About two years ago he turned to marijuana, which he first had tried in college, and was amazed how well it worked for the pain. He said, “I realized I could get by without the narcotics,” referring to prescription painkillers. “I am essentially pain free!”
Monday, February 15, 2010
Liz Cheney Bashes The Obama Administration On The War of Terror
Liz Cheney, Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter and a former Bush administration official, on Monday accused Vice President Biden of downplaying the threat from Al Qaeda and suggested the Obama administration isn't doing everything in its power to stop terror.
Yes, Liz Cheney, on behalf of her sister Mary Cheney, represents the Coalition of Angry Lesbians of the Religious Fundamentalist Conservative Branch of the Republican Party, (How’s that for an oxymoron?) made the announcement on Fox News that Joe Biden and the Obama Administration Ignoring Al Qaeda Pursuit of WMD.
Liz Cheney went on to say, "There's simply no way you can say that the President is using every tool at his disposal to fight and win this war without being able to get the intelligence you need actually to defeat Al Qaeda."
I am thinking that the real truth here is in Liz Cheney’s mind she sees how well Sara Palin is making a quick fix making millions while using a sling shot of trash talk. Maybe she too can parlay this negative attack on the Obama Administration into her own show on Fox or at least her own Conservative Radio Talk show. I am also sure that Liz, like everyone else, can see that President Obama has done more to improve foreign relationships in a short period of time and he will continue to improve them. Our country is just as safe today as it was a year ago, or 2 years ago. The true question here is, “What makes her some kind of expert?” Her last name?
I think that we should arrest her based on the Patriot Laws, water board her to get her to tell us the truth, and after all it is not torture right? Where was this outspoken young woman when her father WAS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY!!! Now, she speaks up???
I am sure that the majority of intelligent thinking citizens find it quite humorous that Liz is using Daddy Dick’s 18% Approval Rating to attack the Obama administration and on the same day Russia agrees to stand with American towards Iran. Is this the best brilliant GOP strategy has to go with?…..How sad!!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Queen For A Day!!!
Hey Folks, my eclectic, random, wandering mind has kicked in again!! Remember watching in the early days of TV and in the afternoon a show would come on called, “Queen for a Day.” The show opened with host Bailey asking the audience that was made up mostly women, "Would YOU like to be Queen for a day?" After this, contestants were introduced and interviewed, one at a time.
Each contestant had to talk publicly about the recent financial and emotional hard times she had been through and of course the more pathetic, the better.
Then the “Applause Meter,” much like Engineer of Knowledge’s “Crap-O-Meter,” would register the audience’s reaction to each contestant’s pity-party story.
Bailey began each interview gently, asking the contestant first about her life and family, and maintaining a positive and upbeat response no matter what she told him. For instance, when a woman said she had a crippled child, he would ask if her second child was "Okay." On learning that the second child was not crippled, he might say, "Well, that's good, you have one healthy child."
The interview would climax with Bailey asking the contestant what she needed most and why she wanted to win the title of “Queen for a Day.” Often the request was for medical care or therapeutic equipment to help a chronically ill child, but sometimes it was as simple as the need for a hearing aid, a new washing machine, or a refrigerator. Many women broke down sobbing as they described their plights, and Bailey was always quick to comfort them and offer a clean white handkerchief to dry their eyes.
The more harsh the circumstances under which the contestant labored, the likelier the studio audience was to ring the applause meter's highest level. The winner, to the musical accompaniment of Pomp and Circumstance, would be draped in a sable-trimmed red velvet robe, given a glittering jeweled crown to wear, placed on a velvet-upholstered throne, and handed a dozen long-stemmed roses to hold as she wept, often uncontrollably, while her list of prizes was announced.
The prizes, many of which were donated by sponsoring companies, began with the necessary help the woman had requested, but built from there. They might include a variety of extras, such as a vacation trip, a fully-paid night on the town with her husband or escort, silver-plated flatware, an array of kitchen appliances, and a selection of fashion clothing.
Bailey's trademark sign-off was "This is Jack Bailey, Wishing we could make every woman a queen, for every single day!"
Now who can we think of currently that has capitalized on her own Pity-Party story making her “Queen For A Day.” Yes, someone who was once Governor of a State but resigned because, “Everyone was picking on her” and her daughter who followed her mother’s, “Abstinence Only” birth control method. Someone whose daughter’s baby’s father was now posing for nude photos or doing, “Porn” to use this person’s own words. Someone herself has a mentally handicapped child that she constantly has to take care of along with her bastard grandchild?!?!?
I think a new kitchen for her home so her constant work load could be made lighter taking care of the rest of her dysfunctional family…..or maybe she could be awarded a prize collecting $100’s of thousands of dollars making speeches to a collection of dumbasses would be a good prize.
Well now let’s check out Engineer of Knowledge’s “Crap-O-Meter” and I see that….Yes!!! Sarah Palin…You Are “Queen For A Day”!!!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
No Place Like Home
I thought that I would post a photo of the O'l Homestead with current snow as we are supposed to get 10" to 18" tonight and Wednesday. I will post more on Thursday.
Engineer of Knowledge
Sunday, February 7, 2010
"The Twilight Zone"
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
The Teabagger Convention yesterday and today that was held in Nashville, TN made me think of the old Twilight Zone episode called, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”
The Twilight Zone show was really based on the old morality plays of the Middle Ages. The story line really exposes how easily the people in the community are so easily manipulated and the mass paranoid hysteria being so ramped up to the point that an innocent person was killed in the street as a mistake. This episode was holding up a mirror to the McCarthy era hysteria of a Communist being behind every door or corner. As history repeats itself this is where I see the weak minds of the Teabaggers headed once again.
Synopsis:
The episode begins in late summer; Maple Street is full of playing children and adults talking. A shadow passes overhead and a loud roar is heard, accompanied by a flash of light. Later, after it has gone dark, the residents of Maple Street find that their machines no longer work, and there is no power. They gather together in the street to discuss the matter. One of them, Pete Van Horn, volunteers to walk out of the neighborhood to discover the extent of the problem.
Another resident, Steve Brand, wants to go into town but Tommy, a boy from the neighborhood, tells him not to. Tommy had read in his comic/action hero books that an alien invasion is taking place and that Steve will not be allowed to leave. Furthermore - as part of this invasion - the aliens have insidiously placed within the neighborhood a family that appears human. The power outage is meant to isolate and contain the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, another resident, Les Goodman, tries unsuccessfully to start his car. He gets out and begins to walk back towards the other residents when the car starts all by itself. The bizarre behavior of his car makes Les the object of immediate suspicion. One woman begins to discuss his late nights spent standing in the garden looking up at the sky. Les claims to be an insomniac.
Later that night, Steve tries to defuse the situation and prevent it from becoming a witch-hunt. Charlie, one of the loudest and most aggressive residents, pressures Steve about his hobby building a radio that no one has ever seen. Suspicion falls on Steve when he sarcastically remarks that he talks to monsters from outer space on his radio.
The panic builds when a shadowy figure is seen walking towards them. Charlie, caught in the panic, grabs a shotgun and shoots the shadow, thinking it to be the alleged monster. When the crowd reaches the fallen figure, they realize that it is Pete Van Horn returning from his scouting mission.
Suddenly the lights in Charlie's house come on and he panics as the crowd begins accusing him of being both a murderer and the monster responsible for the power being out. He makes a run for his house while the other residents chase after him, throwing stones. Terrified, Charlie attempts to deflect suspicion onto Tommy, the boy who originally brought up the idea of alien infiltration. Lights begin flashing on and off in houses throughout the neighborhood; lawn mowers and cars start up for no apparent reason. The mob becomes hysterical, with terrified residents smashing windows, and taking up weapons, devolving into an all out riot.
The film cuts to a nearby hilltop, where it is revealed that the mysterious "meteor" that had flown overhead is an alien spaceship. Its inhabitants, two alien observers, are watching the riot on Maple Street while using a device to manipulate the neighborhood's power. They comment on how easy it was to create paranoia and panic, concluding that the easiest way to conquer the Earth is to let the people of the Earth destroy themselves, one "Maple Street" at a time.
Closing narration:
The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, and prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and the thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own: for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.
The Teabagger Convention yesterday and today that was held in Nashville, TN made me think of the old Twilight Zone episode called, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”
The Twilight Zone show was really based on the old morality plays of the Middle Ages. The story line really exposes how easily the people in the community are so easily manipulated and the mass paranoid hysteria being so ramped up to the point that an innocent person was killed in the street as a mistake. This episode was holding up a mirror to the McCarthy era hysteria of a Communist being behind every door or corner. As history repeats itself this is where I see the weak minds of the Teabaggers headed once again.
Synopsis:
The episode begins in late summer; Maple Street is full of playing children and adults talking. A shadow passes overhead and a loud roar is heard, accompanied by a flash of light. Later, after it has gone dark, the residents of Maple Street find that their machines no longer work, and there is no power. They gather together in the street to discuss the matter. One of them, Pete Van Horn, volunteers to walk out of the neighborhood to discover the extent of the problem.
Another resident, Steve Brand, wants to go into town but Tommy, a boy from the neighborhood, tells him not to. Tommy had read in his comic/action hero books that an alien invasion is taking place and that Steve will not be allowed to leave. Furthermore - as part of this invasion - the aliens have insidiously placed within the neighborhood a family that appears human. The power outage is meant to isolate and contain the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, another resident, Les Goodman, tries unsuccessfully to start his car. He gets out and begins to walk back towards the other residents when the car starts all by itself. The bizarre behavior of his car makes Les the object of immediate suspicion. One woman begins to discuss his late nights spent standing in the garden looking up at the sky. Les claims to be an insomniac.
Later that night, Steve tries to defuse the situation and prevent it from becoming a witch-hunt. Charlie, one of the loudest and most aggressive residents, pressures Steve about his hobby building a radio that no one has ever seen. Suspicion falls on Steve when he sarcastically remarks that he talks to monsters from outer space on his radio.
The panic builds when a shadowy figure is seen walking towards them. Charlie, caught in the panic, grabs a shotgun and shoots the shadow, thinking it to be the alleged monster. When the crowd reaches the fallen figure, they realize that it is Pete Van Horn returning from his scouting mission.
Suddenly the lights in Charlie's house come on and he panics as the crowd begins accusing him of being both a murderer and the monster responsible for the power being out. He makes a run for his house while the other residents chase after him, throwing stones. Terrified, Charlie attempts to deflect suspicion onto Tommy, the boy who originally brought up the idea of alien infiltration. Lights begin flashing on and off in houses throughout the neighborhood; lawn mowers and cars start up for no apparent reason. The mob becomes hysterical, with terrified residents smashing windows, and taking up weapons, devolving into an all out riot.
The film cuts to a nearby hilltop, where it is revealed that the mysterious "meteor" that had flown overhead is an alien spaceship. Its inhabitants, two alien observers, are watching the riot on Maple Street while using a device to manipulate the neighborhood's power. They comment on how easy it was to create paranoia and panic, concluding that the easiest way to conquer the Earth is to let the people of the Earth destroy themselves, one "Maple Street" at a time.
Closing narration:
The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, and prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and the thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own: for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Oracle of Nashville
There are many stories for the origins of the Nashville Oracle. One explanation, and probably the most accurate, was by the 21st century social-network group on Murdoch’s Wall St. Journal, tells of a goat herder named, “Dumbassesus,” who noticed one day that one of his goats fell into a crack in the earth, then started behaving strangely.
On entering the chasm, he found himself filled with a divine presence and could see outside of the present into the past and the future. Excited by his discovery he shared it with nearby villagers. Many started visiting the site to experience the convulsions and inspirational trances, though some were said to disappear into the cleft due to their frenzied state.
A shrine was erected at the site, where people began worshiping in the late 2009 Stupidus Age, and by 2010 were promoting the formation of a National Political Party. The villagers chose an older woman as the liaison passing the divine inspirations from the Deity who lived there and protected the Navel of the Earth.
Legend has it that God spoke through this oracle: the sibyl or priestess of the oracle at Nashville was known as the Sarah; she had to be an older woman of blameless life chosen from among the peasants of the area. She sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth. The ethylene fumes arose from a decomposing body of a Socialist Liberal, intoxicated by the vapors, the sibyl would fall into a trance, allowing God to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. While in a trance the Sarah "raved," probably a form of ecstatic speech, and her ravings were "translated" by the "True Conservative Priests" of the Temple into elegant hexameters. People consulted the Nashville Oracle on everything from important matters of public policy to personal affairs.
But right from the start, many high-profile people saw the "Con Job Scam" and along with activist groups started to disbelieve in outraged protest over the profiteering by the Oracle of Nashville organizers.
The blatant blasphemy at the doors of the Oracle of Nashville Hall, entrepreneurs sold souvenirs: sterling silver tea bag necklaces ($89.99), bags of "Freedom Coffee" ($9) and T-shirts emblazoned with a bald eagle ($20).
At first the Fanatical Right Wing of the Republican Party Kings benefited from the Oracle. Later it was placed under the protection of the Republican Party in general, after a brief period the influence of the Extorters started to emerge, and they protected the Oracle from the constantly dangerous Socialist Liberal invasion.
Because the founders of the Oracle of Nashville were so disorganized and splintered among themselves, a major reorganization was initiated, but was interrupted by the foreign influence of the Murdoch Wars and the wars took many rich offerings from the Oracle. Invading Liberal Logic invasions burned the Temple, which God had already severely damaged Nashville by an earthquake in 2012. Thus the Oracle fell in decay and the surrounding area became impoverished. The sparse local population led to difficulties in filling the posts required. The Oracle's credibility waned due to doubtful predictions.
When Rush Limbaugh came to Nashville in 2014, he took away the ballance of what wealth that was left in Nashville and the land has been ruined for many millenniums to come.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Letter From Dan Brown To The Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite
I thought that I would follow up on The Lost Symbol book review. Being a Mason myself, I had this letter from Dan Brown to the Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite as they had invited him to attend and address the 2009 Supreme Council Session.
I can pass on that after you have achieved the 3rd degree; you have the choice of going on with your studies of either the Scottish Rite (more on the philosophical side) or York Rite (more on one’s introspection aspect).
I do want to pass on that the Freemasons are very pleased with Dan Brown’s book and it is very well received.
There are some Masonic details that Dan Brown did get wrong but it does not detract from the story. This can be expected because Dan is not a Mason but for the most part he presented the Freemasons very well.
1. The Scottish Rite in America is governed by two Supreme Councils, not just the one in Washington.
2. The head of the Scottish Rite is the “Sovereign Grand Commander” not the “Supreme Worshipful Master.” This latter position does not exist.
3. The 32nd degree is not conferred in a local lodge. Local Lodges that you see in your neighborhood are referred to as a “Blue Lodge” and they only go up to the 3rd degree.
4. You cannot see the altar in the Temple room in Alexander, VA Masonic Temple from the double doors at the entrance, the organ blocks the view.
5. The “circumpunct” or “point within a circle” is only one of many emblems, not uniquely important.
6. The emblem of the Scottish Rite is a double-headed eagle, not a phoenix.
7. A 33rd degree ring is composed of three equal-width bands, usually with a triangle containing “33°.” In the Scottish Rite, there are only 33 of these in the Rite. One can only be elected into this level after someone dies and a spot opens up.
Should anyone have any interest I will be glad to answer any questions that I am allowed to pass on. The Freemasons are not a secret society, but a society with secrets with the motto, “Making Good Men Better.”
I can pass on that after you have achieved the 3rd degree; you have the choice of going on with your studies of either the Scottish Rite (more on the philosophical side) or York Rite (more on one’s introspection aspect).
I do want to pass on that the Freemasons are very pleased with Dan Brown’s book and it is very well received.
There are some Masonic details that Dan Brown did get wrong but it does not detract from the story. This can be expected because Dan is not a Mason but for the most part he presented the Freemasons very well.
1. The Scottish Rite in America is governed by two Supreme Councils, not just the one in Washington.
2. The head of the Scottish Rite is the “Sovereign Grand Commander” not the “Supreme Worshipful Master.” This latter position does not exist.
3. The 32nd degree is not conferred in a local lodge. Local Lodges that you see in your neighborhood are referred to as a “Blue Lodge” and they only go up to the 3rd degree.
4. You cannot see the altar in the Temple room in Alexander, VA Masonic Temple from the double doors at the entrance, the organ blocks the view.
5. The “circumpunct” or “point within a circle” is only one of many emblems, not uniquely important.
6. The emblem of the Scottish Rite is a double-headed eagle, not a phoenix.
7. A 33rd degree ring is composed of three equal-width bands, usually with a triangle containing “33°.” In the Scottish Rite, there are only 33 of these in the Rite. One can only be elected into this level after someone dies and a spot opens up.
Should anyone have any interest I will be glad to answer any questions that I am allowed to pass on. The Freemasons are not a secret society, but a society with secrets with the motto, “Making Good Men Better.”