Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

As if you didn't already know, today is the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot. Guido Fawkes was an English Catholic who schemed unsuccessfully to kill King James I and most of the Protestant aristocracy in one fell swoop by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.

Protestant non-aristocrat John Derbyshire has a good piece on Fawkes, his place in English culture, the holiday celebrating his capture, and contemporary parallels.