: My best impression so far is that Knights Templar information
: is really disinformation; I think they might be getting a
: "bad rap", being tossed in with the usual
: rhetoric about Freemasons, etc.

: I'd think it more likely that the Freemasons were originally a
: service organization, and were later infiltrated and
: co-opted.

I think you have that right. I listened the other day to a fascinating overview of the last 2,000 years of history presented by Barry Chamish on the Jeff Rense "Sightings" program. His views on the roles of the Templars and the Freemasons match what you say above. And the conclusions he comes to explain the crises of today's world, especially the impasse in the Middle East, better than anything else I have heard.

To listen to this one-hour discussion, go to
http://broadcast.com/shows/endoftheline/00archives.html, select the show for Nov. 29, and go to the third hour of the show (starting 2 hours into the program). You won't be dissappointed.

: The various "symbols" some
: writers speak of (e.g., a pyramid for Citgo, a rising son
: for Shell) may or may not be representative of dark and
: creepy intentions. "Sometimes a cigar is just a
: cigar," and there's nothing to say a triangle is not
: just a triangle, a seashell is not just a seashell.

True. But also, sometimes symbols are deliberately invoked by people who don't fully know what they represent. They seek to create a subconscious recognition that says,something like "this symbol represents strength and reliability, so I will trust this company's product". I think companies do this when choosing logos, knowingly invoking symbols of power without any deeper understanding of the symbols or what they represent, other than that it is "power" in some form.

BTW, there is a website, http://wwww.greatseal.com, devoted exclusively to exploring the meaning of the various symbols on the Great Seal of the United States. Some RMN readers may find it of interest:

I should mention at this point that in one of my previous posts, in connection with a discussion of the Great Seal, I made some erroneous statements regarding which of the men involved in our nation's founding were Freemasons, and which were not. In fact, John Adams was NOT a Freemason, but Benjamin Franklin WAS. Thomas Jefferson is generally believed to have been a Mason, but no definitive proof of this is known.