Post by teddyballgame on Jan 23, 2009 1:21:20 GMT
Found This Article, thought it was Interesting.
I hope this is the right place to post this?
www.thebluelodge.org/masonic_news-184/show_me_the_money_show_me_the_money!!!!_a-15434/
Our guess is Tom Cruise knows where his money is going, ok maybe not,
but he sure made the phrase "Show me the money" recognizable
throughout the world when he screamed it in his hit movie "Jerry
Maguire". The sad truth is that this phrase eludes most Masons even
more than the lost Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry. We as Freemasons
need to learn to scream this phrase just as Mr. Cruise did in his
award winning performance. Now you may think we are heading down the
path of Shrine bashing for their misappropriation of funds alleged by
the many recent articles by investigative reporter Sandy Frost, sadly
this is not the case. Maybe you believe we are going to discuss the
alleged funneling of funds to the Scottish Rite which has been accused
of using our money for many things including overnight lending to
other countries. Nope, we are talking about our own Grand Lodges and
the possible misappropriations or abuse of our hard earned cash.
In a recent tit for tat bantering session between two Masonic blogs,
The Beehive hosted by "Squire Bentley" aka Bro. Fred Milliken and The
Masonic Line hosted by The Palmetto Bug aka (he doesn't release his
real name) titled "Preventing Lodge Foreclosures" these two Brothers
debated a "so called" fictional story about the schism between a lodge
and it's Grand Lodge. Now any Mason who reads just about any Masonic
forum or blog on the Internet will quickly realize this is the real
story describing the events that are currently taking place in Ohio
between Halcyon lodge and the Grand Lodge of Ohio. About now you are
starting to ask how the schism between the Grand Lodge of Ohio and
Halcyon compares to Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire. Well read on and I
think it may become apparent.
Recently in a conversation with an insider involved in the case, it
was brought to our attention that vast amounts of Ohio Masons money is
being spent on both sides to fight each other in the court system. We
had no idea how much until now and thought it would be an interesting
union with our Jerry McGuire analogy. If you are not familiar with the
case, you should go read up on it and there probably isn't a better
place to get the basics of the story than the article discussed
earlier "Preventing Lodge Foreclosures".
Before we get to the dollar values allegedly spent fighting this case,
we have to ask a few questions like, who has the authority to spend
our hard earned money and what are their limits? What expenditure
types require the approval of the Brother Masons who worked hard for
that money? The list of possible questions could go on for quite a
while and probably should when Freemasonry is facing the financial
crisis that it is today. Quite frankly our community is tired of BBQ
chicken dinners and given the restraints put on our lodges by the
Grand Lodges it is almost impossible to earn "real" money to support
large expenditures. At this point let's throw out an idea that has
been discussed and probably should be more like categorizing our dues
as donations so they might qualify as tax exemption but let's stay on
topic.
In the case of most corporations even the CEO of the company has
spending limits before requiring board or shareholder approval. Is
this the same in most Grand Lodge jurisdictions? If you're unsure
don't you think you should ask? Does the Grand Lodge or Grand Master
have the right to redirect funds, let's say from the Bicentennial
celebrations (hint, hint) to fight lawsuits which are not covered by
their (D&O) insurance? Let's clarify how D&O insurance works for a
second. D&O (Directors and Officers) insurance covers corporations for
legal fees and judgments when cases are brought against the
corporations or officers by outside entities. It does NOT cover legal
fees or awarded judgments for cases initiated by the corporation or
its officers. Oh here is another question, should the Brothers not
have to vote before filing lawsuits initiated by their Grand Lodge
representing them?
When is the last time you asked your Grand Secretary to see the
accounting records of the Grand Lodge you belong to? You do have a
right as a Master Mason to see those records, but let's move on.
As with a recent case involving a whistle blower, who was also the
largest shareholder in this corporation the CEO filed a frivolous
lawsuit against the shareholder on behalf of the corporation for the
sole purpose of stopping all communications between its board members
and the shareholder. It is an effective way of controlling
communications as all communications now have to go through their
lawyers who usually reports to the CEO. Hmmmmm
What happens when your Grand Lodge spends a year fighting a case they
filed with your hard earned money to the tune of let's guess and say
$200,000 and have nothing to show for it. What if the same Grand Lodge
then fires its high powered law firm, which probably cost upwards of
$500 an hour to switch to another firm to continue this same seemingly
loosing fight, wouldn't you like a say in this? Well, if our sources
are correct and you are a member of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, these are
some of the questions you might want to start asking about now.
I hope this is the right place to post this?
www.thebluelodge.org/masonic_news-184/show_me_the_money_show_me_the_money!!!!_a-15434/
Our guess is Tom Cruise knows where his money is going, ok maybe not,
but he sure made the phrase "Show me the money" recognizable
throughout the world when he screamed it in his hit movie "Jerry
Maguire". The sad truth is that this phrase eludes most Masons even
more than the lost Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry. We as Freemasons
need to learn to scream this phrase just as Mr. Cruise did in his
award winning performance. Now you may think we are heading down the
path of Shrine bashing for their misappropriation of funds alleged by
the many recent articles by investigative reporter Sandy Frost, sadly
this is not the case. Maybe you believe we are going to discuss the
alleged funneling of funds to the Scottish Rite which has been accused
of using our money for many things including overnight lending to
other countries. Nope, we are talking about our own Grand Lodges and
the possible misappropriations or abuse of our hard earned cash.
In a recent tit for tat bantering session between two Masonic blogs,
The Beehive hosted by "Squire Bentley" aka Bro. Fred Milliken and The
Masonic Line hosted by The Palmetto Bug aka (he doesn't release his
real name) titled "Preventing Lodge Foreclosures" these two Brothers
debated a "so called" fictional story about the schism between a lodge
and it's Grand Lodge. Now any Mason who reads just about any Masonic
forum or blog on the Internet will quickly realize this is the real
story describing the events that are currently taking place in Ohio
between Halcyon lodge and the Grand Lodge of Ohio. About now you are
starting to ask how the schism between the Grand Lodge of Ohio and
Halcyon compares to Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire. Well read on and I
think it may become apparent.
Recently in a conversation with an insider involved in the case, it
was brought to our attention that vast amounts of Ohio Masons money is
being spent on both sides to fight each other in the court system. We
had no idea how much until now and thought it would be an interesting
union with our Jerry McGuire analogy. If you are not familiar with the
case, you should go read up on it and there probably isn't a better
place to get the basics of the story than the article discussed
earlier "Preventing Lodge Foreclosures".
Before we get to the dollar values allegedly spent fighting this case,
we have to ask a few questions like, who has the authority to spend
our hard earned money and what are their limits? What expenditure
types require the approval of the Brother Masons who worked hard for
that money? The list of possible questions could go on for quite a
while and probably should when Freemasonry is facing the financial
crisis that it is today. Quite frankly our community is tired of BBQ
chicken dinners and given the restraints put on our lodges by the
Grand Lodges it is almost impossible to earn "real" money to support
large expenditures. At this point let's throw out an idea that has
been discussed and probably should be more like categorizing our dues
as donations so they might qualify as tax exemption but let's stay on
topic.
In the case of most corporations even the CEO of the company has
spending limits before requiring board or shareholder approval. Is
this the same in most Grand Lodge jurisdictions? If you're unsure
don't you think you should ask? Does the Grand Lodge or Grand Master
have the right to redirect funds, let's say from the Bicentennial
celebrations (hint, hint) to fight lawsuits which are not covered by
their (D&O) insurance? Let's clarify how D&O insurance works for a
second. D&O (Directors and Officers) insurance covers corporations for
legal fees and judgments when cases are brought against the
corporations or officers by outside entities. It does NOT cover legal
fees or awarded judgments for cases initiated by the corporation or
its officers. Oh here is another question, should the Brothers not
have to vote before filing lawsuits initiated by their Grand Lodge
representing them?
When is the last time you asked your Grand Secretary to see the
accounting records of the Grand Lodge you belong to? You do have a
right as a Master Mason to see those records, but let's move on.
As with a recent case involving a whistle blower, who was also the
largest shareholder in this corporation the CEO filed a frivolous
lawsuit against the shareholder on behalf of the corporation for the
sole purpose of stopping all communications between its board members
and the shareholder. It is an effective way of controlling
communications as all communications now have to go through their
lawyers who usually reports to the CEO. Hmmmmm
What happens when your Grand Lodge spends a year fighting a case they
filed with your hard earned money to the tune of let's guess and say
$200,000 and have nothing to show for it. What if the same Grand Lodge
then fires its high powered law firm, which probably cost upwards of
$500 an hour to switch to another firm to continue this same seemingly
loosing fight, wouldn't you like a say in this? Well, if our sources
are correct and you are a member of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, these are
some of the questions you might want to start asking about now.