has anyone mentioned that gerald ford was a free mason

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/mlam/presidents/ford.html

[xultar]

1. My grandfather was too - AND?

[K8-EEE]

3. What is that exactly? It looks kind of creepy!

Wassup with all the Grand Poobah type jargon there...

[Bluebear]

63. 'Grand Poobah type jargon'

:rofl:

:)

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

4. so was my father and grandfather

and brother.

[K8-EEE]

6. Were they Sovereign Grand Inspector Generals?

Those titles and stuff are Star Trek-y!

[Taverner]

13. They're all based on Templar ranks

The Modern Freemasons took a lot of lore and practice from the Knights Templar. Whether they are, in fact, decendants of the Templars leaves much room for debate.

Some say the Templars took their fleet and became pirates, some say they went off to Nova Scotia, and some say they moved to Switzerland and Scotland.

[K8-EEE]

19. Whoa!! Like in DaVinci Code?

YIKES! That is wild! So they're like a secret society then?

[Taverner]

29. Well, they were a secret society

In many countries (mostly Catholic) they are still a banned organization.

Strangely, they are legal in Cuba, but not in Paraguay.

King Phillip the Fair killed the Templars (after killing the Jews) to get their gold. He never did get the treasure. The part about the Masons being the Priory of Sion, however, isn't part of Masonic lore (to my knowlege.)

Most likely King Phillip wasn't trying to save the Catholic church, but was a spend-a-holic. When the people who loaned him money (the Jews) actually wanted their money back, he went postal and killed them off. Then, seeking more funds, he set his eyes on the Templars.

Their rituals are secret, but other than that nothing else about the group is.

I'm a 3rd degree mason, and I've noticed alot of Masons are History Teachers. It's the perfect place for a history buff.

[K8-EEE]

46. Secret Rituals!!

OOOH! I'm intrigued....

[Capn Amerika]

22. The Knights of Malta became pirates.

After they were driven from Rhodes and no longer had a "base".

[Taverner]

33. Templars were said to have taken their fleets to piracy as well

No one knows for sure....

[rsmith6621]

58. John Kerry Was Skull and BONES.......

So what is your point...

[Taverner]

2. so...?

Mason bashing is almost as silly as looking for "rods" flying in the air, and selling off all your property to follow John Titor...

[K8-EEE]

5. I don't even know what this means, LOL!

But y'all are sure defensive, the poster only asked has anybody mentioned it!

[originalpckelly]

7. If you are offended, I suggest you lodge a complaint by using the alert button.

^^^Worst pun in history.^^^

[Sugar Smack]

12. You goose!!!

:rofl:

[Xipe Totec]

11. I think it's just an interesting fact,

Harry S. Truman was not only a Mason, but the sitting Grand Master of Missouri while he was President.

Let's not jump to conclusions on the OP's intent. :hi:

[originalpckelly]

15. I know, if anything, it makes him cool.

[K8-EEE]

21. Why? n/m

?

[originalpckelly]

26. Free Masonry has a mystique to it. That's it.

:-)

[K8-EEE]

20. Grand Master of Missouri??

Am I the only one who thinks these titles/ranks are kinda LOL??

[Xipe Totec]

25. You're probably not alone in your thinking

but the ridicule is off base. There is plenty of information available on-line regarding the Masons and their work. I'm sure that once you get to know a little more about the Masons and their philanthropy, you'll regard them more favorably.

-Fiat Lux

:hi:

[conscious evolution]

37. I highly recommend

that people who are unfamiliar with the Masons read up on their history in regards to the founding of the U.S.
If it was not for the Masons would probably still be a colony of england.

[Capn Amerika]

24. Not to those in the early 19th century.

There was actually an anti-Mason Party. They were pretty strong too.

[RB TexLa]

8. at least he wasn't an Elk

If they ever get control of the Illuminati, it will be like nothing history has ever seen, oh the secrets. Too scary.

:rofl:

But I'm sure there will be posts taking it all very serious.

:popcorn:

[malaise]

9. Free masons rule the world n/t

[Xipe Totec]

42. No, we just measure it, square it,

and try to put it on the level from time to time.


:yoiks:

[malaise]

55. My father was one

I know more than you believe on this one. :D

[Xipe Totec]

67. Then let us meet on the level,

act by the plumb, and part upon the square. :hi:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. Yep

so was my uncle, grandfather, great uncle, great grandfather, and father in law. And the Shrine Hospital in Michigan saved the life of a cousin of mine and it didn't cost the family a cent.

[Hoosier Dem]

14. So were Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

[tridim]

16. He made Steve Gutenberg (beat) a Star!

We do, we do!

[Critters2]

50. I think of this, and chuckle quietly, every time anyone mentions the

Masons. "I saw weird stuff in that place last night. Weird, strange, sick, twisted, eerie, godless, evil stuff! And I want in."

Hehehe.

[treestar]

17. What about the Trilateral Commission?

Those are the people who run the world.

:hide: :popcorn: :rofl: :evilgrin:

[BrotherBuzz]

62. The Stonecutters rule the world

Stonecutter song

Who controls the British Crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do, we do.
Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do, we do.
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do, we do.
Who robs cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do, we do!

[terrya]

18. Wow...he was a Free Mason AND he farted frequently!

Golly, the things you learn here at Democratic Underground!

[KG]

23. so was Keph.

[Xipe Totec]

32. True indeed! n/t

[xultar]

39. I miss Keph!

[William769]

27. So were most of our founding fathers.

[EnviroBat]

28. My Pop is one. n/t

[onenote]

30. has anyone mentioned that William O Douglas was a mason?

Or Thurgood Marshall, FDR, Duke Ellington, Chuck Schumer, George McGovern....(and on and on)...

[Xipe Totec]

31. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin,

Buzz Aldrin (my Lodge brother).

and on and on :hi:

[Bridget Burke]

34. Is that a surprise? Quite a few American Presidents were probably Masons.

There's a lot of weird stuff out there about Masons. Hey, I liked the Illumanitus Trilogy--but I know it's fiction.

The only thing I really know about the Masons is all the good work done by the Shriners' Hospitals.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

35. Shriners and Masons are the same group?

[Xipe Totec]

41. Not quite, but close

You must be either a Scottish Rite or York Rite Mason to belong to the Shrine.

You must be a regular Blue Lodge Mason to belong to either the Scottish Rite or the York Rite.

[treestar]

59. Sounds similar to the Knights of Columbus

[Xipe Totec]

66. No surprise there

Since the KoC was created as a Catholic alternative to Masonry (Catholics used to be forbidden to join the Masonic Orders).

There is a also a great deal of ritual similarity in the Mormon Church (Masons used to be forbidden to belong to the Mormon Church because it was considered clandestine masonry).

[Marrah_G]

36. OMG he was a Mason!

/gasp

So were many, many of our former Presidents.

Frankly without the Masons there would be no United States of America. The founding fathers were Masons and brought with them Masonic principals that were the basis of our form of government. The first Grand Lodge in America was held upstairs in the Bunch of Grapes Inn in Boston, also the place where much of the revolution was planned.

I've also heard that in the archives of the Grand Lodge in Boston sits an old book containing minutes of meetings. On the day of the Boston Tea Party all that is on the page is a big T.

Oh Yes and the SHRINERS, I almost forgot. Those EVIL, EVIL Fez-Wearing Masonic Clowns giving away free medical treatment at 22 Shriners Hospitals across the country. You can be a Mason and not a Shriner, but you cannot be a Shriner and not a Mason.

I have apx a dozen friends that are Masons, including a former spouse. All Pagans and all Progressives.

/rant off

[Carni]

65. OMG! *PAGAN* Masons no less! Jeezus!

LOL!

My Father was a Mason AND I do have to say; regarding the costume deal...
that the feathery hats and swords etc just embarrassed the hell out of me as a kid!

I was always in fear that someone from school would see my Father dressed in his Mason regalia and that I would forever be a laughing stock.

I don't think there is anything too Nefarious about the Masons, but I do hope you guys have updated your modes of dress for meetings since the 1970's! lol

[kestrel91316]

38. My great-grandfather was a Mason. I have his sterling Masonic

cufflinks. I think they have tiny diamond chips in them. They are nearly 75 years old, i think.

[Beelzebud]

40. You're living in a country that was founded and built by freemasons.

My father is a freemason, and some day I'll most likely be one.

You got a problem with that?

[G_Leo_Criley]

43. No problem here but a question

Are there women freemasons?

Thanks.

glc

[Marrah_G]

44. No, not in traditional Masonry

They do have a womens group for family members of Masons called the Order of the Eastern Star. Also there is a girls group called Rainbow Girls and a Boys group called DeMolay.

[G_Leo_Criley]

47. Thanks Marrah_G

Have wondered about that. Read an interesting article years ago on the web about something called co-masonry, which had women members with men, but have never seen it mentioned anywhere else.

Seems a shame to leave half the people behind.

glc

and hey -- a hearty welcome to DU to you though I'm still somewhat of a newbie too!

:hi:

[Marrah_G]

52. Thanks for the welcome

I tend to read more then to post.

Co-Masonry is a spin off of sorts to Masonry and not recognized by the Masons (although most Masons I know don't have an issue with it)

I think the website is www.co-masonry.org.

Personally I never joined Eastern Star because I felt as a Wiccan priestess,a group where my condition of eligibility depended on a male relative or husband was just not for me. I looked into co-masonry but didn't really have the time for it. In no way does that mean I frown on Masonry as a whole though. I think it is a wonderful organization and I have much affection and fond memories for it and it's traditions.

[G_Leo_Criley]

56. Thanks for that link!

I'll pass it along to a friend. (Will read it myself later this evening when I can sit down and concentrate for a while.)

I can understand what you're saying about being taken for who you are. I too think it's a great organization, from what I've read.

No disrespect intended in any of my questions!

glc

[K8-EEE]

45. Wow What A Defensive Bunch!!

All the poster did was bring up the fact that he WAS one...BMA it turns out all these DUers are related in some way to this secret org that's a real touchy subject...very intriguing!

[G_Leo_Criley]

49. Defensive?

Really?

I'm not surprised that people have questions about an organization that bills itself as a secret organization. Lotsa powerful folks have been masons, and the subject came up.

glc

[spinbaby]

48. Well, that explains it

I spotted some guys in aprons going by the coffin. I figured it was either the Masons or an group of transvestites who like to dress up like French maids.

One of the silliest spectacles I ever witnessed was that of a subgroup of Masons--jokers or jesters or something--parading around in their silly hats at a convention. One of the most memorable hotel stays I ever had.

[Marrah_G]

53. Shriners perhaps?

If the silly hats were fezes (sp?) and there was a clown or two in the mix I would take a guess that it was the Shriners. Great at raising money for charity and having fun while doing it :)

[spinbaby]

54. Could have been Shriners

You know those funny hats Fred Flintstone wore to the Water Buffalo Lodge? I swear they were wearing the same hats.

[Bridget Burke]

70. I'll forgive the Shriners their "funny" hats, because of their Children's Hospitals.

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of 22 pediatric hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico providing specialized care for orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate. All services are provided at no charge.

www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/_Hospitals_for_Children/

[Giant Robot]

51. Always been curious about joining myself n/t

[Odin2005]

57. Uh, so? You don't beleive those stupid conspiracies about them, do you?

[Lilith Velkor]

60. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

!!

[Tyrone Slothrop]

61. And Washington DC was designed by a Freemason

and built according to occult ratios and symbols, right?



http://freemasonrywatch.org/washington.html

[Xipe Totec]

68. Gothic Math

Mathematics means handling numerical quantities symbolically, not a subject medieval masons studied. In fact, some couldn't even read. As we comb the rich medieval record, we find not only no mathematical basis for these glorious buildings, we don't find architectural drawings. We find only the crudest sketches. Yet the medieval cathedral is geometry and proportion -- from labyrinths in mosaic floor tiles to the criss-crossing ribs that hold the ceiling. It just doesn't make sense. Then we realize:

The building is the geometry text. The master mason, with his fingers touching stone, used stone to express geometry. If mathematics is the symbolic expression of magnitude, that's what the cathedral itself is. The balance of mass and space goes by square roots of 2 and 3, and the so-called Golden Section.

Medieval iconography regularly shows one mathematical instrument in the hands of the mason -- a pair of dividers. When medieval artists show us God, He often appears as the Master Craftsman, holding a great pair of dividers. With dividers and a carpenter's square alone, you can prove the Pythagorean theorem, and you can create any of those seemingly sacred proportions.

The cathedrals were not so much designed by mathematics as they are mathematics. They are mathematics that flowed straight from the mind's eye to the fingers of masons who built them.

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi942.htm

[conscious evolution]

69. What a fucked up site

you linked to.
I thought I had wondered into freeperville by mistake.

[Bluebear]

64. All the OP asked if it was mentioned, why are people so touchy?

Maybe the OP is a proud freemason and was concerned that nobody has mentioned it?