So on the way to a wedding in the midwestern community of Bloomington, Illinois, we pass a church. Nothing unusual about that, except this church - I didn't see which one - had the lovely and talented Fred Phelps "Ministry" protesting outside.

I'm all for freedom of speech, but this is one of the more foul examples of use of this right one can encounter without involving hoods, swastikas, or Ann Coulter. I'd never actually seen one, but it was just as I had seen on TV. Signs of hate, rage, and of course, the necessary small children carrying signs alongside their hateful parents.

So after learning that God hates fags, priests, and America (yes, the Phelps' believe 9/11 was caused by gays), I saw a sign I hadn't seen before and actually made me laugh: "God Hates Sweden."

Sweden? Home of Ikea, Volvo, and our own loveable Ken Arneson? How could a right and just God hate Sweden? Did that new Saab 9-2 that's actually just a rebranded Subaru screw up some delicate balance in the world? Could Phelps not assemble his $20 Ikea settee? Had someone taken the name of Princess Madeleine in vain?

I just didn't know. As Don King would say, "Only in America." The good, the bad, and the six steps past ugly.