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Friday, September 29, 2006

Governor Has To Defend Himself Because He Belongs To An Organization With No Black Members

Welcome to the political silly season.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Gov. Bob Riley is defending his membership in a Masonic organization that critics say excludes blacks.

Riley, a Republican who is running for re-election against Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, is a member of a Masonic lodge in his east Alabama hometown of Ashland that is affiliated with the Grand Lodge of Alabama, a statewide group with no known blacks among more than 30,000 members.

Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Riley said he did not know whether his lodge had any black members. But Riley denied that the Masonic group is racist, as did two leaders of the organization in interviews Friday.

Riley’s membership in the Masons has been mentioned on Internet blogs and was a hot topic on a Birmingham-based talk show hosted by Russ and Dee Fine, Baxley supporters who claim they were fired earlier this week partly for pointing out Riley’s membership in the Masons.

In an interview, Dee Fine said a governor shouldn’t be a member of an all-white group, particularly since Grand Lodge documents dating to 1876 show it bars blacks as members.

“If nothing else it’s surely not politically astute,” she said.

Right.  And the fact that no black person has ever even applied to be a member of the organization isn’t relevant at all.

The head of the Grand Lodge of Alabama, Grand Master Frank W. Little, said he knows of no blacks among the 32,000 members of the state organization, which has 318 lodges and accepts new members by applications and referrals from other members.

But Little denied that there is anything in the organization’s current constitution or edicts to prevent a black from joining.

“To my knowledge I don’t know of any black who’s ever applied for membership in the Grand Lodge,” he said. “Is there anything that would prevent them? No. As the grand master, if I heard of any lodge that denied a man membership because of his race they wouldn’t be a lodge for long.”

I now return you to the Allen/Webb campaign, where they’re still trying to figure out which candidate uttered the word “nigger” nearly four decades ago.

Comments

I would imagine that would be rather hard to do. Isn’t Alabama one of the largest, percentage wise, populated States in the nation?

Zsa Zsa on September 29, 2006 at 05:20 pm

Those Masons are an odd group. I would think if I were a black man? I would not want to be affiliated with them. Rumor has it they are KKK related. Sooooo…

Zsa Zsa on September 29, 2006 at 05:25 pm

Whatever happened the the right of free association?  I guess white Republicans don’t have that right, either, along with the right of free speech.


"One must regard his leftist opponent as a parent regards his recalcitrant child. Don’t give an inch in a debate with a leftist, and you’ll soon frustrate him to the point that he falls back to his default position. He’ll gainsay your every point. He’ll even resort to calling you names and accusing you of having suspect parentage.”

robert108 on September 29, 2006 at 05:58 pm

YA! And where are the women in that group?…

Zsa Zsa on September 30, 2006 at 05:58 am

Someone, Call PETA! I bet they do some kind of sacrificial slaughter of some kind?

Zsa Zsa on September 30, 2006 at 06:03 am
Avatar for aNONOMISLY

seems silly to me.

aNONOMISLY on September 30, 2006 at 07:59 am
Avatar for aNONOMISLY

Whatever happened the the right of free association?  I guess white Republicans don’t have that right, either, along with the right of free speech.

he has that right, that’s not what is been called into question.

aNONOMISLY on September 30, 2006 at 08:00 am

aNON: When you come under attack for one of your associations, you no longer have the right of free association.  Duh.  It is being used against him, politically, because the Dems are lusting for power and are using anything they can find to demonize any Republican member of Congress.  If they really cared about the Masons, they would have taken action against them a long time ago.  This isn’t anything new; it’s just approaching election time.


"One must regard his leftist opponent as a parent regards his recalcitrant child. Don’t give an inch in a debate with a leftist, and you’ll soon frustrate him to the point that he falls back to his default position. He’ll gainsay your every point. He’ll even resort to calling you names and accusing you of having suspect parentage.”

robert108 on September 30, 2006 at 08:20 am
Avatar for aNONOMISLY

aNON: When you come under attack for one of your associations, you no longer have the right of free association.

When you’re running for a high elected office, I believe its fair game.  e.g. Been an actve member of a swinging club is perfectly ok, but if you’re running for an elected office I think it would be legitimate for your opponent to attack you on it.

aNONOMISLY on September 30, 2006 at 08:37 am

aNON: Thanks for ignoring the part about the convenient timing.  This isn’t about any moral or ethical standards at all, unlike your example.  This is a hit job for political purposes, and it smells.  It’s typical Dem strategy: win in the courts what you can’t get at the ballot box.  This is a no-content smear.  No one is going after the Masons, because apparently blacks don’t want to join.  Duh.


"One must regard his leftist opponent as a parent regards his recalcitrant child. Don’t give an inch in a debate with a leftist, and you’ll soon frustrate him to the point that he falls back to his default position. He’ll gainsay your every point. He’ll even resort to calling you names and accusing you of having suspect parentage.”

robert108 on September 30, 2006 at 08:41 am
Avatar for aNONOMISLY

aNON: Thanks for ignoring the part about the convenient timing.  This isn’t about any moral or ethical standards at all, unlike your example.  This is a hit job for political purposes, and it smells.  It’s typical Dem strategy: win in the courts what you can’t get at the ballot box.  This is a no-content smear.  No one is going after the Masons, because apparently blacks don’t want to join.  Duh.

..its poletics as usual as practiced here in the U.S. by both parties and around the world.  i.e. though out the bad dirt you have on your opponent when it will hurt him most.

aNONOMISLY on September 30, 2006 at 08:46 am

..its poletics as usual as practiced here in the U.S. by both parties and around the world.  i.e. though out the bad dirt you have on your opponent when it will hurt him most.

“Everybody does it!” I guess that makes it OK, then?
If the Masons are such a racial problem, why now?  You still haven’t answered that one.


"One must regard his leftist opponent as a parent regards his recalcitrant child. Don’t give an inch in a debate with a leftist, and you’ll soon frustrate him to the point that he falls back to his default position. He’ll gainsay your every point. He’ll even resort to calling you names and accusing you of having suspect parentage.”

robert108 on September 30, 2006 at 08:50 am
Avatar for aNONOMISLY

a google search, ..

writing by the Masonic Lodge of Alabama:

Take a look at this piece of “enlightened” literature from the Grand Lodge of Alabama:

“Masonry in Alabama”

By Joseph Abram Jackson

1970

“ADMITTING NEGROES TO MASONRY.
The question of admitting Negroes to the fraternity has been brought up every few years, but doubtful had it ever been handled more firmly than in 1876. According to the Grand Lodge’s Proceedings, a resolution in 1876 set forth the Alabama Grand lodge’s position on the subject. A few Grand Lodge jurisdictions had been reported to have admitted Negroes into membership in sympathy with anti-slavery societies and also a few had been admitting the Revolutionary War by traveling Lodges belonging to the British Army due to feelings which existed at the time against American Patriots. Although the number was obviously small, the Grand Lodge of Alabama was greatly stirred and very vocal on the matter. The lengthy resolution in 1876 carries the segregation origin issue on which seems to be based the Masonry stand all the way back to “the original Father of Mankind, and his immediate descendents; or to Enoch and Noah; or to building of King Solomon’s Temple; or arising from the constitutions of Pythagoras; or- back to the Eleusinian Mysteries; or to those of Ceres, and the institution of the Bacchanalia; or what is most probable of all, the incorporation of the Roman Builders under Numa Pompilius—that theory carries us back to the Caucasian Race.” To most Masons, whatever all this means was surely for them to keep in line with the original and fundamental law of the Fraternity. It was therefore again resolved to not admit nor recognize Negroes as Masons. The issue has remained the same for 150 years among Alabama Masons.

link to source

here’s more

I now retract my this “seems silly to me” comment.  Its a legitimate issue to inform the electorate about.

aNONOMISLY on September 30, 2006 at 08:54 am
Avatar for Darren

Not all masonic lodges are racist.  The United Grand Lodge of America is fighting the old system for racial equality.  By the way… No goat sacrifices or KKK affiliations here.  The ones responsible for all of this mayhem are the “Blue Lodge” system.
...And we’re not out to rule the world through some secret government or “Illuminati” nonsense.  We are just people who give to charity and act as “caretakers” of certain events of historical signifigance.  We have women Masons too.  They are called co-masons.  As far as African-American Masons...We welcome them without reservation.  There is a lodge specifically for African Americans, but the Blue Lodge doesnt recognize them. 
What these Blue Lodge Masons are doing is completely abhorrent to everything that Masonry holds sacred.  If you’ll visit the URL:  http://the-modern-freemasonic-journal.blogspot.com/... You’ll learn a lot of the background into the Riley issue and the deeper issues that are behind this whole issue in Alabama.

Darren on September 30, 2006 at 06:38 pm
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