Tonight, July 30, Gov. Arnold gave a speech before the supersecret, elitist, cultish Bohemian Grove club. Reports the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:

No one other than Bohemian Club members and their guests will hear the governor’s speech, which is — like everything that transpires during the 17-day midsummer enclave — done in absolute privacy.

Plutocrats and powerbrokers, including former presidents, annually flock to the 2,700-acre wooded retreat where neither women, other than grove employees, nor outsiders of either gender are permitted.

What a joke that Arnold calls himself “the people’s governor,” a slogan he plasters across every state Web site with his picture on it.

And isn’t the guy supposed to be a sensitive feminist? But no women are allowed at the Bohemian Grove. What’s with that?

A lot of conspiracy theories swirl around the Bohemian Grove. But you don’t have to believe any of that to understand that this place is just plain weird. Wikipedia explains:

The Cremation of Care ceremony was first conducted in the Bohemian Grove at the Midsummer encampment in 1881, devised by James F. Bowman with George T. Bromley playing the High Priest.^[17] It was originally set up within the plot of the serious “High Jinks” dramatic performance on the first weekend of the summer encampment, after which the spirit of “Care”, slain by the Jinks hero, was solemnly cremated. The ceremony served as a catharsis for pent-up high spirits, and “to present symbolically the salvation of the trees by the club…”^[18] The Cremation of Care was separated from the Grove Play in 1913 and moved to the first night to become “an exorcising of the Demon to ensure the success of the ensuing two weeks”. The Grove Play was moved to the last weekend of the encampment.^[19]

The ceremony takes place in front of the Owl Shrine, a 40-foot (12 m) hollow owl statue made of concrete over steel supports. The moss- and lichen-covered statue simulates a natural rock formation, yet holds electrical and audio equipment within it. During the ceremony, a recording of the voice of club member Walter Cronkite is used as the voice of The Owl.^[1] Music and pyrotechnics accompany the ritual for dramatic effect.

See what I mean? Weird. Creepy weird. It reminds me of the Jim Jones cult. Only instead of drinking the Kool-Aid themselves, they’re pouring it down our gullets.

Creepy "Cremation of Care" ceremony at Bohemian Grove in 1907