Your “Happy BC Day” Monday Open Thread

Brief NFL notes:

• Reggie Bush has indeed signed with the Bills, for one year.
• Stevie Johnson has a torn meniscus, and is out of Chargers camp.
• Tom Brady has reached out to Wes Welker & Randy Moss to be his workout buddies during his four-week vacation.
• Ochocinco was a Browns assistant coach? Well, not anymore.
• Today’s Cowboys controversy: Is Tony Romo fat?
  • The gold medal quote comes from the photographer, who said it was a “poor job of photography that gave the impression that Romo took on Jared Lorenzen as a fitness advisor”.

It’s a three-day weekend in BC. Saturday night had the final night of the “Symphony of Fire” fireworks show

Sunday was the annual Pride Parade

Fun fact: my church protested at the first one – I was there! This year, the Prime Minister, who is my age, also marched:

It’s nice to see society evolve.

Monday is the actual BC Day. A holiday known for its heritage and tradition, the date reaches all the way back to our beautiful province’s founding a scant 42 years.

From the “Peace Arch News“:

Monday is B.C. Day – in a province that was last in Canada to get a long weekend in August. That changed when then-Surrey MLA Ernie Hall introduced a bill to establish the holiday.

Hall, of the ruling NDP party, said the holiday would honour B.C.’s pioneers, while others – reflecting the partisan atmosphere of the day – said the day would grant citizens freedom from socialists and give people a chance to just lighten up.

“We feel that British Columbia, like every other province, could benefit and should have a holiday around Aug. 1. We feel that the holiday should be dedicated to the pioneers who built the colony of British Columbia into the great province it is today,” Hall said in the house, according to legislative records.

Political rival Don Phillips chimed in to say he supported the bill, but it didn’t go far enough.

“There should be another section in this bill which, on this day, would give all British Columbians the freedom they had before the socialists moved in in September of 1972,” said Phillips, a Social Credit MLA.

Other MLAs said the day would allow British Columbians to celebrate the history of the province when the weather is best and to give “very serious people” a chance to enjoy a holiday.

At the end of debate, Hall concluded there was overwhelming support for a new holiday – and the bill received royal assent June 5, 1974.

Therefore, by the power granted to me from the Province of British Columbia, I am day drinking. Provincial beers though; have to be in keeping with the day. Today’s choice: Okanagan Spring Brewing’s 1516.

Tonight’s sports:

• MLB: Yankees @ Mets – 7:00 (ESPN)
• Club Friendly Soccer: Liverpool vs Roma – from St. Louis – 8:00 (ESPN2)

Your regular many-sites cited NFL news roundup will return tomorrow. Join me as we work our way to the Hall of Fame game, as the inevitable tediuosness of Brett Favre hagiography reaches its climax on Saturday, with a tearful speech from Mooch at the NFL Network Total Access desk. The game itself will involve Aaron Rodgers playing one snap, and Eddy Lacy getting his body examined as if he were a Playboy centerfold.

Enjoy your evening.