'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Baron Dave Romm
The Skull and Bones Society
By Baron Dave Romm
Marscon countdown: three weeks
The Skull and Bones Society at Yale is a fraternity with secrets. Many fraternities don't like to talk about their inner workings, and one must downplay the temptation to read too much into the mere fact of the secrecy. In college I knew many frat boys, and they were usually pretty decent fellows who liked their beer and liked to streak at 2am. For the most part, fraternities are what they claim to be, and whatever bonding rituals are included doesn't directly affect their outside actions.
All the really juicy conspiracy theories run through the Knights Templar. The Skull and Crossbones symbol was one of their standards. The skull referred to Golgotha, The Place of the Skull. The crossed bones may have religious or political significance, but at the simplest level, the bones used are the largest ones in the body. If you're going to cross bones, you want the femur to make a noticeable visual. The cross, however, seems to again refer to Jesus. The skull and crossbones symbol stands for life/death, eternal mysteries, resurrection, and all that sort of stuff. The Greatful Dead have a similar symbol of a skeleton and roses. I can hardly wait for our first Deadhead president.
The Knights Templar were officially disbanded in 1307 (on Friday the 13th) and its members accused of heresy. At least, the main group of them in France. What happened to them remains a mystery. We don't know what happened to them, a lot of their money, and the major fleet of ships in Europe at the time. Many of the highly trained seamen and superb fighters just disappeared. Perhaps some of them became pirates and used their symbol on their flags. Seems unlikely, though. It's a hard thing to paint, and hard to make out from a distance over foggy seas. We usually associate the skull and crossbones flag with the name Jolly Roger, yet the name most likely is a corruption of the French "jolle rouge", which means "red flag". While red crosses are associated with the Knights Templar (Columbus' ships bore red crosses, for example), there are few recorded instances of a ship with that flag engaging in piracy. It's much more likely that the popular imagination associates a scary symbol with sea robbery.
The first thing to note about the Skull and Bones Society is that the name is wrong. The "cross" part is important. The stated history of the Society is that William Russell, an undergraduate at Yale in 1832, went to Germany and came back with the idea for the fraternity. He didn't remember the name right, but that didn't matter since they weren't going to be knights in the Crusades, they were going to be a college frat. The purpose of the fraternity is to form a bond among its members so that they support each other as they grow up and achieve powerful positions. This is not particularly unique. Heck, it's not particularly undesirable: One of the things you make in college is contacts. That's how the system works. It's not necessary to view the Skull and Bones Society as any more than it claims to be: The nexus of an Old Boy's Network. Some fairly powerful boys, of course, including at least three presidents (two of them elected) and several people who affected your life. On the other hand, not many frats have an entire trust set up to give members $15,000 when they graduate. The Russell Trust incorporated the Skull and Bones Society in 1856. According to a Yale Daily News article, "As of June 30, 1998, Skull and Bones owned, via the Russell Trust, more than $3,674,000 in assets."
The bonding is important, at least internally, and helps explain why few have talked about it. In theory, if you bring up the Skull and Bones Society in George W. Bush's presence, he's supposed to leave. No reporter has bothered to test this, to their everlasting shame. When will we have professional journalists covering Republicans again? But I digress.
Some bonesmen have talked, and investigations have uncovered a fair amount of information. Ron Rosenbaum and Alex Robbins of Secrets of the Tomb, among many others. In a nutshell: A bonesmen lies in a crypt, probably masturbating, as he tells his entire sexual history. *whew* That would bond college age kids together. That and the keggers, of course. Being the scions of the filthy rich and powerful, its likely that they did any and all drugs they wanted to. That's speculation, but that's what most college kids did in W's time, especially the ones with money who could count on their father to get them out of trouble, and its inconceivable that he didn't 'experiment' with cocaine, marijuana, meth, etc. I'm on pretty good grounds by claiming that George W. Bush inhaled. On the other hand, I don't care. It's only an issue because the Republicans are such moral relativists that they beat up on Bill Clinton for minor transgressions and give George W. Bush a pass for being a self-described "drunken frat boy".
The psycho-social aspect of the frat is important. If your frat brother introduces you to his sister, even knowing the worst about you, the match is likely to be a go. And indeed, that's how the Walker-Bush connection started. Samuel Bush, a member of an old New England family with political connections but not that much money. In 1917 he was introduced to Dorothy Walker, the daughter of George Herbert Walker by Bonesman Roland "Bunny" Harriman. Dorothy and Prescott were married in 1921. George Herbert Walker Bush was born in 1923. By 1926 Prescott became a manager of the Harriman Bank and in 1930 he was a partner. Meanwhile, the Old Boy Network went up a level and Samuel became President and Chief Executive of the Harriman Bank in 1919, and in 1924 he went to Berlin to found the Union Bank to funnel money to the Nazis. Prescott's son and grandson, George Herbert Walker and George W., were bonesmen.
While the Skull and Bones Society doesn't seem to have much, if any connection with teutonic knights, the name is the inspiration for some of their schoolboy pranks. There's a persistent rumor that bonesmen steal the skulls of famous people and keep their near their crypt. Prescott Bush is supposed to have taken the skull of Geronimo, and the native americans want it back. Geronimo's skull, from Yale Herald
Let's look at some of the Old Boys in the Old Boy's network. This is a selected list from the more complete lists at the Boodleboys site or Bluemud. I left out a bunch of relatives and didn't track down all the relationships. All comments mine.
To find some of the more interesting connections, list out the society by class. I leave that as an exercise for the reader.
What does this all mean? Not, in and of itself, a lot. Bush Lite was in other frats, including one that involved branding pledges on the butt (and drinking heavily). Tracing Old Boy Networks is on the iffy side, since it's hard to determine just who did what for whom and when. Peter O'Toole (in The Ruling Class) showed just what privilege there is in having a connection to someone else in power. This applies to Kerry as well as Bush. I rather like Kerry. Kerry has been fighting the good fight for a long time. If there is some sort of vast conspiracy to all this, I'd rather have someone on the inside who's on our side. Still, it would be an enormous amount of fun to have a question about the Skull and Bones Society crop up during a Presidential Debate and having both of them walk off stage...
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E , and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny and breezy.
NBC has old reruns of 'SNL' at 3am here on Sunday mornings. Usually, these shows are old - episodes with Gilda-old, until last night.
Jumped most of the Raygun era, all of 41's years, and right into the middle of a season of Clenis bashing.
It would seem someone at GE/NBC/MSGOP thinks the only stuff that's funny involves Clinton's penis as the punchline.
Jai Rodriguez, left, and Carson Kressley, stars of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, play with a 'Take Four' board game from Learning Resources, during the American International Toy Fair held in New York, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2004.
Photo by Mary Altaffer
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Hollywood Honors Its Geeks
Scientific & Technical Oscars
Jennifer Garner hosted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Technical Awards on Saturday night, the pre-Oscar show where the movie industry honors people and companies that have advanced the process of filmmaking.
Garner, who played along gamely earlier in the evening as a magician brought her on stage and attempted to shoot an arrow through a deck of cards clutched over her heart, confessed to being a "supernerd" herself, having originally majored in chemistry in college.
The audience cheered loudly whenever she pronounced a particularly daunting technical term properly.
The main award winners of the night, receiving Oscars for their work, were Digidesign, for developing the Pro Tools digital audio workstation; Bill Tondreau of Kuper Controls, for his work with robotic camera systems; and Peter D. Parks, who won the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for lifetime achievement.
For more, Scientific & Technical Oscars
A demonstrator wearing a mask reading 'Guantanamo repression' participates in an anti-war protest in central Madrid, February 15, 2004. Several anti-war protests were held around Spain marking the first anniversary of demonstrations held around the world against the war in Iraq.
Photo by Andrea Comas
British Academy Film Awards
BAFTAs
Fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was named best film at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, while "Lost in Translation" co-stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson took the top acting honors.
"The Return of the King" was nominated for 12 awards, known as BAFTAs, and won five: best picture, cinematography, adapted screenplay and special effects, as well as film of the year as voted by the public.
"The Return of the King" beat Anthony Minghella's Civil War saga "Cold Mountain," Sofia Coppola's quirky "Lost In Translation," Tim Burton's whimsical "Big Fish" and Peter Weir's seafaring saga "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" to take the best-film prize from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Peter Weir won best director, and his naval adventure won four awards in all.
Renee Zellweger was named best supporting actress for "Cold Mountain." The civil war drama led the nominations with 13, but won only two awards — Zellweger's and best music.
The best supporting actor went to Bill Nighy as amiably dissolute rock star Billy Mack in the British romantic comedy "Love, Actually."
"Lost In Translation," only its young director's second feature, won three BAFTAs.
In taking the best actress award, 19-year-old Scarlett Johansson beat her own performance in "Girl With a Pearl Earring," as well as Uma Thurman for "Kill Bill," Naomi Watts for "21 Grams" and Anne Reid for "The Mother."
Sean Penn also was nominated twice in the best-actor category — for "21 Grams" and "Mystic River" — but lost out to Bill Murray's jet-lagged movie star adrift in Tokyo in the comedy of cultural dislocation.
Sundance hit "The Station Agent" won the best screenplay award, while the prize for best British film went to "Touching the Void," Kevin Macdonald's powerful docudrama about an ill-fated mountaineering expedition.
BAFTAs
Show Traces Movement
'Vagina Monologues'
"The Vagina Monologues," the popular play by Eve Ensler, has inspired a global movement aimed at raising awareness of the violence routinely inflicted against women and girls — including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sexual slavery.
"Until the Violence Stops" is a one-hour documentary about that movement, called V-Day. Airing without commercial interruption at 10 p.m. EST Tuesday on Lifetime, the film includes appearances by V-Day founder Ensler and a wide range of actors who support the cause, including Jane Fonda, Glenn Close, Isabella Rossellini, Queen Latifah, Rosie Perez and Salma Hayek.
"Until the Violence Stops," which premiered last month at the Sundance Film Festival, is disturbing, but also hopeful and inspiring.
'Vagina Monologues'
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
On The Town
Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush put on quite a show when she stepped out Wednesday night with her "very good friend" Fabian Basabe, a preppy party-hopper dubbed one of the city's most eligible bachelors.
They hit the dance floor at a swank soiree for fashion designer Jennifer Nicholson (daughter of Jack) at the Chelsea hot spots Sette and Viscaya.
First Daughter Barbara wore a flouncy, cleavage-baring slip dress over jeans and high heels, while Basabe, son of an Ecuadoran businessman, had on a sweater and polo shirt.
The 21-year-old Yale senior - who was busted with her twin, Jenna, for underage drinking in Texas in 2001 - sipped margaritas at a table littered with Veuve Cliquot champagne bottles.
Then she and her date showed off dance moves they could have picked up from the sword-wielding belly dancer gyrating on the bar.
"She hopped around," said one guest. "She's very friendly, uninhibited. She wasn't exactly Paris Hilton, but she's fun. She's not afraid to have a drink."
Barbara Bush
Country singer Leann Rimes perfoms the national anthem before the start of the Daytona 500 race Sunday, Feb. 15, 2004, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Photo by Luis M. Alvarez
Hails Mars Proposal
Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury, author of the science-fiction classic "The Martian Chronicles," says resident Bush's proposal to put humans on Mars could open new worlds in much the same way European explorers discovered America.
"We have to imagine what they couldn't imagine. Because of their exploration they created us — the greatest country in the history of the world," Bradbury said Saturday after a book-signing.
"We're going to go with real people and land on Mars in the next 20 years, and I'm going to be buried in a tomato soup can on Mars," joked Bradbury, who is 83. "I'll be the first one up there."
Ray Bradbury
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Courtin' Trouble?
Barbara Bush
First Daughter Barbara Bush's dirty-dancing partner has been hot-footing it from the law.
Gotham gadabout Fabian Basabe - pictured in a hip-lock with Babs on the front page of the Daily News yesterday - is wanted on three warrants in California.
The social climber has been busted for speeding, driving under the influence and trespassing. He even jumped bail in one case, court records show.
Basabe was nabbed for trespassing on the Malibu campus of Pepperdine University at 6:30 a.m. and driving with a suspended license.
He wasn't supposed to be there because he was a "dismissed student," the court file said, but school officials declined to say whether he was expelled.
For more, Barbara Bush
Sculptor Livio De Marchi rides his Ferrari, made from wood, down the Grand Canal in Venice, February 15, 2004.
Photo by Crosera Silvestri
Anthrax Cleanup Starts
American Media
Decontamination has finally started at the former headquarters of tabloid publisher American Media Inc., the first target of the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people.
Crews from the company Bio-ONE spent Saturday setting up decontamination areas in the basement and preparing for detailed scouting trips on other floors this week.
More than a dozen people entered the building Saturday, staying only about an hour each before leaving to be decontaminated themselves and undergoing medical checks, said Sandra Schuh, a director of Sabre Technical Services. Sabre is half of Bio-ONE, created with former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's security consulting firm, Giuliani Partners.
The American Media building had been the home of the National Enquirer, Star and Weekly World News tabloids.
Bio-ONE will be based in the Boca Raton building after the cleanup is complete.
American Media
A Tunisian dancer performs during the closing ceremony of the ninth Dubai Shopping Festival, February 15, 2004. Around 100 folk groups from Arab and Asian countries took part in the ceremony, ending the month-long festival which attracted over three million visitors.
Photo by Anwar Mirza
Darwin's Ship Located?
HMS Beagle
British archaeologists believe they have finally located the long-lost remnants of HMS Beagle, the ship which took Charles Darwin on the voyage during which he formulated the theory of evolution, a report said.
The fate of the Beagle, which carried Darwin for five years from 1831, has remained a mystery for more than a century.
However according to The Observer, archaeologists using advanced ground-penetrating radar think they have found it buried under mud in a river estuary in Essex, southeast England.
The radar image shows a ship similar in size to the Beagle -- which was used as a customs boat after Darwin's voyage -- lying under 12 feet (3.6 metres) of mud near a long-abandoned dock.
HMS Beagle
In Memory
Melvin C. "Percy" Welch
Little Richard attended funeral services for a Georgia musician who helped him get started in the recording industry and once supplied him with a shirt and a car for a performance at the Apollo Theatre.
Melvin C. "Percy" Welch offered Little Richard a place in his band in 1952.
"I didn't have clothes," Little Richard recalled Saturday at Welch's funeral in Macon. "My mama had 12 kids. My daddy was a bootlegger, and the boot was empty that day."
Welch, 75, died Feb. 8 of kidney failure.
Welch also coached Otis Redding and worked with Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Gladys Knight and The Drifters, according to friends.
Welch remained with family in Macon rather than seek fame in Hollywood. "He never did get what he should have gotten as far as his music is concerned," Little Richard said.
Melvin C. "Percy" Welch
Martina the dog is presented by her owner Jessica Labella during a Carnival parade through the French Quarter, at the 12th Annual Mystic Krewe of Barkus parade in New Orleans, February 15, 2004. More than 1,000 dogs were presented by their owners in this year's parade. The theme was 'Fistful of Collars.' Fat Tuesday is February 24.
Photo by David Rae Morris
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 5
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
