Peace is the right of all sentient beings.

Great Freemasons: George Henry Dern (September 8, 1872 – August 27, 1936)

Football is too all-absorbing. During the season we had no time to think of anything else but the winning of the pennant. … I am heartily in favor of college football, if not carried to such an extreme.
George Henry Dern (September 8, 1872 – August 27, 1936)


George Henry Dern was an American politician, mining man, and businessman. He is probably best remembered for co-inventing the Holt–Dern ore roasting process, as well as for his tenure as United States Secretary of War from 1933 to his death in 1936. He also served as the sixth Governor of Utah for eight years, from 1925 to 1933. Dern was a progressive politician who fought for tax reform, public education, and social welfare. He was an exceptional public speaker, able to captivate and entertain his audience, whether they were Progressives, Democrats, or Republicans.

He was also the grandfather of actor Bruce Dern and great grandfather of actress Laura Dern.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Dern

(Interestingly, even if he had a reputation as a speaker, I could find no quotes by him other than the one shared about football)

(Here is his impressive Masonic record: He was initiated in Wasatch Lodge No. 1 F. & A. M., of this city, April 16, 1897; passed April 23rd and raised May 7, 1897. He was Master of that Lodge in 1902.

In Grand Lodge he served as Grand Lecturer for the years 1910 and 1911; was elected Senior Grand Warden January 18, 1911; Deputy Grand Master January 17, 1912; and Grand Master January 22, 1913. He was a member of the Board of Custodians in Grand Lodge 1916 to 1919, and 1924 to 1934; of the Committee on Grievance and Appeals, 1920 to 1923, and of the Committee on Jurisprudence 1925 to August 27, 1936.

In York Rite he received the Chapter Degrees in Utah Chapter No. 1, R. A. M., February 2, 1898, and was Knighted in Utah Commandery No. 1 Knights Templar, March 22, 1898.

In the A. & A. S. Rite he received the degrees from the 4th to the 32nd inclusive, in Utah Consistory in November, 1904; served as presiding officer in the Lodge of Perfection; Council of Kadosh and Utah Consistory. October 16, 1923, he was advanced to the rank and decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honor and on October 21, 1927, he was invested with the Thirty-third Degree and proclaimed an Inspector General Honorary and an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction.

He was created a Noble of the Mystic Shrine in El Kalah Temple, Salt Lake City, March 28, 1898, and served that organization as Illustrious Potentate for the year 1929.)
http://www.utahgrandlodge.org/pgm/pgm-george-henry-dern.html

Taylor Caldwell (September 7, 1900 – August 30, 1985)

A wise man distrusts his neighbor. A wiser man distrusts both his neighbor and himself. The wisest man of all distrusts his government.
Janet Miriam Holland Taylor Caldwell

Based on a true story

Please...

Great Freemasons: Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988)

A fellow doesn't last long on what he has done. He has to keep on delivering.
Carl Owen Hubbel
Carl Owen Hubbell, nicknamed "The Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American baseball player. He was a member of the New York Giants in the National League from 1928 to 1943. He remained on the team's payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco.

Twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, Hubbell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. During 1936 and 1937, Hubbell set the major league record for consecutive wins by a pitcher with 24. He is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five of the game's great hitters in succession. Hubbell's primary pitch was the screwball.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Hubbell


(Raised in 1929, Meeker Lodge #479, Meeker, Oklahoma)

Great Freemasons: James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849)

One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their just rights.
James K. Polk

James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th President of the United States (1845–1849).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk

[EA (June 5, 1820), FC, MM (September 4, 1820), in Columbia Lodge No. 31, Columbia, Tenn.]

Ivan Illich (September 4, 1926 – December 2, 2002)

Jesus was an anarchist savior. That's what the Gospels tell us.
Just before He started out on His public life, Jesus went to the desert. He fasted, and after 40 days he was hungry. At this point the diabolos, appeared to tempt Him. First he asked Him to turn stone into bread, then to prove himself in a magic flight, and finally the devil, diabolos, "divider," offered Him power. Listen carefully to the words of this last of the three temptations: (Luke 4,6:) "I give you all power and glory, because I have received them and I give them to those whom I choose. Adore me and the power will be yours." It is astonishing what the devil says: I have all power, it has been given to me, and I am the one to hand it on — submit, and it is yours. Jesus of course does not submit, and sends the devilcumpower to Hell. Not for a moment, however, does Jesus contradict the devil. He does not question that the devil holds all power, nor that this power has been given to him, nor that he, the devil, gives it to whom he pleases. This is a point which is easily overlooked. By his silence Jesus recognizes power that is established as "devil" and defines Himself as The Powerless. He who cannot accept this view on power cannot look at establishments through the spectacle of the Gospel. This is what clergy and churches often have difficulty doing. They are so strongly motivated by the image of church as a "helping institution" that they are constantly motivated to hold power, share in it or, at least, influence it.
Ivan Illich

Fix Syria?

I did not join....