During the Bush administration we were having a public debate on torture as a means of interrogation and the public consensus was that this is never acceptable.

Meanwhile the #1 show on TV was 24 where everyone cheered Jack torturing people to get information.

It does raise certain moral quandaries. When the shit hits the fan then maybe you suddenly want those people who we might judge in normal circumstances.

I still fundamentally disagree with what Joel does in the finale but it makes for entertaining fiction and an interesting story to debate.

Why would Microsoft buy a huge studio and then make those games exclusive to the platform?

Microsoft told the courts they wouldn't do that with Bethesda and lied.

It isn't unusual in keto diets to add avocado oil or some fat to coffee. Some people call it bulletproof coffee. I've tried it and I am not a fan.

Mulholland Drive fucked with my mind the most. When it was over I truly wasn't sure what I had just watched. I rewatched it a bunch and then thought I knew what it was about, and then I see a variety of completely different and yet well reasoned arguments about what they think it is about.

Yep.

This was filed by a lawyer who constantly files class action lawsuits against big food brands and they usually don't go to trial.

You're not wrong.

Penthouse seemed to straddle the line with journalism but more nudes, more explicit nudes and "Penthouse Letters". Hustler leaned fully into porn and taboo humor.

The joke used to be "I only read Playboy for the articles", but in reality it had tons of great journalism, short fiction and very few pages of nudes. People were interspersing their wanks with political commentary with Playboy.

You asked if Freemasons are Shriners. Shriners are a subset of Freemasonry. All Shriners are Freemasons but not all Freemasons are Shriners.

It was shameful and inexcusable. I take a small solace that my Grand Lodge (Nebraska) was the first to end that divide.

The Shriners are a subset of Freemasons.

We do!

There are tons of Masonic charities like the Shriners Hospitals for Children. But we distribute money all over the place to tons of charity groups.

You don't have to be white. Racism is anathema to all of our beliefs but with any large organization there are individually racist members.

Freemasons LOVE that episode.

Damnit, you got us.

We avoid politics but encourage our members to be good members of their society.

There are some good books on our history. You can contact a specific Grand Lodge to inquire about specific former members.

I just transferred to a lodge that was a better fit for me. All the officers are younger guys with kids. Ours is very much a family lodge.

That is unfortunate. I have met some individual bigots within Masonry, but that runs counter to everything we teach about equality, tolerance and brotherly love.

It involves your secret eleventh finger.

Fair enough.

Most Freemason Grand Lodges don't admit women. There are some but they are considered clandestine. We basically aren't part of the same network. They can't attend our lodges and we can't attend theirs. But there are female Masonic bodies my wife belongs to.

We require a sincere belief in Deity but that can be from any religion. We don't advocate any one religion or tell people what to believe.

Because that is how it has always been for centuries and if there are common requirements then it unites the members.

There are Masonic groups for women that my wife belongs to.