Picking Sides

"Hey, Mom, remember those Westboro Baptist people?  The ones who protest at military funerals and even at kids' funerals because they say those people died because G-d hates America because we don't kill gays?"  Bigger Girl had come in from school exultant about her first test going well, and wanted to talk.

Well, i told her, i try not to think about them much, except to pray they learn to practice the love Jesus preached.

"Yeah, well this is weird.  Did you know the KKK is protesting them?"

What?

"Yes!  Really.  Most KKK people are very pro military, so they are protesting Westboro's protesting!  So, in a case like that, whose side do you pick?"

In a case like that, i have a headache, i told her.

"Well, you know, no matter what side of any argument you are on, there will be people who agree with you that you don't really like."

That's true.  Still, in this case, i think i would stand back and watch from a safe distance.


Today is:

Amilcar Cabral's Birthday/National Day -- Guinea Bissau

Defender's Day -- Maryland, US (marking the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, which event inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner", current national anthem of the US)

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 2, Interdependence (sponsored by We, the World)

Gahambar Paitishahem -- Zoroastrian Calendar (four day feast of bringing in the harvest, dates approximate)

Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally -- Ruidoso, NM, US (through Sunday)

Morton Pumpkin Festival -- Morton, IL, US (the Pumpkin Capital of the World; through Sunday)

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

National Championship Air Races -- Reno, NV, US (through Sunday)

National Day of Encouragement -- US (no matter where you live, encourage someone today)

National Guitar Flat-Picking Championships and Walnut Valley Festival -- Winfield, KS, US (through Sunday)

Pendleton Round-Up -- Pendleton, OR, US (traditional rodeo with the participation of local Native tribes; through Saturday)

Programmers Day -- Russia, and among programmers around the world (yes, it's usually on the 13th, but this is a leap year, and thus today is the 256th day of the year)

St. Alibe's Day (Patron of wolves; Cashel, Ireland; Emly, Ireland; Munster, Ireland)

St. Guy's Day (Patron of bachelors, epileptics, horned animals, laborers, sacristans, sextons, work horses; for protection of outbuildings, sheds, and stables; Anderlecht, Belgium; against epilepsy, hydrphobia/rabies, infantile convulsions, and rabid dogs)

Video Games Day -- an unofficially declared day for kids to thank their parents for indulging their love of games


Anniversaries Today:

Elizabeth Barret and Robert Browning elope, 1846


Birthdays Today:

Yao Ming, 1980
Rachel Ward, 1957
Gerry Beckley, 1952
Barry White, 1952
Maria Muldaur, 1943
Linda Gray, 1940
George Jones, 1931
Dickie Moore, 1925
Irene Dailey, 1920
Jesse Owens, 1913
Ben Blue, 1901
Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. 1892
Maurice Chevalier, 1888
H.L. Mencken, 1880


Today in History:

Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen, 1609
The first submarine is tested in London, 1624
Turkish troops besieging Vienna are overthrown after 2 months by Poland's King Sobieski, 1683
First Black Masons Lodge is formed, 1787
Switzerland becomes a Federal State, 1848
The "Cleopatra Needle" is installed in London, 1878
Charles Leroux, world famous parachutist with 238 successful jumps, perishes in his attempted jump in the Bay of Reval, 1889
The world's first female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, is appointed by the LAPD, 1910
Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France, 1940
Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit, 1958
Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color, 1959
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup, 1974
Indonesia is hit with an 8.1 earthquake, 1979
Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica, 1988
Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, 2005