Help for the Widow's Son

After hearing about several brothers and friends being laid off their jobs or fearing potential layoffs, and especially after reading the sad story on Bro. Greg Stewart's Masonic Traveler blog today about the brother who took the lives of his family and himself as a result of his financial difficulties, I decided to do my part in helping relieve brothers who may also have found themselves facing financial or employment difficulties.

I have created an email list wherein Freemasons can share information about job opportunities and job needs, post their resumes, and otherwise share brotherly love by helping each other in these financially uncertain times. The list is a way for Masons to share with other Masons on a more personal level than on an open forum or blog.

For now, this list will be unmoderated and open to anyone, Freemason or not, who wishes to contribute to it or read it.

It is my hope that the list will enable Masons with opportunities to connect with Masons who are seeking opportunities, and to bring together brothers who just need someone to listen or talk to on a more personal level.

The list is not intended as a place to discuss Masonry; it is a service to help others and to find help. Spam, arguments, and unmasonic comments are not acceptable, and those who violate this will be removed from the list.

To join the list, simply sign up here ( http://lists.burningtaper.com/listinfo.cgi/masonicjobs-burningtaper.com ).

Once you have created your account, you will be given the email address to send your posts to.

Your email will be forwarded to everyone else who has joined the list, and they can reply to the list as a whole, or to you privately.

Be patient; the system may take a day or two to properly propagate across the Internet.

Feel free to post the link anywhere Masons gather — online as well as on your lodge's bulletin board. Tell your grand lodge officers about the link. Let's network all of Masonry to help each other weather this economic tsunami.

Though I personally have been using the screen-moniker of "Widow's Son" online for the past several years, I am well aware, as I hope you are, that we are all The Widow's Son, and that yes, there is help — and hope — for us all.

Masons | Masonic Charity | Jobs | Freemasonry | Employment | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

The stink of the missing link

The Burning Taper has long been fascinated by monkeys, and has written many times about them.

I believe it was the late Robert Anton Wilson who once wrote that the basic difference between monkeys and men is that monkeys mark their territory by flinging feces, and men mark their territory with ink on legal documents.

The two concepts clashed on Monday in San Diego when a defendant in court suddenly smeared his attorney with feces, then hurled poo at the jury box.

The judge declared a mistrial and increased his bail from $250,000 to one million dollars.

Monkeys | Feces | Anthropology | Robert Anton Wilson | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

... And the Great Architect is thus honored

Michael Hoffman's article began reasonably enough, by quoting the New York Times.

His story was a look into last week's Great Flub, when Justice John Roberts misquoted the Presidential Oath while swearing in President Obama.

Was Obama officially president at noon, or not until he actually took the Oath? Or was he not president until he properly repeated the Oath verbatim later? These are interesting questions, though not earthshaking except perhaps from a (now) historical point of view.

Or is there something more sinister going on, he wonders.

The Great Reveal only comes in the final few paragraphs.

Yep, it's a Masonic conspiracy!

Read it here.

And then read the comments following the article. Wingnuts from both sides of the axle have offered up their own conspiratorial tangents.

Masons | Masonic Conspiracy | Great Architect | Freemasonry | Barack Obama | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com