TODAY IN HISTORY-FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2011

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Today is Friday, March 25, the 84th day of 2011. There are 281 days left in the year.

Today in History:  AP Highlight in History: On March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. factory in New York City killed 146 workers, most of them young immigrant women. The tragedy galvanized America's labor movement. AP Photo
On this date in: 1634 Maryland was founded by English colonists sent by the second Lord Baltimore. 1807 Britain abolished its slave trade. 1894 Jacob S. Coxey began leading an "army" of the unemployed from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., to demand help from the federal government. 1913 The home of vaudeville, the Palace Theatre, opened in New York City. 1957 The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community. 1965 The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks. AP Photo 1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness. 1988 Robert E. Chambers Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in New York City's so-called "preppie murder case." 1992 Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth from the Mir space station after a 10-month stay, during which his native country, the Soviet Union, ceased to exist. 1994 American troops completed their withdrawal from Somalia. 1996 An 81-day standoff by the antigovernment Freemen began at a ranch near Jordan, Mont. 1996 The redesigned $100 bill went into circulation. 1998 President Bill Clinton acknowledged during his Africa tour that "we did not act quickly enough" to stop the slaughter of 1 million Rwandans four years earlier. 2002 A powerful earthquake rocked Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, killing as many as 1,000 people.		Today's Birthdays: Rock singer-musician Elton John turns 64 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini Name Profession Age Jim Lovell Astronaut 83 Gloria Steinem Feminist author 77 Anita Bryant Singer 71 Aretha Franklin R&B singer 69 Paul Michael Glaser Actor ("Starsky and Hutch") 68 Bonnie Bedelia Actress ("Parenthood") 63 Mary Gross Actress, comedian 58 John Ensign U.S. senator, R-Nev. 53 James McDaniel Actor ("NYPD Blue") 53 Brenda Strong Actress ("Desperate Housewives") 51 Marcia Cross Actress ("Desperate Housewives") 49 Lisa Gay Hamilton Actress 47 Tom Glavine Baseball player 45 Sheryl Swoopes Basketball player 40 Lee Pace Actor ("Pushing Daisies") 32 Danica Patrick Auto racer 29 Katherine McPhee Singer ("American Idol") 27 Jason Castro Singer ("American Idol") 24 Aly Michalka Actress, singer ("Aly and AJ") 22 Actress Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex and the City") turns 46 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Thought for Today: "Scratch a pessimist, and you find often a defender of privilege." — Lord Beveridge, British economist (1879-1963).

“A Prayer For Holy Boldness”

Father, I must confess that holy boldness does not come easily for me.  Though I may hold an unwavering conviction based upon the teachings of Scripture, I find it difficult to articulate my position when faced with opposing views or by those with a lifestyle contrary to that of the Christian believer. It is in this setting that I rely upon Your Holy Spirit to equip me with the words I am to speak and the tone of which I speak them.  You’ve instructed the believer to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have.  And then You further instruct us about the spirit that accompanies our response. We are to do this prayerfully with gentleness, respect, and a clear conscience so that those who would respond unfavorably toward us would regret their behavior.  Keep our motives pure as we unashamedly and boldly declare Your truths to a lost and dying generation.  Amen.