Cheney: 'How many dead Americans is Iraq worth?'

President George W. "Captain America" Bush is probably out riding a motorcycle today. Vice President Cheney is probably going hunting (with) his friends. And I plan to drink wine and fire up my new grill.

But at least 4081 American families will "celebrate" this Memorial Day with sadness. Their sons and daughters won't be joining them at family parties. They're dead, you see. Killed in Cheney's Quagmire.

Bring 'em home. Now.



Memorial Day 2008 | Dick Cheney | George W. Bush | Iraq War | Cheney's Quagmire | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

A rose is a rose is a rose

In the ridiculously titled article "Bush reveals his Freemasonry — again," blogger John Parsons calls Pres. Bush to task for saying, "...I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God."

I don't often agree with Bush, and as far as we know, Bush isn't a Freemason, but his statement is factually true.

Assume that God exists, and, as Muslims, Christians, and Jews believe, there is but one God. Logic dictates, then, that no matter who is doing the praying, and no matter what religious label they've taken upon themselves, the prayers are directed to the same Deity.

No matter what name you call him.

My son calls me Dad. My Masonic compatriots call me Brother, or Widow's Son. My parents call me Son. And my ex-wife calls me "you son of a bitch." But no matter what name I'm called, the name refers to me. There's only one me.

Ditto for God, as far as Muslims, Christians and Jews believe. There is only one God.

Why do the Christians who get upset at Bush for saying what he did think they own exclusive rights to "God"?

The Old Testament deity of the Jews was known by many names — El, Elohim, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, Adonai, Yahweh, etc. And Arabs, who typically believe in Allah, traditionally have their origin in Abraham's son Ishmael.

And of course, Christians co-opted the Jewish god as their own, confused things by also calling him Jesus, and then repeatedly translated most of the names of the deity into "Lord" or "God" when they printed the Bible, thus masking the many names of the Great Architect of the Universe.

"Official" spokesmen for God didn't like what the president said.

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, was quoted in the Baptist Press as saying the president "is simply mistaken."

According to a Washington Post account, Land said in an interview: “We should always remember that he is commander in chief, not theologian in chief. The Bible is clear on this: The one and true god is Jehovah, and his only begotten son is Jesus Christ.”

The Rev. Ted Haggard, then-president of the National Association of Evangelicals, also contradicted the president in a press statement. "The Christian God encourages freedom, love, forgiveness, prosperity and health," said Haggard. "The Muslim god appears to value the opposite. The personalities of each god are evident in the cultures, civilizations and dispositions of the peoples that serve them. Muhammad’s central message was submission; Jesus' central message was love. They seem to be very different personalities."

In November 2006, Haggard was forced to resign from NAE following allegations of drug use and sex with a homosexual prostitute.

Gary Bauer, former presidential candidate and president of American Values, said Bush's comment was "not helpful to the president. Since everybody agrees he's not a theologian, he would be much better advised to punt when he gets that kind of question."

I think Haggard, with his statement about the "personalities" of God, not only shows his ignorance (the Old Testament God rarely exhibited "love" as a trait, but instead was murderous and vengeful), but actually makes a case for the non-existence of God by showing that the traits we attribute to God are man-made. Both individuals and entire cultures create their own visions and versions of what God is to them. We see in God what we want God to be.

Perhaps Bush was being Masonic after all in his words, being tolerant of all religious viewpoints.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

— From Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Masons | God | George W. Bush | Freemasonry | Religion | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Video says Masons 'ride the goat' to 'conjure up the Babylonian gods of war'

Just when I thought I'd seen all the stupid anti-Masonic videos that whacked-out fundamentalist Christians could create and upload to YouTube, along comes Masonic Pet Goat of Nine-One-One: Presidential Bow Before Bel.

The video is produced by a Christian group calling itself "Protestant Separatist," whose motto seems to be drawn from 2nd Corinthians 6:17, which says, "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

The group "Protestant Separatist" appears to be the brainchild of Stephen Michael Schroeder, an Indianapolis man with a grudge against Catholics and Freemasons. On the group's home page we learn that the character of Uncle Sam is based on Baphomet. No, really. Superimpose the images and you get, well, you get a superimposed image of Uncle Sam over Baphomet. That's proof enough, isn't it?

Judging from the article on his webpage called "I Stand Alone," we can assume his group is made up of, oh, maybe one person.

Warning — Low blow but I can't help myself: Stephen Michael Schroeder wears his hair in a mullet cut. How can you take anyone seriously who sports a mullet? Even Billy Ray Cyrus had to get rid of his mullet before anyone took him seriously.

The video is a rambling, convoluted and ultimately ridiculous 10 minute montage of video and graphics, narrated by a man (Schroeder, I'm guessing) who sounds like he scarfed down a barbiturate cocktail before he began.

No facts, no information, no references... just idle chatter telling us that "the secret Masonic ritual of riding the goat" is how the "Masonic-controlled Skull & Bones" group controls the world.

It begins, accompanied by The Listening Wind by Talking Heads, by pointing out that when President George W. Bush was told about the first plane that hit the World Trade Center tower, he was in an elementary school, reading a story called The Pet Goat (not My Pet Goat, as the video says) to children.

I agree that's a pretty nifty "coincidence," and given a few minutes to think about it, I could probably write a darn good "those Satanic Masons done it" conspiracy screenplay or short story beginning with this premise. I mean, the authors of the story, which is a part of a much larger collection of children's tales designed to help kids learn to read, have conspiratorial, Bavarian-sounding names, like Siegfried and Bruner.

The video uses images of Glinda the Good Witch of the North and Popeye the Sailor to let us know, somehow, that stars and goats are the way to "conjure up the Babylonian gods of war to continue to destroy the earth, and finally to make war in heaven, until all acknowledge the goat as god."

This guy falls flat on his face with this one. I have to give this video Four (Inverted) Stars for utter stupidity.

Watch it here or on YouTube.



Masons | Riding the Goat | Baphomet | Freemasonry | Protestant Separatist | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

The Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory

Finally, a Grand Unified Conspiracy Theory.

Well, it ignores the JFK assassination, "all your base are belong to us," and AIDS, but other than that, it's all here, rolled into one conspiratorial disinformation campaign that would make Eris ("All Hail Discordia!") wet her pants with pride.

According to this video, the 9-11 tragedy was a "mega-ritual" involving the Twin Towers as the Masonic pillars Boaz and Jachin, coordinated by Aleister Crowley's grandson, George W. Bush, to open a stargate between the Abrahamic mega-cults and the god Pan.

Throw in some off-the-wall references to Adam Weishaupt and the Bavarian Illuminati, Egyptian pyramids, The Simpsons, Grey aliens, the Grand Mosque of Mecca, corporate sculpture, Kaballah, Isis, Atlantis, Masonic tracing boards and the Blazing Star, the film Fight Club, the "cuboid" Ark of the Covenant, and to not only the shape of the wizard's head in the original film The Wizard of Oz but to the set of 1978's The Wiz (starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross), and you have yourself a bizarrely entertaining 10-minute video that leaves you with the distinct feeling that there are some amazingly creative and insane people out there with basic cinematic editing skills.

Thanks to McBlogger for pointing out this video.



Masons | Conspiracy | Twin Towers | Freemasonry | Pan | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com