"Mr. King is the man who single handedly gave you the Grand Orient of the United States."
Jeff Peace, Creator of this and other counterfeit 'Masonic' groups, posting as Antonius9, on the Golden State Masons forum on December 5, 2007, one forum, among many, from which he has been banned. (Note: this site's author has NEVER been banned from any forum of any kind, ever!)

Traditional Cosmopolitan Freemasonry = bogus foolishness

What is Traditional Cosmopolitan Freemasonry? Quite simply, an ADVERTISING SLOGAN!

Nothing more and nothing less. See for yourself: can you find a single Masonic paper using that phrase? Despite the tens of thousands of Masonic articles online, a Google search on 24 August 2008 showed that particular phrase appeared online a grand total of only EIGHT (8) times. While obviously not every Masonic essay ever written is online, but with obscure phrases piling up several hundred 'hits', if this were REALLY a Masonic concept rather than someone's fantasy, surely someone would be writing about 'traditional cosmopolitan Freemasonry' over the last 300 or so years. Of those eight references, SEVEN were written by the group using it, the so-called 'Grand Orient of the United States', founded in late 2005. The other reference is to this page! It is simply a 'catch-phrase' designed to recruit the unsuspecting into a group which is not now nor ever will be recognized or acknowledged by regular Freemasons anywhere.

In their prior incarnations, the self-styled Grand Orient of the United States - GOOFUS - created other wordings designed to 'set them apart' and make the unwary think that they were just as legitimate as any group of Freemasons one might find. They began using the term 'Free-Masonry' (with the hyphen): an affectation somewhat similar to wearing an ascot instead of a necktie. They've also tried to use the terms "Modern Freemasonry" versus the (regular/recognized) "Ancient Freemasonry" but this phraseology seemed to fall flat on its face as peals of laughter greeted their abject lack of knowledge of Masonic history. (In the late 1700s, the 'Ancient' group were actually the modern, progressive group they were trying to claim they were.) We thought of putting a picture of Clara Peller here to make the point - but you can draw your own conclusions as to what 'Traditional Cosmopolitan Free-Masonry' really stands for: a long-standing way of practicing Freemasonry or a slogan designed to bring attention to a handful of those who couldn't qualify (or were removed from) regular/recognized Freemasonry. They will likely morph into something else within another couple of years.

Nothing is as constant as change. Their latest gyrations can be found here.

With this type of pseudo 'Free-Masonry', every day brings something new. The problem is trying to stay up with the twists, turns, and distractions as well as their changing 'explanation' of what they really are can easily become MORE than a full time job. At least a couple of times each week, we'll receive an e-mail asking when our next update on this particular group will be forthcoming. Why? Because the creator and his couple of followers have become Master Obfuscators, trying desperately to create the illusion that a pebble of sand in the Sahara is actually the desert itself. We'll keep this page well lubricated with the truth (something which seems an anathema to this group's adherents - of whom there are, by current estimates, less than a couple of dozen). We've also got a few words about the ostensibly earth-shattering patent they obtained from the irregular and unrecognized Grand Orient of France in 2008 (see "Their Affiliations" below) which has been interpreted by knowledgeable Masons as being FAR less than the GOOFUS crowd wants you to believe. Their veil has been pierced and those of you who've ever been on a farm where a chicken was beheaded will understand that in some cases there's a lot of flapping around LONG after the thing has died. We'll continue to cover the ongoing attempts to achieve credibility amidst the laughter of the Masonic world.

Let's start at the beginning - and about "being angry"

Regularly we'll see comments online that this website and/or its owner is "angry" at the individual and/or his followers who've gone off to start an organization which they think will revolutionize the world. Nothing could be further from the truth - and it is, in fact, with a considerable amount of melancholy that we take to recount the antics of this bunch on a regular basis. The opportunities lost by those who follow a Pied Piper - and even the abilities of the Pied Piper himself are gifts that are now gone. So please, dear reader: do not ASSume that you understand the mind of this author as he points out the foibles of this group and the fantasies they attempt to foster on the guillible.

It's well known that a website can make things sound ooooowwwww so appealing. And so, taking the same graphics created for the group he started in 2005 and applying them in 2007 in another herky-jerky shift, we now find the so-called Grand Orient of the United States, based on the internet and at a Starbucks in the Metro Atlanta area. (Update on this below!) This organization is sure to appeal to any lover of humanity and righteousness - as they'll be quick to tell you. Of course, their claims - to us at least - seem to deliberately hide the truth. Before you go further on this page, though, you might want to look at the shenanigans involving the several groups from which this one evolved, all of which have been 'run' by the very same person. This is a person who was not always listed as their 'grand leader' but in late 2008 he clothed himself in the pomp and pomposity of leadership of his two-dozen person organization after tossing out the those who'd served him. Click here and a new page will open with information about the United Grand Lodge of America - the group that made internet claims to be garnering all sorts of new members and yet not even two years later was gone, morphing into this bunch.

Here are the facts

In essence, one person who couldn't seem to get along in regular/recognized Freemasonry wanted to prove that he could create something (after several tries) that was better than the 300+ year old organization of Freemasonry. Here's some of the absurdity:

When we're wrong, we're wrong: on December 10, 2007 we found that there's really a (sorta) lodge #7! Sirius Lodge which was once supposedly on the rolls, such as they were, of the United Grand Lodge of America (way back in 2006) and before that was actually the Rose Croix Cross of Gold (but that was AGES ago, back in 2005!). Of course, once you get past the pseudonyms and 'sock puppets', it looks like that "lodge" consists of 3-4 people - the very same coffee-klatch folks! No telling what it will be in 2009 and no word, of course, on all of the others - and now there's a smoke screen being developed to try and co-mingle the five (some apparently not operating) lodges of the co-Masonic George Washington Union into the count. It's easy to do with the creation of a little HTML by the person behind all of these fantasy groups. Simply grab one of your old domain names and - TA DA! - more web presence for something that seems to exist only in the minds of the very, very gullible.

But were we wrong? Well, MAYBE you might call three "several" but the truth is that we just aren't as facile in our imagination as Jeff Peace who creates these things. <chuckle> Oh, and we should mention that the address of that Sirius Lodge doesn't seem to appear on any internet map: there are addresses LIKE it but not the specific road they mention, without giving the building's number naturally. See for yourself. What happened to the building that the Rose Croix Cross of Gold, their predecessor name, was supposedly building? In 2009 we confirmed that it was NEVER a lodge building but was, rather, a business office. What of the many new initiates they were supposedly making? Who knows....

Do they have "several" now? In fact, they have a handful of sycophants located in five of the fifty United States who are CLAIMING to be part of a lodge but the true facts are that such 'lodges' consist primarily of themselves ONLY. Their 'Triangles' mean that they only have 1 or 2 members: that should give potential candidates some real pause when they're looking for a stable, centuries-old organization with world-wide Brotherhood. Ask, for example, what has happened to their "Liberty Lodge" and others.

Get involved - but only if you agree with them

Like to have a good chat about politics? What about going off in your Masonic apron to picket the visit by the Pope? Want to have a rally in all of your regalia to protest a certain electoral candidate? (Hopefully he's not the one you want to win but he might be!) Maybe you want to really support Amnesty International by being affiliated with a web site that has a link to both them and public television on it. (Rah-rah!!!) Oh, and that religious context that you thought Masons said was so important? FORGET IT - with these guys!

Within hours of the creation of this group, one sock puppet on a blog wrote "What exactly has your Masonry done to defend human rights rights recently? What has it done to promote religious tolerance recently?" The same, obviously, could be asked of them. Railing against others for not having done something that has yet to be done (and never will be done) by yourself is disingenuous at best.

And the real answer is - from a regular/recognized Freemasonic standpoint - NOTHING because that is not the work of Freemasonry no matter how righteous it sounds. If you want to take a stand on political issues, go find an organization with which to align. Freemasonry - the REAL kind - does not take partisan positions in religion or politics. It has been ably noted by all thinkers that, in most cases, defending one person's human rights may rightfully deny another of theirs. From a strictly rhetorical standpoint, it makes great theatre to claim that this new organization will do all sorts of things but the reality is that it simply can't be accomplished. This is the hyperbole that has become so standard in all of the groups formed by this one individual. In fact, just a couple of years ago it was claimed that they (via one of their predecessor groups) were going to help the youth of America by supporting DeMolay - except for the truth: they LIED! (One anonymous internet identity in an attempt to discredit this site now claims that they were prohibited from doing so. How curious. Somebody refused to take money? Uh-huh.... In fact, the Executive Director of DeMolay International in a personal conversation with this web site's owner stated that he'd never even heard of them - a full year after they'd been proclaiming their financial benevolence for DeMolay.) We note too that the 'fine print' now says that their MEMBERS support "some of" the organizations whose logos appear on their website. Doesn't that smell awfully fishy? What OTHER organizations do "some of" their members support? And to what extent? Why would an organization have links to other organizations if they themselves have no connection to them. (Think about it: the Red Cross doesn't have links to Grand Lodges of Freemasons despite the fact that many Grand Lodges are by far the biggest blood donors they have.) Could it be that GOOFUS is using yet another 'cheap trick' to garner your support?

By its very existence, Freemasonry (the regular and recognized kind) practices religious tolerance and thus stands as a beacon to it rather than as an activist in a partisan campaign whereby you might find yourself on the 'wrong side of the tracks' as arguments flare over which religion should be supported over which other.

In the Grand Orient of France, there's no Bible and nothing whatsoever to do with prayers. Secular humanism - or whatever brand of agnosticism you wish -  is what you'll find there. In order to thumb their nose in the face of Masons who've rejected them, Mr. Peace - an expelled Freemason - now touts this as a 'better kind' of Freemasonry than the one that has existed for some 300 years teaching that faith, hope and charity are essential to a man's life and character. Frankly, we think it's like ordering a rib-eye steak and being told that the tofu placed in front of you is really what you wanted. (And no, we don't have anything against tofu.... well, maybe but that was just an example!....)

And let's not forget - as one chat room moderator has already commented: "Can someone explain how honourable men of integrity last year believed that a recognition of a supreme being was a landmark and that non inclusion of females was another landmark, have this year completely reversed those held and sworn views?"

One other very important point

So far, the organizations started by the person who started this one have had the half life of a fruit fly. Do you have ANY reason to believe that this will be any different? In truth, all you're going to see are pseudonyms and claims: never pictures nor any kind of proof whatsoever that this is anything more than just another personal aggrandizement - a website created for what can charitably be referred to as 'smoke and mirrors'.

Self-Identification - Brad and his antics

Barely 24 hours after their start, ONE individual identified himself publicly as being a member: Brad Cofield of California. Within less than a year, he has become such a gadfly relative to Masonry on the internet, we've created a separate page about him here. Brad's a GREAT example of the type of person you're likely to be dealing with if you get involved with these folks!

Their Affiliations....

When we first read that they had achieved 'fraternal relations' and a 'patent' from the Grand Orient of France and the George Washington Union of Freemasons in North America (although often coyly phrased as if they might not want to publicize it too widely and actually have one or both of those organizations officially deny it), it seemed hard to believe. In one of the two instances it was - and in the other, there seems to have been quite a lot added in the translation.

The Grand Orient of France has a long history. Because of France's proximity to England, Freemasonry arrived there very shortly after the formation of the first Grand Lodge in England in 1717. The Grand Orient was formed in 1733, the same year the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was formed. While originally very democratic in terms of membership (as documented by Professor Margaret C. Jacob in her seminal work in this area, something which Mr. Peace has been known to completely butcher for his own angle), it soon became the playground for French nobility with the common man being forced from the scene nearly completely. Records of histories are either absent or contradictory and anyone who claims full and complete understanding of the many issues of French Freemasonry's first century is a pretender. Suffice it to say that in 1877, the Grand Orient decided that freedom of conscience meant that a lodge should not ask whether a person held a belief in God. Thus atheists, agnostics, and basically anyone could join if they said they felt they could lead a good life. This flew in the face of western beliefs that having faith in God (regardless of how defined) was a crucial element to keeping one's bond. There followed also acceptance of policies which allowed inter-visitation with mixed gender lodges etc. which is FAR different from the esoteric-initiatic path that the founder of GOOFUS seems to hawk. This affiliation comes at a time when the Grand Orient of France has been embroiled in some heated political matters in France and when many non-recognized groups are making moves to position themselves as being 'strong by association' with two other groups from England. Perhaps those in France don't realize that the Grand Orient of the United States of America will only add a handful (if that) of members to their stable or perhaps this is all part of a complex scheme to 'stick it in the eye' of regular/recognized Freemasonry!

And while we've always tried to be non-political here at masonicinfo.com, are there really big groups of Americans thinking that the way the French do things is a great example to adopt in the US? Now we mean NO disrespect here whatsoever and we're not like the crazy US congress-critters who wanted to ban the 'French Fry' a few years ago. However, we just don't quite see the synchronicity that would make this attractive. Why would young, ostensibly upward-mobile, American males - regardless of their ancestry - want to look to France for guidance in the way to run an organization - ANY organization? Why would anyone look first to the French for their approval, regardless of how warm and fuzzy they might feel about the French Revolution (including the guillotine, public hangings, etc.) a couple of centuries ago? Perhaps the couple of GOOFUS members, not examining the full implications of political dabbling, finds these very political stances of the Grand Orient of France attractive. Perhaps the founder, as has been suggested for several years, wants to use Freemasonry for political clout in pursuing his goals of self-aggrandizement. Perhaps it's the lack of any religious base in French Grand Orient Freemasonry that they now find attractive (or convenient). We think, though, that most men who come to regular/recognized Freemasonry would, when there's a comparison between the policies of the GOF and regular/recognized Grand Lodges would nearly always choose the later.

Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion.
Norman Schwarzkopf
Quips, Squibs and Some Curiosities by Mason & Author Leon Zeldis, 2008, P. 80

Their Friends?

Let's take just one for an example: The George Washington Union was formed some thirty years ago. Pretty impressive, you're thinking: they're still going so what's the problem? Well, while it was formed thirty years ago, there are only FIVE (count 'em) lodges in their whole stable. They are as follows: Franklin Roosevelt - Chicago (which doesn't seem to be meeting and there's no information on their web page), Golden journey - San Francisco, Liberty - Washington which claims to be meeting in Bethesda, Maryland at an undisclosed location, Raoul Zetler - Montreal (which is in a very run-down part of town and is in a building used by various New Age groups and societies) and New Isis- Los Angeles which ostensibly meets in the (real) Masonic building of a California Lodge in Van Nuys that can be rented for weddings, receptions, parties, etc. {Note: In California it is not uncommon for many groups of varying kinds to use Masonic buildings for their meetings. This, of course, may give this particular "lodge" group the appearance of Masonic regularity but should you try to visit any one of the four lodges which make up the ownership of the building and are part of the Grand Lodge of California, you'd find yourself rejected.} But, despite their small number of lodges, their membership in the 2006 World Masonic Report show at a staggering - hold on for this - THIRTY SEVEN. Yes, folks: 37. Not 37,000. Not 3,700. Not even 370. Thirty seven. With five lodges that means they've got an average membership throughout the United States & Canada of less than 8 members per lodge. While it could be argued that there are lodges in regular/recognized Freemasonry where attendance might be lower than this, they're few and far between - and the rest of the lodges in the jurisdiction contribute to the overall membership count within one's state/province. This is 5 lodges & 37 members - in total - across two countries! We won't belabor it further: we've done the math for you so you can mull over what a tour de force you'll be joining up with should you go with these folks.

Tortured Tracings - On December 10, 2007 we discovered a NEW website - at the domain of Mr. Peace's old tracingboard.com where he had excoriated various Grand Masters in Georgia, this site and its owner, and more - done up more neatly for the George Washington Union group. It made them look FAR more hip than their 1990s site (never updated) but, of course, one wonders on what authority this was done. No matter. By March, 2008 it was changed yet again to be "A place supporting a dialogue among Traditional Cosmopolitan Freemasonry in North America, the Anglo-American tradition of Freemasonry and wider civil society." Yeah, as if there were any such thing! It really is to laugh. And not long afterwards, the site was redesigned yet again to be the mouthpiece for the GOOFUS group. Don't blink: it may be something else tomorrow and tough break for the George Washington Union folks who were tossed aside as no longer useful, a typical situation with the Peace-created organizations when things aren't convenient for him.

If you do go to visit the GOOFUS website, be sure to look in on their discussion forums. It's pretty interesting. Not long ago, they were busy railing against US President George Bush with some considerable invective. (Curiously, no discussion of the riots in France, particularly in light of their ostensibly close alliance.) One wonders how comfortable a person who supported the US President would feel amongst them - but it's quite likely they don't care about those little things like keeping Freemasonry separate from politics. They're just following their French Grand Orient heroes in that regard. You'll be fine as long as you always agree with them philosophically. if you don't, who knows.... <shrug>

Watch the Ball

If you think a group which has a one imperial leader (who has FINALLY taken over as Grand Master, a move long seen coming but realists but denied by the sycophants) who changes things at his whim, which has more internet sock puppets than actual members, and which will be another sub-page on this site two years from now is the thing you want to join, GO FOR IT! Let us know, using a REAL name and address please, how it's working out for you.  (Masonicinfo Note: We made this offer in November, 2007 and we're still waiting....)

Even better: you can claim - like other anonymous posters on a particular blog which touts this group but whose creator, curiously, doesn't have the faith in them to leave his membership in the Grand Lodge of Georgia behind to jump on board - that you too are going to be part. Don't forget: you can post the same message several times with different screen names so that it'll look like there's LOTS of folks doing it - and only the blog's owner will know that it's really one person, perhaps the one person who's also the SOLE power in this organization!

Oh, and please say a prayer of remembrance for the many, many poor members who were left behind when the now completely gone from the internet (and everywhere else, it seems) United Grand Lodge of America went away. <sniffle></sarcasm>  WAIT!!! UPDATE!!! We read on a forum posting that there was NO ONE left behind as the Grand Lodge of the United States simply changed its name. That is REALLY good news - and nice to know they've still got all of their half-dozen members. Who knows: within a few years they may even be up to 37!

A three century tradition - Founded 2006!

Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.
"Othello" (3.3.180-86)

A common argument used by this group and similar ones created 'via internet' is to parse the actions taken by Freemasonry and Grand Lodges hundreds of years ago. They're quick to cite specific actions without any explanation of surrounding circumstances which justified them AND they ignore the consequences which led to today or their particular relation to said actions. Further, though, if they're convinced that things should be the way they were when those decisions were made a couple of hundred years ago, there'd be no such thing as the 'progressive liberalism' they're promoting and we'd likely have public floggings. If you want to join a group similar to this, why bother to pay them? Simply go to Amazon, get a copy of Duncan's ritual (under $8 at the time of this writing and they even show drawings from a couple of hundred years ago too!), grab a couple of your best friends, and start your own group. Make up your own rules, just like they did, and set up some web sites. Heck: you too can be a Grand Master - or more. 

What's the latest?

In the never-ending saga of Medici-like maneuvers, things continue to happen:

Brad Cofield seems to have had his hands slapped yet again, but this time by the GOOFUS boys themselves. He was tossed off of their discussion forum (where the half-dozen posters try to keep themselves motivated - more on this below) followed by questions of whether he was using more secret identities to gain re-entrance. Ah, too bad - but never fear: we predict a rehabilitation in short order. Those who enjoy the game of ice hockey, particularly watching at a professional level, understand the role of an 'enforcer' on the ice - and Mr. Cofield fills that bill nicely. We predict that he'll be pulled back out of his temporary retirement shortly. After all, the GOOFUS owner can't afford to let even the most intransigent individual slip away, particularly if it might increase membership by 10% - adding a single new member). Watch for it soon. (An admission of his banning and a variety of ranting can be found in the comments on the blog post here.)

OH! And then there's the big announcement (there WAS an announcement, wasn't there? No? Oh....) about an ostensible new Grand Master. With such a few people, everybody internally must know and the rest of the world could care less. We were going to refer to him as the Grand Master du jour but this one will be around for as long as GOOFUS is - and more! Check here to find out who it is - as if anyone who'd followed this group for more than a nanosecond had any doubt. Ain't it GRAND?

And as might be expected, the kiddies who've always wanted to tout their technology skills as being SO far superior to the 'old poop Masons' they'd left behind have once again shown that age and experience trumps youth and cunning. They seem to have fallen flat on their backsides with their web site being "hi-jacked" <sic>. The terse announcement made on their forum by the forum Administrator (creator/Grand Master/etc.) on January 13, 2009 stated, simply, "Unfortunately, the GOUSA web site URL has been hi-jacked." and proceeded to advise members "DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PERSONAL CONTACT INFO AT THE OLD SITE", not that we'd ever noticed a place for them to do so anyway. (Why would they? Another mystery....) What they didn't want to admit, though, was that their website had been managed by their original Grand Master who, when he was unceremoniously tossed out of the organization along with his successor, simply shut the site down. Wild threats of lawsuits have, we've learned, been bandied about but - as is typical - it's all bluster with no basis in reality. The old domain is (as of September, 2009) for sale so help Aaron recover some of the money he spent on this foolishness and get yourself a great name to play with....

Subsequently, Mr. Peace created yet another website and are now pretending that the prior one was of no consequence. (It's for sale now to the highest bidder!) In what might be a response to our comments about the paucity of activity on their discussion forum, they have now closed it and instead declared their 'official forum' to be at 'bluelodge.org' where copyright material is freely stolen from other websites, those who stumble in are assaulted constantly if they express any negativity towards the GOOFUS boys or their group, and where the Great Grand Master makes proclamations. It's a comedy not worthy of your time. Their membership stats are SO contrived that if one were to believe them, then they would have to wonder about the 99.999999997% of those who never post. While anyone involved with online fora fully understands that only a small percentage of those who register actually participate, at the end of each month, you can easily find that the number of actual participants is infinitesimal in comparison.

And they've also got a new website IN FRENCH for those in the US who are interested!!! Yeppers, there must be a zillion young men in the United States, fluent in French, just lining up to join because of this. It'll make them SO swaveeee.... <grin> All the best to you, boys - and by the way: perhaps you might want to consider brushing up on your tech skills, particularly because having a website "hi-jacked" <sic> when it's hosted on your own server really is pretty darn embarrassing. And who - since nobody speaks French - is going to be jazzing up that site? (It was pretty hilarious that when the Grand Orient of France published an article about recognizing GOOFUS, the half-dozen posters on their forum were asking each other how they could get a translation. Yep, the chuckles never end with these kiddies!)

So many things left unanswered. Time will, though, tell all - especially as those who DO have half a brain are coming to realize how they've been hoodwinked here. On September 15, 2009, for example, there was a terse announcement on the Euclid Lodge blog that Euclid had severed their ties with GOOFUS. A few days later another post emphasized that the reasons were 'nobody's business' except lodge members. Ah, yes: transparency: ya gotta love it. Apparently too the Grand Secretary is now - like 3 other so-called "Grand Orient Officers" - eligible for a group that is growing even more rapidly than the Grand Orient themself: the FFOJ - Former Friends of Jeff. Nobody can say that this site didn't foresee all of this....

Overall, fewer and fewer of self-identified GOOFUS members are speaking up about anything anywhere online. Maybe they're using the Pike secret communication device with the flaming toad heads? Maybe they're realizing what we've been saying all along: this group is bogus/fake and is NOT Masonry or Free-Masonry or any kind of thing related to the organization of Freemasonry, under whatever affectation they choose!

Created 26 November 2007
Updated 10 December 2007 and a little more added January 2008, April 2008, July 2008, August, 2008 and January 31, 2009.
Updated 20 June 2009 and 19 September 2009

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