house property exemption

greetings, one in all. i thought to create this several years agoat the height of the debacle, but other matters were more pressing, and i was certain thislurid subject would be taken up by others, so i didn't soil myself with such dross; yetto date, not a single documentary has been made. this is unfortunate, for the facts arescattered throughout many sources, and words can only convey so much. therefore this videowas created, to help cast light on a somewhat shadowy group, the royal order of jesters. many viewers are probably thinking 'the jesters?again? listen pal, that stuff was over and done with years ago, the jesters have sincecleaned up their act, it was a minority of

courts to begin with, and besides, the jestersaren't really masonic, so what does it matter anyhow? i would be inclined to agree, if all thatwere true, but this does not appear to be the case, as we shall see. also, let me stateat the outset that although many of the activities we shall be recounting are indeed illegal,it is my opinion that most of them should not be. so let me be perfectly clear; thebasis of the criticisms we shall hear, is not that these things are illegal, but ratherthat they are unmasonic. for a masonic organization to behave like the jesters, defies all claimsof what masonry is supposed to be about. so to begin with, what is freemasonry? freemasonryis often described as a system of morality,

veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols.aspiring masons work to advance through different levels of initiation, known as degrees. manymasons never transcend the first three degrees. known as the 'blue degrees', these constitutethe cornerstone of masonry, and contain various morality lessons, which the tools have cometo symbolize. the compasses, for example, are supposed to remind the mason to circumscribeor 'compass' his passions; and the square, to remind him to be fair and honest with others.in 'morals and dogma', albert pike gives this poignant description of the fraternity:"freemasonry is the subjugation of the human that is in man by the divine; the conquestof the appetites and passions by the moral sense and the reason; a continual effort,struggle, and warfare of the spiritual against

the material and sensual." unbeknowst to mostof their critics, many masons truly strive for these ideals, and are respectable, uprightmen. upon reaching the third degree, one becomesa master mason, and as such is free to pursue further degrees in various affiliated bodies,such as the york rite, or the scottish rite. these extra, so-called 'high degrees' alsocontain morality lessons, explain various mysteries, and are generally considered bean extension of masonry. one such affiliated body is known as the shrine.in order to ensure a "select class of men to compose its membership" the shrine wasreserved exclusively for those masons who had climbed to the highest rungs of eitherthe york or scottish rite. due to declining

numbers however, the rules were relaxed in2000, allowing master masons to 'cut class' and enter the shrine without further ado.begun in 1871, the shrine was first known for its circuses. since 1920 however, theshrine has distinguished itself by helping disadvantaged children. this was inauguratedduring an imperial session in portland oregon, when noble forrest adair stated that, whilethe shrine had been materially successful, it had not contributed to the welfare of thecommunity, as did the catholic church. arguing in favor of the proposed hospitals, he said"while we have spent money for songs, and spent money for bands,". . ."you cannot putyour finger on a thing that i know of, that has been done for humanity, that can be creditedto the shrine as an organization" don't worry,

he said, if the hospital committee "devotethemselves too much to the catholic children, [and] the negro children, we can fire themand get another committee." magnanimously offering to refund the fee of any shrinerwho objected, he turned the tide of dissention and the project began. aside from charity, and all that clowningaround, the shrine has another, more serious raison d'�tre. during initiation, the candidateis told the following: "we are exponents of a vigilance inquisitionto promptly execute and punish the malefactor, the thief, the murderer, the despoiler ofinnocence and virtue, the violator of obligation and desecrator of the masonic vow". . ."toarrest, judge, and execute within the hour,

and thus take the law within our own graspand summarily punish the malefactor". . ."the day is not far distant when the name and theescutcheon of the nobles of the mystic shrine will strike a pallid terror to the wild devouringelement of crime, and the thankful prayers of the unprotected will attest the justiceof our cause." amongst these noble men, lies a hand-pickedgroup; the invitation-only 'royal order of jesters'. these must be shriners in good standing,and must have rendered some outstanding, conspicuous, unselfish service to their temple in orderto qualify. whereas other masonic orders have some animal for a mascot, the jesters havea little man, the billiken, whom, during initiation, they are made to 'salute', by kissing it uponthe 'rear portion.' jester lodges, known as

courts, admit up to 13 initiates per year.groups of initiates are termed a 'class', and are given colorful names, such as 'spellen'sfellons', or 'larry's loafers'. "the jesters declare as their sole object the creationof good fellowship through the medium of gaiety, frivolity and merriment; its creed, wit andhumor without malice, playfulness without destruction and hilarity without vulgarity,within the context of members' masonic obligations and community standing."this gay frivolity, known as 'mirth', is central to the order, thus its motto 'mirth is king'.a hallmark of jester functions, is their performance of an elaborate ritual known as, 'the bookof the play' after which, they receive a certificate, declaring them subjects of their new king,the king of mirth, his majesty, king momus!

momus, or blame in greek, was one of the sonsof nyx, or night, who also gave birth to doom, death, deceit, misery, old age, and strife,though she did give birth to friendship so let's not be too hard on her.momus is an interesting character to venerate. a minor deity, momus was the greek god ofmockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, complaint and stinging criticism. apparently, he spenthis time ridiculing all the other gods, going so far as to call zeus a violent womanizer.eventually, the gods grew tired of this 'accuser of the brethren', and he was cast out of heaven.his demeanor, however, earned him a place as the god of satire, and thusly of writers,and poets. this softening of his nature apparently progressed,for when the romans got him, the story became:

"momus, the son of somnus and nox, was thegod of pleasantry and wit, or rather the jester of the celestial assembly; for, like othermonarchs, it was but reasonable that jupiter too should have his fool. we have an instanceof momus' fantastic humor in the contest between neptune, minerva, and vulcan, for skill. thefirst had made a bull, the second a house, and the third a man. momus found fault withthem all." so this much is consistent, momus' role inboth cultures was that of a critic, if not a nitpick. one can only imagine what momuswould say about the jesters if given the opportunity - after all, he criticized aphrodite for nothingmore than being talkative and having creaky sandals. therefore, i find it only fittingto dedicate this documentary in a spirit of

mirth, to momus. long live the king! so who are the jesters and what are they about?until it was taken down at the end of 2011, the jesters' official website said the following:"whereas most masonic bodies are dedicated to charity, the royal order of jesters isa fun "degree," with absolutely no serious intent." their internal documents describethem as a "luxury organization for only those who can qualify and who can afford it." the public has typically heard little aboutthe jesters, other than the occasional blurb in the press, usually mentioning little morethan the name of the group. one article from 1947 described the jesters as a 'fun lovinggroup, whose members like to get together

occasionally 'for a little mild drinking'.it seems some 50 of them were going to fulfill the last wish of one of their brothers, bydrinking a case of bourbon in one sitting. another article from 1951, calls them a 'subdivisionof shriners who live only for the next prank' over the years however, rumors began to emergeabout the jesters, and the wild parties they allegedly threw. then, in 1989, somethinghappened. few people know that their activities were publicly exposed some 24 years ago, whena certain ms. c was arrested by the federal government for allegedly running a prostitutionring. this, however, was no ordinary prostitution ring, but rather a group of 'jesterettes',or 'jester girls', that were servicing fraternal events across the country. her court testimonywas astonishing. describing the jesters as

a fun-loving and hard-partying offshoot ofthe shrine, ms. c said that jester parties were always guarded by elaborate securityto keep away outsiders, that guests were fitted individually with color coded wristbands,and that armed police officers, sometimes uniformed, were paid $20 to $30 an hour bythe jesters to protect these events, with full knowledge that illegal gambling and prostitutionwere happening right in front of them. she told of one event in birmingham, alabama wherean entire hotel floor was sealed off for the girls, with a shotgun wielding swat officerguarding the elevator, and how at another event in chicago, she was actually drivenfrom one location to another by a sheriffs� deputy. upon inquiring about the need forsuch heavy security, c was told that "a few

wives might be prowling around trying to causetrouble." the government did not deny these allegations,their prosecuting attorney portraying her as the manager of a prostitution ring thatserviced fraternal conventions across the country. her attorney, on the other hand,portrayed her as a victim of the jesters: "those jesters, they're not the victims, they'recarrying on to this day." he said. c, who had previously quit prostitution, waslured back into the trade at a shriner convention in milwaukee. she had been approached by thetripoli shrine to do some legitimate modeling in some of their skits. once she arrived atthe convention however, she realized it was no innocent affair. she said there was illegalgambling going on, and that a 'hospitality

room' had been set up with topless waitresses,two of whom she recognized, and knew to be prostitutes. c testified "one of the fellowspulled me aside and said, 'i know where you can make a lot more money than the few hundreddollars we're paying you for the skit'." that, she said, was how she learned about the jesters,whom she was told were having a convention in chicago the following august. the jesterssent her a written invitation early that summer, she said, asking her to bring along anotherwoman. c said they had to send in photographs, and attend a security meeting, otherwise itwas 'don't show up'. "it was slow starting with the jesters," she testified, becauseother girls had their preferences [of events]", but later that year she became one of theregulars, through the sponsorship of a veteran

jester girl who had taken a liking to her.of the jesters, c testified that "many of the jesters are well to do businessmen, mayorsand aldermen" according to the federal government, between 1984 and 1988, c dispatched jesterettesnot only across the country, but to london, mexico, and many other far-flung locations.c, however, denied these allegations. after saving up a cool quarter million, cwas preparing to quit the business and marry her new boyfriend, when she was scooped upby the feds, who, of course, confiscated everything. "i had a nice little nest egg saved" she said"now it's gone." so what became all this? it sure had all themakings of a major scandal. nothing, ms. c was sentenced to 6 months in prison and 2years probation, and the case was dropped

like a hot potato. the story was successfullysquashed, running in just a few local newspapers. a spokesman for the jesters denied ever knowingc, calling her allegations mind boggling; and that was that. the whole thing got sweptunder the carpet, and for the next 15 years all was quiet in the realm. then, in 2005, trouble began to stir. an emailgot sent out to all texas masons by a disgruntled jester using the pseudonym 'sam houston'.he told of his time in the craft, calling it "the best experience of my life" - thatis, until he joined the jesters. of that, he said in part: "during the initiation of new jesters i wasoffered the opportunity by another fellow

brother to sleep with a whore, even thoughi had a wife and kids waiting for me to come home. i was not strong at the time and i violatedevery oath i had ever taken with my wife. this did not stop at initiation. these werea constant occurrence at our jester functions and they are a common occurrence today. theinitiation practices have not changed as well. prostitutes were offered/made available atour functions and often brothers would have sex in front of other brothers.oral sex competitions between brothers were considered "fun" activities to build a strongbrotherhood bond between members". . ."potentates and chaplains, attorneys and judges, pastmasters and brothers all participating or watching with open eyes, but closed minds.i often felt ashamed of what i was doing,

but the pleasure outweighed the guilt. i hadfallen within a deep hole and my cable-tow had been severed. sex, illegal gambling andalcohol were and are the preferred order of business to ease the "pain" of brother masons.prostitutes are available at jester functions for the brothers to have their way with.".. ."i am currently active in the shriners and the jesters. i am ashamed of what i havebecome and what the shriners have become. i have seen threat after threat made againstmasonic brothers who have not agreed or have spoken against the activities of our club.these activities are in every royal order of jester�s club in the usa, and beyondour borders. you would be surprised if you knew who was jester from your local blue lodges--outstanding,moral men--at least by their outwardly appearance."

even though these allegations squared nicelywith ms. c's story, there was no hard proof until 2008 - when several jesters got nettedin a human trafficking sting. a federal investigation into a massage parlor that utilized illegalasian immigrants as prostitutes, revealed a judge and a retired police captain, bothjesters, amongst its clientele. investigators further discovered that these men had transportedat least one of these prostitutes across state lines to work at jester events, which oneu.s. attorney described as "complete sexual debauchery". in the end, three jesters pledguilty to human trafficking, and a fourth to concealment of the crime. ronald tills,a former state supreme court justice who had been working part time as a judge for thecourt of claims. john trowbridge, a former

police captain. michael stebick, a law clerkwho worked under tills, and a fourth jester, michael lesinski, who brings ms. c's storyto mind. a sheriff's deputy, he admitted transporting "approximately six or seven" prostitutes toa hotel in niagara falls where the national book was being held. he got off with a lessercharge however, claiming he didn't realize they were prostitutes at the time. all fourwere brother jesters at buffalo court. 22 where tills had served as director, and hadarranged to have prostitutes at numerous gatherings in the united states and canada between 2001and 2008. tills' plea agreement reads in part: "the defendant and the government agree tothe following facts" "the defendant, trowbridge,

and stebick specifically transported [a] womanfrom the western district of new york to kentucky intending for the woman to engage in sexualintercourse and other sexual activity in exchange for money with members of a men's organizationof which these men were members" "this organization maintained chapters throughout the unitedstates, including in western new york, and it was the custom of these chapters to hostperiodic meetings, usually on weekends, for their members. at most of these meetings,some members of the organization would be tasked to arrange for the presence of womenat the meeting, for the specific purpose of utilizing the women to engage in sexual intercourseand other sexual activity with the organization's members in exchange for money." "the partiesfurther agree that in or about spring, 2006,

the defendant arranged for the transportationof women from the buffalo airport to the organization's national meeting then being held in niagarafalls, ontario, canada.". . ."the defendant agreed with representatives of the nationalorganization that he would see to it that members of the buffalo chapter of the organizationwould get women from the buffalo airport to the hotel in niagara falls". . ."where themeeting was being held" tills also admitted to lining up girls forjester events in other locations, including florida and pennsylvania. in sentencing tills,judge skretny noted his leadership role in the community, calling him a "real life jekylland hyde", a respectable role model on the one hand, and a man who victimized vulnerablewomen on the other. "coco is a real victim

in this case," he said "and regrettably, she�snot the only one". skretny described coco as an illegal immigrant who barely spoke englishand was sold into sexual slavery as a young woman. coco, he added, was transported bytills across state lines to serve as a prostitute at a jesters convention in kentucky. the judge also chastised tills for engagingin a sexual relationship with a woman whom he had previously sentenced as a judge, andthen recruiting her to work at a jesters convention. "i view, and i think society views, this asparticularly disgraceful," skretny said. despite tills open admission that he "agreedwith representatives of the national organization". . ."he would see to it" women got "to thehotel in niagara falls," for the national

convention, gary martin, the royal director,or president of the jesters, claimed that such conduct is never condoned by the nationalleadership, and that the presence of prostitutes at jesters gatherings is something that onlythe buffalo chapter engaged in. "we believe that this is isolated, inappropriate, indeedillegal conduct by only an extremely small fraction of our membership," he said. some former jesters disagree. j.l. edwardssaid he belonged to the jesters for seven years, ending in 1998. edwards told the buffalonews the incidents he witnessed included: prostitutes walking around parties, wearingonly panties, soliciting jesters to meet them later in their hotel rooms. "sex contests"involving prostitutes and jesters members,

performing in front of large groups of jesters,and off-duty cops in uniform, making sure that no non-jesters entered the rooms wheresuch activities were going on. "you had prominent people at these books" he said, "ministers,police chiefs. it�s an elite group, people like judge tills," edwards said. another former jester, malcolm "mutt" herring,of montgomery, ala., came forward and said "i quit the jesters more than 20 years ago,and this kind of thing has been going on at least 40 or 50 years," "i quit because i don�tdrink, and i don�t mess around with other women, other than my wife. going to one oftheir events was like going to a whorehouse." next, we shall hear a partial interview withtwo ex jesters who wish to remain anonymous

- what did you see at the parties? jester a: drinking, gambling, pigeon shoots,prostitution, sexual hazing. i could write pages on these subjects.jester b: oral sex contests. high stakes poker. lots and lots of drinking. porn movies running24/7 in the hospitality room. what would you tell the other jesters if youcould? jester a: enough is enough, end this. we canhave legal meetings without all of this. jester b: quit lying to your wives. and upholdyour masonic vows. a mason is pledged to be a "better man," not a drunk, gambling womanizerwho's fooling the irs. . . .it's not the organization

i thought it was when i joined. i thoughtit was for the leaders in the shrine. i never visualized that things like this were goingon because of our masonic oath that says we�re not to have intercourse with anyone but ourwives and that is what it boils down to. i thought it was an up and up organization buti found out that it was not. another interview with the wife of a jesteris worth recounting: sandy: you are married to a member? jw: yes. sandy: how long? jw: married 35 years.

sandy: was there a pattern of behavior changesas your husband got more and more involved with the jesters? jw: when he first got involved with the jesters,i thought it was the best thing for him. he met many, many men who became close friends.they have a saying, "there are no strangers in the realm, just friends you haven't met.""he maybe attended two [books] a year for the first two years, but by his seventh year,he had 14 trips planned. finally, i said "enough, where do i fit in anymore?" "everything hedid now". . "was associated with the jesters.". . ."john would wear purple, carry purple emblemmedgolf bags, license plates, and boast about it being a strictly stag, luxury organizationfor no purpose other than to spread mirth.

the more i heard that, the more disgustedi became. i also noticed that he was not taking cell phone calls in front of me, or he wouldgo outside to talk. he used to let me answer his phone.". . ."i had heard about the girlsby accident, about the second year that john was in. he certainly played it down, and toldme he had nothing to do with them, they were kept separate, no contact at all. i believedhim. i didn't ask any more questions. the jesters oath is "what you hear here, whatyou see here, stays here when you leave here." every new member must take that oath. he wasa bit open with me about some of the things that went on, i guess telling me just enoughnot to arouse any suspicions. so i definitely discovered our problem after a specific incident.

sandy: would you please describe that incident? jw: he was at his court�s book, when i receiveda phone message: "hi john, this is jane from st. louis. i'm at the airport and wonder ifyou're sending a jester to pick me up or if i should get the shuttle." sandy: did you confront your husband? jw: "yes". . ."he explained to me how it works.the jesters have a "pool" of girls. certain men have their favorites and make requeststo have them at the books. it is up to each court's director to assign the job of invitingthe girls, a number based of the number of attendees. they also have a doctor who checksthe girls "papers."

sandy: from what you found, please describewhat goes on at these jester functions? jw: other than girls, there is a lot of highstakes poker, low stakes gin, and 24 hour hospitality rooms. the initiation involves"stunts" which i know include nudity, but i don't know much about it. john says theydon't involve the girls...anymore. they also provide sightseeing, golf, etc. there is alot of good stuff going on. they end with a black tie royal feast on saturday night. jw: now there is an edict from jester headquartersthat no girls may be at any of the books. the guys were sweating it out, not that notonly the wives would find out, but also the authorities.

is this true? have the jesters cleaned uptheir act? perhaps a bit, in august 2008, a directive was sent out to all local chapters,forbidding the following conduct during initiation ceremonies: "any type of physical brutality, such as whipping,beating, striking, branding, electronic shocking [or] placing of a harmful substance on thebody." also included were, sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement to smallspaces, or other activity subjecting jesters to "an unreasonable risk of harm." althoughthe jesters claimed they were just trying to 'cover their billiken' with this directive,such hazing is hardly unknown to the shrine, a lawsuit from 1989 revealing that electrifiedmats and benches were still employed, in some

temples, at least but what of the girls, after all, it's notlike the feds suddenly found out about this in 2008, they've known all about it sinceat least 1989 if not before, so they're clearly not 'after' the jesters; judge tills and theothers simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. nonetheless, it sentshockwaves throughout the organization. at the national book in 2009, royal directorwilliam siders addressed the assembly: "we all know that in the last several yearswe have had some major problems.". . ."we have done everything humanly possible overthe last two years to protect you and the realm, and shelter you from things that arehappening. if we ask you to do something,

or we suggest that your court not do something,or do something a little different, please listen to us. we hope this is all coming toan end. it will never be the same. i am asked that all the time. it will never be the same.".. ."we will do everything humanly possible, but please support our decisions, and pleaserespect the work that we're trying to do for you, and will keep all of us out of trouble." so, it seems the parties aren't quite as wildas they were, but how much has really changed? apparently, not a lot. though this, now infamoust-shirt has been removed from public sale, jester invitations still make it clear thatthese are 'stag only' events. while most all of them flaunt the drinking and gambling,some depict jester girls in rather, compromising

positions, and others advertise the 24/7 pornographyspoken of earlier, along with other 'man phun'; and there's 'lingerie shows' in hotel rooms,and outings to places like hooters. 'these cocks are out of control' reads the advertisementfor this pheasant hunt'. at this recent, 'invitation-only' jester party, the entire hotel was blockedoff for jesters only - any questions? ahh yes, such parties, before the candidates mayparticipate in the book of the play, it seems they must first undergo physical examinations,to make sure that they are 'ready to attend the book', and the stage is apparently setby something called the 'erection crew'. how punny is that? the jesters claim that the events depictedin this film were rare and isolated. their

artwork proves otherwise, as the sexuallysuggestive pieces used in this documentary alone, span 40 courts, over several decades,and are by no means a comprehensive collection. in case you were wondering, yes, this is actualjester artwork. aside from these pictures right here - and that's that, the rest isofficial roj artwork. now i don't wish to mislead, the majority of jester artwork doesnot have bizarre sexual imagery. most of it is rather benign, and often falls into severalthemes. one of the most common themes, is a jester, or a billiken, riding atop somethingor other. be it animal, insect, mechanical device, or just about anything else, thereis probably a pin somewhere with a billiken riding it. see no evil, hear no evil, speakno evil, is a popular theme, and for obvious

reasons. often, there is a fourth characterpictured, but what is that supposed to represent? this picture provides us that piece of thepuzzle, though, honestly, knowing these guys, what else would it represent? mooning is anothertheme you see quite often in jester art. some pins are about feasting and having a generalgood time. drinking, of course, is one of the themes, along with gambling. most pinsconform to no particular theme at all, some with quite pleasant artwork. when a pin doesinvolve a risque theme, there is usually a 'clean' version as well. for example, thereare quite a few pins depicting animals in a procreative position, but there is generallyan alternative pin depicting an unpartnered animal. some of these pins are utilized bymultiple courts as well, such as the buffalo

pin, which came in an unmarked version, suitablefor any jester, and a stamped version, utilized by court 136, as well as the now infamouscourt 22, and likely by other courts unknown to me. another popular theme is the glorificationof negativity. court directors depict themselves as devils, or pins will include a devil ofone sort or another. this handsome devil is available in silver, or goldstone. many pinsdepict the director with a sinister expression, or some other indication that they have giventhemselves over to the dark side. jack wong is simply going, the wong way. jack is anoriental jester, which is something of a rarity. with minimal exception, jesters tend to bewhite, very white, white enough even to tell racist jokes in their national meeting, whichwe shall see evidence of later. some pins

have a common criminal, or even a gangstertheme. or the flip side of that theme, the identification with the intelligence community,which of course dovetails into the law enforcement theme. a number of pins depict law enforcementof one type or another, which is not surprising given that the jesters commonly work with,or actually are the local law enforcement. here's a combination of the law enforcementand the sexual themes, the tex-ass ranger. here's another, 'ball's busters'. they alsowent by the name 'ball busters'. incidentally, so did another class from court number 6.then there are hybrids of the gangster theme and the sexual theme, like this pimp-gangsterpirate here. or take this one. we see a jester with wine glass in hand, behind a group ofnewly felled trees. the caption reads, 'because

we can'. looking closely at the hill behindhim, we see the footprints of a man and a woman in a sexual position. indeed, many pinswith sexual themes are somewhat subtle. anyone care for a georgia peach? how about this one?in case you didn't notice, it's a condom, and the class is named 'dick's protectors'.happiness is a drunken pussycat? there's the strange 'jock strap' theme. shannahans stiffpizzles? i'll give you one guess what a pizzle is, or you could just look it up. alrightnow, straighten up and stand erect! jesters are well educated, they even speak latin,see? they're also well versed in physiology. this pin seeks to inform about the birds andthe bees, with a lesson on pollination. hey everyone, here comes willie the clown. pinslike 'john's johns', although having double

meaning, clearly imply that these men employprostitutes. the los angeles class from 1967 was simply called 'the johns'. in 1981, itwas named 'royal johns'. it's likely that the other pins depicting a toilet carry thesame implication. here's another with double entendre, jack's jewels. at first glance,jack sits, surrounded by jewels, but are those 'jack's jewels', or are jack's jewels downbelow? hershey's with nuts? weiner's whining wieners? oh look, he's got another drop, comingout of his, head. ah yes, the old 'wiener' theme. there's one a jester can identify with,and indeed they do. jesters love such innuendo. can't beat bob's meat. now there's a loadedstatement for you. what monkey business is this? oh, he must be adjusting his jewel.here kitty kitty kitty. jim kennedy had an

interesting pin. it was made in two parts,so his 'nose' could swing from side to side, clever eh? this annual dinner invitation from1943 is the earliest example i have of a jester girl. the flyer indicates that both girls,and heavy drinking, as this poem describes, have been part of the jesters for at leastthat long. of course, not all the sexual themes involve girls, for mirth is king, and sometimesqueen, you know. wag's merry band of weenies, bare assed and free? on the other side ofthis lovely glass, are some equally lovely nicknames, one of which i find particularlyamusing. that of the treasurer, forrest 'bendover greaseitwell'. such a suggestion might justbe welcome by ray hilken here, or perhaps by the so-called 'perfect ones'. or maybeby some of the boys over at court 69. but

the nova scotian jesters take it to anotherlevel. what is this? a circle jerk or something? that's definitely not urine, unless urinecomes in spurts. this class from 1992 was called 'hurt's pain inflicting ones'. thepin depicts a character in a wheelchair, who has apparently been injured by the large cock,or rooster if you prefer. not sure i know what this is about, and i'm not sure i wantto know, but it doesn't look like the donkey is enjoying it. since it is a donkey, it doesn'tqualify for the 'horse's ass' theme, so i refer to this picture as 'the compromisedass'. the next few pins however, i am sure what they are about, and it's pretty baaad.why is that sheep so worried about the man in the kilt approaching it from behind? montanalove boat? gimme a break. it even came in

two styles, for the discerning collector,and also in silver, or gold tone. now if you think i might be going too far here, the nextpicture should settle all doubts. seriously you guys, what's up with the sheep? i'm gettingworried here. as far as the trips to brazil, and the allegationsof child sex tourism, the jury is literally 'still out'. according to the defendant:"i'm innocent of the allegations, it'll be proven in court i've told you that before""you've seen these allegations in this lawsuit richard what can you tell us about that""just what i've told you that i'm innocent of 'em. it's a set up, it started with a competitor,an angry competitor you know the story" whatever the truth may be, it is true thatonly a handful, less than 1% of the jesters

actually took part in these trips. thereforei shall not dwell upon them for long. what is certain is that for some years, small groupsof jesters would take fishing trips to brazil. as one might expect, these "jesters on theamazon" adventures apparently included 'man phun'. allegedly, however, some of these girlswere rather young, some of them even pre-teens, lured into the boat by the promise of temporarymaid work during the cruise. once aboard, they allegedly discovered that their realjob was to drink, get high, and have sex with the foreigners. not all of the girls weredissatisfied with this arrangement, many becoming yearly participants, and some helping to recruitothers. the major complaint the girls all had in common, was they were underpaid, statingthey received a mere 25 to 50 percent of what

they were promised. another witness, a tourguide, said the same, claiming that the 'masons group' never tipped, which angered him, sincemost of his income came through tips. indeed, if the allegations do turn out to be true,it's ironic that much of the trouble might well have been averted, if these affluentgentlemen had simply greased the wheels better, and not shortchanged the locals. perhaps it'stime to review those morality lessons guys. ________ so what does this all of mean as far as freemasonryis concerned? are the jesters a masonic organization? that depends on who you ask. it's importantto remember that the united grand lodge of england won't even recognize the shrine, letalone the jesters, which settles the question

right there for many. in the majority of theu.s. however, the shrine is recognized, and before 2007, the consensus here would be anearly unanimous 'yes', the jesters are an appendant body of freemasonry. take this chart displaying the emblematicstructure of freemasonry. we see the jesters featured alongside other masonic bodies, slightlyabove the shrine, and slightly below the 33rd degree. or how about the list of 'u.s. nationalmasonic appendant bodies'? though the jesters were removed shortly before the recent scandalsbecame public, they were included up until may of 2007 the jesters themselves have always claimedto be masonic, declaring they 'proudly believe

and participate in masonry'. their websitesrepeatedly call them a 'masonic body', the meta description of one tagged 'a little-knownmasonic order.' but what one says to the public is much lessimportant than what one says to the government, especially regarding taxes. a few years back,the jesters' headquarters in indiana temporarily lost its tax exempt status. in 2012, it alsolost its appeal to the indiana board of tax review on this matter. the ruling was revealing,recounting the arguments put forth by the jesters, stating in part: "the petitioner presented two cases in supportof its argument that, because the jesters is part of the masonic fraternity, the jestersis a religious, charitable and educational

organization and its property is thereforeused for exempt purposes" "in response to questioning about the property'scharitable use, alex rogers [a representative of the jesters] testified that "the basicmasonic fraternity is looked upon as charitable." though he admitted that the "organizationitself had not "written" any checks to the shrine hospital or [to] any other charities.""the jesters is part of the masonic fraternity, which mr. rogers testified, is the "highestrespected fraternal organization there is in the world." according to mr. rogers, themasons is a "character building organization" whose purpose is to "strengthen the individualcharacter of a man through its rituals and through its teachings." "the purpose of thejesters is spreading the gospel of mirth,

merriment and cheerfulness, promoting fellowshipand fraternity among members, and extending good cheer and assistance to the general public,which furthers the masonic principles of brotherly love, belief and truth." the argument was clear - masonry is wholesomeand charitable. the jesters are part of masonry; therefore the jesters are wholesome and charitable.they also argued that since the headquarters maintained a museum of jester memorabiliawhich was open to the public, it was thereby providing a public service, although mr. rogerstestified that the museum is not on the national museum registry, and that the museum's hourswere not advertised anywhere outside of jester publications.

the county argued this was insufficient groundsfor exemption, partially: "because the organization does not serve theclass of people that are legitimate subjects of charity and because the government hasno obligation to provide entertainment, merriment or mirth." the county further argued that"the jesters is not engaged in any charitable activities and any educational activitiesare limited to the membership of the jesters." the jesters' exploits would be curious enough,were they confined to the profane world, but this is not the case; instead, they resideat the heart of american freemasonry. this is problematic for a variety of reasons. for one, they connect themselves to masonry,claiming to further masonic principles, while

rendering public service. despite the lackevidence for this, they still operate under tax exempt status. this allows members tomake tax deductible donations, which of course go towards funding the mirth; mirth whichis reserved exclusively for themselves. in other words, the jesters provides a way forits members to take their tax money and party with it. also, the majority of jesters, are married,so their sexual activities not only violate their masonic oaths, but their marriage vowsas well; and adultery is not the only masonic offense committed by the jesters. it seemsthey break all the rules. although these vary between jurisdictions, the following can generallybe said to be true:

gambling is a masonic offense; it is alsoa staple of jester functions. intemperate drinking is another masonic offense that thejesters are famous for. profane swearing? jesters take it in stride. and of course,fornication, and cohabitation with lewd women is also a masonic offense. how can this be? masonry claims to be a war"of the spiritual against the material and sensual," but as the rank and file diligentlycompass their passions, some, so-called elders do quite the opposite, claiming to do so inthe name advancing of masonic principles. furthering this hypocrisy, many of these mensomehow manage to cling to the belief that they are perfected beings, saying things like"i'm pure and virtuous and wholesome and innocent,

how can you say anything bad about me?" geebob, isn't that just a bit prideful? who do you think you are? "i am lucifer" oh ok, well,forget it then. speaking of hypocrisy, get a load of this.here is congressman gus bilirakis. bilirakis is a jester, and he is outraged about corruption:"madame speaker i rise today to share my outrage about corruption at acorn. illegal activitiesat acorn offices in baltimore, washington d.c and miami show that corruption is notisolated. already under suspicion for disturbing activities such as voter fraud, and in the2008 elections acorn employees encouraged prostitution, tax fraud, and human trafficking.this culture of of corruption must stop. so once more, just what is masonic initiation?let's ask brother wilmhurst:

" � the turning away from the attractionsof the outer world � the purification and subdual of the bodily and sensual tendencies� the work of detachment and self-purification is our entered apprentice�s work ------ theanalysis, discipline and obtaining control of one�s inner world - of the mind, of one�sthoughts, one�s intellectual and psychic faculties - is the extremely difficult taskof the fellow craft stage ------ the "last and greatest trial" lies in the breaking andsurrender of the personal will, the dying down of all sense of personality and selfhood,so that the petty personal will may become merged in the divine universal will, and theillusion of separate independent existence give way to conscious realization of unitywith the one life that permeates the universe.

for so only can one be raised from conditionsof unreality, strife and figurative death to a knowl�edge of ultimate reality, peaceand life immortal. to attain this is to attain mastership, involving complete dominationof the lower nature, and the development in oneself of a higher order of life and faculty."wow! sounds great, and that's just the beginning. from there, you go on pluming your cap inthe high degrees, assimilating the mysteries of antiquity. then, it's off and away to themystic shrine, where after some time of devoted service, if you're fortunate, you might getinvited to experience the pinnacle of good fellowship amongst brothers, wild, drunkenstag parties replete with high class hookers. how anticlimactic, as if similar 'good fellowship'wasn't happening in other, so-called gentlemen's

clubs all over the country. it is indeed 'mindboggling' that such otherwise sophisticated men would derive pleasure from jester parties.other than sightseeing trips, golf, and of course the play, the mainstay consists ofgambling, drinking, and whatever else is happening in the 'hospitality rooms'. many events alsofeature shooting contests, including pigeon shoots. in the 'calcutta' style, pigeons arereleased from cages, to be picked off by shotgun. the men gamble on who can kill or maim themost pigeons, which are afterwards discarded. then there's the columbaire type, where someguy hurls a partially plucked pigeon over a line, which i suppose is slightly more sporting.although these are outlawed or at least heavily frowned upon in many states, they are oneof the jesters favorite type of shoots, though

they also engage in skeet shooting, pheasanthunts, even machine gun shoots. man phun you say? perhaps, but to me it seems like a crueljoke. after years of preparation and striving, one reaches the inner sanctum, only to beinvited to engage in adultery alongside one's brothers, get drunk, gamble, and shoot pigeons,all well hidden from the prying eyes of the 'profane'. oh well, different strokes i suppose.if that's what these men want to do, then as far as i'm concerned, they have every rightto do so. the problem is that it is done in the name of furthering masonic principles,under the guise of a tax exempt masonic charity. when manly p. hall called freemasonry "a fraternitywithin a fraternity - an outer organization concealing an inner brotherhood of the elect."was he referring to groups like the jesters?

i certainly hope not, and i honestly don'tbelieve that he was, and therein lays the rub. freemasonry is comprised of men withdiffering ambitions, among whom are mystic seekers looking to better themselves whileplumbing the mysteries of the universe, and those for whom freemasonry is a good old boysclub for the purpose of power and privilege. chris hodapp, author of freemasons for dummieswrote: "i once had a friend who asked the question, 'what good is it being a memberof a secret society if you can't get out of traffic tickets or get serviced by a hookerwith a cop watching the door for you?' if that's what a man is looking for, then thejesters need to split from the shrine and just go be a sex club. and if the shrine condonesit, perhaps the shrine needs to split from

freemasonry, as well." "there have been callsfor years to split from the masonic fraternity. the jesters are one more reason to head thatdirection." brother hodapp, a shriner himself, is notalone in his opinion. not that the shrine doesn't do good work at the hospitals, itdoes - but so do many other charities that have no part in freemasonry. in 1905, imperialpotentate collins adjured all the potentates "can we not make a united effort...so thatthe world at large may know that when we are shriners we stand for that which is highest,purest, best and noblest in masonry?" yet today, the shriners are known as the partyboys of masonry, and it's unlikely that all the parades with clowns and toy cars havedone much to improve this image.

two states recently declared the shrine tobe clandestine. why? because the shrine insisted on retaining non-masons among its members.since the shrine apparently cares so little about this prerequisite, perhaps it's timeto relax it entirely. this division would go a long way towards righting things, butit will never answer the basic question, why? the fact remains that up until the year 2000,the mirth was reserved exclusively for a select group of 32nd and 33rd degree masons or knightstemplar, and even to this day most of the members are on the same level. though this may seem outrageous, an examinationof history reveals it to be the norm. most anywhere we look, the leaders of the people,the rich and the powerful, are wont to engage

in debauchery. the jesters appear to be followinga tradition, long enjoyed by the aristocracy. let's look at a few historical examples, shallwe? we turn first to the 'all-joking, all-drunkensynod of fools and jesters'. established in 1692 by peter the great, czar of russia, thisgroup eventually included every man of power within the czar's government. its ritualsincluded heavy drinking requirements and buffoonery, while masquerades, mocking the church, anderoticism, were the order of business. then there were the hellfire clubs, a seriesof clubs billed as meeting places for 'persons of quality', where aristocratic rakes wouldengage in drunken orgies, and also mock the church. the most infamous of these, foundedby sir francis dashwood, included the lord

of the admiralty, the paymaster-general, aformer prime minister, members of parliament, the prince of wales, and other notables suchas benjamin franklin. the club itself was decorated with mythological themes, phallicsymbols and other sexual items. calling themselves "monks," and dressed in vari-colored habits,they clothed the girls or "nuns," in white habits and masks, decreeing they must "considerthemselves as the lawful wives of the brethren during their stay within monastic walls."the club's motto was 'do what thou wilt', and its rights, an historian has said, "wereof a nature subversive of all decency." this was for public consumption however, for thoughall of this was true, the club also doubled as a center of british espionage, and franklinwas british secret service "agent no. 72"

after all, why would men in such powerfulpositions get together and engage in nothing but dalliance? or how about bohemian grove, where severalthousand high society men - politicians, business leaders, etc., - converge each year to party.an observer has said "the mood is reminiscent of high school. there's no end to the pee-peeand penis jokes, suggesting that these men, advanced in so many other ways, were emotionallyarrested sometime during adolescence" this reminds of the jesters, who, even at theirnational conventions, enjoy humor too perverse to repeat out loud, orated in their officialproceedings by one of their royal officers. these lovely jokes are from the proceedingsof the national court of 2009.

it seems the elite have always behaved thisway. from silvio berlusconi and his bunga bunga parties, to king take-your-pick fromhistory, privilege often breeds excess; the old aristocracy is replaced by a new, whichin time mimics the excesses of the old. sad as it seems, the adage 'power corrupts' appearsto be true. another similarity to the old aristocracyis the obsession with blood. say hello to sobib, who's arabic title translates to 'orderof brothers in blood' - the 's' supposedly standing for secret, or sacred. sobib is aninvitation only order of jesters, truly exclusive with just 254 active members in 2008. fewin number, this handful of men nevertheless dominate the jesters, and therefore the shrine.since it's creation in 1979, all but one royal

director has belonged to sobib. the proceedingsof the national court of 2009 further reveal nearly all of the highest officers to be sobibmembers. ineligible members aside, all but one past royal treasurer was a member, allbut two representatives ad vitam, and the majority of the royal court. just what it'smembers do is unknown. it is known, however, that some 1 out of 4 either resign or getexpelled, so it's clearly not for everyone; and while a name like 'brothers in blood'might conjure up all sorts of images, an analysis of the sobib directory suggests a possibleexplanation. of this small pool of men, many are related, and more than a few are, quiteliterally, brothers, or fathers and sons - some of them initiated on the same day. in therise to the top, it seems that merit, is not

the only consideration. this is an exclusive 'members only' club.these youngsters, born of the right bloodline, don't know how privileged they are. lowerranking individuals are literally, left out in the cold. as a side point, it's curious to note thatboth ronald tills, the corrupt judge from buffalo, gary martin, the royal director whofeigned ignorance when that particular news broke, and alex rogers, who represented thejesters in their tax appeal, were all members of sobib, along with jim kennedy, neil hurt,tyler young, bob haynes, dave curry, and ck. davis, who's 'little devils' give birth tomirth.

in the making of this documentary, i acquiredinformation from a number of sources, one of them being sandy frost, who's book 'vampiresof charity', i agreed to promote. it is a compilation of her research on the jesters,documenting the dirt she dug up over the years. while i certainly respect all the hard worksandy has done, i do disagree with her perspective, especially statements like "i believe thejesters are a nationwide network of human trafficking. weather or not the girls do thiswillingly does not matter." as far as i'm concerned, it does matter, in fact, it makesall the difference. to me, it is immaterial weather the girls were transported acrossstate lines, except that it gives the feds an excuse to transform ordinary prostitutioninto human trafficking. sandy is also quite

critical of the shrine hospitals. while it'strue that there have been a number of scandals, it's also true that the shriners just celebratedsomething big, their millionth patient milestone. having fun may come first, but the shrinealso helps kids, and that's something to be proud of. however, if, as initiates are told,the shrine is out to punish those who desecrate the masonic vow, then perhaps it might looka bit closer to home. henry klaussen, former supreme commander of the scottish rite, oncelamented that "the ancient mysteries later fell into a perverted decline, and were filledwith indescribable practices, in the orgies of bacchus" yet, even as he spoke these words,the bacchanalia was still occurring, preserved and reserved for high grade masons of thescottish rite, with some court directors actually

depicting themselves as bacchus. now i'm notsaying that masons are prudes, and never engage in such activities. what i am asking is, whyis there an elite masonic club, dedicated to pursuing anti-masonic vices? and it's notjust subgroups like the jesters and the el hajj, some ordinary temples have also engagedin this game of limbo. for example, in 2001 at a fundraising "v.i.p. gentlemen's dinner"organized by the khartum shriners motor patrol, strippers performed for the guests, two ofwhich turned out to be astonished free press reporters. as the girls began to kiss andfondle each other, the guys jumped in as well, as many as 8 at a time, sticking beer bottlesbetween their legs and performing oral sex upon them. elsewhere in the hotel, sexualintercourse was said to be available for 100

dollars or oral sex for 75 dollars. sceneslike these are common enough in shriner culture for ray stevens to depict them in his song'shriners convention' where the central character, 'coy' is cheating on 'charlene' with a redheaded floozy, at the 'no tell motel' of course. i must confess, this was a difficult documentaryto write. on the one hand, i truly respect the jesters themselves. they are, in manyways, the 'better men'. most all of them are, or were, successful business owners, and theyare often involved in a number of charities. they are esteemed, high ranking freemasons,and usually members of a host of other societies as well. pillars of the community, so to speak,and the heart and soul of american freemasonry. though jesters tend towards the base and bawdy,most of that's alright i suppose, but not

the adultery. cheating on your wife is notok, no matter what cloak of respectability is used to mask it. now i'm not saying alljesters do this, but the jesters as a group condones it, and thereby fails morality 101.furthermore, to utilize a network of masonic secrecy to cover it up, including the recruitmentof the local police in some cases, is simply wrong. when masonic secrecy is used for decadesto conceal institutionalized corruption, what might that say of the craft in general? whenvows of secrecy and oaths of allegiance are used for deceitful purposes, do they not givegood cause for folks to be wary of freemasonry? the majority of masons knew little about thejesters until they made the headlines a few years back, and even then, many if not mostcredulously accepted the official statement

that these were merely isolated aberrationsby a few wayward individuals, and never a general policy, as we have seen. the factthat such widespread deception could occur within the craft itself, should give everyonepause for thought. in conclusion, i hope this film will helpto set the record straight. this is my goal for, although i am a lover of liberty, i amalso a lover of truth, and of the hope that both will someday coexist, in an open, honestworld. finally, though the order itself may be something of a jest, most of it's membersare outstanding individuals, so let's not sit in judgment, for, truth be told, we allplay the fool from time to time. therefore, i shall conclude this documentary, in a jestertradition, with an excerpt from the fool's

prayer: "the ill-timed truth we might have kept�who knows how sharp it pierced and stung? the word we had not sense to say�who knows how grandly it had rung? "our faults no tenderness should ask,the chastening stripes must cleanse them all: but for our blunders�oh, in shamebefore the eyes of heaven we fall. "earth bears no balsam for mistakes;men crown the knave, and scourge the fool that did his will; but thou, o lord,be merciful to me, a fool!"