Just when it seems it can't get any funnier, yet another part of the comedy unfolds. On March 18, 2007 an e-mail message ostensibly from the "Grand Master" of the so-called Grand Orient of the United States arrived. Of course, it came from one of the most popular free mailing services rather than one of their many domains so there's no way of knowing if it's legitimate or just a put-on, despite the claim self-serving assertion that he's not a "sock puppet". Perhaps he isn't but who knows whence the e-mail originated? It seems particularly curious that these young men who like to think of themselves as being on the bleeding edge of things don't have the simple ability to either set up a mail server on one of the MANY domains they have - and it's not extra with their GO DADDY web hosting, 'fer cryin' out loud - OR they haven't got the savvy to configure an e-mail program to work with a second domain. Pretty pitiful when a bunch of old Masons can do it but those who claim to be on the 'cutting edge' don't....
So obviously, it's impossible to show a connection between the e-mail received and the "Grand Orient" - or the Grand anything else for that matter. "Hello, Mr. E-Mail. Are you really who you claim to be?" "Why of course!".... <SIGH>
Moving forward, the e-mail is signed by Aaron Peavey as Grand Master of the Grand Orient of the United States (he forgot the "Accepted Free-Masons" part for some reason....). His message seemed very reassuring: "...I wish to clarify some information for you." WOW! GREAT! This would be SO unusual - so here we go:
"I personally run the GOUSA website, if you have an issue with it then do not say that it is Jeff because he is not the person running it. Ping the GOUSA site then ping Jeff's site and you will see that the servers are in completely different locations. In addition, I also manage the domains for the GOUSA."
Masonicinfo Note: Didn't we comment about the techno-whiz kids being incapable of doing the things the old-poop Masons had little problems with? Perhaps the sender thinks there's some rule that a person setting up websites is limited to using only one server? How do these guys manage to function in daily life these days?
"The reason that we have never directly listed GOUSA officers' names is simple; we have received threats in the past and do not seek to be in the line of fire. This will change in the near future as we are growing."
Masonicinfo Note: That's very reassuring, particularly in these days of internet scams. Isn't it amazing that bright young men would send personal information to a website where the 'owners' are too afraid of "threats" or too shy - and yet somehow think they're going to get the secret sauce recipes. Of course, we've also seen the claim of growth by the several organizations which preceded this one. It would appear that once they've hit double-digit membership (i.e., 10 or more), everything simply spirals out of control and a new group must be formed.
"I will not give you a direct number other than to tell you that the Lodges listed on the site are real and operational."
Masonicinfo Note: Very reassuring, isn't it? Gosh: he didn't even write, 'I swear'.... Over the years we've been 'told' LOTS of things by the leaders of this group. Few, if any, had any direct relationship with reality.
"As far as our relationships with other bodies are concerned, I am not at liberty to divulge anything at this time."
Masonicinfo Note: Now isn't THAT reassuring? Pay your money, folks, but don't expect any answers. Or maybe he just doesn't like the way I comb my hair....
Here's one probable translation: 'We don't want to admit we fibbed....'. Now really: here's a BRAND SPANKING NEW GROUP that was PROUD to announce their affiliation with the Grand Orient of France on various Masonic bulletin boards just a couple of months ago and yet, now they're tight-lipped about it? How very ironic. Tell the lie and then leave no trace: it's a trick as old as disinformation itself. Of course then again, the person doing a lot of the announcing was also blathering about being a member of an Ohio lodge when that wasn't a fact either! 'Fabricators 'r Us' seems to be the order of the day.
So was there ANYTHING in the above statements which clarified ANYTHING? If you found something, do let us know because we missed it entirely!
Now there was one single piece of information in the e-mail which MIGHT have clarified a little: "Brad Cofield never was and is not a member of the GOUSA. He had contacted us in the past seeking acceptance, but he did not prove to be a suitable member in the end. The fact is that he was acting like he was some sort of representative of the GOUSA on forums and blogs, but he was never even a member. Also, he was spreading false information and rumors about us and what we were supposed to be doing."
It's curious: why didn't one of their many members (the pseudonyms abound except when something like this happens, it seems) step forward then or subsequently IN PUBLIC to dismiss Mr. Cofield's claims? And how could he have contacted them "in the past" when he was touting his membership on the day after they were announced? Just another of those convenient lapses of truth, it seems. And, of course, Mr. Cofield never admitted that he was NOT a member and so this very belated denial seems tepid at best. Perhaps the inattentive Grand Grand Master might have been too very busy attending to 'affairs of state' to have an individual's boorish behavior come to his attention and/or take notice of it. Who knows? Well, they do but they're obviously not saying....
But all of the above notwithstanding, the part of this message which caused peals of laughter to echo through the house here was the following:
"Our acronym is GOUSA not GOOFUS. I know that this is meant to be cute, but it does not make us look bad. If you wish to come across as unbiased, it would be in your best interest not to make fun."
Actually, Mr. Peavey doesn't "know" anything about this. It wasn't meant to be cute. It was and IS an acronym based on their organization's name - and the fact that it may also be representative of their behavior is a literary plus. Further, the acronym he claims is 'theirs' is not shown anywhere on their multiple websites that he himself says he manages (the highly professional techno-kiddies don't seem to... Ah, we've covered that before!). Brand identification is certainly important - and we've already spent FAR too much money in electrons to turn back....
And to top it all off, the message was from the identity of "Voltaire L'Ghost" <voltairesghost@ redacted>" It's particularly ironic that the Voltaire name still seems to appeal despite the sudden abandonment of it after this information appeared on our site.
Another day - another bit of foolishness from the Munchkins!
And to think, it'll be argued that I've made fun of a Grand Master/Grand Master!
Will this fellow be Grand Master of the next incarnation of whatever it is to come in the summer of 2008? Stay tuned! Probably not if the message wasn't 'cleared' by the controlling force behind all this despite this statement: "Although Jeff is a personal friend of mine, he does not tell me how to run the GOUSA" Yeah, and the sun won't rise in the East tomorrow either! You can see Mr. Peavey posing in his fine regalia (do these guys still use the rapiers they bought for one of the prior groups? I wonder....) from the now non-existent Grand Lodge of the United States when he became Grand Master of THAT organization in August, 2006. A year later, he was Grand Master of GOOFUS. Let's see what happens next! WHEE....
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