Oh No He Di-ent Again?

It is reported that the story of Trailer Trash Sarah Palin’s Levi Johnston is going to be a “Baby Daddy Again?” But just to make this story “Juicy Special” is that the problem is Levi Johnston may have knocked up his ex-girlfriend, "Lanesia Garcia" while he and his first baby's momma, "Briston Palin," were broken up.

Well I guess that ABSTINENCE sex education that Sarah Palin supports is just working so well…..Right Sarah?!?!? Well Republican, Conservative, Tea Party, Sarah; I guess here is another one of your “Extended Family” welfare grandbabies that the tax payers will be supporting for the next couple of decades.

"You can't even run your own life, I'll be damned if you'll run mine."

Shirley Sherrod to Sue the Daylights Out of Andrew Breitbart

Former U.S.D.A. employee Shirley Sherrod announced yesterday at a National Association of Black Journalists event that she will be suing conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. As you may recall, it was Breitbart’s posting of a video showing Sherrod seemingly regaling the audience at an N.A.A.C.P. event with racism endorsing anecdotes that prompted her firing on July 19. Only after the complete speech surfaced, and the Department of Agriculture (and everyone else) realized Sherrod was actually condemning racism, was offered both an apology and her job back.

But Breitbart, unlike Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, has not tried to make amends.

On The Early Show last week, Sherrod hinted at taking legal action against Breitbart, saying that she “would definitely consider” a suit. Her language has now shifted from the conditional to the indicative. Today, Ms. Sherrod told the N.A.B.J. that she “will definitely do it.” Although Breitbart eventually appended half hearted corrections to blog posts about the matter, he told Anderson Cooper that he did not consider his actions illegitimate, much less illegal.

Well I hope that Ms. Shirley Sherrod takes everything that the Ultra-Conservative Asshole Breitbart has….including his computer!!

Scientists New Study Affirms Climate Change Is “Undeniable!”

Scientists from around the world provided more evidence of global warming in the annual State of the Climate report Wednesday.

The past decade was the warmest on record and the past 50 years have been getting hotter, the researchers said, citing 10 main indicators, including surface and ocean temperatures, the amount of sea ice and glaciers and levels of humidity.

Compiled by more than 300 scientists from 48 countries, the report said analysis of 10 indicators that are "clearly and directly related to surface temperatures, all tell the same story: Global warming is undeniable."

The research was led by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is based on new data that wasn't available to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for its report for 2007, which has been attacked by skeptics.

Concern about rising temperatures has been growing in recent years as atmospheric scientists report rising temperatures associated with greenhouse gases released into the air by industrial and other human processes.

"The temperature increase of one degree Fahrenheit over the past 50 years may seem small, but it has already altered our planet," said Deke Arndt, co-editor of the report and chief of the Climate Monitoring Branch of the data center.
"Glaciers and sea ice are melting, heavy rainfall is intensifying and heat waves are more common," he says.
Last month was the warmest June on record and this year has had the warmest average temperature for January-June since record keeping began in 1880, NOAA reported last week.

But yet we have the Neo-Con Blowhards reporting with all authority from the aspect of “No Education In Science” at all assuring their listeners that Global Warming is just a “Big Conspiracy Hoax.” Thank God they are there to set us straight.

History of Knights Templar and Freemasonry

Knights Templar History
As many of you are undoubtedly aware, there are several theories regarding a possible physical relationship between Freemasonry and the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, commonly known as the Knights Templar.

The Knights Templar were based in or near the original site of the Temple of Solomon and widely spread throughout France in the early 12th century. At this time, being religious knights and reporting only to the Church, gave them exemption from many laws and enabled them to receive much land and property throughout the country enabling a network of wealth to be created.

Their purpose was to guard and escort those on roads from Europe to Jerusalem that were often patrolled by thieves looking to prey on unaware travelers to the holy city. This gave rise to a need for protection by the travelers and it is thought that fees were generated by the knights in exchange for the protection offered. This became an exercise which gave rise to the first form of banking whereby a patron would be able to leave funds with a knights templar preceptory in one city and receive a promisary note which could be exchanged in another city in order to eliminate the risk of having to travel cross country with large sums of money.

The Knights Templar in France
The Migration of the Knights Templar
In the late 12th century the Christian following was removed from the holy city and the Knights Templar were no longer needed and thus returned to France where King Philip governed with the Knights still answerable only to the papal authority.

The King of France had been king since the age of 17 and had inherited much debt from his predecessors. This meant that loans were made from the Jews, the Church and the Knights Templar in order to maintain the country. This inevitably led to poor repayment by the monarchy and caused drastic swings in the economy leading to riots and a call for the removal of King Philip. The Knights templar allowed the king to seek refuge within their preceptory for a few days and it is believed that during this time King Philip forged a plot to arrest The Jews on June 24th 1307 and the Knights templar on Friday 13th October 1307 in order to retain their wealth, property and remove all debts that were owed to them by the monarchy, explaining why Friday 13th is deemed unlucky by some people. Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and 60 of his senior knights were arrested in Paris. It is believed that some of the Knights Templar avoided this arrest tactic and made their way to some of their ships in anchor and sailed from Europe to eventually land in Scotland.

The Knights Templar and Robert the Bruce
The Knights Templar in Scotland
Arriving in Scotland it seems was a choice by the Knights Templar due to the fact that Robert the Bruce had been excommunicated by the church and papal authority did not apply in Scotland. This meant that the Knights Templar had sanctuary from the reaches of the pope in Scotland.

Robert the Bruce was at war with England and was pleased to have the expertise of such battle qualified knights in his army and it is believed that the Knights Templar were integral in the defeat of the English at the battle of Bannockburn. Robert the Bruce is often credited with forming the Freemasons as a means to hide the fact that there were Knights Templar present in his army.

An exciting and romantic legend links the Templars to the battle of Bannockburn. The legend tells us that Scots were outnumbered three to one and were struggling desperately against the forces of Edward II, losing men and ground rapidly, when there appeared on the horizon a well equipped and obviously highly professional band of knights in full armor and mounted on heavy horses. The knights, although superbly equipped and obviously experienced in military battle tactics, bore no markings on their shields and carried no battle standards flying their colors. These mysterious soldiers joined the battle on the side of King Robert the Bruce and quickly turned the tide in favor of the Scots who won the battle and freedom for Scotland. The knights then rode off over the horizon without making known their identities or from whence they came.

Many scholars believe these mysterious knights to be a contingent of the refugee and internationally outlawed Knights Templar that the King had permitted to take refuge in the highlands. Many feel that the Knights Templar were returning the favor while pledging loyalty to Scotland and King Robert the Bruce? (There is a Masonic degree based on this story.)

Many sources tell us that years later, Sir Henry St. Clair was appointed the Hereditary Grand Master of all the Masonic guilds of Scotland by royal charter (the King of Scotland remains the Sovereign Grand master).

Because Robert the Bruce wanted to return Scotland to a state recognized under Christendom, he had informed the church that no Knights Templar existed in Scotland. The Knights Templar were then able to continue as they had previously, but now under the name of Freemasonry.

Rosslyn Chapel
In 1440ce a mere 133 years (just two generations) after the suppression of the Templars by King Philip and Pope Clement, the Earl of Orkney, a descendant of Sir William St. Clair designed and began the project of building a church in the family seat of Rosslyn. His intention was to build a great sanctuary to the glory of God and the Templar tradition. It was to be constructed in the form of a cross with a lady Chapel and a high tower in the center.

He imported the best stonemasons available, as well as tradesmen from the other guilds as necessary. The Master masons were paid a sum of 40 pounds per annum and the lesser skilled masons were paid 10 pounds. Simultaneously, he built the small hamlet of Rosslin to support and house his craftsmen during the project and see to their every need. The great sanctuary’s construction was never completed.

Through the centuries, St Clair’s unfinished sanctuary survived several invading armies and the brutalities of the Reformation as well as Scotland’s civil war of the mid-seventeenth century. It’s said that during this period, the armies of Oliver Cromwell occupied the areas in and around Edinburgh, including Rosslyn. Indicative of the disdain for which the Puritan church and Cromwell held divergent theological beliefs, after razing nearby Rosslyn castle, Cromwell stabled his invading troops horses and livestock in the chapel at Rosslyn.

There is a legend that says Cromwell recognizing the exoteric religious and Masonic symbolism and himself being a Brother, the unit’s commander was careful to preserve and protect the chapel and its artifacts during his troops occupation. Other religious structures and their icons did not fare as well during this turbulent time.

The Dirge of Rosabell is described in prose as our Brother Sir Walter Scott spoke of the ancient Barons of Rosslyn who were buried in the crypt of the chapel. His famous poem, The Lay of the Last Minstrel speaks of the ghosts and spirits of the honored knights laid to rest in the ancient Gothic chapel’s crypt.

In 1787ce, our esteemed Brother Robert Burns, the recognized Poet laureate of Scotland and Masonry visited the chapel with a friend and artist, Alexander Nasmyth and implored him to paint his portrait while at Rosslyn.


Conclusion:
The chapel that remains today, many scholars say, is probably one of the most remarkable examples of Gothic architecture in Scotland, not because of its design when viewed primarily from and architectural point of view, but because of the profusion of overt and esoteric design and symbolism shown in such abundance everywhere within the chapel.

When first viewed Rosslyn Chapel has an almost haunting quality exhibited not only in its Gothic spires and flying buttresses, but the chapel’s spiritual and ghostly esoteric qualities are manifested in the profuse and intricate carvings and hieroglyphics evidenced on the interior’s every square inch of masonry surface.

In this small cathedral, it’s a short and misty road from the present to the past. It’s a place where you enter into a world of “intellectual oblivion” expressed in design and stone by our spiritual Brothers of a different time. It is impossible, in this environment to deny that the genesis of our Order is shrouded in esoteria and rooted in the cryptic origins of contemplative man.

The ornate carvings and depictions in stone are almost overwhelming to everyone who views the chapel. But the abundant, half-hidden Templar and Masonic symbolism is profound and easily identified by the Initiated. There abounds hundreds of references to Christian parables, Biblical characters, the ancient Knights Templar, Freemasonry, and commentary on the religious-political climate of that time in our long past.

The chapel is a perfect exemplification of our sacred geometry and incorporates many easily recognized Masonic and Templar symbols in its architectural designs. The Apprentice Pillar with its attendant carvings, the Master’s Pillar, the hidden and much speculated upon contents of the subterranean crypt, the proliferation of Templar splayed and floriated crosses, obvious reference to the Masonic degrees, transparent references to Templarism, and so much more, can be found everywhere. There is a lintel at the east end of the south aisle bearing a familiar inscription in Latin which translates:

“Wine is strong, a King is stronger, women are even stronger, but Truth conquers all”

There is such a profusion of intricate carvings incorporated into the design and construction of every minute detail, that you can easily lose yourself for hours while just wandering.

To the best of my knowledge, Rosslyn Chapel represents the only place where such an obvious and overtly profuse collection of Masonic and Templar esoterica and symbolism is displayed together in a structure predating the traditional origins of the Craft.

Additionally, the founder and builder was documented as an heir to the heritage of the Knights of the temple as well as a Knight Templar himself. The dating of the construction of the chapel as well as its proximity to other known Templar and Masonic sites of pilgrimage leads me to the conclusion that Rosslyn Chapel is of significant importance to Masons and Knights Templar and may well be the common factor linking the respective orders.


Freemasonry and the steps to Knights Templar
There are various avenues which can be followed in Freemasonry. The three most popular avenues being the Royal Arch, Rosicrucian (Rose Croix) or Knights Templar degrees.

There are four world wide accepted degrees which must be completed by a new person deciding to enter freemasonry which shall we say are the basis of understanding to Freemasonry. The other avenues are all different in their teachings and handle different aspects of Freemasonry.

There are many opinions and schools of thought on the dates that speculative Freemasonry came into existence with the most common being 1717.

The Knights Templar were said to have obtained secrets throughout their travels from the ancient mysteries in Alchemy, Magic and Building Techniques scattered through history by the likes of the Greek, Roman and Egyptian civilizations.

Funny Friday Posting

Hello All,
I will be leaving this Friday to go to the rehearsal dinner and wedding of my oldest daughter on Saturday.

I have posted a clip from the show, “You Bet Your Life,” with Bill Cosby.

As I watched this my thought was the whole time was, the woman Marcia Brody, would be a perfect Tea Party Member.

Enjoy!!!!

The Holy Oak Tree and Big Holy Rock Enact Their Wrath On Glen Beck

The Holy Oak Tree and Big Holy Rock have performed evidence of their religious miracles by striking down Glenn Beck for his sins against mankind. This truly shows that the Holy Oak Tree and Big Holy Rock are the only true religions and all should lay praise and homage.

Glenn Beck announced that he has been diagnosed with an eye disease that is going to blind him. The blustering blowhard conservative Fox Programming commentator told an audience attending his "American Revival" tour over the weekend in Salt Lake City that a doctor told him he has the degenerative disease macular dystrophy. The disease generally makes itself known by a decrease in vision in 20- to 40-year-olds. Beck is 46.

Beck says he went to a doctor for testing because he had trouble focusing with his eyes. "He said, `You have macular dystrophy. ... You could go blind in the next year.”

So I say unto you, Glenn Beck Repent, Repent, Repent!!!! All who have followed and have lost their way from this man should also fall to there knees and Repent, Repent, Repent!!!!

Send your large donation of MONEY to the attention of Holy Oak Tree and Big Holy Rock and we will pray for your forgiveness.

Man with Neo-Nazi ties leading patrols in Arizona

Minutemen groups, a surge in Border Patrol agents, and a tough new immigration law aren't enough for a reputed Neo-Nazi who's now leading a militia in the Arizona desert.

Jason "J.T." Ready is taking matters into his own hands, declaring war on "narco-terrorists" and keeping an eye out for illegal immigrants. So far, he says his patrols have only found a few border crossers who were given water and handed over to the Border Patrol. Once, they also found a decaying body in a wash, and alerted authorities.

But local law enforcement are nervous given that Ready's group is heavily armed and identifies with the National Socialist Movement, an organization that believes only non-Jewish, white heterosexuals should be American citizens and that everyone who isn't white should leave the country "peacefully or by force."

"We're not going to sit around and wait for the government anymore," Ready said. "This is what our founding fathers did."

Escalations of civilian border watches have taken root in Arizona in recent years, including the Minutemen movement. Various groups patrol the desert on foot, horseback and in airplanes and report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol, and generally, they have not caused problems for law enforcement.

But Ready, a 37-year-old ex-Marine, is different. He and his friends are outfitted with military fatigues, body armor and gas masks, and carry assault rifles. Ready takes offense at the term "neo-Nazi," but admits he identifies with the National Socialist Movement.

"These are explicit Nazis," said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project. "These are people who wear swastikas on their sleeves."

Ready is a reflection of the anger over illegal immigration in Arizona. Gov. Jan Brewer signed a controversial new immigration law in April, which requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if officers have a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the country illegally.

But Brewer hasn't done enough, Ready said, and he's not satisfied with President Barack Obama's decision to beef up security at the border.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said there haven't been any incidents with the group as they patrol his jurisdiction, which includes several busy immigrant smuggling corridors. But Babeu is concerned because untrained group acting without the authority of the law could cause "extreme problems," and put themselves and others in danger.

"I'm not inviting them. And in fact, I'd rather they not come," Babeu said. "Especially those who espouse hatred or bigotry such as his."

Law enforcement officials said patrols like Ready's could undercut the work of the thousands of officers on duty every day across the border, especially if they try to enforce the law themselves in carrying out vigilante justice.

Ready said his group has been patrolling in the desert about 50 miles south of Phoenix, in an area where a Pinal County Sheriff's deputy reported he was shot by drug smugglers in April.

The patrols have been occurring on public land, and militia members have no real restrictions on their weaponry because of Arizona's loose gun laws.

The militia is an outgrowth of border watch groups that have been part of the immigration debate in Arizona. Patrols in the Arizona desert by Minutemen organizations brought national attention to illegal immigration in 2004 and 2005.

Such groups continue to operate in Arizona, and law enforcement officials generally don't take issue with them as long as they don't take matters into their own hands.

Ready said he's planning patrols throughout the summer.

"If they don't want my people out there, then there's an easy way to send us home: Secure the border," he said. "We'll put our guns back on the shelf, and that'll be the end of that."

In 2001 George W. Bush Squanders Budget Surplus

The Cause and Effects of the George W. Bush Squandering the Budget Surplus that the Bill Clinton administration left him with.

In 2001 the George W. Bush pushed through one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. Bush argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers, saying "the surplus is not the government’s money. The surplus is the people’s money." With reports of the threat of recession from the Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, Bush argued that such a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs. Others, including the Treasury Secretary at the time Paul O’Neill, were opposed to some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine Social Security. (What a great prediction that came true. Who Knew?!?!?)

Below is Engineer of Knowledge’s 2010 evaluation of this action.

George W. Bush’s “Economic Stimulus” Plan

Q. What was an “Economic Stimulus” payment?
A. It is money that the federal government sent to taxpayers.

Q. Where did the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the George W. Bush government gave back your own money?
A. Only a smidgen of it, Vice President Dick Cheney got the rest.

Q. What was the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan was for you to use the money to purchase a high definition TV sets, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?
A. Shut up Smart Ass.

Below was the George W. Bush’s helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. economy by spending the stimulus check wisely:

* If you spent the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money went to China or Sri Lanka .
* If you spent it on gasoline, your money went to the Arabs.
* If you purchased a computer, it went to India , Taiwan or China .
* If you purchased fruit and vegetables, it went to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala .
* If you bought an efficient car, it went to Japan or Korea .
* If you purchased useless stuff, it went to Taiwan .
* If you paid your credit cards off, or bought stock, it went to management bonuses where they would just hide it offshore.

Instead, you could have kept the money in America by:
1) Spending it at yard sales.
2) Going to ball games, preferably the Texas Rangers
3) Spending it on prostitutes like Bush did in his drunken, cocaine youth.
4) Beer….Lots and Lots of Beer like Bush did as a drunk!!
5) Tattoos
(These are the only American businesses still operating in the U.S.)

Conclusion:
If you went to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drank beer all day, you were a True Patriotic American….Just like President George W. Bush!

Moderate Republicans Speak Out Against The Tea Party Conservatives

National Candidates Backed by the Tea Party Movement Have Had Damaging Results

The more intelligent and responsible Moderate Republicans have voiced concerns that the Tea Party has only inadvertently hurt the GOP. A quote from within the Republican Party, "With the Tea Party creating the mischief like that currently in Colorado, we may not win any seats. At the moment there is not a cohesive Republican strategy of what we're going to do, and certainly among the Tea Party types, there's clearly no strategy of what we're going to do."

Many of the Tea Party’s favorites have failed to secure key nominations. The California Senate hopeful Chuck DeVore lost to businesswoman Carly Fiorina; Doug Hoffman lost in the New York House special election despite Sarah Palin’s backing; and Idaho Congressional candidate Vaughn Ward lost the Republican primary even though he too nabbed Palin's endorsement.

The Tea Party’s efforts have only backfired on the Republicans. Sen. Bob Bennett, the three-term senator from Utah, lost his re-election bid. The chances are that now this seat could very easily go to the Democrats.

But Tea Party supporters mindlessly say that the discord in the movement is its strength, not a weakness.

"It's designed to be fragmented. That's the difference between the Tea Party and the political elite," said Shelby Blakely, a spokeswoman for Tea Party Patriots, a national group that provides support to local Tea Party organizations.
The differences of opinion are "mathematically impossible to avoid and we actually don't want to," Blakely said. "We are working towards a common goal and when it comes down to the wire, we unite and we become a rather larger force of people who can donate millions of man hours and resources to the right candidates, to the right issue, the right legislation. We've proven that." (?!?!You are loosing elections right and left and Shelby Blakely is claiming success?!?!?!?)

Many candidates who really don’t have a chance of winning are exploiting the popular grassroots momentum of the Tea Party, but the question is, “How long that allegiance will remain.” In Massachusetts, the Tea Party helped Sen. Scott Brown win an upset victory over Democrat Martha Coakley for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. The Tea Party Express released an ad extolling the virtues of Brown, and the Our Country Deserves Better PAC poured money into his campaign. He was hailed by many as the first official Tea Party victory, even though Brown distanced himself from the movement instantly. But Brown's decision to side with the Democrats on Wall Street reform outraged Tea Party members, leading many to call him a traitor but the reality was that Brown is a Moderate Republican and the Tea Party claimed his victory after the fact.

Americans' view toward the Tea Party is divided. 30% said they are more likely to support a candidate who is associated with the Tea Party political movement, while 30% percent said they are less likely to. So I guess the balance of the 40% just consider the Tea Party is just BATSHIT CRAZY!

The next test of Tea Party's mettle is in Georgia, where on July 20, Palin-endorsed Karen Handel will face off against former Rep. Nathan Deal for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. My predictions are, the Tea Party will just manage to convert this election into another Three Ring Cluster F*#k!!! This is the only true measure!!!

NAACP Passes Anti-racism Tea Party Resolution

Yesterday afternoon the NAACP passed a resolution calling on all people to condemn racism within the tea party movement. The NAACP’s resolution urge people to oppose what it said were the tea party’s drive “to push our country back to the pre-civil rights era.”

Anita Russell who is head of the Kansas City branch said as the debate on the resolution began, “We feel it’s very important that we educate our membership about the Tea Party.”

The resolution demands that the Tea Party purge itself of the racist element that has been allowed to hide behind the Tea Party’s veil but none the less is there. The element that is seen so often holding up signs displaying President Obama as a monkey, signs that prominently have the “N” word on it, and yes even spitting on and using racial slurs right on the Nation’s Capital Steps.

The NAACP plans a march to Washington D.C. to protest, confront the Tea Party followers, and make America aware who many of the Tea Party members really are.

America’s First Family of Dysfunction Does It Again

Yes America’s Favorite Trailer Trash Couple Bristol Palin and her ex-fiancé and now fiancé once again, Levi Johnston, are announcing yet once again that they are engaged. It's been a tumultuous couple of years for the Palins and Johnstons but she says the two are looking to change all that, and possibly in a very big way.

Following his recent public apology, in which he conveniently admits he "said things about the Palins that were not completely true," Bristol, 19, announced their engagement in the most proper Emily Post TABLOID fashion of how to put forth your announcement in PEOPLE magazine’s new issue, "I forgive him for what he did. He was young, mad, misguided. We're moving on."

Amid reports that the two are planning to tie the knot – a move they reputedly have yet to run by her parents – Bristol, who did not wear an engagement ring during her conversation with PEOPLE, replied to the question of if they would marry: "Yeah. I mean, I don't really want to get into detail about what's in store for our future, because who knows? But all I'd like to say about it is, hopefully we will be a family."

As for how they managed to bury the hatchet after their very public falling out, Bristol credits Levi's "just coming around. But, I don't know. It's good. It's good for all three of us, including their son, Tripp Easton.

Looking back, Bristol believes that if fame, money and her mom Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign had not become part of her and Levi's lives, the ex-couple would already be happy living a simple life.

"I think Levi and I would be married," she says without hesitation. "He would still have his oil industry job on the North Slope, and we'd be in a one-bedroom apartment, scraping by."

Bristol, who says all of her friends have gone out of state, has no plans to follow them. "Levi and I are both Alaska based, and I don't see us moving anywhere else."

Of course this is not the last we are going to hear from these two. I am sure there will be a whole SPECIAL PROGRAM when they appear on Steve Wilko's TV show.

A Brief Explanation of Freemasonry

As a 3rd degree, "Master Mason," I have been asked by several people on what Freemasonry truly is. Many have heard the conspiracy theories and I will also correct this by passing on the origins of these rumors.

Masonry is practiced worldwide:
There are over 2 million Masons in North America and nearly 4 million worldwide. The motto of Masonry in the United States is, “Making Good Men Better.” When a man of 21 years old petitions to become a Mason, there will be a background check done on this person.

Freemasonry has no single spokesman:
Freemasonry is made up of many individuals in numerous organizations, all subordinate to the Grand Lodge within their jurisdiction (i.e. state). So there are 50 Grand Lodges within the United States. None of these members or organizations can speak for Freemasonry; that is the responsibility of each Grand Lodge within its jurisdiction.

Freemasonry is made up of many organizations:
Masonry has many groups, each with a special social, educational, or philanthropic focus. A man becomes a 3rd degree, "Master Mason," in his local Blue Lodge, then he can join any of the following "Appendant Bodies": the Scottish Rite, York Rite (which includes the Royal Arch, Council and Knights Templar), Shrine, Grotto, Tall Cedars, etc.



Blue Lodge:
The Blue Lodge is what most people see in their neighborhoods and where every Freemason starts. Being elected to the officer’s chairs (from Jr. and Sr. Steward, Jr. and Sr. Deacon, Jr. and Sr. Wardens, and Worshipful Master), all can be obtained as a 3rd degree Mason. To have been a "Past Worshipful Master" is more prestigious, has more clout and honor than someone who has obtained 32nd degree in one of the other Rites. The Blue Lodge Masonic organizations are dedicated to the benefit of society through improvement of the individual. By morality lessons and peer association, they promote behaviors which civilize the man and strengthen his society. This is consistent with the 1st to 3rd degree Blue Lodge lessons which teach a man to be a better husband, father, son, neighbor, and citizen. All practice local charity and usually sponsor educational scholarships. In the final analysis Blue Lodge Masons are champions of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.



Scottish Rite:
I must admit that while I progress through the officer chairs of the Blue Lodge, the Scottish Rite is the direction of Masonry I intend to obtain my 4th through 32nd degree work.
The history of the Scottish Rite, as with so much of Masonry, begins in a mist of uncertainty. Although there are many Scottish Rite members of Scottish ancestry, the Scottish Rite actually originated in southern France by the Jacobites who escaped Scotland after their failed rebellion against the British in the early 18th century, as part of the Rite of Perfection. Scottish Rite Masonry is the champion of individual freedoms and citizenship rights as well as responsibilities. A Scottish Rite Mason is urged to take an active leadership role in the promotion and protection of individual rights: government by democracy, free speech and press, equitable treatment before the law, freedom of religion and the individual, and separation of church and state. Good men of other religions (Jews, Moslems, Hindus, etc.) believing in Deity may become Scottish Rite Masons. Scottish Rite Freemasons support 122 Childhood Learning Disorders Clinics, Centers, and Programs and their hospitals in Dallas, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, treating children with orthopedic, neurological, and learning disabilities.



York Rite:
York Rite Masonry in its concluding Degrees or Orders is the champion of Christianity. A man must pledge to defend Christianity to become a Knight Templar Freemason in the York Rite. York Rite philanthropic aspect deals with Arteriosclerosis.



Shriners:
The Shriners are probably the most recognized in Thanksgiving Day parades riding in the little cars with the fezze hats that the members wear. In 1870, several thousand of the 900,000 residents of Manhattan were Masons. Many of these Masons made it a point to lunch at the Knickerbocker Cottage, a restaurant at 426 Sixth Avenue. At a special table on the second floor, a particularly jovial group of men used to meet regularly. The Masons who gathered at this table were noted for their good humor and wit. They often discussed the idea of a new fraternity for Masons, in which fun and fellowship would be stressed more than ritual. Two of the table regulars, Walter M. Fleming, M.D., and William J. Florence, an actor, took the idea seriously enough to do something about it.

Established in 1870 is an appendant body to Freemasonry based in the United States, the organization is best-known for the Shriners Hospitals for Children they administer. The organization is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International is a fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth.



Tall Cedars of Lebanon:
This Rite started in 1843 with some very energetic and imaginative Master Masons who dreamed up the idea of a Tall Cedar Degree, and in those days the degree was called " The Ancient and Honorable Rite of Humility." It was some time around 1846, after the meetings of the Grand Lodge and some of the Blue Lodges in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area that they would have the Tall Cedar Degree performed. The name "Tall Cedar Degree" does not reveal itself other than the possibility of a somewhat shorter title than the aforementioned, and this was to remain as such until they adopted the title of " Tall Cedars of Lebanon of the United States of America" upon incorporation in 1902. The Tall Cedars philanthropic aspect deals with finding a cure for Muscular Dystrophy and neuromuscular diseases.

Grotto Rite:
The Grotto Rite was originally styled the Fairchild Deviltry Committee as a social group for Master Masons founded 10 September 1889 by LeRoy Fairchild in Hamilton, New York. It originated in a series of informal meetings, where Master Masons gathered for relaxation and laughs. Promoting the Golden Rule and good fellowship, their full title, the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, was adopted 13 June 1890. There are Grottoes throughout the United States and Canada whose principle charity is to help children with Cerebral Palsy, and they also support a "Dentistry for the Handicapped" program.

Here is where the conspiracy theories began and even though they have been disproved shortly after they started, there are those who find it profitable to continue to promote the admitted scam started by Léo Taxil in France and revealed for what his real motivation was on April 19, 1897.



"Lucifer" as Latin name for the Morning Star:
In Latin, the word "Lucifer", meaning "Light-Bringer" from lux, lucis, "light", and ferre, "to bear, bring," is a name used for the Morning Star, the planet Venus, in its dawn appearances. The word is used in its astronomical sense both in prose and poetry, but most poets personify the star in a mythological context.

Léo Taxil’s Hoax:
Léo Taxil, whose real name is Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, claimed that Freemasonry is associated with worshipping Lucifer. In what is known as the Taxil hoax, he claimed that supposedly leading Freemason Albert Pike had addressed "The 23 Supreme Confederated Councils of the world," an invention of Taxil, instructing them that Lucifer was God, and was in opposition to the evil god Adonai. Albert Pike was the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction in 1859 and remained Sovereign Grand Commander for the remainder of his life, a total of thirty-two years, devoting a large amount of his time to developing the rituals of the order. He published a book called, “Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 1871.

Apologists of Freemasonry contend that, when Albert Pike and other Masonic scholars spoke about the "Luciferian path," or the "energies of Lucifer," they were referring to the Morning Star, the light bearer, the search for light; the very antithesis of dark, satanic evil.

Léo Taxil promoted a book by Diana Vaughan, which was actually written by himself, as he later confessed publicly, that purported to reveal a highly secret ruling body called the, “Palladium,” which controlled the organization and had a Satanic agenda. As described by his book, "Freemasonry Disclosed," in 1897:

Quote from Léo Taxil:
"With frightening cynicism, the miserable person we shall not name here (Taxil) declared before an assembly especially convened for him that for twelve years he had prepared and carried out to the end the most sacrilegious of hoaxes. We have always been careful to publish special articles concerning Palladism and Diana Vaughan. We are now giving in this issue a complete list of these articles, which can now be considered as not having existed."

This false information came from Léo Taxil, which was the pen name of Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès. Léo Taxil hired a prostitute by the name of, Diana Vaughan, who was supposed to be the female involved in Satanic Freemasonry rituals. On April 19, 1897 Taxil called a press conference at which he claimed he would introduce Diana Vaughan to the press. He instead announced that many of his revelations about the Freemasons were nothing more than a fictitious con job.
Taxil's work and Pike's address continue to be quoted by anti-Masonic groups.

The Order of Palladium:
Palladists is a name for an alleged Theistic Satanist society or member of that society. The name Palladian comes from Pallas and refers to wisdom and learning.

Lewis Spence, in the book, “An Encyclopedia of Occultism” written in 1920, asserted that "The Order of Palladium founded in Paris 20 May 1737 or Sovereign Council of Wisdom" was a “Masonic diabolic order.” Women, according to Spence, were initiated as "Companions of Penelope". The society had two orders, "Adelph" and "Companion of Ulysses"; however the society was broken up by French law enforcement a few years after its foundation.

In 1891 Léo Taxil and Adolphe Ricoux claimed to have discovered a Palladian Society. An 1892 French book Le Diable au XIXe siècle (The Devil in the 19th Century", 1892), written by "Dr. Bataille," which was actually written by Léo Taxil himself, alleged that Palladists were Satanists based in Charleston, South Carolina headed by the American Scottish Rite Freemason, Albert Pike, and created by the Italian liberal patriot and author, Giuseppe Mazzini.

Léo Taxil supposedly found Diana Vaughan and published the book, “Confessions of an Ex-Palladist,” in 1895. On April 19, 1897 Léo Taxil called a press conference at which, he claimed, he would introduce Diana Vaughan to the press. At the conference instead he announced that his revelations about the Freemasons were fictitious. He thanked the Catholic Clergy for their assistance in giving publicity to his wild claims.

Consequently, it is clear now in the light of history that the Palladists never existed as a historical reality and were, in fact, entirely an invention of Léo Taxil created for the purpose of embarrassing the Catholic Church.



Eye of Providence:
Conspiracy theorists which have been mostly religious intolerants, like to point to the "Eye in the Pyramid" in the Great Seal of the United States. The simple fact is that the eye in the pyramid is not now nor has it ever been a Masonic symbol.

The "Eye of Providence" sometimes referred to in Masonic ritual as the "All-Seeing Eye" (of Deity) is found in the ritual of most jurisdictions, reminding a Mason that his words and deeds are being judged by the Supreme Architect of the Universe. The pyramid appears in the ritual of some, and not all jurisdictions, represents the great "Stone Mason" builders of the past. However, their combined usage of the eye and pyramid is essentially non-existent. There is NO "official" combination of the eye and the pyramid in Masonry!

NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM:
The phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum (Latin for "New Order of the Ages") appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States first designed in 1782 and printed on the back of the American dollar bill since 1935. The phrase also appears on the coat of arms of the Yale School of Management, Yale University’s business school. The phrase is often mistranslated as “New World Order,” for which the Latin would be Novus Ordo Mundi.

ANNUIT COEPTIS:
The Latin statement "ANNUIT COEPTIS" is found within "the great seal" emblem on the back of the United States dollar bill just above the "The Eye of Providence" pyramid image. New scientific studies suggest the statement expresses a conceptual view in which early timekeepers once used special crystal-base paint or magnetically ingrained stone material to optically reflect radiant starlight energy from pyramid tops as an annual measuring technique to mark the beginning of a new year. "ANNUIT COEPTIS" could mean "annual conception" or "yearly beginning" as a scientific statement when early timekeepers and governmental leaders wanted to express a method of measuring and counting annual time for official public record keeping. This scientific statement became the "new selected order" - as in the "Novus Ordo Seclorum" Latin statement also found within "the great seal" emblem.

Well I hope that this helps explains what Freemasonry is and please feel free to ask me any questions you may have as I have just touched on subjects that are much deeper.

Independence Day Reflection of Thomas Jefferson

On this day that we celebrate our Declaration of Independence from England, we should take time to reflect on the current events of this year, 2010, thus far.

Until this year, Thomas Jefferson was revered in American history textbooks as the Founding Father who wrote the Declaration of Independence. His document is the reason we celebrate the fourth of July as this country's Independence Day. This is a holiday to remind Americans about the history and significance of that document.

But earlier this year, religious conservative members of the "Texas Board of Education" decided to push for a revision of this history by downplaying Jefferson's influence in the founding of our nation because the notion of the "Separation of Church and State" has been traced to him. These religious rightists believe this country was founded as a Christian Nation and decided to make their point by revising American history in their public school text books. The effect of this kind of revision of American history would be to celebrate the founding of this country as a religious event rather than the secular event it is.

One does not have to be an American History Scholar to understand that the American Revolution was not fought as a religious war against anti-Christian forces or an Antichrist. It occurred as a reluctant solution to a struggle by colonists against an imperial British government. The leaders of the Revolution considered this rebellion a secular matter. Their goal was to establish the colonies as free and independent states concerned with matters of this world and the new land in which they existed, rather than establish a Christian nation.

As a matter of historical fact, America entered into the Treaty of Tripoli in 1797 which included in part the following statement: "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." I wonder if the "“Revisionist Asses within the Texas Board of Education” would consider inserting this item in their textbooks? Of course not because they don't want to deal in facts!

The drafting of this treaty began during George Washington's presidency. The final draft was read in full in the Senate where it was approved unanimously and then signed by Washington's successor, President John Adams.

Jefferson made history with the help of John Adams and Ben Franklin in writing the Declaration of Independence to abolish British colonial rule. This political theory is at the heart of the document we celebrate today, namely, that individuals "are created equal" with rights to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" to be secured by a government empowered by the consent of the governed. I might also add from my Masonic background which many of our Founding Fathers were members also is, "Freedom From Ignorance."

Jefferson later explained that his purpose with this document was to firmly and plainly state self-evident, common sense principles with which sensible people would agree and which would justify the colonist's independence.

These rights expressed by Jefferson became an important part of the Constitution through the first 10 amendments (the Bill of Rights) and the 14th Amendment. His memorable words have become immortal and the SHAME is on the "Texas Board of Education" and those who agree with them for trying to downplay Thomas Jefferson and his document as important parts of American history.

Now for those whom believe in Divine Providence, isn’t it ironic that “The State of Texas” did not have the funds to purchase these "Bastardized History Books" assembled by those who blatantly disregarded "Historical Fact" to push their fabricated viewpoints onto others.

Maybe there truly is Justice For All!!!