Catholic Teaching, Musical History, And Today

Today's date is significant for two reasons, which are quite unrelated to each other.  For Catholics, December 8th is the feast of the Immaculate Conception.  As explained in the National Catholic Register, in Catholic doctrine, Mary the mother of Jesus was conceived without original sin.  The Catholic Church also regards Mary as the patron saint of the United States under the title of the Immaculate Conception, as explained by Aquinas & More.  (You'll have to scroll down a bit.)

****

Today is also the anniversary of the death of John Lennon.  Writing in National Review, Kyle Smith recalls how he, in his early teens, had regarded Lennon as being "old and washed up", but after his death, then grew to appreciate Lennon's music.  My own experience was very different.  During my teen years, I had already grown to like the music of the Beatles and their later solo work.  I was in college when Lennon was killed, and still remember hearing someone in my dorm's hallway saying, "John Lennon's been shot."  It is still one of the few celebrity deaths which have affected me emotionally.

****

In today's stories:

From Breitbart's Big Government, one of Roy Moore's accusers admits forging in the yearbook where he allegedly signed.

From Twitchy, no, she didn't admit to forgery.

From KHOU, Texas, including Houston, just got "walloped" by snow.  (Will this be blamed on man-made global warming?)

From MSN, President Trump signs a temporary budget bill.

From the Los Angeles Times, the wildfire in southern California has killed thoroughbred horses.

From CBS Pittsburgh, a homeowner, 84, fights off invaders.  (via Fox News)

From the New York Post, the U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs in November.

From Sports Illustrated, Sandusky the Younger is sentenced.

From Voice Of Europe, Gothenburg, Sweden is enduring an epidemic of rats.

From Breitbart London, a friend of the Manchester bomber claims to have "accidentally" joined ISIS.

From Radio Praha, the Czech Republic, even while dealing with a lawsuit, will not take in migrants.  ("Praha" is the Czech name of its capital city, known in English as "Prague".)

From The Local DE, Berlin is broke.

From Russia Today, a French school in Beirut apologizes for acknowledging Israel's existence.

From the Mirror, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May gets a breakthrough in the first phrase of Brexit negotiations.

From FrontpageMag, let's not allow terrorists to decide where the United States puts its embassies.

From Townhall, "how Democrats corrupt English to create hysteria".

From The News, Pakistan's Air Chief Marshall says a mistake was made in the case of Osama bin Laden.

From the International Business Times, a Somali refugee in the United Kingdom is sentenced for rape.

From Variety, an interview with the man who played the 11th Doctor.

From The Loop (which appears to be part of Golf Digest), a look at the weird world of python hunting.