Burning Taper Blog
http://burningtaper.blogspot.com/2008/03/secrets-of-freemasonry.html
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
'Secrets' of Freemasonry?
—53 comments —
When Bro. Hodapp told the world last week that the newly sworn-in governor of New York, David Paterson, was a Freemason, I was elated that finally there was an upright and honorable Mason in the public spotlight, one who would help restore Freemasonry's image, most recently tarnished by the Royal Order of Jesters prostitute story from upstate New York.
Alas, Bro. Paterson hadn't even moved his stuff into the governor's mansion before he announced that both he and his wife had had extramarital affairs. Less than a week later, the news is splashed with his "confessions" that he has used cocaine and marijuana.
As a libertarian, I don't care what he's done regarding sex or drugs. Probably half the adults in America have done similar things. In my opinion, his "transgressions" have no bearing on his ability to carry out the duties of his office. He's to be admired for 'fessing up, I suppose, not because he should have, but because sooner or later a reporter would have brought it up anyway.
But as a Freemason, I'm a bit saddened. A public figure like Gov. Paterson could have led to Freemasonry gaining some positive press, and led me to write an inspiring, upbeat, positively glowing, triumphant article about the return of quality Masonic leadership.
Instead, he's reinforced our image as partying sex addicts.
More on the Royal Jesters story out of Buffalo
Speaking of partying, sex-crazed Masons.... Former police chief, former Jester (recent news articles say he's been "kicked out" of the club) and former (I assume) Masonic brother John Trowbridge pleaded guilty last Thursday to transporting a woman from New York to Kentucky to provide prostitution services at a Royal Order of Jesters get-together in 2005. He also admitted to taking a hooker to a Jester event in Pennsylvania in 2006.
Also charged in the case were former New York Supreme Court Justice Ron Tills and his law clerk, Michael Stebick. Presumably both men have not yet made a plea and will stand trial for violation of the federal Mann Act.
"Mirth Missives"
Investigative reporter Sandy Frost has apparently angered certain Jesters with her recent articles. A February 2008 issue of a privately-owned, "unofficial" Jester-oriented newsletter titled Mirth Missives carried this comment atop its front page:
A self styled "Investigative reporter, author and researcher into that which would rather remain hidden" named Sandy Frost, who lives in the Seattle area, has acquired the name and phone numbers of many Jesters. She is calling them to get an interview to bash the ROJ. You know what to do is [sic] she calls you. You can read her poison at:
http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com
Please communicate this information to your fellow Jesters at your next Court or Biliken [sic] Club gathering.
In a recent article, Ms. Frost described the contents of the newsletter as being so "pornographic as well as so sexually, racially and religiously offensive, that I will not link to it."
I don't agree with her that the contents are truly pornographic, but they are crude, juvenile, sexist and racist. The quality of the "humor" and the general layout of the e-zine remind me of something a 13-year old would create and enjoy.
Mirth Missives is peppered with cartoons that appear to be from a Playboy-type magazine. One comic panel shows a man, pants around his ankles, bending over a doctor's examining table. The caption reads, "Don't be embarrassed. You think your [sic] the first guy whose wife shoved the remote up his ass?"
There are several jokes about Viagra, including a "Fricke Door Sign," which reads: "I'm on Prozac, Rogaine and Viagra. I'm happy, hairy and horny."
One photo, intended to be "mirthful," I assume, shows an older couple sitting on a park bench, with the man reaching inside the woman's blouse. A caption added by TazMack, the publisher, says, "Fricke Spotted in the Park Last Week." Apparently, Fricke is a dentist and fellow Jester that TazMack often kids in the newsletter.
Another photo shows a man holding a sign that says, "Sorry. I'm blind. Can I feel your tits?"
If you read the comments section on Ms. Frost's article, you'll note that Mirth Missives publisher TazMack has been raising hell over the "leak" of his newsletter (he's the one who sent her a sample issue) and the list of several hundred subscribers, claiming "copyright violation." Amusingly (the only thing amusing about the newsletter), there's very little in the newsletter that is original. Other than the pokes at Fricke, the opening bit that warns about Ms. Frost's "poison," a disclaimer and one other small section that I will refrain from discussing at this time (read Sandy's article and TazMack's comment — yeah, the part about controlled drugs), all the material has been copied from other sources.
In respect of TazMack's claim of "copyright," I'm refraining from publishing the entire contents of the newsletter or linking to it. The use of snippets from the newsletter that I'm publishing here falls under the Fair Use Clause. The fact that the newsletter itself contains explicit instructions on how to forward it pretty much demolishes any claim that the newsletter is a "protected communication."
Do Not Forward This Entire E-Mail
If you decide to forward a joke or jokes via e-mail, please use your "copy and paste" feature to send just the joke, removing the headers, footers, addresses and unsuitable material.
Here's how to do it:
Point to the first letter of the text you want to copy and left click and hold down and drag the pointer to the end of the text and then let up on the left button. Now hover the pointer over the highlighted text and right click and choose copy from the pull down menu. Now open a new fresh write mail form and point to the main body of the new mail and right click and then touch on paste. Wham the copied text is pasted into your mail. Now select the subject and who you want to send it to and touch on send.
OR
Go to the joke or information you want to send. You can press control+shift+end to select to the end of the document or control+shift+down arrow to the end of the joke. Then, press control+c for copy. Then create a new message and then press control+v to paste the information.
Here's the e-zine's disclaimer:
"Mirth Missives is not for everyone. Particularly in business settings, some of the material may be problematic, possibly leading to sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination charges. To protect you and me, please do not receive Mirth Missives on a computer at your place of employment, or on a computer owned or installed at any fraternal or civic organization site. If you decide to print a copy of Mirth Missives, treat it as you would any other confidential mail and do not leave it lying around for prying eyes."
In closing, let me leave you with a joke or two from Mirth Missives. [Warning: Contains the F-word.]
A parrot developed the bad habit of screwing the farmer's hens, making them quit laying.
The farmer tells the parrot if he does it again he will pull out every feather in the parrot's head.
The next day, the farmer again catches the parrot humping a hen, and snatches the parrot bald.
The following day, the farmer's wife hosts a formal dinner. She thinks it would be unique if the parrot greeted the guests and told them where to go. She had spent nearly a year training the parrot for this.
As the guests began entering, the parrot dutifully announced, "Ladies to the right! Gentlemen to the left!"
Spotting two bald guys entering, the parrot says, "And you two chicken-fuckers get up here with me."
Mirth really is king, huh?
Oh, sorry. Was that not funny? What about this one?
Abe went to a brothel and told the madam, "I want a girl with big boobs and a small box."
"Why?" she asked him.
"Never mind!" replied Abe. "I`m paying for it. I want a girl with big tits and a small cooze!"
"No problem," said the madam. "Go straight up the stairs to room 23."
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and a young woman walked in.
"Okay," she said, "are you the guy with the big mouth and the small pecker?"
I guess if your humor-meter is still stuck in the sixth grade and you spend your time at church trying to look up women's dresses, you might find Mirth Missives your "cup of tea," suitable for any private "men's organization."
But these men are Freemasons. These are the "pillars of the community." Many of these men are present or past "illustrious potentates" and 33rd degree poobahs. The publisher of Mirth Missives wears a 33rd degree white hat.
These are men I once told my son to seek out if he was ever in trouble. These are men I once assumed I could trust to behave themselves around my wife.
"Oh, W.S. It's just a small minority, a few horny old men. They're harmless. It's all in good, clean fun. Masons are all good, decent family men dedicated to the good of the community and 'making good men better.' It's just an isolated event."
I've seen the distribution list of Mirth Missives. I was very surprised at some of the names on the list. I immediately recognized at least one as a Past Grand Master, and I'm sure there are others of such "high rank." All the names on the list, I would assume, are now, or once were, active officers in their blue lodges. These are the "leaders" who instructed new candidates in rituals and lectures regarding "morality" and "keeping passions within due bounds."
Personally — again, as a libertarian — I don't care what these guys are doing. Yuck it up, boys. Take your Viagra and **** yourselves silly.
I just find it disturbing that you're doing it en masse under the banner of a group associated with Freemasonry.
We're supposed to be better than this.
Masons | Royal Order of Jesters | Mirth Missives | Freemasonry | Shriners | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com
Labels: David Paterson, John Trowbridge, Masonic secrets, Michael Stebick, Mirth Missives, Ron Tills, Royal Order of Jesters, Secrets of Freemasonry
Further Reading:
The Royal Order of Jesters - The Shriners Secret Society Secret Society - 'Mirth is King'