An "Independent Masonic Lodge"? Yeah, right! They had those things back in the early 1700s in Scotland but since then, they've been obsolete - until the formation in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama of Vulcan Lodge.

Now there's a lot in that block above so allow us to sort it out for you:

First, Mr. Cooksey - a Mason for more than a decade and apparently bitter over some pique with the Scottish Rite Bodies there in Birmingham and distraught because they were going to sell their building - decides to 'take down' the Governor of Alabama who's running for reelection using their common Masonic membership as the 'hook'. Brimming with <something - we aren't quite sure what> provided by his contacts with the Pied Piper - a/k/a the creator of the so-called United Grand Lodge of America - he makes contact with a couple of local radio station talk show hosts who share his political viewpoints.

We'll let the reader draw their own conclusions about the appropriateness of such actions by someone who holds themselves to be a Mason but by this time, Mr. Cooksey was also Grand Secretary of the organization which lasted for barely two years claiming to be the "United Grand Lodge of America".

Long story short: the radio station involved saw through the transparent ruse of attacking the governor based on his Masonic membership and fired the two.

We next find Mr. Cooksey wailing about his being mistreated on a Masonic online forum, demanding that he be accorded respect based on his FORMER Masonic membership - the membership which he himself renounced! (What's that old adage about having one's cake and eating it too?) The pitiful outcome was that when he threatened to leave, he was made a forum moderator at which point a chunk of the active members of that forum left to form another one, limited to regular/recognized Masons while Mr. Cooksey continued along. We've heard other parts of this story as well: Mr. Cooksey claiming that he was the recipient of a death threat (or threats) as a result of his postings there - but yet he continued to post. Moderators of the (original) forum were reportedly unwilling to take action to protect their users from (ostensibly) similar activity - nor were they willing to request PROOF that the claimed threats were real and, if so, had any connection to Mr. Cooksey's Masonic participation in a chat room. It's been quite an interesting saga from the e-mails we've seen.

Now Mr. Cooksey's Vulcan Lodge maintains it's 'independence' and posts material such as this on their website:

"Quite often the question is asked, "Are you really Masons?" The answer is YES! Just because we are an independent lodge it doesn't mean that we don't adhere to the same rules, regulations, and landmarks as lodges who are under a "Grand Jurisdiction." In fact it was independent lodges who formed the first "Grand Lodge" in London in 1717."

Like other self-created groups trying to cloak themselves in credibility as Masons, their presentation is misleading. First, since there's no Grand Lodge, they're free to do whatever they want - and there's NO accountability whatsoever. A bunch of guys - with no rules that can't be changed on a whim in a moment's move - have nothing to lose by doing whatever they want, whether it's trashing the reputation of another member or engaging in some particularly heinous behavior. There's NO ONE to say 'NO'!

And yes, it was independent lodges who formed the first "Grand Lodge" - almost three hundred years ago. Times have changed, boys! There was NO Grand Lodge - of any kind - back then in the formative days of Freemasonry. There has been, however, a standard for at least the past couple of centuries in the United States which says that NO lodge can be created without a charter or warrant from a regular, duly created Grand Lodge. So: where's your charter come from, fellas? Oh, you mean you just got together and started your own little club - and called yourself Masons, eh?

Yep - got it!

Their Crazy Knights Templar Claims

On the Vulcan Lodge website, they try to latch on to the current interest in the Knights Templar by presenting a completely fictitious presentation which includes the following ridiculous claim:

"Despite the downfall of the Templar Knights, the organization managed to survive. Many of the fugitive Templars escaped into Scotland where the Pope was powerless to pursue them. According to Masonic legend, and backed by many scholars, these fugitive Templars gave rise to speculative Free-Masonry. The secret passwords and grips, solemn oaths, and emphasis on secrecy would have been essential to the survival of these fugitives. Masonic ritual was practiced in secret for hundred of years, with lodges spreading in secret all across Europe, before the Free-Masons revealed themselves to the public in London in 1717. Much of the ritual practiced by the Knights Templar still exists in Masonic ritual today despite the fact that the ritual was handed down only by word of mouth, and not written."

The Masonic legend referred to is, in fact, not at all Masonic. ONE PERSON - at (ostensibly) - a meeting of a lodge in France in the late 1700s made this claim. It spread like wildfire across Europe but it's not a "Masonic legend" by a long shot. Nor is it "backed by many scholars". In fact, one would have hoped that such foolishness - spread by such foolishness as the "Hiram Key" book - would not have been repeated by an organization claiming to be 'Masonic'. On the other hand, when you've got no real cards to play, you have to simply bluff! See here for a book which completely debunks ALL of this silliness.

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