SC approves Christian license tag

In April, The Burning Taper reported on an attempt in Florida to introduce state license plates with a Christian cross and the words "I Believe."

The measure failed in the legislature.

But like "Whack-A-Mole," the idea popped up somewhere else. Flying below the radar until Thursday, the idea became law in South Carolina as Republican Gov. Mark Sanford let it take effect without his signature. The S.C. tag uses the exact same design as the proposed Florida tag did, with a Christian cross superimposed onto a stained glass window, proving (not that it was any secret) there is a particular organization behind the movement, namely, a fundamentalist Christian group known as "Faith in Teaching" based in Miami, Fla.

Prior to the Christian-themed license tag's approval, South Carolina politicians apparently learned a lesson from the tag's failure in Florida, and hatched an idea to create a tag for "atheists" so they could say, "See? We let everyone have a voice."

The "tag for atheists" consists of a white tag sporting an American flag, with the motto "In Reason We Trust." While it might make a great tag for Freemasons and fans of The Enlightenment, I'd hardly say that the state should be speaking for atheists as if they all "believed" or "trusted" in Reason. Being an atheist means not believing in a god, not that you believe in something other than a god. Even the name of photo of the S.C. "atheist" tag — "humanist.jpg" — shows its very existence is just sleight of hand and has nothing to do with atheism, as "[humanism] is generally compatible with atheism and agnosticism but doesn't require either of these," according to Wikipedia.

Just as Freemasonry has devolved into a "my version is better than your version" argument, so has our entire nation. Once a melting pot with the motto "E Pluribus Unum," which means "Out of Many, One," the United States of America has become divided and subdivided into cliques, sects, denominations, political parties, teams (and fans of teams) and gangs, all loudly, shrilly shouting "My way is the right way, and yours isn't!"

Out of One, we have again become Many.

Masons | E Pluribus Unum | Florida Politics | Freemasonry | South Carolina Politics | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Catholic Church claims Freemasonry responsible for rupture in diplomatic relations between Mexican gov't and Vatican

We tend to think of the Catholic vs. Freemason controversy as something from centuries past, and in America, worrying that Freemasons control the world, or at least influence national politics, while fodder for the anti-Masonic conspiracy nuts, is usually downplayed or ignored in polite conversation and in U.S. news reports.

From England we often see articles about the fear townspeople have of the "network" of Masons in political, judicial and law enforcement positions. Demands for Masonic membership lists are common.

In Mexico, too, it seems, Freemasons play a prominent role in politics.

Today I found an interesting item from the Catholic News Agency. The Vatican maintains that for most of the 20th century, Freemasons controlled the politics and government of Mexico.

The report stated:

Mexican Masonry played a decisive role in the configuration of the Mexican State and in political measures such as the stripping of the Church's right to own schools and communications media, the right to vote of priests and religious, and the rupture of diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

The anti-clerical policies were kept in place throughout the entire period of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), dominated by the Masons, from 1929 to 2000.

Recently, Mexican bishops announced they would begin a campaign to regain the rights stripped from them by the previous Mexican constitution, put into place at the behest of Freemasons.

"The Great Teacher" Pedro Marquez, head of the Grand Lodge of the Valley of Mexico, reacted by accusing the Church of wanting to "return to the past."

"The Catholic hierarchy wants to dictate a political policy and that is a very grave error, as our society is no longer in the era of Christianity and priests are no longer viceroys of New Spain," Marquez said during a press conference.

"There is a tendency in the Church to meddle in the social and political affairs of Mexico, but the priests should return to their Churches," he added.

Bro. Oscar J. Salinas sheds further light on the political and religious intrigue surrounding Freemasonry in Mexico in his 1999 talk titled "Mexican Freemasonries: Encounters with Religion and Politics."

Update, Saturday, August 11: A priest known only as "Father V." picked up on this Mexican Masons story from the CNA, and posted the following as part of his "priestly commentary":

I would invite any Catholics who are Masons to renounce their memberships (and not to receive Holy Communion until having done so), get to confession, and join the Knights of Columbus! Your time will be better serving the Lord and His Church, and your dues won't be going to activities that you wouldn't want to support.

Masons | Masonic Politics | Mexican Freemasonry | Freemasonry | Grand Lodge of the Valley of Mexico | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com